Chapter 19: Chapter 16 - Miko Defeats the Evil Spirit, Shocking the Yukinoshitas
In the pitch-black bedroom illuminated only by candlelight, the lightning in Kaito's hand shone brightly.
Hiratsuka Shizuka, having already seen Kaito wield lightning to kill her beloved pothos plant, wasn't too shocked.
But Mrs. Yukinoshita, Yukino, and Haruno were wide-eyed as they watched Kaito's lightning-filled hand in the mirror.
Before they could process what was happening, Kaito's palm struck Mrs. Yukinoshita's back.
Then...
"Huh?!!!"
Mrs. Yukinoshita couldn't hold back any longer.
She let out a pained cry, her legs twitching.
However, no one in the room noticed her sudden change.
Because...
"Ah?!!!"
A sharp, angry scream echoed through the room.
The women in the room watched as the reflection of Mrs. Yukinoshita, who had looked like a delicate beauty with smooth, ink-black hair and a pale, beautiful face, suddenly transformed.
Her hair became disheveled, her face turned into that of a hideous, black-toothed, wild-haired female ghost!
"W-What is this?!"
Haruno's pupils contracted.
She stumbled back several steps, collapsing onto the bed.
Yukino screamed in terror, her legs giving out as she fell to the floor in a sitting position.
She couldn't speak, her eyes fixed on her mother.
But Mrs. Yukinoshita had already fainted in Kaito's arms. Aside from a slightly twisted expression, there was no trace of the grotesque, black-toothed ghost.
"Do you know about the Aoi Nyōbō?"
"Aoi Nyōbō?"
Yukino and Haruno stared at their mother in shock.
The Aoi Nyōbō was one of Japan's many ghosts.
Legend had it that a palace maid, betrayed by her fiancé, turned into a monster. Every night, she would groom herself in front of a mirror. If anyone other than her fiancé saw her, she would kill them.
Had their mother been possessed by an Aoi Nyōbō?
"This is the ghost that's been making your mother groom herself in front of the mirror at night."
The Aoi Nyōbō in the mirror roared, seemingly intent on killing Kaito.
But Mrs. Yukinoshita's body was surrounded by a web of crackling electricity, trapping the ghost and preventing it from moving.
"Want to fight?"
"Then come out."
Kaito's hand, pressed against Mrs. Yukinoshita's back, suddenly exerted more force.
A stronger surge of lightning pierced Mrs. Yukinoshita's body.
Yukino and Haruno heard an even more agonized, ear-piercing scream as they watched a cloud of black mist being forced out of their mother's body.
Though they didn't have Miko's spiritual sensitivity, they could still see the grotesque black mist.
The women in the room instinctively backed away, pressing themselves against the farthest corners.
Kaito waved his hand, and countless bolts of lightning wrapped around the ghost.
Lightning naturally countered spirits.
The Aoi Nyōbō, afraid to touch the lightning, immediately noticed the only path Kaito had left open—a path leading straight to Miko.
With a roar, it charged at her.
"S-S-Sensei...!"
Miko wasn't seeing the black mist like the others.
She could clearly see the grotesque, wild-haired, black-toothed female ghost.
When it suddenly flew toward her, Miko's mind went blank.
"Miko!"
"Have you forgotten what I taught you?"
Kaito's voice exploded in Miko's mind like thunder.
Seeing the Aoi Nyōbō right in front of her, Miko didn't have time to think.
Instinctively, she used the Five Thunder Spell Kaito had taught her.
And she used it at full power.
In an instant, the dark bedroom was filled with crackling lightning.
Miko screamed, thrusting her hands toward the Aoi Nyōbō.
"Boom!"
A bolt of lightning as thick as a bucket shot toward the ghost.
The Aoi Nyōbō only saw a flash of blue.
Before it could even scream, it was engulfed by the lightning, which continued unabated.
"Boom!"
When the lightning faded, Miko, drained of spiritual energy, collapsed to the floor, her face pale.
The other women stared in shock at the wall, where a hole as thick as a bucket had been blasted, surrounded by scorch marks.
Then they looked at Miko.
The most shocked was Yukino.
In her memory, Miko was a very ordinary girl.
Ordinary personality, ordinary grades, ordinary family, ordinary relationships...
In short, she was just a regular high school girl with a cute face.
But now...
Was I the fool all along?
Kaito picked up the unconscious Mrs. Yukinoshita and placed her on the bed.
Then he walked over to Miko, crouched down, and hugged her.
"You did well."
Miko, still dazed, instinctively hugged Kaito back, trembling as she felt his warm chest.
She stared blankly at the scorched hole in the wall.
"I... I did it?"
"If you couldn't do it, would I have asked you to?"
Kaito let go of Miko and ruffled her hair.
"Be more careful next time."
"If I hadn't shielded everyone, you might have electrocuted everyone in the room."
Only then did Miko snap out of her daze.
She looked at the hole she had blasted, then at Kaito, blinking.
Suddenly, she grinned foolishly.
"I really did it!"
Even such a powerful evil spirit couldn't withstand her lightning.
From now on, she wouldn't have to be afraid of spirits anymore!
If any spirit dared to ask, "Can you see me?", she'd just blast them with the Five Thunder Spell and see who dared to scare her!
And all of this...
Was thanks to her sensei!
Miko tightly hugged Kaito's waist, burying her face in his chest.
"Sensei, Sensei. Sensei!!!"
...