I Became a Spirit in Date A Live and Refused to Date

Lingmeng flung the bat off her face. She looked up at the swarm filling the sky, conjured a ball of fire without a word, and hurled it at them.

The flames engulfed every bat. They turned to charred lumps and fell to the ground.

Startled out of her wits, Lingmeng sprang up and ran.

"Lingmeng, wait for me!" Shiori gave the vampire an apologetic glance, then hurried after her.

"Lingmeng, wait! Don't run so fast!" Lingmeng was a Spirit, and ordinary human Shiori couldn't keep up. All she could do was call after her.

Perhaps Lingmeng was too frightened to hear Shiori. She just kept running.

As Lingmeng passed a coffin, its lid suddenly flew open, and a mummy wrapped head to toe in bandages burst out.

"Ahh! I'm going to curse you!"

"Aaah! Shiori, help!" Lingmeng screamed at the sight of the mummy.

Before she could recover, a wooden hatch in the floor nearby opened with a clack.

A green-skinned Frankenstein's monster climbed out. He had scars on his face and bolts in his head.

Working together, the two monsters backed Lingmeng into a corner. With nowhere to run, she shut her eyes, flailed her fists, and screamed at them.

"Don't come any closer!"

Her reaction clearly startled them. Both took an instinctive step back.

But they remembered their jobs and advanced again.

"I'm going to kill you..." the mummy began.

He had barely gotten the threat out when Lingmeng blindly caught hold of a loose end of his bandages.

Lingmeng noticed she had grabbed something, but in her panic, she paid it no mind. Eyes still shut, she yanked the bandage and swung it wildly.

"Little girl, stop... I'm going to throw up..."

Lingmeng was swinging the mummy up and down by his bandages. Dizzy, he flailed his arms and legs and begged for mercy.

Lingmeng couldn't hear him in her current state. Instead of stopping, she swung him even harder. Then...

Rrrip! The bandage finally snapped under the strain, sending the mummy flying out of sight.

"What..." Frankenstein's monster stared blankly in the direction his coworker had flown. Then he came to his senses.

"Miss, please calm down. We're just staff here—"

He waved his hands frantically as he tried to explain, but before he could finish, Lingmeng seized one of them.

She spun him around like a tornado tearing through a parking lot, then let go. Frankenstein's monster went flying too...

"Huh...? Where did those two monsters go...?" Lingmeng murmured when she came to, looking around at the empty space.

Clearly, she had no memory of how her panicked actions had wiped out the pair.

"It's so dark and scary in here... Where did Shiori go...?"

Lingmeng didn't know what had just happened. As she looked into the surrounding darkness, an inexplicable fear rose within her.

"I'll wait for Shiori at the exit... You can do this, Lingmeng!"

After hesitating for a moment, Lingmeng decided to press on. She gave herself a little pep talk and set off toward the end of the route...

"What on earth happened here?"

Shiori reached the spot where Lingmeng had been not long after she left.

One look at the mummy and Frankenstein's monster, both wearing utterly devastated expressions, gave Shiori a good idea who was responsible.

"I'm sorry, you two... If I get the chance, I'll bring Lingmeng back to apologize in person!"

Shiori scratched her cheek awkwardly, then turned and ran after Lingmeng.

If Lingmeng kept running around like this, she might cause trouble for someone else. Shiori had better find her soon...

Sakurako and Kappa

Lingmeng raced along the dark path at a speed only a Spirit could manage. All she wanted was to get out of this awful place.

She had no idea how long she ran. The way ahead stayed clear, though, with no more monsters jumping out at her, and she gradually began to calm down.

Then Lingmeng stopped abruptly. Something was blocking her path.

An artificial pond over twenty meters across lay before her.

Its water was pale green, with lotus leaves and flowers floating on the surface.

On the far side stood a table. A small candle on it cast a faint light over a nearby key.

"Is that a key? Does that mean I'm almost at the exit...?"

With her Spirit eyesight, Lingmeng could make out the key on the table. Looking around, she spotted an iron gate nearby. The key was probably meant to open it.

"If I get across, take the key, and open that gate, I can leave, right?"

Lingmeng muttered to herself. She was considering jumping straight to the far bank when a voice interrupted her.

"Waaah... Mommy, Daddy, where are you? I'm scared..."

It was a crying voice, apparently a young girl's.

"Who's crying?"

Lingmeng turned toward the sound on her right.

A narrow wooden bridge crossed the pond nearby, barely wide enough for one person.

It sat so low it was almost level with the water. With no railings, it would be easy to fall in with one careless step.

More importantly, a little girl of about ten crouched on the bridge. She wore a red kimono and had a bob haircut. Her face was buried against her knees as she sobbed.

She was clearly the one Lingmeng had heard. Why she was crying alone there, Lingmeng had no idea.

"Why is a little girl all alone in a place like this? That's worrying..."

Puzzled by the little girl's tearful state, Lingmeng decided to go over and check on her.

Well, she probably got separated from her family. Poor thing, having that happen somewhere like this when she's so young.

Lingmeng thought as she headed toward the bridge.

She sighed helplessly. She knew all too well how the little girl felt.

Soon Lingmeng reached the girl and crouched beside her.

"Hey, little one. Why are you crying here all alone? Did you lose your mom and dad?"

Lingmeng patted her head and asked gently, putting on a kind expression.

The girl kept her face buried against her knees, so Lingmeng couldn't see it. That didn't seem to matter.

"Sa... Sakurako can't find Mommy and Daddy..." the girl answered through her tears.

"So she did get separated from her family," Lingmeng murmured. Then she tried to comfort her.

"Don't cry, Sakurako. Big bro—big sis will help you find your mom and dad. But first, you have to come out of here with me. Then I can help you look for them."

"Okay... Sakurako understands..." The girl nodded obediently.

"You're such a good girl." Lingmeng was about to take her out and go to the police to find her parents when Sakurako spoke again.

"Hey... big sis..."

"Hmm? What is it?" Lingmeng asked, tilting her head.

"Will you play with Sakurako?!"

Sakurako jerked her head up and shouted in a hoarse voice. Lingmeng finally saw her face.

There was no skin on it. Large patches of facial muscle lay exposed to the air.

The gruesome sight looked like an anatomical muscle model displayed in a hospital.

"Aaah! A monster!"

Lingmeng's fairly calm expression turned ashen the moment she saw the girl's face.

She tried to flee, but Sakurako caught her clothes before she could.

"Haha... Are you trying to run away, big sis? Didn't you just say you'd help Sakurako find Mommy and Daddy? You mustn't lie~"

Sakurako's voice sent chills down Lingmeng's spine. She now had a firm grip on Lingmeng's arm.

"Y-you monster... Let go of me!"

Lingmeng cried out, shutting her eyes as she violently swung the right arm Sakurako held.

With a Spirit's strength, Lingmeng easily lifted Sakurako one-handed and whipped her arm around so fast that she sent the girl on a wild roller-coaster ride.

"P-please let go, miss... I-I'm just a regular employee..."

Sakurako's eyes swirled as she revealed who she was.

But just as with the mummy and Frankenstein's monster, Lingmeng didn't hear the staff member. She kept swinging with all her might.

Rrrip! The sleeve on Lingmeng's right arm tore. Like the staff members before her, Sakurako went flying, still clutching a scrap of Lingmeng's clothing.

Splash!

Sakurako hit the pond hard.

"Ahh, I've had enough! I don't want to stay in this awful place anymore! Not even for one more second!"

Seeing that Sakurako had vanished, Lingmeng stamped her foot.

She had come to a haunted house, gotten scared half to death, and ruined her clothes. The tracksuit wasn't particularly expensive, but it still made her angry.

Lingmeng had only taken a few steps toward the far side when a green hand shot out of the pond and grabbed her right ankle.

"Ah!" The sudden grip tripped her, and she fell onto the bridge.

Fortunately, the wooden boards beneath her were soft, so she wasn't hurt.

"Oh my god, what now?! (?д?; )"

In despair, Lingmeng looked back into the water.

A Kappa poked its head above the surface. Its skin was green all over, a flower-shaped crest sat atop its head, its mouth resembled a platypus's bill, and its hands were webbed...

Finally Out of the Haunted House

"Mooom! What the hell is that?"

Lingmeng stared at the bald head that had appeared in the water... No, wait. A cue ball...? That wasn't right either. Oh, it was a Kappa.

At the sight of the Kappa, Lingmeng burst into tears.

"Quack, quack..." Making ducklike noises, the Kappa tugged hard, trying to pull Lingmeng into the pond.

Half her body was already in the water. She could only grip the bridge planks with both hands to keep the Kappa from dragging her all the way in.

"Let go of me..."

"Quack?"

Lingmeng's voice had turned cold. The Kappa tilted its head in confusion.

"I said let go of me!"

Lingmeng shut her eyes and screamed. Tears at their corners, she slammed a hand against the bridge.

The pond water began to churn, forming a huge whirlpool. It drew the Kappa toward it, and the Kappa finally released its grip on Lingmeng.