Chapter 7: Chapter Seven: Everything I Can See, I

"Hey, are you guys okay?"

The dark clouds dispersed, the night sky appearing exceptionally clear; Minazawa Yuu, draped in a silver veil, reflected like a savior in Niino Li's pupils.

"Hss!"

The Mantis Ghost's movement meant to assess Niino Li and the other was interrupted; its ferocity surged, wings flared violently, and its pair of sharp forelimbs struck with cunning malice toward Minazawa Yuu's neck.

Facing the sudden attack, she showed not the slightest panic.

In Niino Li's widened eyes, Minazawa Yuu exerted force with one hand, effortlessly pulling the long spear from the ground, braced her left leg, then kicked her long, pale right leg against the spear shaft.

A silver-tipped blade flashed through the air in a graceful arc; her arm trembled sharply, and with a lightning-like silver trail, she deftly dodged the forelimbs and thrust toward the Mantis Ghost's head.

A faint crackling sound arose; streams of pitch-black resentment poured from the Mantis Ghost's right compound eye; the agony caused it to shriek uncontrollably, its body growing insubstantial, faintly revealing the human form within.

"Strange—before, at the Nagasawa Residence, I saw you move quite well. How did you end up like this?" Minazawa Yuu pulled the blade free from the spear shaft and turned to face Niino Li, seated on the ground, and Okura Sa'u, fainted from fright.

Her delicate, tiny nostrils flared as she caught the heavy stench of blood on him.

"I… that was…" Niino Li wanted to argue, but reconsidered, and simply stood up, indicating he was fine.

She glanced sideways at Niino Li, casually twirled the spear, stirring up gusts of wind.

"This isn't something a mere ordinary person with decent physical conditioning could achieve through sheer willpower. I'll handle the rest."

The Mantis Ghost's head twitched slightly; the black resentment clinging to its body began to churn as if boiling, its upper torso bending nearly vertical, like a startled snake preparing a defensive counterstrike.

Suddenly, the wind rose.

Her black hair whipped wildly in the wind, yet did not appear disheveled; instead, it added to Minazawa Yuu an aura of mysterious, profound beauty. Spear shadows flickered as she surged forward like a venomous serpent.

The four rows of sharp saw-teeth on its forelimbs, charged with the Mantis Ghost's hatred, slashed fiercely toward Minazawa Yuu.

"Watch out!"

Watching the Mantis Ghost advance relentlessly, sealing off all escape routes, Niino Li couldn't help crying out a warning.

Even at the Nagasawa Residence, is this guy only capable of brute-force tactics?

A flicker of pride crossed her cheek; her toes tapped the ground lightly, and her body appeared effortlessly beside the Mantis Ghost's right side. The rune-engraved blade stabbed instantly into its abdominal joint.

Though time was tight, last time she took a task to exorcise a ground-bound Ghost Spirit, she'd slipped two talismans for dealing with spirit-based urban legends into her inner pocket for safety.

Luckily, because it turned out to be a false alarm, I kept them—lucky~

As the talismans activated, silver light flashed; the long spear nearly transformed into a silver chain, and furious winds spiraled wildly around it.

At the forest's edge, grass clippings and dust swirled everywhere; Niino Li squinted, standing aside, enduring Minazawa Yuu's oppressive aura, and dragged Okura Sa'u's unconscious body into the earlier dug pit.

"What's going on? Is its body starting to re-form again?"

Beneath Minazawa Yuu's swirling silver spear shadows, Niino Li clearly saw the Mantis Ghost's translucent, phantom body gradually solidifying—though not as dense as before, its bloodthirsty aura grew even fiercer.

Minazawa Yuu, in the midst of battle, also noticed the problem; a sense of unease stirred within her:

Did the talisman's effect expire?

As the Mantis Ghost's gray-green upper body arched backward, its two pairs of forelimbs crossed to block Minazawa Yuu's blade, then snapped outward, flinging her away.

"Wah!" Minazawa Yuu cried out, stumbling back two steps, her slender frame steadying itself beside Niino Li.

"What happened?"

"Hmm… the spirit talisman's effect ran out."

"Spirit talisman? Just one?" Niino Li, unfamiliar with this world's language and culture, spoke simply when nervous.

"Two…" Minazawa Yuu knew what he was thinking and quickly added: "The other one was meant to cleanse the Nagasawa Yuki's body of residual resentment from the Ghost Encounter."

Focusing her gaze, at the center of the Mantis Ghost, formed of ominous black resentment, lay a dense shadow—

Nagasawa Yuki.

"This is troublesome… should we retreat for now?" Minazawa Yuu's face showed conflict, and a trace of reluctance.