The sirens didn't wail. There were no flashing lights. The betrayal of Jujutsu High happened in a heavy, suffocating silence. As I leaned on Nobara, my legs felt like they were made of lead, every step sending a jolt of agony through my bandaged ribs. We moved through the back corridors of the infirmary wing, the stone walls feeling narrower with every passing second.
"This way," Nobara hissed, her hand tight on my arm. "Gojo said the old boiler room leads to the forest perimeter. If we can reach the trees, the barrier won't track our cursed energy as easily."
[WARNING: HOSTILE RADIUS - 50 METERS]
[DETECTION: 1... 2... 4 CONTRACTORS]
The System map in my mind was lighting up like a blood-red Christmas tree. The bounty hunters weren't just mercenaries; they were professionals who had been waiting for the signal.
"Wait," I whispered, pulling Nobara into the shadow of a massive stone pillar.
At the end of the hallway, standing near the heavy iron door of the boiler room, was a figure I recognized. My heart sank lower than it had during the fight with Ume. It wasn't a Zenin assassin. It was Inumaki Toge.
He stood there with his collar zipped high, his eyes usually kind, now sharp and distant. He held a small, black device in his hand—a System-linked tracker.
"Toge?" Nobara gasped, her voice cracking. "What are you doing? Move out of the way, we have to go!"
Inumaki didn't move. He didn't use a greeting. He slowly lowered his collar, revealing the snake-and-fang seals around his mouth.
"He's seen the bounty, Ren," Valthazar purred, a sickeningly satisfied tone in his voice. "Ten thousand points is enough to heal any wound, buy any technique. Even the 'pure' students have a price when the System offers them their heart's desire."
"Don't do it, Inumaki," I said, my voice trembling. "We're friends."
Inumaki's eyes flickered with a brief flash of guilt, but he looked at the device in his hand. The screen reflected a message: [REWARD: SOUL RECONSTRUCTION FOR THE CLAN].
"Don't... move," Inumaki commanded.
The power of Cursed Speech hit me like a physical wall. My muscles locked instantly. Beside me, Nobara froze mid-step, her hammer inches from her pouch. It wasn't just a command; it was a shackle. My [Gravity Anchor] fought against it, the violet aura sparking around my feet, but in my weakened state, the words were absolute.
The Price of Silence
From the shadows behind Inumaki, three men stepped out. they weren't students. They wore tactical gear embossed with the seal of the Kamo Clan. They were the "Cleaners"—men paid to do what the Zenin couldn't.
"Good work, boy," one of the men said, tossing a small glowing coin to Inumaki. "The Kamo family thanks you for your cooperation. The girl is extra, but we'll take her head too."
Inumaki flinched, his eyes widening. He hadn't agreed to the girl being killed. He tried to speak, but the leader of the Cleaners smashed a hilt into the back of Inumaki's head, sending the boy crumbling to the floor.
"Stupid kid," the leader sneered. "He thought this was a game of points."
The leader turned to me, drawing a jagged tantō blade that hummed with a sickly yellow light. "Ren, the Void-Walker. You've caused a lot of trouble for the elders. But don't worry. We're going to make your extraction very... educational."
I stared at Inumaki's unconscious body, then at the blade. My vision began to tunnel. The 13.5% Sync Rate wasn't enough. I needed to break the command. I needed to move.
"Give it to me," Valthazar whispered. "The command says 'Don't Move.' But a God doesn't move. A God simply... rearranges the world."
[SYNC RATE SPIKE: 15.0%]
[NEW ABILITY UNLOCKED: DOMAIN CRACK]
I didn't move my legs. I moved the space beneath my feet.
The floor tiles groaned and shattered as I forced the gravity to warp, sliding me and Nobara five feet to the left—just as the Kamo assassin lunged. His blade whistled through the air where my throat had been a second before.
"What?!" the assassin barked. "He's still under the Speech!"
"I'm not moving," I growled, the violet light erupting from my eyes and tearing through the bandages on my face. "The world is moving for me."
The Outlaw's Awakening
I grabbed Nobara's hand, the contact sparking with a surge of energy.
[SOUL RESONANCE: ACTIVE]
[SYNC LOCK: 15% - NO COOLDOWN]
"Nobara, wake up!" I shouted, the force of my own cursed energy shattering the remnants of Toge's command.
She gasped, her lungs expanding as the invisible shackles broke. She didn't ask questions. She saw the Kamo assassins, saw Toge on the ground, and her face transformed into a mask of pure, unadulterated rage.
"You... bastards!" she screamed.
She didn't use a nail. She grabbed the metal handle of the boiler room door and ripped it off the hinges using the momentum of my gravity field. She swung it like a mace, catching the first assassin in the jaw with a sickening crack.
"Ren, the gate!" she yelled.
I raised my hand, aiming not at the assassins, but at the ceiling.
"[Gravity Well: Inverse]!"
The stone ceiling didn't fall; it was pulled upward, creating a massive vacuum that sucked the Kamo assassins into the air. They flailed, their tactical gear clattering against the stones as they were pinned to the rafters by the weight of their own bodies.
"Let's go!"
I grabbed Inumaki's collar, dragging him with us. I couldn't leave him there—not because I forgave him, but because the Kamo would kill him for failing.
We sprinted through the boiler room and into the cold, dark forest of the campus perimeter. The barrier
shimmered ahead—a blue veil of light that marked the edge of the only home I'd known.
As we crossed the line, a notification appeared in the center of my vision, dark and ominous.
> [VOL 2, CHAPTER 12 COMPLETE]
> [STATUS: EXILED]
> [NEW QUEST: THE MERCENARY CITY]
> [CURRENT BOUNTY: 75,000,000 YEN (INCREASED)]
>
We were out. But as I looked back at the darkening towers of Jujutsu High, I realized that the school wasn't a sanctuary anymore. It was a cage we had finally escaped.
"Where to now?" Nobara asked, her voice shaking as the adrenaline began to fade.
I looked at the map in my mind. There was one place the Higher-ups wouldn't follow. One place where the System was the only law.
"Roppongi," I said. "The Underground."