Earlier, some people had cut corners on the Monolith construction. It had slowed progress and even created safety risks. Once Gojo found out, everyone involved was severely punished.
This time, nobody dared to cut corners or try anything sneaky. Every construction worker was careful and responsible, terrified of making even the smallest mistake.
To guarantee the quality of the Monoliths, the entire construction process was livestreamed for the public to monitor. There was also a dedicated oversight team watching every step of the work, not letting a single detail slip.
Everything was slowly getting better. After Seitenshi took charge, the whole city had a hopeful, thriving feel to it.
More and more people were out on the streets. Smiles that hadn't been seen in a long time were back on their faces. They weren't full of fear and despair like before, and they were starting to look forward to the future.
It took a week. Thanks to the hard work of Sumire, Gojo, and all the staff, every cursed child in Tokyo was given Sumire's serum at the school.
The Gastrea virus in every one of them was fully under control, with no chance of breaking out again. They could finally live and grow up without worry, just like normal kids.
Seitenshi chose that moment to hold a press conference. She stood in front of the cameras with a gentle but firm smile and made an announcement to all the citizens of Tokyo. "Starting today, Tokyo no longer has to worry about Gastrea appearing inside the city."
"Because the curse on the cursed children has been completely lifted!"
The livestream of the press conference spread across all of Tokyo. When people heard the news, the whole city went wild. Some cried with emotion, some cheered and jumped around, and some even poured into the streets on their own to celebrate the historic moment.
The people who had once hated and spat on the cursed children changed their minds too. They started accepting these poor, brave kids.
That wasn't all. After a series of tests on the death-row prisoners, Sumire also successfully produced a new serum.
This one was different from the version for cursed children. It was made specifically for ordinary people who'd been infected with the Gastrea virus.
As long as someone got a shot of it soon enough after being infected, it could stop the virus from spreading and wipe it out of their body completely. They wouldn't have to suffer through the infection, and they wouldn't turn into a Gastrea.
It wasn't like a vaccine that solved the problem once and for all. It couldn't prevent infection ahead of time and only worked as a treatment afterward. But it was still really good.
For soldiers fighting on the front line year after year, and for ordinary people who accidentally came into contact with Gastrea, it was a lifeline.
The good news kept coming, one piece after another, lighting up humanity's bleak future.
The serum gave a lot of people something new in their hearts. It was hope. Hope for the future, and hope of fighting back against the Gastrea.
People weren't as hopeless as before. They no longer believed humanity could only stay on the defensive and barely scrape by behind the Monoliths. They started to believe that one day, humanity could completely defeat the Gastrea and take back their homes.
Besides the good news about the serum, Seitenshi also got Gojo's approval to start spreading magic training throughout Tokyo.
She and Kisara Tendo were the first to benefit. Under Gojo's guidance, they'd started training in magic early and had already made good progress.
After being betrayed by her childhood friend and getting her revenge on the entire Tendo Family, Kisara had finally let go of her obsession. She'd become a lot more cheerful.
She wasn't tied down by old hatred anymore. She threw herself completely into magic training. She wanted to use her own strength to protect people who'd suffered like she had, and to protect this city that was slowly getting better.
She already had good talent, and with nothing else distracting her, her mind was clear. She actually progressed a little faster than Seitenshi.
So this time, Seitenshi made her the pioneer. She was in charge of passing on her experience to others who wanted to learn magic and guiding them through training.
As for the actual spells and training methods, Betty had already organized magic of different attributes ahead of time and put them into easy-to-understand manuals. Everyone just had to follow the steps. They didn't need to spend much effort figuring things out on their own.
The serum was being distributed, magic was spreading, and the Monolith construction was going smoothly. Everything was on track, and Gojo finally got to relax.
He didn't have to run around like a firefighter anymore, rushing to wherever there was danger and being busy off his feet every day.
With some free time on his hands, Gojo found a quiet room, leaned back comfortably on the sofa, and took a good look at his Popularity Points.
He'd used a lot of cursed energy earlier, so his Popularity Points had almost been wiped out, and he'd had to slowly build them back up.
But after another episode screening, the points started climbing again, even faster than he'd expected.
This time, the increase was just as strong. The number on the screen kept jumping higher and higher.
By Gojo's estimate, once enough points piled up in a while, the Divine Protection of the Phoenix he wanted probably wouldn't be far off.
"It'd be great if I could get it all done in this world."
Gojo muttered it to himself as he looked at the points on the screen, sounding a little hopeful.
He wanted to fully solve the Gastrea virus problem in this world and help humanity out of its situation, while also getting the Divine Protection of the Phoenix. That way, he wouldn't have any regrets even when he left.
But that rare stretch of free time didn't last long. It was broken by a sudden incident.
This time, it wasn't a Gastrea attack, and it wasn't a problem with the serum. Seitenshi had been targeted by an assassin.
She'd been on her way to the Monolith construction site when a bullet came flying from far away, heading straight for her heart.
Luckily, she had plenty of protection. Her bodyguards reacted fast and immediately threw themselves in front of her, blocking the attack. Nobody was hurt.
But the incident was a wake-up call for Seitenshi. It made her realize that not everyone in the world wanted to see Tokyo thriving like this.
Even with all of humanity facing the threat of the Gastrea and struggling to survive, there were still people with bad intentions who wanted to wreck this hard-won peace and hope.
Right after it happened, Seitenshi returned to the Holy Residence. She tightened security and ordered a full investigation into the assassin's identity and whoever was behind it.
Gojo rushed to the Holy Residence right away too. He sat in Seitenshi's office with his legs crossed and a lollipop in his mouth, looking pretty relaxed, and asked curiously:
"Got any ideas? Know who did it?"
Seitenshi sat behind her desk, frowning, her expression serious. She shook her head. "We're not sure yet. But based on the leads we have so far, it's very likely connected to the Goshoukai."
"The Goshoukai?"
Hearing the unfamiliar name, the casual look faded from Gojo's face. He repeated it, confused. He'd never heard of that organization.
Seitenshi took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts, then gave him a quick explanation. "It's an organization that formed after the Gastrea appeared. It's spread out everywhere and has a huge amount of power."
"They keep a low profile and they're very mysterious. Nobody knows what they're really after or who their core members are."
"Before, I was just a puppet ruler without any real authority. I never had the mindset to look into things like this. So I don't know much about the Goshoukai either. I only know it exists and that it's not something to underestimate."
Gojo tapped his fingers lightly on the desk and thought about it. After a moment, he said, "Are they worried Tokyo's doing too well and will end up swallowing them?"
He knew that the other four remaining cities in Japan were technically still under Tokyo's authority. But in reality, they'd been running things their own way for a long time and didn't follow Seitenshi's orders.
They weren't Tokyo's subordinates. They were strong competitors, fighting each other openly and behind the scenes, all wanting to become the strongest city in Japan and hold the most power.
Seitenshi nodded, then shook her head. "Maybe," she said, sounding unsure. "But not necessarily."
A cold smile tugged at Gojo's lips, and his eyes sharpened. "Looks like word about the magic and the serum has already gotten out."
"Otherwise, they wouldn't have picked this moment to make a move."
His reasoning was clear, and it made sense.
The cities were so far apart. In an era with terrible transportation and Gastrea everywhere, crossing that distance to take over a city was pretty much impossible.
So what was the point of assassinating Seitenshi? One possibility was that they'd already planted people inside Tokyo. They wanted to get rid of the current leader, put one of their own in power, control Tokyo, and seize the serum and magic technology.
The other possibility was that they wanted to slow down Tokyo's development and throw the city into chaos. That way, they could build up their own power in the meantime and keep their edge.
Whatever they were thinking, it was bad news for Tokyo right now. It could ruin all the peace and progress they'd worked so hard for.
Gojo paused, then asked, "Anything on the assassin? Did you find any trace of them?"
Seitenshi shook her head helplessly, looking a little tired. "Not yet."
"They shot at me from really far away, at least over a kilometer. By the time our people got to the sniping spot, they were long gone. They didn't leave any useful clues."
Gojo waved a hand like it was no big deal. "No problem. I'll just stay here for the next couple of days. I can rest here as easily as anywhere else."
He knew that if the assassin showed up again, he'd be a lot faster than the Holy Residence's bodyguards. He could catch them immediately before they got another chance.
With him stationed here, Seitenshi's safety would be as secure as it could possibly get.
Seitenshi's face broke into a smile, and a weight lifted off her chest. "Thank you, Gojo-sensei," she said happily.
With Gojo by her side, she felt reassured. She didn't have to be afraid anymore.
After that, Gojo brought Betty and moved into the Holy Residence for the time being, so he could protect Seitenshi at any moment.
But the assassin seemed to notice that security at the Holy Residence had gotten tighter, and that someone as strong as Gojo was there. For several days straight, they didn't make another move.
Gojo didn't care. Every day, he just lounged around the Holy Residence eating lollipops, reading, and chatting with Betty now and then. If the assassin gave up because of it, he figured that was fine too. At least it meant less hassle.
He liked a laid-back life anyway. If Seitenshi's safety hadn't been at risk, he wouldn't have wanted to waste his time standing guard here.
Luckily, the other side didn't seem to have that much patience. They didn't stay hidden forever.
Five days after the first failed attempt, they struck again.
This time, Seitenshi was heading out to a meeting about spreading magic. The moment she stepped out the gate of the Holy Residence, another bullet came flying from far away. It was another long-range sniper shot, aimed at her heart again.
But this time, they weren't so lucky. The bullet was blocked in midair by an invisible barrier and dropped to the ground with a clink. Nobody was hurt.
Gojo was standing right next to Seitenshi. He had a faint smile on his face, but his eyes were sharp. He looked up in the direction the bullet had come from and said quietly, "I see you."
The moment he said it, he vanished. He moved so fast he left only an afterimage. Ordinary people couldn't even follow the movement.
By the time the Holy Residence's bodyguards realized what had happened, Gojo was already gone. Only Betty was left standing beside Seitenshi, calmly guarding her.
When Gojo reappeared, he was in front of an abandoned building.
It had been abandoned for years. The walls were peeling, the windows were broken, and the inside was full of dust and junk. It looked desolate, and it was the perfect sniping spot.
On the rooftop, a small figure was carrying a case with a sniper rifle inside, about to leave in a hurry. They were obviously trying to get away from the scene as fast as possible before Gojo could arrive.