(Yotsuya Miko's POV)
One moment, there was nothing. An endless, silent, blinding white that erased left nothing, and her feet felt like they were standing on a lake, but not falling
The next, the world snapped back into focus with the jarring suddenness of a slamming door.
It was less than a second.
Miko blinked, her eyes struggling to adjust.
The worn stones of the shrine courtyard were beneath her feet. The wind rustled the leaves of the ancient trees.
The oppressive, malevolent energy that had saturated the air was gone.
Completely gone.
She instinctively reached out with her senses, searching for the terrifying presence of the God of the Mountain.
She felt… nothing.
It wasn't just defeated.
The void she had felt in that white expanse lingered in her perception, a chilling emptiness where a massive source of cursed energy should have been.
It hadn't been destroyed; it had been unmade.
A collective, shaky exhale came from the group around her.
Hana was clinging to her arm, trembling. Yuria looked pale and stunned. Everyone was staring at the empty space where the monster had been.
Yoshioka-sensei stood calmly a few feet away. Next to him, Shindou let out a low whistle, running a hand through his messy hair.
"Damn," Shindou muttered. "You really don't do things by halves, do you, sensei-san?"
Sensei didn't respond. Instead, he reached out and placed a hand on Shindou's shoulder. A faint, almost invisible shimmer of energy passed between them. "I made sure to keep their energy from completely disappearing," Sensei stated. "But it won't be long."
Shindou nodded, a look of genuine gratitude crossing his features. "Thanks. Really."
It was then that Miko saw it. A flicker of light in the centre of the courtyard.
A figure was kneeling there, slowly becoming more solid. It was a woman, dressed in flowing white robes, her face hidden behind a delicate white veil.
She glowed with a soft, ethereal light
Shindou stepped forward, his usual smirk gone, replaced by a sombre expression. He approached the kneeling spirit and knelt himself, bringing himself to her level.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," he said, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. "Long time no see. It's Shindou Rom. Do you remember me? I was just a little boy back then." He let out a soft, self-deprecating chuckle. "How time passes, isn't it?"
He paused, shaking his head. "Sorry, that was a bad joke." His voice grew even softer, filled with a profound sadness "How long have you been waiting? Decades? Centuries? Waiting… for someone to hear your voice…"
The spirit looked up. Though her face was veiled, Miko could see the faint outline of a girl no older than herself. And she could see the shimmer of tears tracing paths down the hidden cheeks.
"Do you remember my wish?" Shindou asked, his voice barely a whisper. "Will you grant it for me this time?"
Before the girl could respond, another light flickered beside her. A second spirit materialized. This one was an older woman, her hair tied back neatly, her expression kind and wise despite her ghostly form.
Shindou's eyes widened in shock. "Mrs. Towako?!" he breathed, the name filled with recognition and a deep, old pain.
The older spirit, Mrs. Towako, looked at him. Then, she placed a comforting hand on the younger spirit's shoulder. She leaned in, as if whispering something. The younger spirit listened, then slowly nodded.
Together, their forms began to glow brighter, their outlines softening.
They looked at each other, then up towards the sky.
Their figures dissolved into countless motes of pure, gentle light that rose upward, fading into the afternoon sky like ascending fireflies.
Shindou remained on his knees, staring at the empty space where they had been. A long moment of silence passed
Then, they appeared back into the empty clearing of the forest. The shrine nowhere to be seen.
"She was smiling," Shindou said to no one in particular, his voice thick with emotion.
Yoshioka-sensei walked over and stood beside him, looking up at the sky as well. "You knew her." It wasn't a question.
Shindou finally looked down at the ground, his shoulders slumping. "Mrs. Towako… another spirit medium, like my master. She always wanted to help people. And it was my fault she died." He clenched his fists. "It was my fault she couldn't help anyone else."
Sensei's gaze remained on the sky "She helped you," he stated, his tone matter-of-fact yet strangely comforting. "She helped that girl. She was smiling, wasn't she?"
Shindou was silent for a long time, a weight seeming to lift from his shoulders.
Finally, he took a deep, shuddering breath.
"Yeah" He whispered. "She was."
With that, the strange, sorrowful tension of the moment broke
The lesson was over.
Without another word, Yoshioka-sensei turned and began to lead them back down the mountain path, leaving the now quiet clearing.
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(Sakurajima Mai's POV)
The bus ride back from the mountains was a blur of exhaustion and lingering shock. Mai stared out the window, watching the dense trees give way to suburban houses, the ordinary world feeling surreal after what they'd witnessed.
It was a lot to process.
They disembarked at their usual urban bus stop, the familiar surroundings a stark contrast to the hidden shrine. The group stood together on the sidewalk for a moment, a silent, shell-shocked unit.
Yoshioka-sensei turned to face them, his expression as unreadable as ever. "Tomorrow is Sunday. I will be assigning you independent missions. I will send the details later." His crimson eyes scanned them, already planning, already calculating. "For the moment..."
His gaze landed on Kageyama. "Kageyama, call your mother. Tell her you will be staying with a friend tonight. If she asks for details, have Zaimozuka speak to her."
Kageyama blinked, looking startled. "U-um, sure, sensei." He fumbled for his phone, moving a few steps away.
Sensei then turned to the newest member of their bizarre little club. "Busujima, you will be coming with me and Kageyama. I need to put you up to speed on the fundamentals"
Busujima Saeko stood a little straighter, her grip tightening on her wooden sword. "I will, sensei." There was a fierce determination in her eyes that Mai recognized. The determination of someone who had been given a chance and would claw their way to success.
"Good," Yoshioka said, a single, curt word that closed the topic.
As Kageyama murmured into his phone, the rest of the group began to chatter in hushed, excited tones. Hana was already speculating wildly about what their "missions" could be, while Zaimozuka was dramatically outlining his presumed role as team leader
Mai, however, didn't join in. She stood slightly apart, her arms crossed, watching Saeko and Yoshioka-sensei.
'He was going to give her special training?'
The thought landed in her gut like a cold stone.
'How unfair'
She and Miko had been thrown into the deep end, forced to learn through brutal sparring and painful feedback.
She had been trying, subtly and not-so-subtly, to get a moment of his undivided attention for days.
A private lesson.
Anything.
And she'd had no such luck.
But this new girl, this normal girl with the unreal proportions and the wooden sword, waltzes in and gets a private tutoring session with Sensei and Kageyama? The one with the catastrophic, Special Grade potential?
It felt like a promotion she hadn't been considered for.
Kageyama returned, slipping his phone back into his pocket. "My mother said yes, sensei. Zaimozuka-kun talked to her... he was very... convincing."
"Good. Then we are leaving immediately" Yoshioka-sensei turned his attention back to the main group. "Rest well. Tomorrow, you will be operating by yourselves. I will divide you into two groups. Yotsuya, you are with Hana and Niguredou. Mai, you will be with Zaimozuka and Saeko. She will be joining with your group tomorrow. Kageyama will stay with me all day tomorrow"
There were nods all around. Miko looked determined, Yuria nervous, Zaimozuka preening.
Yoshioka gave a final nod, then turned and began walking away, Saeko falling into step beside him without a backward glance. Kageyama hurried to catch up.
Mai watched them go, the three figures growing smaller down the street.
A hot, sharp pang of jealousy twisted inside her. It wasn't just about the training. It was about the proximity.
He was walking away with her.
She couldn't help the bitter thought that solidified in her mind 'He didn't even look back'
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(Busujima Saeko's POV)
The quiet of the morning was a stark contrast to the storm that had raged inside her body all night.
Saeko sat on the tatami mat floor of Yoshioka-sensei's spartan living room, her legs folded beneath her.
She held her hands out, turning them over, studying the familiar calluses on her palms. They were the same hands, yet everything about them felt… more.
Her entire existence felt amplified. The faint scent of dust and old wood from the house was as clear as if she'd stuck her nose in a cedar chest.
The individual fibers of the tatami were sharp and distinct.
When she flexed her fingers, she could feel the individual muscles in her forearm shift with a precision that was both thrilling and alien.
It was like she'd been living her whole life with a veil over her senses, and now it had been ripped away.
The price for this clarity had been agony.
A deep pain that had felt like her very skeleton was being reformed.
She'd screamed into the futon, her knuckles white as she'd endured it.
Now, in the calm aftermath, the memory was a dull ache, a testament to the transformation.
"How are you feeling?"
The voice, flat and calm, cut through her reverie.
She looked up. Yoshioka-sensei stood in the doorway, his crimson eyes taking in her state, dressed only in her sweat-damp sports bra and tracksuit pants, her toned abdomen and arms on full display.
He showed no more reaction than if he were looking at a piece of furniture.
"I'm getting better" She replied, her voice steady despite the lingering soreness. "I am getting accustomed to my new senses. But still, it is surprising how much they've improved"
"It is the expected outcome," he stated
"How did you call it?" she asked, wanting to hear the term again, to solidify this new reality.
"Heavenly Restriction," he said "I excised all of your Cursed Energy, and your innate capacity to generate it. In exchange, your physical body has been blessed and enhanced. Of course, the consequences of the procedure were precarious. If you had possessed a weak mind or a frail body, you would have died"
He said it with the same detached tone one might use to explain a recipe. Add two cups of flour; if you use salt instead, the cake will be ruined. She added this casual discussion of her mortality to the growing list of peculiarities about the man who had upended her life.
Then, she remembered the other occupant of the house. "How is he doing?"
"He is progressing better than projected. The process is accelerating. He should be ready by midday."
She turned her head, her new vision easily piercing the dim hallway.
Through the slightly ajar door of the main bedroom, she could see a faint, steady plume of steam rising.
The source was Kageyama Shigeo.
The boy had been enveloped in that strange, heat-haze aura since yesterday evening, after Sensei had force-fed him an impossible quantity of food and a bucket of fructose-water.
The memory was bizarre….
Watching the quiet boy dutifully consuming enough for ten men before collapsing into a comatose, steaming heap.
After that, Sensei had turned his attention to her.
The explanation of curses and sorcerers had been dizzying.
Then came the request that had weirded her out 'Show me your back'
But seeing his absolute seriousness, and what he had just done to Kageyama, she had obliged.
She'd sat backwards on a chair, gripping the backrest. The moment his hand had touched her skin, it had felt like a vortex opening at the base of her spine, sucking out something fundamental.
The pain had been immediate and excruciating, a soul-deep violation.
She'd screamed, but held on.
When he finally removed his hand, the pain had intensified exponentially, spreading through every cell.
The last thing she remembered was him carrying her to the futon before her world dissolved into a crucible of remaking.
She woke hours later, remade, reborn
"You are making adequate progress," Sensei said, pulling her from the memory. "There are additional skills you will need to learn, but they can wait."
She simply nodded, "Hmm."
Her eyes wandered the bare room, finally landing on the only personal touch she could see.
It was a framed drawing on the wall, executed in charcoal with breath-taking skill.
It depicted a woman with long, flowing hair, seated beside a bonfire.
She wore an elegant black dress, but the most striking feature was the ornate crown that rested on her head, and it obscured her eyes.
Below the image, in a graceful, looping script, was a single name: Annabelle.
Curiosity, a dangerous impulse she usually kept on a tight leash, got the better of her. "What is that drawing?" she asked
He followed her gaze. For a fraction of a second, she thought she saw something, a flicker, in his impassive eyes. It was gone before she could be sure.
"It was someone I once knew," he said, his voice even, but with a new, subtle finality.
"Oh," Saeko ventured, pushing her luck. "A past love, perhaps?"
"It doesn't matter." The shift in his tone was slight, but to her heightened senses, it was as clear as a shout. It was colder, harder. A wall slamming down.
She realized her mistake instantly. She had trespassed. "I'm sorry," she said quickly, bowing her head slightly.
He didn't acknowledge the apology. Instead, he looked at the plain clock on the wall. "It is time for you to depart for the mission. You remember the location?"
"Yes," she said, her voice firm
"Then go ahead. I will check on Kageyama" He turned and walked away without another word, disappearing down the hall.
Saeko remained seated for a moment longer, the quiet click of the bedroom door echoing in the silent room.
She had screwed up. She had seen a crack in his armour and, like a fool, had tried to peek inside.
She stood up, pulling on her tracksuit jacket. The fabric felt different against her sensitized skin.
She mumbled another quiet "Sorry" to the empty room, knowing he wouldn't hear it, or wouldn't care if he did.
She had a mission. She would not fail it. Apologies could come later, through action, not words
-----------------------------------------
(Third Person POV)
The entrance to the abandoned railway tunnel was a gaping maw of crumbling concrete and shadows. A cold, damp draft whispered from within, carrying the scent of wet stone and decay.
"According to the info Sensei gave us," Miko said, her voice a little too loud in the oppressive quiet "There's a powerful cursed spirit nesting in here. Our mission is to exorcise it."
Hana, ever the optimist, bounced on the balls of her feet. "No problem! Sensei put you in charge, Miko-chan, and you're super strong now! We've got this!"
Yuria, however, hung back, her arms crossed tightly. "It's pitch black in there," she muttered, peering into the impenetrable darkness. "I can't see a thing"
They took a few cautious steps into the tunnel. The sunlight faded rapidly behind them, swallowed by the gloom. The only sounds were the scuff of their shoes on gravel and the distant drip of water.
"Shh!" Hana suddenly whispered, holding up a hand. "Do you hear that?"
Miko froze, her enhanced senses locking onto the sound.
It was a faint, muffled voice. A human voice. She didn't hesitate.
With a thought, the air beside her shimmered, and the massive, spectral form of Mamoru materialized.
The Shikigami let out a soft, rumbling growl, its crimson eyes scanning the darkness ahead. As they continued walking, Miko extended her arm. Mamoru opened its jaws, and the air within seemed to warp as it gently regurgitated her pale wooden bo staff into her waiting hand.
She gave it an experimental spin, the weapon humming with latent energy.
"Whoa," Hana breathed, her fear momentarily forgotten. "That is so cool!"
Yuria just nodded, a flicker of impressed relief in her eyes. At least they had a guardian and a weapon.
They followed the sound, which grew clearer, a nervous, stammering male voice.
Hana pulled out her phone, switching on the flashlight. The beam cut through the darkness, and landed on a figure.
It was a boy, probably their age, with a distinctive bowl-cut hairstyle and glasses. He was hunched over, holding his own phone to his ear, his face pale in the stark light.
"Eh?" Hana exclaimed, startled.
The boy jumped, nearly dropping his phone. "Eh?!" he squeaked, blinking owlishly behind his glasses.
"Who are you?" Yuria demanded, stepping forward with a scowl. "What are you doing here?"
"Uh, ah, I-I was here on a dare!" the boy stammered, clutching his phone like a lifeline. "From a girl in my class! I didn't know there were other people doing a dare too..."
A tinny voice came from his phone. {Hey, Occult-boy, who are you talking to?}
"Oh, Ayase-san!" the boy said into the receiver, his voice shaking. "It seems some girls are walking in the tunnel as well..."
{Really?} the voice on the phone replied, sounding bored.
"Yeah, I uh—" The boy's words died in his throat.
His eyes, along with the three girls', were drawn past the circle of phone light, deeper into the tunnel.
Something else was there.
A figure stood motionless in the shadows.
It was hunched over, resembling an old woman in a tattered shawl. But its skin was a sickly grey, and its head lolled on a too-thin neck.
Most horrifying of all were its eyes: two empty, glowing red sockets that seemed to stare at nothing and everything at once.
A high, distorted whisper slithered through the tunnel, a sound that seemed to come from all directions at once.
"I'll let you suck my titties..."
The air turned to ice. The bowl-cut boy let out a strangled gasp, his phone clattering to the ground, the screen shattering and plunging the end of the tunnel into near darkness.
{Occult boy? What is going on?}
--------------------------------------------
(Third Person POV)
The abandoned office building loomed against the grey sky, its windows like empty, staring eyes.
Mai stood before it, her kusarigama case held tightly in one hand.
A moment later, Zaimozuka arrived, striking a pose as if announcing his presence to the universe.
"Fear not, comrades! I, the great Zaimozuka, have arrived to ensure our victory!"
Mai ignored him, her attention snapping to the third figure approaching at a brisk jog. It was Busujima Saeko, her purple ponytail swaying, her tracksuit jacket open and her skin glistening with a fine sheen of sweat.
But she wasn't even breathing heavily.
A hot, irrational spike of jealousy shot through Mai. 'Where has she been? What has she been doing all morning that's left her so... flushed?' Visions of private, intense training sessions with Yoshioka-sensei flashed in her mind.
But just as quickly, a calmer, more logical thought surfaced
'Sensei isn't like that. He's about as romantic as a job application' The jealousy cooled, replaced by a simmering curiosity.
"Sorry I'm late," Saeko said, her voice calm and focused
"Let's just get this over with" Mai replied, her tone sharper than she intended.
They pushed open the creaking door and stepped into the derelict lobby.
Dust motes danced in the slivers of light cutting through the gloom.
Mai held her kusarigama at the ready, the chain coiled loosely in her hand.
Saeko held her wooden sword in a practiced, two-handed grip, her eyes scanning the shadows.
Zaimozuka, meanwhile, moved through the space with a series of dramatic, silent poses, as if expecting a camera to be following him.
They cleared the first floor methodically, finding nothing but debris and rotting furniture.
Saeko suddenly stopped, tilting her head. "There's something upstairs," she stated.
Mai frowned. "How would you know that? I can't sense anything."
Saeko looked at Mai, a flicker of confusion at her hostile tone. "Sensei... improved my body. My senses are amplified now. I can hear faint scratching. From up there."
Mai's eyes narrowed. "Improved how?"
"He called it a Heavenly Restriction" Saeko explained, her gaze returning to the staircase. "He took away my Cursed Energy, and my ability to ever generate it. In exchange, my physical body was... blessed. Enhanced."
Zaimozuka paused mid-pose, pushing his glasses up his nose "I see! An equivalent exchange! A magnificent, albeit risky, alchemical principle! She is now a being incapable of wielding cursed energy or an innate technique, but in return, she possesses a vessel honed to physical perfection! Truly, a unique build!"
Mai processed this. So that was the "special training."
The jealousy vanished, replaced by a strange sense of unease. "If that's the case, and you're our lookout, then we might as well go up" She conceded.
They ascended the crumbling staircase to the second floor.
The hallway was long and dark, lined with doors to forgotten offices.
Saeko stopped again, her head cocked. "I hear a voice," she whispered, pointing down the hall. "That way."
They crept forward, the only sounds their soft footsteps and Zaimouka's dramatic, silent pantomimes.
The voice became clearer, a girl's voice, sharp with panic.
"...Occult-boy? What is going on?" The voice came from further down the hallway "Occult-boy?!"
They continued, until they arrived to a deeper part of the hallway, in there a girl was frantically shouting into her phone. She had brown hair and was dressed in a stylish pink sweater and navy skirt.
She spun around as they entered, her eyes wide with surprise and fear.
"Hey! What are you doing here?" She demanded, lowering her phone.
But before anyone could answer, Saeko's body tensed. She raised her wooden sword, falling into a defensive stance. "Be careful!" she hissed.
Mai and Zaimozuka followed her gaze down the dark hallway. Three figures stood there, perfectly still.
They were identical men, all dressed in crisp white button-up shirts, grey dress pants, and brown shoes. Their faces were blank, smiling masks.
Mai's grip tightened on her kusarigama. The air grew cold. "What are those things?" She whispered, a sense of dread coiling in her stomach. They didn't feel like the formless curses she was used to.
They felt... completely wrong
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Back in the tunnel, the situation devolved into chaos in seconds.
The hunched, red-eyed spirit shot forward with impossible speed, a blur of tattered cloth and distorted limbs.
The bowl-cut boy screamed and spun on his heel, sprinting desperately back towards the pinprick of daylight at the tunnel's entrance.
"Don't run! That just makes it worse!" Yuria shouted, her voice cracking with panic. "It's the Turbo Granny!"
But it was too late.
The spirit zipped past the boy, its movements a grotesque parody of an old woman's shuffle, before circling back and latching onto him with shocking force...
With its mouth clamping down squarely on the boy's crotch.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" he shrieked, a sound of pure, undiluted agony and terror.
Hana stared, horrified and confused. "What is it doing?!"
Yuria covered her eyes, turning away with a mortified cry. "Ahhhh! I can't look!"
Miko, her face burning a bright scarlet, shoved her embarrassment aside.
Her training kicked in. "Mamoru! Stop it!" she yelled, lunging forward with her staff. The bo-staff whistled through the air, but the Granny was unnaturally fast, ducking under the swing.
Mamoru pounced, its powerful jaws snapping shut on empty air as the spirit skittered up the tunnel wall, running sideways like a monstrous insect.
It was then that the possession took hold.
The boy's screaming stopped abruptly.
His body went rigid, then slumped for a moment before straightening with an unnatural posture. His head lolled back, and when his eyes opened, they glowed with the same vacant red light as the Granny. A creepy, gurgling laugh bubbled from his throat.
"Shit" Miko hissed.
Every time she or Mamoru landed a glancing blow to subdue him, the boy grunted in real pain, and the Granny's influence would flicker but quickly re-establish control.
She couldn't attack recklessly now; she'd hurt the boy.
Then, Miko had an idea. "Mamoru, hold him!"
The Shikigami lunged, wrapping its spectral limbs around the possessed boy, pinning his arms.
Miko darted in, using her staff to press against his throat in a careful chokehold, cutting off air just enough to daze him without causing serious harm. "Hana-chan, now! Pour your energy into him! All the positive, healing energy you can!"
"Y-yes!" Hana cried, rushing forward. She placed her hands on the boy's chest, her eyes squeezing shut in concentration.
A warm, brilliant green light erupted from her palms, flooding into his body.
The effect was immediate and violent.
The boy convulsed.
A wretched, choking sound came from his mouth as a wisp of black smoke, shaped like the old woman's face, was forced out of him. It hovered for a second, disoriented.
"Yuria, now!" Miko shouted.
Yuria, seeing her chance, didn't hesitate. She spun on her heel, her leg lashing out in a powerful roundhouse kick infused with her own purple-hued cursed energy. "Get out of here!" She screamed. The kick connected with the smoky form, sending it flying down the tunnel with a piercing shriek.
The spirit slammed against the far wall and slumped to the ground. But instead of dissipating, it let out a low, gurgling laugh. "Hehehehe... Bound Spirit! Kill them!"
A deep, resonant CLACK-CLACK-CLACK echoed from the deepest darkness of the tunnel.
The ground began to tremble.
Then, emerging into the faint light, was a monstrous crab the size of a house.
Its shell was a mottled, cursed black, and one massive, razor-sharp pincer was large enough to snip a person in half.
The girls stared, frozen for a critical second.
"RUN!" Miko screamed.
They turned and fled, Mamoru scooping up the dazed boy and bounding after them. They burst out of the tunnel into the afternoon sun, but their relief was short-lived.
With a deafening crash of concrete and rock, the giant crab smashed through the tunnel entrance, its stalked eyes swivelling to lock onto them.
It was faster than anything that size had a right to be. It scuttled after them, gaining ground rapidly.
With a tremendous stomp of its leg, it shattered the ground beneath them, the force of the impact throwing all of them into the air.
Before they could land, the crab's massive pincer swung around, smashing them against the concrete wall of the road with brutal force.
They fell to the ground in a heap, bruised and gasping.
Yuria pushed herself up, her body screaming in protest.
Seeing the crab advance on a struggling Hana, a desperate, primal anger surged within her. 'I'm not just a spectator! I'm not useless!' She focused all her fear, all her frustration, into her hands.
Purple energy crackled around her, but this time, it didn't just coat her skin. It extended outwards, forming into thin strings that emerged from her fingertips.
She lunged, raking the energy strings across the crab's leg.
They sheared through the cursed shell, drawing a spray of black ichor. The crab roared in surprise and pain.
Meanwhile, the crab's other pincer shot toward Miko.
Hana, seeing her friend in danger, acted on instinct. She threw herself in front of Miko, her hands outstretched. A pale green aura enveloped her.
The force of the pincer's impact didn't crush her; instead, the energy of the blow was absorbed into her body.
She cried out as the transferred force wracked her muscles and bones, her knees buckling. She'd taken the hit, but the toll was immense.
She couldn't move, her body overwhelmed.
The crab, annoyed by Yuria's attacks, swatted her aside with a casual flick of its injured leg, sending her crashing into a tree.
Miko, enraged, charged the beast with a cry, her staff glowing white.
But she was still outmatched.
The crab caught her swing with its pincer and flung her away like a ragdoll. Her head struck a rock, and she landed in a heap, blood trickling from her temple.
Mamoru, tried to bite the crab, but it was stopped by its pincer, and crushed in it.
"Kuuuuuu" Her Shikigami cried in pain
Releasing the blood of her Shikigami as dropped throw the ground before throwing it to the same place it threw her
Darkness crept at the edge of her vision.
Then, she felt a warm, familiar presence.
Mamoru was there, nuzzling her weakly. Its form was flickering.
A single, drawn-out word formed in her mind, a direct telepathic link fuelled by their bond: "Mii...kooo...chaaan..."
It was the voice...
The voice of her father…...
"You…. can….do…it...Don't…..give...up….."
The plea broke through her pain.
"You…...have…...always...been...strong"
She saw Hana, paralyzed on the ground. She saw Yuria, not moving by a tree.
".....I...will....always...be...with....you"
The boy, still unconscious.
'No.'
The thought was quiet, but absolute.
'I am not weak. I am not a coward. I will not let anything hurt my friends.'
A new resolution hardened in her heart.
As it did, a warm, soothing energy, a pale imitation of Hana's healing she has felt before, but coming out of herself.
It spread from her core, knitting the gash on her head and easing her bruises. It was a breakthrough. She unlocked it, the Reverse Cursed Technique
She pushed herself up, using her staff for support.
Her body hummed with a new, fierce power.
Just then, the crab raised its massive pincer high above the helpless Hana, ready to crush her.
Time seemed to slow.
'Whoever dares to hurt my friends,' Miko thought, her eyes blazing with a cold fire, 'will SUFFER.'
She moved
She appeared between Hana and the descending pincer. Her staff, now blazing with concentrated white energy, met the claw.
There was no sound of impact. Instead, there was a flash of black and red lightning a distortion of space itself
BLACK FLASH!
The effect was catastrophic.
The crab's massive pincer didn't just break; it vaporized from the point of impact upward, the destructive energy racing along its shell. The creature let out an earth-shattering screech of agony, recoiling violently.
"Don't you dare touch my friends!" Miko roared, standing protectively over Hana.
Behind her, the air shimmered.
Mamoru reformed, but it was different. It was larger, more solid, its spectral fur now edged with blazing white light. Its eyes glowed Golden with the same fierce determination as its master.
"...….I.....will.....always.....LOVE.....you....Miko"
Miko stood up to her full height, all pain forgotten, her mind going full with a new clarity. He eyes shining Golden, and the bo-staff resting on her shoulder with both tips lit with her white energy
The second black flash of her live, so close to the first one, gave her the impulse she needed
With a new resolution and her newfound strength
Yotsuya Miko had reached a new plateau. She had touched the realm of the truly powerful and realize her potential
She had reached the threshold of Special Grade.