After talking for a while, Maki and Inumaki left.
The barrier surrounding the area disappeared, but the buildings were still heavily damaged. It wouldn't be surprising if they blamed it on a gas explosion or something such cover-ups were practically tradition in the world of sorcery.
Ryuji took a moment to glance atUtaha and Eriri, who were nearby.
"How are you? Can you walk?" he asked.
"I…" Eriri tried to stand, and Utaha was there to help her up. But despite her efforts, Eriri's injured foot couldn't support her, and she stumbled forward.
"Ah!"
Instinctively, Eriri braced herself for the fall, closing her eyes. But instead of hitting the ground, she found herself in a warm embrace. Opening her eyes, she saw Ryuji holding her, close enough that she could hear his steady heartbeat. Her face flushed red in an instant.
"You should be more careful," Ryuji said casually as he gently set her back on her feet.
"Let me help you heal." Without waiting for her response, Ryuji knelt down and placed his hand on her injured foot.
Eriri hesitated for a moment this was the first time a boy had ever touched her like this. Despite the initial shock, she found herself staying still. "T-thank you," she whispered shyly.
Utaha, who was standing nearby, clicked her tongue in annoyance, her expression betraying a hint of envy. This scene was getting on her nerves. If only she had been the one injured.
Ryuji paid no mind to the brewing tension and focused on Eriri's injury. "Reverse Cursed Technique!" he muttered, activating his healing ability.
Ryuji's ability to heal others wasn't something he originally had. At first, the Reverse Cursed Technique he obtained from Gojo Satoru was limited to healing himself. But as his powers grew, his mastery over various techniques had also improved, allowing him to heal others with ease.
While healing Eriri, Ryuji couldn't help but think about other possibilities if he could grow his Reverse CursedTechnique this much, maybe he could unlock a Domain Expansion on his own without relying on external triggers.
"It's ticklish," Eriri said, squirming slightly as her foot healed.
"Don't worry. It'll be over soon."
"Mm!" Eriri nodded, unusually obedient. Even Utaha, who had known her for a while, couldn't believe how well-behaved the usually tsundere blonde was being. She couldn't help but wonder: Has she really fallen for him?
Not wanting to play matchmaker, Utaha immediately tried to steer the conversation away. "Who were those two earlier?" she asked, referring to Maki and Inumaki.
"Sorcerers," Ryuji explained as he continued healing Eriri. "They handle cursed spirits and other supernatural matters like the one you just experienced."
"I see…" Both Utaha and Eriri nodded, understanding now. They had been scared to death when they first saw the monstrous form of Tomoya, but then Maki and Inumaki appeared and helped them escape.
"That Zenin Maki… she seemed really sensitive about her name," Utaha remarked.
"Yeah. The Zenin family is one of the three great sorcery families, alongside the Gojo and Kamo families," Ryuji said casually.
"The Big Three?" Utaha asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You could think of them like the Shinomiya family in the ordinary world."
"Oh, I get it now," Eriri chimed in, her face thoughtful. The Shinomiya family was known as a vast, untouchable financial empire. If the Zenin family was like that in the world of sorcery, then their influence must be tremendous.
Ryuji nodded. "Among the three families, the Zenin family is the most conservative. They still follow ancient traditions, where power and strength determine your value. If you don't have enough cursed energy, you're treated like dirt."
"And Maki… she doesn't have much cursed energy, does she?" Utaha asked, recalling how Zenin Maki reacted when her family name was brought up.
"That's right. She's considered one of the weaker members of the Zenin clan, even though she's actually quite strong. Because of that, she's been treated horribly and doesn't want to be associated with her family."
"Wow," Eriri muttered, awestruck. "But she was amazing against that cursed spirit! If that's considered weak in her family, I can't imagine what the stronger members are like…"
Ryuji chuckled. "Yeah, the Zenin family has some monsters. But Maki's got her own strength."
"Alright, that should do it," Ryuji said as he finished healing Eriri's injury.
"Is it really healed?" Eriri stood up cautiously, then took a few steps, surprised to find that her foot no longer hurt. "Wow, it's completely better. Thank you so much!" She hesitated for a moment, then shyly added, "Maybe you could come by my house sometime and I'll..."
Before Eriri could finish, Utaha interrupted with a sly smile. "How about you add me first, Ryuji? I'll treat you to dinner to say thank you." She took out her phone and handed it to him.
Eriri glared at Utaha, seething with silent fury. Utaha had deliberately cut her off, and worse, she was trying to monopolize Ryuji.
"Sure," Ryuji said, taking the phone and adding his contact info.
"And you?" Ryuji asked, looking over at Eriri. "Want to add me too?"
"Y-yes!" Eriri immediately fumbled for her phone, the anger momentarily forgotten as she quickly exchanged contacts with him.
Utaha raised an eyebrow, teasing, "It's not every day I see you being so well-behaved, Eriri. Usually, you'd act all tsundere and make people chase after you."
"Who said I'm tsundere?!" Eriri fumed.
"Actually, I'm a very sweet person!" Eriri insisted, her eyes darting nervously toward Ryuji for confirmation.
Utaha just gave a small, knowing smirk. She didn't need to say anything more her expression alone was enough to provoke Eriri.
Veins bulged on Eriri's forehead. She and Utaha had always been rivals, but right now, it felt like Utaha was winning.
"Ahem, if there's nothing else, I'll be heading out," Ryuji said, sensing the tension between the two girls. As much as he found their rivalry amusing, he had other matters to attend to like inspecting the entries he had triggered and figuring out what to do with the finger he'd collected.
"You're leaving already?" both girls asked in unison, momentarily forgetting their bickering.
"Yeah, but we'll be in touch," Ryuji waved before turning and walking away.
After watching him disappear from sight, the tension between Eriri and Utaha returned immediately.
"Your acting skills are top-notch, Eriri," Utaha said sarcastically. "You almost fooled me with your little miss perfect act."
"Like you're one to talk, Utaha! You pretended to be all cool and aloof, but I saw right through it!" Eriri snapped back.
"You just wait he's not going to fall for a bratty tsundere," Utaha shot back.
"And he's not going to fall for some stuck-up ice queen either!" Eriri retorted.
After a long, heated stare-off, they both snorted and turned away from each other, storming off in opposite directions.
Meanwhile, Ryuji was already deep in thought, examining the entries he had just triggered.
"Golden entry: Physical Strengthening!"
A smile spread across his face as he felt the power surging through his body. This was exactly the kind of enhancement he needed. The strength boost was significant his physical capabilities had increased even more than they had after devouring the special-grade cursed spirit.
"Nice!" Ryuji clenched his fists, feeling the immense strength coursing through him.
But there was more. The golden entry triggered from Inumaki's contact had also appeared.
"Golden entry: Cursed Speech!"
Perfect. This was exactly what he had hoped for from Inumaki.
Cursed Speech was one of the most unique and powerful techniques in the world of jujutsu sorcery. It allowed the user to manipulate the target's actions with just a word. Inumaki had used it to freeze the special-grade cursed spirit earlier, but the technique came with severe drawbacks. The stronger the opponent or the command, the greater the backlash on the user's body.
For Inumaki, speaking even simple words carried a risk. But for Ryuji, this wouldn't be a problem. His physical enhancements and mastery of the Reversal Technique would mitigate the side effects, making him one of the few sorcerers who could fully exploit the potential of Cursed Speech without suffering the consequences.
"This is amazing…" Ryuji muttered, excitement welling up inside him.
Without hesitation, he loaded the Cursed Speech entry.
Almost immediately, he felt a strange tingling sensation in his throat, followed by an urge to cough.
Cough, cough!