(Inner Moka POV – Graveyard)
'…Well, that's unexpected.' I watch him in silence. Of all the reactions I expected… fear, caution, even awe…
Being called cool wasn't one of them.
'He didn't even flinch when the seal was removed.' I note, studying him carefully.
Even powerful monsters would be terrified by my aura, much less a human.
'And that's not even the strangest part.' I think, my gaze flicking briefly toward Saizo's crumpled body.
Defeated… by a human.
My eyes narrow slightly.
'He beat him without even getting hurt.' I analyse. 'And he's much stronger than when he first ran into us.'
Unlike the other Moka, I can sense the shift in his presence and energy.
And then there's the biggest question of all…
'He removed the Rosary intentionally.'
That tells me he knows a lot more than he should. But not how or why.
"Cool?" I echo, my voice calm, but edged with curiosity. I tilt my head slightly, my gaze remaining focused on him. "Shouldn't you be afraid?"
And he meets it without hesitation.
"Do I have a reason to be?" He shoots back, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
'That answer is a bit… annoying.' I think, and no later…
"I mean… you haven't given me a reason to be scared. You're not going to attack without reason, right?"
'…Oh?' My lips curl, just slightly.
"Confident." I murmur, stepping forward. "You're either very brave…" I continue, voice lowering. "Or very foolish."
And when I finally stop, there's barely any space left between us.
I can hear his breathing and the rhythm of his heart. Both are so very steady.
'He's still not afraid…' That alone is enough to pique my interest.
My hand moves without warning, swiftly but precise, and I pluck the Rosary straight from his hand.
'He could react to that?' I think curiously, noticing he could've moved his hand away, but chose not to.
The moment it's back in my grasp, I hold the metal tightly as the familiar weight settling against my palm.
"Why did you take this off?" I ask, eyes locking onto his again, this time demanding answers.
'Did he actually know what it does? If so, why wait till after the fight?'
There'd be no point waking me up.
Kai doesn't answer immediately. Instead, he gestures casually toward the unconscious body behind me.
"I figured it'd be better the other Moka stayed asleep… depending on what happens next." he pauses, his tone turning more grave. "Are you against killing him?"
I blink. Then a quiet laugh slips past my lips.
"That's… direct." I admit, amused despite myself. Still… my expression cools quickly as I glance back at Saizo.
He looks pathetic and weak after the beating he received. Not that he was much stronger prior to it.
"He's already learned quite the lesson." I say flatly. "Killing him would be excessive." It would be a waste of both time and effort. "He's not worth my energy. Do as you please."
'And I don't dirty my hands for trash.' I add silently, eyes half-lidded.
For a moment, I simply observe him, waiting to see what he does.
Instead, he sighs.
"They say everyone deserves a second chance…" He mutters, more to himself than me. "I don't really agree with that."
His gaze remains focused on Saizo for a moment, then shifts back to me.
"But… I agree he's been punished enough. If he tries something again…" He shrugs lightly. "He'd be out of chances."
I study him in silence.
'…Interesting.'
"I wasn't expecting you to show mercy." I say honestly. He seemed extremely resolved to go through with it.
"I've never killed anyone before." He replies simply. "That's not a line you cross casually."
There's no hesitation or fear in his voice… just determination.
Which makes my next thought surface naturally.
"…Then why call me out?" I ask, narrowing my eyes slightly. "Did you want me to kill him?"
That's the most logical conclusion. Remove the seal. Wake me up. Then have me kill Saizo. It keeps his hands clean, at the very least.
But—
"No." He responds instantly.
"He was targeting you." Kai continues. "That's why I think he deserves to die. And I was prepared to kill him because he tried to hurt you." He says sincerely, but there's a firm conviction in his tone.
Then, his expression softens, smiling softly.
"But I'm not the one he hurt." He adds. "And the other Moka is too kind to give him the punishment he deserves…"
"So I figured I'd leave it to you." His gaze meets mine again. "You share a body with her, and know her better than I do. So, you ought to be the one to choose."
Silence descends between us.
The wind stirs, blowing my hair softly, but my gaze remains focused on him, trying to understand the enigma before me.
'All of this… was because he wanted What's best for Moka without hurting her?' I slowly realise. 'This level of care…'
It leaves me speechless for a long while.
"…You're a strange one." I say finally, a faint smirk tugging at my lips.
It's neither an insult, nor a compliment. Just… an observation.
"I prefer the term unique." He replies with a satisfied grin.
"Hm." I hum softly. "Unique, then."
A brief silence settles between us.
"…Is that all?" I ask, tilting my head slightly. "Or is there something else you wanted from me?"
"Not really." He says after some thought, surprisingly straightforward. "I think that covers it."
Then, more casually—
"…It was nice meeting you, Moka."
I pause, a faint smile tugs at my lips at the unexpected phrase.
"…Likewise." I reply, my tone slightly softer.
"You keep babysitting Moka… 'kay?" I begin lifting the Rosary towards its chain. "Till we meet again."
Click.
The moment the Rosary locks into place, a soft glow pulses outward, and everything fades as I once more fall asleep.
(Kai POV – Graveyard)
The change is instant, and the pressure in the air vanishes without a trace.
Moka's silver hair melts back into soft pink, her crimson eyes fading into warm emerald, and before her body can even fully settle… she tips forward.
Having expected it, I catch her easily as she falls into my arms, breathing softly and steadily in peaceful slumber.
'That's the first problem dealt with.' I exhale slowly, adjusting my grip before lifting her properly into a princess carry, her head resting lightly against my shoulder.
For a moment, I just stand there, enjoying the embrace, then my gaze moves toward Saizo.
He lies where he fell, unmoving, barely even recognizable after being beaten and charred.
"…Tch." I turn away.
'Moka's right. If he couldn't beat me now… Then next time—if there is a next time—I'll be even stronger.'
Do I want to kill him?
…Yeah. No point pretending otherwise.
But, I have my priorities straight.
'Moka matters more to me than whatever ticket I'd get for killing him.'
I want to get stronger to protect myself and those I care about. So, there's no point ending up strong, but alone.
'That'd make life really dull.' I sigh as I start walking toward the dorm.
Still…
'My first kill feat…'
It's either a flat reward, or it scales based on the strength of the enemy I kill.
'So either way, it'd be a waste using it on Saizo.' I think, feeling slightly more at peace.
Besides, even though Moka had left it up to me, whether to end him or not…
'If I actually did it, she'd never look at me the same.' I chuckle.
Eventually, I'll have to kill. And when that time comes, I'm sure Moka will understand. But those are all problems for the future me.
So, with a thought, I pull up my status panel and focus on my rewards from this battle.
[Feat Achieved! Defeat an opponent significantly stronger than you in a fair battle. Reward: 1× Ability Golden Gacha Ticket.]
[Feat Achieved! End a bloodline. Reward: 1× Skill Bronze Gacha Ticket.]
"Hm?" I raise an eyebrow, trying, and failing, to suppress a smirk. "This is a feat?"
I hadn't expected a second feat. And it's probably the only good thing to come out of the bastard.
Even gold for beating him seems generous. And, if I'm not mistaken…
'If I "end" enough bloodlines, I'll probably get better tickets at different milestones.' I realise. 'What a way to power…'
As a guy, it feels… uncomfortable to contemplate it. But also…
Tempting.
'Power is power… right?' I grimace faintly. 'Whoever experiences it had it coming…'
I sigh. 'I'll cross that bridge when I get there.'
What I find interesting is that it's a skill ticket.
'Does this mean ending bloodlines requires technique and finesse?'
It's almost funny.
Dark, but funny.
To get such thoughts off my mind, I use both tickets without hesitation.
[Cosplayer]
|Uncommon Skill|
[You are very skilled in cosplaying and dressing up. You can also sew well enough to create convincing cosplay outfits and outfits in general, but you are better at making clothes you have seen before. People may even mistake you for someone else if you cosplay as a real person.]
"…It's not entirely useless." I mutter.
'For me, practically worthless. But, if I can make any outfit…'
Just imagining Moka trying them on brings a smile to my face.
And, for the golden ticket…
[Heavenly Restriction]
|Epic Ability|
[Jujutsu Kaisen - While this ability is active, you cannot use energy or mana in any way. In exchange your physical abilities are increased by how much energy you have and you are immune to spells being directly cast on your life (buffs, curses, etc.). You are also unable to be detected by any magical means or targeted directly by abilities as your body lacks energy/mana.]
"Damn…" I gasp. "Am I destined to be a fighter instead of a mage?"
Not that I'm complaining.
It perfectly complements my current abilities. Traits don't use energy, so they're unaffected. The only ability I can't use is [Sunlight Spear], and even then, I only have one ability slot for now.
In the short term, it's great. And once I have more powerful abilities, I can just swap it out.
Just being immune to magic is already broken. And I don't need to worry about being spied on, mind controlled, or cursed.
A grin splits my face, but I rein it in just as quickly.
As tempting as it is to activate it immediately, I remain patient, having learnt my lesson after the Hanma bloodline.
Calmly, I continue walking, and by the time I reach the main path again, the sky has deepened into night, clouds drifting lazily overhead as the wind carries a faint chill through the air.
And a short while later, we reach the dorms.
"…Home sweet home." I mutter under my breath. And right before I enter, it suddenly hits me.
'I don't know where Moka's room is.'
And the person I ought to ask for directions is peacefully slumbering away in my arms.
I don't want to wake her up. Wondering aimlessly is dumb. And asking random people where her room is… is both tedious, and highly suspicious.
"Well… guess we're roommates for tonight." There's a hint of shamelessness in that decision… but it was the best choice. Definitely.
Adjusting my grip slightly, I carry her the rest of the way to my room and nudge the door open with my foot.
I step inside, close the door behind me, and walk over to the bed and carefully lower her onto it.
Her head sinks into the pillow, soft pink hair spilling across the sheets as she shifts slightly in her sleep while I pull the blanket over her, tucking it in lightly.
Either she's a really deep sleeper, or she's truly exhausted. But it's fine.
"I wasn't planning on sleeping anyway." I smile, grab a change of clothes, and swap into something more comfortable, before turning my attention inward.
'Alright… time to test this out.'
With a thought, I open my ability panel and swap [Sunlight Spear] for [Heavenly Restriction]. And the moment I confirm it…
The changes occur in an instant.
"…!"
A violent and jarring sensation rips through my body, like something is being pulled out of me.
My entire body goes cold.
'…What the—'
The energy inside me, a warm, flowing, constant current, suddenly disappears.
The best way to describe it is like blood being drained straight from my veins, leaving my body somewhat hollow.
It's disorienting enough to almost make me stumble.
Then, in the sudden absence, power floods in.
My muscles tighten, swelling with strength. And even though there's no visible change, it's impossible to ignore.
Next, my senses sharpen instantly, and within the room, details snap into focus as every grain in the wood, every faint creak in the walls, the subtle rise and fall of Moka's breathing behind me.
Even beyond these walls… distant voices and sounds, muffled, but clear enough to distinguish, reach my ears.
'…Whoa.'
I slowly clench my fist. The air itself feels different against my skin.
"Okay…" I murmur under my breath. "This is… insane. Insanely awesome."
My body hums with energy, and after some light stretching to test movement, I confirm that everything just feels easier and faster.
It's just pure physicality.
Next, I confirm that all my traits are still active, some even stronger with the boost in strength.
'Everything's functioning normally.'
But then—
"…Huh."
Something feels… off.
It's faint… barely noticeable. But when I focus inward, I sense it. A tiny, almost imperceptible sensation.
Like something gently… pushing back.
'This seems like… Natural Restoration?' I quickly realize what's happening. 'Is it trying to… fix this?'
Trying to undo the restriction portion of my ability?
"…That's… interesting."
The effect is negligible, so small I wouldn't have even noticed it before without my heightened senses.
And for now, I ignore it.
Whatever is going on doesn't interfere with me. I can always disable either ability. But I'm certain…
'Whatever is happening probably isn't a bad thing. Even if I don't know what it is yet.'
And so, I focus on everything else I have to test, excitement building within me.
Careful not to make noise while Moka sleeps, I start working out slowly, using Multitasking to generate resistance.
'Let's see… how strong I've really gotten.'
********
A/N: Hello Everyone! How are you all? If you've enjoyed the chapter and book thus far, please consider leaving me some comments, reviews, or power stones. It really helps the book out.
Almost forgot to leave the A/N, so I'm adding it after. But yeah, almost had to reroll this ability for being too OP, until I realised it balanced itself out in the late game. So it's all cool. Llusz the voting results seemed to agree.
Just to clarify, it's not permanent if he doesn't want it to be. Almost nothing in the Chaos Gacha is unless it's explicitly stated, or its a race change trait or curse. So no worries. Even for positive magical effects, he can just switch it off, get them, then on again once he no longer needs them.
As for the stuff with natural Restoration, it's just me having some ideas. That happen to work because natural Restoration is ranked 5.3, while Heavenly Restriction is 5.2. You can all the to predict my goals of you wish🤣🤣🤣.
You can also read 3 chapters ahead and support me at [email protected]/AMV_WEAKLY
But anyway, new characters soon! Yay. Plot shall be moving. And that's all from me. I hope you all enjoyed, and have a wonderful rest of your day/night 😁