Inside Isayama Naraku's study, Isayama Mei excitedly licked the blood at the corner of her mouth.
A harsh metallic taste spread across her tongue, yet it filled her with immense satisfaction.
She looked down at Naraku, who was groaning in pain on the floor, with an exhilarated expression as the madness in her eyes gradually faded.
"Enjoy your last moments, Uncle Naraku."
Mei turned and walked out of the study.
"Soon, I will be the new Head of the Isayama Family."
Her figure disappeared into the dark corridor.
At that moment, the cocoon sealing the sesshoseki within her body finished burning away completely.
On the other side, Medea, who was inside her magic workshop, raised her head and looked toward the Isayama Family main residence.
Just moments ago, the familiar she had deployed to monitor the surroundings sent her information.
A strange cursed energy fluctuation had appeared within the Isayama Family.
That fluctuation was fleeting and could no longer be detected.
Medea took out a crystal ball and adjusted its view toward the Isayama Family main residence.
"It seems nothing has changed."
She observed the mansion in the crystal ball. There were no visible abnormalities, making her wonder if her familiar had misjudged the situation.
After several more familiars focused their attention on the Isayama Family main residence, Medea finally sensed something wrong.
It was too quiet, so quiet that there was no trace of life.
"Tell me everything you observed."
The information gathered by the familiars immediately flowed into Medea's mind.
She整理ed the reports and inferred what had happened within the Isayama Family during this period.
A few minutes earlier, Naraku had still been working. Mei had secretly entered the main residence, and soon after, a strange cursed energy fluctuation appeared, followed by complete silence.
Mei had avoided all people, but she had not deliberately avoided animals in the surroundings.
"An illusion, or some other method…"
Several minutes later, faint cursed energy fluctuations began to spread from the Isayama Family main residence.
"I should go take a look."
Medea spiritualized and vanished from the room.
She would not allow unknown dangers to exist in the place she resided.
Before long, Medea arrived inside Naraku's study.
She looked in surprise at Naraku, who was lying in a pool of blood and barely clinging to life.
'Did Isayama Mei attack Isayama Naraku?'
Medea was puzzled and began recalling her observations of Mei.
Her thoughts finally stopped on the unwilling and jealous gaze Mei had cast toward Isayama Yomi in secret.
'A power struggle.'
Medea stabilized Naraku's injuries, then cast a concealment spell over her purple cloak and brought him back to the base.
Shortly afterward, a magical puppet with injuries identical to Naraku's was placed inside the study.
At the same time, the Tsuchimiya Family, now covered by a veil, was engulfed in a Special Grade level battle.
The moment he detected Sanzu Kawa, Tsuchimiya Utata released Inugami Byakuei.
Displaying its full Special Grade power, Inugami Byakuei ferociously tore into the massive fox of flames commanded by Sanzu Kawa.
Utata fought with a life or death resolve.
On one hand, he knew his strength was inferior, and only by giving everything could he hope to survive.
On the other hand, he now possessed the foundation to fight to the end.
Over the past few days, Medea had already treated him once.
Utata wanted to complete the treatment as soon as possible so he could return to oversee the family, so Medea used an extremely violent but effective method.
Scraping bone and cutting flesh.
She stabilized Inugami Byakuei with magecraft.
Eichi carefully cut away Utata's nearly fully corroded right hand, then regenerated healthy flesh with Reverse Cursed Technique.
The process was done gradually, not out of cruelty, but because severing the entire arm at once would cause the sesshoseki to detach and free the Inugami sealed within.
Thanks to this crude yet effective treatment, Utata's condition recovered by more than half in a short time.
Later, after completing her research on Shishiou, Medea returned. Lacking materials, she could not proceed further and instead crafted a cursed tool to slow the sesshoseki's erosion of Utata's body.
With his condition greatly improved, Utata could now endure Byakuei's full release for a period of time, giving him the means to fight Sanzu Kawa to the death.
"Help, save me."
"Fire, put out the fire."
"There are injured people here, hurry and get her out."
The Tsuchimiya Family was in complete chaos.
Amid the life and death crisis, nearly everyone saw the ferocious Inugami Byakuei in the sky and the fire fox spreading destruction.
Byakuei circled through the air, intercepting large numbers of foxfire attacks.
A trace of mockery flashed through Sanzu Kawa's eyes.
"You can barely protect yourself, yet you still want to protect those useless people?"
He waved his hand, and fireballs formed around him.
"Give up, or you will die."
Countless fireballs shot toward the scattered Tsuchimiya clansmen.
"Byakuei."
Byakuei moved at extreme speed, repeatedly blocking the attacks aimed at the fleeing clansmen.
"Let's see how many more you can stop."
Sanzu Kawa laughed wildly.
This was not only to vent his anger and toy with Utata.
It was also a way to quickly exhaust Inugami Byakuei.
Byakuei was extremely fast. If it chose to evade, many of the attacks would miss.
But it would not. It chose to intercept them instead.
"It really is tough. But even Byakuei must be near its limit, right?"
Seeing the heavily scarred Byakuei, Sanzu Kawa attacked even more fiercely.
He relied on the power of Tamamo no Mae within the sesshoseki, since her foxfire was clearly stronger than his own Spirit Butterfly Manipulation.
Just like Mei Mei's Black Bird Manipulation.
Animals possessed very little cursed energy, and butterflies even less.
In the past, Mei Mei struggled because Black Bird Manipulation offered little help in exorcising Cursed Spirits, which forced her to train her physical combat abilities.
In this life, however, because Medea became a teacher at Tokyo Jujutsu High, Mei Mei's development speed was far greater than before.
She also began cultivating her crow Shikigami using Medea's methods.
"Hmph."
Utata appeared beside the last remaining clansman who had not yet escaped and dispersed a fireball with his fist.
"Head, Head of the Family."
The clansman's voice trembled with tears.
"Why are you still standing there? Run."
Utata's roar snapped the trembling clansman back to reality.
"Lord Tsuchimiya, you must win."
Under Utata's protection, the final clansman fled the Tsuchimiya grounds in tears.
"You actually managed to protect them all. I will give you that."
Sanzu Kawa looked at the heavily breathing Utata with surprise.
"You are no longer my opponent. Are you ready to die?"
"No. His battle is over. Your opponent is me now."
"Young Miss Saber?"
Utata stared in shock at the golden haired girl who appeared before him.
Artoria's identity was not particularly hidden, and Utata had naturally learned about her.
A Special Grade imaginary Heroic Spirit.
"You have protected your clansmen and fulfilled your duty as Head of the Family. Step back now. This path of evil will be ended by me."
(To be continued.)