'I'm dead! I'm dead! I'm dead!'
'How am I supposed to deal with all these Cursed Spirits alone?'
Watching the approaching Cursed Spirits, Miko was completely panicked.
"Miko, muster the courage of a Devil. Otherwise, I'm going back by myself."
"Ah?"
Miko's eyes widened.
'No way! Absolutely not!'
'Alone in this godforsaken place, no one would even know if I died.'
"You can see, can't you?"
"You really can see, can't you?"
The surrounding Cursed Spirits grew excited, approaching quickly.
"You... all of you, stay away from me!"
Almost instinctively, Miko extended her hands and instinctively used the magic release she had just learned.
Boom!
With a flash of light,
A red beam burst from Miko's hands, engulfing the nearest few Cursed Spirits.
"Aaaahhh!"
Piteous screams rang out. The few Cursed Spirits instantly vanished.
"See? You did great."
Hearing Ayato's voice, Miko instinctively clenched her fist.
'Th-this... I did this?'
'So, destroying Cursed Spirits was this easy?'
"What's the big deal? Mere Cursed Spirits... they don't seem so impressive."
A moment later, her eyes flickered. She was completely excited.
"Bring it on! I'll kill as many as come!"
"Hahaha..."
Miko's cheerful laughter rang out continuously.
Bolts of magic power were released. Many Cursed Spirits were blown away before they could even scream.
Ayato: "..."
'Wow!'
'The timid girl from before was nowhere to be seen.'
'What was this?'
'Going from one extreme to another.'
'But well, this was probably a good thing.'
Before long,
All the surrounding Cursed Spirits had been wiped out.
"It's... it's over..."
Miko breathed out. A genuine feeling of excitement rose within her.
From now on,
She really didn't have to be afraid of these things anymore.
But,
Why did she feel so tired...
Her body staggered, but she fell into a warm embrace.
"Having just become a Devil, don't release your magic power so recklessly."
Ayato looked at Yotsuya Miko in his arms. "And your magic control is too rough. The consumption is huge."
'You're the one who made me fight.'
She wanted to argue, but Miko felt she didn't even have the strength to speak.
"There's no helping it. I'll have to give you a replenishing."
'Replenishing?'
She seemed to have seen that in the book.
'Oh, right, it was like the blessing.'
'Wait!'
"Mmmpphh..."
Here it was again!
Twice in one day.
But,
It did feel different from the blessing.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps approached.
Ayato's eyebrows raised slightly.
'Who would be in a place like this at this hour?'
Soon,
A little girl in dark clothes, carrying a small backpack, ran over.
Seeing her,
A look of understanding appeared in Ayato's eyes.
Cursed Spirit Trainer, Hozuki Yayoi.
'Even the Dark Gathering have been merged into this hodgepodge world, huh?'
"Sorry to disturb you."
Yayoi bowed slightly, very politely.
But her brow was slightly furrowed.
'Two students... on a date in a place like this?'
'And, the auras of the Cursed Spirits were all gone.'
'Most importantly, this woman... seemed a bit off.'
'Huh?'
'Huh?'
Miko pursed her lips, quickly stepped back, and began to flail.
'Oh god!'
'Someone saw us.'
'And a little girl like that.'
'Oh god! Wasn't this social death?'
Her mind was in turmoil, but she still forced herself to calm down and said, "Little girl, it's very dangerous to be here this late."
"Where do you live? How about I take you home?"
"Okay."
Yayoi nodded obediently, then suddenly lunged forward.
"Hmm?"
As Miko was stunned, some crystal clear particles were sprinkled over her.
"This is... salt?"
Picking up a grain and looking at it, she blinked, not quite understanding.
"Come with me quickly. Your girlfriend isn't right."
'G-girlfriend?'
Miko's face instantly flushed pink.
'How could I be Master's girlfriend?'
'But,'
'Now that I am Master's servant...'
'Her body and soul belonged to Master.'
'So that wasn't wrong.'
'No!'
'What kind of nonsensical things was I thinking?'
'This little girl... was talking about me?'
'This man hasn't moved at all! He doesn't believe me?'
Looking at Ayato standing calmly, Yayoi reached out to grab him.
"Hozuki-kun, you can't just arbitrarily attack my cute servant."
Yayoi's movement froze. She instinctively stepped back several paces.
She stared at Ayato.
She only felt his aura had silently changed.
The surrounding air was as heavy as a mountain.
An indescribable sense of horror rose within her.
'This man...'
'Is also off.'
She gritted her teeth slightly, her expression growing tense.
'As expected,'
'I had been careless.'
'A man with a woman this late at night... how could he be an ordinary human?'
'This is trouble.'
'I should have brought a Graduate.'
'Now, what should I do?'
Her eyes flickered as she calculated her next tactics.
"Master, don't scare children."
Miko tugged at Ayato's clothes.
Instantly,
That strange pressure vanished.
"Phew!"
Yayoi breathed a huge sigh of relief, but didn't let her guard down.
No matter what,
She couldn't die here.
"Little girl, don't misunderstand. We're not Cursed Spirits, okay?"
Miko, having fully recovered, smiled. "So don't use salt on us."
Yayoi ignored her. "How do you know my name?"
"I know many things."
Ayato smiled, stepping forward. "After all, I am a Devil."
"D-Devil?"
Yayoi was stunned.
But soon,
Her expression sharpened.
'So he is a Devil.'
'No wonder salt was useless.'