"You can see!"
That hoarse roar grated against Miko Yotsuya's eardrums.
Tomie's words had acted like a spark to a powder keg.
The old man ghost crouching in front of Miko snapped its rotting, bloated face toward Yang Yi and the other two at the entrance of the alley.
"You can see!!"
It shrieked in excitement. Foul-smelling saliva dripped down its decaying jaw, sizzling and burning white smoke into the ground where it landed.
The next moment, its already bloated and putrid body rapidly expanded like an inflating balloon!
The red tissue of its skin tore open, revealing the darker muscle fibers underneath.
A thick stench of rotting corpses mixed with alcohol instantly enveloped Miko.
It wanted to tear apart everyone present who "could see"!
Miko's eyes rolled back from the overwhelming stench, nearly causing her to pass out on the spot.
*No! No! Don't alert the monsters!*
*Kyoko and the others are in danger!*
Miko's heart was filled with fear and despair.
Looking at the terrifying ghosts before her, a sudden thought sprang to mind: she would hold these monsters back herself.
Her cousin and her two friends were innocent; they shouldn't be dragged into this because of her!
*So, I'll be the bait!*
"Kyoko! Run! Tell my mom I won't be coming home tonight!"
Miko shouted at Kyoko Yotsuya with all the strength she could muster.
Then, throwing caution to the wind, she stood up and spread her arms wide, blocking the old man ghost's path in a desperate attempt to buy her cousin time to escape.
However, the massive old man ghost's voice had attracted the surrounding spirits.
The entire alleyway completely erupted.
"Heeheehee..."
"They can see..."
"So many... they can all see..."
"Food... eat them..."
In an instant, it was as if a hornet's nest had been kicked. The darkness deep within the alley began to writhe incessantly.
*Clatter...*
A nearby manhole cover was blasted open by a tremendous force, spewing foul-smelling black sludge. Pale arms formed from mud and shattered bones reached out from within, gripping the rim.
*Click... clack...*
The mottled paint on the alley walls began to peel off in flakes as charred, shadowy figures with backward-bending limbs crawled out from inside the concrete like geckos.
Twisting their necks, they rolled their pupil-less eyes and stared in unison at the alley entrance.
Next to appear was an old friend of Miko's.
*Clang...*
That familiar sound of dragging iron chains echoed from the alley.
The yellow-clothed monster, wrapped entirely in chains, appeared before Miko. Its hollow eye sockets locked dead onto her.
"You really can see... I'll eat you..."
In a matter of moments, dozens of grotesque entities of various shapes and sizes had swarmed out of the alley.
Miko deeply regretted her actions. She hated herself for being curious enough to follow that small old man ghost to the alley entrance.
Eventually, Miko slowly lowered her arms, abandoning her attempt to resist.
She stiffly turned her head to look at her cousin Kyoko at the entrance.
*It's over.*
*It's all over.*
*Kyoko is going to die too.*
*Because of me, everyone is going to die here.*
Miko's body stopped trembling. An indescribable sense of exhaustion welled up from every corner of her being.
The fear, suppression, and grievances she had accumulated for so long finally crushed her in this moment.
She had had enough.
Truly, she had had enough.
Miko suddenly turned around, no longer looking at her cousin.
She closed her eyes, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.
Facing the dozens of hideous, terrifying entities deep in the alley, she used the last of her strength to cry out:
"I can see you! I've always been able to see you!"
"Didn't you want to eat me? Come on! Come and eat me! I've had enough!!"
She spread her arms and gave up all resistance, waiting for the anticipated agony of being torn apart. She only hoped she could stall all the ghosts long enough to buy her cousin and the others time to escape.
However, a few seconds passed, and the alley fell eerily silent.
The only sound left in the surroundings was her own sobbing.
The roars of the vengeful spirits and the nauseating stench seemed to have vanished.
Moreover, the expected pain never arrived.
*What's going on?*
Miko opened her eyes in confusion, and the sight before her left her completely stunned.
Right in front of her, the old man ghost that had swelled to three meters tall was frozen in place.
The charred, shadowy figures on the walls were all plastered tightly against the concrete, trembling violently.
The arms in the sewer were desperately trying to retract back into the manhole, but couldn't grasp the cover.
All the ghosts were staring in absolute terror at something behind her.
*What are they afraid of? Did something even more terrifying appear behind me?*
*Oh no, Kyoko and the others are in danger!*
Miko quickly turned around to look behind her.
The next second, she witnessed an incredibly shocking scene.
At the alley entrance, that impossibly beautiful, unhinged woman, Tomie, was currently hefting a six-barreled runic Gatling gun that was taller than she was!
The menacing barrels flickered with a faint blue runic glow, the muzzle slowly rotating with a low *whirring* hum.
The elegantly handsome Daoist priest was now shouldering a grotesquely oversized, giant rocket launcher, continuously flashing with golden runes.
Even her cousin Kyoko was trembling as she held up a submachine gun flowing with runic light.
Although Kyoko's legs were shaking so badly she could barely stand, and her face was deathly pale, she still managed, under Yang Yi's encouragement, to shakily aim the muzzle at the alley.
"K-Kyoko? What are you guys..." Miko's voice trembled. *They aren't planning to take me out along with them, are they?*
"Whoa, this little girl's got guts."
Tomie, shouldering the Gatling gun, cast an approving look at Miko and playfully winked at her.
"Get down, little girl!"
"Now, sit back and appreciate big sis's art!!"
"Art?"
Miko's brain short-circuited, but her body instinctively crouched down, and she dropped flat onto the ground.
The very instant she hit the deck.
*Whir—whir—whir—*
The rotation speed of the Gatling gun's barrels abruptly accelerated!
Tomie's morbid, ecstatic laughter mixed with the roar of gunfire, echoing through the night sky!
"Bwahahahaha!"
*Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat—!!!*
"Die! Die! You ugly freaks!!!"
Blue flames erupted from the six barrels!
Those weren't just bullets; they were tens of thousands of talismans condensed with faint blue runic energy.
The torrential rain of runic bullets instantly swallowed the bloated old man ghost!
*BOOM—!!!*
At almost the exact same time, Yang Yi also pulled the trigger.
Following a muffled boom, a rocket trailing golden flames howled over Miko's head and slammed into the horde of ghosts deep in the alley!
*Bang-bang-bang!!*
Kyoko squeezed her eyes shut and screamed as she pulled the trigger. The runic submachine gun spat tongues of fire, wildly sweeping across the walls and blowing apart the charred, shadowy figures attempting to flee one by one!
The roar of gunfire and the explosions of rockets reverberated through the alleyway.
Miko watched with her own eyes as those terrifying ghosts—the ones that had caused her sleepless nights, endless fear, and suffocating dread—were blasted into absolute dust amidst the holy light and runes!
The flash of the explosions lit up the entire alley as bright as day.
The runic energy and the aura of holy light completely purged the cold, rotting stench of corpses, replacing it with a strange scent that mixed the smell of gunpowder with the warmth of the sun.
A few minutes later, the gunfire ceased.
Tomie blew on the scorching hot barrels, while Yang Yi casually shoved the still-smoking rocket launcher into his pocket.
The alley was left in complete ruins.
The original walls and ground had completely vanished, replaced by a dense layer of bullets that formed a new surface.
And those ghosts had completely disappeared.
The world was finally at peace.
Miko slowly raised her head, staring blankly at the aftermath.
"Miko!"
Kyoko dropped the submachine gun and rushed over, pulling her into a tight hug. "Are you okay?! Miko! You scared me to death! You idiot! Why did you charge over there?!"
Miko felt the warmth of her cousin's embrace. The tangible sensation reminded her that what just happened wasn't a hallucination.
"Waaaah—"
Unable to suppress her grievances any longer, Miko hugged Kyoko back, buried her face deep in her cousin's chest, and burst into tears.
"Waaaaahhh! Kyoko!"
"I was so scared! I was so scared!"
"Those ghosts terrified me every single day, and I only dared to pretend I couldn't see them! *Sob!*"
In this moment, she released all the fear, grievances, and despair she had harbored over the past few months.