"So, most of my subordinates have already been taken out by that guy, huh…"

Having cut off the connection, Inoue Yasutaka rested his chin in one hand and tapped on the table with the other, deep in thought.

The candlelight in the living room had long gone out, replaced by swirling green ghostly flames hovering above his head.

Counting the useless one in the Yukinoshita family, the three-headed ghost that went missing, and the three evil spirits he sent to die, Inoue Yasutaka's once-large force had now been reduced by half.

"Only five left—it doesn't look good. Since there's a blackout tonight, let those guys enjoy themselves a bit…"

His eyes flickered with a dangerous light.

Though he had an agreement with certain bigshots that strictly prohibited large-scale attacks on humans, if it were framed as his subordinates being slaughtered too much, and the sudden blackout triggering the berserk behavior of low-level evil spirits without intelligence… well, that couldn't be helped, could it?

Thinking this, Inoue Yasutaka's lips curled into a smile. He opened his mouth wide—an invisible wave pulsed from it, quickly spreading across the entirety of Chiba.

.

.

.

"Rumble rumble…" The ground suddenly trembled.

Hikigaya Hachiman, who was relentlessly bombarding the head-ghost with ofuda talismans, immediately sensed a sudden surge in the number of evil spirits nearby!

Although most were only low-level spirits, and even mid-level ones were rare, to ordinary humans, this was an absolute catastrophe.

What's worse—there was a power outage tonight. Humanity had lost their final means of using light to repel evil spirits…

Three low-level spirits suddenly leaped out from behind Hachiman. Completely disregarding the threat of his demon-slaying sword, they charged straight at him.

"Slash!" "Slash!" "Slash!" Three swift strikes, followed by 150 spirit coins credited to his account— the foolish spirits were cleaved apart and dissolved into black mist in midair.

But the familiar reward notification brought Hachiman no joy. Instead, his face was filled with deep concern.

"Komachi… is she okay?"

Looking at the still-standing head-ghost before him, Hachiman let out a breath. He didn't have time to waste on this monster anymore.

His entire body became enveloped in spiritual energy, and he activated the Sun Breathing Technique again. After throwing out three more ofuda to distract the ghost, he charged in for the final strike!

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. For origınal chapters go to novel~fire~net

"Are you okay, Miko-senpai?"

Sitting on a bench by the roadside, Komachi looked with concern at Yotsuya Miko, who had her legs tightly pressed together and sat in a bashful posture.

"I-I'm fine…"

Even though the night breeze had mostly dried her skirt, the fabric underneath was still a little damp. Especially now, sitting here on the side of the road…

Miko felt gusts of cold wind blowing past her legs again and again…

"…Come to think of it, it's been quite a while. Hachiman-kun hasn't finished off the evil spirit yet…"

Trying to distract herself from the uncomfortable feeling below, Miko stiffly forced a change of topic.

"Eh? Does Onii-chan usually exorcise spirits quickly?"

Komachi had never witnessed Hachiman's exorcisms before, and had always imagined him like a shounen anime protagonist—engaging in fierce, thrilling battles before finally winning through hardship.

"It's not a matter of fast or slow. He's just really strong!"

Recalling Hachiman's previous exorcisms, Miko blushed a little and unconsciously rubbed her legs together.

"Senpai… you like Onii-chan, don't you?"

Seeing her reaction, Komachi blinked a few times, then showed a mischievous smile.

"Mhm, I do!"

No coy denials or dodging the question. Miko nodded earnestly and admitted, in front of Hachiman's little sister, that she liked her older brother.

"Eh?"

Komachi hadn't expected that answer at all. Did she mishear? Or had Miko picked up the wrong script?

At this point, wasn't the standard response from a girl supposed to be something like "Who would like that guy?!" in a tsundere tone?

"Well… he's saved me so many times, and apart from those eyes, Hachiman-kun's actually pretty handsome. So I think it's normal that I'd fall for him?"

Seeing Komachi staring at her so intently, Miko started to feel a bit shy.

"No, I think just the fact that you do like my Onii-chan is what's not normal…"

Komachi mercilessly roasted her brother without the slightest hesitation about familial bonds.

Though he had the advantage of being a professional exorcist, not many knew about Hachiman's hidden identity.

And aside from his natural dead-fish eyes, he also had a gloomy aura that made him look like a hopeless loner—someone that practically shouted "stay away" to everyone.

Under such circumstances, even if Miko was saved by him, she might develop feelings of gratitude at most—but falling head over heels? That was too much.

Even if she really wanted to repay him, shouldn't the appropriate phrase be "I'll be your loyal servant in the next life" or something?

"That's so harsh! And you're his little sister, too…"

Hearing Komachi bash her brother so bluntly, Miko couldn't help but defend him.

"It's because I'm his little sister that I know exactly how unpopular he is at school."

Komachi sighed helplessly.

"How could that be? I feel like he's fine at school. A bit antisocial maybe, but it's not like he's being ostracized or anything…"

Miko looked confused—her experience with Hachiman, whether with Hana Yurikawa or others, had always been decent. Maybe not popular, but surely he had his own small circle of friends?

"Well…"

Komachi was about to explain that Hachiman had missed three months of school after a car accident, when she suddenly saw Miko freeze—staring rigidly at something behind her.

"If something happens, use the bracelet."

Recalling that Miko could see evil spirits, and remembering Hachiman's instructions, Komachi didn't hesitate. She gently tapped the bracelet on her left wrist.

In that instant, a red light flashed in the darkness.