Watching Mashiro Shiina hold the painting she had given her as the evil spirits surrounding her fled in all directions, Griseo's expression did not change in the slightest, but inwardly, she relaxed.
This way, nothing should happen, right?
Originally, Griseo's paintings were merely ordinary sheets of paper that could be ruined with a tear, yet they contained terrifying magical power.
However, most of the time, that power leaned toward malice—the bad side of things. Griseo's power could bring the fears in people's hearts to the surface and turn them into terrifying monsters.
If she were the real Griseo, the painting she had given Mashiro Shiina now should have depicted the fears within Mashiro's heart.
But she was not entirely the real Griseo, so she had altered the power of the painting. It had become... the fears in the hearts of the evil spirits around her.
To the evil spirits around her, Mashiro Shiina holding that painting was the thing they feared most. This was not an illusion, but fear rising from the depths of their souls.
"Mommy, take good care of it."
As she softly reminded Mashiro Shiina, Griseo, having finished the painting, clearly detached herself from Mashiro's colors once again.
Griseo could easily be stained by other people's colors, but it never lasted long. After finishing a painting, she would return to her original self.
"Okay."
Hearing Griseo sweetly call her Mommy, Mashiro Shiina might not have understood many things, but she still felt warm and comfortable inside.
So she nodded with rare seriousness.
"Don't let it get wet... the painting will be ruined."
Remembering something, Griseo added.
"Won't get it wet."
"And don't put it near fire. Then there was something else... I forgot..."
She continued adding instructions, but Griseo quickly fell into deep thought and could not