Rom was not only an esper but also a successful businessman. He had established his own club, attracting many people interested in the paranormal.
Aomori's request was simple: he wanted Rom to help drive traffic to his shrine.
"That's certainly no problem," Rom replied. A few sightseeing events would be enough to handle that. "Kami-sama, I have one more question."
"Ask."
"Did you hear a girl's cry for help around here earlier?" Rom inquired.
"I did. Like Oka Towako, she found liberation and moved on."
"Is that so? That's wonderful. I have no more questions; I'll bring a crowd with me next time." Rom bowed to Aomori and made his way down the mountain.
"Well then." Aomori turned to Nyanko-sensei, the only one remaining, and asked, "Aren't you going back?"
"I am not! I'm waiting for that girl to bring my thank-you gift!"
"Natsume will be worried about you."
"He will not. Unless he comes here to find me himself, I won't forgive him," Nyanko-sensei said with a huff.
"Fine, find a place to rest then."
"Hey, don't you provide meals here?"
"Does this look like a place that has food to you?"
Ignoring the hopping-mad Nyanko-sensei, Aomori floated into the air and began his self-disciplined training.
...
Elsewhere, Hana, egged on by Yulia, headed toward a spot with a beautiful view to take some photos. Miko was forced to tag along.
Like Miko, Yulia was one of those who "could see," though she could only vaguely perceive weak spiritual entities. During their previous encounters, Yulia had mistakenly come to believe that Miko was a powerful esper.
To further gauge Miko's strength, Yulia used this opportunity to lead them to a famous paranormal hotspot—an abandoned tunnel. Being able only to see weak spirits, Yulia didn't realize that there were actually evil spirits in the world capable of endangering their lives. Coincidentally, such an evil spirit resided in this very tunnel.
Clang, clang, clang!
In the dim, abandoned tunnel, the sound of chains hitting the ground echoed. Miko watched with a calm face as a demon, its body shoved into a galvanized iron drum, clung to the tunnel ceiling like a spider.
A chain dangled to the ground, curling around a nearby spirit like a spiderweb, pulling it close before the demon crunched down on it and ate it whole.
In Yulia's vision, the iron-drum demon didn't exist. To her, the scene looked as if Miko had given a cold stare, causing the captured spirit to be yanked into midair by spiritual power and instantly pulverized into ash.
Exterminating ghosts with just a look... how terrifyingly powerful!
Yulia realized she had severely underestimated Miko. Was she really such a formidable esper? Meanwhile, Yulia could only bully the weakest little old man spirits. The gap was too vast.
Dammit, this is so frustrating.
Miko noticed Yulia looking off and assumed she was scared, so she gave her a "rest assured" look.
It's okay, they can't hurt us.
This is—?! Yulia tried to interpret the meaning behind Miko's gaze. Does she mean, "I've already shown off, now it's your turn"?
Don't look down on me! As the top disciple of the Downtown Godmother, my future is bright!
Unwilling to be looked down upon, Yulia found a weak entity nearby and began a continuous barrage: "Hey! Evil spirits, begone! Evil spirits, begone!"
Evil spirit: "Huh?"
Miko: She's way too relaxed...
Hana, who had been a little scared earlier, started to feel that this was a good spot for photography with her two friends around. She took out her instant camera and snapped a photo of Miko.
Miko took one look at it and saw a massive crowd of evil spirits standing right behind her in the photo. She could only offer a hollow laugh.
At that moment, the iron-drum demon finished consuming numerous spirits, effectively clearing the area, and evolved into something even more disgusting. Miko felt a twinge of unease.
Nightmare-sama is still here, so it should be fine.
As soon as she thought of Darkrai, it emerged from the shadows. Usually, killing ordinary spirits didn't yield much, but this grown spirit was worth exterminating.
Darkrai used a casual [Psychic], instantly killing the iron-drum demon and sweeping away the remaining spirits in the vicinity.
Nightmare-sama is amazing!
Miko's jubilant expression was caught by Yulia. Connecting it to the vanishing spirits, Yulia reconstructed the scene in her mind:
Miko saw that I (Yulia) was struggling to handle even a weak spirit and gave a contemptuous smile: 'This is how an esper should be.' With a casual strike, she annihilated every evil spirit within her sight. She even felt proud of her masterpiece, showing a satisfied smile.
Dammit! As much as it pains me to admit, you're stronger than me right now. But don't look down on this girl; in the future, I'll make you see me in a new light! A burning fighting spirit ignited within Yulia.
"Alright, I'm done shooting here! Let's hurry through and get to that place Yulia mentioned! My photography soul is starting to fire up," Hana urged.
"Ah, right." Yulia had almost forgotten about that.
"Okay, let's go," Miko added. Since the evil spirits were gone, the rest of the path should be safe.
Darkrai suddenly looked toward the tunnel entrance and floated toward the back. Seeing this, Miko turned her head in surprise and noticed two people entering the tunnel at that exact moment. Because they were backlit, Miko couldn't see their faces clearly.
No black aura... they should be human, right?
"Eek, ghosts!" Hana also turned and saw the two figures. Thinking they were ghosts, she huddled behind Miko, shivering with fear.
Unexpectedly, someone on the other side shouted, "Halt! You three evil spirits in front, you are surrounded! Surrender immediately!"
"No, Sensei, those are humans."
"Ahem, I was referring to the things beside them. How terrifying, they must be purged immediately!"
"No, there's only one strange thing beside them, and it doesn't look like an evil spirit."
"Shut up, I said there are, so there are!"
"Oh..."
Hearing their conversation, Yulia's face darkened. Are they espers who happened to come here for exorcism? No, they're probably just paranormal enthusiasts. All the evil spirits here were already dealt with by Miko.
She looked up at Miko and saw her comforting Hana. "Don't be afraid, they're humans, not ghosts."
"Really?"
"Really!"
"Thank goodness. I thought something bad was happening." Hana patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
"What's this, just three little girls. There are evil spirits here, it's dangerous. Leave quickly," the two men said as they approached.
Miko finally saw them clearly. The leader was an adult man in a suit. He was handsome with blond-dyed hair and an air of disdain, waving them away. Following him was a short, shy boy with a bowl cut in a black uniform. His eyes darted around, avoiding direct contact, mostly focusing on Darkrai.
Can that boy see Nightmare-sama too?
"You say there are evil spirits? No way." The just-relaxed Hana started to get scared again.
"Yes. But don't worry, for I, the Great Master Esper Arataka Reigen, have come here specifically to exterminate them. To avoid getting caught in the crossfire of the upcoming battle, you'd better leave now."
As he spoke, Reigen struck an exaggerated pose, making Yulia scoff inwardly. That talk only works on elementary schoolers.
"I see, that's great. Miko, let's not get in the Master's way. Let's go," Hana said, feeling relieved.
Yulia nearly tripped. This Hana... she eats so much, where does all the nutrition go? Catching a glimpse of the culprit that often made her feel suffocated, Yulia felt she had discovered the truth.
"I don't mind either way, but Hana, didn't you want to take more photos? Wouldn't it be a waste to stop halfway?" Normally, Miko would have left as fast as possible, but now, with Darkrai's protection, she was fearless and curious to see how others performed exorcisms.
"Oh, right." Hana began to hesitate.
"With the Master here, safety is guaranteed. We'll head over after they finish. The scenery there is truly beautiful," Yulia added. Her goal was similar to Miko's, though she wanted to see Miko's exorcism, not the obviously amateurish Reigen.
Besides, if anything goes wrong, Miko can save them.
"Hmph, I've warned you. Don't be frightened when the time comes." Reigen wasn't so low as to scan little girls for money; he just thought gaining some fans wouldn't hurt, so he didn't mind them watching. With Mob here, it was bound to be safe!
At this moment, Miko, Yulia, and Reigen were all incredibly calm, each believing they had a powerful person to rely on, even if their "powerhouses" were different.
"Mob, keep up! Time to exorcise some spirits!" Reigen led the way.
"Yes, Sensei!" The bowl-cut boy called Mob ran forward, sweating. He didn't forget to bow as he passed Miko and the others.
"Let's go too." Miko and her friends walked behind them, arms linked.
Darkrai blinked its blue eyes and floated in the rear. It sensed a power in Mob that even made it a bit fearful. However, being able to see into the human heart, it knew Mob was a good child, so it wasn't as tense as before.
This must be one of those 'key observation targets' Aomori mentioned. I should observe him closely.
As the five humans and one spirit walked deeper into the tunnel, Reigen muttered, "It's a bit cold, isn't it? Forgot the flashlight. It's so damp in here."
"Sensei, you're about to walk into something."
"Huh?"
Before he could finish the question, Reigen felt himself hit something and bounce back.
"Is it an evil spirit? How dare you ambush me!"
Reigen immediately struck a pose, flipped his phone to show a screensaver of a certain bald man, and used the phone's light to see. A blue-glowing figure, nearly touching the tunnel ceiling, blocked their path.
"There really is another evil spirit?" Miko said in surprise.
"E-e-evil spirit!" Hana's eyes rolled back, and she fainted on the spot.
"Wait, can Hana see this one too?" Miko quickly supported Hana. Come to think of it, this one looks different from the ones I've seen before. Is it an evil spirit strong enough for normal people to see?
"This guy... must be an incredibly strong evil spirit!" Yulia also felt it was different from anything she'd seen before, both in presence and appearance.
"You spirit, trying to ambush me? You must know how powerful I am," Reigen acted cool. "But it's useless. Under my exorcist attack, you will surely be annihilated instantly."
"Who's ambushing you?" the blue spirit snapped, annoyed. "I'm the boss of the biker gang that was wiped out in this tunnel because the idiot in front slipped on a banana peel while riding a motorcycle!"
"This tunnel is my territory! All of you, die!" A burst of flame erupted from the exhaust pipe behind the blue spirit. It grabbed the fire and hurled it toward them.
As Reigen was about to be consumed by the fireball, Mob raised his right hand and gave a slight squeeze.
A shield immediately appeared in front of Reigen, blocking the flame attack. At that exact moment, Reigen made a stylish gesture, making it look as though he had cast the shield himself.
"No way, my attack didn't work?" The blue spirit was shocked. "Could it be that I misjudged you? Are you actually a top-tier esper hiding your true power?"
Yulia was equally stunned. So powerful... the special effects are amazing. Was it like this when Miko performed exorcisms too? But why could I see it this time?
Could it be... is he so strong that he intentionally showed it to us? Did he already see through me being an esper? No, wait! His target is Miko. This is a showdown between two master espers!
Thinking of this, Yulia trembled with excitement. This was the kind of esper she imagined. She wanted to become like this in the future.
So, how will Miko respond? Yulia glanced at Miko and saw her lips curl into a slight, dismissive smile.
Wait, Miko looks down on this? True, passive defense against an evil spirit's move isn't that impressive.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph. There's no medicine for regret in this world. It's too late to beg for mercy now." Reigen pulled out a bag of table salt and took a handful. "The moment you stood against the genius esper Arataka Reigen, your fate was sealed. Attain Buddhism! Salt Splash!"
He slammed his fist full of salt into the blue spirit's face. At that precise moment, Darkrai fired a Hyper Beam from the rear, piercing through the spirit's head and annihilating it.
"See that? That's what happens when an evil spirit crosses me."
Amidst the flickering light of the dissipating blue spirit, Reigen slowly tucked his hands into his pockets. It must be said, in that moment, he looked quite cool. Yulia's eyes were certainly burning with admiration.
Miko watched the scene with a strange expression but didn't say anything.
Crap, my legs are a bit numb. Hard to walk. Need to rest a bit. Reigen cleared his throat and said to Mob, "Mob, the boss here has been dealt with by me. Go ahead and clean up the remaining small fry. Consider it your test."
"Yes, Sensei."
Mob nodded and walked deeper inside, with Darkrai floating along.