Chapter 311: No Need to Be Afraid
"Well, it was just some trouble that happened during the day..."
Yukinoshita Yukino, unwilling to go into details about the specific cause, turned her head away. She then asked Hikigaya Hachiman why he was out here.
"I can't sleep for the time being."
Hachiman's reason was quite simple. Yukino paused upon hearing his answer, appearing to consider the rationality of the excuse for a moment before walking in the direction Miura Yumiko had run off.
"Are you going after her? You two just had a fight."
"I have no choice. Although this place isn't exactly remote, there are still animals in these mountains."
Since she ran out crying, Miura likely wasn't paying attention to where she was going; her only thought was probably to get as far away from Yukino as possible. If she accidentally wandered too deep into the forest, she could easily get lost. Moreover, in the pitch black of night, if a sudden accident occurred—like Miura tripping and spraining an ankle—she would be in real danger.
"If that happens, I'd be indirectly responsible for harming her."
Thinking of the worst-case scenario, Yukino let out a soft sigh. However, just as she turned to set off, Hachiman suddenly reached out and blocked her path.
"You said it yourself—it's dangerous around here at night. In that case, I'll be the one to bring Miura back."
"..."
Hearing Hachiman's words, Yukino gazed quietly at his face. Once she was certain he was serious, the tension left her body, and she chose to compromise.
"Then I'll leave her to you."
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Deep in the forest, Miura Yumiko, dressed in thin clothing and wearing a pair of flip-flops, was anxiously searching for an exit.
"This is absolutely the worst!"
The realization that she hadn't even brought her phone because of the argument with Yukino made Miura stomp her foot in frustration. Earlier, she had been so focused on running away
that she hadn't watched the path. By the time she snapped out of it, she was already in the middle of a forest with no idea where she was.
"Do I just have to wait for rescue?"
A flash of uncertainty crossed Miura's eyes. In her current situation, staying put and waiting for a search party or people from the camp was undoubtedly the correct choice. But if she did that, she would definitely be treated with disdain by Yukino! Not only that, if she had future disputes with her, the experience of having to be "rescued" would put her at a natural disadvantage.
However, if she didn't stay put and tried to find her own way out, the possibility of getting even more lost in this extreme darkness was quite high. By then, forget getting out of the mountains—even the search party might miss her.
"Do I really have to bow my head to that girl?"
The image of Yukino's face flashed through her mind. Miura clenched her fists, her heart filled with indignation. But in the end, she let her hands go limp. Her current environment was not one where she could afford to be stubborn.
Staying put and waiting for rescue would not only mean being saved as quickly as possible but would also prevent those who cared about her from worrying too much.
"Am I going to spend a whole night in a mountain full of bugs?"
A cold wind blew through the woods again. Feeling the chill, Miura chose a large tree as a windbreak and crouched down, slowly recovering the stamina she had wasted while running around aimlessly.
However, shortly after she settled down, she sensed something was wrong.
The sound of insects.
The chirping of unknown insects echoed from all around, rising and falling in waves. In this terrible situation, Miura found it incredibly noisy. Furthermore, the insects seemed to sense the trace of fear radiating from the human before them. Slowly, various insects that had initially retreated due to the intruder began to crawl out of their hiding spots, approaching Miura curiously.
"Ah!"
Suddenly, a fuzzy insect crawled directly onto Miura's bare foot. Caught off guard, she let out a startled scream.
Snap!
Shortly after the scream rang out, the sound of a dry branch being stepped on echoed through the forest. Instantly, the surrounding chorus of insects fell silent. Miura covered her mouth
tightly, not daring to make another sound. She then peeked her head out from behind the tree, looking toward the source of the noise.
However, it was pitch black everywhere; she couldn't see a thing.
"Miura..."
Hachiman suddenly appeared behind her like a ghost. Hearing his voice, Miura turned around with a mix of joy and surprise. She opened her mouth to speak, but Hachiman immediately covered it to stop her.
"Shh, don't talk. Those things are nearby."
'Those things?'
Confusion appeared in Miura's eyes. Suddenly, several images of Hachiman fighting with a knife flashed through her mind, and a look of realization dawned on her. She nodded obediently, and her tense body relaxed, signaling that she wouldn't make a sound.
Seeing that she understood, Hachiman also breathed a sigh of relief. He peeked out from behind the tree; in his eyes, the pitch-black scene was as clear as day. Currently, in the clearing before them, dozens of evil spirits of various levels were wandering about as if searching for something.
"Were they attracted by Miura's scent?"
Looking at Miura, who didn't even dare to breathe beside him, a hint of helplessness flashed in Hachiman's eyes. After parting with Yukino, he thought he would catch up to the fleeing Miura quickly. After all, though she had lost her sense of direction due to the argument, her personality suggested she should have calmed down quickly.
Instead, she had wandered this deep into the mountains and somehow attracted the wandering evil spirits. Fortunately, the levels of these spirits weren't very high, posing no real threat to the two of them.
Despite this, Hachiman had no intention of resolving the spirits right here. Because finding Miura had taken much longer than expected, he couldn't guarantee that the type of spirit they encountered in the creek this afternoon hadn't appeared at the camp.
"Don't make a sound. Follow me."
Whispering to Miura, Hachiman—eager to get back—didn't give her a chance to react and grabbed her hand, leading her out.
"!"
With her hand firmly caught, Miura's pupils shrunk. She instinctively wanted to shake him off, but the thought of his earlier warning made her hesitate.
"This is just to leave this place safely..."
Constantly hypnotizing herself, Miura relaxed her arm muscles and allowed Hachiman to lead her through the dark forest. As they moved forward, blurry shadows constantly flickered past them. In the silent atmosphere, Miura—now knowing that ghosts and monsters truly existed—felt the temperature around her dropping, while the silhouettes of the trees began to twist...
"It's okay. Don't worry, I'm here."
As if sensing Miura's fear, Hachiman, who was leading the way, suddenly spoke.
"Eh?"
Miura's expression froze, completely unexpected of him to say something like that.
"Please forget what I just said."
Recalling his own words, Hachiman now wanted nothing more than to dig a hole and bury himself on the spot. He had felt her hand trembling and assumed she was terrified. From her stunned reaction, it was clear he had misunderstood.
'I want to die...'
Annoyed at his own "nice guy" behavior, Hachiman quickened his pace. Behind him, Miura was staring at his back with a complex gaze.
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Ten minutes later, under Hachiman's lead, the two successfully returned to the camp.
"Thank you for saving me today."
Miura stood before Hachiman, her expression a bit awkward as she thanked him.
"It's fine. If there's nothing else, go back and rest. Goodnight."
Sensing the trail of the evil spirits from earlier in the distance, Hachiman finished his sentence quickly, turned around, and ran back into the woods.
"Wait..."
Watching Hachiman's receding back, Miura opened her mouth, but in the end, no sound came out.
[He must have something very important to do, right? Since he's running so fast...]
With that thought, Miura tidied her appearance and returned to her tent.
Hachiman sprinted through the forest. With the system's help, even across a great distance, he could clearly determine the position of the evil spirit from the afternoon.
Just as he expected, after placing a marker on Yuigahama Yui earlier, that fellow had indeed come after the sun went down. And it wasn't just one spirit—it was a swarm!
Standing directly in front of the group of spirits and looking at the dense cloud of them in the sky, Hachiman, though not a trypophobe, felt a sense of disgust. Unlike any spirits he had seen before, the appearance of tonight's spirits was beyond words.
Suppressing the urge to vomit, Hachiman summoned the Demon slayer Sword (Zanki-to). Eerie green flames immediately coated the blade, illuminating the surroundings.
"A human?"
The Ghost Emperor, having returned to reality in the night, scrutinized Hachiman from a distance before letting out a questioning voice.
"Sorry, this road is closed!"
Hachiman had no intention of discussing dreams with an evil spirit under the night sky. Having stated his purpose, he swung the Demon slayer Sword and charged at the Ghost Emperor.
"Interesting. To think that besides the Five Great Exorcists, Japan has produced another formidable human like you."
Sensing that the Demon slayer Sword possessed the power to wound it, the Ghost Emperor chose not to charge in immediately. Its body drifted backward, and several General-class spirits following it surged forward to engage Hachiman.
"If I hadn't gone to the other world, these guys might have given me some trouble. But now..."
Looking at the four General-class spirits rushing him, Hachiman took a deep breath and held the Demon slayer Sword before him.
"Martial Art —— Mother's Aria!"
Like a bolt of lightning, Hachiman instantly crossed the distance and appeared before one of the General-class spirits. Before it could make any defensive move, Hachiman thrust the blade into its body and twisted, crushing its core.
Next, he appeared before the second spirit and repeated the action. Then the third, the fourth...
Watching its prized subordinates being taken down like vegetables by Hachiman, the Ghost Emperor, who had retreated to the center of the swarm, looked grim. However, it had no intention of retreating yet. Having reached the rank of Ghost Emperor, it had survived countless battles against humans and its own kind. Unless one of the Five Great Exorcists appeared in person, it would never flee without a fight!
Furthermore, high-level spiritualists were a great supplement for spirits like them who were about to ascend to "Ghost God" status. The reason it had marked Yuigahama earlier was that
she had unintentionally dipped her bracelet into the creek, allowing it to sense a massive amount of spiritual power, leading it to mistake her for a high-level spiritualist.
"Continue the attack."
As if unaware that its subordinates were no match for Hachiman, the Ghost Emperor waved its hand, ordering another wave of its followers to charge after Hachiman finished the first four.
Never strike easily—this was one of the primary reasons the Ghost Emperor had survived since its birth to reach its current rank. While its peers were being killed by various exorcists for causing destruction in cities and feeding on human vitality, it had hidden in the mountains where exorcists were scarce.
After centuries of waiting and finally ascending to Ghost Emperor, it didn't expose itself recklessly, choosing instead to remain hidden and slowly approach the threshold of a Ghost God...
If it hadn't sensed spiritual power equivalent to a Special Grade from Yuigahama today, and been certain its strength as a Ghost Emperor could easily handle her, it would never have come out—and it certainly wouldn't have encountered a human as powerful as Hikigaya Hachiman.
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