Inside the school, the gymnasium.
Girls who had changed into their sports uniforms were engaged in various athletic activities, shedding the sweat of youth.
Looking at these lively, cute, and youthful girls, Xia Yu felt his mood lift considerably. It would be even better if there weren't Specters lurking in the dark corners all around.
"Tch, why are there so many Specters even in the gym? Your school really is a strange place."
Looking at a Specter that was wildly laughing and sprinting past him while shaking its neck, Xia Yu said with some disdain.
This school couldn't possibly be built on a mass grave, right? Logically, schools have many young people, meaning strong Yang energy, so there shouldn't be many Specters.
Oh, right, this is a girls' school.
Yotsuya Miko, who was resting nearby after getting tired from exercising, sighed wearily upon hearing Xia Yu's words.
She also didn't know why there were so many Specters in the school; she could see them almost everywhere, even inside lockers and desks, which terrified her.
But with Mr. Xia by her side, those Specters weren't so scary anymore, especially since Mr. Xia had annihilated them.
"The more I look, the more annoying they are. My tentacles can't hold back anymore."
After briefly scanning the gymnasium, Xia Yu said unhappily. One Specter like him was enough here; the rest should just drop dead.
The moment his voice fell silent, Xia Yu swung his tentacles and walked toward the nearest Specter.
Seeing that Xia Yu had finally left her side, Yotsuya Miko secretly let out a sigh of relief and recalled the scene before they came to the gym.
When she was about to enter the changing room to switch into her gym clothes, he brazenly followed her inside.
This startled her. After all, according to Xia Yu himself, he was a man. Was it really okay for him to just walk into the girls' changing room?
Under her questioning, Xia Yu spoke righteously, saying that maybe there were Specters in the girls' changing room too? He was just performing an exorcism, with no other thoughts whatsoever.
And Xia Yu really did manage to pull out several peeping Specters from the lockers.
Although he was right, Miko still felt extremely embarrassed because after he finished the exorcism, he didn't leave and just watched her finish changing her clothes.
If she hadn't already gotten used to having Specters watching her constantly, she probably would have broken down long ago.
"Sigh, although Mr. Xia is a good person, still..." Miko stopped talking mid-sentence. After all, speaking ill of others behind their back was bad behavior, and he had certainly helped her a lot.
After resting for a moment, Yotsuya Miko was about to go for another run when a short girl with a mushroom hair clip and golden twin tails suddenly walked over holding a basketball.
"Hey, are you free right now?" The short girl smiled sheepishly. "Could I ask you for a favor?"
Hearing this, Miko glanced at Xia Yu, who was annihilating a Specter not far away, and Little Hana, who was playing badminton on the other side, and nodded slightly.
"I'm free now. What is it?"
The short girl smiled gratefully and pulled Yotsuya Miko toward the storage room in the corner of the gymnasium—the room used to store sports equipment.
Once they arrived, the short girl pointed to the sports equipment scattered across the floor and said, "Sorry, I wanted to ask you to help me clean up a bit. It's a little hard for me alone."
"It's fine, it's just a small matter," Yotsuya Miko replied.
But before she could start helping, the short girl suddenly closed the storage room door and then spoke with certainty.
"You're Miko-chan, right... My name is Yuria, and I've been paying attention to Miko-chan."
"Eh?"
Miko looked at Yuria with some confusion, but Yuria continued talking to herself.
"I've noticed that Miko-chan is also a Spirit Medium, right? You can not only see them but also eliminate small Specters. I'm not wrong, am I?"
While saying these words, Yuria was full of confidence, as if everything was under her control.
"Don't worry, I'm the same way. Right now, it's just the two of us here, so you don't need to hide your ability."
"Um..."
In response to Yuria's words, Yotsuya Miko turned pale, waving her hands nervously, "What are you talking about? Is there a cockroach?"
This girl, she came all this way and still plans to play dumb!
Yuria looked at Miko in disbelief, her voice slightly agitated, "So, you can see it, right? That thing!"
As she spoke, she pointed toward a dark corner where several finger-sized, old-man-like Small Specters were gathered.
This was the sight she saw, but in Yotsuya Miko's eyes, right beside the two of them, a "colossus" was staring fixedly at them.
Whisps of cold wind brushed past her hair, followed by a dripping sound that only she could hear—the sound of blood falling from the corner of the monster's eye.
Under the grip of fear, all sounds seemed to vanish. Miko watched Yuria's mouth open and close, but heard nothing, as her mind was completely blank.
"Ugh..."
The monster seemed to have heard something. It suddenly brought its square head, covered in seaweed-like curly black hair, closer. Its single eye was completely bloodshot.
A chilling atmosphere instantly spread around them, causing Miko to involuntarily shiver.
Just then, Yuria reached into her pocket and pulled out a string of Buddhist prayer beads, which she put on her wrist before shouting loudly, "Don't underestimate my power!"
"I'll show you! I am Yuria, the Chief Disciple of the Divine Mother, the Exorcist of 'Those Who Do Not Belong to This World'!"
This shout seemed to attract the monster. The monster stared at the Buddhist Prayer Beads Bracelet with its bloodshot single eye.
"Snap!"
With a loud crack, the bracelet snapped, and the scattered beads made a pattering sound as they hit the floor. Seeing this, Yuria was completely dumbfounded.
"Eh? Can it see it?"
The monster let out a sound of confusion. Several cracks suddenly appeared on its wall-like square face. Immediately after, the cracks merged into one large mouth, exposing the sharp, pointed teeth inside.
Those sharp teeth were aimed at the frozen Yuria. At this moment, Yuria's tiny figure seemed so insignificant before the colossal monster.
Yuria stared at her wrist in disbelief, seemingly still unable to grasp what had happened. Miko's eyes widened, and she screamed internally.
Disaster! It's dangerous!
In that moment, Miko acted without thinking, grabbing the frozen Yuria and pulling her out of the monster's attack range.
"You can see it! You really can see it!"
The Square-Faced Monster seemed to have found something interesting. Its bloodshot single eye stared fixedly at Miko, and then its large mouth split open, revealing its worm-like oral structure.
"Wuu..."
The arm Miko used to hug Yuria's neck tightened involuntarily, and she let out a cry of distress.
Even Yuria's struggle, as she vigorously hammered Miko's arm, was completely ignored.
Whoosh—!
A gust of wind rushed over. The Square-Faced Monster's worm-like large mouth had arrived in the blink of an eye, targeting both of them.
We're going to die!!
Miko closed her eyes in fear, her arm unconsciously using all its strength due to the terror. Yuria, whom she was strangling, had already started rolling her eyes.
But the next moment, a wisp of black mist suddenly rose from her right hand.