A shaky voice broke through the rising tension.
"What... what are those things?" Shinji whispered, his finger trembling as he pointed towards the cursed spirits in his view.
Miwa and Mai felt their stomachs drop.
They didn't need to say it out loud
He sees them.
Momo forces herself to breathe steadily, even as her thoughts raced. How can he see cursed spirits? That wasn't normal. Shinji isn't an ordinary human.
She placed a steadying hand near Shinji's shoulder. "Pull yourself together," she said firmly, masking her unease. "We're here to protect you.
Suddenly, the air grew heavy.
Not just quiet — heavy. like something unseen had started breathing in the dark.
Then it began.
Something pushed through space.
Limbs emerged first. Twisted. Wrong.
Coming in all grotesque shapes and sizes
Then torsos followed, dragging themselves into existence as if reality itself were tearing open. Their shapes were grotesque — bodies stretched too long, too short, too wide. Faces warped beyond recognition. Eyes scattered in the wrong places. Mouths pulled into silent, unnatural grins.
Not one, not three.
But a massive swarm that filled everywhere
Miwa's hand found the hilt of her katana before fear could fully set in. Instinct took over. She stepped forward, blade ready, stance firm.
On the other hand, at the rear position, behind Miwa, Mai dropped to one knee in one fluid motion. The rifle was already in her hands, already aimed towards one of the cursed spirits in view, dangerously drawing near towards them
Momo tapped Mai's shoulder — a silent signal.
Mai glanced back once at Momo to confirm.
Momo nodded.
The rifle cracked.
The gunshot sound tore through the air. The bullet flew in a flash and struck the nearest curse dead center. For a brief second, it froze — then its body ruptured into a burst of purple mist before collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud.
Two more crawled into its place almost instantly.
Mai clicked her tongue. "Are you kidding me? Why are they multiplying?"
Miwa didn't respond. Her focus never wavered. One of the spirits ahead of her dragged itself closer, movements slow, but deliberate.
The swarm didn't charge, but continued their sluggish movements.
The swarm of cursed spirits circled.
Tightened.
Like predators savoring the hunt.
"Hey, Momo," Miwa called, eyes still forward. "What's our next move?"
No answer.
Miwa turned — and her heart skipped.
Momo was frozen. Eyes wide. Shoulders trembling. The earlier shot hadn't scared the swarm. It hadn't slowed them.
It hadn't mattered.
For a split second, panic threatened to spread.
"Hey, Momo!" Miwa snapped sharply.
Momo blinked, dragged back to reality.
"They're converging toward the center," Miwa said quickly. "They're herding us."
In the spur of the moment, she took the mantle of leadership and stepped forward.
"Mai and I will hold them off. We'll exorcise as many as we can. Momo — get Shinji out of here. Head outside the veil. Call in for reinforcements."
Momo hesitated.
Mai shot her a glare. "Move. You'll only be dragging us down if you're here, besides you're the only one who can get Shinji out of this mess."
There was no time to argue.
Momo swallowed her fear and nodded. "Don't you all dare die on me," she muttered, trying to sound confident. "I'll be back with backup soon"
"Got it," Miwa and Mai answered in unison.
Momo reached for Shinji and pulled him close. Telekinetically controlling her cursed tool — the broom — responded instantly. With a surge of cursed energy, they lifted into the air, rising fast, cutting through the thickened atmosphere as they left the scene
Miwa tightened her grip on her sword as she unsheathed her sword pointed it towards the curse spirits in front of her
Mai reloads her rifle and adjusts her aim.
The swarm closed in around them.
*****
Elsewhere,
Outside the veil, life carried on as if nothing were wrong.
Traffic lights blinked.
Cars rolled by.
Near the faint shimmer of the barrier, a little girl clung tightly to a support team member's sleeve, tears streaking down her face.
"My brother… he's still inside…"
The support team member knelt gently beside her and hugged her. "They'll bring him back."
She looked up at the barely visible distortion in the sky.
Silently, she prayed that she was right.