Miko Becomes a Demonic Cultivator

"Sorry to trouble you with helping me clean up."

"It's fine, it's nothing."

Miko shook her head, bent down, and picked up a few bottle caps from the floor. These shiny little things often attracted the Little Old Man, and with luck, they'd occasionally lure in a big monster that saw the Little Old Man as prey—though the odds weren't great. Today, Yuria had hit the jackpot, it seemed.

"You're Miko, right?"

"Mm."

She hid the caps in her palm, casually picking up a volleyball from the ground and tossing it into the bin.

"I'm Yuria."

"Nice to meet you."

Yotsuya Miko offered a faint smile. Based on what she'd looked up, she had a pretty good idea of what this girl was trying to do.

So, she watched as the girl slowly closed the large door, saying nothing more—which made it easier for her to proceed with her next move.

"Actually, I've been secretly watching you, Miko."

Ah, so you know that too.

"I realized you're one of us—someone from this world."

Looks like you can see a little.

"You can see them, can't you?"

As she spoke, she stepped closer to Miko, brimming with an odd sort of confidence.

"You can't fool me."

No, I never thought anyone would be able to see them in the first place. Why would I bother hiding it?

"You've never told anyone you can see them, have you? I think I know why."

A hint of loneliness crept across her face. Just like the rumors said, this girl had been ostracized in middle school for claiming she saw ghosts, and even now, she hadn't made any friends.

Still, that doesn't give you the right to stir up trouble just to find a kindred spirit, does it?

Watching this girl, who showed no fear of ghosts and even seemed a little proud of it, Yotsuya Miko figured it was lucky she could only see the weak ones. With a personality like that, she'd definitely get herself killed.

Speaking of which, she was already starting to dig her own grave.

"Don't worry, I'm just like you. It's just us now—you don't have to hide your power."

"Come on, tell me your secret!"

"...Troublesome."

Yotsuya Miko sighed. She pointed at Yuria's pocket. Having witnessed the energy of the Prayer Beads, she'd already sensed through her Spiritual Sense that this girl had a string of them on her.

"Take out that string of beads."

"Huh?"

Yuria blinked, startled by how Miko suddenly seemed like a different person, then quickly pulled out the Prayer Beads the Godmother had given her.

"What... are you going to do?"

"Put them on your hand and wait for them to shatter on their own."

Yotsuya Miko calmly stuffed a few bottle caps into her own pocket. She needed these little trinkets as temporary vessels anyway.

"Let me explain a bit. Weak ghosts get driven back by the beads' energy, but strong ones? It's the exact opposite."

The moment she finished speaking, the Prayer Beads on Yuria's wrist trembled violently, then burst into fragments.

Like fireworks scattering in the air.

"What a lovely sound, Yuria-chan."

Chapter 27: Three Things and a Promise

Along with the beads, Yuria's heart shattered too.

Yotsuya Miko's words made one thing instantly clear: there was a powerful ghost here strong enough to destroy the Prayer Beads.

But why couldn't she see it?

"Because you're lucky. You can only see the weak ones—the ones that can't even hurt you."

Yotsuya Miko rubbed her wrist, eyeing the massive ghost that had already started going berserk, its Block Face twisting. She wondered what she should do with this thing.

As terrifying as its form was, its strength was still within her control.

"Being able to see them isn't a good thing. Once they realize you can see them, they step out of their shadowy state and... kill you."

She paused for a moment.

"Oh, and by the way, pretending to see them doesn't seem to have that effect."

"Spirit Binding Technique."

With that, she cast a technique. Dozens of streams of Spiritual Qi shot out along a black light, aimed at the rampaging Block Face as it lunged to attack her. The Qi quickly transformed into long, slender ropes, slithering like pythons over the Block Face's body, then coiling tightly around it.

"Alright. Any questions?"

She clapped her hands, glanced at the ghost wrapped up tightly, and turned her gaze to the girl before her.

"..."

Yuria, utterly stunned, could only stare blankly at her, struggling to accept what she had just heard.

But that wasn't a problem. Yotsuya Miko walked up to her and tapped her on the forehead.

"Spiritual Eye Technique. It'll let you see the world through my eyes for a bit."

Several strands of Spiritual Qi flowed through Miko's fingertips, gathering from Yuria's forehead into her eyes. Though Yuria didn't feel the flow of Spiritual Qi, when she looked ahead again, she stumbled back a few steps.

"What... is that?"

"As you can see, a ghost."

Yotsuya Miko didn't mock her reaction. After all, seeing these things in full detail was a huge psychological burden.

"They come in all sorts of twisted forms, distorted human shapes. Even if you don't want to pay attention, they'll linger around you for all kinds of reasons."

She spoke softly, patting Yuria on the shoulder.

"Don't worry too much. This one's already been subdued by me."

"I get that you want to find someone like you, but that's no reason to mess around with ghosts. People who provoke ghosts usually don't end well."

Miko said, casually adding another strand of Spiritual Qi to Block Face to keep it more docile.

"Now that you've seen what I can do, anything you want to say?"

"Oh, right."

She pulled the bottle caps from her pocket.

"I'll take these. Otherwise, those Little Old Men will keep hanging around here, and they might attract more ghosts."

With that, ignoring Yuria, who was still processing everything, Miko dispelled the Spiritual Eye Technique and turned her focus back to the ghost.

If it weren't for teaching that reckless classmate a lesson about the dangers of ghosts, she would have just obliterated this thing outright instead of wasting so much Spiritual Qi to restrain it. For the Demonic Path, killing was far easier than capturing.

She casually flicked out a few hand seals, not even bothering to call out their names. Watching the Demonic Path's signature black light land on Block Face, blasting several gaping holes into its body, Miko nodded in satisfaction. The more hits it could take, the better the quality. A few more flashes of black light, and with the ghost's wails, its last shred of consciousness faded away.

She took the bottle caps from her pocket, fusing them together with Spiritual Qi into a temporary container. These caps, tainted with the ghost's aura, barely qualified as a vessel. Ever the pragmatist, Miko had no intention of preparing her own container.

Under the influence of Spiritual Qi, the bottle caps quickly formed a hollow sphere. The soul body fragments, usually scattered everywhere, were all pulled back by Spiritual Qi, compressed into a small ball. She stuffed that ball into the sphere formed by the bottle caps, sealed it with another hand seal, and declared the ghost fully reclaimed.

With the soul body of a ghost like this, Miko could do a lot more. She could upgrade the Evil Banishing Talisman on Yurikawa Hana, or the one she carried herself. She could make an item to forcibly boost a ghost's power, like she'd thought about before. Or she could use it as fuel to cultivate the Nine Nether Profound Soul Treasure Record.

Either way, she was satisfied with today's haul.

"Um... aren't you angry? Even though I did something like this."

After Miko finished dealing with the ghost, Yuria finally snapped out of her daze, realizing what she had done and the consequences it could have brought.

If Yotsuya Miko had been able to see that vicious ghost but didn't have such overwhelming strength, and Yuria had forced her to admit she could see it...

Yuria began to regret her recklessness. She could have taken a gentler approach.

"If I were going to be angry, I'd have started days ago."

Miko ruffled Yuria's hair, a hint of helplessness in her voice.

"Honestly, having you stare at me every day on the way to school wasn't exactly pleasant. It's only because I've seen so many ghosts that I could ignore your gaze. But... isn't there something you've been meaning to say to me?"

Judging by actions rather than intentions, she should have been angry at Yuria's behavior, since it was practically setting her up for disaster. But honestly, Miko felt Yuria was like a lonely, helpless child, cursed by her ability to see, and her desperate need to find a kindred spirit was perfectly understandable.

Also, Yuria's hair felt nice. Unlike her little brother's stiff, prickly hair, Yuria's golden locks were soft and smooth, just like in those shampoo commercials.

"...I'm... sorry. For causing you trouble."

Yuria obediently bowed, lowering her head to Miko.

"That's not enough, you know."

Yotsuya Miko smiled at her.

"How about you help me with a few things, Yuria-chan?"

"What kind of things?"

Yuria closed her eyes, putting on a brave front.

"Whatever it is, I'll accept it! It's what I deserve."

"Hmm, quite the spirit."

Yotsuya Miko raised three fingers.

"First, clean up the fragments of the prayer beads at your feet. It's not good to leave them lying around."

"Second..."

Yotsuya Miko took out the sealed sphere and pressed it into Yuria's palm.

"Hold onto this container for me. I'll come get it after school."

"As for the third thing..."

She looked at Yuria and smiled.

"I'll tell you when I think of it."

Chapter 28: Miko Hasn't Changed

Yuria's matter, after such an encounter, was finally settled.

When school let out, Yotsuya Miko retrieved the small ball and casually flashed her phone.

"Want to add each other?"

Like with Yuria's situation, Yotsuya Miko had no intention of telling ordinary people about her ability to see things—because doing so often only ended up harming them.

So, even in front of Yurikawa Hana, she didn't reveal her capabilities as a demon cultivator. However, for someone like Yuria, who could also see, it wasn't too much of a problem.

At worst, she could craft a full set of gear for this girl, from teeth to full-body protection—after all, Yuria's mental fortitude when facing ghosts was decent enough.

"Uh... yeah."

Uncomfortable with the invitation, Yuria felt it would be even weirder to refuse. Hesitantly, she pulled out her phone and finally added Yotsuya Miko's contact.

"Then, remember we still have an unfinished promise."

Yotsuya Miko smiled at her, then turned her gaze toward Yurikawa Hana, who was approaching.

"Miko... huh? Who's this?"

Yurikawa Hana looked at the small girl standing in front of Miko and tilted her head.

"I feel like I've seen her somewhere?"

"Yeah, at Mrs. Donut's."

Yotsuya Miko grabbed Yuria by the shoulder.

"This kid is Futamido Yuria. We just properly met at the sports field, right, Yuria-chan?"