Chapter 2: Mystery
Souta Enjou quickly found a large hall the orphanage's main activity room.
Except… it wasn't supposed to be here. This place hadn't existed before, yet now it stood within the warped orphanage like part of some twisted dream.
Racing inside, Souta Enjou scanned the room for an escape route, readying himself for what was coming.
The eerie noises grew louder.
With a creak, the doors burst open and a swarm of distorted creatures poured in. They were the same small ghosts he'd seen before, but now there were far more of them.
Their mouths opened, shrieking in distorted, unintelligible cries as they rushed at him from all sides. The sheer number of them made his skin crawl.
He gritted his teeth.
He could use telekinesis to enhance his body, yes but there was a limit. He was still just a child. Fighting this many enemies would be brutal.
"I'll have to thin them out first. There's no way to escape. Once my strength starts to fade, I'll find somewhere to hide."
The first wave hit and Souta Enjou struck back.
With fluid precision, he tore through the horde. A dozen ghosts fell within moments, their faint spiritual forms shattering into pale fragments. But for every one that vanished, more emerged, drawn by the noise.
They were endless.
"Damn it…"
Knowing he couldn't win a drawn out fight, Souta Enjou pivoted and bolted from the hall. The goblin like creatures froze mid movement as he vanished into the corridor, their glassy eyes flickering.
By the time they stirred again, he was gone.
"What was that sound?"
Moving cautiously through the corridor, Souta Enjou paused. Something a faint rumble echoed in the distance. Then, a violent crash, like a building collapsing, thundered through the orphanage.
"That was close… should I check it out?"
Under normal circumstances, he'd never risk it. But he had no idea how to escape this cursed place. If there was a clue any clue he had to take the chance. And with his speed, he could retreat if needed.
He crept toward the sound, each step measured.
When he saw what caused it, he almost cursed out loud.
Before him loomed an enormous creature a grotesque childlike phantom, swollen to monstrous size. Its eyes were bottomless voids, its mouth crudely stitched shut with blackened threads that oozed like blood. Yet, somehow, it groaned in agony. The thing towered three stories tall, crawling toward a small building.
"Wait… is someone in there?"
Through the shattered window, Souta Enjou caught sight of a person a young woman desperately trying to escape.
His heart froze.
He recognized her.
Koharu Anzi, one of the orphanage staff kind, soft spoken, beloved by every child for her gentle heart.
"Damn it put her down!"
Souta Enjou snatched a chunk of rubble and hurled it at the monster. The rock whistled through the air, striking the creature's side useless.
It didn't even flinch.
Before he could do anything else, the giant spirit snatched Koharu up and flung her screaming toward its gaping, stomach like maw.
"No !"
He was too far. Too weak. He could only watch as she vanished.
Rage erupted within him like wildfire.
He wanted to tear the thing apart but how could a child defeat a monster dozens of times his size? His fists were worthless against it.
And yet
Something inside him snapped.
His telekinesis surged out of control, flaring so violently it numbed his senses. For the first time, he couldn't even feel his own limits.
"If my fists can't hurt it… then I'll attack it directly with this!"
He'd only ever used his power to strengthen his body. But now… he would use it as a weapon.
Clenching his teeth, he locked eyes on the approaching phantom and concentrated with all his will. The air trembled. His consciousness stretched, gripping invisible threads around him.
The giant spirit moved slowly but in seconds, it was upon him.
Souta Enjou thrust out his right arm, palm open toward the monster. His left hand clamped onto his wrist, anchoring it.
"Go to hell!"
A brilliant blue flash exploded from his palm.
The creature froze mid motion and then, its body split in half.
Clean, circular wounds sliced through it and through the wall behind, leaving a gaping hole in the orphanage like something had fired a beam through both.
Koharu Anzi's limp form fell from the air, landing near the debris. She wasn't visibly wounded, but unconscious her life uncertain.
Souta Enjou staggered, breath ragged, body drained. The phantom's torso hit the ground with a thunderous crash. Even as it struggled to rise, it could barely move.
Then… something strange happened.
As his telekinesis began to stabilize, Souta Enjou felt it an unnatural clarity. His emotions were still burning, but his mind was eerily calm, almost detached.
It was a contradiction rage and serenity intertwined.
A perfect, terrifying balance.
It felt… natural.
And yet he knew it wasn't right.
The monstrous spirit writhed on the floor, reaching toward him. A whisper echoed in his mind.
"Kill it."
The voice wasn't real but it pulsed with his heartbeat, pressing him forward.
Step by step, Souta Enjou advanced. His clenched right fist shimmered with blue fire, the glow intensifying until it burned like a miniature sun.
The ghost's body was unraveling, yet Souta Enjou's anger demanded more. He lifted his fist high every ounce of fury pouring into it.
To anyone else, the sight of a small child raising his hand might have seemed almost cute. But for those who could sense cursed energy the dense, burning blue aura around him was terrifying.
When he struck, time itself seemed to stop.
He felt his telekinesis pulse through every nerve, every muscle perfectly synchronized.
Breathe.
The power flowed through him as naturally as air his mind, body, and energy united as one.
And then
BOOM.
His punch landed.
The phantom's head exploded into black fire, its body disintegrating as the shockwave tore through the ground. The earth trembled under the weight of his rage.
The monster's ashes scattered into nothingness.
As silence returned, Souta Enjou's fury ebbed away. His body felt hollow. He dropped to his knees, panting. His right hand burned with pain so intense he grimaced involuntarily.
Footsteps echoed.
He turned.
Out of the darkness emerged a tall, elegant woman with long white hair tied in a ponytail. She wore a fitted black uniform, her presence sharp yet strangely graceful.
Seeing that she was human not another ghost Souta Enjou exhaled in relief. But something about her face felt… familiar.
The woman studied him quietly, eyes filled with disbelief and curiosity.
Her voice was calm, magnetic.
"You can call me Mei Mei, kid. What are you doing here? Have you seen anyone else?"
(End of Chapter 2)