Resort Night (1)

Night quietly descended over Chenghui Plateau, ink-wash darkness slowly spreading across the horizon where sea met sky. Lemnian Hollow in the distance glowed with a purple boundary, lending the scene an air of mystery and depth.

On the resort beach, the evening breeze carried a salty, damp scent. Waves gently lapped at the shore, their spray glittering in the moonlight.

After the unusual yet lively performance during the day, the group welcomed a relaxing night by the sea.

Although the music festival had not officially begun, Cecilia had spoken with the person in charge, who still had a bonfire lit on the beach.

Orange-red flames danced, adding a lively warmth to the night.

By the sea, Aria kept Griseo company while she painted.

Although Nangong had pestered her into installing a waterproof system, Aria still did not particularly enjoy playing in the water.

So she volunteered to accompany Griseo instead. Besides, the LED lights all over her body were perfect for illumination.

And so, this scene came to be:

The night lay heavy in the distance, with only the Hollow's purple glow faintly flickering where sea and sky met.

The bonfire shone brightly on the beach, its dancing flames painting the surroundings in warm orange.

At the boundary between firelight and lamplight, Griseo sat quietly before her easel while Aria stood beside her, using her gentle LED glow to light the way.

In truth, with Griseo's abilities, she did not need any light even when painting at night.

But to give Aria a sense of involvement, she said nothing and simply continued painting in silence.

Elsewhere,

Nangong and Sunna had changed into swimsuits and walked across the sand in sandals. At Yuzuha's invitation, they were taking part in a special seaside holiday event—a courage test.

"Ahhh!"

Several piercing screams suddenly rang out.

"Nangong, Sunna, it sounds like something's happening over there too ( •̀ ω •́ )y."

Yuzuha covered her mouth and smiled, a trace of mischief flashing in her eyes.

Startled by the sudden screams, Sunna looked nervous. She clutched Nangong's arm tightly and said with a tremble, "Nangong, how about we go back? This is kind of scary."

As a devious young lady, Nangong usually loved teasing Sunna.

How could she not understand Yuzuha's intentions at a time like this? So she played along. "So Sunna's actually this timid!"

Yuzuha immediately caught on.

She deliberately leaned close to Sunna and lowered her voice. "I heard this beach used to be a sea-burial cemetery. Maybe ghosts have come out for a stroll."

"D-Don't say any more!"

At Yuzuha's devilish whisper, tears were already welling up in Sunna's eyes.

Nangong patted Sunna, putting on a motherly air as she comforted her. "All right, Sunna. Trust science. How could there be ghosts in this world?"

"Come on, let's go take a look. The best way to overcome fear is to face it!"

"Ah! No, please!"

As Sunna watched herself get dragged into the darkness, she became even more terrified.

When Yuzuha brought Nangong and Sunna to a stone wall, all three froze beneath the night sky.

Morning glories and Virginia creeper had originally been planted there, but because of the season, the wall should have been bare by now.

Yet a painting now hung on it. It depicted a young girl holding scissors as she trimmed a garden.

Her face, however, was blurred. Through the veil of her hat, it looked as though it had been pixelated, though they could still sense that she was smiling.

"Nangong, Yuzuha, why does that smile in the painting feel so creepy?"

Sunna stared at the portrait for a while, and the girl only seemed more unsettling the longer she looked.

Nangong looked at the strange girl and offered her opinion. "She kind of looks like an Ethereal."

"Mm, this painting style reminds me of someone, but she isn't in Weifei Land right now."

Looking at the painting's style, Yuzuha thought of a fellow club member—Night Demon Messenger—who always liked sending strange drawings whenever they talked.

But she did not seem to live in New Eridu.

"Yuzuha, what are you doing here?"

Footsteps sounded behind the three of them. It was Mato Komano and the resort owner, Theresa.

"Mato, Sister Theresa, have you seen this painting before?" Yuzuha turned around and asked.

Mato frowned. "No. Isn't this kind of scary painting exactly the sort of thing you'd hang here to scare people, Yuzuha?"

"But I have no memory of it at all."

Yuzuha thought it over. She did not refute Mato, since she really did pull pranks like that.

But the method she had prepared to scare Sunna tonight was Akama!

And they had not even reached the destination yet.

"Then it might be someone's prank. I'll take the painting down first."

As he spoke, Mato stepped forward to remove the painting. However, something bizarre happened—his fingertips passed straight through it.

Mato said in alarm, "Wait, am I not awake yet?"

"No, Mato, I saw it too... Why can't we touch it? This doesn't make any physical sense!"

Yuzuha reached out as well, and her hand similarly passed right through it.

"Could the boiled black sea bass we had for lunch have been poisonous? Did we all hallucinate?"

Nangong also tried to touch the portrait, but the result was the same as Yuzuha's... her hand passed straight through.

At that moment, Theresa said with a slight tremble, "Could those old rumors about the resort being haunted be true?"

"Wait, where's Sunna?"

Standing before the painting, Yuzuha turned and looked around, only to realize that the original prank target had not said a word the entire time.

After everyone scanned the area, they found Sunna curled into a ball in a corner not far from the painting. She had clearly crashed.

"Huh?"

Seeing that, Nangong walked over helplessly and poked Sunna's cheek with a finger. "Sunna, Senior Yao Jiayin is here. She wants to perform with you onstage!"

"Eeeek! Really? Where's Astra?!"

At Nangong's whisper, Sunna immediately returned to normal. Her admiration for her idol instantly crushed her fear.

Yuzuha raised a brow, a wicked grin curling across her lips. "Oh? Little Nangong and little Sunna are so close! Could you two be lady co-workers~?"

"We're lady..." Sunna had just started to answer when her gaze inadvertently flicked back to the painting on the wall. Her voice abruptly caught, and then she screamed.

"The p-painting came alive! There's a monster!!" Before her words had even faded, she spun around and bolted, vanishing into the night in the blink of an eye.

"I haven't even started scaring her yet?"

Yuzuha scratched her head, looking innocent.

However, when Yuzuha and the others looked back at the eerie painting... it had vanished. In its place floated a young girl suspended in midair.

Her French Lolita dress spread out around her. Her hands were like Edward Scissorhands's, their blades gleaming with a cold light.

Yuzuha's smile froze on her face. Mato instinctively stepped half a pace forward, shielding everyone behind him, though his body had gone rigid as well.

"Back up... slowly back up..."

But it was already too late. The girl in the air slowly raised her head.

Just then, the moonlight illuminated her face. Her eyes were hollow and pupil-less. Then the blades gave a faint tremble, letting out a soft clang.

"Run!!"

No one knew who shouted first. The next instant, as figures began to flee, panic erupted across the beach.

"Griseo... wasn't that a little mean?"

Under the night sky, Aria dropped her disguise projection and lightly flew down from the top of the stone wall with Griseo in her arms.

Watching the distant figures flee in disarray, she said it was "mean," but her tone was full of barely concealed mischief.

Griseo did not answer. She merely reached out and lightly touched the floating girl.

The girl's figure trembled slightly before dissolving into countless tiny motes of fluorescent light that returned to Griseo's body.

That was right. The so-called "monster" had actually been one of Griseo's paintings, using her special ability to create a terrifying atmosphere.

Griseo lowered her hand and said, "But wasn't Sister Aria smiling very happily?"

"..."

Aria fell silent for a moment, then finally stopped hiding it. Her laughter rang straight through the night.

"Ha ha ha!!! I never thought Nangong would have a day like this!!"