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"Want me to come downstairs and get you?"
Asher's voice sounded calm as he spoke into the phone.
On the other end, there was a brief stretch of silence. A few seconds later, the call was cut.
Not long after, the phone rang again.
"This is a call from Miss Mary. Your place is on the fourth floor, right? I'm already on the second floor!"
The moment Miss Mary finished speaking, she hung up again,不给 Asher a chance to reply.
A few seconds passed.
"This is a call from Miss Mary. This should be your apartment, right…?"
Once again, she hung up immediately after speaking.
But this time, something felt off.
Half a minute went by.
There was no new call.
A few minutes passed, and just as Asher began to feel puzzled—
Suddenly.
Crack!
The living room light snapped off, plunging the room into darkness.
At the same time, the phone vibrated again.
Still that familiar unknown caller.
Asher stared at the screen for a couple of seconds, then tapped to answer.
"This is a call from Miss Mary. I'm now… behind— you—!"
The instant her voice fell—
A sharp whistling sound tore through the air from behind Asher!
It was like a blade slicing straight toward his back.
But Asher didn't freeze.
Ever since he got home, he'd been mentally prepared for this moment, especially after receiving Miss Mary's calls.
After his previous exorcism experiences, his fear of ghosts had dulled considerably.
Something he'd already anticipated wasn't enough to make him panic.
Just as the sharp sound was about to reach the back of his neck, and Asher could even feel the rush of air—
Clang!
The crisp sound of chains colliding rang out!
"Huh—?! What?!"
Miss Mary's shocked voice came from behind him.
Only then did Asher turn around.
What greeted his eyes was a petite girl restrained in place by glowing spiritual chains, dressed in a red-and-white Lolita-style dress.
"Miss Mary," Asher said calmly, a faint smile on his face. "I've been waiting for you."
At this moment, Miss Mary was utterly stunned.
This sudden turn of events was far beyond what she'd expected.
"Damn it!"
"What do you think you're doing?!"
She glared at Asher, furious, like an enraged kitten baring its claws.
Hearing that, Asher frowned.
"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"
I literally just glanced at you in a crowd once, and you decided to lock onto me.
If he weren't an onmyoji, if he didn't have the system backing him up, Asher's fate would've been obvious.
Miss Mary was momentarily at a loss for words.
All she'd done, as usual, was place the doll somewhere conspicuous and wait for some unlucky soul to pick it up.
As a cursed doll, anyone who noticed her existence would inevitably be drawn in, developing the urge to take her home.
But that afternoon, when Asher saw the doll, he showed no sign of being attracted at all.
That curiosity was what made Miss Mary start watching him.
And then everything that followed happened.
So she decided to act tonight.
She just hadn't expected to run into such a tough opponent.
Even so—
As one of the long-famous urban legend spirits, Miss Mary wasn't about to lower her head and explain herself.
Even though she was temporarily restrained, what filled her now was anger.
"Hmph!"
"You don't seriously think this is enough to hold me, do you?"
"I'm killing you tonight, no matter what!"
Her furious voice echoed through the room.
The next second—
Miss Mary's body began to tremble.
Her expression sharpened.
Crack!
The spiritual chains binding her shattered instantly.
Asher raised an eyebrow in surprise.
As expected of an urban legend-level monster.
She broke free of Word Binding that easily.
Still, this outcome was well within Asher's expectations.
"Die, you bastard!"
Free once more, Miss Mary raised her parasol and stabbed viciously toward Asher.
But almost immediately, she cried out in shock again.
"What?!"
She froze, staring blankly at the parasol in her hands.
At some point, she had been completely surrounded by six monstrous figures.
And the parasol she'd thrust forward was blocked by a tall, blazing red silhouette.
That figure standing in front of Asher was the Parasitic Spirit.
"Grrr—!"
With a roar, the Parasitic Spirit knocked Miss Mary backward.
She stumbled several steps across the living room before barely regaining her balance. Once steady, she looked back at Asher with a grave expression.
"Who are you… really?"
This was the first time she'd ever encountered a human capable of summoning monsters.
It completely shattered her understanding of the world.
"Me?" Asher replied with a relaxed smile. "Just a passing onmyoji."
At his tacit approval, the shikigami around him immediately launched their attack.
In moments, Miss Mary was locked in combat with all six of them.
The sounds of battle filled the room.
Asher stood calmly to the side, quietly observing their performance.
He had to admit, Miss Mary truly lived up to her reputation as an urban legend-level evil spirit.
Even while being ganged up on by six shikigami, she didn't fall into a disadvantage.
With each sweep of her parasol's tip, several shikigami were left wounded.
And yet, the longer the fight dragged on, the more frustrated Miss Mary became.
She quickly realized that no matter how much damage she dealt—
That little girl holding a dandelion among the shikigami would immediately heal them.
Instant full recovery. Every time.
How the hell are you supposed to fight with cheats like this?!
"Hmph! Damn you, I'll remember this!"
"I'll come back for you one day!"
After spitting out her threat, Miss Mary turned and smashed through the window, escaping into the night.
She moved so fast she was gone in the blink of an eye.
Only after her presence had completely vanished did Asher let out a quiet sigh.
"So yeah… still a bit too much, huh."
He could accept the fact that he hadn't managed to finish Miss Mary off.
After all, she was an urban legend that had circulated for decades. Her strength was on a completely different level from ordinary monsters.
And his own shikigami weren't exactly top-tier either.
The fact that they'd fought her to a stalemate already exceeded his expectations.
Of course, it wasn't that Asher lacked a way to kill her.
Summon of the Thunder Emperor, his current trump card, would've been enough to erase Miss Mary completely.
But this was his home.
Using a move like that might've destroyed the entire apartment.
That would've been a terrible trade.
As Asher was thinking this—
Suddenly.
Bang bang bang!
A series of urgent knocks sounded at the door.
Along with them came a familiar, anxious voice.
"Senior Asher!"
"Senior Asher, are you in there?!"
"....."