"Oh my~ Sorry about that, Yutsuki-chan. Making you wait."
"Thank you..."
"Ah, it is fine, it is fine. This is no big deal."
Hearing Yoshino and Yoshinon's words, Yutsuki waved her hand, a refreshing smile already on her face.
"Rather, it's who should be thanking you for the treat."
"What are you talking about..."
Natsumi asked with a confused face. To this, Yutsuki didn't provide an answer.
"It's nothing. Alright, let us head back—"
However, before taking a few steps, Yutsuki suddenly stopped.
"Hm? What is wrong, Yutsuki-chan?"
"...Do you guys hear sothing approaching?"
After a mont of silence, Yutsuki said sowhat gravely.
"—?!"
Hearing this, Natsumi and Yoshino instantly had their hair stand on end, imdiately hiding behind Yutsuki.
"N-No way... Could it be a ghost?"
"H-H-H-How is that possible? Wasn't that just a story Kaguya made up?"
The two of them trembled like frightened rabbits. Especially Natsumi, who was so scared she was stuttering.
"Calm down, maybe it is just soone else coming to use the restroom."
Seeing their exaggerated reaction, Yutsuki comforted them with a bitter smile.
But as luck would have it, Yutsuki's flashlight ran out of battery at this exact mont, and the surroundings plunged into pitch-black darkness.
"—Ugh!"
Yoshino couldn't help but let out a whimper.
"Why! Why! Why did you suddenly turn off the flashlight? Did you do it on purpose? You did it on purpose, right, Yutsuki?! Do you want to see us scared for your own amusent? That is a terrible joke!"
Natsumi hugged Yutsuki's waist tightly while shouting agitatedly.
"I didn't. It is purely an accident."
Yutsuki explained helplessly. Although she wouldn't deny that being hugged tightly by two little girls felt very nice, she wouldn't purposely play the ghost just for that.
(...Ratziel.)
Just in case, she silently invoked the Angel within her body, manipulating electricity to charge the flashlight while maintaining her guard.
Charging complete, the flashlight regained its light.
Yoshino looked around uneasily.
The gloomy forest, the biting cold wind. The fear and anxiety brought by the darkness gnawed at her heart bit by bit, making her involuntarily tense up.
Soon, Yoshino also heard the sound Yutsuki ntioned. It was a rustling sound of so object brushing past leaves.
"Who is there? Make a sound if you are human."
As Yutsuki spoke, she shined the flashlight in the direction of the sound.
"..."
Although very scared, but also feeling a tiny bit of curiosity, Yoshino clutched Yutsuki's hem and carefully peeked her head out.
However, reality proves the saying 'curiosity killed the cat' is not a lie.
Appearing before their eyes—was a woman with disheveled hair and deathly pale skin.
And what was even more terrifying was that under the locks of hair reflecting a cyan light—there were no facial features.
In an instant, Yoshino's mind went blank.
"——Ghooooooooooost!"
...
At this very mont, Yutsuki was carrying Yoshino and Natsumi, sprinting wildly through the forest.
To tell the truth, in that instant, although she didn't scream out loud like Natsumi, Yutsuki was also a bit scared from the scene. Without thinking, she grabbed the two and ran in the opposite direction of the campsite.
And now, turning back was impossible because relying on the electromagnetic waves's feedback of the surrounding spatial structure, Yutsuki knew without looking back that the unidentified faceless person was hot on their heels. Furthermore—
"It's moving on all fours!! Yutsuki-chan! That thing is moving on all fours like a spider! And it's so fast!"
Looking behind them, Yoshinon cried out in alarm.
"What is that?! What is that?! What is that?! A ghost? A monster? It really appeared here!"
Natsumi scread with a pale face.
(Oh wow...)
Just imagining the image Natsumi was seeing right now, Yutsuki couldn't help but feel a chill down her spine, hurriedly accelerating to widen the distance.
(Can't be helped. Although I don't want to engage in combat before figuring things out... And...)
Glancing at the two girls whose Spirit energy had already started flowing backward, Yutsuki took a deep breath and shouted.
"Yoshino, can you try using ice to block her path?"
Hearing this, Yoshino finally snapped out of her daze.
"...I, I will try."
"Yoshinon-chan! Do your best!"
"Z... Zadkiel."
Forcing herself to calm down, Yoshino mobilized the Spirit energy in her body to use her Angel.
Ice-blue freezing air surged from the ground, forming uneven ice pillars to block the opponent's path.
However, before Yoshino could breathe a sigh of relief, the opponent aid for a narrow gap between the obstacles on the road, twisted her body flexibly, and passed through with an unimaginably bizarre posture.
"Is that a movent a human can make?"
Natsumi shouted in shock.
"...Maybe she really is a ghost?"
After a mont of silence, Yutsuki said half-jokingly.
"Yutsuki, this is the ti you should be denying it!"
"I, I... will stay here to hold it off... Natsumi-san and Yutsuki-san, you two go first..."
Seemingly developing so kind of sense of responsibility, Yoshino replied bravely.
"Wait, Yoshino! That is a death flag!
And no matter how you look at it, I should be the sacrifice right now!"
Natsumi hurriedly tried to dissuade her.
"Don't be rash, Natsumi! Take a look behind you again, are you sure you an that?"
"..."
Hearing Yutsuki's words, Natsumi subconsciously looked up.
"Ah... Ah..."
Clearly having no facial features, the unidentified female ghost was sohow emitting panting sounds. Her aggressive, pursuing posture looked less like a ghost and more like a ferocious carnivore in Natsumi's eyes.
"I am very sorry!! Please pretend I never said anything!"
[Spirit energy signature detected—]
(—Hm?)
In that instant, Yutsuki felt sothing fly past her side. Imdiately after, a large tree crashed down, blocking the trio's path.
Then, Yutsuki saw several rod-like objects flash through the darkness. The mont they touched the trees, they hollowed out their trunks out of thin air.
In the blink of an eye, the successively collapsing large trees surrounded the three of them.
"Why are the trees collapsing?! Is this also the ghost's doing?"
"Wh-What do we do..."
"Ah... Ah... Found... you..."
Just as they stopped in their tracks, the faceless "female ghost" had already caught up.
Her hunched body slowly straightened up. The ghost let out eerie chuckles while staggering closer to Yutsuki and the others.
"N-Don't co any closer! I don't taste good at all! Besides, we have no grudge against you! I beg you! Just pass on already!"
"What are you planning to do? If you want to eat Yoshino-chan, you will have to get past first."
"..."
In stark contrast to the panicking Yoshino and Natsumi, Yutsuki seed to understand sothing. Sighing with black lines on her face, she slowly let the two girls down to the ground.
"Natsumi, wait for my signal."
"Eh?"
As she spoke, Yutsuki took off her jacket.
"—?!"
For so unknown reason, the opponent's reaction suddenly changed, as if a bull attracted by a red cape. Wherever Yutsuki swung the jacket, the opponent's head would follow.
"I knew it..."
Yutsuki sighed helplessly, her right hand suddenly swinging forward, throwing the jacket high into the air.
"—!?"
Seeing this, the "female ghost" pounced into the air without hesitation, hugging the jacket tightly in her arms.
"Now, Natsumi."
"Haniel."
Natsumi seized the opportunity, turning the jacket into a hemp rope and tying the opponent up.
To her surprise, the female ghost, who was so aggressive just a mont ago, fell to the ground without any resistance.
"C-Caught her?"
"That is amazing, Natsumi-chan!? I didn't know you could exorcise ghosts too?!"
"Huh? No, to tell the truth, I am also confused. What exactly happened, Yutsuki?"
"Well, the reason is very simple. The opponent isn't a ghost but a Spirit, and soone we know." Yutsuki shrugged and explained helplessly. "As for who it is? Seeing that scene just now, you should be able to guess without saying, right?"
"Ehehehe... Caught you... Honey... Honey's scent... So many Honey are here... I am so happy."
Peeling off that misleading moisturizing face mask, Yutsuki looked at the drooling girl muttering sweet sleep talk, couldn't help but feel a wave of exhaustion.
"Your sleeping habits are really sothing else... Miku."
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