Inside a sea cave-like cavern, Eichi and Artoria walked toward its deepest part.
The bottom of the cavern was entirely seawater.
And the cave was very deep, not naturally eroded by the sea.
Artoria, blessed by the Lady of the Lake, could walk directly on water.
Eichi, on the other hand, summoned a toad.
The toad moved slowly through the water, carrying Eichi on its back.
I wonder if the water walking and wall climbing methods from Naruto would work. I should find a chance to try them.
Previously, whenever he encountered water, he'd just ride on Qiongqi's back. But this cave was too narrow for Qiongqi to move.
"It seems we're almost there."
Looking at the faintly lit opening ahead, Eichi became fully alert.
Artoria stepped in first.
In this situation, she was better suited to lead. Her ability to walk freely on water gave her an advantage over Eichi, who relied on the toad for footing.
However, shortly after the two entered,
An extremely well-hidden barrier at the entrance activated, sealing the opening.
"That takes care of it. Next is Tokyo Jujutsu High, I suppose."
A woman with a stitched scar on her head quietly left the island.
From beginning to end, no one knew she had been there.
Inside the cave, Eichi looked strangely at the scene before him.
What greeted them was a dreamlike underwater world.
A kaleidoscopic space. Glowing corals, colorful fish, and a massive palace.
"Ryugu Castle?"
He muttered the name aloud.
"What's wrong, Ria?"
Eichi looked at Artoria with surprise. For a moment, he had wondered if he'd transmigrated again.
"Something's wrong. There isn't a trace of life energy here."
Artoria's sharp gaze swept across the surroundings.
"I can't sense any life from those swimming fish. My intuition says everything here feels off."
She swung her sword forward.
The Invisible Air in her hand cut cleanly through a piece of coral.
Artoria frowned. She had assumed it was all an illusion, but the sensation when her sword hit the coral told her it was real.
Ding.
At that moment, the Mahoraga wheel placed in Eichi's shadow began to turn.
The world in his eyes started to change drastically.
The kaleidoscopic scenery vanished, replaced by a desolate gray-blue space filled with Death energy.
The glowing corals were gone, replaced by eerie, twisted bones.
The fish turned into clumps of vile Cursed Energy, swimming in the air like malevolent spirits.
"Your intuition was right, Ria."
His words made Artoria pause mid-step.
"Did you find something, Eichi?"
Her emerald eyes focused on him.
"Yes. Everything here is an illusion, layered over real objects. Let's wait a bit. Once Mahoraga adapts further and can make you immune to the illusion, we'll move forward."
Eichi stepped in front of her, shielding her while she remained vulnerable to the illusion.
"An illusion attached to real objects. No wonder my sword swing felt so real."
Artoria nodded.
Time passed slowly.
Finally, Mahoraga provided a method for her to ignore the illusion as well.
With the cave's illusion broken, the two began investigating the desolate Ryugu Castle.
Elsewhere, Suguru and Satoru had already arrived at Amanai Riko's location. They had easily crushed the Curse User group "Q" that had launched an attack.
This fledgling organization, ignorant of its own limits, was quickly disbanded after its strongest combatants and core members were captured.
"What should we do now? Take her to the infirmary?"
Satoru carried the unconscious Riko into an intact room.
"If only we could use Reverse Cursed Technique like Shoko and Eichi."
Suguru sighed, frowning at the unconscious girl.
"How could we? We can't even understand what Shoko's talking about."
Satoru imagined Shoko pointing dramatically at the sky, drawing whooshing circles through the air.
Back then, their brains nearly overheated trying to follow her explanations.
"And Eichi said you'll get it once you nearly die."
Now he pictured Eichi holding a chicken roll.
"Reverse Cursed Technique, huh? Just find someone you don't know who can beat you to death, and you'll figure it out."
The flashback ended.
"But we're the strongest! Who could beat us half to death?"
"You're right."
The two exchanged smiles. Young men, wild and free, with absolute faith in their strength.
"Mmm… ugh."
As they looked at each other, Riko stirred in Satoru's arms.
"She's awake."
Their eyes turned toward her.
"Yo, feeling alright?"
Satoru flashed what he thought was his most charming smile.
But instead of an adoring gaze, he got—"Ora!"
A full-powered slap from the girl.
Riko had done something Jogo never managed.
She left a mark on Satoru's face.
"You shameless scoundrel! How dare you touch this young lady? I'll take you down first!"
Satoru covered the red print on his cheek, glaring as Riko struck a villain-like pose.
His inner voice repeated, Hold it in. Hold it in. She's the protected target. Don't get mad at the brat.
Suguru stepped in, trying to suppress the twitch in the corners of his mouth.
"Don't worry. We're not the group that attacked you earlier."
The next moment, he received a solid hit from Riko too.
"Liar! Definitely a liar! You shady emo freak with weird bangs!"
No way a guy with that creepy squint and edgy outfit is a good person, she thought.
Suguru's smile froze. Now it was Satoru's turn to hold back laughter.
The two best friends exchanged looks, then...
Kuroi Misato arrived at the room on the back of a Cursed Spirit Eichi called "Sea Ox" and witnessed a shocking sight.
Two male students of Tokyo Jujutsu High, each over 180 cm tall, were grabbing Riko's limbs and twisting her in opposite directions.
Are they… wringing a bedsheet? No, wait, that's not a bedsheet… ahhh!
"Kuroi, help!"
At the sight of someone arriving, the two boys immediately let go.
They just… let go. Riko dropped face-first to the ground.
"What are you riding, Kuroi?"
Her eyes were quickly drawn to the cute Sea Ox.
There weren't many Cursed Spirits with such a refined appearance.
"This is… that guy with the hair tuft's Technique."
Kuroi gracefully waved at Suguru.
Hair tuft… on his forehead.
Suguru looked completely flustered.
"Pffft!"
This time, Satoru couldn't hold it in.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)