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 bmed it on a gas explosion or something such cover-ups were practically tradition in the world of sorcery.

  Ryuji took a moment to gUtaha and Eriri, who were nearby.

  "How are you? 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 ba her feet.

  "Let me help you heal." Without waiting for her response, Ryuji k doced 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 expressioraying a hint of envy. This se 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 Teique!" he muttered, activating his healing ability.

  Ryuji's ability to heal others wasn't something he inally had. At first, the Reverse Cursed Teique he obtained from Gojo Satoru was limited to healing himself. But as his prew, his mastery over various teiques 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 CursedTeique this much, maybe he could unlock a Domain Expansion on his own without relying oernal 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 py matchmaker, Utaha immediately tried to steer the versation away. "Who were those two earlier?" she asked, referring to Maki and Inumaki.

  "Sorcerers," Ryuji expined as he tinued healing Eriri. "They handle cursed spirits and other supernatural matters like the one you just experienced."

  "I see…" Both Utaha and Eriri nodded, uanding 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 servative. They still follow araditions, 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 sidered one of the weaker members of the Zenin , even though she's actually quite strong. Because of that, she's beeed 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 sidered weak in her family, I '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 pletely better. Thank you so much!" She hesitated for a moment, then shyly added, "Maybe you could e 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 dio say thank you." She took out her phone and ha to him.

  Eriri gred 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 tafo.

  "And you?" Ryuji asked, looking over at Eriri. "Want to add me too?"

  "Y-yes!" Eriri immediately fumbled for her phohe anger momentarily fotten as she quickly exged tacts 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 firmation.

  Utaha just gave a small, knowing smirk. She didn't o 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 tensioweewo girls. As much as he found their rivalry amusing, he had other matters to attend to like iing 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 fetting their bickering.

  "Yeah, but we'll be in touch," Ryuji waved before turning and walking away.

  After watg him disappear from sight, the tensioween Eriri and Utaha returned immediately.

  "Your ag skills are top-notch, Eriri," Utaha said sarcastically. "You almost fooled me with your little miss perfect act."

  "Like you're oo talk, Utaha! You preteo 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 queeher!" Eriri retorted.

  After a long, heated stare-off, they both snorted and turned away from each other, st off in opposite dires.

  Meanwhile, Ryuji was already deep in thought, examining the entries he had just triggered.

  "Goldery: Physical Strengthening!"

  A smile spread across his face as he felt the power surging through his body. This was exactly the kind of enha he he strength boost was signifit his physical capabilities had increased even more than they had after dev the special-grade cursed spirit.

  "Nice!" Ryuji ched his fists, feeling the immerength c through him.

  But there was more. The goldery triggered from Inumaki's tact had also appeared.

  "Goldery: Cursed Speech!"

  Perfect. This was exactly what he had hoped for from Inumaki.

  Cursed Speech was one of the most unique and powerful teiques in the world of jujutsu sorcery. It allowed the user to manipute the target's as with just a word. Inumaki had used it to freeze the special-grade cursed spirit earlier, but the teique came with severe drawbacks. The strohe oppo or the and, the greater the backsh 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 enhas and mastery of the Reversal Teique would mitigate the side effects, making him one of the few sorcerers who could fully exploit the potential of Cursed Speech without suffering the sequences.

  "This is amazing…" Ryuji muttered, excitement welling up inside him.

  Without hesitation, he loaded the Cursed Speetry.

  Almost immediately, he felt a straingliion in his throat, followed by an urge to cough.

  Cough, cough!