Compared with his grandfather, Kikunojou Tendo, Kazumitsu Tendo was far too lacking in composure. His mental fortitude was practically nonexistent.
The moment he saw Satoru Gojo, sheer terror overtook his face. His pupils contracted sharply, his complexion turned pale, and he couldn't even maintain the most basic control over his expression. His legs weakened, his body began trembling uncontrollably, and he nearly collapsed right there on the ground.
Still, it was hard to blame him. His experience was completely different from that of the soldiers who had only heard about Gojo's reputation.
Those soldiers merely knew that Satoru Gojo was incredibly powerful. Kazumitsu, on the other hand, had personally witnessed the entire battle between Gojo and Scorpio. The shock of seeing that battle with his own eyes was something no one else could possibly understand.
He had watched that earth-shaking battle from beginning to end and knew exactly how terrifying and absurd Gojo's strength was. That kind of power simply wasn't something a human being should possess.
Gojo had fought Scorpio, a powerful Gastrea, completely on his own. Even the concentrated bombardment of countless missiles had failed to kill him.
And what had they rushed over here to do?
They had come with the intention of taking control of the school before Gojo returned, capturing the Cursed Children, using them as hostages, and forcing Gojo to obey them.
But what was this situation now?
Why was Satoru Gojo here?
And why did he look as though he'd been waiting for them all along, as if he had known they were coming from the very beginning?
At that moment, Kazumitsu desperately wished he could shoot dead every person responsible for calculating Gojo's return time. He was burning with rage, yet there was absolutely nothing he could do about it.
Hadn't those idiots said that even with Gojo's flying speed, it would take him quite some time to return from the place where he had fought Scorpio? How could he possibly have arrived almost immediately after they did?
Is this guy a ghost or something? How could he have come back this fast?!
Kazumitsu screamed inwardly, no longer caring whether his thoughts made any sense. At this point, he only wanted to know how he could escape and keep himself alive.
If he had known things would turn out like this, he would never have come along. No matter how much Kikunojou pressured him, he would have found some excuse to stay behind.
Tokyo was enormous, after all, with hundreds of thousands of people living within it. The city was a tangled mixture of all kinds of people, and there were countless places where someone could disappear without a trace.
Even if Gojo intended to settle the score with him, Kazumitsu could have hidden somewhere remote, changed his identity, and lived in obscurity. It wouldn't have been impossible.
At worst, his standard of living would have declined. He could no longer live the pampered life of luxury he was accustomed to, but at least he would still be alive.
But now?
In front of Satoru Gojo, he was afraid he wouldn't even be given the chance to take his own life. He could only wait helplessly to be slaughtered.
That despair completely overwhelmed him.
Kazumitsu's legs weakened even further. It was as though someone had pulled every bone from his body, leaving him without the strength to support his own weight. He collapsed onto the ground, bracing himself with both hands as he gasped for breath, his eyes filled with despair and regret.
Kikunojou, meanwhile, had no time to concern himself with his pathetic grandson. Every bit of his attention was fixed on Gojo hovering in the sky.
His aged eyes remained locked onto Gojo, sharp as an eagle's. Although he was equally wary inside, he managed to maintain a calm expression instead of losing control like Kazumitsu.
"Didn't expect me to come back this quickly?"
Gojo was the first to break the silence. Hovering in midair, he looked down at Kikunojou with the same faint smile on his face, though his voice was filled with mockery.
"Judging by the looks on your faces, this is pretty interesting."
"Looks like you already know."
Kikunojou took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart. He didn't bother with false pleasantries or attempt to hide anything, answering in a heavy yet composed tone.
At his age, he had long since understood the principle that the victor became king while the defeated were forgotten. Now that matters had reached this point, there was no meaning in making excuses or trying to conceal anything.
The only thing that mattered now was whose trump cards were stronger and whose strength was greater. Whoever could defeat the other would be the one who survived to the end.
"Of course. It's not like you ever tried to hide anything, right?"
Gojo smiled lightly, speaking as casually as though they were discussing something trivial.
"Still, I can't exactly blame you. You've already stripped Seitenshi of her authority, and all of Tokyo is under your control. Who are you supposed to be putting on an act for?"
As he spoke, Gojo casually snapped his fingers.
The crisp sound echoed through the silent school grounds.
Without needing any further instruction, Betty immediately understood. She raised a hand, purple light gathering at her fingertips as countless violet crystal arrows materialized before her. They hovered densely in the air for an instant before shooting toward the soldiers below with overwhelming force.
"Open fire! Fire, now!"
Someone shouted the order in panic.
Immediately, rifles were raised and opened fire on Gojo, Betty, and Kayo. Bullets poured through the air like rain, tearing through the silence with sharp whistles.
Unfortunately, the gunfire lasted only a few seconds before falling completely silent, as though it had never existed.
Blood splattered across the ground. Bright red spread over the gray pavement, filling the air with the nauseating smell of blood.
Every soldier surrounding Kikunojou and Kazumitsu had been slaughtered by Betty's volley. Not a single one survived. Their bodies lay motionless across the ground, not one person spared.
As for the bullets fired at Gojo, Betty, and Kayo, there was even less to say. Before they could come anywhere near their bodies, an invisible force stopped them in midair.
A moment later, the bullets dropped to the ground with a series of metallic clinks.
They hadn't caused the three of them the slightest harm.
"Still as unimaginative as ever."
Gojo shrugged, looking somewhat bored. A trace of disappointment appeared on his face.
"You've got to have something else up your sleeve, right? Otherwise, I'm going to be really disappointed."
As he spoke, several toad Shikigami hopped over from a short distance away. They stopped beneath Gojo and quietly waited for orders, their eyes alert as they remained ready to act at a moment's notice.
"You think you've already won, you monster?!"
Kikunojou glared at Gojo, his eyes blazing with fury and unwillingness to accept defeat. His voice shook slightly with rage as he shouted.
"Aw, that's hurtful."
Gojo deliberately furrowed his brows and turned toward Betty with an aggrieved expression.
"Betty, he called me a monster. I'm obviously a perfectly ordinary human being. How can he call me a monster?"
"Give me a break."
Betty rolled her eyes, her voice filled with undisguised disgust.
"Didn't I already tell you that acting like this is revolting? Stop pretending to be pitiful."
"Aw, I'm being rejected."
Gojo sighed with exaggerated disappointment, yet the smile on his face never disappeared. Betty's words clearly hadn't affected him in the slightest.
The two of them played off each other with relaxed voices and casual attitudes, completely ignoring Kikunojou as though he were nothing more than an irrelevant passerby instead of their enemy.
Faced with such blatant disregard, the anger on Kikunojou's face grew even more intense. His entire body trembled faintly, his hands clenched into fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white, and the hatred in his eyes seemed ready to spill over.
"If your last trump card is a bomb, you don't need to mention it."
Kayo, who Betty was holding up in the air by her clothes, looked at Kikunojou and spoke calmly. Her eyes were filled with determination, without the slightest trace of fear.
"I've already disarmed every bomb. There isn't a single one left."
The moment those words were spoken, the entire area fell silent.
Even the sound of the wind seemed unusually clear.
The anger on Kikunojou's face froze. In its place came a look of disbelief. His eyes widened as he stared at Kayo, as though he couldn't believe what he had just heard.
Gojo also turned toward Kayo with a helpless smile.
"You could've been a little less blunt."
"Look at their faces. They're completely devastated now. That's no fun. I was still hoping to tease them for a while."
"Sorry."
A trace of embarrassment appeared on Kayo's face. She immediately lowered her head and apologized to Gojo, her voice carrying a hint of guilt.
"I didn't mean to. I just thought they should know."
"It's fine, it's fine."
Gojo waved dismissively, the helplessness disappearing from his expression as his usual smile returned.
"I was only planning to tease them a little before taking care of them anyway. Since that's the case, we might as well get this over with and save some time."
Hearing that even their final trump card had been dealt with so effortlessly, Kazumitsu's remaining hope was completely crushed.
He could no longer maintain even the slightest illusion that he might survive.
He abruptly shifted from sitting on the ground to kneeling. Then he planted both hands on the pavement and began frantically kowtowing toward Gojo, repeatedly slamming his forehead against the ground.
Thump. Thump.
Red marks quickly appeared on his forehead, followed by thin streaks of blood.
"I, I surrender! I surrender!"
Kazumitsu cried out incoherently, his voice filled with fear and desperation.
"I have evidence of every crime the Tendo family has committed over all these years! I have everything!"
"I'll hand it all over to you! As long as you don't kill me, as long as you spare my life, I'll cooperate with anything! I'll do whatever you want!"
He continued kowtowing as he pleaded desperately, his eyes filled with despair. The arrogance and pride he had once displayed were completely gone.
"You bastard!"
Kikunojou's furious roar crashed across the open school entrance like an ice-cold stone, carrying humiliation and unwillingness to accept what was happening.
"The Tendo family has no place for a coward who clings to his life like you."
"You old bastard! If you hadn't insisted on making an enemy of Lord Gojo, we wouldn't have ended up in this situation..."
Kazumitsu's words had barely faded into the air before Kikunojou's fury erupted completely.
His entire body trembled with rage, veins bulging across his forehead. His hunched back straightened, and violent anger churned within his cloudy eyes as though he wanted to tear his useless grandson apart with his bare hands.
Kikunojou had always maintained the dignity of the Tendo family's leader, keeping his emotions carefully hidden. But now, after being publicly rebuked by Kazumitsu while already trapped in a desperate situation, every layer of that facade had been torn away.
All that remained was raw fury and madness.
No one knew where Kikunojou had produced the handgun. Perhaps it had been hidden inside the wide sleeve of his kimono, or perhaps he had been carrying it on his person all along.
Click.
The cold metal weapon appeared in his hand, and he immediately aimed it at Kazumitsu's chest.
His finger tightened around the trigger, his knuckles turning white from the pressure. The murderous intent in his eyes was unmistakable.
He truly intended to kill his own grandson and purge the family of its disgrace.
However, just as Kikunojou's finger was about to pull the trigger, a sharp sound suddenly tore through the air.
Whoosh.
The sound was piercing and swift, like a Meteor streaking across the night sky. The attack came flying from a distance with such fierce momentum that nothing seemed capable of stopping it.
Everyone present instinctively froze and turned toward the source of the sound.
Before Kikunojou could react, the cold handgun in his hand was struck head-on by a translucent violet crystal arrow.
Crack!
The seemingly sturdy handgun shattered under the tremendous impact. Tiny fragments of metal scattered through the air before raining onto the ground with a series of sharp metallic clinks.
The fragments landed around Kikunojou's feet.
He stood frozen, his hand still clenched around nothing. The rage on his face had vanished, replaced by stunned disbelief, as though he couldn't comprehend what had just happened.
"Sorry, but this isn't the time for family discipline."
A lazy, amused voice drifted over from nearby. The tone was casual, yet carried an unmistakable authority.
Everyone turned toward the voice.
Gojo lightly rubbed his fingers together, and Betty immediately understood. Another violet crystal arrow materialized in the air, which Gojo casually toyed with as he spoke in a teasing yet oppressive tone.
"You don't have the right to do that anymore."
The words were delivered lightly, but they fell over Kikunojou like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing the last of his arrogance.
He stared at the violet crystal arrow in Gojo's hand, then looked down at the shattered handgun scattered around his feet.
A profound despair welled up inside him.
His final means of resistance had been taken away completely.