After crying for a long time, Miko finally raised her head, sobbing.
She looked at the bizarrely styled man and woman in front of her, her eyes filled with hope and awe.
"Excuse me... are you professional exorcists?"
"Exorcists?"
Tomie burst out laughing.
She planted a foot on the Gatling gun, rested her hands on her hips, struck what she thought was a cool pose, and proudly announced:
"We aren't some tacky, outdated profession like that!"
"We are—a 'Magical Girl' duo!!"
*Smack!*
The moment she finished speaking, Yang Yi chopped her on the head with the side of his hand.
"Don't be a bad influence on the kid, and don't just make up random names for us!"
"Ouch!"
Tomie cried out in pain.
The next second, a scene occurred that nearly made Miko's eyes pop out of her head.
The spot where Tomie was hit visibly caved in by a large chunk!
However, before Miko could even gasp, the dent rapidly writhed and instantly restored itself into a smooth forehead.
Tomie rubbed her head as if nothing had happened, glaring at Yang Yi in dissatisfaction. "Handsome! You actually hit me! How could you bear to hit such a beautiful head! Is there something wrong with your sexual orientation?"
Miko: "..."
*What... what in the world is all this?!*
"Just ignore her, Miko. There might be something a little wrong with her up there."
Kyoko then pulled Miko closer, excitedly fishing out the dark gold sachet from around her neck and dangling it in front of her.
"Look at this! It's called 'The Emperor's Butt Cushion Amulet'!"
Kyoko excitedly described the amulet's miraculous effects to Miko, recounting just how powerful Yang Yi and Tomie were, how they had shot a hole straight through the apartment building, and how they had repaired the walls.
Gradually, Miko's expression shifted from blank shock to utter awe.
She reached out a trembling hand and carefully touched the "Butt Cushion Amulet."
The moment she made contact, an indescribable warmth and profound weight surged through her fingertips and instantly spread throughout her entire body.
The lingering, bone-chilling coldness surrounding her was completely dispelled by this warm current.
For a split second, she felt as if she saw a brilliantly glowing golden butt, banishing all the darkness for her.
Her eyes instantly lit up.
Yang Yi looked at her with a smile.
"Miko Yotsuya."
"Yes!" Miko nervously stood up straight.
"Actually, you are a one-in-a-million prodigy." Yang Yi looked at Miko. "So, are you interested in taking me as your master?"
"Eh?"
Miko was both shocked and overjoyed. This sudden stroke of luck came so unexpectedly that she couldn't react for a moment.
"C-Can I really?"
"Of course you can. Your talent is incredibly strong!"
Yang Yi smiled faintly. Then, under Miko's excited gaze, he shoved his hand into his pocket and began rummaging around.
It seemed as though a four-dimensional pocket was hidden within the wide sleeves of his purple Daoist robe.
First, Yang Yi pulled out a rune submachine gun—the exact same model as Kyoko's—from his sleeve and shoved it into Miko's arms.
Then, he pulled out a 1.5-meter-long holy spiked mace, its surface covered in vicious spikes!
Yang Yi presented this incredibly brutal-looking mace to Miko.
"This is the introductory magical weapon your master is bestowing upon you!"
"Hold it steady, my disciple."
Miko: "..."
She looked down at the submachine gun in her arms, which was emitting a faint blue glow.
Then she looked up at the mace in front of her, which reeked of rust and blood.
She fell into a state of complete and utter stupor.
*What happened to... exorcism?*
*What happened to... being magical girls?*
*Why is this completely different from what I imagined!*
"Hurry up and put them away. These will be your standard issue gear from now on,"
Yang Yi said casually. Immediately after, he pulled out three ordinary-looking, even somewhat tacky, small black backpacks from his sleeves and handed them out to the three girls.
"And these. They're spatial equipment; they can hold quite a lot of things."
Before Miko and Kyoko could react, Yang Yi brought out three tablets.
The tablets had an extremely sci-fi design with streamlined silver casings. Upon booting up, a customization interface appeared on the screens.
"These are for customizing the skins of your magical weapons and backpacks."
"I don't know what styles you girls like, so just pick whatever you want yourselves."
"Nani? Skins?!"
Kyoko and Miko hadn't even recovered their wits yet, but Tomie's eyes instantly lit up!
"Good stuff! You really have everything! Say, you aren't Doraemon, are you?"
She snatched a tablet, her fingers swiping rapidly across the screen as she muttered to herself.
"This one's too flashy... this one's disgusting... this one's too cliché..."
"Ooh, ooh, ooh! This 'Anime-style Gradient Pink-Blue Paint Job' is pretty nice!"
"Backpack skins... Wow! This Bowser shell is so cool!!"
Under Miko and Kyoko's dumbfounded gazes, the "ordinary" black backpack on Tomie's back suddenly began to twist and deform.
It finally turned into a green turtle shell. Immediately after, spikes gleaming with a cold, metallic light thrust out from the carapace!
In the blink of an eye, a ferocious, highly aggressive turtle shell had replaced the original backpack.
Next was the six-barreled Gatling gun she had tossed onto the ground.
The heavy, bloodstained, dark-black gun body began to rapidly fade in color.
Then, a candy-like bright pink began to spread from the stock, gradually transitioning into a bright blue along the barrels.
A faint, shimmering "Bling-Bling" sparkle effect even appeared across the surface of the gun.
An "anime-style" painted "Magical Girl Staff" was born.
Tomie hoisted the Gatling gun onto her shoulder with satisfaction, twirling around to proudly show it off.
"How is it! My staff is cool, right!"
"..."
Miko and Kyoko fell silent.
This woman, along with this set of gear, had absolutely nothing in common with their impression of exorcists.
*Could this be the new era of exorcists? Isn't it a bit too new?!*
"Wow! There are so many options to choose from!"
Miko picked up a tablet and started browsing as well.
When she saw options on the interface like "Star Wand Color Scheme" and "Sakura Wand Color Scheme," her eyes lit up too.
What girl could possibly refuse something like this?
With trembling little hands, she tapped on the "Sakura Wand" skin.
The next second, the cold submachine gun in her arms transformed in a burst of soft pink light into a cute pink submachine gun with little wings at the tip.
Holding the gun now, it actually felt somewhat warm.
She then looked at the ferocious spiked mace on the ground.
Her small face scrunched up, clearly filled with resistance toward this weapon.
"It's okay," Kyoko said, mustering her courage and learning to operate the tablet. "Look, this 'Shining Star Hammer' skin can cover up the mace!"
Kyoko helped her select the skin.
A flash of light passed, and the brutal spiked mace turned into an adorable hammer topped with a large, chibi-style yellow star. Even the handle had changed into pink and white stripes.
Miko held her "Magical Gun" in her left hand and a "Star Hammer" in her right.
The tension from the bloody slaughter she had just experienced, along with her fear of her future fate, had been diluted significantly.
Their complexions had visibly improved quite a bit.
While the two girls were engrossed in changing skins, Yang Yi's attention shifted elsewhere.
The Transmutation Table interface appeared before his eyes.
[Ding! Large amount of otherworldly energy value detected. Otherworldly energy charging complete.]
[Obtained one Mod draw opportunity.]
[Draw immediately?]
Yang Yi raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Confirm draw."
[Drawing Mod...]
[Congratulations Host! Obtained Mod — Noita (Witch)]