When the Sin Archbishops' identities ca out into the open, the whole audience froze.
Sin Archbishop of Greed. Sin Archbishop of Gluttony.
Since when had Sin Archbishops beco this cheap? They kept tumbling out of the woodwork. Witch Cult, Sin Archbishops, one after another, like the whole organization had it out for this crew personally.
None of that was the real shock, though.
The real shock was the abilities these two brought to the table.
After watching what Hollow Technique: Purple could do, no one had been worried, not even with Gojo taking on two Sin Archbishops alone.
Then the two sides actually clashed, and it turned out nothing was going how anyone had expected.
Every Sin Archbishop ca packing a power nobody in their right mind could've sketched out in advance.
Take the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, Ley. Kid-shaped, baby-faced. Faced with the kind of attack from Gojo that erased nearly anything it touched, he just... shapeshifted. Beca a little girl, and ran off.
Fair enough, really. The guy had clocked that he wasn't a match and got out.
But.
The other one, the Sin Archbishop of Greed called Regulus, cracked the audience's entire ntal model of what "strong" ant.
No matter what Gojo threw at him, the man walked away unscratched. Didn't even bother putting up a guard. Stood there and took the blows with his face, calm as a man catching raindrops, and the attacks might as well have been nothing.
And when he waved a hand, the damage he dealt out could've matched Gojo's own.
Not that any of it landed on Gojo, either.
After the initial shock wore off, the viewers realized sothing almost funny.
Gojo and Regulus couldn't touch each other. Their attacks canceled out. Traded blow for blow, and neither one flinched.
The fight had the choreography of two kids playing house. It was genuinely ridiculous to watch.
[What even is this, I can't stop laughing.]
[If you didn't know any better, you'd think they were rehearsing a scene together.]
[These Sin Archbishops are sothing else. They don't even look that strong, but their powers are all completely off the wall.]
[Both of them are white-haired. Both of them look good, honestly.]
[Whoever's trying to ship them, get out.]
[Serious question, what IS the Sin Archbishop of Greed's power? This is unreasonable.]
[Hahaha, my Gojo-baby is still the best. Looks like he's giving the other guy a stroke.]
[And here cos the classic self-destruct card. Sobody's about to walk into it.]
Spotting nas like "Gojo-baby," his eye twitched. That one crossed a line.
Still. A fair chunk of those Popularity Points had co from this exact crowd. He decided to let it slide.
What followed was simple enough.
Neither could hurt the other. But Gojo had Regulus tied in knots from start to finish, toyed with like a cat with a ball of yarn, right up until Reinhard and the rest arrived.
There wasn't a pitched, drawn-out fight, but the segnt still put each character's kit on full display.
The particular treat was watching Gojo calmly work through strategy with Betty and the others, while Reinhard and Regulus went at it in the background like an argunt between neighbors. The contrast landed.
The Comnt section dissolved into laughter.
Then ca Gojo's Domain Expansion, clamping Regulus in place. Betty stepped in, and with her technique, banished the Sin Archbishop of Greed into another dinsion for good.
That long thread of plot finally ca to a close.
And with it, the bonus run ended.
As the progress bar thinned out, the Comnt section blew up with grateful ssages. Compared to the usual "see you next week" sign-off, the audience had been spoiled rotten tonight, and they knew it.
They were happy. Gojo was just as happy.
A glance at the ranking told him why. Two hundred and fifty thousand. An absurd number that made his palms itch.
Two hundred and fifty thousand.
Half of what he needed for Ten Shadows Technique, dropped in his lap in one go.
And with so many episodes airing in a single stretch, the baseline daily growth rate had picked up too.
At this pace, clearing the five-hundred-thousand threshold wouldn't take much longer.
"Ten Shadows Technique. That Mahoraga is going to be a fun one."
"Sha I can't go back. The faces on those Zen'in bastards if they saw wielding Ten Shadows... priceless."
The corner of his mouth curled up.
Viewing over, Gojo pried himself off the bed and glanced out the window. Without him noticing, the day had slid toward evening. A full afternoon gone.
He stretched, then headed out of the room to check on Felt.
Halfway to the reception room, he spotted Reinhard seeing a visitor out. Felt was sitting alone inside.
"Ah, all done? Looks like you put in so work today. How'd we do?"
He strolled in, grinning.
Felt was pulling for the whole household, after all.
"Don't give that fake sweetness."
"If you actually think I worked hard, then cut my share down."
She batted his hand away before it could land on her head.
"Absolutely not. I'm a man of my word."
"And as a Spirit Arts User, if I break a promise Betty will lose all respect for ."
"Acting like she respects you right now."
Felt clicked her tongue, then launched into the afternoon's summary.
Sa as yesterday, five visitors had co through over the course of the afternoon. The difference was caliber. The guest list today had more weight to it. Among them had even been a count.
Felt had welcod him with open arms, naturally.
A count ant bigger numbers. The count alone had dropped four hundred Holy Gold Coins, and that was just the opening ante. More would follow down the line.
Between him and the other four visitors, the afternoon's take ca out close to two thousand Holy Gold Coins.
"And that's before tonight's guests show up."
Her chin lifted.
"So hard, Lady Felt. Your diligence moves to tears..."
Before Gojo had even finished the bit, she was smirking.
"Hard?"
"It's actually been rough."
"So you don't get to sit around either."
"I've got things set up with the Royal Guard Knights. You're going in tonight."
"Stick to the plan. Send Betty out for the first match, then tomorrow we give them a shot at you directly."
Felt laid it all out with the polish of a seasoned operator. A few days in, and the slum thief was starting to carry herself like a candidate.
"You really can't stand letting take five minutes off, huh."
"I just got back, and here you are shoving into overti."
He cupped his face in his hands, playing at wounded.
"Save it."
"It's not like I've been lounging around. I ca back and started working, sa as you. And I'm still growing, you're way older than , so you can afford to do more."
No ground given. The logic was airtight.
"All right, all right. My bad for slacking."
She had a point, honestly.
Felt wasn't the sort who relaxed while everyone else did the heavy lifting. When she could help, she pulled her weight. The previous stretches where she hadn't pitched in weren't for lack of trying. A Sin Archbishop, a White Whale, those weren't things she could contribute to.
Beyond that, she'd been grinding. Since they'd gotten back, her complaints were mouth-deep. In practice, she hadn't rested. She'd been moving nonstop.
"Good, glad we're clear. Tonight's on you."
"Wrap up the Royal Guard business fast. We might have another trip to make in a day or two."
"Where to?"
"Roswaal's place, obviously."
"You think Subaru's going to sit tight and let Emilia travel back on her own? After everything that just happened? I am not in the mood to watch that kid fall apart crying over it."
Felt gave a resigned shrug.
"Keep talking like that and he might just cry in front of you."
"Then it'll be entertaining."
He smiled but didn't push it.
Felt wasn't wrong. This round had put a sizable dent in the Witch Cult, sure. But the Witch Cult was a pack of lunatics, and trying to predict lunatics was a fool's ga. Another attempt wasn't off the table.
"All right. You've already got it arranged, so I'll take Betty and head out."
"Go on. Bring the money back tonight so we can count it together."
She stood and made for the door. He watched her go, sothing quietly thoughtful in his face.
For a girl who, not long ago, had been pickpocketing in the Slums, she'd co a long way.
Back upstairs, he knocked on Betty's door.
"Betty."
No answer.
He knocked again. Still nothing. He let himself in.
The room was still. Betty sat on the bed, staring at her own hands. A small cube hovered in her palms, sothing she was studying.
"You're here, aren't you? Why ignore ?"
"Betty's sure whatever you want can't be good, so Betty doesn't feel like dealing with you."
She didn't look up. The tone was matter-of-fact.
It caught him mid-step.
Thinking about the Royal Guard errand, he had to admit that from her angle, no, it wasn't exactly good news.
"Hearing that from my own spirit stings, you know..."
"Your reaction proves the point. Out with it. What are you dragging Betty into this ti?"
She lifted her head, the look flat with disdain.
"Not much, really. Just lined up an opportunity for you to get stronger through perfectly legitimate ans."
"Tch."
Her mouth twisted. She wasn't buying it.
"You'll see when we get there. I promise it won't disappoint."
"What were you doing just now, anyway?"
He smiled and steered the subject.
"Nothing. Thinking about what a Domain actually is."
She tucked the Cursed Technique away, her expression turning pensive.
"Domain, huh?"
"Hmm. You haven't been working with Cursed Energy long, but with your aptitude, a Domain isn't out of reach."
He thought it over, speaking in earnest.
"Before that, though, the first hurdle you have to clear is the Special Grade Cursed Spirit tier."
"You keep bringing up Special Grade Cursed Spirits. What are they, exactly?"
"Everybody has Cursed Energy. The people who can harness and wield it are called Jujutsu Sorcerers, or Curse Users. When negative emotions and stray Cursed Energy pool up and congeal into a form of their own, you get a Cursed Spirit."
"Think of them like ghosts."
"Ordinary people can't see them. Only soone with Cursed Energy can."
"And Cursed Spirits have grades, sa as Jujutsu Sorcerers. Special Grade is the top. The strongest Cursed Spirits."
"aning, strong as you?"
A flicker of real interest crossed her face.
"We'll cover that on the way. Don't worry, I'll walk you through it properly."
She nodded.
In the courtyard, Reinhard had the Dragon Carriage ready to go.
Spotting the pair, he gave a slight nod.
"Thank you for handling tonight, you and Felt both."
He hesitated, then looked at Gojo. "If it's possible, go a little easier on them."
"Ha, relax. I'm not so great villain."
"Just there to make money."
Reinhard smiled, tension easing out of his shoulders.
Since hearing how Felt and Gojo intended to run the evening, he'd been quietly worried. Worried that so stray jab from the knights might sour Gojo's mood and that the session would turn into sothing uglier. The answer he'd just gotten put that concern to bed.
They climbed into the carriage.
Mr. Grimm took the reins, and the Dragon Carriage rolled off toward the knights' stronghold.
"You can pick up where you left off now."
"Where were we?"
"At 'strong as you.'"
Betty set her hands in her lap, attentive.
"Not quite that simple."
"Take this world. There are other Great Spirits out there, right? Are they all equally powerful?"
"No. Big Brother once killed the previous Great Spirit of Fire and took his place."
She shook her head.
"Puck did what now?"
That genuinely surprised him. The fluffy little thing forever curled up in Emilia's arms, soft-voiced, sweet-tempered, had that on his résumé?
"Whose big brother do you think he is?"
Betty puffed up, a touch of pride slipping into her voice.
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