Rika kept glaring at Megumi, completely annoyed that today, of all days, when she thought she'd spend a special day beside her lady, this strange boy ended up accompanying them. Her thoughts were already revolving around how to get rid of him without arousing suspicion when, suddenly, Makima spoke.
"Are you sure you don't want to start your first year already?" Makima asked with a calm smile.
Rika looked at her and nodded. "Yes, I'd rather skip a year to start with you."
Megumi, watching the exchange, couldn't help but ask, "Is she already 15?"
Rika shot him a deadly look, and Megumi immediately sensed he shouldn't have interfered. Makima nodded calmly. "She's a year older than us, but it seems she wants to study alongside me. Though I don't mind."
Megumi looked at them both, feeling curious about the peculiar relationship they seemed to have. "And besides my clan's technique, what else can you do?" he asked, catching Rika's hint and the discomfort in her gaze. The truth was that she seemed a little irritated, probably because he hadn't visited the Gojo clan yet. Anyway.
"Well... I can more or less hold my own in combat, and my cursed energy control is decent," he explained, trying to sound casual.
Makima looked at him with interest. "You know how to fight? We'll have to spar sometime."
Rika flashed a confident smile, sure that if this messy-haired boy faced her lady, he'd be eating dust. "Sure, I'd like that too," Megumi replied without much enthusiasm.
"Well, if you'd like, I can show you around the campus... Looks like Gojo was supposed to do it, but he ditched you," Makima suggested.
Megumi grimaced, recalling his teacher's constant disappearances. "Yes, I'm used to being abandoned. If it's not too much trouble."
Makima nodded, to Rika's dismay. "Alright, I'll show you the important buildings."
They toured the campus, passing by several places. First the first-year buildings, where they saw Maki, who greeted them with a slight nod. Then, they arrived at the second-year area, where Kirara leapt toward Makima and hugged her enthusiastically, much to Rika's annoyance, who couldn't hide her jealousy.
In the third-year building, there was no one around; apparently, they were all on a mission. Then they passed the administrative building, where the already-graduated sorcerers were located. Makima greeted a tall guy with blonde hair and striking glasses. "Good day, Nanami-san, it's been a while."
Nanami Kento returned the greeting with a slight nod. "Likewise, Makima-kun." Makima had seen him a few times, sometimes alongside Gojo, other times alone.
Finally, they reached the medical area. There, Shoko, strangely cheerful and with fewer dark circles than usual, greeted them. Apparently, Rika was easing her workload, giving her time to rest. Looking up, Shoko observed Makima, Rika, and the boy she recognized as Gojo's pupil. Raising an eyebrow, she looked at Rika.
"I gave you the day off, Rika-chan. What happened?"
With a pout, Rika complained, "This thing showed up, and we're showing him around the campus," referring to Megumi, who only sighed at Rika's hostile attitude.
Shoko gave a nervous laugh, amused by the dynamic. She looked at Makima, who seemed thoughtful, a common occurrence for her. Suddenly, Kirara appeared, looking somewhat exhausted. "Finally! I searched for you at your house and everywhere. We got our mission; we need to go; sensei's waiting," she said, grabbing Makima's hand and quickly leaving.
Rika watched the door they exited through and growled in anger. Then, she turned to Megumi with fury in her eyes, took a step forward, and punched him in the stomach, coated in cursed energy, leaving him knocked out on the floor without understanding what had happened. "Damn you, you had to show up today," she muttered under her breath, irritated.
Shoko chuckled nervously at Rika's impulsive reactions. With a sigh, she approached the poor unconscious boy and placed him on a stretcher. "Well, I suppose you don't have anything better to do, so how about we grab something to eat?" she suggested to Rika, who, with tears of frustration in her eyes, nodded silently.
As Kirara dragged her toward the exit, Makima asked curiously, "What's the mission about?"
"Sensei will explain it at the departure, and Hakari is already waiting there," Kirara replied, hurried. Makima looked at her for a moment, then, without wasting time, started running, activating her projection technique, moving at such a speed that now it was Kirara who was being dragged along.
"Whoa, stop, stop!" Kirara yelled, shaken by the speed as Makima accelerated, creating almost a whirlwind around her. Within seconds, they were already at the entrance.
There, someone unexpected was waiting alongside Hakari. Makima recognized him immediately and looked at him in surprise, as she had just seen him a few minutes ago in the administrative building. "Since when are you a teacher?" she asked, still unable to completely hide her surprise.
Nanami looked at her with his usual calm and simply replied, "I got the offer and accepted it."
Without wasting time, Nanami addressed them and explained the mission: "Well, the mission is simple. You already have some experience thanks to Professor Gojo, so it shouldn't be a problem. We're going to a cemetery where there's recently been a sudden increase in cursed energy. It's speculated that a cursed object was placed there. Our job is to eliminate the excess curses and locate the possible object."
Then he looked at Makima with a serious expression. "And you, Makima, don't leave my side. You're forbidden to stray and will only be an observer to gain experience."
Makima nodded silently, understanding her instructions.
The group got into a car, and after a trip that seemed endless due to the tension in the air, they finally arrived at their destination. It was a traditional Japanese cemetery, with tall tombstones, stone lanterns, and bare trees casting elongated shadows on the ground. However, something distinguished it from any other: an oppressive cursed energy permeated the atmosphere, as if every corner was steeped in ancient resentment and pain.
Nanami surveyed the area with a frown, his senses on alert. "You know what to do," he said firmly. Hakari was the first to move forward, followed by Kirara, who gave Makima a smile. "Come on, let's take this side to search for the object," Nanami said to Makima, who nodded. Some time passed when a scream pierced the silence. It was Kirara.
Nanami quickly ran toward them, and what he saw left him speechless. A grotesque creature, whose challenging shape seemed twisted at impossible angles, was attacking them. It had eyes barely distinguishable on its swollen skin, elongated and asymmetrical limbs, and a face that barely seemed human. Hakari was trying to keep the monster at bay, hitting it whenever he got the chance, while Kirara, beside him, moved swiftly, trying to avoid the attacks of its tentacles, which floated in the air like poisoned roots.
As the battle continued, Kirara looked for Makima amid the chaos, her eyes worried. "Makima-chan, watch out!" she shouted as a dark figure began to rise behind her, an entangled shadow moving in spirals and sparks. Kirara, desperate, activated her technique to pull Makima toward her, but something strange happened: only she was dragged. Makima's body remained motionless, as if Kirara's technique simply couldn't move her.
"What...?" Kirara thought, stunned, as the black creature enveloped them in a whirlwind of cursed energy. Both vanished in an instant, leaving Nanami and Hakari surprised.
Makima and Kirara appeared in a surreal and disturbing landscape. A black river flowed slowly beneath their feet, bordered by petrified trees, leafless and twisted, their branches pointing into the dark void like cadaverous hands trying to escape. The atmosphere was oppressive, a viscous darkness covered everything, suffocating sounds and air.
"Makima-chan," Kirara whispered, her voice barely audible. She found her beside her, and they shared a look of understanding. "Stay behind me," Kirara ordered, cautiously stepping forward. "We're inside a domain... but it seems incomplete..."
Makima's frustration grew. A trivial curse with a domain? She felt the situation was humiliating. She was about to respond when suddenly something emerged from the center of the river. A humanoid figure began to take shape, its white, translucent skin glowing in the sparse light. Its face was a caricature of human: a disproportionately large mouth twisted into a disturbing smile, and small, cruel eyes looking at them as if they were prey.
The figure advanced slowly, its body distorting with each step, as if its limbs weren't made to move that way. Kirara, without hesitation, placed herself between Makima and the monster, ready for any attack, but couldn't avoid a shiver down her spine.
"This is bad," Kirara whispered, trying to think of a way out of this situation.
---
Alright, this week is the last one for daily chapters. I managed to keep up the pace consistently for a month, but I can't keep up that rhythm anymore. I still have a few chapters in reserve, but my schedule is getting a bit crowded, and I don't want to release rushed or poorly reviewed content. So, I'll be switching to 2 or 3 chapters a week. And, of course, as always, for every 50 power stones, I'll release an extra chapter. I hope you understand.