"How... how is this possible..."
Faced with the gaze of the spider-like evil spirit, Miko Yotsuya felt as though her entire body had plunged into an icy abyss. A bone-deep chill crept through her, paralyzing her limbs.
She wanted to run—desperately—but her body wouldn't respond. She couldn't even move a finger.
Her golden pupils trembled. This time, however, she didn't cry.
Not because she wasn't afraid, but because she'd grown numb from fear.
"You... can see me!"
The spider evil spirit shrieked with a chilling screech. Several long legs clamped down on the rooftop, its massive body blotting out the warm sunlight overhead.
From its throat, it let out an eerie, distorted sound that made her skin crawl. The human faces embedded on its body suddenly stretched out and lunged toward Miko, their mouths wide open to bite.
"Am I... going to die?"
As the evil spirit closed in, Miko suddenly felt a strange calmness wash over her. The world around her seemed to still.
In that moment between life and death, what filled her mind wasn't fear.
It was regret.
What exactly is the "door" that Kiba Hoshiki spoke of? What's the secret behind these evil spirits?
It seemed she'd never know the answer.
Just as the putrid mouth of the creature was about to clamp down on her delicate neck, a human arm suddenly thrust forward and blocked the attack.
With a sickening squelch of flesh and bone, blood burst from the wound and quickly pooled on the rooftop's smooth surface.
"You okay?"
The familiar voice made Miko lift her head.
Standing in front of her, between her and the monstrous evil spirit, was Kiba Hoshiki. His usual sleepy expression hadn't changed. In fact, he was even yawning.
That lazy, relaxed face—like someone sunbathing on a beach—clashed violently with the scene of razor-sharp fangs buried in his bleeding arm.
"Looks like you're not hurt."
Kiba glanced at her, gave a half-hearted nod, and then turned to face the spider-shaped monstrosity.
He smiled softly.
"So... was I tasty?"
The evil spirit seemed stunned. It clearly hadn't expected such a casual response—not to mention a joke—from its prey.
But within a second, its four bulbous eyes spun rapidly. Black smoke began to rise from its grotesque body.
"You can see me too!? DIE!"
The creature yanked back its head, reeling in a few meters as if preparing another charge—and then lunged again.
"Wow, you've even got a catapult start. Nice."
Kiba's dry humor made Miko feel like she'd entered a surreal dream.
Is he seriously making jokes at a time like this?
Still… even if she didn't quite understand what a "catapult start" was, the phrase felt strangely appropriate for how the evil spirit moved.
"It's over."
Kiba said the words softly.
The next instant, Miko watched in stunned disbelief as the evil spirit's enormous spider-like body swelled like an overfilled balloon.
"Boom!"
With a thunderous explosion, the creature—large enough to blanket the rooftop in shadow—burst into a cloud of thick black smoke.
It dissipated slowly into the air.
"What... just happened?"
Miko stared, stunned, unable to process what she had just seen.
Why did it explode?
"Alright, that's taken care of."
Kiba's voice snapped her back to reality.
The adrenaline ebbed away, and her legs buckled beneath her. She collapsed to the ground. All the fear she hadn't had time to process before came crashing down at once.
"Calm down."
Seeing her gasping for breath, tears welling in her eyes and giving her a strangely vulnerable beauty, Kiba reached out and patted her shoulder.
He remembered—in the anime's original storyline—how she'd wet herself in fear on the train. If she lost control here on the rooftop, cleaning up would be a pain.
"K-Kiba..."
Miko's trembling pupils fixed on him. She clutched his sleeve tightly, her voice faltering.
"T-The evil spirit... it was disguised as Hiratsuka-sensei!"
"Yeah, I know."
"No, listen—really listen! It didn't just look like her. It became her!"
"I said I heard you."
Kiba remained nonchalant.
Miko frowned in frustration, thinking maybe she hadn't explained it clearly enough. She tried again.
"Don't you get it? That thing took on the appearance of—"
"I said I heard you. Loud and clear."
Kiba shrugged.
"What, do you want me to get all serious and condemn the vile creature for using such a low tactic to deceive an innocent schoolgirl?"
"Uhh..."
Miko was speechless. That wasn't her point. She just wanted him to understand how serious this was.
Whether he didn't understand or simply didn't care was unclear.
Given what little time she'd spent with him so far, the latter seemed more likely.
Yet, somehow, after his light-hearted teasing, she felt... calmer.
She placed a hand on her chest, recalling the explosion just now, then looked at him with curiosity.
"Why did it explode like that? Is that your special ability?"
"Hmm... how should I put it."
Kiba tapped his chin thoughtfully, then smiled.
"Let's just say it's part of my special constitution."
"Think of me as a living collection of all the evil spirits I've devoured."
"How many? I honestly lost count. But probably several hundred at this point."
"Even a drop of my blood is way too much for ordinary evil spirits to handle. So in simple terms—"
"It exploded from being overstuffed."
Miko nodded blankly. The emotional whiplash of terror, relief, and absurdity left her beyond logical thought.
Her entire worldview had been shattered in just one day.
"By the way..."
Still clutching Kiba's arm for balance, Miko slowly stood up. Her voice was still shaky.
"I've never encountered an evil spirit that could take on a human appearance before. I really thought I was going to die."
Kiba nodded, his tone more serious now.
"Even if it wasn't planned, it's actually a good thing."
"Huh?" Miko blinked, confused. "What's good about it?"
Kiba responded casually:
"What you just saw—the evil spirit taking human form—is one of the effects of the Door."