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For Mai, who had never fought before, the undead was a nightmare made flesh.
Even the most realistic horror props didn't compare to the real thing.
Up close, she could even smell its rancid breath.
So this is what Miko used to see all the time?
Before she made a contract with Rosen… how did she even survive?!
Bzzzt—!
The undead lunged, ready to swallow her whole. Miko instinctively moved to help, but Rosen stopped her.
He had everything under control.
The undead passed right through where Mai had been—because she had vanished.
Confused, it quickly turned toward the two visible humans nearby.
With a shrill cry, it didn't even have time to move before a sudden spear of light pierced it.
Holy energy tore through its body, reducing it to black ash.
The next moment, Mai reappeared—clutching an uneven spear of light, trembling, wide-eyed, gasping like she'd just fought for her life.
This was the normal reaction for a first encounter.
Sure, horror movie audiences mocked characters for screaming and making dumb decisions, but fear was natural.
Screaming, freezing, panicking—or lashing out in blind anger—were all valid reactions to shock. Most people fell into the first two categories.
Miko could now kill an undead solo without batting an eye, but that was only because she'd had time to adapt.
Mai, on the other hand, was still—at her core—a former idol from a light supernatural rom-com.
She was just a regular person.
She had shown bravery in her original story, sure, but being afraid was a different matter entirely.
Still, the fact that she instinctively activated her "vanishing" ability and quickly counterattacked showed she could adapt.
If she'd stayed hidden the whole time, Rosen might've considered keeping her around purely for decoration.
"Not bad," he said. "Far from perfect, but for your first fight? I'll give you a pass."
"That's greati!" Miko cheered, more excited than when she'd landed her first kill.
"…Mm."
Mai let out a soft sound. She clearly hadn't heard the compliment—if you could call it that.
Her hands were still shaking, fear mixing with frustration at her own reaction.
If this kept up, Rosen would laugh at her—and she wasn't about to embarrass herself in front of her junior.
"I'd let you write a battle reflection, but… looks like those undead over there already noticed you," Rosen said.
He had been suppressing his own presence to give his two familiars real combat experience.
Otherwise, none of these undead would've even dared come near him.
From the depths of the alley, more undead emerged, drawn by the earlier noise—missing limbs, twisted forms, grotesque mutations, each more nightmarish than the last.
Rosen stepped back, leaving the stage to the two girls.
With light spears in hand, they looked like angels from a legend.
Their movements were awkward, their technique clumsy—but against the undead, it was like slicing through paper.
In less than a minute, all twenty were down.
"Alright, let's move on," Rosen said, pointing deeper into the alley.
"Right!" Miko's energy hadn't faded. Mai, no longer as afraid, was starting to get used to the fight.
With the ability to destroy monsters in her hands, all she needed to do was get over how they looked—and she could cut them down easily.
Especially with her vanishing ability—if she mastered it, the monsters wouldn't even be able to touch her.
She was starting to see why Rosen had called it a "god-tier" skill.
By the time the sun began to set, they had taken down more than seventy undead.
The two girls were sweating lightly, their stamina partially drained.
Rosen clapped his hands. "Alright, that's enough for today. Let's eat, then I'll give you a debrief."
Neither objected.
They still had some fight left in them—but their stomachs were growling.
Rosen took them to a nearby family restaurant. After eating, he led them back to his place.
"..."
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