Eichi and Artoria walked through the dilapidated, decaying Miyagi.
Lifeless land, gray-white coral, and clusters of Cursed Energy floating in the air like fish.
Everything around them reflected Miyagi's decay.
They stepped onto gray-white stairs that looked like they would crumble at the slightest touch.
Crack.
They did crumble.
Eichi bent down and picked up a bead embedded in a broken step.
"It looks a bit like a pearl."
He casually tossed the bead aside.
The two continued cautiously toward the main gate of Miyagi.
Creak.
Bang.
As Eichi pushed with both hands, the gate, as rotten as decayed wood, creaked under the strain, then collapsed with a crash.
Eichi stared at the shattered gate, speechless.
For a moment, he felt scammed, as if something had cheated his expectations from a past life.
In novels, aren't ruins like these full of ancient charm, becoming pristine with just a wipe? What was this Miyagi supposed to be?
To be this dilapidated from sheer neglect, it really was something else.
"Be careful. Don't let this place collapse and bury us alive."
"Mm, understood."
Artoria nodded solemnly.
At the same time, she calculated how much force she could safely use in battle without causing the entire structure to fall apart.
They entered the palace, where two rows of tall pillars and giant pink seashells stood.
Continuing forward past the rows of shells, Eichi and Artoria reached what seemed to be the depths of the main hall.
Here, they finally encountered a Cursed Spirit.
Its lower body was like a snake's tail, with fins protruding from its waist, spine, and elbows.
Its skin was ghostly white, not the smooth whiteness of human skin but the greasy pallor of a fish's belly.
Its eyes resembled both human and fish eyes, and its hair hung like strands of seaweed.
Eichi, who had briefly mistaken it for a mermaid, now regretted looking at the creature so closely.
Something stirred in his memory.
He closed his eyes and opened them again.
The scenery in the main hall had changed.
Vermilion dragon pillars coiled skyward.
Large, pink seashells resembling young girls' accessories stood open, with clam-like beds and a massive pearl inside.
The once-dirty floor had become a red carpet.
Glittering coral, nameless sea flowers, and luminous pearls decorated the ceiling—everything dreamlike and beautiful.
Eichi's gaze finally fell upon the dragon throne at the heart of the hall.
Seated there was an incomparably beautiful goddess, her tail reminiscent of a dragon's.
With her exquisite face and small, delicate dragon horns, she embodied every fantasy one could have of a dragon maiden.
Eichi closed his eyes again. When he opened them, everything had reverted to the decrepit palace.
The graceful goddess had become the grotesque Cursed Spirit resembling a Nure-onna.
The Cursed Spirit on the throne began to slither toward them.
Eichi and Artoria immediately assumed battle stances.
The Cursed Spirit tilted its head, seemingly puzzled by their hostility.
Still twisting its watery, snake-like waist, it glided toward them.
"Ria."
"Mm."
At that moment, Artoria was the first to charge forward, her Holy Sword in hand.
The Cursed Spirit let out a hoarse screech of anger.
Its claws, sharp as five daggers, slashed toward Artoria.
Clink.
She blocked with her Holy Sword and deftly dodged, shifting the Cursed Spirit's body with her movement.
With a swift counterattack, she carved a deep gash into the Spirit's side.
The Cursed Spirit bared its fangs and lunged at her to bite.
Artoria leapt backward, narrowly avoiding its attack range.
Just as she prepared to follow up, the Spirit twisted with snake-like agility and lashed its tail at her.
Hiss, hiss, hiss.
Its scales scraped repeatedly against Artoria's Holy Sword.
Despite being the one attacked, her blade remained pristine.
Instead, large patches of scales were scraped clean off the Cursed Spirit's tail.
If this sword were used to descale fish for Emiya, it would probably work wonders.
That thought suddenly crossed Eichi's mind.
He returned his attention to the hall.
This Cursed Spirit wasn't particularly strong.
It was merely a high-end Grade 1 Cursed Spirit.
If he wasn't worried about destroying the palace by accident, the fight could have ended in just a few moves.
After walking a few rounds around the palace, Eichi still found nothing of value.
He pulled out his phone to check the time.
14:07.
Eichi frowned.
"What's wrong, Eichi?"
Artoria, having just defeated the Spirit, walked over to him.
"The time is off."
He turned the screen toward her.
"You're right. 14:07 was around when we entered, but now..."
Artoria paused to think.
"It should be past 16:00 by now."
Time had felt unstable since they arrived, but based on her experience, that was her estimate.
"So, the phone's clock stopped after we came in?"
Eichi rubbed his chin in thought.
"This area's uninhabited, right?"
"Mm. The island is small. Only some fishermen stay in the center during fishing season."
Artoria gave a firm answer.
"Ria, use your Noble Phantasm."
If that was the case, there was no need to delay.
If the palace was the problem, then it would be easier to just destroy the entire place with a Noble Phantasm.
"I understand."
Artoria nodded.
The two left the palace and arrived at the entrance.
They planned to evacuate immediately after destroying Miyagi.
"...The entrance is gone?"
Eichi touched the wall in front of him with a strange expression, then punched it hard with a Cursed Energy-infused fist.
Bang.
No earth or stone flew, and the wall didn't crack.
Instead, it rippled like water.
"This feeling, it's a Barrier."
Artoria recognized it immediately.
There were many Barriers in Tokyo Jujutsu High, and Eichi and Medea often studied them together.
Through passive exposure, Artoria had developed a solid understanding of Barrier Techniques as well.
"Mm. Looks like the enemy really intends to trap us here for good."
Eichi formed hand seals, and the image of Qiongqi appeared behind them.
"Let's begin."
He looked toward Artoria.
"Mm."
She gripped her Holy Sword with both hands and raised it vertically before her.
Whoosh.
The Invisible Air that surrounded the blade dispersed, and glowing particles began gathering around it.
The light gradually condensed into a radiant beam.
She raised her Holy Sword high, then brought it down upon Miyagi.
"Excalibur!"
A destructive light beam fired forth, reducing Miyagi to ashes in a single blow.
Qiongqi was the first to take flight above them, stirring a vortex of wind around its wings, prepared to shield them from falling debris.
Yet to Eichi's surprise, not much rubble fell.
Instead, a strange wail echoed in his ears.
Flying into the sky on Qiongqi, Eichi finally confirmed the Cursed Spirit's true nature.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ 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.)