Chapter 137: With This Punch, You Might...
"You bastard! What kind of look is that?" Gabriel grit her teeth, her wings twitching as if to puff up in anger. Her glare was fierce enough to kill. "You're definitely thinking something filthy! I can see it on your face!"
Huh?
You, who sneaked into someone's room in the middle of the night, climbed onto their bed, and even wanted to take a souvenir photo, are accusing someone else of being perverted?
Kouya sighed internally. "You sure have guts for someone who's lost all right to call others a hentai."
"That's because—because…" Gabriel opened her mouth, struggling to find a comeback. After several seconds of flustered silence, she puffed out her cheeks and shouted, "None of your business! It's all your fault anyway! Just stay in bed—why did you suddenly wake up?! Couldn't you pretend to sleep like a normal person?!"
Ah, sorry I didn't cooperate with your little night raid. Next time you sneak in for a 'mission,' I'll make sure to play dead properly.
"Anyway, come here!" Gabriel barked, waving her phone. "One photo and then I'm leaving!"
Seriously? This night raid had spiraled out of control fast.
It was supposed to be simple—sneak in, tease him a bit, maybe gloat afterward. How did it end up with kissing, panic, and now selfies?
Gabriel was fuming inside. After paying such a humiliating price, she swore she'd demand extra payment from that ATM angel when she got back!
She sat down beside Kouya reluctantly, pouting like an inflated frog plush. The sight made him chuckle despite himself. Her round, sulking face was almost too cute to take seriously.
"Don't look at me like that!" she snapped, cheeks burning brighter. "You're thinking something perverted again, aren't you?!"
He raised an eyebrow. "I was thinking how you look like a pufferfish when you're mad."
Gabriel froze, then puffed her cheeks even more. "You—! Shut up! Just stay still!"
She shuffled closer until their shoulders touched. The warmth between them was obvious.
"Get closer!" she ordered again.
"Don't make that weird face! You'll ruin the photo."
"Ugh, those eyes! That expression is so lewd! You really are a hentai!"
Kouya sighed, "Then stop looking."
"Don't talk! Smile!" she barked.
Click!
The sound of the camera shutter echoed softly in the moonlit silence.
Kouya looked at the screen. The image showed the two sitting side by side, bathed in the silver light pouring through the window. The bright moon hung behind them like a painted backdrop, the curtains billowing gently in the night breeze. It looked like something out of a dream—a picture that captured warmth and distance all at once.
It was, unexpectedly, beautiful.
Gabriel glanced at it, her lips parting slightly. "Eh... it actually looks... nice." A faint flush crept across her cheeks. In a panic, she grabbed the phone back, hiding the screen as if it were something indecent. "Forget what happened tonight! Not a single image or moment! Erase it all from your mind!"
Hey, that's unreasonable! How's he supposed to just delete a memory like that?
"I mean it!" she continued, wagging a finger furiously. "If you tell anyone, I'll end you, got it?"
She waved a tiny fist, then stormed out in a huff. The sound of her hurried footsteps faded into the hallway.
Of course, she didn't go straight back to bed. Her face was burning too much for that. She detoured into the bathroom, splashed cold water on her cheeks, and stared at her reflection. "Ugh! Why does he always get under my skin?!" she muttered. After taking several deep breaths, she finally tiptoed back to her room.
Vigne, lying in bed with her eyes half-open, noticed. "Gabriel, where did you go?"
"Eh?" Gabriel stiffened. "I—I went to the restroom!" she blurted out, a little too fast.
Vigne blinked. "Oh. Alright then. Go to sleep—it's late."
"Right! Yep, sleeping now!" Gabriel said quickly, diving under her blanket and turning away.
At that moment, two little girls sat up timidly in the corner. "Sister, we need to go to the bathroom…"
"Do you want me to take you?" Vigne asked softly.
"No, no, we'll go by ourselves!" they replied together, shaking their heads before sneaking out quietly.
In the corridor, their tiny footsteps were barely audible. They exchanged worried glances.
"Ai, that man might come after us again... what should we do?"
Ai bit her lip. "Our sisters are good people. We can't drag them into our trouble."
"But Kappa-grandpa said we must follow our master."
"But... our master doesn't like us, and he doesn't seem very strong..."
They both fell silent for a while, gripping each other's hands tighter. Finally, they slung their little bags on their backs and stepped into the cold, dark night.
...
The forest wind howled softly.
It carried a creeping chill, curling through the branches like invisible hands. The clouds above thickened, swallowing the stars one by one. Only an occasional bolt of lightning illuminated the path, followed by distant rumbling thunder.
A storm was coming.
The two little girls trudged along a narrow forest trail, their small hands clasped together. The air smelled of rain and earth. The temperature dropped with every step.
"Ai, where do we go now?" Natsu whispered, her voice trembling.
"Let's just get far away from here," Ai murmured, shivering. Her voice was small but firm.
She barely finished speaking when heavy footsteps echoed from ahead—steady, deliberate, each one sending vibrations through the ground.
A flash of lightning split the sky, and in that instant, a tall figure appeared at the far end of the path.
He wore a bone-white mask, his lean frame wrapped in a silver robe patterned with blood-red maple leaves. His long sleeves swayed with the wind. Though his expression was hidden, the oppressive aura rolling off him was sharp and suffocating.
The little girls froze. The night air felt heavier. Even breathing was hard.
"L-Lord Whitehunt!" Ai gasped, her voice breaking.
The tall man's gaze was like ice. "Bring them back."
"Yes," answered a smaller yokai stepping out of the shadows. Its presence had gone unnoticed until now. It moved toward the girls with slow, deliberate steps.
Ai and Natsu clung to each other, trembling. There was no hope of running.
"Stop!"
A sharp voice cut through the air like a blade. Everyone turned toward the forest.
Two figures emerged through the mist—one in a shrine maiden's robes, the other wearing his usual calm expression. Kouya and the shrine maiden stepped forward side by side.
"Master!" the little girls cried, eyes lighting up.
Whitehunt's gaze shifted toward them. "A human onmyoji?"
"Yes," the shrine maiden replied, bowing slightly. "Perhaps we can talk peacefully?"
Normally, even hostile yokai respected onmyoji, avoiding unnecessary conflict. But Whitehunt's aura didn't waver. His cold voice replied, "I don't care who you are. Move, or face the consequences."
The shrine maiden frowned, her hand tightening around her ofuda.
Not all yokai were the same. Some were timid and harmless, others driven by hatred. This one... this one radiated bloodlust. His power crackled faintly in the air.
"Then we have no choice," she murmured.
"Attack," Whitehunt commanded.
Snap!
A streak of spider silk shot down from above. The group looked up to see a massive spider crouched among the branches, its body large enough to block the moonlight. The markings on its back twisted into the vague shape of a grinning face.
It hissed and spat another thread straight at the shrine maiden.
She took a step back, eyes flashing. Her hands blurred through a series of seals—swift, graceful, almost like a dance. The air around her shimmered.
A cold mist poured from her sleeves, coalescing into a translucent female figure wreathed in frost—the Yuki-Onna.
Instantly, the temperature plummeted. Frost spread across the leaves, glimmering under the lightning.
Crackle!
With a gesture, the Yuki-Onna unleashed a swirling gust of ice. The spider silk froze solid, the cold racing back toward its source. The giant spider screamed, half encased in ice, and tore itself free, scrambling to another branch.
"Useless," Whitehunt hissed.
The spider flinched, lowering itself fearfully.
Whitehunt's gaze returned to the shrine maiden. "You dared to interfere. Prepare to die."
"Pathetic monster!" she snapped, forming another seal. "Come forth—frost domain!"
The air burst with a wave of ice and snow that rolled toward the masked man.
But the great yokai was untouched. The frost curved away from him, repelled by an unseen barrier. The air shimmered around his form.
"Child's play." His voice echoed through the mist.
A flash of silver light cut through the fog, dispersing it entirely. The shrine maiden staggered back, pale, as the Yuki-Onna's form shattered into frost particles.
A massive silver wolf stepped out from the dissipating mist, its fur gleaming under the lightning. Each step it took was measured, elegant—too composed for a predator about to strike. It looked less like a beast and more like a king walking through his realm.
"Damn it," the shrine maiden muttered, realizing the truth. A great yokai.
One capable of crushing entire cities centuries ago.
She glanced at Kouya, silently pleading for caution.
Kouya exhaled slowly and slipped his phone into his pocket. "We've been out too long," he said quietly. Then he raised his fist, eyes narrowing. "If I hit you with this... you might die."
The wolf froze, amusement flickering in its eyes. "Arrogant human—"
It never finished the sentence.
Its pupils shrank to pinpoints as a shadow suddenly loomed. A fist filled its vision—massive, unstoppable, blazing with pressure that crushed the air itself.