"I see."
The Old Woman gave Miko a sympathetic look.
"You really are a brave girl."
She then glanced at the Talisman; the second one was almost burnt out.
"Has the thing inside you made any demands? Or has it hurt you?"
Miko shook her head.
"No. At first, he wanted to kill me, but then something unexpected seemed to happen."
"Since then, he has protected me many times. If it weren't for him, I might be dead already."
Hearing this, the Old Woman's expression didn't improve; instead, it became even more solemn.
After a long silence, she let out a sigh.
"In a way, this is a good thing for you."
"It is powerful, extremely powerful."
"So, until the moment it decides to kill you, no other Cursed Spirit can harm you."
Miko nodded. It really seemed to be the case; Akuto had even given her immense power.
The Old Woman pondered for a while before speaking in a grim tone.
"Do you know about Yomi's New Wife?"
Miko shook her head blankly; she had never heard of such a thing.
"Legend says that powerful Cursed Spirits from the underworld come to the human world to choose wives."
"Beautiful women are forced to become the brides of Yomi, unable to resist until they bear Yomi's children."
"There are many psychics in this world, and legend has it that their ancestors were all Yomi's New Wives. That's why their descendants possess great power, such as the eyes that allow you to see."
Miko blinked, and then her cheeks turned bright red!
"A bride... or something..."
She had no idea that such a thing even existed.
Then wouldn't Akuto be... "There's no time." The Old Woman glanced at the doll, which had already begun to burn.
"Remember, it won't easily harm you. Do not disobey it."
"Even if it's hideous, you must accept it. You've been chosen; there's no escape. For someone like you who can see Cursed Spirits, this might not necessarily be a bad thing."
"Stop looking for things to ward off evil; you will only provoke it."
"No warding item will work on you because what's inside you is one of the strongest Cursed Spirits."
"Whoosh..."
As blue smoke rose, the last doll burned to ashes.
"What terrifying power."
The Old Woman's pupils constricted. If these talismans and dolls were used to seal ordinary Cursed Spirits, they might have lasted for years.
But against the Cursed Spirit inside this girl, they didn't even last five minutes.
The Old Woman felt a pang of distress; these were treasures she had collected over many years!
Meanwhile, Akuto clearly felt a gap in his perception of the outside world just now.
However, Akuto didn't care.
"If this Old Woman could find a way to deal with him—"
"Wouldn't that be interesting?"
"He'd be able to enjoy a good fight again."
"Old Woman? Miko?"
Hana's voice came from outside, and Miko opened the door and stepped out.
"You can call me Granny Saegusa. You can come to me if you need anything in the future."
"Thank you very much. May I ask about the fee..."
"No need. Just consider it an act of kindness from this Old Woman."
Granny Saegusa waved her hand dismissively.
"Eh? Did you guys do something? What about the prayer beads? Miko, don't you want them anymore?"
Looking at Hana's face, Miko made up a lie without blinking.
"I just had a divination done. My fortune is very good, so I don't need the prayer beads. Hana, you should buy them for yourself."
"Is that so? What a shame. Then I'll buy them for myself!"
Hana bought two strands, one for each hand, and turned to leave, shaking her wrists.
After wandering around the streets and eating, Miko bought a gift for Kyosuke on her way back.
"I'm home."
As the city lights began to flicker on, Miko returned home.
"Welcome back."
Mrs. Yotsuya poked her head out from the kitchen, while Kyosuke was still sulking on the sofa.
"Kyosuke, I brought you a gift."
Miko said as she opened the bag. Although Kyosuke tried his best to restrain himself, his eyes couldn't help but dart over.
"It's the latest Transformers model."
"What's this!" Kyosuke turned his head away. "I'm not a kid anymore."
"But since my sister gave it to me, I guess I'll reluctantly accept it."
Holding the half-meter-tall Transformer, Kyosuke's eyes were filled with uncontrollable joy, and the corners of his mouth were harder to suppress than an AK's recoil.
"But this is a limited edition. It must be expensive, right? Where did you get the money?"
Hearing Kyosuke's question, Mrs. Yotsuya in the kitchen also pricked up her ears.
"Don't worry about it, kid."
Miko poked Kyosuke's forehead.
After all, the money was earned by Akuto; she had just shamelessly used it.
Although she said it was a loan, it would take many years until she started working before she could pay it back.
At the dinner table, Miko looked helplessly at the massive Cursed Spirit.
This guy was still in the house, with no intention of leaving.
"By the way, Miko, I have to work overtime tomorrow night, and Kyosuke is going to sleep over at a classmate's house, so make sure to lock the doors."
Miko nodded, feeling a secret sense of joy, but her expression remained unchanged.
"I understand."
Akuto had to head out early tomorrow night, and Miko was still worrying about how to explain it to her family. She didn't expect it to be such a coincidence... At dusk the next day.
Miko saw off her mother and brother and jogged upstairs.
When she came back down, Miko was wearing an oversized cherry-red hoodie, with shorts and black tights underneath, and a pair of canvas shoes.
She looked petite and cute.
"Lord Akuto, let's head out."
"Since it's daytime, we'll take the train."
Miko was in no hurry to give her body over to Akuto. After all, with his fearless personality, he would likely just "fly" there.
That would be far too shocking.
On the way to the train station.
"Waaaah..."
Miko heard the sound of children crying. Curious, she walked over to check and found several children huddled together crying at the edge of a construction site.
"What's wrong?"
Miko leaned down curiously to ask.
One of the little boys pointed toward the nearby woods.
"The soccer ball flew in there... We're too scared to go get it, waaaah..."
"Then I'll..."
"Shut up. Don't go looking for trouble."
Akuto forcibly took control of the body. Black incantations appeared as he looked up at the nearby woods.
That place was filled with a terrifying amount of dark energy; it was one of the most notorious trouble spots in all of Tokyo.
There was even a faint sense of isolation from reality.
A barrier had already begun to form.
It was definitely lethal inside, and Akuto had no time to waste there.
Thinking this, Akuto turned to leave, but after only two steps, his leg was grabbed. He looked down to see the crying brat.
"Big sister, could you please help me get the ball? I'm scared..."
"Get lost."
Akuto's eyes were full of disgust.
"If you really cared about that ball, you would go get it yourself."
"The fact that you won't go yourself means you don't care that much. Asking someone else to go somewhere you're afraid to go—is that how your parents raised you?"
"Don't trouble others, kid, or I'll kill you!"
The little boy's crying stopped instantly.
It was unclear whether he was frightened by Akuto's deep voice or stunned by his words.
"I..." The boy stood up, puffing out his chest. "Don't look down on me! I'm not like that!"
"I'll... I'll go!"
The little boy said, walking tremblingly toward the woods.
"Lord Akuto, should we stop him..."
Miko felt a bit bad for him.
"No need. That brat..." Akuto grinned, revealing a cruel smile. "He's as good as dead!"
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Read 30+ chapters in advance.
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