wasteland, baby! [fushiguro megumi]

24: power, greed & euphoria's moonlight

october 2018

koinokuchi canyon – yasohachi bridge

third person pov

the act of exorcising as if it was a game of whack-a-mole went on like clockwork as keiko, megumi and kugisaki synchronised their efforts to try and work more efficiently. though the mole-looking cursed spirits just kept popping up relentlessly one after another, the trio were almost close to finishing the job when kugisaki felt a hand grab her from behind, dragging her yet again into another void of darkness.

shit! was i too careless, how could i have not detected that?

keiko cursed as she stretched her arms forward, almost inches away but still missing her grip on her classmate's hand while megumi did the same. both their faces creased in exasperation, if kugisaki were to be taken away from them like that again they swore they would raise hell.

"i'll be fine, you guys just keep whacking those stupid moles." they could barely hear her say as she disappeared from the domain, leaving them to glance at each other then back at the frustrating teeter of cursed spirits in the near distance.

as if on cue, the intruding green cursed spirit mused groggily, running in the direction of the void that kugisaki was sucked away to, and soon disappearing.

"did it just say onii-chan?" keiko let out an unamused dry chuckle, watching itadori screech his footsteps to a halt as he gawked in disbelief.

"after it!" megumi yelled the second he had sensed itadori's hesitance to make haste after the cursed spirit. "that thing and kugisaki are outside the barrier now, she might actually be up against something much worse! things on this side are much easier than expected, we'll take care of it, your priority is kugisaki!"

itadori clicked his tongue at his friend's stubbornness, but also knowing very well that he didn't really have much of an option anyway, he cautioned his classmates again, earning a wave off as he too disappeared into the void leading towards the outside of the incomplete domain.

sharp breaths were huffed as keiko and megumi made quick work of the remaining cursed moles in the domain, keiko's blazing spear incinerating the one up on the ceiling while megumi's jet black blade cleanly slicing across the one underneath. with one final glare, megumi's divine dog: totality had aided them in exterminating what they thought was the last one.

"that was the last of it, right? something doesn't feel right though ..." keiko wiped a finger across the blood that trickled from her nose, the flow a little heavier than usual considering her lack thereof, while her irises were quivering cautiously around as the trace of the domain's cursed energy still lingered in the atmosphere.

"was that not the main body? the barrier's not going away either, what the hell is going on?" megumi inched back so his body was close enough to shield keiko's, while he fixed his gaze on a disgustingly damp entity that was pulsating from the roof of the domain as the growing being inside seemed to be squelching its way out.

it can't all be a coincidence, why is it only starting to kill those that were marked now?

"you're thinking about the cycle, right? how it started in june, and we all know it can't be sheer coincidence." keiko's wordless inference from his irate expression hit the jackpot as he nodded rigidly, the arm that was stretched out in front of keiko now had clenched onto his sword with an even tighter grip.

along with the shift of thick tension and discomfort in the air, the impending special grade cursed spirit hastily landed before them, a sick, wicked grin hanging on its face as it towered over the young sorcerers.