I Sealed Sukuna’s Finger#370+371: No Regrets Left, Rounding Up to Husband and Wife

The hotel suite's atmosphere was beyond bizarre.

Nagisa—trapped in Tokoyogi Yuuma's body—sat obediently on the sofa, looking completely lost.

Bokue was equally baffled. He couldn't wrap his head around why Nagisa and Yuuma had suddenly swapped bodies. It made zero sense, and he couldn't even begin to figure out how it happened.

As for Natsuki, after confirming the body swap, she'd simply covered her face with both hands, as if already sensing the disaster about to unfold.

Finally, the youth broke the silence.

"So this wasn't an accident, was it?"

No need for an answer—the conclusion was obvious.

They could now confirm that the consciousness inside Tokoyogi Yuuma's body was definitely Nagisa. Which raised one critical question.

Whose consciousness was currently inhabiting Nagisa's body?

According to Nagisa herself, she'd fallen asleep on the bed after their afternoon session, while Bokue was washing up with Yukina in the bathroom. When she woke up, she found herself here in the hotel, in Yuuma's body.

But here's the thing—after washing Yukina, Bokue had taken Nagisa into the bathroom for an intense "daily summary."

If someone else's consciousness had been in Nagisa's body at that time, they should've panicked when Bokue dragged them into the bathroom, resisting desperately.

Yet "Nagisa" hadn't resisted at all. In fact, she'd been exceptionally enthusiastic, even calling him "Big Brother" repeatedly.

Which meant the consciousness in Nagisa's body was most likely Tokoyogi Yuuma.

After all, she'd witnessed firsthand how Bokue, Nagisa, and Yukina normally interacted and addressed each other.

So this was all planned?

"Haah..."

With a soft exhale, Natsuki finally uncovered her face.

She looked up at the youth, lips pressed thin.

"The situation's urgent, so I'll keep this brief. You might find what I'm about to say confusing, but please stay quiet and assume everything I say is fact while you try to understand."

"...Go ahead."

Bokue shrugged.

Ever since the human and demon realms connected half a century ago, people had grown increasingly accepting of supernatural phenomena. These days, even ordinary people would only be mildly surprised by body swapping before actively seeking solutions.

Let alone the acting head of the Keikain family.

"First... have you heard of the Prison Barrier?"

Natsuki paused, then continued without waiting for an answer.

"If you have, you'd know there's more than one. They're scattered worldwide, designed to imprison criminals with immense power. They're constructed from witches' dreams—eternal prisons that even gods cannot escape. And the witch who maintains Itogami Island's Prison Barrier... is me."

"Oh." Bokue remained perfectly calm.

Natsuki actually froze at his reaction. "You don't seem surprised at all?"

"Well, yeah. I already knew." Bokue spread his hands.

"Yuuma mentioned it when we met before. Pretty much matched your description."

"I see... that makes sense."

Natsuki clicked her tongue softly.

"Tokoyogi Aya—I don't know if you've heard that name. She's a witch like me. I'm the Witch of the Void, she's the Witch of Notaria. Ten years ago, she was imprisoned in the Prison Barrier for attempting a terrorist attack and hasn't escaped since. But now it seems that Tokoyogi Yuuma was her contingency plan."

"So basically, this Tokoyogi Aya wants to break out?" Bokue hummed thoughtfully.

"And swapping Yuuma and Nagisa's bodies... to steal True Ancestor power and increase her escape chances?"

"That's the most likely scenario."

The gothic lolita nodded with another helpless sigh.

Bokue made a questioning sound. "I have another question. I remember Yuuma saying the Prison Barrier's administrator sleeps within it, but you're..."

"No need to doubt—she was right." Natsuki's eyes lowered slightly. "My body is indeed at the center of Itogami Island's Prison Barrier. What you're seeing now... consider it my thought projection. Anyway, since they've begun their operation, they won't allow my projection to wander freely anymore. I need to return my consciousness to the Prison Barrier to prevent any accidents..."

"Oh, one more thing I forgot to mention."

As she spoke, the gothic lolita's form suddenly flickered, like a projector's light blocked by an obstacle. Even her voice became intermittent.

Natsuki frowned slightly.

"Starting already... Fine, I'll be direct. True Ancestor power is beyond human comprehension—even witches who've contracted with demons can't handle it. That Tokoyogi Yuuma probably used spatial transfer magic to swap her and Nagisa's senses. In other words, their souls remain in their own bodies—they've just temporarily swapped the sensory signal interfaces to their brains."

"Once Yuuma releases the spell..."

"Right, they'll swap back immediately."

The gothic lolita nodded as her form grew increasingly translucent.

"So... the rest... is up to you..."

With those final words, Natsuki's form completely dissipated.

At that moment, Bokue suddenly sensed a familiar power spreading through the air.

"This is..."

The same spatial magic fluctuation from last night when he'd been teleported here from Asagi's place. But now it covered a wider area and was far more chaotic, nearly scrambling the entire city's spatial coordinates.

Planning to completely displace Itogami Island's space to prevent the Security Force from tracking them?

Too bad that wouldn't work on him.

With that thought, Bokue rose from the sofa and gently ruffled the hair of Nagisa—currently in Yuuma's body—beside him.

"Wait here for me, Nagisa. I'll be right back."

"Okay! Good luck, Big Brother!"

Nagisa tilted her head with a smile, pumping her small fist in encouragement.

Bokue smiled back, then vanished from the spot.

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

Scene shift—

When Bokue reappeared, he stood on a fog-shrouded dock.

Coincidentally, it was the exact dock where they'd rented speedboats earlier. But now, with night fallen and every streetlight mysteriously dark, the entire dock was pitch black. Only cold moonlight filtered through the thick fog onto the asphalt.

The moonlight also illuminated a girl's silhouette at the dock's end.

"You still came, Bokue..."

Sensing footsteps behind her, the girl at the dock's edge turned around.

It was Tokoyogi Yuuma, who'd swapped bodies with Nagisa. She'd shed Nagisa's usual cute pleated skirts for the jeans and shirt she preferred, watching the youth approach step by step with a smile.

"I didn't expect to see you one last time. Now I have no regrets left."

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

"Regrets? What are you talking about, Yuuma?"

On the dock, Bokue walked steadily toward "Nagisa" standing at the pier's end.

Tonight's fog seemed especially thick, as if rising from the ocean floor itself. Moonlight scattered down but found no waves to reflect off the pitch-black sea—only churning mist steaming up from the water to stain the pavement.

"Come on~ We're past the point where you need to play dumb, Bokue."

Tokoyogi Yuuma turned around with a smile.

"I'm using Nagisa's body right now, but you recognized me immediately. That means you already know my plan, right?"

"Of course."

Bokue kept walking forward without breaking stride.

"I know you're the one in Nagisa's body, Yuuma. I know you're doing this to free someone named Tokoyogi Aya from the Prison Barrier... I just don't understand what any of this has to do with your so-called 'regrets.'"

"..."

No immediate answer came. Tokoyogi Yuuma fell into brief silence.

This wasn't idle conversation—Bokue genuinely didn't understand.

After all, what Yuuma was doing was basically helping a maximum-security prisoner break out of jail.

Sure, in normal circumstances, helping someone escape prison required risking your life. Seeing a good friend one last time before the operation could count as settling regrets.

But let's not forget—Tokoyogi Yuuma was currently occupying Nagisa's body, wielding the power of the world's strongest vampire, the Fourth Progenitor.

This was like breaking someone out of prison while piloting a Transformer.

Practically a sure thing. What regrets were there to talk about?

Bokue couldn't wrap his head around it.

"...Is that what you're concerned about?"

Tokoyogi Yuuma sighed softly, her face showing a helpless yet somehow relieved smile.

Just like always—he still treated her as a friend. Even after learning almost everything, he didn't question why she was doing this. Instead, he worried about why she'd have regrets.

Bokue shrugged. "What else? I told you, Natsuki already explained your plan. I know most of the details... Actually, there's one thing I haven't figured out. Who exactly is this Tokoyogi Aya to you? Half-sister?"

"Hmm~ How should I put it..."

Tokoyogi Yuuma tapped her lip thoughtfully.

"It's not hard to answer, just a bit complicated. In terms of relation, she'd be my 'mother.'"

Another saving-the-imprisoned-mother plot??

Bokue mentally rolled his eyes.

His inner commentary didn't reach the distant Tokoyogi Yuuma, who continued:

"But objectively speaking, I actually am her. I'm a 'copy' Tokoyogi Aya created using herself as a template—her contingency plan for freedom after being imprisoned in the Prison Barrier."

"...So you're about to help her break out?"

Bokue glanced around.

"But I don't see any prison nearby. Do you need some special method to open it?"

"Of course."

Tokoyogi Yuuma smiled slightly.

"But there's no rush. Besides, didn't you ask why I said 'no regrets left'?"

"It's because... I don't know what will happen to me after completing my mission. I was born to help Tokoyogi Aya regain her freedom. That's my life's only purpose. As for what happens to me after she's free, I've never thought about it."

The short-haired girl paused.

"And there's one more important reason you might not know, Bokue. All witches gain their power through contracts with high-ranking demons. It lets them, as mortals, obtain strength to kill powerful demons. But they must pay a price."

"Take the Witch of the Void, for example. Her chains can bind even high-ranking demons—'Chains forged by Gods.' But her price is eternal slumber within the Prison Barrier."

"Gaining power while paying the price. The day the price is fully paid is the day life ends. That's a witch's fate."

"I'm probably the same."

She's probably the same...

When she said those words, a flash of sorrow crossed Tokoyogi Yuuma's face—like a snowflake falling on a winter night, melting the instant it touched her palm.

"But I have no regrets now." Tokoyogi Yuuma looked up with a renewed smile. "Remember last night's 'girlfriend experience'? For me, I've made up for all my regrets. Whether it was my first kiss or first embrace... wait, no, 'embrace' is a vampire thing. Should be 'first hug.' Including the first time..."

At this, the short-haired girl's cheeks flushed pink.

She remembered everything that happened in the bathroom this evening. Though she'd been using Nagisa's body then too, the consciousness inside had been hers.

Rounding up, it counted as the real thing—checking off every item on the "girlfriend experience card."

As for dates and such, they'd gone out together plenty as kids. Though that twin-tailed girl was usually there too.

Indeed... no regrets left.

"Tch, you're sounding like some tragic heroine, Yuuma."

Bokue picked his ear, completely refusing to match the mood.

He flicked away the debris and waved dismissively.

"Whatever. You want to enter the Prison Barrier, right? Open it up. I'll go in with you."

"...Eh?"

Tokoyogi Yuuma froze completely.

The Prison Barrier was constructed from witches' dreams, and witches drew that power from high-ranking demons in the demon realm. Trespassing in the Prison Barrier was equivalent to challenging those demons...

"Nothing to worry about. Haah—"

Bokue yawned, completely unconcerned.

"Forget high-ranking demons—even if the Demon King himself showed up, I'd still beat him black and blue with one hand."

"..."

Though unclear about the legendary Demon King's actual strength, out of unconditional trust, Tokoyogi Yuuma accepted his words.

She turned toward the fog-shrouded sea ahead, raising her hand high without further hesitation. The massive magical power from the True Ancestor's bloodline surged wildly around her.

"Answer my summons! Lion of Gold!"

With her cry, golden lightning split the sky, transforming into a massive golden lion wreathed in thunder that crashed down toward the distant sea.

BOOOOOOM!!!

The tremendous roar shook the entire ocean, but the expected splash never came. The descending golden lion hit some kind of barrier dozens of meters above the water's surface, stopped cold. Endless lightning spread outward from the impact point in all directions, dispersing the night fog over the sea.

When the lightning faded, the shadowy outline of a grim Gothic castle stood majestically upon the black waters.