Just as the blonde girl was about to leave, she noticed something by her feet—it was the Fallen Angel wing pendant.
Realizing it had fallen from Yotsuya Miko, she quickly bent down and picked it up.
The moment her pale, delicate hand touched the pendant, a trace of light power surged out.
For a second, the blonde girl saw a flash of white light, but the next moment everything returned to normal.
Thinking it was just sunlight in her eyes, Eriri didn't give it much thought and called out, "You dropped something~"
Hearing the voice, Yotsuya Miko turned and saw the pendant—immediately overwhelmed with gratitude.
This thing was her lucky charm now. Absolutely couldn't afford to lose it.
And seeing that the blonde girl had helped her not once, but twice, Yotsuya Miko started to feel embarrassed.
"This pendant is really important to me. Thank you so much.
How about I treat you to a drink as a thank-you?"
Yotsuya Miko's expression was so sincere that Eriri couldn't find a reason to refuse.
Looking around, Eriri spotted the "Spring Flower" shop she was originally heading for—it was still swarmed with people at the entrance.
She had only come out today to quietly buy some doujin so she could study and reference them privately.
She really didn't want anyone discovering her real identity, which was why she'd even dressed in a middle school tracksuit to disguise herself.
Noticing that Yotsuya Miko didn't recognize her, Eriri nodded in agreement.
The two walked toward the drink shop in silence, as if by mutual understanding.
Even in the late afternoon, there was a long line outside the shop.
Lining up one in front of the other, the atmosphere between them felt a bit awkward, so Eriri took the initiative to make conversation.
"Um, your pendant's really pretty. Where did you get it?"
"Uh… it wasn't bought. It was given to me."
"Oh~? From where?"
"Ah? A ch-church, I think."
Their conversation went on in fits and starts, gradually drying up into awkward silence.
Eriri stared at the Fallen Angel pendant in Yotsuya Miko's hand with a puzzled look.
What kind of normal church gives out trinkets like that?
Yotsuya Miko was equally embarrassed—she had no idea how to explain it.
No way she could say it was a gift from a real Fallen Angel.
Honestly, she still hadn't fully processed everything that had happened today.
As the awkward silence grew heavier, whispers from the nearby crowd filtered through to them.
"What are those two girls doing?"
"No idea. Just standing there like idiots. If I didn't know better, I'd think they were lining up."
The comments weren't even that quiet—both Eriri and Miko heard every word.
Eriri looked around in confusion at the massive line in front of her, then glanced at the group lined up to the side.
Her eyes followed the queue to its end… where she saw that it led not to the drink shop, but into a narrow alley.
At the mouth of the alley, a grotesquely fat, maggot-like cursed spirit with six human arms was waiting, its gaping maw swallowing up cursed spirits one by one as they walked forward.
Eriri's pupils dilated in shock, her entire body froze.
What the hell! What the hell is that?!
Why is there a grotesque monster like that out in public?!
Yotsuya Miko followed her gaze and instantly realized—they'd run into another Cursed Spirit.
Thanks to Hayashi's earlier lecture, she now had some idea what these things were.
"Don't—"
"G-GHOST!!!"
Before Miko could finish, Eriri let out a scream.
In an instant, every cursed spirit in the area and all the people on the street turned to look.
The bystanders just looked confused.
But the sluggish cursed spirits all twisted their necks ninety degrees and stared intently at Eriri and Yotsuya Miko.
The maggot-like cursed spirit paused its feast, its swollen, waterlogged eyeballs swiveling toward them as it let out a low growl.
"You can see me~~~"
The collective voice of the cursed spirits reverberated like a physical shockwave, draining the color from both girls' faces.
"What the hell is this? Why are there monsters like this?! Am I dreaming?!"
Panicked, Eriri spun around to flee, only to find the path behind blocked by the line of lower-ranked cursed spirits.
Born from negative human emotions, cursed spirits harbored nothing but malice toward humans.
Seeing both ends blocked, Eriri completely lost it.
"Why is this happening?! I just wanted to buy some doujins!"
"Don't move—hold on to me!"
Yotsuya Miko shouted, pulling out the Fallen Angel pendant.
As the cursed spirits closed in, a faint glow emerged from the pendant, forming a barrier that held them back.
"It works!"
Yotsuya Miko was overjoyed—the charm really did protect them.
But beside her, Eriri was trembling, pointing at the maggot cursed spirit slithering closer.
"T-That thing's still coming!"
The grotesque spirit opened its mouth and spat a glob of dark green poisonous gas.
Sssssss!!!
The moment the gas hit the light barrier, it reacted like oil dropped into boiling water, hissing and crackling.
The two girls' pupils visibly trembled—they didn't even dare to breathe.
The maggot cursed spirit, realizing it couldn't break through right away, used its fatty tongue to hurl lower-grade cursed spirits at the barrier.
BANG!!!
Each cursed spirit that hit the light shield exploded into ash on impact.
But with each impact, the light power inside the pendant was slowly draining.
Yotsuya Miko quickly realized—once the light power ran out, they'd be dead.
Just as despair was creeping into her heart, Hayashi's voice rang out behind them.
"Either use that pendant to smash it or run. Why are you two idiots just frozen there?"
His voice pierced through the fear like a beacon of light.
"M-Master—Hayashi-san!"
Eyes lighting up with joy, Yotsuya Miko shouted his name without hesitation, not caring who was nearby.
Still clinging to her, Eriri looked over as well.
The moment she saw Hayashi, her first thought was, Wow, he's hot.
But her second thought was, He looks really familiar…
Before she could think further, she saw Hayashi calmly walk toward the maggot cursed spirit.
"Wait! Be careful, don't go near that monster…"
She instinctively tried to stop him.
But before the words finished leaving her mouth, she froze in place.
"Gravity Magic: Smash!"
With just a gesture, Hayashi swung his finger down.
Hundredfold gravity coalesced into a giant hammer and slammed down on the maggot cursed spirit.
BOOM!!!
Its bloated, swollen body was pulverized instantly.
Before the cursed energy could even disperse, Hayashi extended his palm.
A black vortex formed in his hand like a bottomless pit, sucking in the shattered remnants of the cursed spirit—and all nearby ghosts along with it.
One cursed spirit after another was devoured, turned into nourishment for his soul.
Once the area was completely cleared, Hayashi let out a satisfied smile.