As Miko's voice faded, the black mist before her instantly took human form.
A woman with long black hair, slender figure, and a beautiful, doll-like expressionless face stood blocking Hachishaku-sama's path, wearing a traditional kimono and wooden sandals.
Most eerie was the dark hemp cloth wrapped around her eye area, completely obscuring her vision.
Even more disturbing were the pairs of eyeballs - whites only, lacking pupils or focus - that opened on the backs of her hands beneath the wide kimono sleeves.
This was the manifestation of Miko Yotsuya's soul: Hyakume, a yokai from legend just like Hachishaku-sama.
"This is... my power..."
Miko murmured to herself, taking a deep breath as she gazed at Hachishaku-sama before her. No trace of fear remained in her golden eyes, replaced instead by resolute determination.
"Go, Hyakume!"
As the other side of Miko's psyche, the embodiment of her own soul, Hyakume - though modelled after a legendary yokai - was fundamentally one with Miko and would never disobey her commands.
The eyeballs on Hyakume's hands rotated slightly, fixing on Hachishaku-sama before her.
Within those blank white orbs, black pupils suddenly condensed, locking Hachishaku-sama in their terrifying, chilling gaze.
"I see you now."
Hyakume's voice was ethereal, carrying profound melancholy.
Yet her movements were faster than the fading echoes of her words.
In the blink of an eye, her hands grasped Hachishaku-sama's arms, sharp nails digging deep into the flesh.
No blood flowed.
Evil spirits don't bleed.
Only wisps of black Qi emanating from the wounds and Hachishaku-sama's slightly contorted expression proved Hyakume had truly harmed her.
"Die! Die! Die!"
Hachishaku-sama's long hair flew wildly as she shrieked like an evil spirit crawling from hell.
The scattered yellowed paper fragments on the floor instantly gathered, wrapping around Hyakume's body.
Naturally, Hyakume wouldn't await death passively.
Though her frame was far smaller than Hachishaku-sama's, her strength seemed no less, forcibly dragging Hachishaku-sama into the stairwell at the corridor's end.
Bang.
Only when she heard the security door slam shut did Miko belatedly snap back to awareness.
A wave of exhaustion and dizziness suddenly flooded her body.
"Huff... huff..."
Miko Yotsuya sat leaning against the door of Yui Yuigahama's house, massaging her temples with one hand, clearly struggling.
'So this is the toll of Soul Materialisation... this feeling is truly unpleasant.'
When she first summoned Hyakume, Miko had thought she'd finally gained the power to fight against those 'things', feeling an immense relief as the tables had turned.
However, the Soul Materialisation capable of combating evil spirits naturally came at a cost.
Not something as severe as lifespan or body parts, but rather stamina and mental energy.
From the moment Hyakume appeared, barely a minute had passed before Miko felt utterly drained.
It was like having stayed awake for three days and nights, then forcing herself to solve complex mathematical problems.
Both her mind and body had gone numb.
This made Miko realise even more clearly that as an exorcist fighting evil spirits, Ye Xing was far more excellent than her.
In that abandoned building, Ye Xing had maintained that giant white hand for nearly three minutes.
And after landing, he hadn't shown the slightest sign of fatigue.
That level of stamina could only be described as monstrous.
"Miko? Miko? Are you alright?"
When Miko saw the cold floor gradually enlarging in her vision, she realised one thing.
She was leaning against Yui Yuigahama's front door.
And Yui Yuigahama's front door opened outwards.
Thud.
"Eh!?"
When Yui Yuigahama pushed open the door while holding Sable, she saw Miko lying prone on the cold floor in a perfect face-down position.
Looking utterly bewildered, she hesitated for several seconds before asking uncertainly.
"Miko, are you... drunk?"
Yui had seen plenty of drunkards collapsed by the roadside, whether from business dinners or drowning their sorrows.
Apart from drunkenness, she couldn't think of any reason why Miko would be lying face down on the cold corridor floor in the middle of the night.
"Yu... Yui, go back inside quickly."
Faced with Miko's strained words, Yui blinked in surprise before giggling sweetly.
"Miko, this is the first time you've called me by my first name. I'm happy."
Miko nearly fainted from frustration. If she hadn't been completely drained of energy, unable to even move a finger, she would have leapt up and punched Yui twice.
What kind of time was this for such irrelevant chatter?
But then Yui's next words made Miko's pupils contract in shock.
"What are all these things?"
Yui crouched down and picked up a yellowed scrap of paper, puzzled.
"Is this... spirit money?"
"You... you can see it?"
"Of course I can, the floor's covered with them."
Yui looked around in confusion, muttering to herself.
"Mum's disappeared too, nowhere in the house. And what are all these things on the floor? They look kind of creepy."
Miko felt as if she'd been plunged into an icy abyss.
What on earth is going on?
Why can Yui Yuigahama see the scattered scraps of paper on the ground?
Wait a minute.
Is this really still the apartment building where Yui Yuigahama lives?
Miko Yotsuya's brain was already overloaded by this sudden turn of events.
Just then.
The stairwell door was suddenly flung open with a heavy thud.
Bang!
At the same time the sound rang out, Miko sensed it.
Her Soul Materialisation, Hyakume...
Had already been torn apart by Hachishaku-sama.
"W-what is that..."
Seeing the white-clad Hachishaku-sama slowly emerge from the stairwell door, hunched over to fit through, even the usually oblivious Yui realised something was terribly wrong.
"Yui, run—"
Miko's words cut off abruptly.
Run?
Run where?
There was nowhere to run.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
Sable wriggled free from Yui's arms, landing on the ground and baring his teeth at the approaching Hachishaku-sama, growling fiercely in an attempt to scare the entity away.
But Hachishaku-sama's footsteps didn't pause. Her bare, snow-white feet trod upon the yellowed paper scraps, producing faint rustling sounds.
'Get up, I have to get up.'
Miko thought this desperately, but clearly her stamina was completely spent. Forget summoning Hyakume again—even mustering all her strength, she could barely manage to sit up from the floor.
Just as Hachishaku-sama came within five metres of the two girls and despair gripped Miko's heart, an unexpected change occurred.
Whoosh.
The yellowed paper scraps before Hachishaku-sama suddenly burst into black flames.
Her raised right foot slowly withdrew. The eyes hidden within her seaweed-like black hair turned towards the space behind Miko and Yui.
Hearing that familiar, casually amused voice from behind her, Miko's despair instantly gave way to calm.
"Kyoto's Number One Exorcist, at your service."