In a secret base.
"You're late. I thought you'd forgotten about me."
A man wrapped entirely in white bandages sat in a nutrient medium, with only a few messy tufts of short hair showing on his head.
Countless IV tubes and thick electrical cables hung down from above, plugged into him.
It was Mechamaru, bound by a heavenly binding vow.
Mahito waved a hand in disgust, dispersing the foul smell around his nose.
"Disgusting. It still smells moldy in here!"
Choso followed quietly beside him without a word.
Mechamaru was clearly surprised not to see Suguru Geto.
"Who's he?"
Mahito grinned maliciously. "No need to introduce him. We're enemies anyway, so we can just kill you."
Choso stopped Mahito. "Geto gave us instructions before we left."
"He helped you with intelligence. In exchange, you're supposed to use Idle Transfiguration to heal his body."
"The binding vow is already established. Even if you want to kill him, you have to wait until after the treatment."
Hearing this, Mechamaru immediately protested:
"Not attacking anyone from Kyoto Jujutsu High was part of the binding vow too. You've already broken it."
Mahito immediately put on a shameless expression and spread his hands mockingly.
"Hanami was the one who attacked them. What's that got to do with us?"
"Don't take your anger out on us."
A cold gleam flashed through Mechamaru's eyes.
"I'm not going to argue with a cursed spirit. Hurry up and heal me."
"Trash!"
Hearing the word trash, Mahito rubbed his chin and began to threaten him.
"What should I do? I feel like I might use too much force and turn him into a caterpillar!"
However, a binding vow established with another person could not be broken.
Breaking a binding vow imposed on oneself merely meant losing the benefits gained; the