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１４

Sayuri stood there watching the confrontation, both intrigued and curious. She was a bit curious as to why the curse seemed to be ignoring her presence.

She remained there, silently observing as the curse's focus remained locked onto Gojō. For a moment, she feels something watching her.

It was as if someone was boring a hole into the back of her head. She turns around into the vast forest around them, only to see nothing.

Her eyes narrow and she looks back to the curse, thinking to herself on what this one was up to. It was certainly not alone.

The curse finally makes eye-contact with her. For a moment, it seems like time stops. The curse's eye widened, color draining from its face as its gaze remained locked onto hers.

"You.. How— Are those.. Real?" The curse asks her, pointing to her eyes.

Sayuri's eyes narrow even more and she doesn't respond, eyeing it closely. The sudden interest on her eyes took her aback, her focus remaining fixated on it.

The curse shook his head, as if reminding himself to remain focused. "Nevermind that.." It gritted its teeth and pointed towards the both of them. "Ember Insects!"

On command, weird bug-like creatures that were behind the curse immediately rushed towards their direction. Sayuri stood there, just behind Gojō. The insects become caught up with his Infinity, slowing down just inches from hitting them.

"What's with the weird focus on her eyes? You got a weird fetish or something?" Gojō retorts, remaining in-between her and the curse. "Sorry, but she's off-limits."

The curse's temper seemed to go off at the man's words, even more irritated than before. It pointed its finger at Gojō accusingly. "You insolent brat!"

It took a deep breath before looking back at Sayuri. "You, woman."

Sayuri yawned softly, simply staring at it with a blank expression on her face. An irk mark appears on Gojō's forehead upon hearing the curse rudely address her. His casual demeanor remained. "Listen here—"

Sayuri sighed softly, patting Gojō's shoulder. He glances at her, opening his mouth to interject but caves in. His playful grin is replaced with a pout.

The curse's eyes narrowed. "What's with your eyes? Are they real?"

Sayuri looks at him, dumbfounded. Gojō scoffs, not bothering to let the curse get her to answer. He then looks back at the insects.

"What would happen if this were to sting one of us?" He asks, both serious and not at the same time. He wasn't for the most part.

Not long after he asked, the insects started screeching nonstop. Sayuri's eyes lit up at this before she sighed.

A two-stage sound.. How clever.. She thought.

As if on cue, the insects exploded in front of them. Sayuri flickers to a thick branch, resting a hand on the trunk as she observed the smoke that enclosed where they once where.

Opposite to her vantage point, Gojō was casually standing on a branch like she was, thinking the same. As they were looking at the explosions, they hear a shrill scream. The curse was aiming for Gojō.

It landed an attack on him, setting his head on fire. Sayuri's eyes remained on it, assessing its attacks.

It proceeded to attack Gojō, hitting his back roughly. "Have some more!" It shouted.

A purple flame rose from its hand and it unleashed it, destroying almost everything in its wake. The blast left a noticeable amount of damage, capable of destroying anyone weaker if caught in it.