Anime Crossover: Eating Evil in a Daily World — Chapter 37

Chapter 37: The True Anti-Evil Spirit TreasureYou're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

“Huh? Yozora?”

Yui Yuigahama spun around. Finding him standing there in the dead of night left her utterly bewildered. What was a high school boy doing out here past one in the morning?

Unlike the confused Yui, Yotsuya Miko let out a long, shaky breath. Relief washed over her, but it was instantly replaced by dread.

“Be careful,” Miko warned, her voice trembling. “She’s not like ordinary evil spirits…”

“Yeah, I know.”

Yozora waved a hand, cutting her off before she could finish. He took two leisurely steps forward, his eyes fixed on the towering figure of Hachishaku standing silently in the gloom. A look of deep emotion crossed his face.

“I never thought I’d live to see the real Hachishaku-sama in the flesh. It’s truly an honor to finally meet you.”

Hachishaku seemed momentarily wary. She glanced down at the scattered paper scraps burning with eerie black flames, then slightly parted her pale lips. A chilling, ethereal voice echoed out.

“Who… are you?”

Yozora shrugged. “Definitely not a pony. I don’t think I’m your type.”

In Miko’s eyes, Hachishaku-sama was a terrifying monster from urban legends, a butcher of countless lives. But in Yozora’s mind, his impression of the eight-foot-tall woman was completely different. What did it mean to be a true model worker of the supernatural? What was the absolute pinnacle of the ‘small horse pulling a big cart’ genre?

Hachishaku-sama obviously couldn’t comprehend this internet degeneracy. This was the normal world, not some twisted doujinshi dimension, and her lore settings definitely didn’t include being pulled around by a ‘small horse’. Emotionless, she simply repeated her question.

“Who… are you?”

Hearing the prompt, Yozora abruptly dropped his frivolous smirk. His expression smoothed into deadpan seriousness as he stepped forward. As his shoes crunched against the pavement, the yellowish paper scraps scattered across the ground ignited into roaring black flames.

“My name is Yozora. I am sixteen years old. I live in the bustling downtown area southwest of Kyoto, and I am currently single.” He paused, his tone perfectly measured. “I attend Sobu High School and usually finish classes before five in the afternoon. I don’t smoke, nor do I drink.”

“Every night, I go out around ten, ensuring I get at least eight hours of nocturnal activity. Before school, I eat plenty of delicious evil spirits and engage in soothing activities to help my body and mind relax. This lifestyle keeps me clear-headed for a new day, and I’m in peak physical health. My psychiatrist even praises me, saying everything is perfectly normal—except for my mind.”

Listening to this utterly unhinged self-introduction, Yui, Miko, and even the dog, Sabre, stared at him in blank bewilderment.

What was happening? Why was he reciting his daily routine to a demon? Was he trying to set up a blind date with an urban legend?

“In short,” Yozora concluded, already closing the distance to the towering apparition. “I am the one who eliminates all evil spirits and protects this beautiful world. I am your natural enemy.”

He raised his right hand, aiming it directly at Hachishaku-sama. Slowly, deliberately, he curled his fingers inward.

“Come out.”

A colossal Pale Ghost Hand materialized in thin air. Its five massive fingers, tipped with razor-sharp black nails, snapped shut, crushing the eight-foot-tall woman in its palm like a cheap plastic toy.

“W-What is that?!” Yui stammered, her eyes wide.

Sabre let out a confused whimper. Both girl and dog were completely paralyzed by the sheer absurdity of the scene. A giant woman in a white dress, burning paper scraps, and a massive, floating severed hand. Was this a hidden camera prank? A movie set? They exchanged a blank look, neither able to process reality.

“Yozora…” Miko leaned heavily against the cold wall, fighting off a wave of bone-deep exhaustion. “Be careful. I told you, she isn’t an ordinary evil spirit.”and support the real translator.Read at elysianreads.com This is a stolen translation. You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.

As if validating Miko’s warning, the Pale Ghost Hand suddenly shuddered violently. With a deafening crack, it exploded into a dense cloud of black mist, dissipating into the night air.

“You… can also see me.”

Hachishaku-sama had completely shed her disguise. According to the folklore, she targeted grieving minors, mimicking the voices of their dead relatives to lure them into isolated places before butchering them. Now, that deceptively dignified face twisted into a grotesque, demonic visage. Her pupils dilated rapidly, swallowing the whites of her eyes until they were pools of absolute, inky black, locking onto Yozora.

“Are you mad?”

Unlike Miko, who paled when the Ghost Hand shattered, Yozora remained entirely unbothered. He even had the audacity to smile.

“Normally, I’m a very cautious guy. I should be running away right about now, but…” He glanced over his shoulder at Miko, Yui, and Sabre, who was currently squatting on the asphalt with his tongue hanging out. Yozora shook his head and looked back into the demon’s abyss-like eyes. “It seems I’ll have to get a little serious this time.”

He reached out again, his fingers curling into a claw.

“Come out.”

The colossal Pale Ghost Hand instantly reformed from the shadows. Yui was lost, but Miko—who had awakened her own Soul Manifestation ability—understood the mechanics at play. Whether it was her Hyakume or Yozora’s Pale Ghost Hand, these entities were merely projections of the user’s inner soul. If a projection was destroyed, it caused mental strain, but as long as the user had the stamina, it could be summoned again.

The Pale Ghost Hand, however, seemed personally offended that it had been popped like a balloon by a mere urban legend. The moment it materialized, it aggressively thrust its middle finger into the air, flashing an internationally recognized gesture of extreme disrespect right in Hachishaku-sama’s face.

Miko and Yui stared in dead silence.

Truly, a projection of the soul. The Ghost Hand couldn’t speak, but its level of sheer, unadulterated abstraction perfectly matched its master. If that thing ever grew a mouth, the psychological damage it could inflict would be catastrophic.

The giant hand lunged forward, repeating the exact same frontal assault.

Hachishaku-sama didn’t even flinch. Her pitch-black eyes tracked the incoming phantom limb.

The same attack? How could that possibly work twice?

Miko’s heart plummeted. In terms of raw, brute strength, neither her Hyakume nor the Ghost Hand could overpower Hachishaku-sama. This was a legendary Japanese yokai with centuries of accumulated dread, leagues above standard evil spirits. Miko was an amateur exorcist, but even she knew repeating a failed tactic was suicide. Yozora’s stamina wouldn’t last forever. The second he ran dry, they were all dead.

But just as despair threatened to choke her, Yozora did something entirely unexpected.

While Hachishaku-sama’s complete attention was locked onto the charging Ghost Hand, Yozora had silently slipped through the shadows, circling directly behind her.

He casually pulled a thick silver nail from his pocket. Without a flicker of hesitation or mercy, he drove the spike brutally into the center of Hachishaku-sama’s back, right through her heart.

The towering woman collapsed to her knees, unleashing a piercing, unearthly shriek that threatened to rupture Miko and Yui’s eardrums. The Pale Ghost Hand didn’t waste the opening. It slammed down, its sharp black nails acting like guillotines as they pierced through Hachishaku-sama’s limbs, pinning her securely to the asphalt.

Dusting off his hands, Yozora crouched down. He looked directly into the demon’s agonizing, ink-black eyes and offered a bright, cheerful smile.

“As a professional exorcist, the Ghost Hand is just one of my tools,” he said smoothly. “The true anti-evil spirit treasure… is me.”

[Inorin’s Note: “Small horse pulling a big cart” (小马拉大车) is Chinese internet slang referring to the trope of a small/young boy paired with a very tall, mature woman (shota/ara-ara dynamic), which is heavily associated with Hachishaku-sama in certain fan circles. Yozora’s lengthy self-introduction is a direct parody of Yoshikage Kira’s famous monologue from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable.]You're reading this on the wrong site. This chapter was translated by Elysian Reads and posted for free at elysianreads.com — if you're seeing it anywhere else, it was copied without permission. Read it at the source so the people who actually did the work get the credit.