"Ahhh!" The child spirit had already rushed in front of Yotsuya Miko, its two whip-like hands encircling Yotsuya Miko from two directions, its twisted face filled with the desire to devour her.
Yotsuya Miko panicked for a moment, but only for a moment. She instantly used her Divine Blessing, clapped her hands together, and shouted,
"Barrier!"
A pale blue light, visible even to ordinary people, bloomed from Yotsuya Miko's body. The light expanded, as if a giant blue bubble was being blown, centered around Yotsuya Miko.
The child spirit was instantly impacted by the expanding barrier. Its two arms, which had already entwined, were instantly torn apart, breaking into several segments.
"Ah—!" The child spirit shrieked and flew backward, red eye-points appearing in its hollow, black eye sockets. Its body tumbled to the ground, its arms completely gone.
The moment it landed, it steadied its feet, leaped high, its head swelling, its mouth opening wide enough to swallow a person's head, and plunged straight towards Yotsuya Miko.
Without the barrier, at such speed, an ordinary person wouldn't even react before their head was bitten off. Even Yotsuya Miko, who had received a Divine Blessing, could barely keep up with the speed.
The child spirit's head directly slammed into the barrier, its entire head flattened by the impact. It was sent flying backward again, landing heavily on the ground.
The child spirit bounced back up and continued to charge towards Yotsuya Miko, seemingly completely unaware of the 'barrier's' existence. "Eat! Eat! Ahhh!"
"This spirit is much stronger than the others," Yotsuya Miko raised her hands, her palms aimed at the child spirit that was continuously crashing into the barrier.
"Exorcism Orb!"
Pale blue light points appeared between her palms. The pale blue light points grew in number, finally condensing into a light orb the size of a billiard ball. The light orb grew larger and larger, eventually reaching the size of a soccer ball.
Then it blasted out directly. The child spirit was carried by the light orb into mid-air, then exploded with a roar. The explosion produced no smoke, but the aftershock created a wind that blew the leaves off the trees in the garden.
"Ah!" A scream rang out from the bushes.
"Who?" Yotsuya Miko was startled and quickly looked over.
She saw a pigtailed 'elementary schooler' sitting on the ground by a flowerbed not far away, looking at her with a face full of terror.
Yotsuya Miko's heart sank. Oh no! A normal person saw her!
Although ordinary people couldn't see spirits, they could see the magic she used.
Before, she had always been careful to keep the glow of her magic as minimal as possible.
But just now, she had been startled by the child spirit and had directly used magic.
And it was also the strongest magic she had learned so far.
Yotsuya Miko sighed and walked towards the pigtailed elementary schooler. She could only try to persuade her not to tell anyone.
If she became aware of spirits, she might start seeing them, which would definitely be a nightmare for an elementary schooler. She might not even survive the next day.
Half a minute ago, from Yulia's perspective.
'What is she doing? Waving? Who? I don't see anyone?' Yulia cautiously hid behind the flowerbed, using the small landscaping shrubs to conceal her head.
"Barrier!"
Yulia was suddenly startled and saw Yotsuya Miko put her hands together, a blue light shield protecting her within.
Then dark smoke appeared all around, and a spirit with broken arms appeared out of thin air. This time, she didn't just vaguely see a humanoid shadow; she saw it very clearly.
The clear and distinct face of the spirit made Yulia cover her mouth with both hands, almost screaming out loud.
She saw it! So scary! So clear!
She could clearly see spirits smaller than herself, but for spirits larger than her, she could only see faint shadows. She had always thought those large spirits were the weakest.
She never expected that wasn't the case!
Could it be because of her eyes? The higher the level of her eyes, the clearer she could see!
Since childhood, she had also figured out many rules about spirits on her own.
For example, those small old man spirits liked damp places and places with shiny things.
At first, she couldn't see those large shadows, but gradually she became able to.
Could it be! The spirits I can see, only those spirits can see me! Is it a two-way street?
Yulia was not stupid and quickly guessed some of the rules.
Yulia covered her mouth, watching the battle before her. Even though she was trembling with fear, she couldn't take her eyes off it. Her cheeks were even slightly flushed, and her eyes were filled with admiration.
Barrier! That was a Barrier! Even in various yokai manga, it was a top-tier power. Those who could use a Barrier could basically be confirmed as top-tier powerhouses.
"Exorcism Orb!"
Yulia saw a basketball-sized orb of light appear in Yotsuya Miko's hands, and heard her shout. Her eyes were already full of little stars, her heart was pounding, and she was shouting in her mind,
"Special move! It's a special move!"
"So amazing! So powerful!"
Such a powerful spirit was annihilated in an instant!
At that moment, the wind pressure from the explosion directly blew her small body to the ground, and the pain made her cry out.
"Oh no!" Yulia covered her mouth again in horror.
"Who?!"
"I've been discovered!" Yulia trembled in terror, looking at the powerful psychic who had turned her deep gaze towards her. Yulia's throat felt as if it was choked, unable to make a sound.
Pressure! This was pressure! The legendary pressure that could make a person unable to move their body! (Actually, she was just overly nervous)
"Gulp…" Yulia tremblingly looked up at those golden eyes, filled with 'spiritual power.' The eyes were cold and emotionless, as if killing someone like her would merely require a flick of a spell.
"You saw them? The spirits?" Yotsuya Miko walked in front of the pigtailed elementary schooler, seeing Yulia trembling in fear and realizing that this little girl might have seen more than just her magic.
Seeing her magic would likely elicit excitement, not this kind of fear. She must have seen the spirits.
Yulia's pupils constricted significantly. Her mind was racing, trying to figure out if she had seen them. Spirits? What? Was she trying to decide how to deal with her?
Was this the kind of situation where ordinary people weren't allowed to see psychic battles and their memories had to be erased?
Should I say I saw them, or didn't see them? What would happen if I told her?
"Uh…" Yotsuya Miko looked at the frightened girl, feeling a bit at a loss. After thinking for a moment, she decided to help her to a park bench.
With that thought, she showed a gentle smile and reached out to help the elementary schooler up by her arm.
"No! Don't kill me!" Yulia, seeing Yotsuya Miko extend her hand with a 'killing intent' to 'cast a spell' on her, shrieked, clutching her head, and blurted out like spilling beans,
"I didn't mean to follow you! My name is Yulia, and I'm in the class next to yours! I'm not an ordinary person either! I can also see spirits! I'm one of you, so please don't kill me!"
"I know Shitamachi Shinbo! She's also a very powerful psychic, and I'm sort of her disciple! Look! This is a bracelet Shitamachi Shinbo made; it can also ward off evil."
"So please don't kill me!" Yulia's tears were streaming down, falling like little pearls.
...."
Yotsuya Miko looked utterly bewildered. What just happened? Who am I? What am I doing?