Chapter 87: Miku

"I don't know if he's handsome, but he sure is narcissistic!"

However, when Miku raised her head and saw the person in front of her clearly, she couldn't help but be taken aback. He was pretty handsome.

"No, I'm sorry!"

Noticing that she had been staring a bit too intently, Miku quickly lowered her head, her face flushing with embarrassment.

The shy, introverted look on her face made Ryuji raise his eyebrow slightly. With her striking appearance, pink hair, and the headphones hanging around her neck it was definitely Nakano Miku.

He hadn't expected to run into one of the quintuplets here. But then again, this was an anime world, so encountering the Nakano family wasn't too surprising.

"My name is Ryuji. What about you?" he asked, even though he already knew who she was.

"I'm Miku Nakano," she said timidly, barely meeting his eyes.

"Hm," Ryuji nodded, acknowledging her.

Though he was a little surprised to see Miku, it didn't matter much to him. Sure, she was cute, but honestly, all the girls around him had outstanding appearances. After giving her a quick once-over, he turned and continued walking deeper into the construction site.

He could sense that he was getting closer to the special-grade curse spirit.

"Hey, wait!"

Miku, who had expected Ryuji to say or do something else, was left confused when he just walked away. She had been worried, thinking that since they were alone, he might try something. After all, if he did, she wouldn't be able to stop him. But seeing him leave so nonchalantly, she found herself a bit stunned.

But this wasn't the time to dwell on that.

"Wait! Hold on!" Miku quickly caught up with him. The place was eerily quiet, and she wasn't brave enough to continue on her own. Now that she had someone with her, she wasn't about to let him out of her sight.

"What? Weren't you worried I might try something with you?" Ryuji teased, glancing at her sideways.

"Uh..."

Miku stopped in her tracks, flustered. She had been seen right through. Her concerns had been written all over her face, and Ryuji had picked up on them immediately.

"No, I'm sorry…" she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. She felt bad for assuming the worst about him, especially when he had done nothing wrong.

Ryuji couldn't help but think that Miku's timid apology made her seem even more vulnerable—almost the kind of person you wanted to tease.

"So, why are you here anyway?" Ryuji asked, curious. "Don't you know there have been a lot of accidents here recently? People have died. This place is practically off-limits, and you still came?"

"Huh? No way!" Miku looked shocked. She truly had no idea.

That would explain why the moment she walked in, she felt this overwhelming chill. She had thought it was just the eerie atmosphere making her uneasy.

"I heard from a friend that this was the site of a general's tomb from the Warring States period, so I came to check it out."

Ryuji blinked, understanding immediately.

In the anime, Miku may have seemed shy, but whenever the topic turned to historical figures from the Warring States period, she became a lot more enthusiastic.

Everyone had their interests, so he didn't judge her for it. But still…

"Are you sure this 'friend' of yours is really a friend?"

Miku fell silent.

The realization hit her. That person probably tricked her. Knowing how much she was into historical stuff, they had played a cruel joke on her, leading her to this dangerous place.

Even if it was meant as a prank, this was no laughing matter. It felt more like she was someone to be toyed with.

"I guess you're not exactly popular with your classmates," Ryuji remarked, seeing her downcast expression.

Miku didn't respond, her head lowering even more. She followed him as he walked further into the site.

After a moment of silence, she spoke up again. "They were probably just messing with me. I mean, there's no way ghosts exist, right?"

"Tsk." Ryuji stopped walking and turned to look at her.

His sudden pause and the seriousness in his eyes made Miku nervous.

"W-what is it?" she asked, her heart starting to race.

"What if I told you that the kind of 'ghosts' you think of do exist?"

"No way…" Miku wanted to deny it, but the look in Ryuji's eyes wasn't joking. Her heartbeat quickened, and she could only stare at him, unsure of what to think.

"Alright, it's time for you to leave. Don't come to places like this again," Ryuji said, his tone firm.

"But…"

Miku was about to ask, Then why are you still here?

But before she could get the words out, the air around them changed. Even though Miku couldn't feel cursed energy, she could see that the sky, which had been relatively clear, was suddenly growing darker. The oppressive atmosphere felt suffocating.

"What's happening?" Miku whispered, her eyes widening.

She couldn't believe it. Could there really be something… supernatural here?

"Let's get out of here!"

She wasn't stupid whatever was going on, it wasn't normal. She grabbed Ryuji's sleeve, trying to pull him with her, but he didn't budge.

"You're surprisingly kind," Ryuji said, a little amused.

Most people would have just run off in a situation like this, leaving their companions behind. It was rare to see someone who would try to help.

"Forget it," Ryuji said, glancing around. "The domain is already active. You can't escape."

"Domain?"

Miku had no idea what he was talking about. She didn't even know what a sorcerer was, much less something like a domain.

Just as she was about to ask, she felt a shadow looming above her. Looking up, she saw a massive, twisted, one-eyed creature towering over her, at least ten meters tall.

The sight of the monster made Miku scream in terror, stumbling backward and nearly falling.

"A fusion of urban legends, huh?" Ryuji said, more to himself.

It all made sense now. If it wasn't a fusion of urban legends, there was no way an ordinary person like Miku would be able to see the curse spirit. More and more cursed spirits like this had been appearing recently.

It wouldn't be long before the whole world would have to acknowledge the existence of curse spirits. For now, sorcerers could cover up these incidents as gas explosions or other accidents, but that wouldn't last once regular people started seeing the spirits for themselves.

Noticing the unfinished staircase behind Miku, Ryuji realized she was about to fall off. He quickly reached out and pulled her into his arms, stopping her just in time.

There was no romantic tension, though Miku was too terrified for that. Her face was pale, and she looked like she was about to faint from fear.

"Next time, when someone tells you there's something cool somewhere, think twice before running off like an idiot," Ryuji said lightly.

"Eh?"

Miku looked up at him, confused. To be honest, seeing that monstrous creature, she had already accepted the idea that she might not survive. She had even started saying her goodbyes in her head.

Goodbye, Ichika, Nino, Yotsuba, Itsuki. Goodbye, everyone. I'm really going to die.

"Shadow Manipulation!"

Before Miku could fully process her thoughts, Ryuji made his move.

The shadow beneath his feet sprang to life, as if injected with energy, turning into sharp spikes that shot toward the one-eyed curse spirit.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Several spikes pierced right through the curse spirit's body.

"This gloomy weather is perfect for shadow manipulation," Ryuji said with a satisfied smile.

"...???"

Miku stood there, stunned. She had been mentally preparing for her last moments, but now… Ryuji had suddenly turned into some kind of superhero.

She blinked, staring up at him, utterly speechless.

"Alright, go hide somewhere safe. I'll deal with this quickly," Ryuji said, letting go of her.

It wasn't until now that Miku realized she had been held in his arms. From childhood until now, she had never been so close to a boy. But rather than feeling embarrassed, she was more overwhelmed by a sense of loss like she should have stayed in his arms a bit longer.

No, what am I even thinking?!

Quickly shaking her head, Miku rushed behind a wall, peeking out as she nervously watched Ryuji, too afraid to disturb him.

"Come on!" she whispered to herself, quietly cheering him on from her hiding spot.

Ryuji couldn't help but chuckle.

Honestly, she was kind of cute.

"Well, for a monster like this, I don't really need to hear a 'come on,'" he said with a grin.

This special-grade curse spirit wasn't much of a challenge for him.

"Shadow Manipulation: Bind!"

Under Ryuji's control, the shadow spikes transformed into thick ropes, wrapping around the one-eyed curse spirit and restraining it tightly.

"Die! Die!"

The curse spirit roared in fury The curse spirit roared in fury, thrashing wildly against its bindings, but it couldn't break free.

"If you don't behave, you're just asking to get beaten," Ryuji said with a smirk.

Then, in an instant—"Third Dimension".

Ryuji activated the space-distorting power of Third Dimension to its fullest. The air around the curse spirit rippled as space itself began to twist and warp.

"Buzzz..."

The curse spirit's entire body was enveloped by the twisting force. Slowly but surely, its form began collapsing in on itself, unable to withstand the overwhelming spatial distortion.

There was no escape.

Ryuji watched as the creature's body crumbled under the pressure, piece by piece. He didn't bother with any further attacks he knew it was done for.

"Looks like you had barely formed a domain, huh?" Ryuji muttered to himself as he studied the remains of the curse spirit. It had started to develop a domain, but it wasn't complete. It was all form and no substance just a hollow shell of what a true domain should be. That explained why it had been relatively easy to overpower.

It must have been born only recently.

"Well then, time to turn you into something useful," Ryuji said casually, holding out his hand.

"Soul Devouring!"

Chains shot out from Ryuji's shadows, coiling around the crumbling remains of the curse spirit. Normally, when using the Devour Soul technique, the curse spirits would resist being consumed, but this time there was no struggle. With each spirit Ryuji devoured, his own power grew, making it easier to subdue the next one.

The chains tightened, dragging the curse spirit's energy into Ryuji's body.

"Too bad I can't absorb the curse techniques along with their strength…" Ryuji sighed, shaking his head. It would have been nice if he could acquire the unique techniques of the spirits he devoured, but so far, that wasn't part of his ability.

Still, it wasn't a bad outcome. He was getting stronger by the day.

"Hmm?"

Just as he was about to leave, something caught Ryuji's attention. He looked up at the sky and saw a small black dot descending toward him.

He raised his hand, catching the object with ease.

His eyes narrowed as he inspected it closely.

"Another one?"

What Ryuji held in his hand was unmistakable a finger of Ryomen Sukuna.

This was the same type of cursed object he had encountered not long ago after exorcising the cursed spirit that Tomoya had turned into. No wonder the curse spirit he just fought had reached special-grade it had merged with the power of urban legends and, more importantly, one of Sukuna's fingers.

It was no small feat for a cursed spirit to attain special-grade status, especially one that had only recently been born.

"Well, guess I'll just add this to my collection," Ryuji muttered, not too surprised.

There was no point in destroying it. Sukuna's fingers were indestructible, and leaving it lying around would only cause more trouble down the road.

"Third Dimension"

With a quick flick of his hand, Ryuji used Third Dimension to open up his personal space distortion dimension and tucked the finger safely inside.

He wasn't worried about Sukuna sensing it. In this space, the cursed object would be completely sealed away from the outside world.

With that, Ryuji gave the area one last glance before turning his attention to Miku, who was still nervously peeking out from behind a wall.

"All done. You can stop hiding now," he called out with a smirk.