Zongman I fight weirdness in everyday world

Three strings of prayer beads, two jade pendants.

These are spiritual items slightly better in grade than the long sword Oda Notou gave, capable of preventing ordinary evil spirits from approaching.

However, it's only slightly better.

It's not that Yae was holding back.

But the items from the Nurarihyon clan are mostly for yokai use, and their effects are mainly for slaying yokai.

This was already the most useful of the five spiritual items on the list, carefully selected by Oda Notou.

As for why choose accessories instead of weapons?

The reason is simple.

Famous swords like Onimaru Kunitsuna, awakened with spiritual intelligence, are simply rare and hard to come by.

It's not like you can just use them as soon as you get them.

After all, Miko Yotsuya and the others aren't Yae; they don't have the power to make famous swords submit directly.

If there's no rapport with the sword itself, it'll be awkward to use, better to use one's own soul manifestation ability to fight.

Yae was pondering.

Miko Yotsuya also fights with a long sword.

I need to find a way to 'return' a sword to her somewhere.

After distributing the spiritual items, Rio Futaba glanced at Menma, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, her pale feet dangling in the air, looking blank and adorable.

She didn't show any abnormal reaction.

It seems Menma and Hachishaku-sama aren't the same kind of being in essence.

Before her death, Menma was human; after death, she turned into a ghost, but she has no hostility towards humans.

Combining this with the reaction of Miko Yotsuya's father's spirit when Yae brought the long sword Oda Notou gave to their house…

These kind of ghosts without malice can't feel the deterrence brought by spiritual items.

After the distribution, everyone went to the next room.

"Speaking of…"

Rio Futaba pushed up her glasses, frowning deeply.

"This can't go on like this."

Miko Yotsuya knew what she was referring to, nodding her head, her golden eyes also showing a worried look.

"But…"

"No buts."

Rio Futaba waved her hand, speaking calmly.

"If we can't come up with a solution, we'll have to give up."

What Rio Futaba meant was simple.

It's impossible for the three spirit power users to stay in Kyoto Municipal Hospital all the time, just to protect Shoko Makinohara.

In fact, Mai Sakurajima and Miko Yotsuya had already realized this.

It's just that they can't, after all, abandon all personal emotional factors like Rio Futaba and look at this issue from an absolutely rational perspective.

The current situation is actually very simple.

Strange incidents in Kyoto are still happening constantly, and most of the evil spirits that have escaped from the Reverse Side haven't shown themselves yet.

Although Miko Yotsuya and the others are spirit power users, they are still human after all, and their abilities are limited.

Their guarding Shoko Makinohara here means that they are eliminating fewer evil spirits.

And as this accumulates over time, it will become dozens, hundreds, thousands.

Then, it will trigger an even larger scale of strange disasters.

Shoko Makinohara's safety alone, versus the safety of the entire city of Kyoto, which is more important?

This question is now placed before the members of the Excess Club.

"Yae, what do you think?"

Hearing Rio Futaba's question, Yae replied carelessly.

"Whatever, just do whatever you want to do. Protecting Kyoto's safety isn't our mandatory duty. Don't morally kidnap yourself. We're not Spider-Man; there's no such thing as with great power comes great responsibility."

Rio Futaba and the others weren't surprised by this answer.

A typical Yae-style answer.

"However, what he said makes a lot of sense."

Mai Sakurajima pursed her lips and slowly spoke.

"The expectations of others and the feeling of wanting to respond to those expectations can, at times, become shackles that bind oneself. Acting to protect Kyoto is not a problem."

"But, don't let that affect your true heart."

Mai Sakurajima had already experienced something similar to the predicament the Excess Club members were facing now.

When she chose to retire from the entertainment industry, many zealous fans caused an uproar online, acting as if the sky was falling.

At that time, Mai Sakurajima also wondered if her actions were correct.

But what about now?

The sky didn't fall.

"Yeah, I understand what Sakurajima-senpai means."

Rio Futaba, the strategist of the Excess Club, slowly spoke.

"So, I'm not suggesting giving up on the plan to protect Shoko Makinohara."

"But to choose to take the initiative."

Miko Yotsuya softly muttered these words: "Take the initiative…"

"That's right."

Rio Futaba pushed up her glasses.

"This evil spirit is obviously a very cunning one. Since Yae eliminated its minions last time, there haven't been any abnormalities in Kyoto Municipal Hospital recently."

Speaking of this, Rio Futaba suddenly changed the subject.

"However, evil spirits are evil spirits after all, and we can lure it out."

Everyone's gazes turned to Hachishaku-sama, who was squatting in the corner, holding a box of milk, sipping it in small sips, looking very adorable.

Feeling the gazes, the latter showed a nervous expression, making a questioning sound.

"Eh?"

…

That night, at twelve o'clock.

A tall, white figure flashed through the hospital corridor of Kyoto Municipal Hospital.

On her shoulder, she was carrying a petite girl.

Hachishaku-sama pulled down her sun hat, looking like she was about to devour her prey, carrying Shoko Makinohara out of the hospital.

Contrary to her fierce and vicious appearance.

At this time, Hachishaku-sama felt very helpless in her heart.

She thought to herself that she had been too unlucky lately.

First, she encountered an identity crisis.

Then, it was already late at night, her rest time, but she still had to work overtime.

And not with her boss, Yae, doing the kind of overtime she particularly liked, but carrying a little girl and running away in the middle of the night.

"Are you uncomfortable?"

Hearing Hachishaku-sama's question, Shoko Makinohara, who was being carried on her shoulder, nodded and smiled sweetly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Hachishaku-neechan is very soft."

"That's good. Just bear with it a little longer."

Hachishaku-sama carried Shoko Makinohara and ran all the way out of the Kyoto Municipal Hospital area.

And in the darkness that the streetlights couldn't illuminate, dozens of bloodshot eyes locked onto her.

…

Hachishaku-sama took Shoko Makinohara and ran all the way to a construction site two kilometers away before stopping.

"If we get here, it should be about right."

Hachishaku-sama muttered to herself, then put Shoko Makinohara down and lowered her voice.

"Shoko-chan, don't be afraid, okay? It's just acting."

"Yeah, don't worry, Hachishaku-neechan."

Shoko Makinohara's personality was very mature and gentle, completely different from her peers.

That's why, when they learned that the doctor had determined that she had congenital heart disease and wouldn't be able to get a new heart, and probably wouldn't live to middle school age, Mai Sakurajima and the others felt very sad.

Such an understanding and gentle girl shouldn't suffer the tragedy of dying before she even grew up.

But they were just spirit power users, not omnipotent gods, and there was nothing they could do about it.

Hachishaku-sama nodded, then opened her mouth wide, making a biting gesture, and bit towards Shoko Makinohara.

Just a second before her teeth were about to touch Shoko Makinohara's body, dozens of pupils emitting scarlet light suddenly emerged from the surrounding darkness.

"Bang!"

A tentacle like an octopus extended from the darkness.

Hachishaku-sama's reaction speed was very fast, immediately protecting Shoko Makinohara behind her, and slapping the tentacle away with a palm.

She changed her usual blank look, squinted her eyes slightly, looked directly at the dozens of pupils in the darkness, and sneered.

"Hmph, as expected, you took the bait?"

The existence of evil spirits, if you say it's complicated, it's complicated, but if you say it's simple, it's also very simple.

Hachishaku-sama once thought she was an evil spirit, and she knew the thoughts of her kind very well.

The most intolerable thing for evil spirits is for the prey they have set their sights on to be eaten by other evil spirits.

Hachishaku-sama's action of taking Shoko Makinohara out of Kyoto Municipal Hospital was obviously an act of snatching prey in the eyes of this long-hidden evil spirit.

Finally, it couldn't hold back.

Under the illumination of the pale moonlight, Hachishaku-sama and Shoko Makinohara could see that the owners of those scarlet eyes were all dressed in white coats, dressed like doctors, with blood stains on their bodies, evil spirits.

And some of them were wearing nurses' uniforms, their entire forms appearing somewhat distorted, seemingly female evil spirits.

And behind this group of evil spirits was something that made people feel disgusted just by looking at it.

The head was still a normal person's head, a bald middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

But under his suit, dozens of tentacles, twisted like octopuses, extended out, and his lower body was a wriggling mass of flesh, rubbing against the sandy ground, making a disgusting sound.

"That's… my prey."

The bald middle-aged man's eyeballs directly extended out from his eye sockets, connected by thin tentacles.

He stared at Hachishaku-sama and Shoko Makinohara, his voice revealing distortion and madness.

"You two… are my prey!"

"How pitiful."

Facing the encirclement of dozens of evil spirits, Hachishaku-sama only shook her head, and the look in her eyes as she looked at the leading monster even revealed a hint of pity.