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"So… does that mean I'm officially your follower now, Max?"
Miko Yotsuya blinked, letting out a small sigh of relief.
She could feel it—the strange, invisible link now connecting her to Max, along with the power flowing quietly inside her body.
At least it didn't happen that way.
A kiss? That, she could handle.
Still, for some reason… she felt a tiny twinge of disappointment.
The thought startled her so much she quickly shook her head to chase it away.
"Of course. Though tell me, Miko—what did you think it would take?"
Max grinned at her, his smile full of teasing mystery, like he could see straight through her.
Miko's cheeks flared red instantly.
There was no way she could ever say what had crossed her mind.
This was all Max's fault anyway.
If he hadn't been talking in riddles, sounding all vague and suggestive, she never would've imagined… that.
Yeah—definitely his fault.
Max's grin widened, clearly amused by her flustered expression. "Try channeling the power inside you," he suggested.
"The power inside me…"
Miko blinked, then took a slow breath, forcing herself to calm down and push away every stray thought.
Closing her eyes, she focused inward—on the energy swirling faintly within her.
The source pulsed warmly somewhere below her belly.
Opening her eyes again, she slowly raised her right hand, carefully drawing that power up.
A soft blue-green glow shimmered to life in her palm, faint glints of ice sparkling along its edges.
The power of the Blue King.
The exact opposite of the Red King's fiery energy.
If the Red King's strength was wild and blazing like a storm of flames, then the Blue King's power was calm, precise, and cold as ice.
In the world of K, the Blue King once raised a massive defensive barrier over Ashinaka Academy Island—when it shattered, it scattered away like powdered ice.
Whenever spirit energy collided with the real world, it caused the same shimmering "heat haze" effect, making the icy power look more like blue fire.
"How weird… but kind of amazing," Miko murmured, her eyes lighting up.
She could tell—this power could let her do things she never even dreamed of before.
She was dying to test it out.
But one glance around told her this wasn't exactly the best place for experiments.
Still, she didn't stop channeling the energy.
The warmth spreading from her lower abdomen was strangely pleasant—soothing, even.
And as it spread through her whole body, she felt stronger, lighter, alive.
"Come on, Miko," Max said with a knowing smile. "Let's go try it out somewhere else."
"Sure!"
Miko grinned back, the light fading from her palm as the energy scattered into tiny glowing motes.
As they headed toward the door, a question popped into her head.
"So… how exactly are we testing it?"
"Exorcism," Max said casually, glancing at her with a smirk.
"E-Exorcism?!"
Miko froze, a chill running down her spine.
Just hearing that word made her body tense up.
Even if she now had the power to banish spirits, the fear still kicked in automatically.
It wasn't even about how dangerous they were—just looking at their twisted, grotesque faces was enough to freak anyone out.
Max caught her hesitation, and a soft, reassuring smile crossed his face.
"The best way to conquer fear," he said gently, "is to face it."
"Forget who you were before. Right now, you're not that weak girl anymore. And besides—" he added, eyes softening, "I'm right here."
"I… got it!"
Miko clenched her fists tight, determination flickering in her eyes.
If she really wanted to protect the people she cared about, then she couldn't keep running from her fear.
How could she protect anyone if she was too scared to even look?
She glanced toward Max again.
Just like he said—he was here.
That thought alone made her chest feel warm and steady.
They left their apartment and walked outside.
A few minutes later, deep in a quiet alleyway behind the residential block, Max raised a shimmering blue barrier around them.
The mosaic-like shield enclosed the entire area, invisible to ordinary people.
It would keep evil spirits from entering—or escaping—and block any noise or damage from leaking out.
About three meters in front of them stood a grotesque, blackened spirit, glaring at them with empty eyes.
Dark mist curled and drifted off its form, but it couldn't move an inch.
Max's divine-level spiritual pressure had locked it completely in place.
"Go on, Miko," he said, lightly patting her shoulder.
"Alright!"
Miko took a deep breath.
In her right hand, she held a stick—no, a branch—about half a meter long.
Her so-called "weapon," courtesy of Max, who'd handed it to her with a straight face and called it the Sword of Childhood.
He told her she could channel her spiritual energy into it, turning it into a real weapon temporarily.
Following his instructions, Miko focused hard, carefully pushing her energy into the branch bit by bit.
It began to glow softly, a cool blue-green light running along its grain.
When it felt ready, she stepped up to the immobilized spirit and swung.
There was a faint whoosh—a crescent-shaped slash of light burst out from the tip of the branch, slicing clean through the spirit's body.
A glowing scar ran from its shoulder to its waist.
Then the arc faded, and the spirit dissolved into wisps of black smoke.
One hit. Gone.
Her first kill.
"I… I actually exorcised it?!"
Miko stood frozen, eyes wide in disbelief.
She'd taken it down in one strike.
Suddenly, the things that used to terrify her didn't seem so scary anymore.
"How does it feel?" Max asked, hands in his pockets, grinning at her.
"Kind of unreal…"
Miko turned toward him, still dazed, like she might wake up any second to find it was all a dream.
"Unreal, huh? Then let's make it a little more real," Max said with a mischievous smile, lowering the barrier with a thought.
Her gut instantly told her this was bad news.
"Uh… what do you mean by 'more real'?" she asked nervously, eyeing him suspiciously.
"You'll see. Follow me."
Max turned and started walking toward the end of the alley.
Miko sighed and trailed after him.
As she did, the branch in her hand began to crumble into fine powder, scattering away on the wind.
Guess her control still wasn't perfect.
Noticing it, Max bent down to snap off another branch from a roadside tree and handed it to her.
"Guess you'll need more practice," he said lightly. "Keep at it—the more you try, the better you'll get."
Miko nodded, gripping the new branch.
He wasn't wrong.
Practice makes perfect, after all.
"....."