— — — — — — —
Kanoe Yuuko froze.
Did this guy not understand what she just said?
The monster upstairs was seriously terrifying!
"Don't worry, Miss Yuuko. Lynn is really strong," Shiina Mahiru reassured her with a gentle smile.
As expected of an angelic presence like Mahiru—she could calm anyone's nerves.
That said, none of them had actually seen Lynn go all out before.
It just always felt like he was omnipotent, effortlessly handling every situation.
Whether it was Kasumigaoka Utaha, Yotsuya Miko, Mahiru, or anyone else in his Familia, they all had blind faith in him.
"Fine, whatever. It's already come to this anyway." Yuuko let out a sigh.
Shaking her head, she braced herself and ignited her fighting spirit. "I've had enough of that thing upstairs! Every night when I'm trying to sleep, all I hear is 'Boom! Boom!' as it slams into the walls!"
"It's ruined my sleep so much that I've got dark circles under my eyes, and I feel like I'll die from lack of sleep!"
"Today, I'm finally settling this score!"
"Uh… Miss Yuuko, aren't you already dead?" Yotsuya Miko couldn't help but point out.
Yuuko shot her an exasperated look. "Why do you always have to ruin the moment?!"
"Damn it"
"Even ghosts have their dignity!"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
After a furious roar, heavy footsteps echoed from upstairs.
Each step felt like it was stomping directly on Yukinoshita Yukino's heart.
Her face turned pale as a sense of helplessness washed over her.
A massive, tumor-like creature crashed down from the staircase behind Lynn.
Yukino's breath caught in her throat.
What the hell… is that thing?
"Y-Yukino… w-what do we do?" Yuigahama Yui stammered.
"Y-Yui...we… we can only trust them now..."
BOOM!
An entire section of the old school building's wall was instantly blasted inward!
The sheer weight of the creature shattered the staircase, sending rubble flying in every direction!
The moment she saw the creature, Yukino felt her heart stop for a second.
So terrifying!
So. Damn. Terrifying!
Even if she tried to act strong, she was still just a girl.
Facing a monster like this, how could she not be scared?
As for Yui, she was already paralyzed in fear.
"Eww! That's disgusting!" Yuriwaka Hana groaned, her appetite for dinner vanishing on the spot.
Damn it!
This cursed spirit had just committed the ultimate crime—ruining her appetite!
This was officially the most enraging thing she had ever experienced.
Messing with her food? That was unforgivable!
Even Kasumigaoka Utaha and the others, who had never seen a Grade 1 Cursed Spirit before, couldn't help but frown at its hideous appearance.
Yotsuya Miko, on the other hand, was getting Post-traumatic stress disorder flashbacks.
This thing… reminded her of some very unpleasant memories.
"YAAAAAH!!"
The tumor-like monster let out an ear-splitting roar!
A powerful shockwave blasted through the room, making their clothes ripple violently!
"So noisy..." Lynn muttered in annoyance.
With a casual wave of his hand, a dark magic circle materialized, sealing the creature's putrid mouth shut.
"Mmph?!"
Its deafening cries were cut off instantly, leaving the old school building in an eerie silence.
The monster gawked in disbelief, desperately writhing as if humiliated. Then, furious, it lunged straight at Lynn!
"Watch out!" Yukino instinctively shouted.
But Lynn didn't even bother turning around.
BANG!!
A loud crash echoed through the entire abandoned school building.
But at that moment, a ridiculous scene unfolded inside.
The massive spirit suddenly froze mid-air, as if it had slammed into an invisible barrier. Its huge body compressed from the impact, deforming grotesquely.
And then—
Due to the force of the collision, it was launched backward at an even greater speed than before!
BOOM!!
The creature smashed into the wall, sending dust flying everywhere. It stopped moving.
"..."
Silence.
The entire room fell into stunned silence as Yuuko, Yukino, and the others stood there, utterly dumbfounded.
'This… This curse spirit… doesn't seem that strong?'
Yukino quickly shook her head.
'No. It's not that the curse spirit is weak.'
'It's that this man… is too strong!'
The president of the Supernatural Research Club…
No wonder.
No wonder he had been so calm and confident.
No wonder Natsuki Minamiya-sensei had told her to seek out the Supernatural Research Club for help.
Because this man… was terrifyingly powerful!
A curse spirit that could easily smash through walls, collapse staircases under its weight, and shroud the entire old school building in its eerie presence—
Had been defeated.
No, it wasn't even a real fight.
Lynn hadn't even really attacked yet, and the curse spirit had already been reduced to a pathetic mess.
Thinking back to how she had treated Lynn at the club earlier, Yukino couldn't help but shudder.
'Lynn-senpai… wouldn't hold grudges over something so small, right?'
Yuuko, on the other hand, understood the situation even better.
After all, she had been living in the old school building alongside that curse spirit.
She knew how terrifying it was.
"He's a reliable man, huh?"
Meanwhile, Hana kept things simple. "Miko's club president… is amazing!!"
Lynn turned to his companions. "Utaha, Miko, Mahiru. It's your turn."
He had no interest in wasting his time on this curse spirit.
With his power as an Ultimate-Class Devil, this kind of first-grade curse spirit wasn't even a challenge.
Especially considering this thing was just a combination of low-level curses fused together.
But…
It was perfect for Utaha and the others to gain combat experience.
"Understood!" x3
With determined expressions, the three girls stepped forward to face the motionless curse spirit.
For Lynn, this creature was nothing.
But for them, it was a real battle.
"Don't give it a chance to recover!" Utaha was the first to act.
The Devil's Grimoire in her hands flipped rapidly before stopping on a page labeled "High-Tier Magic: Lightning."
"Lightning Strike!"
A powerful magic circle appeared above the grimoire—
CRACKLE—BOOM!!
A bolt of brilliant blue lightning crashed down onto the curse spirit!
Smoke curled from its grotesque body, and if one sniffed carefully, there was even a faint burnt smell.
Mahiru wasn't about to be outdone.
She raised the Flare Gun she had received from Rias and fired a bullet infused with holy energy straight into the curse spirit's body!
Against these supernatural entities, holy energy was an especially effective weapon.
Miko, on the other hand, didn't have many offensive abilities. And there were no other weak curse spirits nearby for her to control.
However, her "Spirit Devil" ability had a unique effect on spectral beings!
She simply channeled some of her spiritual energy into a simple release technique—
Yet it ended up dealing even more damage than Utaha and Mahiru's attacks!
Yukino stood there, mouth slightly open as she watched the three of them work together, unleashing various supernatural abilities in perfect coordination.
Her feelings were… complicated.
"The supernatural Research Club—"
"So everyone in it possessed supernatural abilities?"
They were all students from Shuchiin Academy. But somehow, she felt like she and them… weren't even attending the same school.
While she had been talking about changing the world by changing people's weaknesses, pursuing what now seemed like some naive and idealistic dream…
They had probably been somewhere out there, fighting monsters like these all along.
Compared to them… She felt she was really was just a joke.
.
.
.