An invisible black barrier silently covered the entire valley, completely concealing the horrific, devastating bombing taking place within.
"Leave none alive. Kill them all."
Kneeling before Kenmyo were dozens of elites from the Kamo Family. The glare of the distant explosions illuminated their ferocious, demon-like masks, making them look extremely terrifying.
These men were uniformly dressed in solemn black uniforms and wore weapons at their waists. They were the hidden assassination unit [The Fool], similar to the Zenin Family's Special Cursed Technique Combat Group 'Bing,' primarily responsible for assassinating high-value targets of opposing forces and traitors who leaked family intelligence.
Their very existence was a secret within the Kamo Family; only the top three members of the Elder Council and the Clan Head knew of them.
They were an assassination squad and private army controlled only by successive Kamo Clan Heads, free from the constraints and jurisdiction of the Elder Council.
They were experts in killing.
Although the explosion was sudden, there were certainly still some "lucky ones" among them who might have survived.
Given Kenmyo's current status, launching a sweep attack was already a gift; he certainly wasn't going to personally kill these small fry.
"What is going on!"
Inside the conference room, everyone was thrown off balance as if they had experienced an earthquake, suffering severe tremors.
The ceiling light flickered twice before the power completely cut out, plunging the room back into darkness.
But when they looked out the window, the buildings the Star Plasma Cult members had painstakingly constructed were being engulfed by black and red fireballs possessing massive Cursed Energy signatures; all they could see were towering flames.
When those fireballs exploded, thousands of light beams would spray out from them. These light particles had long tails, like fleeting meteors in the sky, scattering outward in arcs.
Outside, there were screams and the sounds of collapsing buildings. Star Plasma Cult members could be seen everywhere running out of the houses, and anyone who accidentally got splattered by the resulting explosive flames was utterly doomed.
Within seconds, the small flames on their bodies would gradually expand, turning them into fire people.
They rolled or ran wildly in the streets, but unfortunately, it was useless. They could only slowly die amidst miserable wails, burning into ash.
It felt as if White Phosphorus Bombs, which are prohibited by the international community even in modern warfare, were truly manifesting before them.
With the continuous explosions ringing in their ears, everyone momentarily believed they were living in a chaotic wartime era, not a time of peace.
"Let's go, stop looking."
Fushiguro Toji was not surprised at all, as he already knew whose work this was.
He quickly fed the two suitcases full of money on the floor entirely into Ugly Treasure's stomach, otherwise, today would have been a complete waste of effort.
72 million yen—even for a top-tier assassin like Fushiguro Toji, that would take a long time to earn. Rounding up, it was enough to acquire another Special Grade Cursed Tool.
As for the tremors coming from beneath their feet and the Hellfire that was frantically consuming everything, Fushiguro Toji had seen his Boss use far more terrifying things, so this was nothing unusual.
"Follow me."
Fushiguro Toji quietly patted Kong Shiyu's back and simultaneously whispered a reminder into his old friend's ear:
"Aren't you going to hurry up and leave? Or do you want to be blown up too?"
Only then did Kong Shiyu snap out of his shock as if waking from a dream, realizing that the Star Plasma Cult was being attacked by some unknown force.
He had been caught in the crossfire, and the right thing to do now was to quickly get out of here.
The commission between Kong Shiyu and the Star Plasma Cult had already concluded; the handover of Riko Amanai was complete, meaning their relationship with the client ended at the same moment.
What followed was every man for himself in the face of disaster; there was no need to huddle together for warmth.
Fushiguro Toji had already opened the conference room door and was beckoning Kong Shiyu.
Buddy, time to scram.
Realizing the severity of the situation, Kong Shiyu no longer hesitated and immediately rushed out with Fushiguro Toji.
Just before rushing out the door, Kong Shiyu's attention was subconsciously drawn to a sudden explosion outside the window, but whatever he saw caused his pupils to contract sharply.
However, given the current emergency, he couldn't say anything.
The two sprinted down the corridor littered with glass shards, escaping the building. In the distance, dark red clusters of light containing terrifying destructive power suddenly exploded.
"What the hell kind of Cursed Technique is this?"
Kong Shiyu finally saw clearly that the true culprits causing the explosions were black butterflies, each shimmering with radiant light.
It was hard to imagine that these small creatures, which scattered brilliant black and red particles when they flapped their wings, possessed such immense Cursed Energy signatures.
Even Kong Shiyu, a layman who could only see Cursed Spirits but could not use Sorcery, could feel the terrifying, hair-raising power contained within the tiny bodies of the Hell Butterflies.
Kong Shiyu dared not imagine how powerful the Caster behind this was, but mostly he felt pity for the Star Plasma Cult.
"Who on earth did they provoke?"
This method of attack left the Star Plasma Cult absolutely no chance of survival.
But when Kong Shiyu noticed a butterfly in the sky flying straight toward them, as if sensing their presence, his back was instantly drenched in cold sweat.
Yet that bastard Fushiguro Toji seemed oblivious, ignoring the anomaly and continuing to run ahead.
"Hey, Toji, the enemy's attack is coming."
Kong Shiyu knew Fushiguro Toji possessed the Special Grade Cursed Tool, Heavenly Restriction, whose effect could nullify all Cursed Techniques, meaning it would naturally work against that butterfly.
"Huh?"
Fushiguro Toji looked confused, showing incomprehension regarding Kong Shiyu's panic.
"That one! That one!"
"Which one?"
Fushiguro Toji still seemed vaguely unaware of the danger.
It was unclear if he was playing dumb, but thinking about it, it was normal. After all, Heavenly Restriction stripped Fushiguro Toji of his Cursed Energy. As the world's only Zero Cursed Energy User, he naturally had zero Cursed Energy sensing ability.
"Me!?"
This infuriated Kong Shiyu. He wanted to pull out his gun and shoot this idiot who either truly didn't know or was pretending not to know.
"We're going to die, you fool!!"
By this point, Kong Shiyu was basically certain that the Hell Butterfly had completely locked onto them and was flying directly toward them.
"Oh, you mean that thing."
Fushiguro Toji also saw the Hell Butterfly slowly drifting through the air and immediately gave Kong Shiyu a look suggesting he was making a fuss over nothing.
"You're a grown man, can't you be a little more composed?"
All Fushiguro Toji did was reach out his hand, allowing the Hell Butterfly to land securely on it.
"What!"
Kong Shiyu was shocked by this sight, because the Hell Butterfly did not trigger an explosion upon close contact with Fushiguro Toji.
Instead, it gently folded its wings, docilely circling Fushiguro Toji.
"I see, I understand."
Fushiguro Toji received some message from the Hell Butterfly, then smiled and said to Kong Shiyu:
"Old Kong, it looks like we can earn even more tonight."
Watching Fushiguro Toji surrounded by the Hell Butterfly, and recalling the scene he had just witnessed, Kong Shiyu swallowed hard.
Suddenly, he had a bold idea: perhaps the people attacking the Star Plasma Cult were working with Fushiguro Toji, and he was merely an intermediary used by them to locate the cult's true base of operations, launching the full assault once it was found.
The thought horrified Kong Shiyu, who even speculated that Riko Amanai might not have been forcibly kidnapped by Fushiguro Toji, but was actually part of their plan.
After all, how could a kidnapped person open their eyes and smile while waving goodbye to her accomplice as he was about to leave?
Kong Shiyu had seen it then: Riko Amanai, who was supposed to be knocked out and lying on the table by Fushiguro Toji, had opened her blood-red, amber-like eyes and given him a strange smile. Combined with the dark red light from outside, she looked extremely chilling.
Thus, in a chain reaction, Kong Shiyu had been unknowingly used.
He asked Fushiguro Toji:
"Whose man are you?"
"Who knows?"
Fushiguro Toji smiled and shook his head, gesturing for him to look outside, where everything was pitch black, but many unseen shadows were surging in the undercurrent.
Flashes of blade light passed by, accompanied by the sounds of flesh being pierced. It seemed an invisible Grim Reaper was harvesting lives in the darkness.
No one could guarantee that Kong Shiyu wouldn't become one of them.
"Old Kong, do you really want to know?"
Stimulated by Fushiguro Toji's fleeting killing intent, Kong Shiyu immediately reconsidered his question, realizing he had been too rash.
Kong Shiyu pulled out a cigarette, slowly took a puff, and returned to his previous state of calm.
As a Dark Walker who had navigated the shadows for so many years without getting his shoes wet, he had momentarily been caught off guard, causing his emotions to become inexplicably agitated.
Now that he had regained his composure, he wouldn't ask that stupid question again.
"Forget it. You idiot, trying to scare me."
Kong Shiyu rolled his eyes at Fushiguro Toji, slowly walked past him, and exposed his back without any defense.
"If you don't let me earn a big score, I won't forgive you."
Meanwhile, inside the conference room, the two high-ranking Star Plasma Cult members completely broke down when they saw the scene outside.
"Damn the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association."
Especially the Great Patriarch next to Sonoda Shigeru, that white-haired old man.
"Shit!"
"Why won't they leave us alone, even though we hid here?"
The Star Cluster Cult Pontiff's cane trembled from the force he exerted. A suffocating feeling in his chest didn't subside, and he actually spat out a mouthful of bloody mist.
"Great Patriarch."
Sonoda Shigeru was caught off guard and sprayed on the head. The blood stained his sleeve red, but he didn't even have time to wipe it before rushing forward to support the old man, preventing him from falling to the ground.
Moving here was meant to avoid conflict and lie low.
"Hmph, the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association?"
"That's hilarious. You overestimate the Association."
A third voice suddenly appeared in the room, instantly drawing the attention of the two old men.
It was Riko Amanai, the "cargo" they had just inspected, who was supposed to be unconscious.
The girl had already undone all the ropes binding her. Rubbing her wrists, she sat elegantly on the coffee table.
"If you had only provoked the Jujutsu Sorcerer Association and behaved, maybe you would have had a chance to live."
"But if you provoke I, This One, I apologize."
The girl's pair of scarlet, blood-red eyes glowed like fireflies in the darkness, staring intently at the other two people in the room.
"I will slaughter all of you!"
"Not a single one will be left!"
"Bastard!"
Regardless of whether it was true or false, the raging anger and outrage had to be unleashed.
Especially since this girl was the culprit responsible for defiling Lord Tengen.
Sonoda Shigeru watched the Great Patriarch suffer internal injuries from rage over the horrific scene outside—all their hard work wasted, plus the blood of the innocent cult members who had been sacrificed.
Instantly, he was consumed by fury, his eyes bloodshot. He decided to settle all scores, new and old.
"You mere brat!"
Sonoda Shigeru pulled a pistol from his pocket, instantly intending to empty the magazine into "Riko Amanai."
But a flash of dark red light passed, and a clean cut instantly appeared on Sonoda Shigeru's arm.
The cut was so clean that the forearm, along with the hand holding the pistol, dropped to the floor without him feeling a thing.
It wasn't until blood sprayed out from the severed stump like a fountain that Sonoda Shigeru realized what happened. He clutched his severed arm.
He let out a piercing shriek, his entire body curling up like a cooked shrimp, trembling in agony.
"Hahahaha, truly foolish."
It was "Riko Amanai." Extending several meters from her back was a long, slender strip of dark red matter, its tip sharp as a knife.
"You, what exactly did you do!"
Sonoda Shigeru tried to lift his head, but while he was half-kneeling, a small leather shoe stomped down hard on him, pressing his head into the concrete floor. With a slight increase in force, his entire skull was crushed like a fragile watermelon under a wheel!
Skull fragments, brain tissue, and blood sprayed radially outwards from beneath the shoe, splattering the floor.
Even Riko Amanai's white stockings were stained with blood, and a look of disgust and revulsion immediately appeared on her face.
"Disgusting."
She lifted her shoe, moving it away from the pile of unspeakable matter.
"Well then."
"Riko Amanai" turned her gaze toward the Star Cluster Cult Pontiff, who was pale and suffering from heart failure in the corner, and revealed a malicious expression.
"How should I deal with you?"
Subsequently, when Fushiguro Toji and Kong Shiyu emerged from the warehouse pushing a large cart loaded with suitcases, they saw the girl whose school uniform was drenched in blood and whose fair face was smeared with dried, congealed blood.
Undoubtedly, that was Riko Amanai, the girl they had kidnapped, causing a look of utter horror to appear on Kong Shiyu's face.
[Jujutsu Sorcerer Association - Archival Record]
[The Star Plasma Cult began in the Nara Period and ended in the modern era.]
[Destroyer: "Star Plasma Vessel" Riko Amanai]
[Riko Amanai was allegedly kidnapped by the Star Plasma Cult, after which she fought back and slaughtered four hundred and eighty-five people.]
[Ruled as self-defense, no liability pursued.]
Drinking with old men is the most boring; they take turns making you drink until you get drunk.