Nereis village was a small village located a little far away from the border. The villagers were well acquainted with Eric Flavell, so they were received well. Gojo, after getting down from the horse cart went to the nearby forests to explore the surroundings. Grisella eagerly followed him.
They went into the nearby forests to fight demon beasts. However most of that were horned rabbits or occasionally a wild boar. Gaining experience has been pretty decent these days. However Gojo still wanted to fight stronger monsters.
Soon they returned to the village in the afternoon to eat lunch. After lunch they continued with their hunting practice till dusk. As they were walking back towards the village, Grisella noticed some movement in some bushes a little far away.
" Gojo, can I go and check over there ? There might be something hiding in the bushes." said Grisella.
" Sure, it looks like a horned rabbit is still alive here. " said Gojo.
Grisella took a few steps forward when suddenly Gojo grabbed her arm.
" What happened ? What's wro- " Grisella didn't have to finish her sentence as soon an arrow almost struck her throat but was grabbed by Gojo.
" I guess, we got some visitors. " said Gojo and stared at the bushes.
Two figures in violet cloaks came out of the bushes in front of them.
" Hoho, seems like the supervisor was correct when he described them as pretty strong adventurers. " spoke one of the cloaked figures. Then the man in the cloak turned back at Gojo and pulled out a small sack out of his clothes.
" Let's see how you survive this ?" said the man as he hurled the sack towards them.
" Watch out Grisella ! " shouted Gojo as dark grey smoke surrounded them. He started coughing frantically at the beginning but used his reversed cursed technique to get adjusted. Through his six eyes he felt multiple people around them. They had been surrounded.
He stayed alert as he searched for Grisella when he heard footsteps approaching from from his front. Soon a figure in violet cloak with daggers in hands emerged through the smoke and attacked him head on. Gojo dodged his stabs before punching his face twice and knocking him down.
Suddenly a thick rope emerged from behind him and tightened around his waist. Before he could do something two more ropes emerged from behind him and tightened around his hands. Soon ropes also tied around his legs. He couldn't move properly. It was in situations like this teleportation was necessary. Also the ropes had been thickened by magic making escape near impossible. However he did have infinity.
" Haha, now let's see how you escape. " He heard at a distance behind him. Another man in violet cloak emerged in front of him and attempted to stab him.He dodged them again. Then an idea came to his mind. In his previous life although he had never headbutt anyone so he decided to use this chance to test it. He spit at the attacker. This provoked the attacker to come close as he tried to behead Gojo. Gojo then hit the man's forehead with his own. As man got stunned and retreated in the smoke dropping his dagger.
Then Gojo ran back rapidly. After sometime he saw the three mages who were using the ropes to tie them down. Gojo freed himself from the ropes and walked towards them. The three mages took notice of him. They looked pretty surprised as they didn't think someone could escape their ropes so easily.
But before they could do anything, Gojo punched one of them out cold. He then turned his attention towards another mage and sent him flying with a punch before he could act. The third mage turned out to be a bit skillful. He could use fortitude on himself. He stopped Gojo's punch by blocking it with his crossed arms. However soon he got hit with a black flash throwing him back.
Gojo then looked around for Grisella. Soon he saw her being dragged by two mages and completely disoriented. He knocked down of the mages. The other mage tried to utter some spell bur was sent flying back by Gojo. He turned towards Grisella who was almost falling unconscious.
" Grisella ! Wake up, we need to get away from here. " said Gojo and he shook Grisella. However this did not work. So he slapped her across the face. After a few slaps, she came to her senses.
" We need to get away from here. We don't know how many of them are attacking us in total. " shouted Gojo. Grisella nodded in agreement and started running. Soon they got out of the smoke.
After running some distance away they heaved a sigh of relief when they heard footsteps approaching them from the front. They looked up and saw a figure wearing a violet cloak and wearing a light grey mask approach them.
" My! my! What do we have here ?" said the man. " I didn't expect you to escape my boys, but you did. Not that it changes anything since I'm here. "
The man pulled out two shiny daggers and said " Well ! I guess I'll be ending it. Fight with your full power, let's see who manages to overpower whom ?"
After saying this he rushed at them and sliced at them with his daggers. Although Gojo managed to dodge the attack, he heard a clung from behind him. Grisella had almost dodged the attack but one of the daggers hit her armour slightly and she almost fell to the ground.
" Looks like you are the weak one. " said the masked man as he chuckled from behind the mask. He hurled a couple of small egg shaped devices at them.
" Let's run behind, I have a bad feeling about these devices. " said Gojo. Grisella was already prepared for attack so she took a few steps back. As soon as the devices hit the ground they caused massive explosions. Gojo stood in front of Grisella in order to protect her with his infinity. There was a bright flash of reddish yellow light during the explosions which quickly subsided. As everything came into view. Gojo looked around him he saw small fires burning around him. The device was like a grenade. He then turned towards Grisella. She was sitting on her knees, covering her hears and sobbing lightly.
" Grisella, you alright ?" asked Gojo. However, she paid no heed to him and kept on sobbing and then dropped to the ground. Gojo had seen this in his previous life. Jujutsu sorcerers, were no strangers to PTSD. In fact, if you had it then you had to get over it if you wanted to remain a sorcerer. Otherwise one was as good as dead. If the PTSD was not enough, one could break down due to the loss of their comrades. The exact reason why Nanami had quit, but he later returned and stood like a great pillar in front of the rookie inexperienced sorcerers.
" Ha ha ha, so you survived again ? I guess you're tough. Although, your weaker friend seems to be out of it. After all, this was pretty much expected. However that's just a fraction of my feats. " The masked man said as he looked at Gojo.
" It, would be a waste kill talented people like you. Would you like to join us ? Well, in case you're indecisive, I'll be giving you a week to decide. After a week, I'll come and ask you about your decision. Choose wisely as your decision will not only decide your life but your friend's life as well. Till then, don't even try to mess with our business. If you do that, both of you would die by my hands. " said the man and gestured towards Grisella.
" Alright, we are meeting in a week. Till, that day take care of her and yourself. My boys have already left. So farewell adventurer. " said the man as he dropped another device that covered the area around him. By the time the smoke cleared he had disappeared.
Gojo then turned back towards Grisella. She had now calmed down a little, but she still sat there. In his previous life he had seldom cared for anyone else who was suffering. However, Grisella was an orphan who was abandoned near Seldis in the forests at the age of two. So he knew nothing about her life before that.
" I'm sorry, if I am overbearing. But I hope you get over it soon. We need to get back, as it's already dusk. " said Gojo with a calm voice. By this time Grisella seemed to have gotten over it and she stood up. Her voice was a bit shaky.
Gojo had many questions in his mind. But he decided to keep quiet as they hurried back to the village.