I Sealed Sukuna’s Finger#409+410: Waking Up the Senior Attack Mage, The Progress Bar Surges Back

Morning came.

The golden sun rose over the sea, scattering the last of the island’s shadows.

In the southern district of Itogami, inside one of the luxury villas, a certain black-haired girl lay curled beneath her blankets, still sound asleep. Gone was the gothic dress she usually wore, tonight, she’d traded it for soft children’s pajamas.

This was Natsuki Minamiya—once the Witch of the Void, now a Senior Attack Mage of the Island Guard, living here in her own villa.

In the past, when her “thought-body” projections did all the work, she never needed rest. This house had stood mostly unused for years.

But now, stripped of that detached existence and living as flesh and blood, she was no different from any other human. She got tired, and she needed sleep.

Which made having a proper place to rest more important than ever.

BEEP—BEEP—BEEP!

Without warning, the phone by her pillow lit up. The shrill alarm cut the morning silence like a knife, the screen reading 7:00 a.m. in glaring digits.

No one could stay asleep through that racket. Not even Natsuki.

“Ugh…”

Her brows pinched, lips parting in a groggy protest.

“Seriously… what time is it? Can’t I have five more minutes? Maybe my phone glitched and rang early…”

Mumbling the classic excuse of every professional slacker, she forced her heavy-lidded eyes open. One glance at the screen told her the truth: it really was seven.

“Damn it…”

If this were the old days, she’d never have needed to wake up so early. Sleep was unnecessary for a projection. But the real reason was harsher: she was no longer the Witch of the Void. No more teleporting across Itogami at will.

Now she had to commute like everyone else—bus, train, transfers. And her villa wasn’t close. Just the ride to the Security Forces HQ downtown ate up an hour each way.

And even though she was “just human” now, her workload hadn’t shrunk. Overtime until midnight was still standard. She wasn’t used to this whole sleeping-at-night routine either; last night, she’d tossed and turned until two in the morning before finally passing out.

If not for the alarm, there was no chance she’d be awake now.

“Summer break and I’m already this swamped. When school starts again, I’m going to drop dead at my desk…”

She silenced the alarm and flopped back down with a sigh.

The second her head hit the pillow, a crushing wave of drowsiness rolled in. Her eyelids waged a brief war with each other and lost almost instantly.

“No good… still so tired… maybe I should sleep five more minutes… Just five…”

Kanon would call her for breakfast soon anyway. That would wake her.

Convinced by her own excuse, she let her eyes fall shut, a faint smile of relief on her lips. One second passed. Two. Three. Her mind slipped toward dreamland.

—until she felt a warm, solid chest press against her back.

It was strong. Comforting.

Her body reacted before her mind could. She curled into the warmth instinctively. An arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer, steady and possessive.

Yes… this is fine…

She relaxed into the embrace, about to drift off again, when a cool sensation brushed her thigh. Then lower. Across her backside.

And then—something pressed inside.

“Mm—ghh!”

The black-haired girl’s eyes snapped open. Sleep shattered. Her teeth clenched, fingers clawing at the bedsheets. She didn’t even have to look. She knew exactly who it was.

“Bokue... what the hell are you—ugh—doing?! If you’re that desperate, go bother Yuuma! She’d... hah... gladly entertain you! Just get out of me already!”

“But if I stop now, Natsuki, you’ll just fall asleep again.”

His voice was calm, maddeningly casual, as he lay pressed against her from behind. His hands slid from her shoulders, easing her down firmly into the mattress.

“Besides, didn’t your alarm already ring? If you don’t get up, you’ll be late for work. They dock your pay for that, don’t they?”

“Whose… whose fault do you think that’ll be?!”

Her voice broke, words catching as the “progress bar” surged forward. She’d just woken up—and he had the audacity to...

Her protests dissolved into a strangled gasp. The bar that had crawled at seventy percent suddenly leapt to completion, like a game that freezes then jumps to one hundred percent in a single burst.

Her pale throat arched back, taut with shock.

Bokue rolled onto his back, pulling her with him. Her small frame turned too, settling against his chest, her head pillowed on him as though they’d been positioned that way all along.

His voice rumbled low against her ear.

“Relax. It’s just temporary. I’ll restore your strength later. But… wouldn’t it be easier if you moved into Keystone Gate? Closer to work.”

“…No… way…” she forced the words out through gritted teeth.

“Fair enough.”

He chuckled softly, gripping her shoulders again. And then, without hesitation, started adjusting her “progress bar” all over again.

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Soon enough, with the first round of morning “aerobics” finished, the once-dry and cozy bed was now a haze of heat and steam.

The little black-haired girl who had once been so stiff and guarded now found her expression softening bit by bit—until, in the end, she completely lost control.

“W-Wait… wait a second, isn’t that enough…?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Th-Then at least let me rest a little first…”

Unable to stop the boy who was hell-bent on continuing, Natsuki could only retreat and beg for a short reprieve. Of course, “rest” was just a word—she had no idea how many more rounds might follow. This so-called morning exercise might only be one-tenth finished.

But she had to keep him from running completely wild.

She couldn’t forget: today was a workday. If she let this lunatic pound her into the mattress first thing in the morning, then forget leaving the house; she wouldn’t even be able to get out of bed.

And if she lost her wits entirely, slipping into that dizzy, fogged-over state, she might never be able to wrestle her clarity back.

“Haah…”

She sucked in two sharp breaths, forcing her lungs to calm, and swallowed to moisten her dry throat.

“Done resting already?” came the boy’s voice from behind her.

“No!” Natsuki whipped her head around to glare at him, her cheeks glowing red.

Her skin was already slick with a thin sheen of sweat. A shower before work would be non-negotiable. It meant wasting precious time—but at least he was here.

When it came time to head to the Security Forces Headquarters, she could make him teleport her. One morning of “hard training” in exchange for skipping a jam-packed subway commute? She could justify that. Yes, two birds, one stone.

“To change the subject—those buildings on top of Keystone Gate. That was your handiwork, wasn’t it?” She tilted her head back, eyes rolling up to meet the boy lying on his side behind her.

“Hm? Yeah,” he said without hesitation. “Why, the Security Forces finally noticed?”

“…We’re not blind, you know!” Natsuki didn’t even know how to respond to that smug tone.

“Sure, Keystone Gate is the tallest structure on the island, but it’s not invisible. You built actual houses on top of it! People on the ground can still see them! The only reason this hasn’t turned into a scandal is because civilians assume the administration put them there. Even so, we’ve already filed reports with Tokyo’s parliament.”

“It’s fine. I approved it.”

“…I wasn’t asking you.”

“You were asking me.”

“The report went to Tokyo.”

“And it’ll still land on my desk in the end.” He shrugged, meeting her puzzled glare. “Because the island belongs to me now. Keystone Gate, everything. Japan has no say. This is my territory. If I want to build, I build.”

He paused, then added casually, “Oh, and by the way, if you move your house into Keystone Gate, I can use Le Blue to link it directly to your office. You could literally sleep until a minute before work and still clock in on time. No trains. No buses. No rush.”

Natsuki blinked. “Le Blue… isn’t that the ability of Tokoyogi Aya’s daughter?”

“Oh, I studied it a bit. Not too hard to pick up,” he said, pinching her cheek with a smirk.

She didn’t even have the energy to swat him away. Her mind was spinning. Every witch’s ability came from a contract with a demon; it had costs and restrictions. You didn’t just learn them. And yet he spoke of it like it was nothing.

“Anyway, that’s the gist. I’ve got more plans, too. Maybe I’ll move the entire island later.” He returned to the original question. “So, Natsuki. Have you decided? Want to move to Keystone Gate?”

“Grr… fine. Do whatever you want.” She clenched her teeth, but in the end, she caved.

It wasn’t just weakness, it was reality. She really couldn’t escape him anymore.

Couldn’t resist him.

But… maybe that wasn’t so bad. He wasn’t exactly evil. He was strong, handsome, reliable. And she was twenty-six now. If her body hadn’t been locked in stasis all those years, she’d already be a “past-her-prime” single woman. Maybe it was time to think about her future.

Her thoughts spiraled—until suddenly his hands pressed down on her shoulders again.

Wait... again?!

“Mmgh! Stop! I already agreed to...”

Her protest died in her throat as the progress bar surged back to life, pulsing like the LED strips in a gaming PC.

“Don’t worry. This isn’t about that,” he said, bafflingly calm. “I just want to help restore your magic sooner.”

Her jaw dropped. She had work! In minutes, Kanon would be knocking at the door. If someone walked in now...

And then, because the universe has a sick sense of humor—

Knock, knock.

“Teacher Natsuki? Breakfast is ready—I made enough for both you and Miss Tokoyogi… huh? Why is Big Brother here too? And why are you two—ah! Sorry, I didn’t see anything!”

The door slammed shut.

Natsuki’s flushed face burned hotter than ever. She wanted to shout a denial—but no words came.

It really did feel like her “new life” had ended the moment it began. But maybe… maybe Aya was right. They were past the point of no return.

So why not just let go, and enjoy it?

Two hours later, another new building joined the skyline atop Keystone Gate.