[ "At this moment, is your Cornerstone in this room?" ]
[ "Yes." ]
[ "Has your memory been tampered with or deleted in any way, including but not limited to the techniques of the Garden of Recollection." ]
[ Aventurine closed his eyes: "Yes." ]
[ "Are you from the Avgin Clan of Sigonia?" ]
[ "Yes." Aventurine let out a cold laugh. "You even know about this?" ]
[ "Do the Avgins have any ability to read, tamper with, or manipulate their own or others' thoughts?" ]
[ "No. Does that matter?" ]
[ Sunday calmly gazed at him, his eyes seemingly trying to pierce through his heart: "Do you love your family more than you love yourself?" ]
[ Aventurine was stunned for a moment. He lowered his gaze and answered firmly: "Yes." ]
[ "All the Avgins died in a massacre, didn't they?" ]
[ "No." ]
[ "Are you the only survivor of the clan?" ]
[ Aventurine lowered his head. The hair on his forehead cast a shadow under the light, perfectly covering his eyes. His lips were pressed tightly together, and every word seemed to take all his strength: "…Perhaps." ]
[ Sunday continued his questioning: "—Do you hate this world and want to destroy it with your own hands?" ]
[ "..." ]
[ Aventurine froze. After a moment of silence, he shook his head. "…I don't know." ]
——
Demon Slayer.
"Uuuu… Mr. Aventurine is so pitiful!"
In the Demon Slayer Corps meeting room, a sudden soft sobbing interrupted the thoughts of several Hashira. When everyone shifted their gaze away from the Celestial Screen, they saw that Kanroji Mitsuri's face was already covered in tears. She cried until the tip of her nose turned slightly red, her pupils trembling like spring water rippled by the wind.
"How can someone have such a tragic life! His entire clan was almost wiped out, and their world didn't even have demons! Why do humans have to slaughter each other?"
Kanroji Mitsuri simply could not understand.
Iguro Obanai stayed silent for a while before slowly speaking: "Mitsuri, sometimes the persecution between humans is even more terrifying than demons. Over thousands of years, how many people have the demons killed? A few thousand? Tens of thousands? But for those generals and daimyos… they only need to have a thought in their minds to kill tens of thousands in one night."
"B-But why do they kill people?" Mitsuri covered her mouth with her hand, her slender fingers trembling slightly.
"I don't know. Maybe for their own fame and achievements?" Iguro Obanai shook his head. Ever since he was rescued from his family by the Stone Hashira and joined the Demon Slayer Corps, he had tried to understand human nature… but after several years, he found it far more complicated than Breathing Techniques.
"Fame and achievements? For something so vague and intangible?"
"It's not intangible. It's just something you've never come into contact with, Mitsuri." Iguro Obanai sighed.
They had never considered anything other than slaying demons. Their daily needs for food, clothing, and daily necessities were all handled by the Lord, so it was no wonder Mitsuri knew nothing about this.
"In this world, demons are ferocious beasts lurking in the night, while some people wear human skin and openly appear as demons in broad daylight. When it comes to killing… they are no less capable."
——
[ "Interesting. Then the final question…" Sunday placed his hand on his chest and spoke solemnly: "Can you swear that right now—the [Aventurine Stone] is lying safely inside this box?" ]
[ Dr. Ratio, who had been coldly observing from the side the entire time, let out a soft snort. ]
[ Aventurine slowly raised his head: "…Of course." ]
[ "It seems we can reach a conclusion." Sunday placed one hand on his hip. "Open it, Mr. Aventurine… This is your last chance to defend your honor." ]
[ He pushed the box on the table toward Aventurine, then gracefully sat down on the chair and made a "please" gesture. ]
[ Aventurine's gaze lingered back and forth between the box and Sunday's face. This strange silence and quiet burned him like a branding iron. He looked up and saw Professor Ratio silently turn his head away, leaving only a cold and sharp profile. ]
[ "Please." ]
[ The smile on Sunday's face deepened. ]
[ The box opened with a "click," but inside there was nothing except the indentations where the Cornerstones had been. ]
[ He was completely stunned. ]
[ Sunday slowly unwrapped the gauze beside his finger, revealing two crystal-clear gemstones underneath. ]
[ "Are you looking for… these?" ]
——
Jujutsu Kaisen.
"Checkmate. Dead end."
Ieiri Shoko let out a long sigh. Although she had quite a favorable impression of Aventurine (mainly because he was very handsome), at this moment she couldn't help but feel pity for this poor little peacock with his tragic background.
"Once a chess game reaches this point, all paths are blocked and surrounded by the opponent. There is no way to make a living move anymore…"
What Shoko found hardest to understand was that he was carrying not only his own Cornerstone, but two at the same time. This meant that the ones suffering now were not just himself, but another member of the Ten Stonehearts as well.
He accidentally capsized the boat, not only drowning himself but also dragging a colleague down with him…
"If in the eyes of the Ten Stonehearts, the [Cornerstone] is more important than life itself, doesn't that mean someone willingly handed over their 'life' to Aventurine?" Itadori Yuji asked in surprise with his mouth wide open. "Are the people in the Company actually so united?"
Previously he had thought the Company was full of cold-blooded guys like Scott who only cared about their own interests. He didn't expect that someone would actually dare to stake their own future and fate on a colleague. What kind of trust was this…
But he also felt a trace of sadness. Now that both Cornerstones had been confiscated by Sunday, it meant this grand gamble had ended with Aventurine's complete defeat.
"The Company has suffered heavy losses… But why does it feel like Sunday knew Aventurine's entire plan in advance? He even knew about the existence of the other Cornerstone?"
——
[ Several system hours ago, at the Dewlight Pavilion. ]
[ Pushing open the door, Dr. Ratio slowly walked in. ]
[ "Since you have kept the appointment as scheduled, erudite Professor… does this mean you are willing to stand on the Family's side in this farce?" ]
[ Dr. Ratio said coldly: "What makes you think you can win me over?" ]
[ Sunday: "I have heard that your relationship with Mr. Aventurine has not been pleasant. I also know that you are a true scholar, and your pursuit of knowledge outweighs everything else." ]
[ "Then you should also understand that a qualified scholar can recognize his own position and will not lose more important things for boring dignity." ]
[ Sunday nodded and decisively stated his terms: "If you agree to assist the Family, I will present all our research results on the Stellaron to you. You should know very well that apart from the Family, no other faction is willing to share such knowledge." ]