It wasn't just the construction workers repairing the Monoliths on site. They threw down their tools, screamed, and ran in every direction, their faces full of fear and panic.
The people watching the livestream on their phones, TVs, and computers were stunned too. They stared wide-eyed at the screens in total disbelief, shaking uncontrollably, their minds going blank.
Nobody had expected Gojo, who'd practically been treated as a guardian deity, to suddenly pull something like this.
Nobody had expected him to be so blunt and so brutally simple about it. He didn't give anyone time to react or a chance to beg. He just dropped the defense and let the Gastrea into the city.
For a moment, everyone in Tokyo felt their heart rate shoot up.
Fear swallowed all of them. It was even stronger and more hopeless than when the Monoliths had collapsed.
Fear.
Panic.
Regret.
Guilt.
All kinds of emotions flooded through everyone. They regretted what they'd done. They regretted joining the protests, opposing the Gastrea Protection Act, taking Gojo's protection for granted, and hurting those innocent cursed children.
They finally understood that Gojo was their real guardian. Without him, they had no way to hold off the Gastrea, and no way to survive.
But in all the panic, nobody noticed something.
The Gastrea charging into the city didn't spread out. They didn't randomly attack the buildings and people around them, and they didn't go on a killing spree.
They just obediently followed a route the shikigami had laid out in advance and kept moving forward. It was orderly, almost like they were following some kind of rule, and they didn't stray from the path at all.
Every now and then, a few Gastrea lost control and tried to break off to attack nearby people and buildings. Out of the cameras' view, Gojo's shikigami took them out instantly, without leaving a trace and without anyone noticing.
Gojo stood in front of the camera and watched everything on the screen with no expression at all, like none of it had anything to do with him. Behind his sunglasses, his eyes stayed cold and calm, without the slightest change.
And so the Gastrea poured fully into Tokyo.
They pushed steadily toward the city center along the fixed route. Wherever they went, people fled and screamed nonstop. The whole city fell into panic.
That wasn't all.
Gojo also used his shikigami to carefully steer the Gastrea's path. He guided them precisely toward a group that was marching in the streets, the radical protesters who opposed the Gastrea Protection Act and were shouting for the cursed children to be driven out.
That did it.
All of Tokyo erupted.
Everyone lost it. Everyone was in total panic. They ran everywhere, trying to find somewhere safe to hide, trying to escape a city that was about to be devoured by the Gastrea.
Back when things had been calm, people had the energy to do other stuff. They had the energy to march and protest, and to hurt the cursed children.
But now?
Everyone had only one thought.
It was over. They were going to die. Tokyo was going to fall.
The radicals who'd been marching saw the Gastrea surging toward them and were scared out of their minds. They threw away their signs and clubs and ran screaming. All their arrogance and aggression was gone. The only thing left was fear that went bone-deep.
"I hope you're ready to pay for what you've done."
Gojo faced the livestream camera and said it calmly, with no emotion in his voice. But it was a cold warning. Every word came through clear and strong to everyone listening, making them regret everything and sending a chill through them.
It even made a lot of people who hadn't joined the protests or hurt any cursed children start to hate and resent the ones who'd marched and posted those abuse videos online.
If it weren't for those people, if it weren't for their stupidity and malice, Gojo wouldn't have gotten angry. He wouldn't have stopped protecting the city, and the Gastrea wouldn't have gotten in. Everyone else wouldn't be facing this, and they wouldn't be stuck in such a hopeless situation.
Plenty of people hadn't joined the protests. They hadn't opposed any of this or hurt those innocent cursed children. They just wanted to live quiet lives, but now they had to suffer these horrible consequences right alongside those idiots.
With Gojo guiding them, the Gastrea moved unopposed toward the heart of the city. Wherever they went, people were terrified, and everything was left in a mess.
That was when Seitenshi appeared on camera.
She was wearing formal attire, and her expression was firm and composed, without any panic. Her eyes were full of resolve as she walked step by step to Gojo's side.
What happened next was simple.
Seitenshi stepped forward and first apologized to all the residents of Tokyo. She apologized for failing to guide public opinion properly, for failing to protect everyone, and for failing to protect those innocent cursed children.
Then she turned to Gojo and sincerely "calmed him down."
She promised him that from now on, she'd tighten control and severely punish the people who'd posted abuse videos, joined the protests, and hurt cursed children. She'd properly protect those innocent kids, push the Gastrea Protection Act forward, and never let anything like this happen again.
Her words were steady and strong, and she took full responsibility. She showed the presence a leader should have. The panicked people slowly calmed down a little and saw a glimmer of hope.
In the end, after Seitenshi's "persuasion," Gojo put on a show of "cooling off" and nodded.
He ordered his shikigami back into action. They drove every Gastrea that had entered Tokyo back out and held the city's defensive line again.
And this time, things were different.
They'd faced the threat of death. They'd tasted despair. The moment the Gastrea were driven out, the people of Tokyo completely changed their minds. They'd finally woken up.
Their prejudice and malice were gone. So were their arrogance and aggression. In their place was deep regret and guilt.
People started hunting down the culprits on their own. They organized themselves to find everyone who'd joined the protests, posted abuse videos, or hurt cursed children. They dragged every one of them out, handed them over to the police, and demanded harsh punishment.
They did it to make up for their own mistakes and to calm Gojo's anger.
Gojo didn't pay much attention to any of that.
For him, the whole thing had just been about scaring the people with malice in their hearts. He wanted them to understand what they should and shouldn't do, and to properly accept those innocent cursed children. That was all.
As things stood, he'd achieved his goal, and perfectly at that. Whatever was left was up to Seitenshi and the people to deal with. It didn't really have much to do with him.
The Gastrea were held outside the city again. Gojo's shikigami guarded the gap once more, and the situation at the front line was stable again.
The Monolith repairs continued smoothly thanks to the hard work of the construction workers and soldiers. Progress kept speeding up. Before long, the Monoliths would be fully repaired and would once again be a solid barrier protecting Tokyo.
With the front line quiet, Gojo got another episode screening. This episode was just as popular as ever, and his Popularity Points kept shooting up.
This time, the Popularity Points finally cleared the last hurdle and hit one million. They settled firmly above one million and stayed there.
Gojo took out his phone and opened the popularity ranking. Looking at the number, an expectant smile spread across his face, and his eyes behind the sunglasses brightened. He'd been waiting for this moment for a long time.
One million Popularity Points.
It was an important milestone and a whole new starting point. At this number, he could exchange for one of two powerful abilities: the Divine Protection of the Phoenix, or Adaptation.
He was already strong enough to crush every enemy in this world, so he didn't need the extra power. But both the Divine Protection of the Phoenix and Adaptation had their own unique uses, and he was pretty interested in both.
The Divine Protection of the Phoenix would make him immortal and let him resurrect over and over. Adaptation would let him adapt to anything.
Now he could finally exchange for one, so of course he was looking forward to it.
Gojo thought it over for a moment, his eyes going back and forth between the two abilities. In the end, he chose Adaptation.
He'd already invested in the Ten Shadows Technique earlier, so naturally he'd go with Adaptation from the same line.
By comparison, the Divine Protection of the Phoenix was powerful too, but he didn't really need it right now. With his current strength, basically nobody could hurt him. Immortality would just be icing on the cake. Adaptation, on the other hand, would actually boost his power and help him deal with whatever dangers might come up in the future.
As he chose Adaptation, a soft light spilled out of his phone screen and covered his whole body.
Then a strangely shaped wheel appeared above Gojo's head. It slowly turned, giving off a faint glow. It looked really weird.
"Tch. That thing sticks out way too much."
Gojo looked up at the wheel over his head and frowned, sounding a little disgusted. He'd thought Adaptation would look cooler when it showed up. He hadn't expected some weird wheel.
"And it's kind of ugly."
Betty scooted over next to him and eagerly looked at the wheel above his head, her eyes sparkling. She said it without holding back, sounding teasing and amused.
"Right? I think it's pretty ugly too. No idea if I can put it away."
Gojo nodded, fully agreeing with her. He reached up and tried to flick the wheel to see if he could spin it or make it go away. But it obviously had no intention of moving. It just stayed firmly above his head, glowing faintly.
Luckily, it only took a single thought. The wheel vanished from above his head in an instant, like it had never been there, without leaving any trace.
"Why'd you put it away? I thought it was kind of cute. I wanted to look at it a bit longer."
Betty looked at the spot where the wheel had disappeared and made a disappointed face. Holding back a mischievous grin, she said it in a haughty tone, deliberately messing with him.
"Don't you want to test it out? See how strong Adaptation really is, and whether it can work with the power of your shadow techniques?"
"What's there to test? I already know whether it works or not. No need to try it."
Gojo rolled his eyes and said it grumpily, sounding a little annoyed and exasperated. "Besides, if I'd picked the Divine Protection of the Phoenix, would I have to go die once just to test it?"
He wasn't bored enough to hurt himself or get himself killed just to try out an ability.
"Tch. I thought I'd get to see something special. How boring."
Betty pouted and sounded a little disappointed, but her smile didn't go away. She'd just been saying it. She didn't really want Gojo to go test it.
While they were talking, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside. They got closer and clearer, and they sounded rushed, like someone had something urgent.
Then the door was shoved open.
Sumire ran in wearing a white lab coat. Her hair was a bit messy, and she looked tired, but her face was lit up with an excited, thrilled smile. She was clutching a lab report tightly in her hand and shouting as she ran.
"I did it!!!"
"I did it!!!!! I made the serum! I actually made the serum!!!"
Her joyful voice rang through the room, and both Gojo and Betty turned their attention to her.
"You made the serum?!"
Gojo looked at Sumire, a little surprised.
He knew Sumire was extremely capable, and with him around as a living example, getting results wasn't really that hard a problem.