"Clean this up, I still have something to take care of, so I'll go first."
Stretching, Nakano Yu casually walked out of the shopping mall. Behind the young man were monsters of various sizes, all turned into pillars of salt, lifeless.
"Hmm?!"
Hearing the sound, Miko, who was holding Nakano Yu's arm, instinctively moved closer to the young man and looked cautiously in the direction of the sound.
"Little Sister Miko, don't be so nervous. This mountain is called Three Fox Valley Mountain, so it should just be a fox."
"Yu, is everything settled?"
In front of the shopping mall, Tachibana Gen, who was just about to enter and check the situation, asked when he saw Yu coming out so quickly.
"Not yet, but close."
Nakano Yu shook his head, and his gaze fell on the police officer standing behind Tachibana Gen.
"You, is something wrong with him?"
Noticing Yu's gaze, Tachibana Gen leaned toward his ear and asked.
"No longer."
Glancing at the police officer, Nakano Yu said.
Hearing that, Tachibana Gen was stunned, and just as he was wondering what "no longer" meant, he turned his head and saw that the person behind him had already turned into a pillar of salt.
"Uncle Tachibana, you should clean up this mess first. The blockade can be lifted; there are no more around. I need to take care of my mother, so, Uncle Tachibana, there's no need to follow me."
Looking at the people gathered in front of the shopping mall, Nakano Yu said.
"Hmm, Yu, take care. And… regarding Marika, if there really is no reversal, and if Marika is willing, then you two can be together."
Tachibana Gen nodded. He knew that as an ordinary person, he would only get in the way if he followed Yu. He gave a few instructions and did not insist on going with him.
"Don't worry, Marika will be fine."
Hearing Tachibana Gen say that, Nakano Yu felt a pang in his heart. Does even Tachibana Gen think Marika's illness is incurable?
After calming Tachibana Gen, Nakano Yu immediately left.
In fact, this time Nakano Yu was mistaken. Tachibana Gen did not think Marika's illness was incurable; he would not give up on his daughter so easily. The reason was that Marika had a special conversation with him yesterday after Nakano Yu left.
That was why Tachibana Gen finally relented. Although it pained him to think that his precious daughter would be taken by that Nakano, she would eventually get married anyway. Marrying Nakano Yu, whom she knew deeply, was better than marrying some unknown guy who appeared out of nowhere.
With a sigh, Tachibana Gen turned to deal with today's work. With Yu's help, there were practically no casualties, except for that police officer from earlier.
He said that during this period he had never received any documentation on the relocation of special police officers, and this suddenly appeared guy was definitely suspicious.
Anyway, next time he had to be more careful. If it really didn't work out, he would ask Maruo to get him a gun. Recently, these ghostly creatures had been appearing more frequently. Before, he wouldn't see a single one for a whole year, and now there were more than ten or twenty per month. He couldn't stand it, really couldn't.
He couldn't go to Nakano Yu every time something happened, could he? That wouldn't be good.
Thinking of this, Tachibana Gen began organizing people to calm the gathered citizens and then clean up the broken eggs and bodies in the shopping mall.
At that moment, while Tachibana Gen was buried in work, Nakano Yu appeared on Ukiyoe Fifth Street. At that time, there weren't many people on Fifth Street. Compared to the usual crowd, it was considerably quieter now.
"Let's see, it should be there."
After a brief search, Nakano Yu quickly located a standalone house.
He could sense that the aura was in that room, but at the same time, he also felt a familiar aura.
It was Yukinoshita Yukino, who had asked for his help this morning.
He hadn't expected Yukinoshita Yukino to come to Yuiigahama Yui's house to keep Yuiigahama Yui company. Wasn't she afraid of that monster, or did she call for other help?
Without overthinking, Nakano Yu headed toward Yuiigahama Yui's house.
Inside Yuigahama's house, Yui was sitting at home, looking at Yukino's serious face and asked:
"Hey, Yukino-chan, does it really have to be like this?"
"Yes, it must."
Yukino nodded, and as she spoke, placed a string of prayer beads on Yuiigahama Yui's hand.
"But, it's really strange. Why do I have to wear so many prayer beads? Aren't you, Yukino-chan, someone who doesn't believe in these supernatural things?"
Looking at her hand, now completely covered like a tattooed glove, Yuiigahama Yui asked despondently.
She had just not been careful these days, so she had a fever. Why did Yukino-chan conclude that she had encountered something impure?
What Yuiigahama Yui didn't know was that, from Yukino's perspective, the staircase leading to the upper floor was already covered with a thick layer of cobwebs, and on that web sat a spider with a human face the size of three people!
The spider had four pairs of eyes, and its pale face was split in the middle, revealing huge, insect-like jaws. Those jaws were covered with tiny hairs, constantly rubbing against each other, looking extremely disgusting.
The human head also had withered yellow long hair, no arms, and its body had become spider-like. Its four pairs of legs rested on the web, as if sleeping.
In fact, when Yukino first arrived at Yuiigahama Yui's house, she saw that thing and immediately wanted to take Yuiigahama Yui away. However… when she brought Yui to the entrance, she discovered that there was also a spider with a human head at the entrance, which wasn't there when she first arrived.
Jumping out the window was also out of the question. To prevent theft, the first-floor windows of the Yuigahama house were equipped with protective bars. The possibility for the two girls to escape without alerting the two monsters was minimal.
The upstairs windows had no bars, but…
Looking at the spider blocking the staircase, Yukino's face turned pale.
"Yukino-chan, did I infect you? You don't look very good."
At that moment, Yuiigahama Yui noticed Yukino's poor condition, and as she spoke, pressed her palm against Yukino's forehead and asked.
"No, I'm fine. Anyway, Yui-chan, under no circumstances should you remove the prayer beads."
Pushing Yuiigahama's hand away from her forehead, Yukino warned her multiple times. After that, she put her hand into the bag on her shoulder. Inside the bag were the remaining prayer beads Yukinoshita Yukino had given her. All the beads on Yuigahama Yui were also from Yukinoshita Yukino.
That's right, she had gone to seek help from Yukinoshita Yukino. After learning that Nakano Yu refused to help, the only person she could turn to was Yukinoshita Yukino, who was familiar with him.
And when Yukinoshita Yukino heard about it, she immediately sent a large bag of prayer beads and asked for Yuigahama's address, saying she would arrive soon.
However, some time had passed, and Yukinoshita Yukino still hadn't arrived, which was why Yui was now impatiently waiting for her.
Sitting there, she felt like she was on pins and needles, constantly worrying whether she would disturb those two monsters. It wasn't that Yukino didn't believe in the prayer beads she received; she just wanted to avoid danger if possible. She wasn't stupid or rash.
"Hmm, is it that time of the month? Yukino-chan, wait a moment, I have heaters in my room. I'll go get them."
Nodding and promising not to remove the beads, Yuiigahama Yui got up and ran upstairs.
Seeing that, Yukino quickly reached out to stop her, but it was too late; Yui was already at the stairs.
"Hmm? Yukino-chan, are you coming with me?"
Seeing Yukino get up, Yui asked curiously.
Yukino shook her head and said:
"No need, I just stubbed my toe and felt awkward saying it."
Looking at the spider with a human head behind Yui, Yukino noticed with horror that its jaws had begun to move violently, which meant the spider… was waking up!
Yukino decisively stepped forward, pulled Yui back, and set her on the sofa.
"W-what's wrong? You're acting really strange today, Yukino-chan?"
Confused by Yukino's behavior, Yuiigahama Yui looked at the girl in front of her, her face full of doubt.
The Yukino-chan she knew wasn't like this. Although she appeared cold on the outside, she was a very kind person inside. However… Yui had never seen her be this proactive and caring toward her as today, and it felt strange.
"Nothing, nothing. By the way, Yui-chan, you never told me about that guy you were looking for. You never said why you were looking for him. Why don't you tell me now?"
Frozen, Yukino spoke, her eyes fixed on the spider with a human head. But the spider was now awake, its four pairs of red eyes gleaming, and its jaws moving as if it were saying it was hungry.
Seeing that close, Yukino swallowed hard, rubbing the prayer beads on her wrist and braving herself inwardly.
"Actually, nothing special. That night, when I was returning home, because of some things, I arrived really late. I wanted to shorten my route, but I don't know why, when I was crossing the big bridge, I suddenly felt like jumping down. That guy pulled me back right then, and I didn't jump."
"Thinking back now, it really gives me chills. Unfortunately, by the time I realized it, that guy was already gone, and I didn't even get to thank him."
Seeing Yukino suddenly interested, Yui was a little confused. She wanted to tell her this when they first met, but at that time Yukino didn't want to listen, nor did she several times afterward. Why was she suddenly interested now?
Although puzzled, Yui still smiled and told her story.
Although she still felt a little scared recalling it, Yui considered herself lucky to have met such a good person. It would be even better if she could become friends with that guy.
"Mm-hmm, very nice story."
Yukino didn't hear a word of what Yui said. Her attention was entirely focused on the spider with a human head. The spider had already left the web and was crawling on the floor toward them.
Seeing the creature so close, Yukino could smell the sharp scent of blood, but Yui was not affected at all, still smiling.
At that moment, a shout suddenly rang out:
"Bukyoku! Go!"
"Boom!!!"
With the shout, a powerful explosion echoed.
Hearing that, Yukino's face changed. Not caring about anything else, she quickly grabbed Yui's hand and ran toward the entrance.
"Yukino-chan, what's wrong? W-what is that?!"
Hearing the sound, Yui, wondering what was happening, was pulled by Yukino and ran. But when they reached the entrance, the scene in front of them completely stunned her.
She saw that at the entrance of her house stood a samurai over two meters tall, in armor, with a naginata in hand, facing the enormous spider with a human head.
And behind the samurai stood a short-haired girl, who looked even younger than her and Yukino-chan.
"Come here!"
Noticing Yukino and Yui, the short-haired girl shouted, but it was too late. Yui wanted to escape, but couldn't lift her feet.
Looking down, she saw that her leg was wrapped in a sticky white substance.
Turning around, it was that terrifying spider with a human head.
"Aaa, aaa!!!"
The moment Yui saw the spider, she screamed and immediately kicked, trying to free herself from the thread, but to no avail. Seeing this, Yukino panicked, grabbed a vase from the floor, and threw it at the spider.
However, the damage the vase could cause was too small. This strike not only failed to repel the spider, but it completely enraged it.
"Hooo!!!"
The spider opened its jaws and let out a roar, then in an instant leapt toward Yukino and Yui.
Seeing this, Yukino hugged Yui.
However, after a moment, Yukino didn't feel any pain. Confused, she turned her head and saw that, in front of her, a young man had appeared at some point, and the spider had already turned into a pillar of salt.
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