Chapter 37 - Heavenly Vajra To Split The Seas (2)

The cloth of the bed was comfortable, something Megumi believed he was getting used to. From sleeping in dark and abandoned buildings to the slums to having an actual bed, it felt completely different to the point where it was almost jarring.

The lights were turned off in the darkened room, providing Megumi with the needed environment to close his eyes and rest completely. With how much Ch'en had been dragging him across Lungmen, the black haired man felt as if he needed this.

Truly, the woman was quite the personality to deal with. With how much of an earful she had given him, Megumi had already developed a method to deal with her words. By method, it was simply letting her words enter one ear and out the other, a perfect and infallible plan that he had developed when listening to Gojo Satoru.

Letting his body rest after those thoughts, the warm embrace of the bed continued to envelope him.

Along with the length of how much he trained today, it felt a thousand times better than what would normally be a normal rest.

However, it seemed like things were going too well, with the next happening being the equivalent of the universe spitting on this moment.

"...This feeling," Megumi whispered to himself, a strange feeling coming across him. Shifting in his bed, the man caught sight of the balcony of the high-rise apartment building of Ch'en. There was nothing there to be worried about, but this irking feeling completely contradicted that.

Fluttering... the cloth used to act as a covering for the window was fluttering. A biting and bitter wind flowed inside, moving across the place of rest Megumi was residing in.

Narrowing his eyes, the Sorcerer clenched his fingers tighter. They coiled around the blanket wrapped around him and ready to tear them off at any moment. Because of how incomparable Terrans are to Earth people in terms of physical strength, Megumi wasn't going to factor out that somebody had scaled the entire structure to get to him.

It was then he caught sight of white hair moving behind the window covering, a pale glint of white eyes staring at him from behind.

There wasn't any time to dally around to process who they were, that sign was enough for the Jujutsu Sorcerer to act completely on his instincts—the one thing that he knew would come. Heeding their calls and acting upon it was the first thing he had decided upon.

His pupils contracted into a singular point, arm moving in a deft movement to peel off the blanket gathered around his body. Megumi's black haori was taken off only his white martial arts gi was on. While keeping an eye on the intruder, he leapt back on a bent knee position atop his bed and instantly gathered his hands together.

"Lappland...!" The black haired man glared at her, opening his mouth to call for a dragon Shikigami to charge at her.

"Hey~," the white haired Lupo from behind the covering peeked out completely, her wolf ears twitching along with it. The smug look on her face would make anybody uneasy, "for an LGD Superintendent's room, it sure is unguarded."

"The hell do you want?" Megumi's Cursed Energy slightly flared, but not to the point where it would alert Ch'en or wake her up. "If you're here to kill me, we both already know how that ended up."

"As much as I want to spill your blood right now, that isn't the reason why I'm here," Lappland kept up her grin, crossing her arms and leaning against the window frame. "Care to hear me out? Little wolf?"

Megumi contemplated with his stance kept in a prepared position. His fingers were interlocked, with only his pinkie and thumb fingers sticking out, signaling the hand sign needed for summoning a 'Totality.'

After having spent enough time, the man turned his gaze towards Lappland, keeping note of her figure blotting out the night sky, "what is it? If this is some ploy, I'll be sure to launch you off the building completely. I'm sure Ch'en will understand the disturbance."

"Oh~, feisty!" Lappland looked giddy, the fangs of her upper teeth being shown completely. "You've always got something churning in your stomach that makes you act like this!" The tail behind the white haired woman moved left and right in a rhythmic motion.

"Get to the point." Megumi was ready to call out Mizuchi at any moment, the sound of a flowing river bank becoming present in his mind.

"Va bene, va bene," Lappland rolled her eyes playfully, "you know what you've done to the little pups stringling around Lungmen, don't you?"

"Of course," Megumi knew who exactly she was talking about. Especially with how much Ch'en spat out their names in her brief bouts of anger, "I already know they're going after me. What is this even for?"

"You're looking at things far too simply, little wolf," Lappland shook her head, a look on her face as if she knew everything. "Why do you even think they're here? Because they have connections back in Siracusa—of course."

Megumi listened more intently.

"Whatever relations they have, I don't really care. But with how much of a thorn you've been, I'm sure your name is circulating back there, how about that~?" Lappland grinned, "you might get your tail snipped at by them, doesn't that just sound so lovely?"

The man's eyes looked bored, "they're low-lives, what does it matter?" Megumi scoffed, "a bunch of guys walking around like they're worth anything, do you think that bothers me?"

Lappland clapped her hands together with a wider smile, "Ahaha~! Now that's it!" The Lupo clapped two more times, hearing an answer that satisfied her. "With the rate you're going at, I'm sure Siracusa will catch up to both you and Texas..." She stepped back, spreading out her arms.

The moonlight shone on her body, the only thing visible to Megumi was the intense glint of her sparkling eyes.

"Until next time, little wolf..." Lappland leaned back, " Depending on what happens to those little pups—we'll just have to see what happens next!" After that, the woman laughed one more time before falling backwards, leaving nothing in front of Megumi but the open window.

His posture remained the same, just staring off into the horizon of Lungmen's other towering buildings and structures. Processing what he heard wasn't difficult, but it was the implications that came with it that had Megumi somewhat stumped.

From what she said, would Siracusa...? No, why would they be interested in a singular person such as him?

It would be as simple as laying low to get them off his back.

Lowering his hands and releasing the seal he had formed with his hands, Megumi ran his hand through his hair. The open window continued to send a cold breeze across his body, making the Sorcerer curse the fact that his peaceful sleep had been completely ruined.

***

The next day came without much interruption after. Megumi had cooked a small meal for himself and Laurentina, the woman taking every chance she could get to critique it. Overall, he didn't put much thought into her words, and actually took the opportunity to see where his skills could improve.

Training his cooking skills was relatively the same as training his Cursed Technique. They both required constant use and refinement, and then letting your body learn and digest all the information gained when practicing them. That was where Fushiguro Megumi had drawn the similarities.

But aside from that, he decided to pay for a few more days' stay within this hotel, seeing how he still had some unfinished business. That 'business' was the blacksmith that had agreed to create a Vajra out of special Iberian gold in turn for clearing out the Church. However, the plan was put on the backburner until tomorrow, which was today.

Megumi glanced out the window with a dull look in his eyes. The light of the morning sun definitely reflected off his dark pupils, but there didn't seem to be much life in them. Even as he glanced at his faint reflection, the black haired man couldn't help but sometimes see a brief glimpse of those markings plastered on his face.

It wasn't good for his health to delve on these matters, both physically and psychologically, considering psychological factors can also influence physical health. But that's besides the point, Megumi was having a hard time falling asleep these past few days, despite having already believed himself to have moved past 'those' memories.

Perhaps this was what Gojo meant when the high finally wears off. His ramblings about enlightenment and ascendency had finally made sense, considering Megumi had experienced the equivalent of such a thing not too long ago. During the time he tamed Mahoraga, during the time he finally reached past the bottleneck of a Jujutsu Sorcerer's growth.

That moment was euphoric, leaving him high above even the clouds lingering and scattered about Terra's firmament. It was at that exact moment Megumi was able to liberate himself of all worldly possessions, pain, and desire itself. It was at that very moment the highest peak of the mountain had finally been climbed.

But of course, once the moment wore off and the fog cleared, the Sorcerer would bear sight to another mountain—piercing high above even the clouds themselves. There was no reason to keep himself satiated as he was, Ryomen Sukuna and Gojo Satoru were still factors that once existed, even if their lives have gone past their mortality.

Letting himself cool down with a steady breath, Megumi could hear the air being suctioned into his nose, and then slowly out of his mouth. The flow of Cursed Energy could have effects on both the mind and body, either producing a calming effect or bolstering the production of hormones, one such hormone being adrenaline. But that wasn't what he needed right now.

Clearing his brain from the storms that afflicted it was what the black haired man wished to do, to get himself in the best mood he could possibly be in. Such a mood included being calm enough to focus on his flow on Cursed Energy, and yet also in a steady state where he could strike out against any enemy that strayed their path.

Jujutsu Society preached about Buddhist teachings back when the religion had been gaining traction, Megumi was sure it predated many Eras of Japan with how ancient it actually was. Either that, or it came in such great prominence that it rivaled even the Shinto gods and goddesses of Japan.

It was good to delve into those sort of gods for inspiration, just look at Amaterasu. The modern depiction of the Sun Goddess had led the Sorcerer into creating an enormously powerful Shikigami, one that he believed even surpassed Mizuchi. Not only that, but it didn't take up as many Shikigamis either.

A perfect Totality in his opinion, both in terms of power, and the fact that it left Nue, Max Elephant, and Great Serpent free, which were all extremely good for supportive damage. The latter especially for restraining his opponents, especially with the enhancement chant that came with it.

Although he hadn't been able to put it into much practice yet, Great Serpent's ability didn't relate to just changing size, but it also had a paralyzing gaze when its chant was fully made. The Rabbit Escape he had planted yesterday doing his chants had skipped out on Great Serpent, considering Megumi forgot to give commands to it.

In short, Sun Goddess Amaterasu wasn't just strong, but also kept his most versatile Shikigamis untouched. He'd get around to using it more.

Then there was also something else he had to work on, training the little rabbit to make it more autonomous.

"Good morning."

Megumi turned to the door leading to Laurentina's room, the white haired woman softly yawning into her palm while taking a step outside. "Good morning." He decided to reciprocate the greeting she had given him, it was only common courtesy after all.

"Had a rough night? I heard you shuffling on the couch," Laurentina crossed her arms and casually walked up to the coach. Her gaze turned to look outside the window, feeling the cloud-covered sun bathe its fogged light on her.

Megumi was about to ask her how she knew of something like that, but had to remind himself this woman most likely had enhanced senses compared to normal humans. In fact, he was sure Laurentina could beat Ch'en and Lappland both in a fight, maybe even those black raincoated men... "Probably a nightmare... did it disturb you?"

"No, you didn't disturb me," Laurentina's voice was much more relaxed than her usual teasing one. She wasn't quite in the mood for something like that in the early morning, "I found it quite relaxing, reminding myself that I'm not alone. That's a good thing, wouldn't you say?" The feeling of isolation, she hated it. It didn't help with how relatively small the bedroom she stayed in was.

"Mhm," Megumi replied listlessly, his eyes still lingering upon the celestial object placed in the sky. The distance between him and it was enormous, something so unfathomable that the human mind would probably have a nosebleed comprehending every single inch of distance. Or maybe that was just an exaggeration.

"What do you think of when you see the sun?" Laurentina suddenly spoke up, her calming voice piercing through the pervading silence. "The bright and incandescent source of light that illuminates this entire planet."

"...I don't know," Megumi let her question develop and malleate a bit in his mind—going through a logical thinking process that included his personal knowledge. "From a cultural perspective, I guess it could represent life and goodness?" The black haired man tilted his head.

"That's it?" Laurentina knew there was more going through his mind than that.

"Well," the Sorcerer in question shrugged, "from other perspectives, it could represent a power. Something so overpowering that it burns and destroys everything in its path."

"What makes you think that?" Laurentina hummed amusedly.

"The sun is hot, it could vaporize the both of us in an instant, and can lead to the destruction of our planet if it were close enough." Megumi placed his arm on the backrest of the couch, "so it could also represent what I said before. Some people could also believe that sort of notion," especially considering people could lose their lives to heatstroke—or somebody important to them in the overbearingness of the sun.

All perspectives mattered, to a certain degree.

"Where did you learn that from, a class?" Laurentina inquired.

"Definitely a class, yes, it was just a language course that taught a bit of poetry. Nothing revolutionary or thought-provoking," Megumi waved her off. "What do you think of the sun, anyways? I don't have much of an opinion, because I prefer the moon."

"I believe we could say just about the same thing, then," Laurentina placed a hand under her chin, then stared off to the bright sphere in the sky. "The starry night sky, with the moon placed atop and completing his glorious canvas, it's unrivaled." She reached her hand out, as if picturing the scene right before her eyes.

Megumi listened to her words.

"But perhaps it's a mere bias—I just love watching the stars glitter across the ocean waves after all." Laurentina replied, "authentic in a way, it's hard not for me to find great inspiration within them."

"If that's so," Megumi stood up with slight effort and sighed, "I'll..." he yawned right after, "go to some isolated place. I don't want to be seen by the Penal Battalion, even if they won't recognize my face. Risks aren't something I would want to take."

"Where to, then?" Laurentina turned towards Megumi deftly, "I wouldn't mind coming with. After all, this stuffy room is still a bother to stay in for so long."

"You'll find out soon," Megumi moved away from his couch, keeping note of the Dharmachakra still above his head. He went towards a clothes stand which held his black haori, grabbed it, and then wore it.

"What a mystery," Laurentina said with joking anticipation. "Well, it still beats drying up in bed anyways."

Megumi nodded in agreement, making his departure from the apartment while Laurentina followed along.

***

There was a rocky cliff near the end of Primavera, a place that wasn't often visited. Compared to the high church, it hadn't posed as much significance to the structure stationed by the beach. After all, there could be many rumors present within this place's vicinity, leaving many citizens to stray away from it.

Megumi didn't take them too seriously, but his experience as a Jujutsu Sorcerer still kept himself on high alert when visiting a place that attracted rumors.

The Penal Battalion most likely have scouted this place a few times, but the long distance away from the city made it an unsavory palace for those military men to visit. It was also a mystery why the Church hadn't used a place like this to establish a base. Might be because it was too obvious that something fishy would happen here if they did, he didn't fully know.

Through Megumi's eyes, he saw eroded black rocks that formed a large cliff overlooking the ocean. It was moderately vast in size, spanning across the edge of Primavera. There were many large sedimentary rocks and boulders that laid strewn about, with the crashing waves of the blue ocean battering against the cliff's front.

The sound of crashing waves wasn't a terrible thing to hear, especially with the morning dew lingering in the air. However, Megumi found the saltiness of the sea to be the most prevalent part of this location, feeling as if they were already on the tip of his taste buds. It only made sense, considering how close they were to the ocean now.

He didn't mind it as much as before. Perhaps he had already gotten used to it after staying in Primavera for two days. But the most contributing factor Megumi liked to believe was all the times he had to deal with rancid and pungent Cursed Spirits. Especially with the mess they would leave behind when slaughtering their victims.

Aside from all that, it was calming.

Stretching his arm for a little bit, Megumi loosened his black haori and took it off, taking the opportunity to fold it up.

"Pretty close by the sea," Laurentina was walking from behind Megumi, taking in the sights alongside the Sorcerer. "Reminds me of home, if only briefly."

"Do you like the sea?" Megumi finished folding his clothes, setting it into his shadow inventory. All he wore was his white martial arts gi.

"I believe you could say so," Laurentina hummed, "it's more like the same feeling I get from that wheel of yours, and its connection to you. Is that a good comparison?"

"I can understand where you're coming from, so yes," Megumi stretched his right arm over his body. The muscles loosened, "hopefully, none of the Penal Battalion sees us here. With how they are, they wouldn't take it lightly." He was confident there'd be a thousand misunderstandings.

"Those folks again?" Laurentina placed a hand over her mouth, "unsavory lot they are. I'm sure if you showed even a modicum of your capabilities, they'd all run away pissing their pants."

"I wouldn't have expected you to say something like that," Megumi completed his stretches, giving a surprised glance towards Laurentina.

"Guess you learned something new, huh?" Laurentina simply gave him her trademarked smile in response, "so~ what are we doing here anyways? Feeling the ocean breeze while watching the waves?" She knew there was more to it than Megumi just wanting to do that.

"The blacksmith I wanted to visit is closed," Megumi remembered seeing the time in which the smith was open, and the early morning wasn't one of them. "So I'm planning to train here instead."

"Training? That brings back memories," Laurentina said. "Reminds me so much of those times Captain would drag me all the way to the training halls, ah~ I wonder how she'd handle you." The woman motioned towards Megumi.

"She must be exceptionally competent, I assume," Megumi placed his hands in his pockets, "if you're anything to compare to."

"A compliment? You've been giving them to me more often, but sorry~, I'm not that easily swayed you know?" Laurentina joked.

"If I was attempting to curry myself a favor," Megumi walked forward to the ledge of the cliff, "I would have demanded one from you ages ago."

"True," Laurentina moved with Megumi, gazing around for anything she could sit on. "I'm more content with watching from the sidelines. After all, this Oripathy disease is still quite the bother."

"I thought you'd want to participate? With how excited you were to attack the Church yesterday of course." Megumi raised an eyebrow.

"This and that are very different," Laurentina huffed, "you wouldn't want to stress and strain a lady, now would you?"

"Depends," Megumi responded. However, that was all he was going to leave it as—since he had other things to do at the moment.

His training regimen was about the same as it was back in Lungmen. Maintain his Shikigamis, train his proficiency over his Cursed Tools, and then spar with Tiger Funeral. Mahoraga was out of the question, the Divine General would smash him into oblivion.

Megumi's feet crunched against the grainy sediment on the ground. Pieces of long since broken down rocks and carried sand slightly kicked up, after he pulled his right leg back. Reaching his hand outwards, he called for a certain weapon.

What appeared in his hand was the Inverted Spear of Heaven, the dagger with a special chain attached to its hilt.

With the Cursed Tool he wanted to utilize in hand, it was time to begin.

***

Laurentina hummed to herself, letting herself take in the ocean breeze that blew past them. The Penal Battalion and likely remnants of the Church of the Deep were still a factor at play, but they weren't something to worry about. Fushiguro Megumi proved to be an effective solver of problems, having laid waste to their lab and their main Church with her help.

The more she felt the gale flow past her face and body, the Abyssal Hunter felt as if she were being carried by it. Her hair was also dancing across the invisible force, one made by both nature's means, and by human means.

That's right, the shockwaves and crackling sound of chains mixed in with the seaside wind. It produced what would be a strange sound for many people...

...But Laurentina didn't mind it much. There was this soothing and gentle ambience to what was occurring in front of her. Maybe it was because the danger wasn't focused on her, that the woman's senses did not bother to register it as something dangerous.

Oh, and then rabbit on her lap.

Laurentina looked downwards to the rabbit with white fur, the small creature letting the woman pet its head. There was some marking on it, signifying something that the Aegir didn't have enough cultural awareness to understand. She could always ask the black haired man in front of her, but he usually kept his abilities vague.

Seriously though, summoning competent animals to come to your aid? How convenient is that?

The Abyssal Hunter let her fingers glide against the snow white fur of the rabbit, recalling its name to be 'Rabbit Escape.' There was one more peculiar thing about Megumi, and it was that he called out the names of his summons whenever he needed them. Not only that, but it came alongside specific hand signs, which casted a shadow puppet of the actual animal.

Perhaps they were requirements to call upon them, but Laurentina wasn't 100% sure.

While continuing to pet the rabbit, Laurentina turned towards Megumi. The black haired man was steadfast and steady, keeping all of his focus on the activities he had committed to. There was no hesitation with his every movement, each breaking through the air at unrelenting speeds. If anything—she would believe he was actually fighting an opponent.

With how aggressively ruthless the black haired man had been against the Church of the Deep and Sea Terrors, Laurentina would assume he had some boiled rage underneath that stoic face of his.

She, indeed—fully believed in that assumption. All signs pointed to it.

That scowling expression Fushiguro Megumi had exhibited when sending off that vaguely invisible slash had sent some feeling down her spine. It was the kind of feeling a trained warrior would have in response to an immediate and true threat, which was something Laurentina had always felt since becoming an Abyssal Hunter.

Barring his animal summoning abilities and golden wheel, there were many mysterious things about that man. If it were genetics, Laurentina would have to say that he must be one of the luckiest people on Terra if he were born with all those capabilities.

The Aegir listed them all out in her mind while petting the rabbit on her lap: summoning a large variety of animals, sending off invisible slashes, a strange wheel that turns—she didn't know this one's purpose, shadow abilities, an endless(?) inventory, and a strange energy that reinforces his body.

'How many people have been confused when seeing your capabilities, Megumi?' Laurentina amusedly thought of how he would have to explain it to everybody he showed it off to. 'Well, unless all land-dwellers are born like this.' But she didn't have a good enough sample size to compare with other people on dry land.

Watching him train by himself, Laurentina felt her fingers twitch. The lashing of the chains sounded like they were cackling with laughter, tearing apart the wind in their wake. There was some other purpose for them—the Abyssal Hunter believed—that wasn't just striking out at thin air.

The purpose of weapons such as those are to tear flesh, rip apart muscles, and break open bones. From her perspective, that was their true meaning, and the most effective method to train them. If it didn't leave enough gore and pus to dull them, of course.

"Hmm," Laurentina narrowed her eyes with scrutiny. While she wouldn't call herself a teacher or somebody who was even good at teaching, she could notice a few discernable flaws within the black haired man's posture. However, it was so complex that the white haired woman couldn't truly explain in words.

Painful, it was painful to look at. What should have otherwise been a perfectly astute and marvelous dance was flawed by a single mar, one that only the Abyssal Hunter could recognize. How could she describe it...? Various words flowed through her mind, but not a single comprehensive or clear definition could make itself known.

Well, there was only one way to find out, and that was having a hands-on experience herself.

Laurentina hopped off the boulder she was sitting on, giving a final pet to Rabbit Escape before setting the rabbit down. She watched as it hopped away, off to some place that she didn't know. It wasn't too worrying either, since its master could just de-summon it from what she knew.

Turning towards Megumi, she called out to the busy man while half cupping her mouth, "princess~!"

The man being called out to yanked the chain of his weapon, tapped a foot on the ground before lightly using the other to stop his forward momentum. Right after, Megumi diverted the force of the Chain of a Thousand miles with an equal amount of force in an opposite direction, to disperse the built up power.

It soon fell uselessly to the ground with a few clanking sounds, Megumi turning towards Laurentina, "yes?" His grip was light on the weapon, the interlocked metal coiling around the floor.

"Hand me my weapon," Laurentina extended her hand, palm facing upwards. "I don't know why, but there's something irking me about your fighting style."

"What do you mean by that?" Megumi assessed the woman, before shrugging and materializing her buzzsaw. A shadow puddle appeared beneath him, before the gigantic buzzsaw attached to a stick appeared in his hand, "here you go." He tossed it towards the woman.

"Thanks," Laurentina gave a lofty grin and grabbed it, "to elaborate—I'm not sure myself."

"Then...?" Megumi raised an eyebrow at the beautiful woman.

"That's why..." the Abyssal Hunter held the buzzsaw by the handle and twirled it in her hands, "...I want to get to the bottom of it."

"You want to spar with me?" Megumi tilted his head, the wheel following along with his movement. "Is that what you're getting at?"

"A spar? Certainly," Laurentina giggled, "do you want me to use my weapon, or not? I'll be sure to make this little dance as light on you as possible."

"You're the Oripathy patient," the Sorcerer pointed his finger at her with thinned lips. "I don't think you should say something like that."

"Oh~?" Laurentina took his words as a challenge, "who's the one with a brain that should have been turned to mush again?"

"...Fair," Megumi groaned, "if you want to have a go, then..." His eyes tensed and widened—a little trick he had learned from Gojo Satoru...

...Always get the advantage during the first bout.

Immediately, his right hand holding onto the Chain of a Thousand Miles curved upwards, the attached large dagger following its movement. His posture shifted along with the rocks on the ground ripping a fissure, rumbling towards Laurentina.

The shark lady smiled wide, "aren't you excited~?!" She had already prepared for something like this, spinning her buzzsaw by its long handle while crossing her legs—then rotating. It all led into a somber strike, one that deflected the trajectory of danger barrelling towards her.

Megumi twisted his body, letting the extended chain recover from its diverted momentum by raising his hand upwards, and then spinning around. The chains coiled around his body, before the Ten Shadows user unleashed a rotational strike of his own.

Laurentina had promptly responded, rushing forward during the time he was executing the movement. Her action had left a blast of air behind.

Tussles of her hair flew in the air, as her long parted skirt fluttered behind her and ducked under the vertically arcing chain.

Making sure to send a grin upwards at Megumi with her speed building to unprecedented levels, Laurentina felt the wind being sliced above her—indicating that she had successively dodged the attack.

Megumi clicked his tongue, feeling the Inverted Spear of Heaven completely missing. Stepping back, the black haired man widened his eyes when the Abyssal Hunter's saw slammed into the ground, cleaving through the floor like a heated knife through butter.

Keeling his head back, it narrowly missed his chin, leaving a heated frictional force passing by. The weight of the weapon left a shockwave passing through, proving the might of Aegir's super enhanced soldier.

Megumi dragged his Cursed Tool back while continuing to backpedal with fast and tense vigor. Once the weapon had latched back, Laurentina was already prancing towards him with grace, going for a flank instead.

The one being chased did a rightwards swing, the direction where his opponent was approaching him by. However, Megumi's attack proved fruitless as it narrowly missed Laurentina once again.

Failure wasn't something he would follow, so he continued to make distance from the Abyssal Hunter whole going for swift and wide arcing attacks. The aggressive energy emitted from his next blows shook the valley, leaving carvings all across the ground and sending debris upwards like confetti being kicked up.

Laurentina only giggled, placing a hand over her mouth as she dodged everything coming her way. Whether it be the rocks and sediment being shot upwards, or the bladed weapon trying to nail its mark, the white haired woman found that avoiding them was easy.

Though, she did wonder how none of the long chains got locked up in Megumi's floating wheel... must be trained enough to not get it stuck, then.

Aside from that, the Aegir continued to pirouette and weave like a needle threading through silk. In this case, she was the object piercing through the soft fabrics, avoiding finding the best openings and moving through with her body. It was just so easy, and her experience of having to dodge through multiple tentacles slashes made it even more of a breeze.

"You're much easier to read than I realized," Laurentina chirped out along with evading his attackings, occasionally hitting the chains with her buzzsaw to disrupt their flow.

Megumi felt his lips thinned, creasing his brows during his leap upwards in the air and sending his weapon slamming down at Laurentina's position. Or rather, where her position was.

The Abyssal Hunter had pivoted and slid barely to the right, the weapon missing its mark entirely. The woman sent a provocative smile as a result, "is that your best?"

The Ten Shadows user swiped his weapon to the side where Laurentina was, but the woman merely leapt upwards and proceeded with an 'unnecessary' twirl in the air while upside down—then landing on the ground as the weapon had rerouted itself to strike the airborne woman, completely avoiding it once more.

Laurentina, once again, sent another taunting look towards Megumi, before striking towards him in a single step.

"...Divine Dog: Totality."

Megumi called out for his Shikigami, totally not being affected by her taunts in the slightest.

Rabbit Escape was already hidden somewhere, doing the chants to enhance the unstable Divine Dog: Totality that had formed when Megumi landed on his feet.

The Abyssal Hunter looked upwards with eyes that had widened a millimeter wider, raising up her saw to block a clenched fist that had crashed downwards like a hammer.

The kinetic force transferred through and left a sizable crater at where Laurentina stood, the woman bearing sight to a gigantic shadow werewolf that looked to be a whole 9 meters tall! "Hah~?" Laurentina chuckled to herself, pushed on the ground when Megumi had pulled the chain of his weapon back, avoiding the strike and letting 'Divine Dog: Totality' slam into the ground.

"Summoning a werewolf now? What don't you have, princess?" Laurentina watched as the Sorcerer had completely reeled his weapon back in, before lashing it to the side and then spinning it by his side.

Megumi didn't humor her response, a million thoughts running through his mind while he spun his weapon. Divine Dog: Totality had its size increased from the chant and a recent refinement with his input and output, but the effect on halved reserves was still noticeable.

Just as how Ryomen Sukuna's Divine Dog: Totality's upper body completely eclipsed his entire body when he summoned it, Megumi's barely reached the size. He had compensated by using Rabbit Escape's chant, which had also doubled its duration despite being unstable.

"It's rude to keep a woman waiting for a response, you know~?" Laurentina placed her index finger near her lips, an ever-present smile on her face. She paced around Megumi, keeping her eyes on the gigantic creature guarding its summoner. "It's a pretty cute doggie too. Do you give it belly rubs?"

Megumi mentally called it to charge Laurentina, the beast complied by moving from his back and getting on all fours. It ran forward like a rabid animal as Megumi flanked it just as Laurentina had done to him before, and shot his weapon forward with his body tilted a little bit sideways.

The same tactic he had used against Lappland before.

The Abyssal Hunter gave a vicious grin, eyes glinting. First of all, she moved her head to the side to avoid the dagger, and then swung her buzzing saw to clash with Divine Dog: Totality.

The Shikigami growled, sparks flying while their claws scraped against her weapon, both of them passing each other. However, the werewolf made sure to jump over Megumi's stretched chain so it could swing to the left and try to catch Laurentina.

The woman deflected it casually, right as Totality rounded around to attempt another strike at her. She hummed in response, keeping note of the synergy between the master and its summon.

During the time Megumi orbitted around Laurentina, his werewolf would lash out swiftly towards her, so she would be too distracted to rush its master. This left him many opportunities to perform his attacks without any disruption—something she figured out after a few more bouts.

Divine Dog: Totality leapt over the Inverted Spear of Heaven that had kicked up in speed, clashing its claw with Laurentina's saw again, before they broke off and went off into a barrage of attacks.

The Abyssal Hunter pivoted and dodged a chain which had nearly lacerated at her side, and then spun her buzzsaw in a counterclockwise position and turned to her side to block Megumi's encircling chain and the werewolf's jab.

Once that was set and done, Laurentina set a kick towards the Shikigami, but found herself in slight surprise when it had melted into viscous black liquid, 'was this planned?'

Megumi rounded up his chained weapon once more, enhancing his entire body with Cursed Energy. The blue flames erupted from his body, but kept it restrained so it wouldn't spread out across the city. It enhanced his muscles, and by extension: his strength. That was all he needed.

KLNK

With a huff of his breath, the black haired man's pupils shrunk while he broke off into a savage movement, tapping his foot on the ground and leaping upwards slightly. As he did so, the chains started to quake, moving in such ways that seemed unnatural and unrefined... to the naked eye.

Laurentina heaved a soft breath, watching his movements coalesce into something that hadn't matched his previous energy. Deciding to take his initiative, the Aegir lady held her saw sideways with both hands, straightening her back in a way that prepared for a ballet dance.

Her eyes closed.

Under the intensity of Megumi's glare and sereness of Laurentina's, the landscape around them shook.

Right after she remembered the pressure of the ocean—the Abyssal Hunter jerked her eyes wide open, a gleaming spark of intensity and passion burning within her fierce orbs. Flourishing her weapon at blinding speeds, she jolted her body and impacted the ground with her legs.

Her movement deflected and blocked all consecutive blows from Fushiguro Megumi, as if she were moving through a rippling sphere of death. However, the woman continued with a peerless gait, leaving a strong enough air pressure that slashed through the environment.

Megumi tensed his eyes, picking up his effort and speed. The chain and bladed end continued to rattle with his movements, encompassing everything around him in the perfect defense and offense, trying his damndest to keep up with this voracious woman.

KLNK

Openings—they became absolutely clear to his eyes, and many of them that he could abuse! Ever since the beginning of the fight, Megumi had finally found that everything was staring to become clear before his eyes.

Laurentina attempted to make an advance, but stopped moving and pivoted to the side, feeling a chain pass by her side. Letting out a charming smirk, the Aegir flowed alongside the chains like a leaf atop the waters of a river.

Left, right, and duck, that was the movement she went with, noting how the black haired man had gotten a better feel of her fighting style. That was nice, considering how his skill with handling that weapon had drastically changed ever since the Abyssal Hunter had been holding back.

Leaping upwards and spinning sideways, Lauretina's clothes fluttered in the wind as her saw did a 360 strike to counteract the dome of chains that had gathered around her. Right after she landed, the woman bent her knees and gave a glance towards Megumi's wheel.

KLNK

Laurentina narrowed her eyes like a predator analyzing its prey, darting to the right and avoiding a fissured crack that had formed below her feet. The weapon of Megumi continued to chase her, tearing apart the path which she had moved from, sending up broken rocks and boulders on its way.

She attempted to pivot past a blow, but found herself having to slide her weapon against the rattling chains. Then, as she attempted to ascend to the air with a gracious leap, the woman had to halt her movements and lower her head, a chain had coiled around where it had been.

The woman's gaze turned towards Megumi once more, her perception slowing to a near halt. Looking deep into his eyes, and every minute detail of his movement, Laurentina could only see one thing. It was a dance, diverging away from the previous pretentious movements he had done during self-training.

'Certainly... he's adapted!' Laurentina bore a wide grin, once again drifting across his attacks. This time, she felt as if Megumi were reading her every movement, forcing her to do something different. 'Let's see, what happens when I kick it up a notch?'

The Abyssal Hunter wanted to see where his flaws lied, but she had already been indirectly teaching him in some way, how exciting!

Her muscles had been relaxed during the entire bout, so when she tensed them up...

...A grandiose pressure emitted all around, nearly throwing Megumi off guard as a concentration of bloodlust was sent his way.

Like a shark smelling blood, Laurentina charged forward with no regard, bashing away any attack that would even dare impede her path. The sound of chains clanging away from her weapon was music to her ears, as she had changed the style of her 'dance.'

Megumi clicked his tongue, sweat building up on his forehead.

KLNK

The increase in strength and alteration of her dance had completely off-set his adaptation, practically starting him off from zero. But Megumi was somewhat glad that he was able to correct a few flaws from Laurentina's indirect teaching—something he couldn't fully register at the moment.

Why?

Because Laurentina had already reached to front of him, face nearly touching his own. Her saw was already occupied from being interlocked by chains coiled around it, but she didn't seem to care, grabbing Megumi's chain with her bare hand and taking control of its movement.

The black haired man gritted his teeth, feeling himself be pulled by her daring moves. To respond to this, he let go of the weapon, and reeled his fist back for a quick jab.

Laurentina moved to the side casually, reeling the chain in as it coiled around Megumi, forcing him to raise his hands in a guard and back away. Having expected this, the shark lady grinned, moving the chains in a way that revolved around the Sorcerer in whirl, coming together to entrap him. Much to her disappointment, the weapon had turned completely black and dissipated.

"Nue!"

Laurentina instinctively raised her buzzsaw and slashed at the air, slicing two shadow birds in quick succession. Sparks of electricity were emitted after, their cries being music to her ears, before leaping out of the way of a thunder strike where she had been before. The scene was illuminated with purple lights, one that she found quite interesting.

Megumi followed her path, pulling out Playful Cloud and flourishing it around. Her fighting style had changed, and her sheer force had completely rendered the Inverted Spear of Heaven useless, which already served little purpose considering the Aegir didn't even use Arts.

"Having fun~?" Laurentina called out, feeling a bird and aggressive Sorcerer tail her from the back.

"Tch!" Megumi slid on the ground when the shark lady had halted her steps, blocking an electric bolt with her weapon and then redirecting it in an attempt to catch the Sorcerer off guard.

KLNK

50% adaptation was extremely useful, but the disparity in strength between him and Laurentina was far too much!

Megumi slid the three-section staff off the ground, commanding Nue to dive bomb her while he struck from below.

Laurentina huffed, deflecting his blow with her increased strength, nearly blowing him back despite the Cursed Tool amplifying the force of his blow. Right after, she dodged to the side and narrowly dodged an unstable Nue—if it even looked like she was struggling.

Megumi gave himself enough respite after being sent back by Laurentina, only to look upwards and see his unstable Shikigami casually being slaughtered. Keeping track of his target, he was met with a grinning madwoman.

'Is this still a spar...? Or is this her standard for training?' Megumi frowned, feeling a small bead of sweat trail down the back of his neck. 'If she wants to go all out, then alright—'

Blinking once, Laurentina was already charging towards him. Feeling his instincts as a 'true Sorcerer' kick in, Megumi decided to screw all efforts of dodging and approach her in turn, going for successive lashes with Playful Cloud.

An orange light from weapons clashing against each other emitted, a certain black haired man being pushed back on the defensive immediately.

Megumi continued to fight off the relentless barrage of Laurentina, his body begging for more oxygen intake while he continued his best to deflect her blows. From what he could see, the Abyssal Hunter had practically broken off into a macabre dance, leaving no part of the environment safe for him to retreat to.

The buzzing saw nicked his cheek, before the attack came back around for an upwards strike-this time being deflected by Playful Cloud. However, the force needed to redirect the weapon of Laurentina left him in a slightly vulnerable position, the shark lady taking advantage of it to go for a revolving waltz around Megumi.

The Sorcerer already had his arms raised up in a defensive position, locked into it by Laurentina's excessive force, so the woman was able to easily scratch the side of his body, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

"Whoopsies~," Laurentina placed a hand over her mouth and backed away, retracting her saw. 'Did I go too far?'

Megumi didn't even wince from the blow, but a slight sense of irritation did rise. Lowering his arms once more, he cycled Reverse Cursed Technique to slightly alleviate the lash, before pointing towards Laurentina with his index and middle finger, and his thumb pointing upwards.

DISMANTLE

'Aha~? The princess is still going!" Laurentina slightly felt alleviated from a burden when watching the black marks appear on his face. Whatever burning spirit kept him in the sparring match didn't make the shark lady have to worry about accidentally crushing his bones to dust.

However, she couldn't stay in her thoughts for any longer. The distortions in the air were palpable, making the woman raise the buzzsaw she held to block it.

A shockwave passed through it, like a blade having just collided with her weapon.

"Great Serpent!"

Laurentina found herself paralyzed, the gleaming gaze of a yellow-eyed serpentine creature flashing in her sights. Normally, she could handle poisons and venom meant for paralysis, but this one felt more 'mystical' compared to them.

Megumi was once again glad he made the Binding Vow with Rabbit Escape—if he hadn't, then Laurentina would have already reacted to his chants and interrupted him. He then fell into the shadows, putting his next plan into succession.

Right after, Great Serpent's unstable form bursted from the shadows, opening its mouth wide to the stunned Laurentina. However, the woman recovered extremely quickly as compared to any other target, the Shikigami finding itself sliced in half just as it was about to ensnare her.

Megumi had already moved to a shadow behind Laurentina just as she had finished off Great Serpent before clapping his hands together.

Shadow Extension: Max Elephant

A torrent of water compressed into a singular point pierced forward. It didn't matter if the planet's gravity acted upon it, the supersonic water was like a sharpened blade, approaching an amused Laurentina from the back.

Megumi's wheel slightly twitched, the Shadow Extension of Mahoraga being switched off. This also meant his access to the adaptations temporarily turned off, but a benefit was that it still lingered on for a few seconds—fully able to return once its Shadow Extension was activated within its time frame.

That meant he could use other Shadow Extensions very briefly while holding Mahoraga's adaptations.

The Abyssal Hunter had already sensed the man's presence from behind, keeping in mind his capabilities of traveling through shadows quickly.

Tilting her head to the side, Laurentina ducked under the water, but found that its course swerved around and attempted to catch her again. 'Too bad,' the Aegir didn't heed it too much, immediately bursting to the side and breaking away from its approach, 'still, what a brilliant ability.'

Megumi narrowed his eyes, Cursed Energy spiking as he let go of Max Elephant's Shadow Extension, instead switching back to Mahoraga.

Reaching his hand back, he summoned Dragon-Bone quickly into a thrust position, his knees lowering, and his left arm extended forward to track Laurentina's extremely fast flank—so fast that he was having trouble keeping track of it.

There was only one way he could adapt to this sort of difficult situation, a technique that could enhance his swordplay. It felt as if pink blossoming petals fell around himself, the 'spring' sun setting its rays upon the Sorcerer.

KLNK

A drawing stance of a technique forged by the Three Great Clans and kept in the utmost secrecy had decided to leak out into the world.

Secret Art: Falling Blossom Emotion

...Just as Laurentina had struck out towards Megumi when she completed her approach, the saw was intercepted by the Ten Shadow users' katana in a near flash.

Gritting his teeth, the blue aura surrounding himself was maintained. This was progress, considering how the Secret Art would immediately dissipate after he had used it once.

The shark lady kept note of this strange aura surrounding him, before applying more force into her attack. Just from the change in velocity and strength she outputted, Laurentina watched in satisfaction when Megumi widened his eyes and was blown back like a ballista shot.

Megumi found his back crashing against a tree, breaking it in half as he reinforced his body with Cursed Energy at the last second. Letting out an annoyed breath, he flipped upwards and regained his footing, going for a horizontal strike.

CLEAVE

True to his instincts, Laurentina, who had charged forward like a harpoon firing off—had been blocked off from her immediate advance.

Bending her body back in the air, the Abyssal Hunter had almost reached Fushiguro Megumi, but found an extended and invisible force from his nodachi to force her to defend, 'so those invisible slashes can come from weapons too?' Laurentina analyzed her prey with a more critical gaze.

The environment around her distorted, decaying shrubbery and trees falling, the effects of Cleave settling in.

Megumi, still maintaining Falling Blossom Emotion entered a drawing stance, bent his knees as a shadow cast over his face. With greater concentration than before, the Sorcerer was at his more desperate need to master the technique.

KLNK

The offensive variant of Falling Blossom Emotion wasn't too well explored, only being utilized by people such as Zen'in Ogi. Even then, Megumi didn't know how far his skill reached in it.

In regards to Kusakabe Atsuya, he had a completely different technique based on Simple Domain. He doubted any of the Three Great Clans would ever teach him a 'Secret Art.'

"Those turns..." Laurentina paused her steps, watching as Megumi approached her, "it lessens your learning curve?" She raised the buzzsaw to block his enhanced blow, "perhaps something else?" The woman observed the power being exerted on her weapon.

There was some sort of connection between that wheel and Megumi's explosive growth at the moment, and the Abyssal Hunter had already discovered that. However, what it actually did was a mystery.

Megumi narrowed his eyes, going for a barrage of slashes and stabs while his target continued to parry them with ease. From his perspective, the woman was glancing at him curiously, the previous bloodlust she exhibited having disappeared somewhere in the wind.

It didn't matter much to him, he needed to learn more! Even if these adaptations were temporary for himself and took longer to undertake, the Sorcerer knew that if he kept experiencing this explosive growth from adaptations—then remembered the feeling—it would lead to faster results that came with normal training.

Just as how he could recall Ryomen Sukuna's muscle memory.

Jumping backwards after finding that his Falling Blossom Emotion enhanced slashes were useless, the black haired man extended his fingers into an open palm, sending a barrage of Dismantles towards Laurentina.

The woman broke off from her curious observation, curving the edges of her lips upwards, "with pleasure." Laurentina had enjoyed the art of dancing, or rather, any art in general. Heaving her body into a splendid way, she veered away from the slashes with her eyes closed.

There was no need to watch their trajectory with her eyes, merely relying on her instincts to provide her a waltz to avoid the barrage was enough.

'Well, this has dragged on long enough,' Laurentina opened her eyes, observing the Jujutsu Sorcerer pass her by from a good distance away—sending off an invisible slash at her side with a chop of his hand.

She bashed it away with her saw, before immediately flowing as naturally as the cold zephyr billowing amongst the forest. The Abyssal Hunter's arm posture lowered, holding the middle portion of the handle with her right hand, while her left hand reached for the back end, then tilting the saw marginally downwards.

As the net of Dismantles formed in front of Laurentina, she only smugly smiled, a sense of serenity and calmness enveloping her. Crossing her right leg over her left, her combat stance exuding nothing but refined dignity.

Megumi still had his left hand raised up in a finger gun, before feeling an unnatural sense of unease overtake him. Despite having basically covered all exit points and openings of Laurentina with Dismantles, the black haired man felt at a complete loss of what to do next, as if anything except for that would prove useless.

A harsh clanging sound reverberated across the empty forest, the slashes that Megumi had discharged were all immediately sent elsewhere, leaving large gorges and gashes across. Grasses were trimmed, trees fell, and overall; it was a complete mess.

The Sorcerer watched as they all were redirected from Laurentina's wildly spinning movements, one that had been so tranquil before. It inevitably proved to him that nothing should be taken at face value.

The Laurentina held her buzzsaw in the air, her expression looking like that of somebody indulging themself.

Her sights finally settled on a dazed Megumi when her final play came to an end, the hems of her skirt settling down after the viciousness she had just displayed. Letting no respite overtake the mock battlefield, the Aegir lightly danced across the ground and shot forward.

Megumi felt a grave sense of danger overtake his body's neurons, flaring up action signals in his brain and sending them all across his body. Raising his arms upward in balled fists, the Sorcerer found himself immediately being pushed to the ground, Laurentina's foot pressing down on his chest—the Ten Shadows user in question raising up his arms.

Laurentina pressed the blade of the buzzsaw, the object having stopped spinning, against Megumi's neck. The woman tilted her head, glad that her logical thinking process hadn't been overtaken by her senses. Otherwise, the black haired man's aura might have influenced her to lob his head off.

Megumi scrunched his brows while staring up at the silent Laurentina, his fists still clenched, prepared for anything to happen. All he was met with was a brief hanging silence, one that loomed far above the two and casted a terse shadow. Sweat started to build up, anxiety developing due to hormones such as adrenaline being produced en masse.

"...Is the spar over?" Megumi finally asked the question to break the silence. The cold steel of the deactivated saw still pressed against his neck.

"...I could have sworn you were about to do something," Laurentina noted in a low voice, "but to answer your question, I believe so~." Right after, her usual tone came back to her, as chirpy and sassy as she had always been.

Releasing her foot from Megumi's chest, the shark lady retracted her saw with slight hesitance. From an outside perspective, Laurentina was sure anybody could see that there were a lot of questions forming in her head.

Saving them for another time, she reached her hand out towards Megumi with a smile, "so? How was our little dance? I might have even enjoyed it more than ours yesterday."

"I think you're too... excitable?" Megumi grabbed her hand while groaning, "but you still like playing around, don't you?" He was lifted back up on his feet, and then dusted himself off afterwards.

"Oh please," Laurentina huffed, "let a lady have her fun, will you? Besides, the way you fought was far too restrained to what you should actually be doing. Why did you even bother focusing on attacking me physically?" The woman pointed out the weird style Megumi used, instead of staying more in the backlines.

"I don't want to expend myself any further. It'd leave me too exhausted for the rest of the day," Megumi didn't want to get into the specifics of his Binding Vow and halved reserves. "So I opted to train my physical capabilities. I doubt it even matched yours."

"Hmph," Laurentina placed a finger on her lower lip. "I'm sure you'll get there someday... but as it stands? Maybe it'd be better if you hide behind your summons like a true princess, does that sound better?"

"Laurentina," Megumi rolled his eyes at her sarcastic words and then asked what he wanted to say. "Could you... teach me about close quarters combat? It's a request." The Sorcerer attempted to be as sincere as he could.

"Huh?" The shark lady turned towards Megumi with a perplexed look in her eyes. "Seriously? Wow, I would have expected you to constantly have a stick up there, but you're really asking me for help~?" Laurentina held a cunning grin after speaking.

"Yes," Megumi didn't deny it, "I'm asking for your help."

"Let me think about it," Laurentina looked upwards while humming a tune to herself, her eyes tracing alongside the clouds passing by. "I must say, you're quite talented, you know that? Does that have to do with your little wheel?" An all-knowing smile became present on her face.

"To... an extent?" Megumi reached his hand upwards, but didn't touch it, only hovering his hand at the wheel. "Every time it turns... let's just say it lets me process information better?" It was a half-truth. It let him process things better and faster, but it also provided an adaptational instinct to what he views as negative to himself.

It could be technical, or even conceptual—wherein he restored a portion of his lost Cursed Energy. But the latter seemed to be more difficult to focus on, especially since all of Mahoraga's adaptational abilities were reduced to 50%. It didn't only include the amount of adaptation received, but also the length and ease of accessing them.

"That makes sense," Laurentina walked closer to Megumi, grabbing his arm, much to the other's confusion. "I can tell you're a fast learner with how you've been... how should I say this? Been keeping up with my own dance?" The Aegir moved her other hand, keeping her buzzsaw leaning against her shoulder while tracing the tribal markings across Megumi's arms.

"These strange marks, they always appear when you fire off those invisible slashes, along with that gross and undisguised negative energy..." Laurentina narrowed her eyes while continuing to run her fingers across his arm. "I'll only 'teach' you if you can explain this?" There was one thing she cared more about the request, and that was her curiosity over this matter.

"Well," Megumi stared at the markings along with her, slightly scrunching up his face. They always reminded him of Ryomen Sukuna, a reminder that his influence had bled into both his body and soul... "those slashes aren't really my technique, if you understand what I'm saying?"

"Let's see," Laurentina eventually let go of his arm, closing her eyes in contemplation. "Whenever you execute that new 'technique' of yours, completely different from your 'conjuring' and shadows, your 'energy' or 'aura' completely changes..." The shark lady took a glance at Megumi, becoming more confident when the latter slowly nodded. "So that could only mean... you were either born different or this ability doesn't even belong to you?"

...Wow, she narrowed it down fast. "It's the latter. You've got it spot on," Megumi looked at her impressively.

"Oh, it's nothing," Laurentina waved him off with a joyous look. "I guess it was simpler than I thought, maybe a confirmation was all I really needed."

"So...?"

"I'll teach you, but take my warning seriously," Laurentina stood on her tippy-toes, staring deep in Megumi's eyes. "An Abyssal Hunter's training methods are not to be taken lightly, okay?"

"I understand," Megumi's tone changed to match the woman's own sternness. Or rather, as stern as she could ever get.

"Secondly, I can't say I'm the best teacher, as I said before, so there's that," Laurentina pulled back with a peppy step backwards, "think of it like a college lecture. I teach you, and it's on you to process what I teach you to learn it. Besides, you already have that—" she pointed towards Megumi's wheel "—to let you understand what I show you, right?"

"I get the general gist," Megumi scratched the back of his, feeling the black markings on his body start to fade. Alongside that, the dreaded presence of the King of Curses had also gone away, "once again, I—thank you."

"No need to be so polite," Laurentina lightly laughed to herself, "besides, you might just become a punching bag the next time we do this again." A coy expression was what she was going for.

"...I'll look forward to it," Megumi reached outwards, forming his black haori within a splash of black liquid. Right after, he swung the article of clothing around his body, putting his hands through the sleeves and fixing its positioning. It was back on, perfectly.

"Make sure to tell me when you do something so jarring as making yourself seem like a genocidal maniac, by the way," Laurentina commented, "almost lobbed off your head with how jarring it was."

"Duly noted," Megumi said.

With his Dharmachakra, adapting to the woman would improve his fighting style rather than having to focus training them. Although he still had to do some reps and exercises to recall and remember the feeling of his fighting style improving—it would be far faster than the rate he was going at back in Lungmen.

...Right, Lungmen. Megumi winced when remembering that place.

Wanting to forget about the subject, the black haired man sighed to himself while shaking his head. It was a better idea to distract himself in other thoughts than linger upon this matter any longer. Especially since he needed to find a way back home, as daunting as the task sounded, something akin to a Herculean task.

Maybe it was even more difficult than that.

On Laurentina's side she walked to the ledge of the cliff after speaking to Fushiguro Megumi. The calm and gentle wind was like that of a mother's touch—still an alien feeling amongst dry land. However, just briefly did she reminisce about a city long lost underwater, lost to only herself. It was only now that she realized how homesick she truly felt.

While the two kept silent in their own thoughts, seemingly frozen in their own time, nature ran its own course. The graying clouds above started to coalesce, casting a dim shadow across the cliff in which they stood. It created a temporal feeling when combined with the ocean waves creeping up and crashing alongside the cliff.

Laurentina, the Abyssal Hunter could feel her grip tightening on her weapon. Staring off into the horizon of the sea was comforting, she believed it always would be with how familiar it was to her eyes. But at this moment, the familiarity was something far different than what she loved and adored...

Fushiguro Megumi paused his reminiscent pondering of Japan, and the fuzzy memories that came with it. The way the world seemed to darken around them, but still held enough light for everything to be seen clearly... it produced an uneasy feeling within himself.

Turning to Laurentina's back, the Sorcerer gazed upon a figure standing over the sea, a link to wherever she was peering towards. The continuous sounds of relentless waves became a calming sound to one that seemed to warn of a danger.

The two kept the silence to themselves until they returned back.

***

Rain was pouring down on Primavera, droplets of water falling as it should due to the planet's gravity acting upon them. It had started off to a small extent, but eventually it became an unrelenting downpour which seemed to batter the city like artillery shells.

A hyperbolic way of putting things, that was for sure.

Megumi wasn't sure whether this was common weather for this place, but he would assume so. Being so close to the ocean meant that the city would experience more rainfall than places that were further inland, so it only made sense that this occurrence would happen.

Especially with the blanketing fog and moisture that lingered with the moist salt. The smell of wet concrete mixed alongside them, while the black haired man lingered across the shadows, finding any covering that could protect him from the weather.

Although he couldn't get hypothermia from the weather or liquid due to his aptitude as a Jujutsu Sorcerer, Megumi would still prefer not getting wet. There was also a large crowd of civilians moving about and back to what he assumed to be their homes, creating a variety of splashing sounds and footsteps.

A good thing to note was those robed priests from the Church were no longer a commonality. In fact, he was sure that there wasn't even one that he spotted—whether because they had gone into hiding, or were completely wiped out—Megumi was glad to see such a result.

But other problems arose with how he and Laurentina handled the Church of the Deep, the name she had given to him. It was that the Penal Battalion was more active than ever before, moving across streets like a well trained army and apparently looking at every nook and cranny that lay around.

Seeing such a thing, it irritated the Ten Shadows user. Why of all times were they so active when the Church was already screwing things over for them? Did they care more for the fact over who destroyed the high church than the actual monsters who were causing problems for this city?

'Ridiculous.'

'What is wrong with them?'

Although it might have been a stretch or plain bias in Megumi's mind, the sickly feeling continued to grate at him, 'Laurentina should be fine staying alone back in the apartment. I still have some unfinished business before I head back.'

The woman had wanted to come with him, but with how active the Penal Battalion was at this moment, he even saw one passing by from his shadow, having her come with him would be a risk factor. Especially since his shadow traversing abilities became much more difficult to do with another person in tow.

'The tailor shop... there it is,' Megumi had left some doubloons (the currency of Iberia) when he and the Aegir woman had taken the clothes and left. However, he wasn't too sure if the amount was the actual price of the clothes, and also because he wondered where the old man had gone.

Standing in front of it once more, he placed his hand on the door handle and opened it. The creaking sound of worn out wood became apparent, before Megumi stepped in and took in the sight of the place once more.

It was the exact same. Not completely out of the equation—in fact—it was what he had expected the most.

"Mr. Tailor...?" Megumi turned to the center of the room, his sights landing on the other side of the wall. There was a desk, and a despondent old man weaving a needle across some clothes. "Hello? Am I interrupting something?" He kept his tone polite while slowly walking forward, but was given no response.

Once he reached where the old man was, Megumi watched silently as they continued to weave an unknown fabric across an article of clothing. With how they were working, it looked like they had accepted a commission from somebody, who it was, he didn't know.

Skillful in all senses of the word, the wave his movements proceeded in a stream, a form crafted to perfection by an articulate architect. A machine, the old man was like a machine programmed to do only one thing, and that was tailoring clothes.

'This isn't natural,' Megumi dryly remarked in his mind. This sort of behavior was like somebody had been cursed back in his previous life, reminding him of his sister. 'I've heard Gojo-sensei bring up cases such as this, where a cursed human could only say one word, or do one thing to the bidding of a Cursed Spirit.'

But Fushiguro Megumi couldn't tell what was afflicting this old man. It wasn't a Cursed Spirit, Cursed Energy didn't even exist in this world in the first place. Was it a physiological problem? Perhaps pertaining to the brain structure—a kind of damage lingering after an accident? But then that could also mean it came from birth.

"I would like to make another... request," Megumi spoke out, but received no response.

After a short while of just standing there and watching the old man continue to fabricate the item currently being the epicenter of their attention, he decided to relent. 'There's no need for me to be here for too long,' reaching into his pocket, Megumi pulled out another note drawn by Laurentina.

Apparently, she had sketched another set of clothing, not for herself, but surprisingly for a certain black haired man.

Yes, it was himself, Megumi still wondered why she had wanted new clothes tailored for him, but it was a request from her. So because it was a request, the Ten Shadows user felt no need to deny it, especially with how much money he had stolen from the Church of the Deep.

"If you can hear me, please tailor me another set of clothes. Take your time, there's no need to rush," despite being 99.9% sure the old man couldn't hear him, Megumi placed the note on their table in a way that wouldn't disrupt them.

Taking a small step back, he was still granted the sight of the same happenings as before. Not a single change had happened, so Megumi closed his eyes in relent, turning around and deciding to go to his next objective.

The sound of a door opening became apparent once more, before he was greeted with the sight of rain once more. With how intense it had gotten since the black haired man had made his way here, he didn't know how a dingy shop such as this was able to stand. Maybe it had some feature he didn't know, but Megumi wasn't going to delve on the matter for too long.

His current arsenal of Cursed Tools were effective and useful—especially with all of them being Special Grade. But that didn't mean he was content with keeping them as how they were, even if he had been attempting to enhance them with his Cursed Technique imbuement.

'The problem with Cursed Technique Reversal, or Shadow Extension is that I can only use one at a time,' Megumi deliberated on his current misgivings and limits. 'But if I infuse at least one of my Shikigamis' abilities in a Cursed Tool, then that's one less thing I have to worry about, canceling a Shadow Extension and switching to another would always be a problem.'

Especially since the Shikigamis had to be recalled for him to utilize Shadow Extension. At the moment, Megumi was planning to create one more Cursed Tool, and that was all the black haired man was going to settle with. Having an unnecessary bloat of weapons would also make it difficult to choose between which to use, as a counterpoint to having versatility.

So as a result, the Jujutsu Sorcerer was going to enhance his current Cursed Tools and create the Vajra. The former was far harder to do, considering the weapons were already forged by another person and had different Cursed Techniques already imbued. For the Vajra though, Gojo Satoru had mentioned creating a Cursed Tool from scratch was far easier than enhancing an already created one.

Fushiguro Megumi was going to trust his word on that.

***

There was a knock at the door.

Laurentina turned her head towards the direction of the disturbance, taking note of how harsh it seemed. Like that of an unruly landlord arriving to ask about the rent, she already knew it was going to be an unpleasant person who laid behind the border of separation.

A cute white wolf yawned, one that was left by Fushiguro Megumi to distract the woman of her boredom. Giving it one last pet, the shark lady motioned for the creature to go to another room and move out of sight. Wouldn't want to answer any questions about this creature residing in the apartment.

The Aegir woman stood up and dropped the file she was reading. It pertained to a few details that were written by that Amaia woman, somebody who she discovered was most likely still alive. When she had asked Fushiguro Megumi, the princess, the black haired man didn't know who that was. Nor did he remember anybody bearing the features Laurentina vaguely remembered.

Broken out of her musings once more when the door was knocked on even harder, the shark lady clicked her tongue in slight annoyance. "There's no need to break open the door, I'm coming," Laurentina rolled her eyes.

Standing up from her seat and making her way to the front door, she opened it with a small click, looking upwards to see who had been so abrasively knocking at the doorstep.

It was a man and a woman, two people dressed in formal military attire. Laurentina had caught a brief glimpse of people with the same outfit when making her way to the high church with Megumi—the Penal Battalion.

"To whom do I owe the displeasure of?" Laurentina quipped, crossing her arms and leaning to the side.

"The Penal Battalion, madam," the man showed an armband as he spoke, holding a professional gait with every single word. "We are under strict orders to question every resident of Primavera of the recent occurrences, and to leave no stone unturned. Please cooperate with us."

The other person, the woman, crossed her arms and sent a small glare towards Laurentina. Although she didn't speak it out, it was clear that the attitude the Aegir woman had shown them had earned her ire.

"You're an Aegir," the woman noted with slight venom.

"Oh, and what of it?" Laurentina smiled and turned towards the woman, "a problem I presume?"

"Many problems," the woman scoffed.

"There's no need," the man placed a hand towards the woman behind him, "get this over with. We don't have time to argue with an immigrant here."

"Tch," the woman clicked her tongue in annoyance, glancing away.

Laurentina tapped her finger on her shoulder, contemplating over what question they would ask her, "so, what do you want to ask me? If it's about the happenings all about Primavera, I'm afraid I don't have the capacity to inform you."

"When did you arrive in Primavera?" The man ignored her statement, simply stating his question.

"...I don't know? It could have been weeks since I've been here, or perhaps only two days, hard to tell," Laurentina kept her answer as vague as possible. Technically, it was the truth with what she had said.

"How can you not know, Aegir? Is your brain perhaps not functioning without sucking up water?" the woman shot back.

"Apologies, it must be hard for somebody with a bird brain to understand the functions of such an organ," Laurentina closed her eyes, keeping her smile while talking to the woman—who had bird feathers sticking out from behind her ears.

"You—!" The woman just looked like she was about to draw the weapon at her side.

The other man swiftly grabbed her arm, leaving a scene of a Liberi struggling to reach her sword by an annoyed yet stone-faced man, "next question, are you aware of what has happened to the high church by the main beach of Primavera?"

"Well, other than that it was trashed? Not much," Laurentina shrugged, watching the Liberi woman continue to struggle. It was amusing.

"Do you have anybody else staying with you in this residency?" He pressed on.

"Sometimes," Laurentina replied. "But they don't stay here often, it's sporadic with their time period." That seemed to fit with her view on a certain princess, with how much he's left the apartment and went elsewhere.

"What is his name?"

"Princess."

"...What?" The man's expression shifted from its usual look to a confused one, "princess?"

"It's what I call him, so it can be considered a name," Laurentina replied.

"...We'll visit this place again," the Penal Battalion member motioned with his chin, "for now, note that this apartment will be under scrutiny under orders of the Penal Battalion. If you wish to know more information, contact our superiors."

"Will do," Laurentina lied straight to their faces. Honestly, it would be too much of a bother to reach out to these land-dweller's superiors, considering how reserved they were against Aegir people.

"Then let's go, Sierra," the man dragged the Liberi woman by the arm, making her let out a sound in response.

Laurentina watched with a neutral expression as they left, before letting out a dramatic sigh, "it seems like we have a problem don't we, princess?" Shifting and then walking back into the room and closing the door, the woman already knew what she would tell Megumi when he arrived home.

"They don't have a warrant, so they can't just barge into this place, isn't that right?" Laurentina reasoned to herself. If they did have a warrant, she was sure they would just break down the door instead of knocking, the Penal Battalion seemed like those sort of people.

Especially after firing at Megumi that one time.

"You can come out now, white wolf," the Abyssal Hunter called out to the other room, watching as the door which was ajar opened completely. Lowering her posture, the white 'Divine Dog' walked up to her, snuggling in her arms. "How adorable," she picked it up.

Walking back to the desk, Laurentina wondered what the other black Divine Dog was like, considering the white one seemed to possess an energetic fervor. Maybe they had the same personality, maybe they didn't, she'd ask Fushiguro Megumi to summon more of his little creatures someday.

Glancing outside the window off in the distance, Laurentina took note of the overbearing rain. "Incessant rain... keep your eyes peeled, Megumi." She could feel as if an ill omen was occurring. The water somewhat reminded her of that absurd water jet he shot from his palms...

...Now that she thought about it, there were many things she needed to question him about.

***

Antonio held a blade in his hand, a finely crafted blade forged with some of Iberia's finest ores. However, decades of no usage and sitting in a corner collecting dust had long since faded away its luster that would shine even under the celestial firmament.

The sparkling reflection and refraction that turned those lights into the array of rainbows no longer existed. A masterpiece forged by the blood, sweat, and tears of his father had already passed away. Just as he had, and so just as the Golden Age had.

"What a waste," the Liberi man grunted to himself, setting down the weapon onto the workbench in front of him. There was a loud thump, all other metallic objects sleeping upon the structure shaking alongside it. "Create a masterpiece myself? That's a nice joke, pa."

That black haired man with the weirdest Sankta halo (if it even was supposed to be based on a Sankta halo) he had ever seen kept entering his mind. Honestly, he didn't believe somebody like that could go and clear out an entire Church of those monsters, especially with what he knew about their dirty little secrets.

Now he was starting to feel bad, sending somebody as young as him to an impossible mission. If the Church had been avoiding the Penal Battalion so far, supposedly being the main cause for special squads disappearing... then yeah, Fushiguro Megumi might have his work cut out for him.

"Should I just—" just as he stood up from his seat, the door of his was knocked on. It wasn't like how the black haired man from yesterday had just walked through, but what seemed to be a 'polite' visitor visiting him. "—Give me a sec'!"

Taking a glance at the short sword sitting on his workbench, Antonio simply shrugged to himself. It didn't look like it was valuable, so there was no need to worry about it gaining anybody's interest, so it was what it was.

Reaching his door with a few deft steps, Antonio reached out the door knob and dragged the door open. "So who..." he turned towards who stood at the door, which were two men. "...The Penal Battalion? What business do ya' have here?" Damn, his mood was already becoming more sour than before.

"Got a place for two?" Another Iberian man with whitening hair placed their elbow on the door frame. "Heard there was a blacksmith here, wanted to go check it out if you understand me. Going around questioning all those folks was becoming a bother, so do us a little favor will you?"

"Hold on there," Antonio scrunched up his brows, "what the hell are you talking about? This isn't a place to lounge around."

"Well," the other man walked up with his hands in his pockets, "other shops are closed with how rainy it is outside. Need some place to dry ourselves, and what better place than a heated up smith, eh? Come on, we could make this a questioning session—that's not something we both want to waste time on."

The other Penal Battalion member tapped their finger on the door frame, waiting for the late middle-aged Liberi to respond.

"...Are you looking to buy my wares, or are you just looking around?" Antonio dryly spoke out, hoping they got the message in which he was trying to speak?

"What do you mean—ah, nevermind," the first man to speak was the one leaning on the door frame, "we're just here to look around." They got the message, gaining a reason to be in this place rather than just loitering around.

"Come on in, then," Antonio motioned for them to come on, discreetly rolling his eyes in the process. With how these men were, denying them would only cause more problems for him in the long run.

The two men smiled, an almost crooked grin appearing on their faces. It practically revealed all the blacksmith needed to know about them, watching as they moved in abruptly and started loitering around. From the looks of it, they looked to be analyzing the weapons strewn about in a sub-par smith such as this and cracking a few jokes...

...But Antonio was sure they would never truly understand what smithing was like. Not the feeling, not the passion, nor the effort that came into such a thing. Failure was a common conception that he had gotten himself used to, and the Liberi was sure everything in this world bore the same burden of such a thing.

Just look at Ursus, the place is probably a shit hole right now. Iberia itself was no different, as evident by Primavera and goddamned Sal Viento... man, what the hell happened to Sal Viento? It was so bad to the point that nearly all Iberians are hesitant to speak about their home outside of the country.

The sound of a cabinet being slid echoed across the room, making Antonio turn away from his thoughts to look at the men, "hey, what are you doing—?!" However, his eyes immediately widened when he looked at the compartment that was opened. "...Shit."

"This is...?" One of the men paused, having accidentally opened a cabinet that held a... glowing object. "Gold? No, this isn't just gold?" Their eyes widened, completely forgetting the actual resident in the room.

"Damn, that's..." the other man who was glancing alongside their companion whistled out, "Iberian gold, isn't this what they use to make a portion of the Golden Dreadnought?" A larger grin broke out on their face.

"Alright, alright you two! I think you've overstayed your welcome," Antonio didn't like the look on their faces, it made him watch to punch them in, but with how out of shape he had been over the past years—it wouldn't do him any good. "Stuff is not for use, and I'm not selling them either—"

"If it's not for use, then what's the point of keeping it here, then?" The man who 'accidentally' found the Iberian gold and pointed it out had shrugged his shoulders, "might as well put it to good use, am I right?"

"...The fuck are you two getting at?" Antonio spat out. In fact, he knew what these two crooks were getting at, it was just that he was far too at a loss of words to even begin to fathom their underhanded dealings.

"Come on, you know how things are," the man who spoke from before gave a lofty grin, "better in our hands, right? Might as well put this stinking town to good use, you're contributing to the Penal Battalion~!"

Antonio stared at them dumbfoundedly, wondering if this week was the worst one in his entire life. Who could have known that two people at once find his—admittedly terribly hidden—stash of an Iberian gold bar. Damned that black haired man, he was a curse after all, wasn't he?!

"That's enough, get your dirty hands off that!" Antonio started walking up to the two while clenching his right fist, but was intercepted by the second man. "What do you—"

Their left hand reached the sheath holding their rapier, extending it outwards to stop the man's advance, "you know what's good for you." That was the only response they gave, tapping their index finger on the hilt of their weapon.

The Liberi immediately felt their mind go into an overdrive state. What should they do? Should they attack these people? But they were armed with weapons, and he had nothing except for his short sword lying on his work bench... such a weapon wasn't in any condition to be used.

Nor was he in any condition either, standing up to trained young men, compared to his body that was already beginning to leave its prime. This was a time where he started to curse the turning of the clock, the falling of the sand to the bottom of the hourglass, a pitiful and unseemly end to all existence.

He decided to make his decision at that very moment—

Click

—The door opened once more, the familiar jingling sound of the small decorations of the object shifting.

A black coat untouched by the tainting rain of the outside world followed the trajectory of the person's movement of making their way into the shop. The pale lights from the ceiling bore down on him and his transcendent wheel, a look of pure uncaringness present within their porcelain face.

Antonio immediately knew who it was.

"...What's going on?" Megumi tilted his head, his eyes scanning at what he was seeing. First of all, a man belonging to the Penal Battalion was holding out their sheathed sword in front of Antonio, stopping his advance, while the other seemed to be... 'confiscating' his Iberian gold.

Unless he was missing a lot of details of what happened, then he was sure there were two events that could happen. One, Antonio had actually stolen the Iberian gold and the Penal Battalion were tasked with taking it back, or two, these military men were crooked to the core.

...If that were the case, then Fushiguro Megumi wasn't afraid to take things to the next level in terms of how sick he could be of these sorts of people. After all, bad people who walk around like they're worth anything make him want to throw up.

"A kid? No, you're about our age, aren't you?" One of the Penal Battalion members called out, holding the Iberian gold in their hands. "What're you doing out here, haven't you heard of what happened to the high church by the beach? All residents are recommended to stay in their homes at the moment. I'm sure you know that."

Antonio paused. The high church? What the hell happened to the high church?

"Of course I do," Megumi said. With the scene happening in front of him, and the way those bastards were smiling, he received all the answers that he needed. "Who else caused it but me?" The look in his eyes changed, as if he were staring at trash.

Rotting garbage thrown in the sewage system, left to float with all other wastes that mixed in those atrocious waters.

"...Is this guy serious?" The man holding the Iberian gold laughed out to their friend who was blocking a confused Antonio.

"He's probably full of himself," the one whole his weapon gave an exaggerated look, "look at that wheel atop his head. It's probably expensive, huh?"

Antonio felt his mind blank, having to reiterate the words that Fushiguro Megumi had just spoken. The high church was destroyed? And he claimed himself to be the cause? Wait, wait, if what these Penal Battalion members were saying...

"Divine Dog: Totality."

From behind the two members of Iberia's military branch, the shadows started to form together in a vicious spiral. Like a raging gathering together to form a hurricane, a spike of Cursed Energy also pervaded all across the environment which they stood in.

All sound was stopped, an instinctual and primal fear being instilled with everybody present, barring the main cause of this bizarre occurrence. From behind, a gigantic shadow loomed over the two crooks who had decided to show their face in the smithy.

Two amber eyes stared down on the back of their heads, a frightening snarl leaving their gaping maw which salivated at the prospect of taking the trash out.

Megumi just about had it with these bastards.