Aftermath of the Storm– Chapter 124 

Aftermath of the Storm– Chapter 124 

Ren's vision blurred as he staggered forward, helping Panda and Inumaki toward the medics. Inumaki's bloodied stump of an arm was wrapped hastily in cloth, Panda barely able to stand. With every step, Ren's muscles screamed, his cursed energy flickering like a dying flame.

Once both of them were finally placed under the care of the school's emergency staff, Ren's body finally gave up. He collapsed, his face pale, his breath heavy.

Rika's timer ran out.

The bond severed abruptly, leaving Ren's body hollow. All the strain, all the burns from his reckless use of techniques, and the crushing exhaustion of his binding vows came crashing down on him.

Ren passed out.

Hours later, when Gojo Satoru finally returned to the school, the scene was unrecognizable.

Half of Tokyo Jujutsu High looked as though it had been caught in a natural disaster. Buildings cracked and tilted, chunks of concrete scattered like broken glass. The ground itself was ripped apart, claw marks and fissures stretching for meters.

And then there was the hill.

A hill that no longer existed.

What was once a grassy incline was now nothing more than a shattered crater, torn apart as though a small bomb had detonated there.

Gojo narrowed his eyes.

"What the hell happened here?"

The answer was simple, though no one knew it:

When Ren reflected Maximum: Uzumaki, the devastating blast had detonated in Mahoraga's face.

And then Ren's Love Cannon had struck the already exploding Mahoraga, blasting him back into the hill and obliterating it.

As Gojo moved through the rubble, he stopped—staring at a body.

Suguru Geto.

Dead.

An iron rod impaled clean through his chest, pinning him to the ground like a grotesque trophy.

Gojo's usual relaxed demeanor darkened for a brief moment.

"There's only one person reckless enough to do this."

Ren Sato.

But there was a problem…

Gojo crouched down, analyzing the battlefield.

The ground wasn't just scarred from one fight.

There were marks everywhere.

Circular craters, deep vertical slashes, and gouges carved by something inhuman.

"These steps and slashes… Geto doesn't use a sword. Ren does—but these cuts? No. He's not good enough with a blade to carve slashes like this. There was something else here. Something monstrous."

Gojo straightened up, his sharp blue eyes scanning the destroyed training fields. He kept walking, trying to piece it together.

He found her first.

Maki.

The girl was slumped asleep in a classroom chair, completely unaware of the chaos outside.

"Did you really sleep through all of that?" Gojo asked, voice tinged with disbelief.

Maki blinked awake, annoyed. "All of what?"

Gojo stared at her. Then sighed.

He explained what had happened. The destroyed buildings. The explosions. The missing hill.

Maki's eyes went wide. Her chair scraped back violently as she bolted upright. Without another word, she ran full speed toward the hospital.

But Gojo wasn't done.

He moved through the school grounds again, scanning for survivors—or clues.

And then, he found him.

A boy with black hair. Megumi Fushiguro.

The boy's knee was shattered, his body sprawled unconscious near the edge of the rubble.

"Damn it…" Gojo muttered, instantly teleporting to him and checking his condition.

When Megumi woke up hours later, he was surrounded by high-grade sorcerers, all watching him closely.

Gojo's voice cut through the silence like a blade.

"What. Happened?"

Megumi, groggy but aware of the weight in the room, swallowed hard.

"I… I summoned Mahoraga…"

Gojo almost screamed.

"YOU WHAT?!!"

The room erupted with tension.

The grade-one sorcerers looked at each other in confusion, while those who knew what "Mahoraga" meant paled instantly. Masamichi Yaga's voice was low and heavy:

"You summoned the Divine General…?"

Even Mei Mei, always so calm, tilted her head, visibly unsettled but unfamiliar with the name.

Megumi quickly tried to explain himself.

"Uh… I was just leaving school, and then Ren came flying through a building! He was fighting someone, and it looked like he was losing…"

Gojo's brow furrowed. "Yes, that makes sense. Ren can't win against Geto, not in hand-to-hand combat. So why—why would you summon Mahoraga?"

Megumi's voice grew faster and defensive.

"Look, Geto was talking about taking over the world or whatever! Ren couldn't beat him, so I thought… I thought maybe I could help! And… it worked out, right? Geto's done, Ren's alive… so…"

Gojo sighed.

So did half the room.

Megumi's words showed his youth. His inexperience. The recklessness of someone who didn't yet understand what Mahoraga truly was.

Gojo said nothing more.

He simply walked out of the room.

He made his way to the medical wing, where Shoko Ieiri was treating Ren.

"How is he?" Gojo asked.

Shoko didn't look up as she finished checking Ren's vitals.

"Much better than last time. His shoulder's injured, and there are bruises and surface-level cuts all over… But overall, his body is holding together. His cursed energy, though? No. It's faint, fading. He's not dying, but his cursed energy pool is definitely lower than it was before. I'd say he used some sort of… binding vow."

Gojo nodded. Shoko's analysis lined up with what he suspected.

As Gojo stepped out of the hospital room, he glanced back at the unconscious Ren.

"He fought not only Geto… but also Mahoraga… and came out with just a few bruises."

"Either he's hiding his strength… or Rika is far stronger than she appears."

But one thing was certain—

Ren saved everyone.