Toji had a bad feeling about this commission from the beginning.
If it had just been Kong Shiu asking him to take a big job, Toji wouldn't have thought much of it.
After all, his reputation as a Sorcerer killer was well-known. And with Satoru of the Gojo Clan guarding the target, ordinary Curse Users had no chance of success.
However, Medea's appearance made it clear to Toji that there was something wrong with this commission.
Even someone like him, who normally disliked overthinking, could tell something was off.
Later, Toji casually asked Kong Shiu about Medea's identity once.
After hearing his description, Kong Shiu grew more and more suspicious, and eventually showed Toji a Fate poster.
Toji, whose brain had been idle for some time, finally remembered why the woman looked familiar.
After all, Eichi had never hidden the identities of himself or the other Heroic Spirits from Toji. The only reason he hadn't recognized her earlier was because Toji rarely paid attention to anyone.
This was, after all, someone who often forgot even his own beloved child.
After remembering who Medea was, Toji tried calling Eichi.
But Eichi had been trapped inside a barrier at the time, with no signal.
Unable to contact him, Toji decided to deal with the Six Eyes brat first before thinking about anything else.
Now that he had defeated Satoru and slapped the Jujutsu world in the face, Toji finally relaxed and recalled the matter with Medea.
"Knowing that brat's personality, there's no way he would just sit back and watch. So I casually called out, and you came out yourself."
Saying that, Toji tossed the unconscious Riko toward Medea.
"You're surprisingly clever."
Medea raised her hand, and Riko stopped midair in front of her.
"Medea, what's going on?"
Suguru finally couldn't stay silent.
From the moment Toji appeared at the Tombs of the Star—no, ever since he stabbed Satoru—Suguru's heart had been repeatedly shaken.
And now, seeing Medea standing with the enemy, his mental state nearly broke.
"Don't worry. Amanai Riko is safe. Everything is going according to Eichi's plan."
Medea could tell what Suguru was thinking just by looking at his face.
So she brought up Eichi.
As expected, Suguru's expression calmed slightly when he heard the name.
"Are all of these Eichi's arrangements?"
In the end, Suguru chose to trust his best friend.
"Yes. Compared to what's happening here, you should focus more on the situation outside. The real enemy is still out there."
That was true. Once Medea mentioned the real threat, Suguru stopped dwelling on the present moment.
He was still deeply worried about Satoru, whose whereabouts were unknown.
"When this is all over, if you can't give us a good explanation, Satoru and I won't let this go."
Leaving those words behind, Suguru ran outside.
Not long ago, waves of terrifying Cursed Energy had repeatedly appeared and vanished in that direction.
"What do you plan to do with the star plasma vessel?"
Toji looked at Riko, who floated quietly in the air.
"We're going to the Time Vessel Association. Once the payment is made, be sure to clean up the 'trash.'"
Saying that, Medea temporarily handed Riko back to Toji, then spiritualized and followed him toward the headquarters of the Time Vessel Association.
Not long before that.
Eichi, riding atop Qiongqi, was racing back to Tokyo Jujutsu High at full speed.
To save time, he didn't even bother having Qiongqi pass through the normal gate within the Tokyo Jujutsu High barrier.
Instead, he had Qiongqi activate the Piercing Ox Technique and blast a hole straight through the barrier, charging in.
This was only the outermost area of the school grounds. The barrier's range was broad, but it focused mainly on surveillance and concealment, not on pure defense.
Such a blatant move naturally drew Kenjaku's attention.
"Tsk, how troublesome."
Just moments ago, Kenjaku had witnessed Toji land a fatal blow on Satoru with the Inverted Spear of Heaven.
At that moment, excitement surged through him.
The obstacle of the Six Eyes had been cleared. The star plasma vessel would soon follow.
"I just need to buy a little more time."
Toji was already headed for the Tombs of the Star. All Kenjaku had to do was stall a bit longer, and Toji would complete the mission.
As soon as he entered the Tokyo Jujutsu High barrier, Eichi contacted both Emiya and Medea through their contracts.
Learning that Medea was still hidden in the shadows, keeping the worst-case scenario in check, Eichi finally exhaled in relief.
Whoosh.
"Watch out!"
Just as that tension eased, a volley of powerful attacks surged from the ground.
Artoria raised her Holy Sword and blocked the attacks aimed at them.
Qiongqi wasn't so lucky.
Still flying at full speed, it failed to dodge in time and was struck down.
The two and the beast plummeted from the sky.
Artoria pointed her Holy Sword at the ground and released Invisible Air.
The burst of wind slowed their descent.
A second round of Cursed Energy cannonballs shot toward them.
At the same time, intense fluctuations of Cursed Energy began to emerge ahead.
Eichi raised both hands.
The Max Elephant Technique was activated.
Water Wall.
The incoming attacks were scattered and pushed aside by the crashing torrent.
After landing, Eichi looked solemnly at the enemy in the distance.
There, surrounded by dozens of Cursed Spirits, stood a figure in a black robe, just barely distinguishable as female.
Eichi's gaze swept quickly over the enemy forces.
Most of them were Semi-Grade 1 and Grade 1 Cursed Spirits, but among them were four that exuded Special Grade energy.
Including the woman in the robe, that made five Special Grade threats.
Eichi immediately locked onto the key targets.
The four Special Grade Cursed Spirits were: one floating in the air shaped like a giant maw, a deformed dog-type far uglier than the Divine Dogs, a thin skeletal woman-shaped Spirit, and a spider-bodied Cursed Spirit with a woman's upper half.
Then there was the woman in black.
'Who else could it be? Besides Suguru, the only person who could control this many Cursed Spirits is Kenjaku, who has hidden himself for a thousand years.'
'And considering Megumi should be about four years old now, that would mean this woman is Kenjaku, who possessed Itadori Kaori.'
Cross-dressing was understandable. Eichi had once worn his mother's wig, clothes, and heels as a child.
But becoming a woman entirely just to give birth… that he found harder to wrap his head around.
Then again, after living for a thousand years, perhaps none of it mattered anymore.
Longevity really does twist people in strange ways.
After confirming the identity of the enemy, Eichi became fully alert.
And began calling for backup in his mind.
(To be continued.)