Every time she flashed red, she would āfreezeā in her movements. As the flashes of red kept occurring more and more frequently, the scene became rather strange.
Seiji felt like he was witnessing what would happen to a video game character if the person playing as that character had a terrible internet connection. Lag, lag, lagā¦
For him who had been defending against her attacks just earlier with great difficulty, he was now free enough to stand around and simply observe the situation.
Finally, a large amount of red light was emitted from the girlās body as her movements froze completely.
āGet⦠the⦠hell⦠out!ā
With this shout, there was a sudden blinding red flash as a red shadowy figure exited the girlās body!
Yukari instantly felt a sensation of release.
She instantly discovered that her body completely belonged to her again, causing her to be overjoyed.
āSeigo! I did it!!ā she shouted out joyously to him, but saw that he had a dazed expression as he stared at her.
āWhatās the matter?ā
Yukari looked at herself, and noticed what was wrong.
Her clothes were gone!?
She was completely naked, revealing every bit of her skin as well as certain private parts that shall not be namedā¦
āAh⦠ahhhh!!!ā
She suddenly crouched down as her face heated up and tears welled up in her eyes.
āWhy did all my clothes disappear?
āIām totally naked⦠he saw everything!
āIām so embarrassed!! This is so humiliating!!ā
The purple-haired girl really wanted to dig a hole and hide in it right now.
Seiji finally regained his senses when he saw how Yukari was becoming embarrassed.
āI saw something nice⦠No, no, I canāt think like this, nowās not the time to be thinking of such things!ā
Yukari had recovered to her original state. Although he didnāt know why she became naked, this was still a good thing.
The part to focus on right now was the thing that just left her body!
Seiji looked towards the red shadowy figure.
It kept changing its form. It resembled a spider, yet also a human, or a mix between a human and a spiderā¦
āIs it possible to communicate with that?ā Seiji mentally asked the female spirit in his mind while walking up to Yukari, taking off his jacket and placing it on her body.
āI donāt know. You can attempt to communicate with it.ā
What should he even say? Should he ask what it was?
Seiji attempted to ask the red shadow what it was.
There was no response.
The purple-haired girl beside him stood up.
āSeigoā¦ā Although she was still feeling embarrassed, Yukari knew that now wasnāt the time to be too worried about embarrassment, as it was more important to understand what was going on with the current situation.
āYukari, I donāt know what exactly this red shadowy figure is, but according to what my bonded spirit tells me, itās a fated mystical connection between you and a certain demon or spiritā¦ā Seiji explained things to Yukari. āIām not sure about the specifics, but apparently, as long as you obtain its recognition, you can awaken to Spiritual Abilities. However, if you fail, youāll be punished, just like how you were earlierā¦ā
Yukari blinked as she listened to Seijiās explanation. āSo, that is to say, this is actually similar to a trial of power that you can see in anime and manga? And this is the judge for the trial?ā
āYes, you can think of it like that.ā
Something flashed in the purple-haired girlās eyes as she looked towards the red shadowy figure.
Under her gaze, the red shadowy figure changed into the form of a woman wearing Sakura Island clothing and stopped fluctuating in form.
After exchanging glances with it for a while, Yukari bravely walked up towards it.
Seiji reflexively wanted to stop her from doing so, but stopped himself. Instead, he followed her silently and prepared himself for battle just in case.
Yukari walked up to the red shadow and spoke cautiously, āI donāt know anything about you⦠If you have anything to tell me, please let me know.ā
The red shadow woman slowly reached out with one hand to Yukari.
When Yukari saw this, she hesitated for a moment, but slowly reached out with her hand as well.
Their hands touched.
Seiji witnessed a bright red flash. Then, the purple-haired girl shouted as she retracted her hand and clutched her forehead.
āYukari, whatās the matter!?ā
āIām⦠fineā¦ā She forced herself to speak. āIām fine⦠I just⦠sawā¦ā
What did she see?
Seiji looked at her in a worried manner.
Moments later, Yukari finally slowly put down her hand and revealed a complex expression.
āI had a bad headache just now⦠I saw many things. The scenes were rather scattered, but I understood the basic meaningā¦ā She paused for a moment. āMy ancestor⦠appears to have been a spider.ā
āWhat?ā
āA large spider that came from somewhere transformed itself into a human form, married a human, and had a child⦠That seems to be what happened.ā
Seiji was rendered speechless.
āIs such a thing even possible?ā he wondered out loud.
For demons and humans to join together as one and have children together, this type of story was indeed quite common. But was it really possible in reality?
Even if they loved each other, having children⦠wouldnāt there be any physical problems with that!?
Yukari smiled wryly, shaking her head to indicate that she didnāt know the answer.
āItās indeed possible,ā Seijiās female spirit answered him. āIn an earlier generation where there were fewer differences between demons and humans, this type of thing would happen.ā
Seiji fell silent, digesting all the information he just received.
Everyone was silent for a few moments.
āIt wishes to give me the power of my spider ancestor,ā Yukari continued speaking. āAnd if Iām to receive this power, I must face it by myself, without relying on others.ā
āā¦Will you be alright?ā Seiji was quite worried.
āI will be alright. Although Iāve always been afraid of spiders, Iām no longer that afraid after witnessing what I just did.ā Yukari smiled as she looked at Seiji. āCould you accede to one request of mine?ā
āWhat is it?ā
āPlease loan me your wooden sword.ā
āWooden swordā¦ā Seiji looked towards his spiritual weapon. āOf course, if itās of any use to you.ā
He handed her the Kapok tree bark wooden sword.
āThank you.ā Yukari accepted the wooden sword as she smiled brightly. āIāll feel even braver with this!ā
Seiji looked directly at her face.
She also looked at him for a while before turning towards the red shadow with a resolute expression in her eyes.
āLetās begin.ā
The red shadow flickered slightly, then floated backwards and began transforming. Soon, it turned into a gigantic red spider with eight pitch-black eyes.
Yukari faced off against it with the wooden sword in her hands.
Seiji nervously watched this scene. However, his vision suddenly became hazy.
āWhatās going on!?ā
āItās time for you to leave,ā his bonded spirit told him.
His hazy vision suddenly turned golden, and he was unable to control his body as he began spinning. Then, he suddenly had the sensation of falling!
Seiji fell down onto the ground without having time to adjust his posture.
āAck⦠this place isā¦ā
The Firelit Road.
This was the dark road filled with blossoming cluster amaryllis that he had just passed by while holding on to Yukari in his arms.
āWhat do you mean by this? Yomi,ā Seiji asked his bonded female spirit as he spoke her name out loud.
Yomi⦠the name of the representation of the netherworld. It could even be said that it was the representation of the concept of death.
He had guessed that she was the spiritual manifestation of this concept. However, she denied it, saying that she had only been given the name Yomi by someone else.
āI felt that you shouldnāt stay there any longer.ā
āWhy?ā
āHer battle will surely be difficult. I believe that she wouldnāt want you to watch her struggling in such an unsightly manner.ā
Seiji was rendered speechless.
āJust wait here silently for her. That young lady seems pretty good. She should be able to win.ā
Seiji sighed upon hearing this.
āDonāt you believe in her?ā
āOf course I believe in her, itās just⦠Iām really worried.ā
āHeehee, so youāre quite concerned with this beautiful young lady. I also feel that sheās quite an appropriate one for you. Why donāt you simply marry her?ā The female spirit chuckled.
āThatās none of your business.ā Seiji sat down on the Firelit Road and folded his arms as he contemplated. āYomi⦠or, I should call you Yomi-san, was it Seimei Kamijou who gave you this name?ā