'So it finally came to this.'
Makoto had always known that once Sakiko returned to the Main God Space, she would eventually discover that he'd lied about many things.
Even putting Making Fake Become Real aside, Makoto possessed memories from his previous life. There was no way to explain that foreknowledge to Sakiko, so he'd been forced to turn some of it into temporary lies meant to reassure her.
That was why Makoto had no intention of lying anymore. Long before their reunion, he'd decided that aside from his SSS-rank Making Fake Become Real Talent and his previous-life memories, he would explain everything else to her.
Makoto was considering where to begin when Sakiko's next words left him completely stunned.
"You said we'd meet again."
"But why did I have to go through four entire worlds before you came looking for me?"
"I thought we'd been assigned to different Regions, or maybe that you hadn't survived your next world."
"But we're in the same world now, and you're clearly alive. So you simply forgot about someone who could only drag you down, didn't you?"
"Or was everything you told me a lie? Were even all those moments we spent together fake?"
Makoto's Spirit attribute had already reached the cap of 20, yet even his mind struggled to process what he'd just heard.
What did Sakiko mean by saying she'd already gone through four worlds?
Based on Makoto's own experience, that would mean more than a month had passed for her.
But from his perspective, they'd been separated for barely more than ten days.
'What went wrong?'
Then a possibility surfaced in his mind.
'Could the passage of time experienced by Main God Space participants be different for each person, even when they're living in the same world?'
Seeing Makoto's unmoved expression, Sakiko thought she'd struck the truth.
Her expression had already been taut with emotion, but his reaction brought a flush of anger across her face. A faint golden light gradually appeared in her eyes, and her voice became colder.
"You never cared about me at all."
Her anger came quickly, but vanished just as fast, transforming into all the grievances she'd accumulated over such a long time, breaking through her psychological defenses.
Clear tears suddenly spilled from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Sakiko bit down hard on her lip, refusing to let herself sob aloud, but her shoulders began trembling beyond her control.
Sakiko felt there was no reason to ask anything else.
The last trace of hope she'd held onto had gone out.
She quietly exhaled, forced her expression back under control, and turned away, prepared to leave and face the death awaiting her.
Makoto immediately stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her from behind.
Sakiko's body went rigid.
Then she began struggling violently.
Her strength was astonishing. Makoto discovered that with his muscles and bones alone, he actually couldn't restrain her.
That confirmed something important.
Sakiko hadn't been lying.
She had most likely already become a Veteran, and her Strength attribute had exceeded 20.
Makoto immediately mobilized his chakra. Only then did Sakiko lose any chance of breaking free, but that only enraged her further.
A blazing golden light appeared deep within her eyes as fury gradually overwhelmed her reason.
Her lips parted.
"Fate..."
Makoto's heart tightened.
Judging by her expression, she was about to activate Fate Burn without holding anything back.
But Sakiko had only 1 Fate Value left.
If she burned that final point, the only thing awaiting her afterward was erasure by the Main God Space.
Makoto would never allow that.
He immediately covered her mouth, cutting off the final word before she could finish speaking.
He was already prepared to activate Fate Burn himself and use Making Fake Become Real to save her, even if doing so risked attracting the Main God Space's attention.
Fortunately, Sakiko's words stopped there.
Perhaps she'd never truly intended to finish the phrase in the first place and had merely wanted to threaten him.
But while Makoto had stopped her from using Fate Burn, he couldn't stop her from fighting back.
Sakiko bit down hard on his finger.
Her sharp teeth seemed almost inhuman, instantly piercing his skin until they struck bone.
Pain jolted through Makoto.
Blood ran from his finger, reached Sakiko's lips, and slid down her throat.
The girl who had been struggling like an enraged little dragon suddenly froze. Her bite gradually loosened, and the golden light in her eyes slowly faded.
She had never truly come here intending to hurt Makoto.
More than anything, she'd come to say goodbye.
Because even if Makoto still remembered her, Sakiko believed she was already doomed.
From the moment someone deceived her and implanted those eyes, her fate had effectively been decided.
She finally calmed down.
Only after Makoto slowly removed his hand from her mouth did she speak.
"Let's end it here. It's not as though we ever truly started anything."
"Compared with what happened in that one world, I've already lived through four more. It's time I forgot about it."
Sakiko sounded calm.
Only she knew how much every word hurt.
Precisely because the time she'd spent with Makoto had been so short, the memories they'd made together had become even more precious.
And compared with the teammates and enemies she'd encountered afterward, Makoto seemed like someone from heaven placed beside a collection of monsters crawling beneath the earth.
How could she possibly forget him that easily?
Now that Makoto finally had an opportunity to speak, he naturally wouldn't waste it.
He lowered his head slightly and spoke near her ear.
"I don't know what happened to you, but now that we've met again, I'm not going to ignore you."
"There's something I need to make absolutely clear. Including what happened with you in the Jujutsu Kaisen world, I've only experienced two Mission Worlds in total."
"Although my next one should already be my Veteran Qualification."
Sakiko stopped struggling.
Makoto continued, "By now, you should understand that I possess some kind of extremely powerful Talent capable of overturning impossible situations."
"I can't tell you exactly what it is, but you should believe that I can use it to solve whatever happened to you."
"Trust me, Sakiko. I'm willing to keep teaming up with you. Whatever challenges come next, we can face them together."
Sakiko slowly raised her head in disbelief.
What did he mean by saying he'd only experienced two worlds?
The sentence itself was simple enough.
But the implications behind it were so enormous that Sakiko couldn't immediately accept them.
If Makoto was telling the truth, then every violent emotional swing she'd endured over this past month had come from tormenting herself because she hadn't understood what was actually happening.
That familiar feeling immediately reminded her of what she'd gone through after leaving her band.
For one moment, she desperately wanted to run away.
'If I simply leave, maybe no one else will get hurt.'
She actually took a step.
Makoto's embrace immediately tightened.
He even extended chakra tendrils, fully prepared to restrain Sakiko directly if she insisted on escaping.
That made her stop.
The despair, resentment, and anger filling her heart gradually gave way to emotions she could barely describe: relief, happiness, and bitter regret.
Her slender fingers slowly settled over the back of Makoto's hand.
She wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words.
Eventually, only two came out.
"Does it hurt?"
Makoto finally relaxed.
At least he'd managed to calm down this walking powder keg.
He smiled openly.
"It does. But probably not as much as what you've been through lately."
"I'm sorry, Sakiko. I came too late."
Sakiko didn't say anything more. Instead, she gripped Makoto's wrist and slowly opened her mouth. She extended her bright red, moist tongue and gently began licking his wound.
This sudden action made Makoto's body slowly stiffen. Compared to Sakiko's earlier struggle, what she was doing now brought him even greater pressure.
This wasn't hard to understand. After all, to prevent Sakiko from escaping, Makoto had practically tied her to his chest. The two of them were pressed tightly together without any gap between them.
Now Sakiko's sudden intimate action not only highlighted the closeness between them, but seemed to connect their bodies, making even Sakiko feel the change in Makoto.
A trace of blush appeared on her pale face, but she showed no intention of stopping. Her lips and teeth grew even more gentle, and her breath gradually grew hotter.
Eventually, Makoto spoke first.
"Sakiko, can you tell me what happened to you?"
She paused.
"I can, but you have to agree to one request."
"Okay."
Makoto agreed without hesitation.
As far as he was concerned, Sakiko would never deliberately harm him.
Her next action immediately made him realize that some promises should not be made before hearing the conditions.
Sakiko slowly turned around.
Golden light flowed through her eyes.
That radiance carried some kind of overwhelming suppression. The instant Makoto met her gaze, he felt a pressure that seemed capable of killing him the moment it touched him.
Sakiko carefully watched his reaction.
When she saw that even Makoto was shaken by her golden eyes, the last tiny hope in her heart disappeared.
Still, since Makoto hadn't actually betrayed her, she abandoned any thought of taking revenge against him.
What she wanted now was simply something good to hold onto before what she believed would be her approaching death.
Sakiko withdrew the light from her eyes. She placed both hands on Makoto's chest and slowly traced upward, past his shoulders to wrap around his neck.
Her red lips parted slightly, her breath like orchids. Her words seemed to still carry the metallic scent of Makoto's blood, exuding a strange allure.
"Hold me."
Makoto's pupils contracted slightly. Had he misheard just now?
Sakiko read Makoto's disbelief and said again, "Hold me, and then I'll tell you everything. Or do you think I'm not a girl worth holding?"
Makoto's arms moved naturally, wrapping around Sakiko's waist.
That was what Sakiko meant, right?
But Sakiko's next action made Makoto realize he was still very naive.
Sakiko stood on tiptoe and kissed Makoto without hesitation. A faint scent of blood reached him, making him forget to breathe for a moment. But what followed was the girl's warm, soft, and intoxicating breath, along with a tear that slid from the corner of her eye.
Makoto didn't resist. He even began gently patting Sakiko's back, because he understood that for Sakiko, this too was a form of release.
Until she finished venting, Makoto had better not make any extra moves, or Sakiko might feel she didn't even have this much charm.
After several minutes, Sakiko finally stopped. By now she had pushed Makoto down onto the sofa and was sitting on his lap.
A sickly blush appeared on her cheeks. She gently stroked Makoto's face with one hand, her eyes hazy, breathing out rapid hot breaths. She clearly had no intention of stopping there.
Makoto slowly grasped her hand and said again, "Tell me what happened. I'll help you solve it together."
Sakiko gave a light laugh, but the smile had no soul behind it.
"So you still don't like me after all, do you?"
Makoto gently kissed Sakiko's red lips and said, "Of course I like you. When I woke up in the Jujutsu Kaisen world, you were the first person I saw. At that moment, I felt like the luckiest person alive."
"But I like the Sakiko who trusts me wholeheartedly even more."
"Not the Sakiko who's treating me as her final source of comfort before giving up on herself."
Sakiko trembled.
She slowly lowered her head, her eyes shifting away from him.
Seeing that he'd gotten through to her, Makoto pressed on.
"How about this? I promise that once I've solved whatever crisis you're facing, I'll stay with you afterward no matter what you want to do."
"We're already living in the same world now. When that happens, you won't even have the chance to run away from me."
"But right now, you only have 1 Fate Value left."
"Staying alive is more important than anything else."
Sakiko slowly raised her head.
Looking at Makoto's gentle yet unwavering smile, the emotions she'd suppressed for so long finally collapsed.
Her clear sobs filled the room.
She didn't stop crying for another half hour.
Makoto sat beside her and used tissues to wipe away her tears. Once Sakiko gradually regained enough composure to speak, she finally began telling him everything she'd experienced.
Her current situation could ultimately be traced back to her third Mission World.
Ghost in the Shell.
To complete her mission successfully, Sakiko had gritted her teeth and prepared to replace her natural eyes with cybernetic ones that would improve her pursuit capabilities.
But when she woke up after the operation, what had been implanted were not powerful mechanical eyes.
They were something Sakiko couldn't understand at all.
As she explained their nature, Makoto finally understood exactly what those eyes were.
[SS-rank Item: Cursed Eyes of Milim Nava. They contain the will of Lord of Wrath: Satanael and grant their user tremendous combat power.]
[The eyes also contain Milim Nava's curse of resentment. They consume 1 Fate Value from the user every day, while continuously becoming stronger through that consumption until the user dies or the eyes accumulate a total of 1,000 Fate Value and the curse is broken.]
[This item cannot be removed by the user. It is guaranteed to drop upon the user's death, and all Players in the current world will be informed of its drop location.]
[It cannot be stored inside Storage Space. Once brought back to the Main God Space, its aura will inevitably be exposed.]
The situation couldn't have been clearer.
Sakiko had been set up.
Someone had turned her into a living sacrifice whose sole purpose was to nurture those eyes.
…