Yotsuya Miko nervously pursed her lips, looking at the "door" in the distance, feeling as if the blood flow in her body had stopped at that instant.
"No, no, no, no…"
She mumbled continuously, fine beads of sweat appearing on her forehead, her shoulders trembling incessantly, and a deep fear showing in her golden pupils.
"How… how can such a thing exist in this World…"
Yotsuya Miko finally understood why Yozora reacted so calmly when facing Evil Spirits.
All the twisted-faced Evil Spirits she had seen before combined were far less terrifying than the aura emanating from this "door" before her.
Such a thing simply shouldn't exist in this World.
Even just looking at it from a distance, Yotsuya Miko felt as if her soul was being sucked in.
Seeing her expression, Yozora did not rush to speak. Instead, he waited until her emotions had calmed down before smiling and explaining.
"According to my investigations during this period, there is more than one such door in Kyoto."
"The impact of the door is simple: it enhances the power of Evil Spirits and ghosts in the surrounding area, makes them more irritable, and increases their desire to attack humans."
"As for the affected range, the smallest is only a few hundred meters, and the largest I have seen can reach a diameter of three kilometers."
Hearing Yozora's words, Yotsuya Miko took a deep breath, her eyes filled with solemnity.
"You mean, wherever a door exists, the surrounding Evil Spirits will continuously grow stronger, and ordinary ghosts, originally harmless to humans, will also be affected and gradually turn into Evil Spirits that attack humans?"
"Yes, and not just that."
Yozora nodded slightly, adding.
"You must have noticed that for those who cannot see them, the harm caused by Evil Spirits is very limited. At most, they possess humans, making their luck worse, their minds unclear, or their emotional control poorer."
At this point, Yozora changed the subject.
"However, under the influence of the door, the power of Evil Spirits goes beyond that."
"Besides what you saw before, their ability to disguise themselves as human and deceive special humans like you, they can also cause people to immediately fall into a coma, and a very few powerful ones…"
Yozora looked directly into Yotsuya Miko's eyes, the smile on his face gone, and said each word distinctly.
"They can even possess humans and control all of that person's actions."
Yotsuya Miko's pupils constricted slightly in shock upon hearing this, and she murmured.
"This is simply too terrifying."
She immediately understood how much harm this so-called "door" would bring if what Yozora said was true.
Not to mention possessing and controlling human actions, just the ability to cause immediate coma.
For example.
If an Evil Spirit caused a driver to fall into a coma while a bus was moving, then what followed…
Yotsuya Miko didn't even dare to imagine such a scene.
Thinking of this, her mood became incredibly heavy, and she asked softly.
"Is there any way to make these doors disappear?"
"There is a way, of course…"
Before Yozora could finish, Yotsuya Miko seemed to have thought of something and suddenly realized.
"Oh right, you can eat the door, can't you?"
Unexpectedly, after she said this, she saw Yozora staring at her with a look as if she were an idiot, and she couldn't help but say awkwardly.
"Uh… did I say something wrong?"
"I think you're genuinely sick."
Yozora rolled his eyes and pointed to the "door" in the distance.
"Please look closely. Although this thing can affect Evil Spirits, it's made of wood. You want me to gnaw on wood? You might as well go to a talent show and find someone there who's professionally suited for that."
Yotsuya Miko laughed awkwardly, her eyes showing a clear, innocent stupidity.
"Then what should we do?"
"Burn it with fire."
Yozora replied indifferently, then shrugged.
"But I didn't bring tools today. I just brought you to see it. We'll talk about it another day."
"Okay, then we'll talk about it another day."
After leaving the alley and returning to the bustling street, standing under the warm early spring sunshine, Yotsuya Miko's mood finally relaxed a little.
She peeked at Yozora's profile and asked softly.
"By the way… why are you telling me all this?"
Before Yozora could speak, Yotsuya Miko, as if afraid he might misunderstand something, waved her hands repeatedly to explain.
"Of course, I'm not unwilling to help you. If it's really as you say, the door will indeed bring great harm."
"But you also saw today that besides being able to see those things, I don't have any special Ryokunoryoku."
"Honestly, I don't think I can help you much; instead, I'll just be a burden."
Hearing Yotsuya Miko's words, Yozora merely nodded.
"You are indeed useless right now."
Yotsuya Miko was stunned for a moment, then pouted, thinking, it's one thing for me to say I'm a burden.
But according to common sense, shouldn't you comfort me at this point?
Why be so blunt? It makes me lose face.
"However."
Noticing Yotsuya Miko's dimmed eyes, Yozora smiled and said.
"If you want to have the ability to fight Evil Spirits, I have a way."
"Huh, really!?"
Yotsuya Miko was startled, but clearly didn't quite believe Yozora's words.
Ever since she could see Evil Spirits and ghosts, she had tried many methods and visited many supposedly famous Supernatural Power Users, buying countless talismans, bracelets, rosaries, and similar items.
The result was that besides making her, who already didn't have much pocket money, even poorer, it had no effect whatsoever.
Now Yozora was actually saying that he could give her the ability to fight Evil Spirits?
Yotsuya Miko found it truly hard to believe.
Seeing her skeptical look, Yozora yawned and explained with a lazy expression.
"First, let me ask you a question: aside from the special influence of the door, under what circumstances can an Evil Spirit directly harm a human?"
Yotsuya Miko cautiously replied.
"Is it… when they know a human can see them?"
"Exactly."
Yozora nodded, then asked again.
"You saw the scene of me fighting an Evil Spirit this morning."
Yotsuya Miko thought, could that even be called a fight?
Wouldn't "one-sided abuse" be more appropriate?
Of course, she couldn't voice her thoughts, she just nodded obediently.
"Then, according to this principle, when both sides can see each other, is it only the Evil Spirit that can unilaterally harm humans?"
Yotsuya Miko was stunned for a moment and murmured.
"Are you saying?"
Yozora said nonchalantly.
"In other words."
"Do you think what truly harmed the Evil Spirit this morning was the peach wood dagger and silver nails, or me, holding the weapons?"