294 Please Listen and Understand These Words! (1/2)

”I don't know,” Seiji answered. ”It depends on the situation.”

After a momentary silence, Mayuzumi looked up at Seiji's face. ”Thank you so much for protecting me, Haruta-kun,” she said, bowing respectfully.

”Sensei…”

”If it wasn't for you, I… I really don't know what would have happened. I'll remember this debt I owe you for the rest of my life,” the manga author told him in a serious voice.

”Please raise your head, Sensei,” Seiji said softly. ”I've received your gratitude. I actually didn't do all that much; Houjou-senpai, President Yoruhana, and Shika-chan were the ones who contributed the greatest.”

”Of course everyone else is deserving of thanks as well, but the one I should thank most is still you.” Mayuzumi lifted her head and something flashed in her eyes. ”It's truly wonderful that I was able to get to know you, Haruta-kun. You're a truly cool boy.” Her face was tinged with red as she expressed the words in her heart.

Upon receiving such honest and direct praise from the beautiful manga author, Seiji's face started to redden as well, and he awkwardly averted his gaze.

Meanwhile, on the other side of things…

”Mommy…” a weak voice muttered.

Of course, it was Reo Tachibana.

She didn't open her eyes. Instead, she was muttering to herself as if she were still in a dream.

Mai, who was still in the process of sealing Reo's powers, furrowed her brows upon hearing this. Shika, who was still standing beside Mai, unsheathed her Demon Blade Muramasa again.

”Mommy… it hurts… I'm so scared…” The little girl slowly raised her hands towards the sky, as if she wanted to grab something. At the same time, tears also started coming out of her eyes. ”Mommy… please wake up…”

The black mist suddenly surged out explosively again!

The world before Shika and Mai was instantly wreathed in darkness, and they heard a clamor as if countless people were making noise. To them, it felt as if something enormous and fearsome had suddenly come into existence.

Both of them reflexively tried to escape. While doing so, they were attacked.

They could neither see nor hear anything. They could only instinctively counterattack in the direction that the attack came from, but after doing so, they were attacked even more aggressively than before.

They both instinctively attacked back as they escaped. However, this darkness seemed to have no end, or perhaps it should be said that they had lost their sense of direction and didn't know how to escape.

Seiji saw the black mist suddenly erupt in their area and hurriedly observed the situation with [Astral Vision] again.

He saw many ethereal figures popping in and out of the black mist, as well as… Shika and Mai fighting against each other!

'What's going on!?' Seiji was astonished by the situation.

Those ethereal figures were… undead spirits! They were what possessed Shouhei Hirai.

Why did they suddenly appear!? Were Shika and Mai possessed by them!?

A painful groan suddenly sounded beside him.

When Seiji reflexively turned to look, he saw Mayuzumi clutching her head and kneeling on the ground. Light gray mist was seeping out from her body!

”No… this… don't…” she said, obviously in great discomfort. ”STOP!!!!”

When Mayuzumi suddenly shouted, Seiji instantly felt as if something had exploded within his brain. His head rung with an enormous sound, and he saw a chaotic scene: countless colors, endless darkness, and an infinite amount of figures…

It seemed like a short yet also long time to him.

*Whoosh!*

He made a strange sound as he exhaled forcefully, and his vision recovered to normal. His head ached, and he felt rather dizzy. His body felt rather light.

”Sensei…”

He saw that Mayuzumi had collapsed on the ground.

When he looked over to the others, he saw that the black mist and undead spirits had all disappeared. Shika and Mai had also collapsed on the ground.

”Shika-chan! Senpai!!” Seiji shouted loudly.

Then, he saw that both of them started moving.

Shika Kagura grasped her Demon Blade tightly to support her body and barely managed to stand up again.

Mai clutched her head as she stood up rather shakily. Both of them seemed like they didn't know what had just happened, but they had now regained their senses.