Evening.
Natsuki Subaru was riding in a Dragon Carriage driven by Rem, returning to the Mansion at maximum speed.
Although Roswaal was present at the Mansion and, due to the Contract, could no longer stand by and watch a potential crisis unfold, a sense of foreboding still lingered in Natsuki Subaru's heart.
He opened the Chat Group.
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: Coin Decides Your Life or Death, are you there?]
[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: What is it?]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: I wanted to ask... after the Royal Selection started, did anything dangerous happen in the Roswaal Domain?]
Natsuki Subaru wanted to see if he could obtain more accurate intelligence from the Purge King.
[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: As far as I know, nothing happened at all.]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: Nothing happened? Is Emilia okay on your end?]
[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: Emilia is fine.]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: That's good then.]
Natsuki Subaru breathed a long sigh of relief, but soon shook his head.
After all, the Purge King's future already had a massive gap compared to his own tiline.
The fact that nothing happened over there didn't an his own world was safe.
Right then, Natsuki Subaru recalled his conversation with Crusch before leaving the Crusch Mansion.
Crusch said that the dangerous events occurring within Roswaal's territory were likely related to Emilia participating in the Royal Selection.
Emilia was a half-elf with silver hair and purple eyes, a symbol of taboo in this world—strikingly similar to the Jealous Witch who once devoured half the world. Because of this, she had always been subject to criticism and was even viewed with hostility by many.
Could it be because of that?
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: Um, I wanted to ask, how many of you participated in the Royal Selection?]
[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: Four.]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: Four as well? Then isn't it caused by Emilia's candidacy?]
[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: In our case, Emilia did not run.]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: What?!]
Natsuki Subaru was incredibly surprised. In the other tiline, Emilia didn't participate in the Royal Selection?!
Co to think of it, that wasn't impossible.
In the Purge King's worldline, those things happened at the Mansion...
Under the weight of successive blows, it was indeed possible for Emilia to withdraw from the Royal Selection.
Then who was the fifth person?
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: Besides Crusch, Anastasia, and Priscilla, who was the fifth person?]
[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: Is she not there on your end? The last candidate is Felt.]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: Felt???]
Natsuki Subaru was utterly astonished. He never imagined the missing candidate would be Felt.
[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: Yeah. It seems when they t the Bowel Hunter in the Slums, Reinhard discovered Felt had the qualifications for the Royal Selection, so he brought her to the Royal Selection ceremony. I wasn't there, though; it's just hearsay.]
Natsuki Subaru rembered that the Purge King had indeed talked about his experiences.
The Purge King had sought Reinhard's help, whereas on his own side, because he had called for Yuji Itadori, Reinhard hadn't had further contact with Felt.
It seed that because of him, Felt had lost her qualification...
[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: But it doesn't matter. Anyway, I heard Felt herself wasn't particularly interested in the throne.]
Natsuki Subaru indeed found it hard to imagine a scene where Felt beca one of the candidates.
No, now wasn't the ti to think about that.
Natsuki Subaru pulled his thoughts back to reality.
Whether Emilia participated in the Royal Selection was the point of divergence between the two worldlines.
That ant the unknown event was very likely related to Emilia!
At the thought of this, Natsuki Subaru's heart grew increasingly anxious, wanting nothing more than to return to the territory quickly.
But at that mont, the Dragon Carriage jerked to a halt, and the Ground Dragons at the front let out uneasy roars.
"What happened, Rem?"
Natsuki Subaru asked hurriedly.
"I'm sorry, Subaru-kun. The Ground Dragons seem to have sensed sothing and are unwilling to move forward."
Rem turned her head to explain.
"It's likely because the mist around us is getting thicker and thicker."
Natsuki Subaru was sowhat puzzled. Looking around, a great fog had begun to spread before he even realized it.
"Continuing forward might be very dangerous. We might have to take a detour!"
"If we detour, it'll probably take us at least two and a half days."
"When it only took half a day to get here..."
Natsuki Subaru's brow furrowed as he posted what was happening here in the group.
[Only Love White-Haired Elves: I think moving through a thick fog late at night is too risky. I believe Rem is right; taking a detour is the steadier choice.]
[Jujutsu Physical Education Student: I think so too.]
[Useless Goddess, You Really Deserve to Die: If only we could toss Aqua into your world. That woman's eyesight seems great; she sees clearly through both darkness and thick fog.]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: I understand all that, but I've been worried about the situation at the Roswaal Domain.]
[Jujutsu Physical Education Student: With Roswaal present, it should be fine, right? He should be pretty strong?]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: We did make preparations in advance, but there's only so much we can do. Also, because of the Royal Selection, Emilia and the others have a lot of unavoidable business to handle in the Royal Capital... For so reason, my heart keeps fluttering. I still want to go back early and see, but I'm blocked by this mysterious thick fog.]
Seeing Natsuki Subaru's words, the Purge King narrowed his eyes slightly.
He knew what this thick fog was about.
[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: This shouldn't be an ordinary thick fog.]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: Do you know sothing?]
[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: If I recall correctly, a few years ago, a thick fog did indeed occur in the areas surrounding the Royal Capital—quite a few rchant caravans vanished in the fog. Including so civilians, the number of missing people probably reached triple digits?]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: Vanished? Why? Even if moving through fog is dangerous, it shouldn't be like that, right?]
[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: Because this isn't ordinary fog, but a Witchbeast nad the White Whale.]
[Jujutsu Physical Education Student: White Whale?]
[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: It's a legendary Witchbeast that has wandered the world for over four hundred years. Every ti it appears, it brings massive destruction—and its appearance is always accompanied by dense fog.]
[Jealous Witch's Object of Escape: To think it would be like that...]
Natsuki Subaru couldn't help but swallow hard.
Was such a monster waiting for him up ahead?
[Coin Decides Your Life or Death: So, how will you choose?]
The Purge King looked at the chat interface, took out a coin, flipped it into the air, and caught it on the back of his other hand.
How would his other self choose?
Would he risk the danger and force his way through the fog?
Or would he take the detour to be safe?
If he chose that way, Emilia and the others might be in danger.
Just like the two sides of a coin, how would Natsuki Subaru choose?
But just as the Purge King was about to see the result of the coin, a ssage popped up in the group.
[Unsurrounded One: Invite .]
The mont he saw Yuji Itadori's words, Natsuki Subaru's incredibly anxious heart cald down.
Although Natsuki Subaru knew he had been the one seeking help from start to finish, at a ti like this, he had no choice but to do so.
He imdiately sent an invitation to Yuji Itadori.
With a flash of light, Yuji Itadori appeared beside him.
"Senior Itadori, I'm very sorry. I trouble you like this every ti."
Natsuki Subaru lowered his head, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
"It's no trouble. I'm an adult and you're a child. As an adult, I have an obligation to look after my juniors."
Yuji Itadori said slowly.
These were words Nanami Kento had once said to him.
"Thank you so much, Senior Itadori..."
Natsuki Subaru looked up. Although he knew the Yuji Itadori in front of him was over eighty years old, that face was clearly almost identical to his own.
Except for the eyes.
"Lord Itadori?!"
Hearing the voice from behind, Rem at the front was greatly shocked.
Why did Yuji Itadori suddenly appear in the Dragon Carriage?
Natsuki Subaru had clearly been the only one in the cabin earlier.
"Rem."
Yuji Itadori thought for a mont about how to explain—gumin's earlier words involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
"I used Magic to get here."
When encountering sothing hard to explain, answering with "Magic" was never wrong.
Hearing Yuji Itadori's words, although Rem was a bit confused, she soon nodded.
"I see. Lady Beatrice has used similar Yin Magic before. But why has Lord Itadori co here?"
"Because I have a special magical tool, don't I? Besides freezing ti, it allows for long-distance communication. I told Senior Itadori! So he ca to help!"
Natsuki Subaru followed Yuji Itadori's lead and continued the story.
"This magical tool has so many functions?"
"That's right..."
Natsuki Subaru coughed twice and imdiately steered the topic back.
"Rem, let's keep moving. With Senior Itadori here, it should be fine."
"Even if Lord Itadori is very strong, this thick fog—"
"Don't worry, leave it to ."
Yuji Itadori looked ahead and raised his hand.
This wasn't an ordinary Dismantle, but a strike with a radius of over several kiloters!
Once, he had instantly killed all Cursed Spirits within a ten-kiloter radius with a single strike.
And now, Yuji Itadori used the gale brought by this strike to directly disperse the thick fog.
The road appeared clearly before them.
"This, this is too exaggerated..."
Natsuki Subaru looked at all this in disbelief, as did Rem in front.
Just now, the scene was completely beyond their imagination.
Was this really Magic?
"Let's set out."
The reins in Rem's hands tightened slightly as she prepared to drive the Dragon Carriage forward.
But the Ground Dragons still refused to move.
Their feet scraped the ground uneasily, and the roars from deep within their throats seed even more agitated.
"Strange..."
Rem's brow furrowed. She shifted her gaze from the restless Ground Dragons to the clear road ahead, which had been sliced open by Yuji Itadori.
The fog had indeed dispersed.
The gale stirred by Yuji Itadori's strike had torn the thick fog like a piece of cloth, making the road ahead perfectly clear.
But the Ground Dragons didn't think so.
It was said that Ground Dragons possessed sensory abilities far beyond humans.
They sensed a dangerous presence.
Soon, Rem, being of the Oni race, sensed it too—
"Lord Itadori, Subaru."
Rem turned her head, her voice very low.
"Please be careful. Sothing... is coming."
Natsuki Subaru's heart sank.
Just as he was about to ask sothing, he felt it.
It was fog.
The fog was coming again.
Even though this fog had been dispersed by Yuji Itadori just seconds ago, in a single instant, this thick white mist once again shrouded their vision.
Natsuki Subaru had held a sliver of hope in his heart, but now he was certain this was absolutely no ordinary fog.
Likely, it was that Witchbeast nad the White Whale.
"Lord Itadori, let's head back imdiately. this fog feels very bad. We have no choice but to take the detour."
Even as Rem spoke, she was already preparing to turn the Dragon Carriage around to leave.
But right then, Yuji Itadori spoke softly:
"There's no need."
"Lord Itadori?"
"Because that guy is already here—"
Yuji Itadori looked up, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Natsuki Subaru followed Yuji Itadori's gaze and looked up at the night sky shrouded in thick fog.
And then he saw it.
Deepest within the fog, in a place where the moonlight could barely penetrate, there was a massive, blurry shadow like a mountain range moving slowly.
Natsuki Subaru's pupils contracted.
The White Whale!
Was this the very Witchbeast the Purge King had ntioned?!
And this legendary Witchbeast seed to be approaching them at incredible speed!
The already enormous silhouette grew larger and larger in Natsuki Subaru's field of vision!
It drew closer and closer. Natsuki Subaru's breathing and heartbeat gradually quickened—
The next second, the fog was torn open, and a giant, bloodshot eyeball stared fixedly at him.
That pupil alone was larger than an adult male.
The White Whale had rushed right in front of Natsuki Subaru—
However, a second later, the sound of tearing air rang out.
The titan that was about to devour Natsuki Subaru was sent flying as if struck by an invisible giant's fist. Its mountain-like body bounced away with a roar, crashing to the side like a teorite.
Trees collapsed and rubble flew. The re movent of that massive body seed as if it were sucking the air dry.
The person who had sent this giant beast flying was currently standing right beside Natsuki Subaru.
"Now, let disperse this mist completely."
Yuji Itadori said slowly.
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