The Strongest Sorcerer of Tomorrow

by Aaaaaaert

How would he ever be able to face the world again? From within the depths of Fushiguro Megumi's soul, Ryomen Sukuna had spoken that question. It kept echoing in his head, over and over again... so he had to ask himself honestly: Could he truly keep living? After all the failures he had amounted to? He couldn't, he truly couldn't. When the final Black Flash fell, so did his life.

34. Heavenly Vajra to Split the Seas (Pt 1)

There was something Fushiguro Megumi found weird when looking at the vat tank. Why is it that this person was the only survivor amongst all the other dead ones? From what he could tell, all others were in such a wretched state that they couldn't even be called alive. At most, their dried up and decaying skin bore the resemblance of something straight out of a horror film.

Taking another look at all of the people he had to... mercy kill... Megumi felt his eyes squint. There was nothing special about them, not in terms of Originium or powerful presence. But then at the same time, there was nothing—

—Nevermind!

When Megumi focused more on the woman with white hair entrapped within what was basically a cage, he finally realized why they were so different from all the other people. The enormous amount of Originium concentration he sensed from within her was of such staggering proportions, that he wondered just how she wasn't a corpse yet. Compared to everybody else, the woman was definitely something out of the norm.

Yet for some reason, the Sorcerer couldn't make heads or tails why. There was nothing that he sensed from her that made her seem special, like how he detected the unnatural and vast energy from the red blade Ch'en utilized. Nor did he see anything on the outside—other than her naked body—that implied 'specialty.'

Shaking his head, Megumi decided that this wasn't a matter he should delve on for too long. There was a bloodied and destroyed lab in which he resided, caused by the hands of the Divine General and himself. By the time reinforcements arrive, or what happened was discovered; Megumi was sure it would not end well with what sight laid bare.

Heaving a long-winded sigh, the Cursed Energy reserves felt as if they had taken a big hit, so Megumi hadn't had much qualms for leaving this place anyways. Having to summon Mahoraga was a bit costly, but leaving him stationary didn't cost too much Cursed Energy. This coupled with the fact that Shadow Extension was on constantly—all combined as one factor to impact him to a considerable degree.

Mahoraga had already been recalled, Megumi looking upwards to see the wheel floating above his noggin once more. It was a symbol, a golden symbol of both power and divinity combined into one. Even after having tamed the beast, the Ten Shadows user was finding it a bit of a surprise every time he sensed the eminence it gave off.

'Let's get this one out of here,'Megumi finished his current musings, before placing a hand on the vat tank's glass.'Nothing too strong, nor does it have anything special placed on it. If I have to compare, it's only marginally stronger than bullet-proof glass.'The materials in this laboratory run by a cover-up church—or what he assumes to be a cover-up church—were extremely well-made.

Whatever connections they had, Megumi knew it was nothing to scoff at if they were able to get things as high-quality as these. This revelation made the black haired man want to leave this laboratory even faster, and then let down Shadow Extension of Mahoraga and its stationary summoning. That would serve to let him rest and restore his Cursed Energy.

Applying greater pressure to the glass separating himself from the woman, Megumi concentrated his eyes. He didn't want to accidentally cause harm to them by shattering an extremely tough glass, because it could leave her badly cut up as a result. The notion became further apparent with the weakened state she was in, with Originium ravaging a good portion of her body.

Shadow Extension: Tiger Funeral

The glass started heating up, an emission resonating from the palm Megumi was keeping placed on the object. By heating it up, the material composing the bullet-proof glass could weaken considerably, and then start to melt. However, instead of reaching the goal of having the glass melt, Megumi was instead attempting to make it flexible enough where he could bend it easily.

That way, he wouldn't have to worry about hurting the woman. Even if the heat could make the water boil, an application of Cursed Energy to circumvent the heat back into a concentrated point—to not spread to the water—was in place. This sort of thing was akin to why Gojo Satoru's Hollow Purple didn't evaporate an entire city, because of extremely precise control over Cursed Energy.

Soon, Megumi saw the signs of the glass starting to turn orange. Melted glass came naturally out, the glue-like liquid dripping down onto his palm. While the feeling was irritating, the Sorcerer reinforced his hand with Cursed Energy, rendering whatever damages it could cause completely useless. Taking another short breath, the Ten Shadows user began concentrating once more.

He had to do it with great precision and speed, along with also having to time it perfectly to prevent any complications from occurring. Megumi felt the temperature continue to rise, the person within the confined space still sleeping as serenely as a fish flowing through a river's currents.

'Continue to breathe, let relaxation eventually overcome your muscles.'This was a calculated and proven exercise to have Sorcerers be able to focus on their Cursed Energy even further. What Megumi was doing at this point could be considered training, especially if he wishes to maintain Mahoraga's Dharmachakra along with Tiger Funeral's Shadow Extension. The training was more focused and center-pointed towards refinement, which was exactly what he believed himself to be lacking in.

The flow of Cursed Energy, as malleable and flexible as the Sorcerer controlling it could be. However, even the imagination of somebody needed to be trained well enough to put it into physical practice—which was making good use of Cursed Energy. It came in all sorts of applications, from Domain Expansion forming to Cursed Technique activation, the backbone of everything Sorcery was.

Even if imagination and creativity was what made the paint brush move to form whatever the painter wanted, then the paint was the Cursed Energy. Neither would be able to exist without each other, and some of the more articulate and sophisticated Sorcerers from the Heian Era would always preach something akin to this.

Even in the Heisei Era, the modern age of Jujutsu Sorcery, a few Sorcerers made some comparisons such as this. Megumi had the opportunity to read many 'advanced level' books such as those, filled with—in his opinion—needless prose and big words that made it stupidly hard to understand.

However, these musings were not needed at the moment.

Opening his eyes slowly, his eyelashes fluttered in the air. Having gained sight of the orange turned glass dripping all over his hand, Megumi thinned his lips. The perfect opportunity was now, and he had to make sure none of the destructive and super-heated substances were to touch the woman known as Laurentina.

His control was still at a good level, so all he had to do was...

...Push his hand deeper in, and then pull it back the moment the heated glass bent forward. Slightly curling his fingers, Megumi kept his eyes focused to a single point, and then moved it backwards at high speeds. The sound of water evaporating was heard, the liquid spilling out of the vat along with the opening he had made, the heat dispersing throughout the rest of the glass.

Right after, the entire thing popped open like a door. Even if the melted glass was very flexible, Megumi knew that was the best comparison he could make—to a door.

Moving his hand to the side, Megumi immediately tossed the useless object onto the floor as he continued to be battered by the flooding of water. The Sorcerer's clothes were becoming wet as a result, but it didn't matter much to him. Instead, he canceled Shadow Extension and reached outwards to the water, to grab the woman who fell forward.

Reaching her shoulders, Megumi felt the rest of the water pass by his body and fall to the floor. It continued to flow until it could no longer, making the dried blood of the laboratory floor wet, clearing off the coagulated blood. However, it also served to make the room stink even more as signified by the black haired man scrunching up his nose.

Aside from that, he could rest easy once he went back home and let his Cursed Energy recover.

...Wait, he doesn't even have a house...

'Damn it.'

In his small bid of frustration, Megumi decided to calm himself down by thinking of what Binding Vows he could make next.

A few ones came to him in this small stupor.

Under this Binding Vow:

Condition 1: Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga has a separate 30 second cooldown usage for every 'technique' it adapts to and copies.

Condition 2: Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga has to have one more rotation before fully 'copying' a technique via 'adaptation.'

Result: Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General keeps all techniques it has copied every time it is de-summoned and resummoned.

Under this Binding Vow:

Condition: Rabbit Escape's total population based on Cursed Energy output has been cut in half, PERMANENTLY, with the condition being UNCHANGEABLE and UNBREAKABLE.

Result: The main body of Rabbit Escape can speak the human language and is able to act as a conduit for chants.

Really, the Sorcerer couldn't help but smirk to himself. Making these sorts of Binding Vows were starting to become some sort of addiction for him, feeling the incredible rush of cleverness fill him every time he completed one.

The first one was to keep all the techniques Mahoraga could replicate. Megumi was only able to deduce such a thing when he witnessed the Divine General copy Ch'en's red slash—or whatever it was actually called. From what he knew, Mahoraga's Cursed Energy could change in nature, and that was how he was able to replicate her sword draw.

Just with his own flair.

If he kept every technique copied permanently, and with only a short cooldown—then it would be perfect for setting up a one-man-army that can rotate through all skills copied. By the time Mahoraga did finish all of them, the cooldown period should have already passed.

Too bad it made it so that the Shikigami would have to do one more rotation of its wheel to fully adapt.

The second Binding Vow was to alleviate the fact that he'd have to cut off his oxygen supply during fights to chant—so by reducing the amount of Rabbit Escape by a considerable amount—Megumi could boost every Shikigami he summoned (unstable or full form) without having to distract himself.

However, compared to Gashadokuro, Rabbit Escape can only do one chant at a time. It was only the main body of the Shikigami that could do the processes, after all, wherein the Rattling Skeleton had three whole heads it could chant out from.

It was slightly inspired by the King of Curses' second mouth, how it could do chants for him.

The black haired man wondered why Gojo Satoru hadn't abused these sorts of Binding Vows to an unhealthy degree. It would have really helped with the fight against Ryomen Sukuna...

'Forget it.'

With Laurentina in tow, he finally made his departure from the lab.

Megumi wondered if the people around found it weird that he was carrying a white haired—admittedly beautiful woman—across the streets with nothing but a towel wrapped over her pale body. It would definitely catch many gazes back in Japan, with many people wondering if he were a perverted bastard taking advantage of a woman.

However, here? The people didn't seem too bothered. At most, all the Sorcerer received a few glances before they turned their heads away, going about with whatever other business that they had. Megumi wasn't even sure if questions rang in their mind about the situation or not... it was as if this was a normal occurrence for them.

What he needed to be wary about were if any people from the Church were to see him carrying Laurentina. If they spotted him in possession of one of their test subjects, one that Megumi deemed must beveryimportant to them—then it would only cause more problems in the future. Problems that he wished to leave behind as history back in Lungmen, as he had already learnt from his mistakes.

Otherwise, he might need to raid every single church in Primavera and clear them out. Just as he did against the Blood Hounds' leaders, along with the other Siracusan people who were digging deep into Lungmen's system.

His current goals at the moment are to find some sort of hotel or place of residency in which he could spend a day in. Although LMD wasn't an accepted currency here, the black haired man made sure to steal a bit of money back in the laboratory he had raided. Thankfully, the mess caused didn't stain the important things he needed, something Megumi was relieved about.

A map, he had found a map of Terra from amongst all of the useless scientific tools and technology that he didn't know how to operate. Right after though, Megumi had destroyed everything he didn't need in Tiger Funeral flames—storing the ones he needed into his shadow. Like the map.

While keeping half an eye out for any dangers or Church members, Megumi kept his thoughts stuck on the children he had saved. He didn't mind letting them go, considering they had families to return back to when he had dropped them off Divine Dog: Totality. However, this white haired woman that he was carrying had nobody to return to.

Or maybe she did, and the Sorcerer was ignorant on what her specific matter was.

There was no hospital to drop her off either, because of how crappy all of them were. If the Sorcerer were to visit any of them for treatment, he was worried that his body would walk out with a hundred more different diseases. Yes, that was how bad Primavera's condition was.

So Megumi had already decided to take care of her Oripathy condition with Round Deer and let her do whatever she wanted from then on. That was the much he could do in his failure to save literally everybody else within the lab—admittedly a small guilt that he felt.

Although Megumi didn't like self-loathing, the Sorcerer knew that he always dug into his own skin over many matters subconsciously.

It was still a problem he knew afflicted himself. Even if it had been relieved recently, Megumi just couldn't help but intrinsically form those thoughts.

Whatever, it just made things worse when he had focused on his self-loathing, so it was in his best interest to ignore them completely. Like throwing trash into a bin, that was what the Ten Shadows user should be doing with intrusive and useless thoughts such as those.

Pausing his leg movements, Megumi's muscles straightened and stopped their motor functions when he came to the sight of a tall building. Although it didn't match a skyscraper in their towering heights that scratched the clouds, it was still something that stuck out compared to all other buildings outside. The structure was also close to the beach, something that he wouldn't mind looking outside from time to time to see the view of the ocean.

Better yet, it was advertised as a hotel from what he was seeing from the 'decently' well maintained structure. If that meant anything, then the people living here and running this sort of business were doing well, something Megumi attributed to mercenaries or bounty hunters commonly taking residency here.

Well, time to head in.

Her dreams were as clear as day to herself, and an utter repeat of what happened in the real world. Those needles prickling her skin along with strange chemicals invading her body. They served to leave the functions of movement and consciousness constantly in a state of limbo where they never worked properly—yet also not completely shut down. It was a strange and unpleasant feeling, something that continued to plague her mind constantly.

Laurentina should have listened to her instincts more. Such a nice lady approaching her from the beach with nothing but a smile and offer of help was a big red sign. But with the state her body was in at that moment, the Abyssal Hunter had not much of a choice in that matter. If anything could be changed with that encounter, the shark lady would have definitely sunk her saw into that damned smiling face the moment she laid eyes upon it.

Alas, there was no use delving on the past as it were. In her state of helplessness—as much as Laurentina hated it—there was absolutely nothing she could do. With having completed such a grandiose feat from before, it was ironic that this was the fate that had been settled for her, under the cruel skies of this world, and in unfamiliar land. With the constant pain coursing through her nerves every second, it almost came to an unbearable degree.

However, the woman was sure she had gone through worse far before these experiences. Mainly, that was also the reason why she was able to persevere for so long, despite all of the 'treatment' they were giving her. Gritting her teeth—the only part of her body that even moved at her commands—helped reduce the pain, the only way to contract her muscles and tense up against the prickling sensations. No, they couldn't even be called prickling... it was more akin to 'stabbing.'

Over and over again, the white haired Abyssal Hunter would constantly see different scientists conducting experiments on her, injecting some sort of weird liquid into her spine. It was disgraceful and dirty, something that Laurentina had wondered what drove such decrepit people to do what they did. But no answer would be needed from them, as she knew she would eventually kill them someday.

Especially that black haired bird woman, who kept putting up that facade of being a 'nice person.' That mask plastered on her face may fool anybody else, but it was like the woman had face-painted herself with clown markings in front of Laurentina. The first person she would definitely lay waste to the moment she woke up—

—What was that light shining down on her face? Was she on the test table again? Irritating, it would be the same results as all other times. Considering how these 'Church' fellows operated, then Laurentina was already prepared for whatever they were going to do.

But... It was strange? Where was the chattering that she would hear? Where was the incandescent light that continued to pierce through even her eyelids? From what the Aegir shark could feel, the photons shining on her face were far too light and dimmed. In fact, it didn't fit any sort of medical or scientific environment in the slightest.

Laurentina found her body was in some slight pain—to an incredibly reduced degree! An even stranger notion that made her currently subconscious mind wonder if she was stuck in some hallucination. Or maybe her pain tolerance had increased with the amount of pain she had been subjected to everyday.

Her eyelids continued to flutter, the white and artificial luster continuing to batter and leak through them. It was to a point of near irritation, but Laurentina knew that the body she possessed was starting to regain feeling, along with her consciousness. No longer was it muddy and foggy—an opportunity to potentially act back againstthose people.

Fingers started curling, gripping the strange fabric that covered her body. The lost Abyssal Hunter found out that her back was in contact with a soft bed, while her body continued to shift. Overall, it was a completely different feel from the cold and hard metal of the lab tables, or the grimy chemical of their vat tanks.

They came open.

Laurentina's eyes bore witness to the material world once more, both familiar and unfamiliar sights making themselves known. First of all, what she could recognize as a 'decent' bed at best was the object which she laid on—draped over with a blanket that could be described as the same quality.

She definitely wasn't dreaming, due to the pain that still lingered on practically every part of her body. But that wasn't it, her mind was fully functioning and was not tainted by any lethargic influences. Turning her head with a wary and swift look, Laurentina widened her eyes in a defensive manner.

Pulling the sheets closer to herself, the woman saw a... black robed man sitting on a wooden chair, head leaning a bit forward. His eyes were closed, painting a kind of serene statue that was unaware of what was happening in the world around him. Despite his two orbs being concealed, Laurentina could barely perceive a wearied soul beneath.

While his outfit was certainly eye-catching along with his demeanor, what truly caught the Aegir woman's attention was the wheel floating above his head. Aureate in color and gleaming over the barely opened window curtain, it looked almost celestial—no, it was celestial in an unknown nature. The only comparison Laurentina could make was what it was like staring at a magnificent piece of artwork.

Even though her body was as tense as ever due to potential dangers, that singular sight that drew her eye made the shark lady pause. All thoughts of formulating plans of subduing this person while they were vulnerable had completely subsided, replaced with curiosity—

—What was she doing? This could screw her over just as much as trusting that Liberi's words. Analyzing him with a more critical eye, Laurentina could tell that his physical stature was nothing impressive. In comparison to the Abyssal Hunter, she could safely say that he was practically a twink. However, most of these people on land possessed an ability called 'Arts' which she had only borne witness to a few times.

From what she could tell from that divine wheel, the man was most likely one of these Arts users.

Shifting in the bed, the woman made sure her movements were undetected and eerily silent. The blanket could be used to wrap around his neck and choke him, which could work well due to her weakened state.

However, Laurentina didn't know if she should do something like that or not. Despite being on edge, the woman still hadn't gotten much of a clue what was going on. While preparing to restrain the black haired man with the blanket, she glanced around to get a better look of the room.

It was painfully ordinary, nothing of note at all. If anything, it seemed to be some rented hotel that people would stay in—hardly matching Aegir's in any sort of capacity. Shaking her head, the Aegir turned back to the sleeping man.

'...Should I?'Laurentina didn't know her situation, one that bled into her hesitance. What if it was a one in a billion chance that somebody had actually rescued her from that blasted laboratory?'Decisions...'She didn't have much thought to think about it, considering this may be an experimental ploy—

—The man's body slightly shifted, a small breath leaving his mouth. Drowsy and despondent, that was what his movements indicated, the articles of clothing also rustling along with them.

Megumi opened his eyes, starting to feel the exhaustion from expanding Round Deer's existence and output. The amount of Originium in his 'patient's' body was so high that the Sorcerer had to continuously question how they were even still alive. Her condition hadn't even been cured with the amount of Positive Energy he poured out.

Speaking of that person... He turned his attention towards—

'—Oh, she's awake...' and... staring at him with averypredatory gaze. It was to the point where the black haired man had to blink a few times to register the sheer danger that was emanating from her. If anything, Megumi felt like a small fish against a shark.

"..." Megumi didn't know what to say at that moment, being under the gaze of gleaming crimson eyes. It resembled blood, and he was sure that those eyes had seena lotof blood in its lifetime.

There was only one thing that the Sorcerer knew to do in response, that was to be as gentle as possible. "...Good mor—?"

Pupils shrunk and her body tensing up in an instant flare, Laurentina immediately dashed forward and ignored the aching cries of her body. The blanket was in her hands, flowing as naturally as a river when she opened it out and thinned it to a size that would work as a rope.

"Hold on—," Megumi tried to call out to her, his pupils also dilating in response to her actions. Kicking on the ground lightly, the chair he was sitting on leaned backwards as the white haired woman crashed into him.

It was a familiar feeling for Megumi, having to deal with a crazed white haired woman.

"...Are you done?" Megumi massaged his right wrist, having to run through his mind how monstrously strong this woman was. Glancing upwards with a wary gaze, he saw Laurentina covering herself again with the blanket, the woman still bearing a distrustful expression. "Listen..."

"Who are you?" The Abyssal Hunter kept the blanket covering her body, considering that she was still naked. Having woken up barely knowing where she was and still disoriented made her forget about that fact... and when she found out after charging the man...

...The rest was best not to delve on such matters. "You didn't do anything to my body... Did you?" Laurentina would definitely kill this man if he did.

"First of all," Megumi covered his face before shaking his head, "I didn't. I found you in a laboratory run by those 'church people,' who lured children in there for reasons you probably know." he ran the hand down before meeting Laurentina's gaze again. She seemed more understanding, "they have parents, you don't. I don't know who to return you to, so I waited for you to recover before asking."

"...Ah," Laurentina blinked in realization. It seems a one in a billion chance really did occur, where she was saved by... "by a random passerby?" It was honestly hard to believe. But despite that, no lies were detectable from the man's words.

"I guess you could say that," Megumi shrugged, slightly alleviated that this gorilla strengthened woman had stopped assaulting him. "Your infection, it looks serious enough where I'm confused on how you're still walking," moving onto other matters, the black haired man pointed out another thing. "I don't know what they did to you in that lab, but I was at least able to heal it to an extent."

"You were able to heal it?" Laurentina gave a confused look, eyes traveling around the room one more time. Just in case there were other people here, she'd be prepared, "those scientists said it was incurable," even her advanced body sculpted by Aegir's biological engineering couldn't fight it off entirely.

"That's besides the point," Megumi only wished to reveal such a thing so that it would incur a bit of trust, "I need to know if you have any other family members or friends. I'm sure you'd want to return to them."

"...Apologies, but I believe I should introduce myself first," Laurentina breathed a small sigh, subverting away from Megumi's question. "My name is Laurentina—though I believe you've already read it from the sign, have you not?"

"...I have, yes," Megumi nodded, wondering where she was getting at with this.

"Hmm," the woman placed a finger under her lower lip, "once again, I wish to apologize for my unruly behavior—"

"I frankly don't care," the stoic man responded with a mirthless look, "you were panicking, yes, I can understand that. You don't need to feel indebted to me either, anybody would have done what I did." Megumi was sure that a decent human being would rescue those kids and the woman if they had the same capabilities as he had. "So if you have any place to return to, just notify me."

Honestly, seeing the woman in a curled up and fetal position within the vat tank brought up unpleasant memories for him... during that time his body was no longer in control of itself. There was nothing he could do within that hellscape, neither assisting his teacher nor his friends when they fell one by one against Ryomen Sukuna.

Laurentina once again found herself almost perplexed by his bluntness—then at the same time, relieved. A small smile left her lips, there she realized when looking into the other party's eyes that her worries were unfounded—to a certain degree. "I see...then I shall be honest with you, too—I have nowhere to return to."

Megumi was getting some sort of deja vu, "could you elaborate?"

"My home is now lost to my memories, I do not know wherein the path lies to it," Laurentina met the man's, Fushiguro Megumi's, eyes. "I do remember the array of lights streaking across the skies, the structures which make it up, but from where I am at—I do not know if I can head back anymore."

"...Go on," Megumi tilted his head, his wheel slightly moving with it. He also noticed how the white haired woman would occasionally give it a curious glance.

"What I mean to say is, I thank you for your help, it is invaluable," Laurentina wasn't too used to speaking respectfully; but this sort of situation warranted that.

"...That's one elaborate thanks," Megumi dryly remarked, crossing his arms. "What else—"

—Laurentina flinched, moving her hand to grip her chest while she coughed and keeled over. Sligh trails of blood left her mouth, excess of the Oripathy infection from what anybody could tell.

Megumi was quick to react and think of what happened—the woman's growing Originium shards had stabbed into something, progressively getting worse by him withholding his treatment after his Cursed Energy fell low enough. He didn't know how long her body would hold up against those shards, but he wasn't going to take risks.

"There's... no need to worry—," Laurentina raised her hand, wincing her eyes. Although the infection was bad, the Abyssal Hunter's body would definitely fight it off in time and return her to stable condition.

"Don't need to hear it," Megumi thinned his lips, bringing his hands together to form a 'deer' shadow puppet.

"Round Deer."

Although this would expend his Cursed Energy, which was still recovering, Megumi didn't mind at all. They were in a rather safe place, and he could always bring out his trump card if any of those Church bastards were to go in.

Laurentina watched on as a small shadowy puddle appeared on the round, a gigantic deer coming out of it. Now, seeing such a sight and spike of energy would have her immediately lashing towards it due to her instincts—if it didn't feel so positive.

From what her body was telling her, it was almost as if it were saying the towering four-eyed deer in front of the woman was nothing to worry about. In fact, Laurentina wasn't even sure if she could ever feel hostile towards the animal, "what is...?"

"Touch its nose," Megumi breathed out slowly, feeling his Cursed Energy reserves take a hit. For some reason, it was far harder to cope with the loss of Cursed Energy at half capacity than full capacity, making the temporary loss of his reserves far worse. "Trust me." His words were far more tired than usual, but this much Megumi could do.

Laurentina sent a gaze his way, before relenting and holding out her shaky hand from the blanket. She hated this sort of weakness coming from her, but felt all those thoughts leave her mind the moment it made contact. The animal simply leaned its head in and closed its eyes, a green flash appearing on its nose.

It felt amazing, as if all the pain in her body had temporarily subsided. Laurentina could feel her eyes slightly widen, an eventual silence pervading the room. All could be heard was the faint breathing sounds of Megumi and her own breath, stuck in a trance at the... 'Round Deer's' exotic healing abilities.

'Originium Arts... can they do something like this?'Laurentina tilted her head curiously, only having a vague sense of these land-dwellers 'magical' powers' capabilities.'Oh my, isn't this quite interesting?'The feeling was unnatural yet calming. "I wouldn't have expected to—"

Plop

Laurentina turned towards the sound, watching as the black haired man had his face planted on the side of her bed. "...Hello? Are you awake?" The woman couldn't even feel fretful of their presence anymore, considering the scene in front of her. "Hah~? Isn't this quite a sight?" The Aegir shark kept her hand on the deer, giving it a slight glance before turning back to Megumi.

Laurentina turned her body closer.

There was no way he actually fell unconscious, right? Maybe it was from overexertion? But who would be stupid enough to fall unconscious in front of a potential danger.'This person.. it seems?'Honestly, all sense of danger had left her the moment the man went and flopped over.

Taking a glance at Round Deer, Laurentina noted how it didn't seem to do anything in response to its... summoner falling over. From what the woman could tell, these creatures could act somewhat independently from their owner, so maybe that was why he decided it was fine to burn himself up in exhaustion.

"How amusing..." Laurentina couldn't help but smile, leaning over to take a better look at him. "Anybody there~?" The woman called out to him, seeing no response in his body. All there was was a slight heave on his back, clear-cut signs of breathing.

Goodnes, now she was feeling far more devious seeing the man in such a state. It would be unruly of her to act in such a way to her benefactor, so Laurentina decided to stomach it, "it's dangerous to fall asleep in front of a potential danger, no?" She reached out a finger, poking at his head.

Two taps, it caused it to slightly shift on impact. However, the black haired man continued to be unresponsive to it.

The feeling of Originium shards developing in her body had completely stopped, perhaps even reverting when the woman made contact with his summoned creature. Most of her body was working overtime to counteract it, too, so at that point...

"Curious..." Laurentina glanced at Round Deer, the creature falling into a puddle of shadows after turning into black liquid itself. Whatever was sustaining it had been completely cut off, as if an invisible flow of energy had been cut off.

From her point of view, it didn't seem like Megumi was going to wake up at any time. If anything, it must have been because he had been dealing with her infection before she even woke up, evident by his sleeping posture from before. "Not indebted... hm?" Laurentina mulled over those words he gave to her, glancing at the ceiling while tapping his head.

Honestly, it was hard not to feel indebted, considering the lengths he must have gone through. Maybe he was a fool, somebody who wished to play hero, but that didn't reflect in his lightless eyes at all. Having to deal with the entire laboratory—which Laurentina could tell he had done—would definitely incur their ire.

"Such a hard bargain, you," the woman poked him with more strength, "if you don't wish for people to feel so indebted to you—then maybe don't act like a knight in shining armor." The woman playfully rolled her eyes.

In actuality, a knight in dull black armor would be more fitting, Laurentina couldn't help but muse to herself.

Turning upwards, Laurentina paused her incessant poking, finding herself once more in the sight of that floating gold object. There wasn't much imagery or symbolism related to that sort of wheel, and neither could Laurentina say she was a professional on land arts...

"...Eight points? Is it some sort of divulging path?" From an artistic perspective, the Abyssal Hunter could feel that much of an implication from it. That was even barring the strange feeling it gave off, "you'd do well as a sculpture, wouldn't you?" Laurentina moved her hands to touch the wheel, the luminescent and golden object.

There was nothing excessively extravagant about it other than the feeling it gave off, seeing how it decided to go for a more simplistic design—whoever made it. Yet at the same time, Laurentina couldn't help but be drawn in by its great beauty, something that seemed to speak of a thousand stories.

Her hand reached it, caressing the shiny and smooth object within her hands. It was masterfully crafted, something that could only be truly understood from physical contact. Tracing them alongside the object, Laurentina found herself once more in a trance.

KLNK

"Ah?" Laurentina paused for a moment, catching sight of the wheel making a turn when she ran her hands across one of its bouble-shaped ends. "Oh?" the woman touched it again, repeating the same process as she did.

KLNK

"...Heh," Laurentina couldn't help but let out an amused sound. Everytime it turned, this satisfying sound came out of it, one as serene as the accessory holder's sleeping state. "How entertaining,"

She spent the rest of her time touching the wheel.

"Gojo-sensei," Megumi wasn't one to ask his mentor questions, but at this point—he couldn't help it. "How do you keep that barrier up 24/7? I never see you with it down." The weather was rainy, the droplets of water trickling down and impacting the cold concrete floor.

Right now, the two were under the roof of a small shop, having gone there to spend the rest of the day after a mission. Well, Megumi was—Gojo Satoru wasn't.

"Good question," Gojo turned towards his student, standing in the middle of the rain. However, the droplets merely halted at where his barrier was. Despite how excessive and battering the water was, it wouldn't ever touch him, "let's start at the bottom, what do you think happens if you expend a Cursed Technique for too long?"

"You lose Cursed Energy," Megumi remembered, the most basic question even a toddler would be able to answer. "Is it because of your control over Cursed Energy? Refinement then?" That was one of the most clear parts of his teacher after all.

"Not really refinement, no." Gojo shook his head, "even if I have infinite Cursed Energy, or refinement to the point where I take an infinitesimal amount of Cursed Energy to hold up my barrier, one thing remains apparent—physical exhaustion." He raised a finger and pressed it against his head. "The Prefrontal Cortex controls Cursed Techniques, and it can get exhausted to the point where it'd be hard to stay conscious and continue using it."

"Then... how would you alleviate it? Rest?" Megumi tilted his head and crossed his arms with a thoughtful expression.

"Yeah that's one of them." Gojo nodded with a small smile, "but then you also have a pretty special way to heal it... exclusive to the one and only~," the man sounded far cheekier at that moment. "You can use Reverse Cursed Technique to refresh your brain, thus negating the physical exhaustion you get from overusing a Cursed Technique."

"...That again," Megumi said while placing a hand over his mouth. His eyes gazed to the ground, "you always talk about that and Positive Cursed Energy... is it that important?"

"Yes," Gojo replied, placing his hands in his pockets. "It's the bread and butter for what should be passing a ceiling, such as how Domain Expansion should be the Supreme Technique that breaks through the highest ceiling."

"It's different from burnout, right?" Megumi turned upwards, "because you're refreshing your brain, it doesn't exactly cool it down from a domain burnout."

"Damn," Gojo lowered his sunglasses, "you actually paid attention?" He remembered lecturing this deadpan and stoic teenager who was in his angst phase—but never would the Sorcerer thought he would have actually listened. "Damn straight, burnout and exhaustion are two different things, the former being far more complex to restore with Reverse Cursed Technique than the latter."

"I see..." Megumi nodded his head, "then if I learn a way to refresh my exhausted brain, then I could have a Shikigami held out 24/7, too?"

"Your Shikigamis already take, like, barely any Cursed Energy to maintain, especially with the rate of your refinement." Gojo shrugged, "so I guess if you learn Reverse Cursed Technique, you could do something like me? Though, it might be more difficult because creating all that Positive Energy without my beautiful eyes would drain you much faster than me."

"A pity," Megumi exited his posture. "Also, there are people looking at you." The black haired man's finger raised, pointing past Gojo.

"Eh?" Gojo turned away from Megumi, to look around himself. Much to his surprise, there was an entire crowd of people with their phones out, flashing pictures and recording videos of him. "O-oh! Hey~!" The white haired man was perplexed at first, but immediately recovered by striking a pose. "New technology goes crazy, huh? It's really amazing how—"

Megumi watched the scene, a smile almost breaking out. His teacher was always in control of the situation, and seeing the brief moment of panic at the civilians seeing all the water droplets around him—was euphoric.

Now? The Strongest Sorcerer was trying to throw as many deflections as possible in regards to what was happening around him. But Megumi didn't worry too much, considering all of those civilians would probably eat up his words rather than amount it to anything supernatural.

Reverse Cursed Technique... Maybe if he wanted to keep a Shikigami out for as long as he wanted in daily life, he'd need to learn how to do it.

How hard could it possibly be?

"N-ngh," Megumi groaned, waking up to the sight of Mahoraga's wheel above his head, and feeling an unfamiliar weight on his body. "...Did I...?" He turned upwards, feeling a blanket over his body.'I fell unconscious?'The Ten Shadows user felt moderately off put by that, but knew it was bound to happen.

Keeping out the Dharmachakra didn't take much Cursed Energy, and using Mahoraga's Shadow Extension was reduced by a Binding Vow—so there shouldn't be any problems with that. What really caused him trouble was the physical exhaustion that came with it, specifically in his Prefrontal Cortex.

Maybe that was why his brain had shut off after releasing Round Deer, clearing out a lab with halved reserves and using the Shikigami at max output to cure a disease would be...very tiring.

"You'refinally~awake."

An exasperated female's voice came to Megumi's right, making him turn his head towards her. "...Yes?" The man blinked a few times, finding that the white haired woman was still here, and sitting on a chair—hischair that he previously sat on.

"Honestly, I was starting to believe you'd be a sleeping princess for the rest of the day," Laurentina pressed her elbow on her thigh, along with her chin resting on the palm of her hand. "It's good to know you won't be one, though." Her tone of voice held mirth.

"I didn't need to hear that," Megumi turned to her with a deadpan. From his sight, Laurentina was wearing the clothes he had picked off from the laboratory, a rather run down fabric dress-like outfit that looked like... it lacked a few decorations?

...Also, that gigantic buzzsaw that he remembered being in a case, putting it into his shadow to bring along with him. Megumi had taken it out and placed it in the other room to alleviate the weight, so the Sorcerer should have at least expected them to belong to this woman.

What a strange weapon, but he wouldn't comment on it, considering there were even weirder weapons in the world of Jujutsu Society.

"Oh, really? I think you did," Laurentina tilted her head with a smirk. The woman's prized weapon rested on her lap, creating an intimidating sight that would terrify any land-dweller. "Aside from that... how do I look?"

"Why are you asking me this?" Megumi raised an eyebrow, "that's for you to decide. Besides, why haven't you left yet...?"

"Rude," Laurentina huffed out, "and it's undisciplined of you to change subjects in front of a woman." Her fingers lightly tapped on the stick holding her buzzsaw. From what she analyzed of it, the weapon had been in a disheveled state from collecting dust in the corner. It was whatever, since she could clean it anytime.

"Please, just answer the question," Megumi raised a hand from under the blanket to place it over his head. Right now, he didn't feel as if reserves were empty, in fact—they were filled to the brim. How could this be the case?

His body was still exhausted, but still well-rested enough from burning himself out with maintaining the wheel. However, his reserves should still be relatively empty, as the amount of time he slept couldn't have been that long...

...That was when it hit him.

The wheel had adapted to his low Cursed Energy reserves. It took a small pause for him to realize it, but the process clicked in his brain. Mahoraga didn't adapt if whatever affected it wasn't negative, and it had to choose what it wished to adapt to. Subconsciously, his body wanted to adapt to the loss of Cursed Energy—and the perceived negative effect was physical exhaustion.

Although because he could only use Mahoraga's adaptation to 50% effectiveness, then the process only restored his Cursed Energy instead of fully boosting it. If it were the actual Shikigami, then the Divine General would have its Cursed Energy reserves increased.

But then again, why would it even need a Cursed Energy reserve? Considering that it was entirely dependent on the user, tethered to their master's very existence. Wait, no—then how did the ritual version of the Shikigami—

—Too many questions, too few answers...

"...Are you not going to answer?" Megumi turned to the right again. He had been stuck in his thoughts for a long time, yet Laurentina hadn't answered his previous question.

However, at that moment, the black haired man was presented with the sight of the woman's face beingfar tooclose to him. Pushing himself slightly back, Megumi's eyes widened at the unexpected action of the woman.

"Mmh~," Laurentina placed a hand over her mouth while pulling back, "if you want an answer~, then it's pretty simple." Rolling her eyes after proceeding with her action, the woman began explaining. "I don't care if you say I'm not 'indebted' to your 'gracious' acts, I simply wish to repay it—think of it as my conscience not letting this matter go."

Megumi opened his mouth to attempt to refute, but found his words dying in his throat. Looking at this woman, with her unheeding and peerless crimson gaze, the black haired man couldn't help but be reminded of a... certain like-minded individual.

"Besides," Laurentina took it as a cue to continue on, "you've alleviated the ailment afflicting me, one that possesses 'no cure,' it would only be uncourteous of me to ignore such a blatant fact, wouldn't it?"

...This woman, why did she always sound so sarcastic? Megumi was having a hard time understanding if she were being rhetorical or not at times—just like how he couldn't tell if Gojo Satoru was joking or not.

"Oh my, did you fall unconscious again?" Laurentina reached out her hands and poked at Megumi, who had once again delved far too long in his thoughts without responding, "honestly, I'd think you were a finely-carved sculpture with how lackadaisical you have been."

"Sorry," Megumi squinted his eyes when the finger made contact, "I won't be able to convince you, will I?"

"You're stating the obvious here," Laurentina heaved a sigh, flabbergasted at his 'insistence,' "you're not changing my mind, princess."

"Princess, seriously?" Megumi wasn't one to get angry, but that word had definitely reminded him of that time Nobara compared him to a 'Disney Princess.'

"Well~," Laurentina retracted her finger after having it pushed away, holding a devious grin that bore all of her shark-like teeth. "You have quite the frail body, passing out like a Sleeping Beauty when you were so—"

"Forget it, I don't want to hear that," Megumi pushed the blanket off himself, his head laying under his wheel after sitting up. "Repay your debt or whatever, I don't really care." The black haired man glanced at his arms, finding that his black haori had been taken off.

"Right here," Laurentina lifted up a folded article of clothing from under the chair, tossing it towards the man. "It smells quite bad, so I recommend you wash it up."

"You—" Megumi had to reiterate the fact that he came out of slaughtering an entire laboratory, spilling guts and blood across the hallways "—you probably smell bad, too."

"Oh pardon me? Need I remind you who has taken a shower and who hasn't?" Laurentina smirked.

...Of course she had already taken a shower.

Laurentina kept her gaze on the black haired man, watching as he did whatever he did over at the kitchen. It had been a slight last minute decision, but she decided it wouldn't be too bad to stay in this apartment—even if it lacked a lot of quality Aegir's own housings had. Seriously, if Aegir's apartments were 5 stars then this one would be 0.01 stars.

Ah, and that debt too.

"What are you making?" Laurentina peered from the chair she was sitting at, curiosity gleaming across her line of sight, "I wouldn't have predicted you to be a half decent cook, but here we are."

"Isn't this too early for assumptions?" Megumi blandly replied, "if you're going to stay here to repay that 'debt,' then I don't care about making a larger portion." He remembered talking to Yuji about habitually cooking food in his ideal world... waiting for him or Tsumiki to wake up... okay, it wasn't good to daydream right now.

An ideal world such as that wasn't possible, even if he secretly trained his cooking skills in the background—a desperate attempt to at least see a portion of it coming true.

"You know—you remind me so much of Orca," Laurentina swung her legs slightly, "I don't expect you to know who that is, either."

"A friend of yours," Megumi assumed, "I wouldn't have thought you'd share this sort of information." His hands moved to drop the freshly cut vegetables into the pot.

"What harm could it do?" Laurentina stopped swinging her legs, to take another glance at the man, "if you have no context, then there is no reason to be afraid. It's just that you—and her, have somewhat of the same tempo."

"Okay," Megumi opened the sink, having been somewhat excited that it hadcleanwater as compared to all other places in this city. "What do you even plan on doing from now? Aside from repaying that debt...? Finding your allies...?"

"Well," Laurentina, "your occupation doesn't seem to be a normal one. Is it?" The woman could tell from his skills that he didn't seem to be somebody who'd hold a 'job' that didn't rely on bloodshed. "A mercenary, are you?"

"No," Megumi replied, "I don't need a job here anyways. Already robbed that lab clean."

"Mhm~?" Laurentina felt a small bit of air leave her cheeks, "ah, what a delightful thing to be reminded of."

"I'm just glad you're not trying to kill me," Megumi dryly responded.

"I know you wouldn't appreciate such a thing after the first time."

"...That's implying you were going to attempt it again."

"Oh please, it's a mere jest," Laurentina waved her hands in the air. "I wouldn't want to break the body of such a frail princess—I'd much prefer if it were of soulless monsters."

Megumi listened to her words while watching the temperature of the boiling ingredients. "Like those... sea monsters from in the lab?" He wondered if the woman knew anything about them.

"So, youhaveencountered them?" Laurentina walked upwards from her seat, approaching behind Megumi's back. "I see, I should have expected as much." Once she arrived, she peered over from his back curiously to look at the pot.

Megumi felt her pressing against his back while tippy-toeing, but ignored it, "yes. I did."

"Then should I ask you a question of my own?" Laurentina reached a hand upwards and touched his wheel again, "I wonder what extravagant purpose this object holds, it certainly is nothing ordinary."

"...An exchange of questions, then?"

"You could say so," Laurentina tapped it a few more times before letting go of it.

"If you want to build trust that way, then sure," Megumi continued watching the ingredients boil. Honestly, it would have been much better if Yuji or Tsumiki were here, asleep in the other rooms—waiting for the morning air to wake them up. "It's an Arts ability of mine."

Laurentina continued observing it, indeed, it was one of the most beautiful things she had laid her eyes upon. "...Did you know?"

"Yes?" Megumi was wondering what she was starting to get at now.

"If I could, I would have loved to sculpt an object of such magnificent gold as yours," Laurentina raised her fingers into a picture-esque frame position, aligning Megumi's stone-faced expression, black haori, and Dharmachakra in it. "Has anybody told you—that your object of a wheel is quite beautiful?" The woman smirked.

"Huh...?" Megumi repeated the words in his mind.

"As beautiful as your name...and here I'm starting to believe you're a woman in disguise," Laurentina peered her head aside from her hands, as if she actually had been holding a picture frame. "Despite our differing cultures, anybody can tell your name is not quite... masculine."

"I'm a male," Megumi mirthlessly replied. He was starting to wonder if she talked more than Gojo-sensei, completely forgetting the question he had wanted to ask her in exchange.

"I'll keep that in mind,princess~,"Laurentina replied, showing her teeth with a smile.

Laurentina felt her palms, once, twice, and thrice. It was amazing, truly, how her body was functioning as she wished it to. If it were only—what? A few hours ago, then she would be a literal fish dehydrating on land with how ravaging the disease was.

Of course, it was obvious who had treated it. The man in question was sitting on a chair, unfolding various files and papers, scrutinizing them with a focused gaze. Fushiguro Megumi had been wary a few times of Laurentina, but the woman could tell he had been slightly alleviated of any potential malice she may possess.

Although her body hadn't been in complete restoration of its physical strength, the Abyssal Hunter was sure she'd still be able to be active in any combat scenario. Laurentina wasn't sure of Fushiguro Megumi's skills, but clearing out an entire lab of those monster worshippers was still quite a feat.

Especially that wheel that continued to give off an immense presence, making Laurentina wonder what it was even used for. Definitely a weapon or tool, something the Abyssal Hunter assumes is an item that could enhance Arts to a certain degree.

"What's captivated your attention now?" The woman placed her hands behind her back while walking up to him, glancing over his shoulder. Megumi was usually silent, keeping to himself, but Laurentina made sure to inquire to him about every little detail—so as to not be confused about his next actions.

"It's the Church," Megumi gave her a brief glance, "all of the files are useless, except for these ones, a good general location for their hidden spots." The black haired man knew that they would most likely be looking for the perpetrator who had destroyed one of their labs, so it's best to be prepared.

Also because he wished to crush all of their hidden laboratories, after finding out about their atrocities.

"Files...? Have you seen mine, then?" Laurentina asked with a neutral expression, already aware that they must have recordedmanythings about her.

"I burnt the files about you," Megumi replied, "did you want them?"

"That's a surprise," Laurentina couldn't tell if that was an action that could be considered considerate, or inconsiderate. "It's almost as if you've read my mind. Did you already have a look at them? And no, I don't care much for them."

"No, I didn't," Megumi didn't even have to tell a half-truth, "those sort of things don't interest me." He continued looking at the other files. "Especially not from the mad ravings of lunatics."

"Lunatics? Fitting." Laurentina placed a hand over her mouth amusedly, "do you take it as an obligation to take care of them?"

"I just feel like it, so probably?" Megumi flipped to another file, squinting his eyes at the information. They were encrypted in a mysterious message, but the language ability he had gained since entering this world had also applied to these too.

"Oh? You do know of the danger, don't you, princess?" Laurentina leaned over, placing her elbow on the backrest of the chair. "If you don't watch your step—those cruel waves may swallow you in their maws." Her voice was a whisper, a cautionary tone towards him.

Megumi had already gotten used to this... eccentric woman calling him 'princess,' "you don't have to worry about me."

"I know you've cleared those little rats dwelling in their caves, but I'm sure those little critters were only a mere drop in the wide ocean," Laurentina slowly placed a finger on his neck, tone lowering. "It would be as simple as a well placed claw to alleviate your frail body of its coil."

"I'll keep that in mind," Megumi tilted his neck barely to the side, placing down the file he had looked at and picking up another one. "Oh, it's a map of their locations... perfect."

"Hmph," Laurentina looked at his face again, seeing the same indifferent response. "Infallible now, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't say so."

"What would you say, then?"

"There's many things I take into consideration," Megumi tapped the file a few times, before unfolding it. "Errors are one of them."

"Ah, then you should also take into consideration that you've seen my exposed body?"

"Then I'll take responsi—" Megumi blinked rapidly, almost dropping the file in his hands. There was no way he had said something like that while in a concentrated stupor—

"Pfft~," Laurentina's eyes were filled with a playful and amused glint, "I didn't know you were such a gentleman, Fushiguro Megumi~?"

...Damn it, Megumi wondered how he could fumble with his words that badly. There was no way he would have done it with anybody else back in his world...right?

"Ah, but what if I'm not ready~?" Laurentina faux hugged him from the back, making the black haired man jolt. "A maiden like me having their body exposed to another man... how could I ever..."

"Please... Laurentina," Megumi wondered how this woman could say such things abashedly. "You should know the implications of your words."

"I know, I know, I'm kidding," Laurentina broke off from the contact with a smirk, "though, seeing that cold exterior of yours break is certainly a sight."

"...You should rest, I don't know how much more activity your body can take after your infection was only remedied to a small extent," Megumi rapped his finger over the file, turning the page and looking at the next section.

"You shouldn't underestimate an Abyssal Hunter," Laurentina leaned in again, whispering in his ear. "That's one thing I truly mind in regards to how you view me, keep that noted."

"...Sure?" Megumi thinned his lips, wondering what had caused this sudden change in her voice. The words 'Abyssal Hunter' seemed to be some sort of title or occupation, but he would save that question for another time.

"Ah, apologies once more, I find it hard to keep my trap shut after being free for so long," Laurentina rested her chin on the backrest. "I'm sure you could understand what it feels to be trapped?" Her question was fully rhetorical, not expecting much of a response.

"I do," Megumi automatically responded with a despondent voice, reminiscing of a certain time.

"Truly?" Laurentina's eyes opened wider with a brighter shine, "to lose all control of your senses? To be helpless under the cruel grasp of others?" The woman turned her head to glance at Megumi's eyes. The black haired man had halted dead in his tracks, as if something had been processing within.

"...Forget it," Megumi narrowed his eyes and shook his head, "I wouldn't want to sour the mood."

"You're quite affluent in deflection, aren't you?" The Abyssal Hunter sighed, "I would have expectedmywords to be the one to 'sour' the mood, but if you say otherwise..." she let her words draw, taking another peer into his eyes.

Empty, devoid of any life. If she had to describe it in one word, it would be anabyss.A deep chasm where one would fall infinitely, never to grasp onto a single thread of feeling nor sense ever again. Eventually, such an empty and boundless fall would make anybody insane, lost in its dreadful grasp.

"I ask of you—do tell me." Laurentina grabbed his chin and forced it to turn towards her, much to the other party's surprise. "There is nothing I can see in those crestfallen eyes of yours, it's almost as if your soul has sunken deep below the sea—to never be seen again."

"You're thinking too deeply," Megumi placed his hand on Laurentina's own, meeting her gaze in the process. It made him pause, taking in those bright and wide crimson eyes; which reflected his form within its sights.

...For whatever reason, he just felt the need to say something, "...if you want to know about it so much, then let go of me."

Laurentina pulled her head back in slight shock, "I wouldn't have expected that to work. Now what was it, my beautiful eyes? Or was it the sincerity in which I asked of you?"

"The latter," Megumi humored her question.

"My, I feel praised." Laurentina responded in kind.

Right after, Megumi reached his hand outwards, a coalescence of black shadows immediately forming on it. When it fully formed, it was a folder with a white piece of paper in it—black ink combining together to create an image.

His control over it had improved, being able to form it in his hand without having to reach into a puddle.

Laurentina watched with vested interest, the object appearing in such an unnatural way, "I would have never expected something like that. Is this a parlor trick of yours?"

"Parlor trick? Sure," Megumi didn't even bat an eye for her back-handed compliment, "just take a look at it, and it should answer your questions." He opened the folder, setting it on the table with all the other ones he found in the Church's hidden laboratory.

The Abyssal Hunter turned to the image, picking it up with her delicate fingers. "Brain scans?" She glossed it over once, and then twice. What she was seeing... "scarred tissue, a lot of them." The white haired woman wasn't too well-versed in the brain, but she knew at least that much. From what she was seeing, every single part of the brain was... just scarred tissue.

How was he even alive?

"To answer your question," Megumi picked up another file without much interest, going back to his research. "I guess I can relate to what you've experienced. However, everybody goes through their own thing, and I can't just say with certainty that I understand you." The black and endless abyss of his soul was something that had always kept him entrapped—a tether to his past that the Ten Shadows user wished to move on from.

Although Megumi could say he had moved on from them to an extent, there were just some scars that he didn't believe could be fully recovered. All he could was struggle and push, hopefully to meet the ends which he had been looking for so long.

The lights were dimmed, only in the apartment's living room. There was only one bedroom, and all other lightbulbs were currently turned off. It signified the beckoning of the irradiant moon, the ebb of the night creeping through from the decadent and fogged windows.

Files laid strewn about haphazardly, as if the handler of such precious folders did not care for them. Indeed, Fushiguro Megumi didn't care much about their state of repair or disrepair, considering they belonged to some of the scummiest people he had ever had the displeasure of witnessing.

After analyzing and studying them, the Sorcerer was going to burn them along with whoever he was about to pillage next with his small shadow army—led by a vicious general Heaven had ever seen. But right now...? A little bit of rest wouldn't hurt, considering just how tiring keeping up the wheel was.

Pinching his eyelids, Megumi felt a gaze continue to bore into him. Taking a glance behind him, the black haired man gave a restrained look when he saw two scarlet red eyes peering through from the opening of the bedroom door. The sensation the Sorcerer felt from it was always unnatural, but bearable to a certain degree.

...How long had she been watching him for, though?

There was no need to keep this moment stalled much longer, "Laurentina, what is it?" Megumi didn't say he understood the woman that much, considering he had only known her for a few hours. For some indiscernible reason, the woman wanted to repay a non-existent debt she held for him.

"Will you not heed your body's function of rest?" The woman opened the door wider, her full body coming into view. "Or does sticking your nose amongst those hundreds of files suit your temperament better?"

"There's no need to say something like that," Megumi waved his hand in the air, "I'll get enough rest anyways."

"You know..." Laurentina spoke out, walking towards him, "you land-dwellers have such fragile bodies, and here I wonder how such a delicate organ such as your brain still functions amongst the fissures tearing it apart." The woman reached him, and marginally bent her knees to meet his eyes once more.

"...Land-dwellers, what do you mean by that?" Megumi bore a confused expression at her choice of words.

"Ah, did I forget to mention?" The Abyssal Hunter stood back up again, placing a hand on her temple. "Then I shall be brief, I am an Aegir, I hail from the structures built below the sea." Laurentina shifted her hands, placing it on her chest. "One far different from your own."

"How different?" Megumi knew this world had entire Nomadic Cities, so hearing of underwater cities wasn't too much of a revelation.

"How should I put this, then?" Laurentina looked thoughtful, "technology beyond even your wildest dreams, art and culture rich in the greatest flavor—beauty. I doubt I would perceive such a thing on land, and certainly neither in a decrepit room such as this." The woman mulled over her words for a moment, "no offense."

"No offense taken," Megumi said. From what he could tell, Laurentina had some sort of passion for her city—bathing it in a valuable light. "Your city must have been nice, then."

"Words can't truly describe it," Laurentina smiled, "but that's besides the point. Your body is fragile—as I have pointed out a million times, and so I believe it is upon my duty as an 'Abyssal Hunter' to protect you from those dreaded Sea Terrors."

"...That's... new?" Megumi pondered why she was revealing this to him.

"Of course, I am only saying this because our goals align. I can't have a princess such as you—inexperienced in dealing with the matter of the Seaborn—charge in so headstrong." Laurentina placed a finger between them. "Think of this as the repayment, nothing more—nothing less."

It was then the Aegir shark spoke what had been in her chest for the longest time since she had heard the man freed her from the lab.

"I can get behind that," Megumi placed a hand over his mouth, giving it a few more thoughts. "No objections, then."

The white haired woman watched his swerve on his seat, placing his elbow on the desk and picking up yet another file. Honestly, Laurentina was wondering if this was some wall he put in front of himself and others... one that shereallywanted to break down.

Perhaps, was it to see that endless abyss of his soul once more? One that felt so... so confidable? Ah, emotions are such a fickle thing.

"Your brain," Laurentina walked around, placing a hand on the top of his head, and making sure her pale hand didn't touch his floating wheel. "I don't believe it is healthy to exert it so much," maybe that was why the black haired man had fallen unconscious when summoning that 'pure' creature. "I am no expert neurologist, but scarred tissue like yours is always something that should be tenderly dealt with."

"I've had it for an entire week now, it won't change just because I exert myself a little more," Megumi responded with slight resistance. "Besides, you know my healing abilities—I can just restore my exhaustive state."

"Then why hadn't you done so before?" Laurentina grinned, having hit the mark dead-on.

"Because it was focused on somebody else," Megumi responded in kind.

"Aha~, well I believe I can't refute it, now can I?" Laurentina had other plans though. Moving herself to another side of the room that had an extra chair, she dragged it towards where the black haired man was sitting.

Megumi watched in silence.

"Then I believe these matters should pertain to me also, might as well read these over while I recover," Laurentina said. After having settled the chair close to Megumi's own, she plopped down and grabbed a file of her own, "so, where do we begin?" She gave a glance towards the 'expert.'

"Their locations." Megumi pointed to a specific spot on the table, "this file has them. You'll want to take a look at it first."

"With pleasure."

Megumi groaned, lifting his head from the desk. The basking presence of the morning sun was bleeding through his window, half-lidded eyes opening to meet them. There was this lethargic feeling overtaking him, one that could be reverted by flowing Positive Energy from a certain technique through his veins.

However, that wasn't needed at the moment, and there was something else that could alleviate him.

KLNK

The wheel turned, and gave Megumi a brief flow of respite that amounted to a 2 hour nap in a single motion. Although the Dharmachakra had a few limits on what it could adapt to when using Shadow Extension, the Sorcerer didn't mind much.

It was more a quality of life sort of thing, and an added benefit whenever he was bearing the burden of Mahoraga's adaptation. Most of his self-afflicted adaptations were temporary as compared to the Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General, so it was best to make them the restoration of physical depravations.

Stretching his arms with a sigh, Megumi lightly stamped his feet on the ground and stood up—

"Had a good night's sleep?"

The Sorcerer turned to his right, finding that Laurentina was sitting on a nearby chair, legs crossed over as she glanced over a file. "...Did you not sleep?" That was a confusing and jarring sight after having immediately just woken up.

"I have," Laurentina placed the item she was holding back onto the table. "I went to sleep first, remember? Too bad somebody else had been so adamant to take a rest, I even suggested a spot for you in that lonely room."

"Don't say such things casually," Megumi didn't like scrounging his brain to know whether she was joking or not. He couldn't really find out, reading other people was at times, very difficult when it came to the implications of what she had just said.

"No, it really was isolating," Laurentina held her hand close to her mouth while her elbow rested on the armchair, "I'd much prefer having stepped outside, to view the boundless skies and endless lands once more." Perhaps even returning to Aegir... but with her resources at the current moment—attempting to search for it would be suicide.

"You're not in the best to do so," Megumi stood up, "you should stay and rest for the moment, I'll go outside to get a few things done. Besides, those Church people might recognize you and want to take you back."

"You're asking a hard bargain," Laurentina gave a droll look, "have I not just told you I wish to see the outside world."

"It'll only take 2 hours." Megumi fixed his black haori, letting it properly remain flowy, "I think that should be enough time before you're well enough to head out."

"Oh? Then I can spend that time reviewing these... boring files," Laurentina sighed. "If you don't return within that time length, and bring me outside too—I might as well break your legs."

"...I'll take that to heart," Megumi walked towards the door. "If you need any food, there should be left overs in the fridge."

"Oh, and one more thing, princess~," Laurentina called out to the man before he could fully make his way. "My outfit is in a state of disrepair, as you can see. Take this small drawing and present it to a tailor, I'd make sure to repay this." The woman walked upwards to him, placing a note in his open hand.

"I'll..." Megumi took a look at it, "...when did you draw this?"

"While I was reminiscing within my room," Laurentina replied, "I believe new clothes, ones that match my features should be in place, no? So I took my sweet time drawing its concept."

"...It looks good," Megumi placed it in his pocket, not even needing to place it within his shadow. "I'll ask a tailor to make it, then." Nodding to himself, he marched towards the door again.

"Mhm," Laurentina walked back to the desk and picked up another file, giving one last glance towards Megumi's departing back. The sound of the door opening and then closing echoed in her ears, making the Aegir lady heave another breath. "Truly... I wish there were a boulder right now," one that she could draw life and substance out of—to chisel that beautiful wheel.

Hopefully that man would stay out of danger.

"Did I forget to ask him something...?" Laurentina went through her mind, "ah, right... that woman. Amaia, was it?" Just speaking that name made her nerves thin in anger, "I never asked if he slaughtered her or not."

There was no need for Megumi to take a look at the familiar streets. The section of the city which he stayed in had already engraved itself into his mind, giving him all the locations of the shadows in which he could creep through.

One thing such an action felt like was swimming, the liquid shadows passing through his body. However, they never possessed a wet feeling, and it was hard to describe what it truly was like. Maybe like swimming through air, that was the best description Megumi could give.

His current plans right now was to not get spotted by the Church people, considering they might know what he looked like—and scout their outposts or prayer buildings. However, before that, Megumi was planning to get the outfit tailored for Laurentina first... if there were even any skilled tailors around these parts.

Well, there was one shop or store he remembered spotting while first traveling through. So maybe the tailor there could possess the necessary skill to create what Laurentina had sketched down...

...Could it even be called a sketch? In actuality, it looked like an extremely detailed drawing with graphite pencil. Every single spec that was scraped onto the piece of paper detailed everything the outfit wished to be created—one that was not too different from Laurentina's current outfit—but different enough.

A long skirt with three parting tails, and a few blue strands that come along with it. There was also that hat, making Megumi wonder if he should have just had Laurentina bring in her original clothes to have a do-over.

Shaking his head, Megumi decided to kick up his speed, remembering the routes between alleyways that led to the place he had remembered seeing.

Megumi walked into the store, pausing his steps as the door continued swaying from his movements. The place wasn't... too bad? It could have been in better condition, but looked presentable enough.

There were no clothes displayed to give ethos to the store, so the Jujutsu Sorcerer was practically blind in regards to if the the owner of this shop could even create a set of clothing as detailed as Laurentina had drawn.

Could they even tailor clothes at all...?

Might as well give it a try, "hello? Is anybody here?" Megumi called out, letting his voice echo across the store. Taking a glance around him, the Sorcerer made sure that there were no members of the Church—or the Penal Battalion for that matter—behind him.

Once that was over with, he turned around and—

—There was an old man standing in front of his face, making the black haired man pause in his steps. It hadn't given nearly as much of a heart attack if he were a Cursed Spirit, but it was still definitely a shock.

"...Sir?" Megumi called out to the listless man, taking in the wrinkles of his face and the like. "Are you able to tailor clothes?" Was the old man interested in his wheel? That couldn't be right, he wasn't even taking any glances towards it.

"Tailor... tailor?" The old man looked upwards in a daze, as if attempting to recall something. "Tailor, yes, I can tailor..."

Those wordsdefinitely, 100%gave Fushiguro Megumi the confidence to trust them. "Then..." It was a tough decision whether he could try this one—or search for other tailors out in Primavera. But then again, could he get any more fortunate than... this? "Could you tailor something from this drawing?"

When Megumi handed the note hesitantly to the man, the Sorcerer swore he saw a glint in the other person's eyes, right before he snapped the object right out of his hands. The movement was fast, but slow to his trained eye.

Repeatedly, the old man's eyes looked to be bulging and going across every single detail of the note. They brought it close to their eyes, then farther away—before it moved close to their optical viewers once more. Over and over again, their eyes also scanned left and right in a swift movement.

Megumi stood there silently, having to re-contemplate what actions had led the black haired man to go over here. First, it was Laurentina's request... and then his obligatory inner sense to get it fulfilled. Then again, it was just clothes—the woman already had a set that was functional enough.

"I can make it..." the old man clenched the note, before shakily pocketing it. "Dress... yes, I remember, dress for my..." The tailor continued to look upwards, some sort of glint in his eyes as he continued to ramble on.

"I'll... come back in about a few hours to see the progress..." Megumi gave a small wave to the sanity-depraved old man, before turning around and exiting the shop.

There was no way this would end well, would it?'Sorry, Laurentina.'

Laurentina felt as if somebody was talking about her right now, while going through the files. Shrugging her shoulders, the shark lady assumed it was that black haired handsome man thinking about her.

Guilty as charged, though—the Abyssal Hunter also had that stranger going through her mind constantly. His cold demeanor that was more fitting as a front, his strange aura, and that wheel halo. Normally, Laurentina would be able to know danger from her instincts and senses, yet Fushiguro Megumi seemed to both provoke and calm it.

If that divine wheel hadn't existed, the woman was sure she would have kept attacking him when the both of them had woken up. After all, that small yet still barely detectable lingering 'negative' energy grated at her senses in the worst way possible. It spiked up whenever he woke up, and then hampered down right after.

Strange, completely and utterly strange.

She wondered how somebody with such a decadent feeling could possess such a beautiful and heavenly accessory, one that provoked her keen senses as a sculptor. Ironically enough, Laurentina couldn't help but think the black haired man was a kind of allegory for corruption and divinity—a contrast and contradiction that existed as one.

However, human beings were far more deeper than simple art pieces, despite how much emotion and expression the latter could give off. Some people could be interesting or disinteresting in Laurentina's eyes, and she found Megumi to beveryinteresting.

Aside from all she knew about him, that single good look into his eyes seemed to reveal everything about the man... yet at the same time, brought up a million more questions.

Taking a look outside the window, the Aegir saw a beach not too far away. The waves that crashed upon the shore were tantalizing, and felt as if they were calling out to the woman. However, Laurentina knew better than to foolishly exit this room and risk being caught by the Church who worshipped those ocean-hogging beasts.

After all, she would keep her word to Fushiguro Megumi, and Laurentina also sure hoped he'd keep his words to her.

Taking a glance at the files neatly piled on the desk, the lonely woman let out a sigh and stretched her arms. There was quite literally nothing else to do, and neither could Laurentina find anything interesting. One thing that came to mind though, was to tease that black haired princess the moment he walked back into this room.

"Perhaps I could have a little dance...?" Laurentina glanced towards the roof while leaning back on her chair, it was but a passing thought. "Perhaps the melody of the ocean can guide me," despite the condition she was in, and the long departure from such activities—the memories and practice were deeply rooted in her blood.

Standing up, Laurentina decided that would be a good way to pass by time.

Maybe a small melody wouldn't hurt either.

Megumi was sure that visiting the tailor shop and meeting their strange owner would be the end of visiting these run-down places... but he found himself distractedonce againwith something else.

Those words were from Gojo Satoru quite a long time ago. It was when they had discussed Cursed Tools, something that had interested the black haired man a lot. Using weapons was something Megumi liked, something that became evident after he got to experiment with his current armory.

It all started the moment he picked up that jet-black blade, and that shortsword he brought with him to the Culling Games. Having something that could make up for his lacking physical department was always something Megumi would welcome with open arms, so this blacksmith he found himself at was intriguing.

Taking a small breath, the Jujutsu Sorcerer stepped forward and placed his hand on the door, opening it up. Instantly, a wave of heat hit his body, but didn't do much to perturb him. The smell of ash and coal continued to fill his nostrils, making Megumi vaguely cover his mouth and nose to block it off.

Glancing around, Megumi was met with a fairly late middle-aged Liberi man staring at him with a discerning gaze. The black haired man probably looked out of place in a grisly place such as this, with his flowy and 'expensive' attire, "hello? Are you a blacksmith?"

"What's a kid like you doing here?" The Liberi raised an eyebrow, his dirtied and stained industrial apron being marked with multiple signs of wear and tear. "I didn't expect some... Aegir to come walking into my store with a strange object above their heads."

"I'm not an Aegir," Megumi shook his head, "I don't even know what my own race should or would be called." The black haired man took another glance around the place. It was like any blacksmith would be... or what he would assume a blacksmith place would look like.

Compared to every other store or shop, this place definitely beat them all out straight of the gutter, and it wasn't even comparable.

"Well, Aegir, Liberi, Iberian, it doesn't matter," the man lazily moved his hand in the air with an exasperated speech. "What do you want from me?" He could feel some sort of strange eminence that seemed to be radiant coming off from the other party, piquing his curiosity far more than he'd like to admit.

"...Could you make a weapon for me?" Megumi decided to get straight to the point, wondering if he could use the materials made in this world to create a Cursed Tool.

"Seriously? Sure, sure," the Liberi coughed into their gloved fist, "what do you want? I'll be generous this time around, seeing how this shit-hole of a town barely gets me customers nowadays. Wasn't like this during the Golden Age..." the last part of their speech was slightly muddled.

"Can I have a look around?" Megumi pointed, having spotted a few things that had caught his eye, "it might require a specific material to be made."

"Whatever, go ahead," the blacksmith called out, "what's your name anyways?"

"Fushiguro Megumi, family first, given last," Megumi replied.

"Name's Antonio," the Liberi casually propped her elbow on his desk, tapping his foot on the floor. "Strange object you have on your head, but I won't question it. Probably some weird Arts this generation's been getting up with."

"Yes," Megumi lied while walking around the room, finally glad that somebody hadn't pointed out his name belonged to that of a female's. His gaze continued to linger, going across the displayed weapons that had been evidently collecting dust, along with unused materials laying about.

The materials were about as ordinary as he could sense from them, either Terra's version of iron, steel, bronze, and the like. All in all, they seemed to be good items to be made into Cursed Tools, but that was all there was to it. Megumi remembered learning very specifically that materials were important when it came to creating Cursed Tools, taking up about 70% of its effectiveness.

The other 30% was the Cursed Technique and Cursed Energy quantity imbued—

—His thoughts were pulled straight out of his head, when his eyes met something glistening. "...Gold?" Megumi had wandered a bit deep into the shop, and saw a glint in a barely closed cabinet.

"Hey!" Antonio moved up from his seat, after seeing where Megumi's sight was at, "that area is off limits!" The Liberi grabbed Megumi by the shoulder and pulled him back, "just so you know, these materials aren't gonna be used for whatever you want—no matter how much you pay!" He held a greater deal of a defensive look than before.

The Sorcerer blinked a few times, genuine curiosity present in his gaze, "why not?" If it was actually gold, then it could be extremely useful for what he wished to create.

"Ugh," Antonio shook his head, "you wouldn't understand." A hesitant look was on their face, alternating back and forth between the area and the neutral faced Megumi. "Tch, what's the point? You saw what the material was, right?"

"...Gold? Is it rare?" Megumi was sure that gold wasn't something that wasn'ttoorare back in his world. Expensive, sure—but still affordable to a certain extent, especially if a Sorcerer had enough connections to get it.

"No, no... this is why I dislike you damned tourists," Antonio placed a hand over his face, "fine... I'll only tell you this once. This isn't any ordinary gold, it's something far more special than that." The late middle-aged man paused their words, as if they were fighting off an urge whether or not to reveal it.

Megumi didn't know how to reply, not wanting to cut them off from whatever process they were going through.

To some degree, the Liberi seemed to slightly calm down after taking in a slow and deep breath. "Listen closely, alright? It's the same material as the special gold used to make a portion of the Golden Dreadnought—theStultifera Navis."

Megumi felt the need to ask what that was, having never heard of it before. Thankfully, the Sorcerer knew it would be a stupid question to ask considering how angry the man was before when he didn't know how special the gold was. "Then I assume that it's a really good material to use?"

"Compared to other gold," Antonio huffed, "beats them out in every way possible. What? Do you want me to use it to make you a weapon? Not a chance, it's terrible for bladed weapons."

"An Arts conduit, then?" Megumi tilted his head.

"I'm not making Arts staffs either," the Liberi moved his arm annoyingly, as if shoo-ing off the other man. "I'm not using those materials, buddy, no matter how much you try to convince me. This is the only reminder of the Golden Age I have, and I doubt I could make anything that wouldn't tarnish those materials in the first place—"

"I can do it." Megumi replied, not a hint of hesitation present. The gold, if it's as special as he said, could make it so that he could channel Cursed Energy through it more efficiently. Although there were far better materials than gold back on Earth, the object still held great conductivity for Cursed Energy.

Changed by Terra's strange chemical make-up, it could even be better than the ones back on Earth. Besides, gold was a really good conductor for electricity, something that Megumi was also looking into as a factor.

"...You know your resting bitch face is quite annoying, huh?" Antonio puffed his chest, straightening his posture, "the hell do you mean you could make a masterpiece? Do you even have any experience in it, you look too young and soft to bethattype."

"A masterpiece—" Megumi drew his voice out "—is what you wish to create, and I can do that in your place. Name the price, and I can do it." After all, the Dharmachakra divined him with a crown fit for a sovereign.

"What are you gonna do? Create another one of those stupid wheels above your head?" Antonio turned upwards to look at the golden object, "looks nice, sure, but it probably doesn't mean shit in the first place." His pride felt hurt when being confronted with this damned Aegir who acted as if they knew smithing better than him—who had been in the industry for decades!

"Name the price," Megumi's arms stayed resting and obscured by his black haori. His head slightly tilted to the side, continuing his speech, "any problems you have, and I'm sure I can fix it."

Antonio let out a grunt, placing his hands on his lips and scrunching up his lips. His teeth drew on them for a second, before turning around and starting to pace across the room. The Liberi's head gazed all across, turning upwards, downwards—then to all other places in between. A deep and unsettling silence overtook the area, only the sparking sound of flames could be heard.

Mumbling was heard from the distressed man who was constantly shaking his head. Yet at the same time, another voice of reason seemed to be tugging at him, heeding him to follow the beatific feeling that the other party was giving off... and Antonio still didn't know whether he could follow it or not.

Primavera was a sack-of-shit city to live in. Yet the Liberi found himself staying, unmoving despite the Golden Age of Iberia having passed by already. It all happened in a brief flash, becoming nothing but a memory and painting deep within Antonio's mind. Yet here in his shop was a material that would be sought over by all blacksmiths that walked Iberia, a chance to revive even a glimmer of the Golden Age having long since gone by.

...Why did he even reveal this to... to whoever this stranger was? Was it because he felt as if he could trust him? Was it because the Liberi saw that blasted wheel and its grandiose splendor? Or was it just the sheer confidence and indomitability that radiated off from Fushiguro Megumi?

It was all so confusing for Antonio, yet the Liberi decided to follow his instincts. The very same instincts that had left him to stay in Primavera for so long instead of migrating to other—greater places.

"...I'll only let you forge this... masterpiece you talk about under two conditions," there had been many times his friends had told him to make something out of the gold. His father hadn't pressured him as they have, but Antonio could feel their words consistently repeating themselves in his head.

"What are they?" Megumi was fully willing to hear them out, as long as they weren't too absurd.

The late middle-aged Liberi let out a shallow noise, "first of all, I want to oversee and be part of its creation. As much as your words seem so far up your ass that I want to believe them—I doubt anybody can trust... what? A 20 year-old like you to make a 'masterpiece'?"

"...18 years-old."

"By the Saint..." Antonio was wondering why he was even heeding this juvenile's words, "second condition... second condition..." he needed to calm down, "clear out those Church bastards ruining this town. If you can't get those monsters out, then this deal is—"

"I'll do it," Megumi declared. "I'll clear them out, cut off their chain of command, and leave them as nothing but headless chickens wandering Primavera."

"What are you?" Antonio scoffed, "the entire Penal Battalion?"

"I'll do it," Megumi repeated, "that's all you need to know." Taking another look around, the Sorcerer saw a few blueprints laid here and there. "Do you have any clear blueprints? I want to sketch out what I want."

"This kid... this kid..." Antonio was finding himself becoming more incensed by the passing second. "Fine, fine... you can have a clear blueprint from the upper shelves up there..." his finger shakily pointed upwards, while taking meditative measures to not break out in an outburst. "You still have to clear out those bastards.Good luck with that."

"I won't forget that," Megumi reached upwards and casually grabbed a blueprint, before placing it on the table and unfurling. Just as the blacksmith had said, it was completely empty, "you weren't lying."

"Of course I wasn't," Antonio walked to take a look downwards at it with scorn, "what are you even attempting to make anyways, kid?"

"...Have you ever heard of aVajra?"

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The Cursed Tool utilized by Ryomen Sukuna,Kamutoke—the Supreme Martial Solution. Fushiguro Megumi was going to make his own inspired creation in the form of its weapon type... aVajra.

Megumi skulked across the area of the high church, the main building that the people from the Church gathered around. There were a few people in robes wandering around, but not doing much. Either they tended to the grounds or were there for simple prayers, nothing too extravagant from the looks of it.

Usually, on Sundays such as today, there would be a large gathering that would come here. That was what he had heard from Antonio while making the blueprint for his Cursed Tool, but the time length of when people gathered here didn't match the Sorcerer's current arrival time.

This should be perfect, considering how there weren't many innocents or people not fully affiliated with the Church gathered around, making this mission much easier than anticipated. However, Megumi wasn't so foolish to let his guard down.

He was only going to scout the area and see what they have in store, and then clear them out with Laurentina. But then at the same time, there was this urge in Megumi's body that told him to get this over with as quick as possible...

...Having thought it over, Megumi was just going to see where his whims took him. If he truly wanted to clear this place out right here and right now—then Laurentina wouldn't be too angry, right?

He'd just have to see for now.

After deliberating it through, Megumi decided to take the next step.

The shadows would keep him well hidden, and he knew that for a fact.

Laurentina walked out of the shower, having taken a pretty long winded bath from before. Taking a glance upwards at the clock while drying her extremely lengthy hair, the Abyssal Hunter felt her mood start to sour.

'How much is that princess going to keep a woman waiting?'Laurentina thought to herself. It had already been nearly 2 hours, about 1 hour and 45 minutes based on what she had been keeping track of at the moment.

She wasn't one for pessimistic thoughts—maybe a little bit—but somebody like him wouldn't be foolish enough to get caught by a Church, right? Even then, he looked and seemed capable enough to deal with those dirty folks.

Honestly, the Abyssal Hunter didn't know what to do. Whether she should just break out of the window to search for him, or to search for her other comrades—who she didn't even know was alive or not.

There were many factors and questions she wanted answered, yet at this moment, she was merely a sitting duck in a lulling pond. One that sat right next to an ocean, and said ocean could heave a tidal wave that could rupture the pond completely. It just didn't fit her, nor did it feel right.

Patiently waiting, patiently waiting... that was all Laurentina had to do at the moment. Yet at the same time, such an activity went against what she was made for, forged for. The purpose of a weapon was to be as sharp as ever, and the Abyssal Hunter had certainly kept herself sharp by recovering from this Oripathy.

Yet this lengthy bid of time seemed to be a few minutes too long for her tastes, as the genes in her bodies were basically screaming to get outside and on the action. Was what Fushiguro Megumi doing right now even productive? Could he even find a skilled enough tailor for her drawn clothes?

Letting herself fall to a temporary lull, Laurentina glanced at the clock once again.'10 more minutes,'she dryly remarked in her mind. Moving to place the towel back in the bathroom—one that was terribly unadvanced for her tastes—the white haired woman moved to the case that stored her gigantic buzzsaw.

The weapon had been tended to slightly yesterday, much to the wariness of the other resident of this apartment. Laurentina had found it quite amusing, seeing this land-dweller be so wary of such an... admittedly fantastic weapon in her eyes. Out of everything she had the pleasure and displeasure of experiencing on dry land, that singular man was the most intriguing.

Nodding to herself with satisfaction, Laurentina brought the weapon along with her and sat on one of the wooden chairs. It creaked under the weight of her held tool of violence, but soon settled down. Pulling out a pure white handkerchief, the Abyssal Hunter began sweeping the weapon's bladed edges. However, even if the accumulated dust eventually fell off entirely, it still needed to be sharpened and refined.

That could be remedied later.

With those thoughts, the shark lady closed her eyes and began humming to herself. It was a melody of a home now long far away, serenity overtaking the room she was alone in. Laurentina remembered doing something like this in her free time, after a mission back in Aegir or the like, but the room quality was definitely far better than it was here.

Seriously, how do these land-dwellers even live with these standards?

Click

Laurentina felt a small smile break off on her mouth, eyes still closed. Hearing and feeling the front door starting to open, she spoke up "you do realize you're five minutes late—"

—The Aegir opened her eyes, a smile still present on her face. However, her expression shifted to neutrality with the scene in front. From the Abyssal Hunter's sight, she saw a bloodied Fushiguro Megumi. His side had a hole going through it, and his forehead was soaked with blood.

The black haired man's arm gripped the gaping wound while standing up straight, causing a strong waft of blood to permeate into the air, tickling Laurentina's sensitive nose. "...I'm back, sorry... for being late..."

"Ugh..." Megumi slightly winced, feeling the great pressure Laurentina applied to his side, "could you be softer?" The Dharmachakra had only spun two times, alleviating him of the wound getting worse or infecting, and then slightly healing it. However, a third spin hadn't occurred, and neither could he use Reverse Cursed Technique to fully heal himself.

"Haha~," Laurentina laughed to herself, applying the bandages and alcohol wipes to the black haired man laying on her bed, "oh my~, you come in five minutes late with a gaping hole by your side and ask me to be soft?" The woman was right in her assumption—this man was massively fragile. "I wonder what trouble you have gotten yourself in."

"Church," Megumi confirmed whatever suspicions she had, "had a run in with them. Turns out they have some sort of weapon—one that shot a gigantic bolt. A ballista harpoon, I think?" He slightly winced when Laurentina applied more pressure. "Far more advanced than anything I've seen, though."

"An advanced ballista harpoon...? Now where have I seen something of the like?" Laurentina pondered while treating his injuries. "Aside from that, I'm sure this accentuates my point of you land-dwellers possessing fragile bodies." She'd see the weapon for herself.

After all, Abyssal Hunters could handle those kinds of weapons with relative ease, due to their great resilience and regeneration.

"I wasn't focused on fighting them," Megumi dryly said, "it's unfortunate that I was spotted, but my first goal was getting out of there. Barring their weapons, I doubt they fully saw me." The black haired man slightly wished to see the limitations of Mahoraga's Shadow Extension, so he didn't pull out any Shikigami or weapons.

If it weren't for the Dharmachakra, the Ten Shadows user was sure he would have to stop all processes to focus on Reverse Cursed Technique after being hit by that harpoon ballista. Megumi's Cursed Energy reinforcement hadn't helped himself either, considering the weapon came in a complete blindside.

Laurentina clicked her tongue, grabbing a roll of white bandages from the medical box. "Certainly, you've bit off more than you can chew," the shark lady was even more disappointed that he hadn't brought her with him. "It would have been a different story if I stood foot with you."

"You're still in no condition to—" Megumi was about to refute her words, but found himself wincing again when Laurentina applied the bandage to his forehead.

"Shush," Laurentina stood up from the chair to wrap the bandages around the Sorcerer's head, "from what I assume, those dregs are utilizing stolen Aegir technology, how they have received such a thing in their slimy tentacles I do not know."

Megumi felt the woman's fingers trace around his head softly, keeping the bandage in place.

"Heh, it makes me want to crush those coral infested faces of theirs." Laurentina's eyes darkened, showing her sharp teeth in an angered smile. "Us Abyssal Hunters have undergone training courses that require avoiding them—even in my current state, I believe I would be able to swat one away with relative ease."

"Whatisan Abyssal Hunter?" Megumi ignored the change in atmosphere. Although he wasn't confident in TIger Funeral performing a feat such as that, the Sorcerer could imagine his Totalities being capable of such a thing—this was leaving out Mahoraga, since it wouldn't even be a competition between the other Shikigamis.

"You ask that now, princess?" Laurentina tapped the bandages one more time, before moving back to her seat. "Mmh, I'll keep it simple—we simply fight off the horrors of the seas. I'm not in the belief that I should say more than that." She gave a cheeky smile. "Do know that we are incomparable to your own kind."

'Maybe that's why they experimented on her,'Megumi remarked in his mind. "I forgot to mention, the Penal Battalion chased me around after I escaped from the Church. Probably thought I was involved with them."

"Those military folk?" Laurentina put on an amused look, "they see you get nailed by a harpoon and assume you to be with them? Certainly, I would have expected them to be brighter than that."

"They only heard a loud sound, probably thought it was caused by me," Megumi attempted to clear up any misunderstandings. "They're not at fault, and besides—I made it out without much difficulty."

"Yes, yes,without much difficulty," Laurentina glanced at the bandages wrapped around the Sorcerer. "So, when do you plan to make your move? I've been itching to head back out there anyways."

"I received a request," Megumi cut in, "to clear out the Church that had been 'infecting' Primavera. The objective already aligns with my goal, so I might as well get to it as quickly as possible."

"Oh? Pray tell, who did this request come from?"

"A blacksmith, he said he'd help me create something only if I fulfill it." Megumi pivoted on an axis from the bed, letting his body sit up straight. The injuries stung with a burning pain, but the black haired man didn't think much of it.

KLNK

"Hm?" Laurentina turned upwards when the object above Megumi's head turned.

"Ignore it, it does that sometimes." Planting his feet on the ground, Megumi grabbed his black haori from a clothes stand and tossed it around his arms, letting his arms enter the sleeves. "I've already recovered, so don't worry about me."

"That quickly?" Laurentina narrowed her eyes, trying to discern any peculiarities from him. "I would have never expected that. What's this little secret now?"

"I just heal fast. That's all there is to it."

"Not at the level of an Abyssal Hunter, but it would be quite impressive amongst you land-dwellers, wouldn't it?"

"It's subjective, impressive for some people, others not so much."

"...Do you have no words to describe yourself highly?" Laurentina bemusedly pointed out. "I speak of myself more than I thought I would have—but I don't believe you've reciprocated much aside from those... brain scans."

"I don't think there's anything interesting to talk about," Megumi admitted, "aside from dealing with the Church."

"...You lack self-love," Laurentina closed her eyes and rested her hands on her lap. "That is a problem of yours.."

"...What?" Megumi glanced towards her from his position.

"I've learned self-love—ever since I found myself in the solitude of my own thoughts." Laurentina placed a finger in the air, and then pointed to herself, then to Megumi; "you sorely lack such a concept, quite evident of all the gloom coming off."

"If that's what you believe," Megumi tugged at the collar of his white gi, "then I guess you could be right."

"Oh~? You're agreeing with me?" Laurentina chuckled, "and here I thought you'd be as stubborn as you have before." Fushiguro Megumi was like a deeply rooted coral stuck in a sea cave in her mind.

The recipient of her humor hummed in agreement.

"Come on, we're going to go now," Megumi motioned for the sharky lady, "you said you wanted to see the outside, right?"

"Of course." Laurentina stood up, with more pep and certainty than before. The woman didn't care if the streets of Primavera didn't match Aegir's splendor in the slightest, she was merely thankful to step foot outside and be unconstrained to anything else.

With that, the two departed from the building, their next course of action taking place.

"Don't get spotted," Megumi moved through the alleyway, Laurentina tailing him from behind. "The Penal Battalion is more mobilized than usual, probably because of that harpoon firing off."

"Did they have a clear view of you during the chase?" Laurentina darted her gaze across the decrepit scenery. The city she ended up in could have been better, but just being outside and breathing the fresh—yet salty air— was enough.

"Compared to the Church, they'll recognize my clothes. But I think I can hide well enough..." Megumi halted his steps and narrowed his eyes, grabbing Laurentina by the hand and moving to another casted shadow. "My wheel isn't a factor either, since I can black it out."

A decent distance was made.

Laurentina let the process happen, being drawn away from the scenery she was observing. The way he grabbed her arm was rough and wholly insensitive towards a lady, so she decided that she'd lecture him on these matters.

"I know these paths—" After moving a safe distance away from the Penal Battalion members moving around, Megumi found that he was having a difficult time budging Laurentina. "...Laurentina?"

"This isn't a way to treat a lady, you know?" Laurentina easily broke off his grip with a huff. "Look and listen closely—this is how you do it." She moved upwards towards the bewildered man, grabbed his shoulder and hand. "Put it like this, palm facing forward as if you're offering something."

Megumi's arm moved to the other's own volition, putting it up in the pose as the Abyssal Hunter had described.

"There," Laurentina said with satisfaction, "so when you offer your hand like this..." the woman reached her own hand outwards while turning her body to the side. A beautiful smile graced her lips while palm faced downwards, "...a lady can graciously receive it."

Both their hands met.

Despite the mellow alleyway he was in, Megumi could have sworn a light was bleeding through despite that. It shone on the other person, the wind kicking up and making her hair billow in the wind.

"What? At a loss for words?" Laurentina teasingly called out.

"Loss for words? Probably," Megumi turned away. "We should... continue on."

He resumed pulling Laurentina with him, this time in a different way, the one that Laurentina had forced—suggestedfor him to do.

With how fast they moved, the both of them could feel the wind brush against their hair, crossing Primavera's streets and alleyways without being seen.

Megumi kept his stoic expression on at all times, moving with a practiced and soldier-like movement.

On the other side, Laurentina follows along with a careful yet graceful gait. The Aegir smiled, feeling the rhythm of their march to be more in tune than last time. "Now that's more like it."

"Are you sure you're ready?" Megumi asked one last time.

"This body of mine was made for only one sole purpose—so of course I am. I should ask you that question instead." The scenery continued to pass by. "Especially as the one who took an artillery harpoon to the side."

"I'm ready yes," Megumi breathed out tirelessly, "and thank you for applying the bandages."

"You areverywelcome," Laurentina beamed.

The rest of the journey was not long at all. Megumi glanced back, noting how Laurentina was able to keep up with his pace with extreme ease, and no signs of exhaustion being present. The Sorcerer was received with the same smile and hum as before.

"So~, this is where their main Church is, hm?" Laurentina felt Megumi's hand leave hers, the both of them now standing on top of a building that overlooked a high church. "So depraved and uninspired, it makes me wish to tear it down even more."

The sounds of both preacher and prayer made the Abyssal Hunter sick to the core. All they did was worship some trench-sucking beasts which knew nothing of art nor emotion, only instead the bestial urge to consume and survive.

Utterly uninspiring.

"We'll need to clear out all the people who aren't involved," Megumi continued observing with the excited shark lady. "Here's your weapon." Right after, he materialized Laurentina's heavy buzzsaw from the shadows and handed it to her. It was like an oversized pizza cutter.

"Impressive Arts," Laurentina received it gratefully, "how convenient it is to have such a vast place to store things."

"It really is," Megumi gave her a glance. "How do you want to do this?"

"Asking me first? Well, I wouldn't mind just charging straight in, it's as straightforward as I'd want it to be." She held her buzzsaw weapon, cleansed and gleaming under the pale sun. "What's your idea? I hope it won't be boring."

"Go in, cause a scene, and then everybody who isn't involved will leave," Megumi replied. "Make it fast so the Penal Battalion won't arrive and see us. I don't want to deal with their questioning, or theirextrememethods."

"About the same thought we have, then." Laurentina moved towards Megumi, scooping her free left arm under his leg and then pulling him into a princess carry.

"You—"

"Then let's fashion a scene we won't forget, princess~!" Laurentina grinned an exorbitant one, before leaping off the high church with blinding speeds.

A prayer, a sermon given to the masses that had gathered. The Bishop of Primavera had heard there was a test subject transported to this city temporarily by another Bishop named Amaia. Although he didn't care much about her, the subject brought here was definitely of interest.

But alas, there was no use delving upon that matter much longer. Here he was on a Sunday preaching the teachings of the Church of the Deep towards these hapless masses. They were truly ignorant of their place in the world, and entrapped in their stagnant evolution.

However, today he would truly convert all of them to join a greater cause, far beyond the bounds and limitations of their human bodies.

Despite the current intervention and action of the Penal Battalion, they couldn't act upon anything meaningful unless there was solid evidence available—which there was—but a warrant usually took much too long to arrive.

There was also that stranger who had lurked around their Church, but the weapon they had newly installed dealt with them easily. It was almost pitiful, seeing them immediately retreat from the scene with their tail between their legs.

So when he stood upon the pedestal granted by the sea, the Bishop could truly feel the waters of the ocean bask him at this very moment.

His wrinkly and rotting fingers continued to incessantly twitch while placed on the pedestal, both due to excitement, and due to the calling of the sea. "It is a beautiful sight, to see all of you gathered here and amongst the shifting waves," his voice echoed out before his eyes took in everybody gathered in the church.

"It is of my highest honor as the Bishop to spread this divine message to all who lay here," his voice was full of passion—something that couldn't be said for all other priests standing behind him. "The sea sings to us all indiscriminately, unlike the cruel lands which have continued to bear their weight upon us..."

The Bishop's eyes analyzed the people gathered. There were some in the audience who were already slightly assimilated, some who gathered out of obligation after receiving their help, and some who were merely curious about these Sunday gatherings.

A reflection and refraction of the dark green laned light behind the Bishop continued to tint brighter. He spread his arms as if including everybody who raised in this room with great fervor, unstoppable in his reigns of this Church.

"...So we are brothers and sisters, and it is merely of our own fault that we fight amongst each other as savages. There is nothing which separates us from the Wild Beasts which walk these desolate lands nor the Catastrophes which battered our structures... Yet there is a way to break this notion," his voice lowered down at the last part.

The crowd was listening, either out of curiosity or desperation with how Primavera had become.

Neither of it mattered for the Bishop since the result would be the same.

"So with an open heart to you all—"

CRASH

The window pane behind the Bishop shattered, the filtered light vanishing completely. Instead, a giant shadow cast over them akin to that of an overbearing beast.

Panic filled the hall of sacrilege. Priests, believers, and visitors alike jolted upwards from their position, watching as a voice filled with laughterslammedinto the Bishop.

Their features became clear, a madwoman with white hair and piercing red eyes carrying a black haired and emotionless man in a princess carry. By her hand laid a gigantic buzzsaw attached to a long handle, whirring and producing a terrifying sound that sent a chill down everybody's spine.

Springing off the Bishop, Laurentina springboarded and did a backflip as the rest of the glass settled and shattered on the ground. "It's been a long while~," Laurentina settled Megumi down with a vicious smile, her saw still buzzing with such speeds that it superheated the blade.

The Bishop who had been launched forward hit his pedestal, before he and the object were launched off their spot and into where the seats were.

Megumi pulled out his glock with a tired expression and sighing, "all of you, LEAVE!"He yelled out in a vibrant fashion, firing off three shots into the ceiling while doing so.

BANG

BANG

BANG

The cracking sound of bullets flying through the area left the sane visitors in a bout of hysteria, immediately screaming and turning around to exit the Church. Those who stayed behind held despondent eyes and pale skin, no signs of life present in them at all.

"I-is it the Inquisition?!"

"He has a firearm, of course It's the Inquisition!"

"Agh!"

Multiple screams continued to echo forth, before dying out as the rest of the sane people fully made their way out.

"Couldn't you have been more graceful~?" Laurentina turned to him, covering her mouth amusedly with a free hand. She didn't mind the multiple priests gathering around them, ready to attack the two if need be.

"You're one to talk," Megumi felt peeved from her drastic and unplanned action, but opted to focus on far more important matters. "This should be all of them, right? Kill the strongest one and they'll disperse like ants." Just like weak Cursed Spirits when a powerful one near them died, but such a sight was usually rare. He hoped it applied to these people.

"Y-you!" The Bishop stood up, covering their bleeding face. "You're the scoundrel who snuck around our sacred Church...! A-and you! The experiment!" Their sights turned to the other invader, "what has Amaia done?!"

"Oh, that pathetic Liberi?" Laurentina smiled even wider, "well~, this 'scoundrel' here killed everybody in that miserable laboratory, so you have him to thank." The buzzsaw she held whirred much faster as she spoke, sparks flying off. It served to instill a primal fear in the priests converging on their positions, making them halt dead in their tracks. "I'm simply here to repay a favor to all of you, are we clear~?"

"Lay waste to them!" The Bishop had enough of her words, standing up frantically while yelling for the priests to take action. "Slaughter them, and present them to the sea as offerings!"

"Oh, so we'll be dancing already? Perfect," Laurentina never liked those who monologues for too long anyways. Turning to Megumi, she asked a spirited question: "will you take my hand?"

Megumi gave her a glance, before speaking.

"Divine Dogs."

Unstable forms of the Shikigami formed in a large and macabre puddle shot upwards. The priests who are approaching the two with tentacles sticking out of their robes were immediately assaulted by claws and bites, enhanced by the main body of Rabbit Escape—hidden elsewhere to stay out of danger.

"How pleasant," Laurentina found the sight both interesting and lovely. It was always a sunny day whenever insects like these were crushed, "let's see who can kill more of these worms, hm?" She deduced that Megumi wasn't a physical fighter as seen by his control over these 'Arts.'

"It isn't a competition," Megumi watched as the priests got into a dirty brawl with their deformed bodies against his Shikigamis, "but I'll humor it."

Laurentina grinned, before bursting forward, "I'll take this one, then!"

"Nue."

Megumi felt something approaching him from behind while watching Laurentina make her move, so he responded by raising his finger upwards. There was no need to chant, a convenient means had already been provided.

The priest who had their stomach split open to reveal a large mouth with eyes inside was immediately assaulted by lightning, three shadow cloaked birds shooting out from the ground. Eventually, the Shikigamis flew through the air swiftly and rounded back to dive bomb them from all sides.

Megumi was glad that unstable summonings meant he could summon numerous Shikigamis of Divine Dogs, Toad, Great Serpent, and Nue. All others were sadly off limits, "to my side, huh?"

He rounded around and ignored the transformed priest being assaulted by Nue, before concentrating the movement of the unstable Divine Dogs to gather to his side. Right after, a tentacle was bitten from all angles, Megumi's Shikigamis following the movements of his arm.

Reaching his right hand outwards—which was free—Megumi formed Playful Cloud near instantly, with a shadow puddle appearing below him. "Perfect," his training with quick-swapping had paid off.

Flourishing it a few times, Megumi ducked under and spun, letting the three-section staff glide across the ground. Right after, another transformed and mindless priest had their head blown off when it ripped across the air.

Their head exploded like a watermelon, splattering blood in a wide arc.

Moving quickly, Megumi moved his head to the side, before swinging Playful Cloud again and impacting the outstretched tentacle. It broke off easily, making the black haired man enhance his legs with Cursed Energy and burst towards the source.

Two other priests moved to intercept him, but two Nues came to his aid, flanking him from both sides. They crashed into the priests, sparking purple lightning and keeping them stunned.

Grabbing one end of Playful Cloud while crossing his left hand over his body, Megumi blurred into motion—leaping and spinning in mid-air during his approach. Right after, the priests had their heads flying off just like their previous friend.

Feeling a whirring feeling in the air, Megumi palmed with his free hand after landing on the ground, redirecting a strike from a vicious looking priest. Their mouth was frothing, a bulbous and bloated head gurgling with some sort of strange blue liquid inside.

Responding to their attack, Megumi lashed out swiftly with Playful Cloud, countering every hit that they sent towards him while backing away. Right after, the almost dispelled Divine Dogs rushed with their maws open wide, leading a back-up charge for Megumi.

The priest attempted once more to claw through Megumi's defense of a whirling Playful Cloud, but immediately found themselves being scratched and bit by three Divine Dogs. One at their left leg, one at their right leg, and the last one at their right shoulder—halting their strike entirely.

The Divine Dogs dispelled right after, before arcing bolts of Nue stunned the priest's body even further, letting Megumi form another weapon from in his hand after recalling Playful Cloud, the Inverted Spear of Heaven.

Flipping the dagger into a reverse grip, Megumi darted forward and jammed the object into the priest's throat, pressing his other palm on the end hilt of the blade. Right after, he pulled it downwards and opened their chest and stomach, spinning around right after to deliver a roundhouse kick towards their bloated head.

It exploded in a mass of viscera, ending their life entirely.

Stamping his feet on the ground, Megumi turned towards Laurentina. From the looks of it, the Aegir had everything in control, seemingly playing around with her food. Around her laid the chopped up and maimed corpses of some citizens who had already turned into Sea Terrors.

Grabbing the chain attached to the Inverted Spear of Heaven, Megumi extended it and started spinning it, glancing around to make sure he didn't miss any other priest.

On Laurentina's side...

"Is running away and sending creatures all you can do~?" Laurentina laughed out loud while shifting in a way that looked like a dance movement, slicing her buzzsaw across a literal wall of compressed Seaborn. "I would have expected more from a Bishop like this!"

"Geh!" The Bishop let out an unruly sound, wondering why their weapon of stolen Aegir technology still hadn't been turned online. Raising a staff held in his right upwards, a swarm of Seaborns converged and blocked another vicious blow from Laurentina.

"Great Serpent."

Right after, a gigantic serpent flew past Laurentina, the latter looking upwards with a slight smirk this time, "cleared them out already?" She watched the creature open its maw wide, and the Bishop widening their eyes in panic. What a sight it was.

The Shikigami wouldn't find itself lobbing off the head of the Bishop however, as a gigantic Seaborn burst upwards from the church grounds, a mass of coiled tentacles bashing Great Serpent away.

Right after, the serpent swiftly rounded back and moved to coil around Laurentina's vicinity, leaving enough space for the woman's weapon to swing against the new Seaborn.

"Hah!" Laurentina one-handed the weapon, crossing it through the air and ripping it across the creature's bare flesh. Once that was done, she leapt backwards without a hitch, flowing through the air—just as a tentacle had slammed where her position was.

Megumi rushed past her as she backflipped behind him, catching a barely perceptible sight of Laurentina flashing a smile towards him. Ignoring it, he swung the extended Inverted Spear of Heaven, the chain lashing against the skin of the already damaged Seaborn.

Laurentina in turn landed on the ground, seeing Megumi start to break out in a relentless barrage from his weapon. Running forward, she maneuvered her way through the storm of chains, taking note of the sort of 'dance' he was performing.

In a cursory movement, Laurentina then jabbed her buzzsaw to the side, killing a small swarm of Seaborn which had burst through one of the church's windows, letting the rotational movement of the buzzsaw casually clear them all out. When that was done, she leapt upwards with a perfunctory way.

She was completely out of the way of the storm of chains, finding her sight once more on Megumi—who was running across the church and leaving slash marks all across.'A unique way of wielding a weapon, brings back memories,'with those thoughts, she somersaulted in the air with glee.

Right after, Laurentina shot down vertically with her weapon pointed downwards. Like a missile, she crashed into the mass of tentacles, making the Seaborn screech out in pain.

Megumi took the opening she created to recall the Inverted Spear of Heaven and pull out Playful Cloud once more. Great Serpent, his Shikigami which had been waiting for an opportunity to strike—finally had one!

The Shikigami sprung forward and latched onto the flesh of the Seaborn, leaving a gigantic bite mark which spurted blood.

Right after, Megumi leapt into the air just as Laurentina had, and spun in a sideways position, building up momentum for Playful Cloud. Once his body barreled downwards, he unleashed a powerful bash which rammed against the Seaborn.

The floor of the church broke, blood being spilt all across the ground. It was a miracle how it hadn't collapsed yet.

Laurentina and Megumi leapt backwards when the Seaborn scrambled once more, all of its tentacles turning into spikes which formed as a defensive and offensive measure.

Great Serpent was dispelled afterwards, Megumi not wanting to risk his Shikigami taking any damage from the attack.

The two opposers landed side by side, bending their knees in a ready position.

"Take this," Megumi folded Playful Cloud and tossed it towards Laurentina, "it'd probably be better in your hands."

"Not my weapon type," Laurentina received it with her left hand, while her right carried her buzzsaw. "But I'll take it with pleasure!" She ran forward, body breaking the sound barrier.

Megumi ran alongside her after forming Dragon-Bone, entering a katana stance while charging forth. The engines on the Cursed Tool erupted while he approached the squirming Seaborn, dodging to the side and slashing a group of tentacles that had sought to impale him.

Laurentina swiped away more tentacles, making her way towards its main body. With how much the two had cut up, the Seaborn was starting to lose all of its limbs needed to defend itself, and it made the Hunter even more excited!

"Splendid work, princess!" The Abyssal Hunter swiped with her buzzsaw once more, in a rightward path. Then, she let the three-section staff pass by the path the buzzsaw had previously gone through, the objectblastingthrough the already severed tentacles.

Moving through the pulverized body parts, Laurentina's eyes left a crimson trail while she waved through all other obstacles in her way. Making it to the main body of the gigantic Seaborn, she ducked downwards and let Playful Cloud drag across the ground, before going upwards for an upwards vertical strike.

BOOM

The hit—quite literally sent the Seaborn airborne, burst through the roof of the high church.

Laurentina looked upwards, blinking a few times before her mouth opened into a fit of laughter,"HAHAHA~!What a sight~!" She stomped on the ground, sending debris flying upwards before she took the opportunity to leap on them to make her advance upwards.

Light and refined, Laurentina poised herself on the last piece of rubble that was in the air. With a final movement, the Abyssal Hunter had also been sent airborne. Glancing to the side, she watched as Megumi stood on an elephant sized bird—another animal of his versatile ability.

"Catch," Laurentina mouthed to him while tossing the three-section staff towards him. It was a truly splendid weapon, but she much preferred her buzzsaw.

Megumi grabbed the weapon, with his left hand, his right still holding Dragon-Bone. Right after, he imbued the latter weapon with Cursed energy, getting the engines roaring before tossing it upwards, flying past Laurentina and nailing the Seaborn's body.

The white haired woman decided to redirect her course, landing on the bird alongside Megumi, prepping her weapon for another strike. "Dance with me, would you?" She extended her free hand towards the man.

"Of course," Megumi responded, receiving it. "Let's get this over with."

The two launched upwards, past Nue and the Shikigami sent bolts of electricity curved in a way where it avoided the two ascenders and hit the wailing Seaborn.

Amongst the flashing and sparking violet lights, Megumi and Laurentina reared their weapons back all the way, and then struck forward. They both came together to create a magnificent spark, before ripping through the body of the Sea Terror like a knife through tofu.

It had been split in twain, the two fighters making their way through it and floating in the air for a moment—then falling down along with the Seaborn's two severed parts. Strangely enough, the spilt parts started shriveling up and losing color, just as they crashed down on the high church once more.

Megumi and Laurentina, hands still connected, landed on the ground. The latter did so with a light step, before performing a formal bow, crossing one of her legs over the other and placing a hand over her chest.

"A lovely dance partner, you are," she opened one of her eyes in a small wink towards Megumi, "I wouldn't mind another one such as this." Laurentina was glad that this was the one of the first things she did after recovering her senses.

Megumi glanced downwards at his hand, before replying, "I wouldn't mind either. You're pretty good with teamwork."

"Huh? That's what you think of when I say I wouldn't mind dancing with you again?" Laurentina shot him an annoyed look.

...What is she going on about? Dance was a connotative word for 'battle,' which perfectly fit their scenario.

Whatever.

"Let's get this over with, we don't want the Penal Battalion—" Megumi was about to speak, but thinned his lips. "Oh, they have it already prepared."

A creaking and metallic sound entered both of their ears, the two turning towards the source. Megumi found it first, having already experienced it, "I probably should have destroyed or disabled it when we made our way here, but somebody has us flying through a window and alerting everybody." Summoning Tiger Funeral was an option, but Megumi was attempting to conserve Cursed Energy.

After all, the Dharmachakra took quite a bit of Cursed Energy while being active.

"Certainly, but it would be different with me around," Laurentina smirked, "honestly, with your skill earlier—it's baffling how you were hit with a crude weapon such as that... one made as a mockery of Aegir's art." She narrowed her eyes towards a glinting object, which stood on the rocky platforms closeby the beach.

A harpoon ballista was fully loaded and baring its fangs.

"Don't worry, I already adapted," Megumi dryly remarked. Stepping forward, a confused Laurentin was about to speak to him, but the black haired man dropped his weapon and pointed a finger gun.

KLNK

DISMANTLE

Just as the projectile had been fired off towards them, black markings crossed Megumi's face while his eyes bled red. An invisible slash was sent off his fingertips, the distortions in the air barely making it palpable.

The Dismantle sliced the object straight in half, the steel harpoon separating off and divulging in different paths—left and right. With a rupture of the wind, the two split objects spread out enough where it passed through without even reaching one feet of Megumi or Laurentina.

A crashing sound was heard behind them.

...Honestly, an adaptation for the harpoon wasn't even needed, a normal Dismantle could have destroyed it without much effort. All the Dharmachakra turn did was make the course of his Cursed Technique being sent off more accurate, something Megumi could have already done precisely with his skills.

A new thing to note, the Dharmachakra when using Shadow Extension could recognize previous dangers and provide him the temporary adaptation it would usually grant.

"..." Laurentina watched from the side, slightly gripping her buzzsaw tighter. When she felt... no, what she wasfeelingright now was completely unnatural. It wasn't like Megumi's usually divine aura, or the faint bloodied one... but a wholevalley of corpses!

If she had met the man at first sight, the Abyssal Hunter was sure she would have already pounced to slaughter him.

'Strange markings, change in eye color...? How bizarre,'Laurentina didn't even care about the harpoon that had been split, and instead walked around to take a better look at him.

"Is something wrong?" Megumi noticed her arrival, tilting his head towards her direction while asking his question. "If it's the markings, it happens when I use that Arts ability." He pointed towards them with a finger.

"Mhm?" Laurentina gazed at them curiously, wondering if that horrendous aura was coming off from them. "Has anybody ever called you a bag of mysteries, princess~?" She glanced upwards to take another look at his wheel. Ithadto do something, considering how it rotated at the very moment the Sorcerer had countered the harpoon.

"Maybe," Megumi shrugged, his 'cruel' eyes turning elsewhere. "We still have the Bishop." The black haired man's piercing red eyes met the cowering man in the distance.

"That one?" Laurentina shook her head to ignore Megumi's change in demeanor and aura, "ah, he was quite a boring one. Look at him swinging his staff to call more of those wretched Sea Terrors, it almost looks comedic." However, from what she could tell—he had already expended all of which he could control.

"I'll deal with him then," Megumi lifted his right casually, and then immediately stomped it down and rushed to where they were. They were by the side of the harpoon, perhaps believing the object was the safest place they could be at the moment, but the Sorcerer was going to prove that wrong.

"W-what?!" The Bishop reeled back, his bulging eyes and crooked mouth opening wide, just as Megumi's palm touched his face. Before he could fully convert—

CLEAVE

—Multiple red and white slashes appeared around the Bishop's body, flashes of crimson and altering monochrome slights distorting the scene around them.

The Bishop screamed, their body being reduced to nothing but mince meat. It was at that very moment they could no longer utter as much as a word, as Megumi's hand completely passed by their body that had been turned into drops of blood.

Megumi breathed a large sigh, feeling his reserves burning from the excessive output of Cleave, but it needed to be done. From what he remembered, their full transformation into disgusting sea creatures provided an enormous boost in strength—not unlike that of a Vengeful Spirit.

Finishing his handiwork, the Ten Shadows user knew it was time to leave this place.

A large squadron of the Penal Battalion marched their way to a battered and ruined Church, one that had been left in such a state far too quickly for direct mobilization. If all of them remembered correctly, it was one that held mass gatherings for worship towards the sea—one that they had been desperate to get a warrant against.

The people in charge with all the Penal Battalion members stationed in Primavera had always had this singular church in their sights, believing it to be some sort of grounds where those Sea Terrors had been birthing from.

So when they finally came to the location, all of the soldiers were surprised to see that there had been amassacre.Multiple slash marks marred the Church interior, the roof of the building having been blasted off—along with many dried up corpses of what they assumed to be Sea Terrors.

Off in the distance, a harpoon ballista which nobody had ever seen before was stationed by the rocks of the beach. It was ripped apart, like some animal had put the entire thing into their mouth and chewed it to bits.

Confused and disoriented by the sight, the Penal Battalion could not make heads over tails what had happened.

"Tired?" Laurentina held a wine glass in her hand, filled with a red liquor. The color matched her eye, which was the first reason she had picked it out, "hm... it's average—at best." Despite taking a sip of a well and skillfully aged wine... for dry land standards, the Abyssal Hunter could make the comparison that Aegir's was far superior.

"...Yes, I am," Megumi wondered if the Penal Battalion had detected his Sukuna-bathed Cursed Energy, but such a thing wasn't something to worry about. The two had made it out of there before they arrived, and were walking the streets of Primavera to go pick up Laurentina's 'tailored' clothes.

"I could tuck you in bed and read you a bed-time story~," Laurentina gave a small wink while taking another sip of her wine, "how about this? A story where the princess is saved by a dashing prince~!"

"...Gojo-sensei..."Megumi groaned out in a low breath, making sure the woman didn't hear that name.

"Come again?" Laurentina tilted her head. Her buzzsaw was no longer in her hands, the woman trusting the black haired man enough to keep it safe in his shadow inventory. Ah, she would question those strange abilities of his later.

"Nothing, nothing," Megumi quickly replied back, hoping the Aegir wouldn't push the matter any further. "We're close by the tailor shop anyways—"

"Aw~, are you not going to tell me?" Laurentina leaned closer to his face with a smile, "come one~ what did you say just earlier?"

"...It's a secret," Megumi rolled his eyes, "nor do I have the energy to explain."

"Hmph," Laurentina gave him a small pout before turning away, "looks like somebody doesn't want to be read bedtime stories, now do they?"

"Where..." Megumi gave her an exasperated look. "...Forget it," he sincerely hoped that Gojo Satoru and Laurentina would never meet.

The two entered the shop, Laurentina in particular taking a look around, "it looks devastated, couldn't you have chosen a better one?" She mirthlessly spoke out, setting down her emptied wine cup on a nearby table.

"It was the best one I could find, honest," Megumi raised his hands into a shrug, "we can probably find a better one outside of Primavera if—" His words paused, his eyes taking in the sight of something behind closed doors.

"You caught sight of it too?" Laurentina tapped Megumi on the shoulder, her eyes vested with interest. "Well, what are we waiting for?" The woman dragging the Sorcerer along with her.

"Wait, that could be a private room," Megumi winced at the gorilla woman's strength, feeling far too exhausted to try and fight back against her. However, he wasn't exhausted enough for the Dharmachakra to do an adaptation for himself.

Laurentina, not heeding his words, opened the door and was presented with the sight of, "wow..." the woman was honestly at a loss of words. Who knew this dingy old place filled to the brim with dust could actually tailor what she made, "do you have an eye for talent or something, princess?"

Megumi looked around, not seeing anybody. His gaze turned towards the dress in the middle of the room, just as shocked as the Aegir herself, "I... have no clue." The old man who worked—or ran this tailor shop didn't look to be the most mentally stable person.

"Ah, I need to try it on," Laurentina smiled and grabbed the clothes, before pausing and turning to Megumi. "Oh, and if you want to watch me change, just say so~, " she shot a smirk towards Megumi.

"..." Megumi didn't respond, just letting his eyes slightly rest and grabbing the door. Right after, he stepped outside and closed it, giving Laurentina all the privacy that she needed.

"What if I told you I actually meant it?"Laurentina's muffled voice from the other side could be heard alongside the sound of rustling clothes.

"I wouldn't believe it!" Megumi called back with a deadpan expression.

"Oh really~?"Laurentina responded in kind."I finished wearing them, would you like to see them now?"

"Sure," Megumi crossed his arms, "as long as you don't come out naked." He remembered that the note had measurements written on them, so the clothes should fit if the... lost resident of this store could actually read them.

Click

The door opened.

Stepping outside, Laurentina spread her arm outwards to show her outfit fully towards Megumi, the recipient processing it. She wore leggings with a three parted skirt, the skirt in particular a white first layer of fabric. The second layer was slightly separated from the first layer, holding a light black color in contrast.

Other accessories included her new hat, the forehead portion looking as if it were shaped to form vague shark teeth—something somebody wouldn't notice unless they focused on it. There were blue long fabrics which cascaded off the dress. Overall, Laurentina looked...

"It looks nice," Megumi replied.

"Ah?" Laurentina blinked a few times, having stopped her momentary spinning when hearing his words. "Is that all you have to say?" The woman gave him a neutral look, her red eyes seemingly becoming a touch... shinier under the dark.

"...It looks gorgeous," Megumi reiterated his words, this time sounding more genuine than last time.

"Heh~, that's more like it," Laurentina simpered and giggled, placing a hand over her mouth. "Now that my debt is paid, what is it that you wish to do next?"

That kind of question? "I'll probably just explore Terra," Megumi replied, giving an off-handed wave. "It's what I've been wanting to do."

"You know," Laurentina placed a finger under her lip, "I quite enjoyed the time we spent together. And what? Haven't we only spent a single day mingling?" The woman mused out loud.

Megumi kept silent, wondering what she was talking about.

"To be fully honest, I don't know where to go," Laurentina shrugged with a nonchalant look, "I do not know where my allies reside," or if they were even alive, "where my home is, and I am completely lost of direction."

The black haired man nodded slowly.

"So pardon me, if it is selfish to ask," Laurentina placed a hand over her chest, "would you accept me as a companion on your journey?"

Megumi paused, not knowing how to answer her words. Letting the words pass him by, the black haired man had to reiterate the fact that he was friendless in this world. The people in Lungmen were at best well-known acquaintances, and Laurentina was only somebody he had been acquainted with for a single day.

However...

Megumi sighed, "I'll accept it," he reached his hands out to grab Laurentina's shoulders, but then remembered what she had taught him not too long before. Instead of grabbing her shoulder or arm, he presented his palm upwards—almost as if it were on instinct.

"Oh my~," Laurentina gasped, unknowing to Megumi if it was a faux one or not, "since when did you become such a gentleman?" She coquettishly said.

"You're the one who taught me this," Megumi dryly remarked, "might as well put it to good use."

"Truly," Laurentina placed her hand on his outstretched hand, "then when shall we depart, mysavior?"

'...Savior?'Megumi tried the word in his mind, wondering if it even fit him at all. At best, he was sure he would be called a failure back at home. But hearing this woman's words... "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Laurentina smiled, the two basking in the brief silence.

In his eyes, Megumi felt as if the woman in front of him was... how should he put this? Free? Unchained? Was it because of her outfit that he felt this way? Or was it something else?

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'Maybe this wouldn't be so bad...' after all, she sort of reminded him of Gojo Satoru.

Megumi hadn't realized how much he really missed the white haired man, until now. What a strange feeling it was.