Ace and Miko walked side by side. At first, there was only silence, broken by the sound of their footsteps and the evening wind brushing past the trees along the road. The sun was already leaning toward the west, its light soft but slightly dim.
"Sorry," Miko finally spoke up. "For suddenly asking you for help."
"It's fine," Ace replied casually. "I already told you, if you ever have a problem, you can ask me."
They turned into a residential street. Miko stopped in front of a two-story house with a small yard. "…This is my house."
Ace looked at the building for a moment. There was a faint heaviness in the air. Miko opened the door. "I'm home!"
Ace followed her inside. "Excuse me, sorry for intruding."
"Welcome back, Miko. Who's that?"
A middle-aged woman who looked a lot like Miko appeared from the kitchen. Her hair was neatly tied up, an apron around her waist, and she wore the warm expression of a typical housewife. Her eyes immediately landed on Ace standing behind Miko.
"Oh?" Her eyebrows lifted slightly. "Miko, you brought a friend home?"
Miko reflexively glanced at Ace, then back at her mother. "Y-yes, Mom. This is… my friend, Akashi-kun."
Ace bowed politely. "Good evening, ma'am. Sorry for dropping by so suddenly."
Her mother smiled broadly, the smile quickly turning playful. "Well, this is rare. Miko bringing a friend home, and a boy at that."
"M-Mom!" Miko's cheeks instantly turned red. "It's not like that!"
"Oh, really?" her mother chuckled. "He looks neat and polite. You've got good taste."
Ace gave a small laugh, pretending not to hear the teasing. "You're exaggerating."
She waved her hand. "Oh, don't mind me. You're a guest, right? Go ahead and sit in the living room. Make yourself at home."
Miko gently tugged Ace's sleeve and led him to the living room. As soon as they sat down, her mother spoke again from the kitchen.
"By the way, what timing. We're out of groceries. I'll go to the convenience store for a bit."
She glanced at Miko with a mischievous smile. "You two stay home, okay. Don't make a mess."
"Mom…!" Miko protested.
"I'll be right back," her mother said as she grabbed her bag.
Before leaving, she turned to Ace. "Please take care of Miko, Akashi-kun."
Ace nodded politely. "Of course, ma'am."
The door closed, leaving the house quiet.
Miko let out a long sigh and lowered her head. "Sorry… my mom is always like that."
Ace smiled. "It's fine. She seems like a nice person."
"So," Ace said, glancing toward the kitchen, "is that what you were talking about?"
Miko nodded softly.
"Do you know who that spirit is?" Ace asked, looking at the middle-aged man with glasses peeking out from the kitchen. "He seems very attached to this house."
Miko hesitated before speaking. "That's… my father. But the real problem isn't him. It's the one behind him."
Hearing that, Ace looked again and noticed another spirit behind Miko's father, large, horse-like in shape.
Ace nodded. "I see. Yeah, that one's bad." He chuckled lightly.
Just as Ace was about to stand up, a voice rang out. "Sis, are you home already?"
Miko's younger brother appeared at the edge of the living room. He had messy black hair and casual clothes.
He froze when he saw Ace. "…Huh?"
Miko half stood up from the sofa. "Ah, Kyousuke, you're home already."
Kyousuke looked Ace up and down with the honest suspicion of a child. "Who's this?"
"My friend," Miko replied quickly. "His name is Akashi-kun."
Ace nodded lightly. "Hey."
"A friend?" Kyousuke narrowed his eyes. "Then why is your friend at our house?"
His tone was wary, almost protective. Ace held back a smile.
"Your sister asked for my help with something," Ace replied.
"…Something?" Kyousuke froze.
Ace looked at Miko. "What's wrong with him?"
"I don't know," Miko replied, shaking her head.
Ace calmly walked toward the kitchen as if approaching a normal person. Miko and Kyousuke could only watch his back, confused as he clearly spoke to empty air.
"Excuse me, sir," Ace said calmly. "I'm Ace. I'm not here to cause trouble."
The middle-aged spirit with glasses stiffened. His face, so similar to Miko's, showed surprise, then hesitation.
"You… can see me?"
Ace nodded. "I can. And honestly, it's not good for you to stay here like this."
Before the spirit could respond, the atmosphere in the kitchen suddenly grew heavy. From the shadows, a large figure emerged. Its body resembled a horse, but it was far too large and dark, with dull red eyes and an aura that pricked the skin.
The creature snorted and lunged forward, fangs of energy bared, straight at Ace.
Miko jumped up. "Akashi-kun?!"
Before it could reach him, Miko's father's spirit moved swiftly, stepping in front of Ace with his arms spread wide.
"Stop!" he shouted.
The horse-like spirit halted instantly, its body trembling before bowing its head.
The father's spirit turned to Ace. "It's only protecting me. I… didn't want my children to be disturbed."
"I know," Ace said quietly. "But the longer you stay in this world, that bond will change. Your desire to protect will slowly turn into an obsession. Eventually, both of you will become evil spirits."
The spirit fell silent, his eyes trembling before he lowered his head.
"…I don't want that," he said softly. "I just wanted to make sure they were okay."
Ace glanced toward the living room. "Then it's time to say goodbye properly."
The spirit nodded.
Ace turned around and called out, "Miko. Kyousuke. Come here for a moment."
"Huh? Why?" Miko asked.
Kyousuke stood up too. "Sis, why do you sound so serious?"
They both walked into the kitchen. As they entered, Ace stepped aside to give them space.
Miko froze, her eyes widening. "D… Dad?"
The spirit smiled gently. The same smile Miko remembered.
"Miko… Kyousuke."
Kyousuke swallowed. "Dad…?"
Tears immediately streamed down Miko's face. She covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking.
"I'm sorry," their father said softly. "I just… couldn't leave without seeing you grow up."
Kyousuke clenched his teeth and ran forward. "Idiot… if you wanted to watch over us, you should've said so sooner!"
The spirit knelt and reached out with his translucent hand. Kyousuke leaned closer, as if he could feel the touch.
After a moment, Ace cleared his throat softly. "Time is limited."
The father nodded. "Thank you… for letting us say goodbye."
Ace took a small device from his pocket. It looked like a square stamp with purification symbols engraved on it, emitting a calm aura.
"I'll purify you," Ace said. "It won't hurt. You'll leave peacefully."
The horse-like spirit moved to its master's side, no longer hostile, simply standing still.
Ace raised the stamp and pressed it to the father's forehead.
Tap.
A gentle light spread.
He did the same to the horse-like spirit.
Tap.
The dark aura slowly faded, turning into soft white light. The father smiled once more at his children.
"Take care of yourselves… and listen to your mother."
"Goodbye," Miko whispered.
The light faded, leaving the kitchen silent again.
Ace lowered his hand and exhaled softly. "…It's done."
'Good thing I asked the system how to make this purification stamp,' Ace thought.
Miko stood frozen, tears still falling, while Kyousuke clenched his fists and looked down.
Ace gently pulled Miko's head to his shoulder and patted her head. He looked at Kyousuke. "If you want to cry too, you can come here."
Kyousuke turned away. "No need. Men don't cry."
Ace smiled. "That's right. Men don't cry," he said, ruffling Kyousuke's hair.
Ace led Miko back to the living room and sat on the sofa. Kyousuke sat beside him.
"So, Akashi-nii, are you an onmyoji?" Kyousuke asked.
"No," Ace replied. "I'm just a swordsman who happened to pass by. Remember that."
"A swordsman? That's so cool!" Kyousuke said.
Ace patted Miko's head. "Miko, that's enough crying. What am I supposed to say if your mom comes back and sees this?"
Miko finally lifted her head. "S-sorry, Akashi-kun. I got your clothes wet."
Ace smiled. "It's fine. Proof that I can be someone you can lean on."
Kyousuke looked at them and asked, "Are Nee-chan and Akashi-nii dating?"
Miko's face turned bright red. "N-no! We're just friends!"
"Really?" Kyousuke tilted his head. "Akashi-nii, do you want to be Nee-chan's boyfriend?"
"Kyousuke!" Miko shouted.
Ace just smiled. "It's getting dark. I should head home."
Miko stood up as well. "I'll walk you to the door."
At the front door, Miko spoke softly. "Akashi-kun, thank you. Really."
"Anytime," Ace replied while putting on his shoes. "If you have trouble again, feel free to ask."
Ace opened the door. "See you at school tomorrow."
"Yeah. See you tomorrow," Miko replied.
As Ace walked home, a sudden vision flashed before his eyes from Kurayami.
He saw the city burning, buildings destroyed, screams everywhere, and countless dragons flying through the sky.
Ace jolted, breaking into a light sweat. "System, were those dragons in that vision?"
[Yes, Host.]
"How can there be so many?"
[They are from another world.]
"How is that possible? Weren't they stopped by Great Red?"
[They opened portals to this world faster.]
"Why are they suddenly attacking?"
[The child of the dragon leader was killed by several devils.]
"How could dragons lose to devils?"
[The dragon was severely injured and exhausted.]
"When will that injured dragon appear?"
[In three days.]
Ace let out a long sigh. "Another huge problem. Can't this world ever be peaceful?!" he shouted as he continued walking home.