The Batmobile stopped silently in front of the iron gates of an abandoned hospital. This was a famous "haunted spot" in the Tokyo suburbs, abandoned for several years, its gates covered in rust.
"Master, is this the place?"
Miko hugged her star hammer, keeping her voice extremely low. She had just mastered the switch for her [Eyes of Truth], but even with it turned off right now, a layer of goosebumps still broke out across her skin. That bone-piercing chill was seeping out of the building in wisps, mixed with the nauseating stench of rust and decay.
"S-So cold..." The golden [Pure Yang Flame] on Hana's body flickered uneasily, barely dispelling the chill.
"Hmph, a mere gathering place for the undead..." Yuria said, feigning composure, but her teeth were chattering, making faint clicking sounds.
"Whoa," Tomie hopped down from the passenger seat, resting the zombie-skinned six-barrel Gatling gun on her shoulder. She took a deep breath of the foul air, an expression of actual enjoyment on her face. "The 'air' here is really nice. I feel like I'm getting pumped up."
Yang Yi stepped out last, calmly observing the building before him. In his eyes, this place had long been occupied by all sorts of twisted monsters.
Yang Yi took the lead, walking toward the ajar gates.
"Stay close. Your first practical combat lesson begins now."
"Yes!"
Miko and the other two hurriedly followed. Tomie carried her Gatling gun and hummed a little tune, skipping along at the very back.
*Clang—*
The heavy iron doors were kicked wide open.
The scene inside the lobby came into view: overturned hospital beds, shattered glass, and large patches of long-dried dark red stains on the floor. A sinister wind blew from deep within the corridor, making the tattered promotional posters rustle loudly.
*Step... step... step...*
A slow, wet set of footsteps echoed from the darkness.
Miko subconsciously activated her [Eyes of Truth].
However, she immediately realized that she could see the monster in front of her even without turning on her Eyes of Truth.
An old woman was slowly walking over. She wore no clothes on her upper body, and her chest and abdomen were sliced wide open. However, what was exposed inside were not internal organs, but a stuffed mass of various strange, twisted little animals. Those animals acted as her organs, wriggling faintly.
"Waah!" Hana let out a shriek, then clamped her hands tightly over her mouth and hid behind Miko.
Yuria was also scared stiff, stealthily shuffling a few steps back.
Even Miko, who was used to seeing ghosts and monsters, couldn't help but feel a wave of chills.
The old woman saw them. There was no malice on her livor mortis-mottled face; instead, she revealed a happy smile. She stopped in her tracks and slowly opened her arms, exposing her terrifying abdominal cavity.
"Please, dissect me..."
A hoarse, dry voice rang out, surprisingly carrying a trace of longing.
"I beg you... dissect me..."
The three girls backed away in fright.
Tomie, however, licked her lips, her eyes flashing with excitement. Having just learned [Idle Transfiguration], she had developed a massive research interest in this kind of twisted flesh-and-blood structure.
Yang Yi's expression didn't waver in the slightest. A monster of this caliber didn't even rank on the scale of what he had encountered in his past journeys.
"Fulfill her wish."
He muttered softly to himself, then snapped his fingers.
*Snap.*
The crisp sound echoed.
The next instant, a cold stainless steel dissection table appeared out of thin air in front of the old woman. On a small cart next to it lay a neatly arranged, gleaming set of scalpels, bone saws, and hemostatic forceps.
This sudden scene caused the old woman, who had been constantly repeating her actions, to freeze.
"Come on." Yang Yi gave Tomie a look.
"Whoa!" Tomie understood perfectly. Shoving her Gatling gun right back into her bag, she rubbed her hands together in excitement. "Helping others is my absolute favorite thing to do!"
The two put on sterile gloves and skillfully grabbed the old woman's arms, "inviting" her onto the dissection table. The old woman obediently lay down, her smile growing even more radiant.
"Tomie, you're the lead surgeon."
"You got it!" Tomie picked up a scalpel and twirled it nimbly between her fingertips. "Lord Yang Yi, you hand me the tools."
"Sure."
Under the dumbfounded, horrified gazes of Miko, Hana, and Yuria, an incredibly bizarre dissection began.
Tomie's technique was extremely proficient, even carrying a sense of violent beauty. Without a shred of hesitation, the sharp blade sliced through, precisely picking apart the surrounding sutures one by one.
"Tweezers."
"Bone saw."
"Large hemostats."
Yang Yi coordinated perfectly. Tomie didn't even need to speak; Yi knew exactly what she needed next.
Flesh and blood separated, and those twisted animals were taken out one by one and tossed into the metal tray beside them. Throughout the entire process, the old woman didn't seem to feel any pain; instead, she continuously let out moans of pleasure.
"Ah... dissect me just like that... so good..."
Miko and the other two huddled together in the corner, shivering violently.
*So the world of ghosts... was actually this complicated!*
"Done." Tomie scooped out the last bat and tossed it into the tray with a sharp clatter.
The old woman on the dissection table reached the absolute peak of pleasure. She let out a satisfied sigh, and her body turned into a sky full of golden motes of light, slowly dissipating, leaving behind only a faint, airy "Thank you."
"All done, let's wrap it up." Tomie peeled off her gloves, looking like she hadn't quite had enough.
Yang Yi turned to look at the terrified trio in the corner, offering a gentle smile.
"Remember, our sect abides by humanitarianism."
"For these pitiful anomalies trapped by their own obsessions, we fulfill their wishes before exorcising them."
Of course, he didn't tell everyone how he determined which anomalies were pitiful. He always adhered to the principle: *you're only pitiful if I think you're pitiful.*
The trio: "..."
*Master, you call this humanitarianism?*
Yang Yi ignored their silent retorts and led the group deeper inside. Passing through the gloomy corridors, they arrived at an intensive care ward that carried an almost eternal dead silence.
Yang Yi pointed at a withered anomaly on the hospital bed. "He's called 'Dream Man,' a poor wretch who trapped himself in a dream. His consciousness has been looping in that dream for at least several million years."
*Several million years!* The three girls felt their scalps tingle with dread.
"His consciousness has long since worn away to nothing," Yang Yi said, looking at Miko. "He can no longer free himself. Miko, go give him a hand."
"M-Me?" Miko gripped her hammer tightly. "Master, what should I do?"
"Use your eyes to see through to his core. Then, use your 'Myriad Soul Banner' to grant him peace."
Miko walked up to the bed and mustered the courage to activate her [Eyes of Truth]. She instantly saw through the man's facade; his core was nothing but a pinch of flying ash, leaving him with nothing but a desire for release.
"I'm sorry. Please rest in peace."
With a thought, the skin of her cute "Shining Star Hammer" shifted, transforming into a short banner wrapped in black incantations.
Miko gently tapped the banner against Dream Man's forehead.
*Hum—*
A suction force came from the banner, forcefully tearing out the long-weathered mote of soul light and sucking it inside. The man on the bed quickly turned to dust and vanished. Miko felt a faint thrumming from the Myriad Soul Banner in her hand, its power growing just a bit stronger.
"Very good. Let's continue."
Having completed two "exorcism missions," Yang Yi led them straight toward the hospital's basement.
The moment the door was opened, an aura more twisted and nauseating than all the previous anomalies combined gushed out from below! That aura was filled with mad jealousy, hatred, and more.
Tomie's footsteps suddenly halted, her face filled with wild ecstasy.
"This smell..."
"So it's 'me'."
"And it's a lot, a lot, a whole lot of broken 'me's."
At the end of the basement was a massive iron door locked from the outside. That aura was coming from behind it.
*Bang—!*
Yang Yi kicked the door. With a loud boom, the solid steel door caved inward and burst open!
The sight behind the door made Hana's stomach churn after just one glance. With a loud "Blergh," she threw up her entire dinner. Yuria also froze in place, completely forgetting her chunibyo lines.
It was a massive monster stitched together from countless mangled "Tomie" parts! It almost filled the entire room! Arms, thighs, heads, torsos... countless severed limbs grew like tumors on the surface of the meat mass, with hundreds of twisted Tomie faces embedded within it.
"Whoa..."
An ordinary Tomie would probably feel some fear upon seeing such an amalgamation of "failures."
But this Tomie, who had cultivated demonic arts, burst with unprecedented joy!
From this pile of "trash," she sensed pure, massive, homologous energy! These were all garbage produced from failed experiments, making them her best nourishment!
"It's all mine!"
"Mine!!"
"Hahahahahaha—!!!"
Tomie let out a sickly, maniacal laugh. The Gatling gun instantly appeared in her hands, aimed right at the massive, writhing lump of meat.
*Whir— Whir— Whir—*
The Gatling gun's six barrels began to spin at high speed. The muzzles actually opened up like living creatures, transforming into six greedy maws!
"Ahhh—!!"
Those hundreds of faces seemed to sense the danger and shrieked. The amalgamation writhed madly, trying to escape.
The next moment, Tomie opened fire!
The monsters were devoured by countless bullets, and a massive amount of energy surged into her body.
"Ah... ha..."
Under the impact of this massive energy, Tomie's body began to constantly twist, expand, and contract. Beneath her skin, it was as if countless faces flashed by, her aura skyrocketing in a frenzy!
Miko and the other two watched this scene in terror. This "Big Sister Tomie" seemed even more terrifying than the ghosts!
Finally, when the last trace of energy was absorbed, the basement returned to a dead silence.
Tomie closed her eyes and let out a long breath, a flush of satisfaction on her face.