The person was chanting a curse, but their hands were wielding the black magic.

"No, Jay, you'll disappear if you do that!"

Amidst the standoff between the two opposing forces, Gojo Satoru was utterly bewildered by Xia Youjie's actions.

He wanted to rush over, to grab Xia Youjie's hand, to pull him back from that dark light.

But Gojo Satoru's body was too heavy, so he could only kneel on the spot and watch helplessly as Natsume's figure grew fainter and fainter in the light.

Both of us have a college diploma.

Gojo Satoru knew all too well what this constraint represented.

"You really will disappear!"

Gojo Satoru continued to persuade Natsuyu Jie, his pleading voice even trembling slightly.

He didn't want Xia Youjie to disappear because of this, and he didn't want the person who had promised to change the world of magic with him to turn to dust.

only.

As he watched the vortex of the cult leader Jay grow ever larger, engulfing everything and swallowing up his side.

All of Gojo Satoru's words of advice were swallowed back down.

Gojo Satoru fell silent.

They are indeed unable to defeat this enemy from the worst timeline.

Without Xia Youjie's choice, they would all have died here; none of them would have escaped.

"Enlightenment!"

Xia Youjie's voice came from the darkness.

"Haven't you realized it yet?"

Faced with Gojo Satoru's dissuasion, Natsumi Yuki simply spoke softly.

"If I don't make this choice now, I'll end up like him."

Wu Tiao Wu's gaze kept sweeping across Xia Youjie and the cult leader Jie's faces.

That face was almost identical.

Yet it depicts a completely different state.

It was the same person who walked two completely different paths in life.

"I realized that my choice was not forced by circumstances."

Xia Youjie's voice was filled with pride, an unprecedented confidence, and utter relief:

"On the contrary, I am incredibly proud that I was able to choose this path."

"Again……"

Xia Youjie's lips moved, as if he wanted to say that word, but the word got stuck in his throat and he couldn't say it no matter what.

For sorcerers, there is no death without regret.

This is a truth known to every sorcerer. When facing death, no one can truly be at peace; no one can let go without any regrets.

Those so-called "deaths without regrets" are nothing more than lies that the living use to comfort themselves.

"I still don't want to say goodbye to you..."

In the end, Xia Youjie still couldn't muster the courage.

A formal farewell to Gojo Satoru.

He was afraid that he would regret it once he said it.

He was afraid that if he saw Gojo Satoru's expression, he would waver, and the determination he had finally made might collapse at the last moment.

So Xia Youjie chose silence, chose to use actions instead of words, and chose to keep that word forever in his heart.

"bring it on!!!"

Xia Youjie confronts "himself" with unwavering resolve.

The golden light that rose from the restraints slowly enveloped Xia Youjie's entire body.

The light grew brighter and brighter, like the dawn breaking through the long night.

Xia Youjie's skin began to become transparent, revealing glowing blood vessels and meridians beneath, with magical power flowing through it like golden blood.

He could feel his life slipping away.

One's own existence is like kindling thrown into the flames.

Wu Tiao Wu could only watch helplessly as Xia Youjie's figure grew fainter and fainter.

The righteous cannons began to expand.

The energy sphere that had been suppressed and was on the verge of collapse now seemed to have been reborn, as if it had been infused with a soul.

It began to glow, began to expand, and began to emit an aura that made heaven and earth tremble!

Golden light shattered the darkness, shining through the energy sphere like dawn dispelling the long night, dimming even the dark vortex of the cult leader, Jena.

"What...what is this?!"

The cult leader Jay's expression changed. He could feel his vortex trembling, retreating, and cracking in the face of that power.

"Impossible! This is impossible!"

The cult leader, Jay, frantically channeled his magical power, attempting to stabilize his vortex.

But no matter how hard he tried, his vortex was gradually suppressed, eroded, and disintegrated.

Xia Youjie lowered his head and looked at his hands, which were becoming transparent, revealing the scenery behind his palms.

He knew he didn't have much time left.

"Teacher Yuki," Xia Youjie said with a smile.

"You're right, I am a sorcerer!!!"

He raised his head, his gaze piercing through the light, through the energy, through all barriers, landing on the dissipating vortex, on the cult leader Jay with a ferocious expression.

"Great righteous cannon, full power!"

Xia Youjie extended both hands.

In that instant, the world fell silent.

The sounds of wind, waves, explosions, and roars.

Everything was swallowed up by that golden light.

The light, like a primordial torrent, surged from Xia Youjie's palm, carrying his entire life, his entire will, and his entire soul, directly crashing into the vortex of the cult leader Jie.

There was no explosion.

There was no shockwave.

There was no earth-shattering noise.

There was only silence.

The moment the golden light touched the black vortex, the black vortex began to melt away like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun.

The energy formed from countless high-level cursed spirits, the power that the cult leader spent ten years accumulating.

Before that golden light, it was like paper, peeling away layer by layer, disintegrating completely.

"No, no!!!"

The cult leader, Jay, let out a desperate roar.

He wanted to retract the vortex, to escape, and to preserve his last trump card.

But it was too late. The golden light engulfed everything—his vortex, his cursed spirit, his body, and his consciousness.

After the light faded, the world returned to its clear state.

The clouds dispersed, and the sunlight shone down again.

The sea returned to calm, and a gentle breeze carried a salty, fishy smell.

Everything seemed as if it had never happened, except for the deep trench in the ground and the figure slowly falling from the sky.

Xia Youjie lay on the ground, his body mangled and broken, like a doll whose insides had been hollowed out.

His skin was a deathly grayish-white, his lips were bloodless, and his eyes were deeply sunken. His breathing was so faint that it was almost imperceptible, each breath feeling like his last.

But a smile lingered on his lips.

"Jay...Jay!"

Gojo Satoru struggled to crawl to Xia Youjie's side, his hands trembling as he cupped Xia Youjie's face in his hands.

That face was terrifyingly cold, devoid of any warmth.

He could sense that Xia Youjie's life was slipping away.

"You bastard... Who gave you the right to make that decision on your own... Who gave you permission to die...?"

Gojo Satoru's voice trembled; he had never been so flustered, never so helpless.

Even when facing the most powerful enemy, he can still face them with a smile.

But at this moment, facing this life that was about to end, he felt a deep-seated sense of powerlessness.

What should he do?

"I won't accept it!"

"I do not accept your death!"

At the moment when Gojo Satoru was holding Natsuyuki's mangled body and roaring in anger.

On the same island.

Facing both Heaven and a tyrant.

In another battle also involving "Gojo," the white-haired figure, just like Gojo Satoru who was now holding Xia Youjie's mangled body, felt a power from beyond life itself.

Those azure eyes suddenly opened, a glint of sudden enlightenment flashing in their pupils.

It was simultaneously transferred to Gojo Satoru.

"Jay, don't die yet!"

Gojo Satoru's expression subtly changed; inspiration struck.

"I...I think I'm starting to feel it!!!"

"I... I think I've found a way to save you."

"I think I've grasped the core of curse power!!!"