As the true names were called forth, an exquisitely ornate pure white outfit adorned with pale golden patterns rapidly materialised on Miko Yotsuya's body.
Rio Futaba's clothing formation was slightly slower than Miko's, clearly showing that her mastery of Soul Materialisation still lagged somewhat behind Miko's.
Just like last time on the train, Rio Futaba's outfit remained the same: a deathly white garment with sharp bone spikes at the joints and a bone full-face covering mask.
Though both primarily used white as their colour scheme, their outfits differed distinctly—one leaning toward ornate splendour, while the other, much like Rio Futaba's personality, toward quiet solemnity.
As for Mai Sakurajima, her Soul Materialisation ability hadn't yet reached the level where she could form a complete outfit without affecting her combat performance.
She merely chose to form an animal half-face mask adorned with pale pink accents.
As for what animal...
The two upright, ear-shaped ornaments made it clear: a rabbit.
"Let's go, Miko, Mai."
Hearing Rio Futaba's words, both Miko Yotsuya and Mai Sakurajima nodded.
"Bone Woman!"
"Yes."
The kimono-clad Bone Woman appeared once again, drawing two bone spikes from her body and handing them to Mai Sakurajima and Miko Yotsuya.
The next moment, the dozens of evil spirits opposite finally reacted.
The doctor evil spirit, in a blood-stained white coat, and the female evil spirit, in a blood-stained nurse's uniform, revealed twisted, ferocious expressions as they lunged toward Mai Sakurajima, Rio Futaba, and Miko Yotsuya, who stood there.
"Begin, Suzuhiko-hime."
As Mai Sakurajima's words fell, the graceful and beautiful Suzuhiko-hime, dressed in pale pink dancing attire, appeared behind her.
"Understood."
Suzuhiko-hime responded with a light laugh, an elegantly shaped, brightly coloured oil-paper umbrella appearing in her jade-white right hand.
She then gently rotated the umbrella.
A shower of scattered cherry blossom petals began to drift through the area.
After this breathtakingly beautiful scene appeared, the dozens of evil spirits seemed bound by something, their movements slowing significantly.
Miko Yotsuya certainly wouldn't miss such an opportunity.
She directly threw the bone spike in her hand, piercing through three evil spirits along its trajectory.
Immediately after, Miko Yotsuya swiftly moved to stand beside Shoko Makinohara and Hachishaku-sama within the area, extending her right hand towards Hachishaku-sama.
Understanding her intention, Hachishaku-sama promptly retrieved the long sword Miko typically used from within herself and handed it over.
"Open your eyes, Hyakume!"
Hyakume, who appeared rather provocative with a blindfold tied over her eyes, materialised behind Miko Yotsuya.
Upon appearing, she immediately scanned the surrounding evil spirits with the eyes covering her body and quickly made an assessment.
"Most are weak spirits that can't withstand a single blow, except for that one..."
Hyakume extended her right hand, pointing her index finger towards the grotesque, tentacle-waving evil spirit hiding behind the other spirits.
"That one is strong. Be careful, Miko."
"So that's how it is..."
Wearing an expression that suggested she'd expected this, Miko Yotsuya couldn't help but shake her head helplessly as she glanced at Ye Xing sitting nearby, watching the spectacle with a smile.
She'd come to realise something.
Ye Xing's criteria for judging evil spirits were completely different from hers, Rio Futaba's, Mai Sakurajima's, and the others.
In his eyes, evil spirits weren't classified by strength; they fell into three categories.
Edible.
Barely edible.
Not worth eating.
And what Ye Xing considered "not very strong" evil spirits were, in reality, already rare and terrifying entities capable of causing massive disasters.
Facing the remaining dozens of evil spirits, Miko Yotsuya gripped her long sword with both hands and spoke calmly.
"Let's begin, Hyakume."
"Alright."
As their words faded, Miko and Hyakume charged towards the dozens of evil spirits before them, their movements perfectly synchronised.
Their tacit understanding was only natural.
After all, when it came down to it, Miko Yotsuya and Hyakume were originally one, their hearts and minds connected.
Miko's movements were crisp and efficient, each swing of her blade decapitating an evil spirit.
Moreover, her professional experience as an exorcist meant she never forgot to deliver follow-up strikes as instinct dictated.
In comparison, Mai Sakurajima's Suzuhiko-hime had only developed auxiliary abilities to slow the movement of evil spirits and control the battlefield.
Coupled with the fact that neither she nor Rio Futaba possessed mental fortitude as strong as Miko's, they couldn't maintain composure while being in close contact with terrifying evil spirits.
Therefore, both Mai Sakurajima and Rio Futaba primarily remained on the periphery, playing supportive roles.
Watching as the evil spirits under its command were systematically eliminated by this human girl with golden pupils, the tentacled evil spirit's human-like head contorted into a vicious, twisted expression.
Its two eyeballs, connected by tentacles, scanned the area repeatedly.
These three human girls and the tall, white-clad evil spirit weren't enough to make it apprehensive.
While wiping out everyone might be impossible...
It remained confident it could seize that human girl with the enticing aura amidst the chaos.
However...
The tentacled evil spirit's gaze swept towards the human man sitting not far away, who wore a relaxed smile.
For some reason...
Just his presence there triggered an instinctive sense of danger within it.
It was as if every cell in her body was screaming to escape.
"Usually disguising itself as a human..."
Ye Xing took out his phone, swiped the screen, and searched online for a photo of the director of Kyoto City Hospital, comparing it with the tentacled evil spirit before him.
Sure enough, they looked exactly the same.
Another special anomaly born from the fusion of human twisted desires with an evil spirit.
"It seems you possess a certain degree of intelligence, and your personality is quite cautious, too."
Hearing Ye Xing's light chuckle, the sense of danger in the tentacled evil spirit intensified.
The next moment, it heard him speak a phrase in an utterly calm tone, yet with undeniable authority.
"Of course, no matter how cautious prey may be, they ultimately cannot escape being hunted."
Upon hearing this, the tentacled evil spirit didn't hesitate in the slightest. The fleshy mass of its lower body contracted violently.
Immediately after, it shot into the air like a bouncy ball, rapidly fleeing into the distance.
"Eh?"
Witnessing this scene, Miko Yotsuya—who had just finished slaying all the doctor and nurse evil spirits and hadn't even had time to catch her breath—was completely stunned.
Even the usually composed and calm Rio Futaba wore a look of astonishment, clearly not having anticipated this turn of events.
"The evil spirit... ran away?"
They rarely encountered evil spirits capable of suppressing their instinctual urge to kill humans and choosing to flee outright.
This wasn't a good sign; instead, it made Rio Futaba's heart grow heavier.
It indicated that the opponent's power was so formidable that even with Ye Xing suppressing his aura, it could still sense instinctive danger.
Moreover, the act of fleeing suggested that this evil spirit possessed some rational thinking ability and wasn't acting purely on instinct.
Last time, they had only eliminated one of its underlings, yet it had remained cautious and dormant for nearly a month without any movement.
If they let this one escape now, what dark corner would it hide in next?
And there was the most crucial point.
Rio Futaba couldn't determine whether this special evil spirit, fused with a human body, could still disguise itself as a human after revealing its true form.
If it really could do that...
Then that would be troublesome.
"Ye Xing! Quick..."
"Alright, alright."
Hearing Rio Futaba's call, Ye Xing stood up, stretched lazily, and looked at the evil spirit that had already fled nearly a hundred metres away, revealing a kind smile.
"This one runs quite fast, doesn't it?"
After saying this, Ye Xing turned to Rio Futaba and the others and posed an unexpectedly abstract question.
"Do you think an evil spirit that exercises often might be like free-range livestock—tastier than ordinary evil spirits?"
"Uh..."
Mai Sakurajima, Rio Futaba, Shoko Makinohara, Miko Yotsuya, and even Hachishaku-sama, who was an evil spirit herself, all wore expressions of speechlessness at this abstract question.
How were they supposed to answer that?
Aside from Hachishaku-sama, none of the others had ever eaten an evil spirit.
They'd eaten plenty of other things, though...
"Stop messing around here."
Rio Futaba stepped forward, slapped Ye Xing's shoulder in annoyance, then untied her high ponytail with an air of giving up completely.
"Well, you handle the cleanup from here. We can't catch up anyway."
"Fiiine."
Ye Xing responded casually, his gaze fixed on the evil spirit that had gradually vanished from sight, now reduced to a tiny black dot in the distance. The smile faded from his face, replaced by a look of madness and excitement in his dark eyes.
'It's only fun when you watch them tremble in fear.'
Black flames ignited across his face.
Shoko Makinohara, witnessing this scene, was about to cry out in alarm when she saw the layers of black flames coalesce into a pure black mask.
Ye Xing's entire outfit transformed from casual wear into the black overcoat he wore when battling evil spirits.
The hem of the overcoat trailed like burning black flames, leaving only an afterglow in the air.
Watching Ye Xing chase after the fleeing evil spirit that left only a black afterimage, rapidly disappearing from view, Shoko Makinohara stood stunned for a long moment before her eyes lit up with amazement and she slightly parted her lips.
"So... so cool."
Menma nodded in agreement beside her.
"Mhm, really cool! Just like a superhero!"
"Ah, this guy..."
Rio Futaba dispelled her Soul Materialisation, took her glasses from her lab coat pocket and put them back on.
She had to admit.
Ye Xing's transformation scene was indeed cool.
Especially when contrasted with his usual abstract, nonsensical and frivolous personality - that instant shift to complete seriousness, that ruthless attitude without any mercy...
He's playing with contrasts, too.
Thinking this, Rio Futaba even felt somewhat inexplicably excited.
"Sister Mai, can I become an exorcist too?"
Upon hearing Shoko Makinohara's question, Mai Sakurajima's eyes flickered slightly before she offered a gentle smile and replied softly.
"Yes, if you keep up with your treatment and grow up a bit more, you definitely can. Then you'll be able to join our Supernatural Society."
For psychics like Shoko Makinohara who possessed Mystic Eyes, if they encountered them at school, Mai Sakurajima and the others would indeed want them to join the Supernatural Society and become allies in fighting against the supernatural.
Besides, Shoko Makinohara's personality was very good too.
It's just...
Thinking of Shoko Makinohara's condition, Mai Sakurajima and the others felt somewhat heavy-hearted.
What a pity.
"Growing up..."
Shoko Makinohara murmured these words, her eyes showing disappointment.
If only she could grow up, become a high school student like Ye Xing...
How wonderful would that be?
...
Meanwhile.
"Running quite fast."
Watching the tentacled evil spirit bouncing around like a rubber ball, escaping with remarkable speed, Ye Xing chuckled lightly.
This was the first time he'd seen such a cowardly evil spirit.
But just as Rio Futaba had thought.
Cowardice didn't mean this evil spirit was less dangerous - rather, it meant it was more troublesome to deal with than those spirits that only had brute strength and knew nothing but killing.
This thing had tried to possess Shoko Makinohara's body, after all.
It wasn't that it bore no malice toward humans - it just felt its current power wasn't sufficient yet.
Once it grew stronger, it was hard to imagine what kind of fear this evil spirit, currently disguised as the director of Kyoto Municipal Hospital, might unleash.
Just as Ye Xing had said before.
Simply by going around the intensive care units pulling out tubes every night, it could kill dozens of people in a single evening.
Although the tentacled evil spirit moved quickly, it clearly couldn't match Ye Xing's speed.
The distance between them was visibly closing.
Moreover, it was already beginning to feel exhausted.
Just then, the tentacled evil spirit spotted a 24-hour convenience store in the distance, still glowing with light.
Though it should have been avoiding human sight, it headed straight for the convenience store entrance.
Then, the tentacles on the evil spirit's upper body retracted into its suit.
The wriggling mass of flesh below also transformed back into normal human legs, once again disguising itself in human form.
It rushed to the convenience store entrance in quick strides, just as a human girl with long, straight black hair emerged from inside, holding an onigiri.
"Help... help me!"
The evil spirit's disguise was flawless, appearing as a panicked, innocent middle-aged man being pursued as it charged towards the human girl.
Contrary to the frantic expression on its face, its eyes revealed a twisted, ferocious glare.
This evil spirit was far more cunning than ordinary evil spirits.
It didn't believe that the black masked man pursuing it would dare to kill its completely human-looking form in front of other humans.
Even if the other party dared to do such a thing, as long as it could take this long-haired human girl hostage, there was a high chance of escape.
The plan this evil spirit had conceived was utterly malicious.
But the next moment, something completely unexpected happened.
"Don't come near me."
The long-black-haired human girl frowned slightly, her slender, elegant eyes sharpening as she protected the onigiri in her hand. With a perfectly executed side kick, she sent the charging evil spirit sprawling to the ground.
"Help... help me..."
Even as it was kicked down, the evil spirit hadn't finished its lines.
Ye Xing walked over slowly, not even glancing at the fallen creature, a black pistol materialising in his hand.
Bang!
With the gunshot, a bullet formed from evil spirit power directly pierced through the evil spirit's head.
Until its death, it couldn't comprehend.
Had humans... become like this now?
Faced with its desperate plea for help, not only did she not assist, but she delivered a side kick?
The poor tentacled evil spirit, possessing power far greater than ordinary evil spirits, had schemed itself into trouble and ended up with a bullet through its head.
"Kazusa."
Hearing Ye Xing's voice, Kazusa Touma tucked her hair behind her ear and nodded with unusual calmness.
Watching the evil spirit's body gradually dissipate on the ground, she finally spoke.
"Exorcism?"
"What else did you think I was doing? Cosplay?"
Kazusa Touma frowned slightly, puzzled.
"But ordinary humans can't see evil spirits, right?"
Ye Xing rolled his eyes, retorting.
"Weren't these matters about such entities discussed many times during internal meetings? You really didn't listen at all."
Kazusa Touma nodded quite honestly.
"Mm, I didn't listen at all."
Ye Xing, curious, asked.
"Then what did you think it was at first? Human?"
"Mm, I thought it was some perverted middle-aged man."
"And you watched me shoot it in the head..."
Kazusa Touma remained completely calm, her expression unwavering.
"It doesn't matter. Even if you killed someone in front of me, I'd only help you cover it up."
Kazusa Touma spoke these words with a flat tone, full of loyal dog attributes, then brushed her long hair, a flicker of nervousness in her eyes as she softly added.
"Um... are you free tomorrow night?"
Ye Xing replied casually.
"Tomorrow, Saturday? I'm free, why do you ask?"
Kazusa Touma pursed her lips and spoke hesitantly.
"Could... you accompany me somewhere? Of course, if you have more important matters, then forget it."
"Hey, what kind of talk is that?"
Ye Xing laughed, once again deploying his signature direct approach.
"What could possibly be more important than you?"
Hearing this, a flicker of shyness passed through Kazusa Touma's eyes, though she maintained a cool expression on her face, letting out a light hum.
"Stop with that routine. See you tomorrow then."
"Alright, see you tomorrow."
After Kazusa Touma left, Ye Xing, still maintaining his Mask appearance, entered the convenience store.
The convenience store cashier, who had witnessed the entire exchange, was leaning against the wall, trembling.
Ye Xing walked to the freezer, took out a bottle of Coca-Cola, then pulled money from his pocket and placed it on the counter.
"What are you looking at?"
Seeing the clerk's expression as if he'd seen a ghost, Ye Xing's voice carried amusement.
"Even a righteous Masked Knight needs to enjoy an ice-cold Coca-Cola after work."