I Sealed Sukuna’s Finger#380+381: Taking All the Fire, Champagne Crisis

Another night of wind and rain had passed.

As morning arrived in the hotel suite at the center of Itogami Island—

"Mmm~"

The air still carried traces of last night's battles. The short-haired girl sleeping on the right side of the bed let out a muddy murmur, throwing off the covers and rolling over to press her entire left side against Bokue Keikain beside her.

"Ahh~ Everything smells like Bokue..."

Yuuma Tokoyogi nuzzled closer with half-closed eyes, murmuring as if in a dream.

But no sooner had she spoken than a cold voice came from the other side of the bed—from the beauty in traditional twelve-layered robes.

"Hmph. Getting horny first thing in the morning?"

"...You've got some nerve talking about me."

After about a second's pause, Yuuma gave up pretending to sleep. She slowly opened her eyes and casually glanced at the woman on the bed's other side—one with a face identical to her own.

"Weren't you the one screaming pretty loudly in the bathroom last night?"

"You...!"

That was the last thing Aya Tokoyogi wanted brought up. Hearing it mentioned again, she gritted her teeth in fury, nearly cursing aloud.

Did she think she'd wanted to scream that loud??

It was all because a certain little bitch saw she'd lost her witch powers and decided to kick her while she was down—every time it was her turn, she'd desperately grab Aya's shoulders and push her down harder.

Not to mention the shared sensations had been activated.

Which meant last night, Aya Tokoyogi had essentially taken the full firepower that should've been split between two people.

Even worse, Yuuma had used Le Blue's spatial connection ability to forcibly push her own "students" from her womb over to Aya's side.

If Aya hadn't already been mature, that kind of treatment would've made her burst.

And this was what you used Le Blue for??

Aya wanted to rage, but the situation wouldn't allow it.

"Oh? You're both awake already?"

As if roused by their bickering from either side, Bokue rubbed his eyes and slowly opened them, looking puzzled.

After all, they'd gone to bed pretty late last night.

"Of course~ How could I waste precious time with Bokue on something as luxurious as sleep?"

Noticing the youth was awake, Yuuma immediately abandoned the twelve-layered beauty who dared not speak up, turning instead to cuddle against him.

"If possible, I'd want to spend every moment with Bokue on important things~"

"...Your body has to be able to handle it though."

Even as Bokue spoke, he couldn't help thinking this statement was way too "Nagisa-like."

"No problem, I can handle it!"

The short-haired girl smiled confidently, leaning in for a quick kiss.

Meanwhile, the twelve-layered beauty on the other side glared furiously.

"You can handle it, but I can't—"

"Oh my, as my 'main account,' don't you have any competitive spirit?"

Yuuma touched her lips mockingly.

"Bokue, did you hear that? Miss Aya needs more time adapting to your rhythm~"

"What... wait, you're not planning to—"

Hearing this, Aya's face instantly changed. After last night's "intimate exchange," she'd gotten a pretty good grasp of her "copy's" thought process.

Saying something like this now could only mean one thing—

"I-Idiot! Are you joking? This is the man you love, and now you want him to do that with me... don't you feel even a little—"

"Oh~ So now you're willing to treat me as a separate individual?"

Yuuma's smile didn't waver.

"But I don't mind at all. We're the same anyway. Plus, if I want, I can share my sensations with you, and receive yours in return."

"And because of that, maybe we could try something even more exciting. How about... restoring our original surface relationship?"

What did she mean by "original surface relationship"?

Aya froze slightly.

First, her actual relationship with Yuuma was simply creator and creation—more precisely, creator and her creation.

But to avoid suspicion and make things easier to understand, she'd officially set their relationship as... wait! That meant—??

Just as Aya finally realized what was happening, the short-haired girl on the other side tilted her head, lips moving to speak that absolutely forbidden word given their current situation.

"Mom?"

!!!

Like a hammer blow to the heart, the twelve-layered beauty's body under the covers trembled violently. An indescribable feeling spread through her heart.

Resentment, anger, disgust, unwillingness, and... hidden beneath all these surface emotions, an impulse she could no longer suppress—the desire to fall endlessly into depravity.

Haha... so she was already broken. Completely and utterly broken.

Aya thought miserably to herself.

"Huh~ No reaction at all."

Seeing Aya just sitting there in a daze, the short-haired girl pouted.

Then she turned to kiss the youth beside her, a brief touch before pulling away.

"Hey Bokue, since Mom doesn't want to, how about just us?"

"...To the bathroom?"

Bokue yawned and sat up, his proud battle flag standing tall as he wrapped an arm around the girl's waist, lifting Yuuma with him.

"Mm, that works."

With a provocative glance at the twelve-layered beauty on the other side, Yuuma hummed triumphantly.

"We're going to the bathroom. Don't even let her watch—can't let her get any benefits."

"...Let's go then."

Bokue carried Yuuma from the bed and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind them.

Moments later, as the girl's joyful singing mixed with shower sounds from inside, Aya on the bed outside tensed up reflexively.

Damn it... here it comes again! She knew it... all that talk about "can't let her get any benefits" was complete bullshit!

Besides... she hadn't even gone to the bathroom since waking up... ngh!!!

As if struck by a sudden blow, the twelve-layered beauty's mouth opened wide but no sound emerged.

At the same time, a golden champagne arc broke through the morning stillness, splashing high into the air.

<><><><><><><><>

From six in the morning until nine, the sun's angle shifted from fifteen degrees to forty-five degrees above the horizon.

In the high-level director's office at Itogami Island's Special Security Force headquarters, a certain gothic girl who'd been working all night finally straightened up from her desk, leaning back in her office chair with a long sigh of relief.

"Finally done with everything. I'm dead tired..."

Natsuki Minamiya's desk was now piled high with file folders—all reports about the spatial chaos on Itogami Island during that hour between six and seven last night. It had taken her an entire night plus half a morning to finish them all.

After all, as a senior Attack Mage for the Special Security Force, her job was handling problems that regular officers couldn't deal with.

Which meant she had to write the reports too.

Still, handwriting everything was exhausting. She couldn't remember ever being this tired before...

Natsuki couldn't help complaining internally.

In the past, since her body had been sleeping in the Prison Barrier, what appeared to others was a thought-body constructed from her magic power.

Though her delicate magical manipulation meant the thought-body could function like a normal human—eating, drinking, even sleeping—it was still fundamentally a thought-body. With enough magical power, it could work indefinitely.

Like pulling an all-nighter handling Security Force work, then showing up fresh at school the next morning—no problem at all.

But now she was using her actual body. While witches could do things normal people couldn't thanks to magical enhancement, they were still made of flesh. Keep pushing like a thought-body and adverse reactions would eventually appear.

Like now—even though there was only a solid wall and tall bookshelf behind her, Natsuki could almost see heavenly light shining down from above.

"This is the 'transcend mortality if you don't sleep soon' rhythm..."

Natsuki sighed helplessly, abandoning the idea of grabbing coffee and pushing through.

Since the Prison Barrier no longer existed, she had to learn to live like a normal person.

Sleep when tired, eat when hungry.

Conveniently, as a senior Attack Mage, she had a break room next to her office. Though being a workplace break room meant the bed wasn't as large or comfortable as the one at home, it would have to do.

With that thought, Natsuki called out:

"Astarte."

Creak—

The moment she spoke, the office door pushed open from outside. A blue-haired girl in a maid outfit appeared in the doorway, expressionless.

"[Query], What are your orders, Director?"

"No orders. Just need you to stay in the office."

Natsuki yawned, pushing herself up from the chair and pointing at the desk.

"Take my place here for a while. I need to rest. Stay here, and if anything comes up, wake me in the next room."

"[Confirmed.]"

Without unnecessary words, the blue-haired maid came behind the desk and sat down, watching as Natsuki left the office.

"..."

The already quiet office fell completely silent.

One second passed.

Two seconds passed.

Three seconds passed.

At the fourth second, golden light suddenly rippled through the office air, and a youth's figure appeared directly.

"Huh? Why are you here, Astarte? Where's Natsuki?"

Landing, Bokue Keikain looked around curiously.

After all, every previous visit had found Natsuki behind that big desk, either frowning over documents or writing furiously.

But now Astarte sat in Natsuki's place, just sitting there—like a college student leaving a doll to save their library seat.

"[Affirmative], The Director worked all night and is currently sleeping in the break room next door."

Astarte nodded in response.

"So if Master needs to see the Director, you can tell me first—"

"Oh, I'm not here for her."

Bokue walked straight to the desk, gently patting the blue-haired maid's head.

"We agreed I'd charge you up, remember? Forgot?"

!!

Hearing those words, the perpetually emotionless Astarte seemed to widen her eyes slightly.

Though an artificial life form, she wasn't completely without feelings. It was just that no one had taught her, so even when she felt something, it showed only faintly, making it hard to notice.

Now, the blue-haired girl's eyes showed emotions called "happiness" and "anticipation."

But quickly, Astarte looked troubled.

"[Command conflict], One minute ago the Director requested I watch the office and report any issues, so Astarte cannot leave until the Director wakes—"

"Then we'll do it right here."

Bokue waved his hand, and the pile of documents on the desk lifted through spatial manipulation, moving to the sofa against the wall, clearing a large space on the desk.

"This works, right?"

"...Mm."

Having experienced "charging" before and knowing what came next, the blue-haired maid nodded, a faint blush coloring her usually expressionless face.

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

Meanwhile, in the familiar hotel suite bedroom, after a morning of fierce battles, the gunpowder smell had grown even stronger.

The curtains remained tightly drawn. Having finished her "morning exercise" and cleaned up, Yuuma Tokoyogi sat on the bed's edge, dressing herself before turning to look at the twelve-layered beauty lying motionless in champagne liquid, her kimono belly so swollen the obi wouldn't tie.

The short-haired girl smiled triumphantly and waved.

"Alright, I'm going to see about breakfast. You just keep lying there."

With that, she rose from the bed, hands in pockets as she walked out without looking back.

"Yu... ma..."

Only after the short-haired girl vanished from sight did Aya Tokoyogi finally move slightly, grinding out hateful words through clenched teeth.

Again... she'd transferred everything from her own womb into hers, then used spatial power to seal the only exit, making it impossible to expel anything...!

Pop.

Without warning, the spatial seal locking her gates suddenly released.

The next moment, before Aya could react, the fierce tide burst through the barrier and surged forth.

"Wait—!"

Realizing this violent release was more than she could handle in her current state, Aya tried to slow things down.

But unfortunately, it was already too late.