"H-how... how is this possible..."
Under the gaze of the spider evil spirit, Miko felt as though she'd been submerged in ice, a deep chill penetrating her bones.
She wanted to turn and run, but her body wouldn't obey—she couldn't even move a finger.
Miko's golden pupils trembled, but this time she didn't cry.
Not because she wasn't afraid, but because she'd been frightened numb.
"You can see me!"
The spider evil spirit let out a piercing shriek, its multiple legs planted around the rooftop, its massive body completely blocking out the warm sunlight.
It emitted an incomprehensible yet bone-chilling sound from its throat as the human face on its spider body suddenly elongated, lunging to bite Miko.
"Am I... going to die?"
Facing the evil spirit's attack, Miko suddenly felt an odd sense of peace.
At this life-or-death moment, what surfaced in her mind wasn't fear.
But regret.
What exactly were the "Gate" and the secrets of evil spirits that Ye Xing had mentioned?
It seemed she would never get the answer to that question.
Just as the foul-smelling mouth of the evil spirit was about to sink into Miko's snow-white neck, an arm suddenly blocked its path.
With a sickening sound of flesh tearing, blood from the wound pooled on the smooth ground, forming a crimson puddle.
"You okay?"
Hearing the voice beside her ear, Miko instinctively looked up.
Ye Xing stood between her and the evil spirit, his face still wearing that sleepy, lazy expression—he was even yawning.
This carefree expression, as if he were sunbathing on a beach, enjoying vacation, created a stark contrast with the scene of the evil spirit's sharp teeth buried deep in Ye Xing's arm, blood oozing from the wound.
"Seems like you're unharmed."
Ye Xing glanced at Miko and nodded indifferently upon seeing that she appeared fine.
Then he turned to the spider-shaped evil spirit and flashed a friendly smile.
"Tastes good?"
The spider evil spirit seemed taken aback—clearly not expecting such a calm reaction to its terrifying appearance, let alone a joke. It froze momentarily.
But in the next second, its four eyeballs began rapidly rotating as black Qi emanated from its body.
"You can see me too?! I'll kill you!"
The evil spirit released its bite, retracting its neck several meters like a spring coiling before lunging forward again.
"Wow, you can do a catapult start, too?"
Hearing Ye Xing's amused remark, Miko felt a sense of absurdity.
At now of all times, he's making snarky comments?
But...
Miko Yotsuya didn't know what "launching like a catapult" meant, but she couldn't help feeling that the phrase eerily matched the way evil spirits attacked.
"It's over."
Facing the evil spirit lunging at him with gnashing teeth, Ye Xing merely uttered these quiet words.
The next second, Miko saw the massive spider-like body of the evil spirit swell up like a water-filled balloon.
Boom!
With a deafening explosion, the colossal evil spirit—large enough to blot out the sun and cover the entire rooftop—burst apart, dissolving into a cloud of black smoke that gradually dissipated.
"What… was that?!"
Stunned by the unbelievable sight, Miko gaped in shock.
What just happened?
Why did the evil spirit suddenly explode?
"Alright, done."
Only when she heard Ye Xing's voice did Miko snap out of her daze.
Her legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the ground. The fear she hadn't had time to process earlier now surged through her all at once as she finally relaxed.
"Calm down."
Seeing Miko panting heavily, her eyes brimming with tears—an oddly alluring sight—Ye Xing quickly patted her shoulder to reassure her.
He remembered from the anime's original plot that she had once been so terrified by an evil spirit on a train that she'd wet herself.
If that happened again on this rooftop, it'd be a real mess to deal with.
"Ye… Ye Xing."
Miko's pupils trembled as she clutched his sleeve, her voice shaking.
"Th-the evil spirit… it disguised itself as Ms. Hiratsuka!"
"Yeah, I got it."
"No, listen! You didn't see it—the evil spirit just turned into Ms. Hiratsuka right in front of me!"
"I told you, I heard you."
Seeing Ye Xing completely unfazed, Miko froze for a second, thinking she hadn't explained clearly enough, and hurriedly added,
"Don't you get it? The evil spirit pretended to be—"
"I said I heard you. Loud and clear."
Ye Xing shrugged, utterly indifferent.
"You've said it three times now. What exactly do you want? For me to condemn that cunning evil spirit for using such a lowly trick to deceive an innocent high school girl?"
"Uh…"
Miko was at a loss for words. That wasn't what she meant at all—she just wanted to emphasise how serious the situation was.
She couldn't tell if Ye Xing genuinely didn't understand or if he simply didn't care.
Based on her less-than-a-day experience with him, the latter seemed far more likely.
Somehow, after this exchange, Miko found herself feeling much calmer.
Gently pressing a hand to her chest, she recalled the earlier scene and couldn't help but ask curiously,
"Why did that evil spirit suddenly explode? Is that another one of your special abilities?"
"How should I explain this…"
Ye Xing paused briefly before smiling and answering,
"You could say it's a unique trait of mine."
"I'm essentially the combined form of all the evil spirits I've ever devoured."
"How many, exactly? I don't remember—somewhere around a few hundred, I guess."
"Even a single drop of my blood is more than a common evil spirit can handle. To put it simply, it was… overstuffed."
Miko Yotsuya numbly nodded. Under the relentless assault of fear, shock, and overwhelming emotions, she couldn't muster any reaction to Ye Xing's words.
After this day, her worldview had completely collapsed.
"By the way," Miko said, pulling herself up with Ye Xing's arm as support, her eyes still haunted by the lingering terror as she recalled the evil spirit.
"I've never encountered an evil spirit that could disguise itself as a human before. I almost died."
Ye Xing gave a slight nod, his smile fading as he replied calmly,
"Though it wasn't my intention, this is for the best."
Miko tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean, 'for the best'?"
Ye Xing answered nonchalantly,
"What you just witnessed—the evil spirit disguising itself as a human—is one of the effects brought about by the Gate."