Ropes descended from the sky, grabbing Cursed Spirits and hoisting them into the air.
"Very good, keep it up."
Nanako raised her phone, used its camera function to lock onto the Cursed Spirits suspended in midair, then activated her Cursed Technique.
Pffft, pffft.
The Cursed Spirits' bodies were sliced in half as if cut by something sharp, cleanly severed.
Seeing this, Mimiko canceled her Cursed Technique, and the Cursed Spirits hanging from the ropes fell to the ground.
Mimiko's Cursed Technique was very lethal against humans, but its lethality against Cursed Spirits was significantly reduced.
After all, many Cursed Spirits did not need to breathe.
Nanako's Cursed Technique was excellent for both offense and defense, but even with the aid of her phone's camera function, aiming and activation remained issues.
Their Cursed Techniques complemented each other, forming a decent fighting force.
But there were simply too many Cursed Spirits around.
"Nanako, be careful!"
Mimiko saw a Cursed Spirit suddenly dive down and pulled hard on the hanging rope in her hand.
The doll was pulled and twisted out of shape by Mimiko's strength.
Fortunately, the Cursed Spirit attacking Nanako had already been pulled up by the rope.
"Damn it, who gathered so many Cursed Spirits? There are even more than Suguru has!"
"Nanako, here they come again."
Hearing this, Nanako forced her tired body to stand, and she and Mimiko stood back to back, facing enemies from every direction.
Wounds appeared on their bodies, as they were not adept at combat.
Fortunately, Suguru, who had noticed their situation in time, sent a small team led by a Special Grade Cursed Spirit to approach them.
This greatly reduced the pressure on the two sisters.
On the other side, Medusa, who had soared into the sky, also rescued Takako, who was caught in a bitter struggle.
"This can't go on."
Suguru was fully focused on breaking through the barrier, and Larue became the temporary leader of the group.
He quickly realized that at this rate, they would not last much longer.
Not even with the help of Suguru's Cursed Spirit army.
After all, even with tens of thousands of Cursed Spirits assisting them, the enemy still outnumbered them dozens of times over.
Soon, the second reinforcement squad arrived.
Seeing the chaotic battlefield, everyone hesitated and looked at each other, wondering whether to join the fight.
In the end, Choso's three brothers and Sasaki led everyone into the battlefield.
On the other side, Suguru's progress was not ideal.
Although he had indeed managed to tear a small opening in the barrier earlier, that scene had also been noticed by those inside.
Therefore, Abe no Seimei was already wary of Suguru.
This made Suguru's subsequent actions increasingly difficult.
The battlefield fell into a stalemate, and Suguru's side became increasingly dangerous.
Looking at his family members caught in a bitter struggle, Suguru finally made the decision to temporarily retreat.
He did not intend to give up on rescuing Satoru. He only wanted to get his family members out safely first.
Several Cursed Spirits in the form of weasels gathered around Jogo.
Terrifying flames began to condense in Jogo's hand.
With the wind fueling the flames, the fire spewing from Jogo's hand turned into a sea of fire, clearing all Cursed Spirits within a hundred meters in front of him.
Hanami placed one hand on the ground, and countless trees burst forth from the earth, forming a mobile fortress.
Seeing this, everyone immediately boarded the wooden fortress and organized their defenses.
Dagon condensed a massive ring of water around the wooden fortress.
This water served both as a means of defending against Cursed Spirits and as a safeguard to ensure Hanami's wooden fortress would not be ignited by the flames on the ground.
"Maximum Technique: Meteor!"
A meteor descended from the sky, once again clearing a large area of Cursed Spirits.
But an endless stream of Cursed Spirits continued to surround them from every direction.
At that moment, the saying that even ants could bite an elephant to death was vividly demonstrated.
Even if Jogo could eliminate thousands of Cursed Spirits with each attack, it was still a drop in the bucket against millions.
Suddenly, dazzling golden light filled the sky.
Golden gates opened in the air, and the entire sky rippled like a water surface in the rain.
The next second, a downpour of Noble Phantasms descended from the sky.
After the Noble Phantasm downpour ended, Eichi, clad in golden armor, and Artoria landed together on the fortress.
Golden particles dispersed from Eichi's body, and the aura of looking down on the world gradually faded.
"What's the situation now?"
Eichi turned to look at Suguru, while Artoria had already begun to command everyone to reorganize the defensive line.
"Satoru is injured."
Satoru was injured.
Those few simple words were enough for Eichi to understand the situation inside the barrier.
Eichi's gaze sharpened, then he looked seriously at the massive barrier.
"The elite force led by Naobito will arrive in ten minutes, and the main support will arrive in half an hour. Hold the line."
After speaking, Eichi turned and prepared to charge into the barrier with Artoria.
"Wait."
Suguru suddenly spoke, calling out to Eichi.
"What is it?"
Eichi turned, looking at Suguru with a puzzled expression.
"I'm coming too."
After saying that, Suguru gave Larue a few instructions and came to Eichi's side.
"Let's go."
The two exchanged glances, and a nostalgic feeling began to emerge.
No Cursed Spirits could stop the three of them, and soon they appeared beside the barrier.
"This barrier is very sturdy. According to Medusa, without a special attack, it would require at least an anti-city Noble Phantasm to destroy it, but Satoru's current condition is unknown, so it's best not to use Excalibur."
Suguru succinctly explained the situation with the barrier.
"In the name of the Command Spell, come to my side."
A clear burning sensation appeared on the back of Eichi's hand, and a figure in a kimono appeared behind him.
"I need you to kill this barrier."
"All of it?"
In Ryougi Shiki's eyes, this barrier, which appeared to be a single entity, was actually composed of many smaller barriers, each connected to some root-like structure providing Cursed Energy.
"Just enough for us to get in."
"Alright."
Ryougi Shiki nodded, and the short blade in her hand sliced across the barrier again and again.
Crash.
Like shattering glass falling to the ground, an entrance several meters wide was torn open in the barrier.
Abe no Seimei was startled and immediately set about restoring the barrier, but he found that no matter how he urged it, the barrier did not recover as he expected.
After summoning Qiongqi to send Ryougi Shiki to the fortress, Eichi, Suguru, and Artoria stepped into the barrier.
Abe no Seimei had intended to create another layer of barrier to cover the opening, but the new barrier was shattered by the group before it could be completed.
"You're in quite a mess, Satoru."
"They ambushed me this time. If it were a head-on fight, I'd definitely make them cry for their mommies."
Satoru, whose torn clothes revealed his blood-stained upper body, and whose hairstyle was even a little disheveled, retorted stubbornly.
"Then you better hurry, or the enemies will all be ours."
Eichi's gaze turned to Abe no Seimei and Kenjaku, whose faces had grown grave.
Endless rage burned in his eyes.
"If only Shoko were here."
"She's not a combatant anyway, so it doesn't make much difference whether she's here or not."
Satoru knew what Suguru meant by that.
Eichi, Suguru, Artoria, and himself.
If Shoko were also present, all the students from their year would be reunited.
However, as Satoru said, Shoko was not a combatant, and she often did not accompany them on missions.
So the current situation was similar to their Tokyo Jujutsu High days.
Ten years had passed in the blink of an eye, and the four former companions once again stood side by side on the battlefield.
(To be continued.)