Subaru was shocked, to say the least, when Gojo showed back up.
He stood there—unharmed, technically—but it didn't take a genius to tell he'd been through hell. His clothes were torn to ribbons, stained with blood long dried. Even if his injuries had healed, the aftermath clung to him like smoke after a blaze.
Of course, Subaru had no intention of dying. And neither did Wilhelm.
The two had already begun sprinting through the decimated forest, now reduced to a dead-flat graveyard of trees and ruptured earth.
Gojo will be alright... he'll be fine.
Even if he was acting off, even if something about him felt different... he was still Satoru freaking Gojo.
Subaru's brows furrowed, his cursed energy reinforcing his legs and core with each step—boosting speed.
Beside him, Wilhelm kept pace, cloak billowing behind him like a war banner.
He glanced sideways, voice sharp and composed.
"As we saw back there, Satoru is a man full of surprises. Even the Archbishop thought him dead. He'll survive, Subaru."
Subaru exhaled a half-laugh, half-sigh, nerves unraveling only a bit.
"Yeah... you're right."
The two men burst through the village gates—and were met with confusion, panic, and the sound of villagers murmuring in fear. Dozens of soldiers stood scattered across the square, with Felix at the center of it all.
What happened here...?
Was I wrong about the timing?
..Did the Cult already make a move before we showed up?!
Subaru skidded to a halt in front of Ferris.
"What happened here?!"
Felix turned, ears twitching.
"Ah, Subaru! Well, by the time we got here, the villagers were all tied up. Said a man showed up—claimed he was a Sin Archbishop.. as you said."
Not Petelgeuse. Definitely not... then it had to be Regulus.
How long ago did he get here?! How far ahead was he than what I thought?!
Before he could answer, a voice called out..
"S-Subaru!"
A small figure ran toward him—orange-haired, red-bowed, face stained with dried tears.
"Petra...!"
"I-It was really scary... but that white-haired mister saved me... is he okay? I... I want to thank him..."
Subaru knelt down, placing a gentle hand on her head and ruffling her hair.
"Gojo-sensei's fine, I promise. He'll be back soon—you'll get to thank him yourself."
Hopefully...
Thanks to Rem's warning letter, the mansion had already been evacuated. With Subaru's confirmation that this was indeed the Witch's Cult at work, the villagers began preparations to flee—loading carriages with help from Felix and Wilhelm.
Subaru stood with hands on his hips, staring toward the forest where the booming impacts and subtle bursts of cursed energy were occupying.
Gojo and Regulus's battle's gone quiet... too quiet.
"Mmm..."
Then—
A hand landed on his shoulder.
"GYAHHH!!"
He jumped—spinning on reflex, hand raised.
"G-Gojo-sensei?!"
There he stood.
"Yo."
Gojo gave a casual wave, half-grin forming on his bruised, dirt-streaked face.
"You're... alright?"
Subaru raised a brow. Technically, Gojo looked fine. But with his shirt nearly vaporized at the torso, sleeves torn, and dried blood marking where flesh had once been open wounds—it was clear just how not fine he'd been.
Gojo shrugged.
"Well, I'm good now. But I don't even wanna guess how many of my limbs got blown off back there. If you go digging through the rubble, you'll probably find, like... twenty arms and legs.."
He chuckled—then stopped.
His head turned toward the trees—eyes sharpening, gaze narrowing.
"...There are a lot of unfamiliar presences in the forest by the way."
Subaru blinked, turning to follow his line of sight.
Then he froze.
Overhead, a massive purple hand burst from the treetops—fingers clenched into a fist as it soared upward before coming down like a meteor.
"S-SHIT! EVERYONE GET DOWN!"
It wasn't visible to anybody except Subaru. But Gojo didn't need to see it.
He could feel it—space itself was wrong. Warped. Twisted.
The Unseen Hand of Sloth.
With a calm motion, Gojo lifted his palm—his fingers forming a slight curve upward.
VVRRRRRRMM—
A glimmering blue orb shimmered into existence above him—crackling as it absorbed the Unseen Hand in an instant, swallowing its presence like it had never existed.
The cursed air fell still.
The forest, for now, was silent again.
Gojo grinned, lowering his hand before swinging it casually over Subaru's shoulder.
"Safe! Heh, what would you do without me, huh?"
Subaru exhaled slowly, looking away with a muttered grumble.
"...You've got a point this time, so I'll let it slide."
Gojo stepped back, the humor in his expression dimming slightly.
"Though, on a more serious note... I don't think my little spat with Regulus is over."
His voice dropped—just a bit.
"I've probably pissed him off so badly, I wouldn't be surprised if he's already on his way here."
"H-HERE?!"
Subaru's eyes went wide.
"Dude!! Not all of us are walking anime cheat codes who can regenerate! If any of us normal people get hit by one of his freaky-ass Authority attacks, we're just dead!"
Gojo smirked, raising an index finger like he was about to give a lecture.
"Exactly. That's why I'm gonna stall him—while you deal with whatever else is lurking out there in the trees."
He jerked a thumb toward the woods.
"Honestly? I think I've got maybe an hour of stalling in me. Maybe. If I get sliced in half at the waist, though... that's game over."
Subaru blinked, face paling.
"Wait, isn't that what 'Reverse Cursed Technique' is for?"
Gojo gave him a cheeky smile.
"Ooh~ someone's been paying attention in class! Yes—normally it'd work fine. But if I'm split in two..."
He gestured with both hands, miming a body tearing apart.
"...then the cursed energy can't travel from my core to the injury. Because, well... I'd be in two pieces."
Subaru stared at him for a beat.
"That is... the biggest red flag I've ever heard."
Gojo laughed, brushing it off with a grin.
"Hey, I've survived this long, haven't I? What's a bit more stalling?"
Subaru sighed, rubbing his temple.
"Right... right. Just don't die, alright?"
Gojo clapped his hands together, stepping backward as the air distorted around him.
"Ciao~!"
In a flicker of refracted space, he vanished—leaving only a gust of wind behind.
———————————————————————
Regulus stormed through the ravaged forest, each step a silent declaration of dominance. But no matter how heavy his footfalls—how absolute his presence—the ground refused to shatter beneath him.
Because he hadn't allowed it to.
STEP—
A low, sharp hiss cut through the air—
SWOOSH— THUD!!
A deafening impact cracked against his side. In an instant, Regulus's body was sent skyward, ripped from the earth by raw, unfiltered power. The shockwave shattered trees for dozens of meters. The terrain buckled as both combatants were launched into open air.
From the epicenter, Satoru Gojo emerged like a missile.
"You—! You foolish, insignificant worm!" Regulus snarled mid-flight, his body halting as though caught on an invisible axis. One moment, momentum.. the next nanosecond, absolute stillness—his Authority bending reality to his will.
"You should've known it was impossible to defeat me— And yet, here you are, charging back in like a fool!"
The sun dimmed—no, vanished. A silhouette blotted out the sky overhead, growing larger and larger-
Gojo, upside-down mid-air, body twisting like a hurricane of white and blue, plummeted.
His fist screamed through the atmosphere—
BOOOOM!!!
It landed clean against Regulus's ribs. The impact was like a cannon forged from gravity and emotion. A thunderclap erupted across the horizon—shattering the air, reducing nearby cliffs to falling dust. A wave of force flattened the surrounding forest into a craterized ruin.
Regulus was launched—his body sent careening through rock and trees like a divine wrecking ball, carving a trench hundreds of meters long.
"You return to me again. Have you grown bored of living, Satoru Gojo? Or do you find yourself enjoying the pain!?"
Gojo stood slowly, dust curling off his shoulders. His mouth twisted into a grin that didn't reach his eyes.
"Nah. Just figured I'd make this a little more personal."
———————————————————————
Meanwhile—
Subaru knelt beside the body of the defeated cultist. His brows furrowed.
"A Finger…? So they really were just fragments of Petelgeuse?"
Ferris looked pale, Wilhelm remained silent—sheathing his sword with a quiet, cold finality.
"If they're just clones..." Wilhelm muttered, eyes narrowing. "Then- where's the real one? Could he… still be alive?"
Before anyone could answer—
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!
The explosion in the distance rocked the very soil they stood upon. Birds scattered. Trees bent from the blast. A column of smoke and color rose from in the distance.
Subaru's eyes widened.
"That's… Gojo-sensei?!"
Ferris turned to face the blast, his expression shocked.
"That level of power... there's only one guy I know who could pull off crap like that...."
Subaru remained silent, his brows furrowing more and more.
"Please be alright..."
———————————————————————
Silence...
For a moment, the only sound was the deep, seismic groan of the region reacting to what just happened.
Then—
CRASH—!!
A boulder the size of a building came down like divine retribution, smashing into the ravine floor with enough force to send shockwaves rolling up the walls. Dust clouds exploded outward, blotting out the sky, turning everything a muddy, crimson haze.
Somewhere within that chaos—
Gojo's body shot out sideways, tumbling through the air like a misfired arrow.
Blood trailed behind him, his shirt gone, skin tattered, one arm dangling limp, ribs clearly shattered. But his eye—
His one good eye still gleamed, other mending as fast as possible.
"Haaaahhh... You're still standing after that? I get your basically immortal but damn it..."
Below him, Regulus stirred.
His face twitched—not in pain, but in absolute, incomprehensible rage. The Red had caught him dead-on, and although he was physically unscathed, the anger was constantly surging.
Chunks of stone burned away from where his body had carved a path through the cliff wall.
But even so—
He hovered. Unbothered by gravity. By logic. By anything other than his own impossible ego.
"You, don't you get it..?! Now that I know of your strange little trick that somehow messes with my authority, there's truly NOTHING you can do to harm me, my perfection- this goes far beyond disrespect, the only thing that warrants such behavior is YOUR DEATH."