In every horror story, be it horror movies or ghost stories, the effectiveness of the narrative relied on how overwhelmingly dominant the antagonist was.


    The victim should have no chance of fighting back, fleeing but still being pursued with no hint of a solution in sight.


    The horror entities depicted in movies and ghost stories needed to be like that.


    If they could be swayed by a person with ease or resolved quickly, there would be no reason to be afraid.


    So, the situation I was in currently was just like that.


    It didn’t matter how much they flaunted their fearsome appearance and threatened to tear me apart, I didn’t feel the slightest tremor in my heart.


    Bang! Bang! Bang!


    “Come at meeee!”


    Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!


    “I’ll chew your face off!”


    A small protective magic formed around me, shielding me from the surrounding yokai. Even with them coming from all directions with overwhelming numbers, the protective magic did not break.


    Crack!


    “Graaah!”


    Instead, the protective magic shattered the teeth of the yokai that had exerted too much force, causing their grotesque screams to get even louder.


    The best offense is defense.


    The situation was the exact definition of that saying.


    I simply observed in silence as the yokai, repeatedly charging and colliding against me, began to tire.


    [Don’t die.]


    Suddenly, I felt as if I could hear the voice of the Dark Spiritualist.


    This was the overwhelming protective magic she had created just for me, even though she was already dead. Something that didn’t fit the image of a typical Necromancer, a miracle that defied death.


    “...”


    Although the timing wasn’t right, I felt a swell of emotion.


    A hot breath escaped my lips as longing pressed heavily against my chest.


    I shouldn’t be like this.


    If I had to put it in words, I had grown a bit as a person when compared to my previous self, who was stoic. However, I couldn’t let myself be buried in the past too often.


    Holding onto those who had already departed would only make me look foolish.


    “...”


    As I mentioned earlier at the Lanlan Diner, I needed to be careful because I found myself getting lost in my memories too often recently.


    Taking in my surroundings again, I noticed the yokai retreating.


    Some of them were seemingly injured by the sturdy, protective magic.


    The most prominent being the ‘Human Ghost,’ a yokai that devoured people in the alleys.


    “Kheugh! Heugh!”


    As she caught her breath, wet blood dripped from the corners of her mouth.


    Her once massive teeth had shattered to an unsightly extent, with fragments falling along with the dripping blood.


    It was undeniable that the magic the Dark Spiritualist had confidence in was especially effective against this type of enemy.


    “Are you done?”


    I asked lightly, and the yokai trembled with rage, but it didn’t seem like they had the courage to charge again.


    To slam one’s head against a solid stone with all their might and to bite down on it required an extraordinary amount of courage. And that did not only apply to humans but also to yokai.


    “I’m soooo hungry!”


    However, there were always exceptions—someone who struggled to get a grip on reality.


    Thumping the ground with her blood stained fist, the Human Ghost charged at me again.


    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!


    The yokai stretched out her long arms indiscriminately.


    Although her posture was incredibly clumsy, her immense strength made even that look threatening.


    No, it would have been threatening, right?


    To ordinary people that is.


    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!


    “Kia! Kihah! Hwaah!”


    The enraged Human Ghost screamed fiercely, blood splattering everywhere.


    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!


    While her flurry of punches might have temporarily raised the spirits of the other yokai...


    The passionate and aggressive will did not lead to good results.


    “Hii!”


    But even so, the fire continued to spread.


    Quickly and without hesitation.


    Eventually, the blue flames inside the protective magic that surrounded the entire alley surged into the air.


    Then, I leisurely stepped out from within the sphere of burning flames.


    The moonlight peeked shyly into the now-normal alley.


    Nothing remained as the flames began to gradually die after finishing their role.


    Back to the beginning.


    I remember talking about horror movies.


    From a yokai’s perspective, it might have been easy to play the role of the perpetrator constantly. But today, the roles were reversed.


    I had become their nightmare.


    Their horror story.


    Their personal yokai.


    And just like that, the village of flesh-eating ghosts met its bitter end.


    The cold wind cooled my heated body and calmed the seething mana.


    Being in an artificial body, I couldn’t use a large amount of mana rashly, so it took me some time to deal with this many yokai.


    “...”


    As I was shaking off the heat clinging to my body, the girl who descended from the rooftop appeared.


    She had cried so much that the region around her eyes was swollen, and her red eyes looked like they were filled with blood.


    “I...”


    Xiao Hu struggled to force the words out her trembling lips.


    “Are you not going to annihilate me?”


    A bold question, but from her perspective, it must have been the thing she was most curious about.


    “Yeah.”


    Xiao Hu said she only needed to eat food instead of consuming souls.


    She was a somewhat different kind of existence than the yokai I had just annihilated.


    Upon hearing my answer, Xiao Hu gritted her teeth and clenched her fist tightly. Her sharp nails dug into her flesh, drawing blood.


    “I knew they were bad yokai.”


    “...”


    “They killed and ate humans, so I know they would have to carry that responsibility.”


    But...


    As she added that, Xiao Hu glared at me.


    “I hate you.”


    If I had to describe it, she would be like a family member of a murderer.


    It was not easy to let go of her love for the yokai, who had been with her all her life and had provided her with a place to call home.


    While she rationally understood that they needed to be punished, emotionally, she couldn’t accept it.


    “Someday, I will kill you.”


    A threatening murderous intent.


    The air around her rippled, her hostility pouring out towards me.


    “Sure.”


    A girl who lost her home and village—It would be too much to label her as a perpetrator and too shameless to label her as a victim.


    “Do as you like.”


    I said as I began to walk away. The village of flesh-eating ghosts had come to an end, but a story still lingered.


    “Where are you going?!”


    In response to Xiao Hu’s urgent question, I replied calmly.


    “To the Ancient Dragon.”


    It seemed that it had tried to send the yokai to avoid me; however, I had no intention of letting it go that easily.


    Realizing that I was going to take action against the Ancient Dragon, a stunned Xiao Hu followed me in.


    So, in a somewhat awkward atmosphere, we headed towards the city’s underground sewers, where the Ancient Dragon lay asleep.


    “I... can’t believe this.”


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    Xiao Hu’s voice echoed through the underground sewer.


    “...”


    What greeted us was the corpse of the Ancient Dragon, lying cold with its head /genesisforsaken