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ArabicAnime Crossover: Eating Evil in a Daily World — Chapter 56
Chapter 56: Hyakume’s New Eye, Dango Wants to Exorcise
Meanwhile, inside the brightly lit dining area of McDonald’s.
Yui Yuigahama sat quietly with her hands wrapped around a paper cup, listening to the ongoing conversation across the table. For some inexplicable reason, a faint, sour bitterness began to well up in her chest.
She was officially a member of the Paranormal Squad. She was even the designated face of the club, tasked with handling communications and interviewing students who came to them with supernatural commissions. She belonged here.
Yet, in moments like this, she felt entirely out of place.
Yui was not a Psychic. She couldn’t even see the grotesque eyeball resting inside the small wooden box on the table, making it utterly impossible for her to contribute to the discussion.
‘I was the first one to meet Yozora…’
She caught herself. No, that wasn’t right. Miko Yotsuya was the one who met Yozora first. Wrong password, wrong season, wrong conditions.
[Ding! White Album Trigger failed.]
“Try applying it to your Hyakume,” Yozora suggested, leaning back against the plastic booth. “Let’s see if you can extract any special abilities from it.”
Miko nodded. She carefully reached into the box and pinched the Slaughter Oni’s eyeball between her fingers. Her lips parted slightly as she issued a soft, melodic command.
“Open your eyes, Hyakume.”
A sudden chill swept over their secluded corner of the restaurant. Accompanying her voice, a towering figure materialized behind Miko. Hyakume appeared dressed as a traditional Japanese woman in a flowing kimono and wooden geta, her upper face tightly bound by a strip of coarse linen.
Over the past few days, Miko’s spiritual capacity had grown exponentially. By devouring stray evil spirits, Hyakume had evolved from possessing two eyes to five., as long as they avoided active combat, Miko’s current limits allowed her to maintain Hyakume’s manifestation for a full fifteen minutes. Compared to her very first attempt, where she had collapsed from exhaustion in less than sixty seconds, this was a monumental leap in power.
Miko raised her hand, offering the Slaughter Oni’s eyeball to the spirit.
The five eyes embedded on the backs of Hyakume’s hands and along her left forearm snapped open. Their pupils instantly locked onto the severed eyeball, dilating with raw, predatory fanaticism.
Hyakume extended two pale fingers and delicately plucked the offering from Miko’s grasp. Without a moment’s hesitation, the spirit reached up and untied the linen cloth covering her face. The fabric fell away to reveal two pitch-black, hollow sockets. She pressed the Slaughter Oni’s eyeball directly into the empty void of her left eye.
“I… I can see it.”
Hyakume seemed absolutely thrilled with her new addition. The towering spirit actually hopped in place twice like an excitable little girl, then draped her pale, lotus-like arms around Miko’s neck, pressing her cold cheek affectionately against her master’s.
‘Excellent eyeball, it makes my Soul Manifestation spin.’
“This left eye…” Miko murmured.
Hyakume was Miko, and Miko was Hyakume; their consciousness shared a direct link. There was no need for the spirit to explain anything aloud. Miko already understood the exact properties of the Slaughter Oni’s eye.
Despite her normally stoic personality, a rare flush of genuine excitement broke across Miko’s face. “This left eye can see the residual traces left behind by evil spirits and ‘doors’. It can even gauge the approximate strength of an entity just by analyzing those traces!”
“That’s a solid upgrade,” Yozora said, looking entirely unsurprised.
Slaughter Onis were monsters literally born to hunt and butcher other evil spirits. It only made sense that their optical organs would possess tracking and threat-assessment capabilities.
Miko was practically vibrating with joy, looking ready to bounce right out of her seat. The trauma of their recent excursion to the unfinished building was still fresh in her mind. If she had possessed this version of Hyakume back then, she could have scanned the perimeter, counted the exact number of hiding spirits, and measured their threat levels before they ever stepped foot inside.
Direct promotion to Tier 0: Intelligence-Gathering Hyakume.
Sitting on the sidelines, Yui offered a reluctant, strained smile. She looked entirely lost.
It wasn’t that Yozora and Miko were intentionally excluding her. It was simply the harsh reality that she was staring at an empty table, listening to them discuss things she couldn’t perceive. Ordinary people like Yui could only witness the horrors of the supernatural when dragged into the Inner World.
In the Outer World, she was blind. In the Inner World, she was a burden.
She gripped her cup tighter. If she could just awaken her own Soul Manifestation, would she finally be able to stand beside Miko and Yozora as an equal?
At that exact moment, deep inside the operations conference room of the Kyoto Metropolitan Police Department.
Chief Soichiro Yagami sat at the head of a long, polished table. He stared down at an incident report compiled over the last several hours, his brow furrowed so deeply it looked carved from stone.
This was the most bizarre, nonsensical case he had ever encountered in his entire career as a detective.
The identities of the kidnappers had already been verified. They were low-level enforcers for a local Kyoto violent gang, men with rap sheets full of minor infractions—petty brawls, property damage, and low-level extortion. They were street-level thugs.
Why would a group of disreputable, small-time criminals suddenly acquire military-grade firearms and take an entire municipal kindergarten hostage?
The motive was completely missing. To make matters worse, because the hostages were mostly children under the age of seven, and the scene had been a chaotic bloodbath, the police had secured zero reliable testimonies.
The only concrete details the investigation team had to work with were the fact that the kidnappers had been slaughtered bare-handed, and a single alias provided by a traumatized little girl named Keika Kawasaki.
“Kamen Rider? Mask… Rider?”
Yagami rubbed his temples. He pointed a laser pen at the massive projector screen dominating the wall. It displayed a blurry, zoomed-in photograph of Yozora taken right as he breached the perimeter. Yagami swept his gaze across the room of seasoned detectives.
“What can you analyze from this? Speak freely.”
The elite members of the investigation team exchanged helpless glances. If a veteran like Chief Yagami couldn’t extract any actionable intelligence from the suspect’s attire, what were they supposed to do?
After a long, suffocating silence, a younger detective sitting at the far end of the table raised his hand hesitantly.
“Um, Chief Yagami… that black coat the suspect is wearing. It looks exactly like this year’s limited-edition winter line from Armani.”
Every head in the room swiveled to stare at the young man with intense suspicion.
A rookie detective recognizing high-end limited-edition designer fashion on sight? That raised some questions.
“Hey, don’t look at me like that!” The detective waved his hands frantically, his face flushing. “I was seconded to the Economic Crimes Division for a fraud case last month, that’s the only reason I recognize the stitching! Please believe me, Chief!”
“Enough, settle down,” Yagami ordered, waving a hand dismissively. He stared hard at the projected image, his square jaw set in thought.
A limited-edition luxury coat?
Although his physical encounter with the unknown vigilante had lasted only a few minutes, the man’s demeanor, absolute lethality, and precise actions did not paint the picture of an amateur who would leave such an obvious paper trail. Would a man who casually blew up an entire building to erase his tracks really wear traceable designer clothing to a massacre?
It felt wrong.
But a lead was a lead. As the Criminal Bureau Chief, Yagami had no choice but to pull the thread.
“Alright. Dispatch a team to every high-end boutique in Kyoto. Cross-reference their buyer lists for anyone matching the suspect’s physical profile—tall, black hair, black eyes. If you come up empty in Kyoto, expand the search grid to the entirety of Japan. Am I understood?”
“Yes, Chief Yagami!”
The room echoed with renewed motivation.
Unfortunately, the entire Metropolitan Police Department was about to waste hundreds of man-hours on a wild goose chase.
Yozora’s entire wardrobe had been acquired via a 100% discount from an abandoned, monster-infested boutique in the Inner World. They could search the Outer World’s financial records until the sun burned out, and they would never find a single receipt.
Once the detectives filed out of the room to execute their orders, the heavy wooden doors clicked shut. Yagami immediately slumped back into his leather chair. The stern, authoritative facade melted away, leaving behind an exhausted, deeply shaken man. He dragged a hand down his face and let out a long, ragged sigh.
He hadn’t told his team the truth about what he saw inside that kindergarten.
The reason was simple self-preservation.
How was he supposed to write a report about a two-meter-tall woman in a white dress who absorbed point-blank gunfire without flinching? How could he describe her hair elongating into prehensile ropes, snapping adult men’s necks and dragging their corpses around like broken toys?
If Yagami had relayed the exact truth of the Inner World to his superiors…
He wouldn’t be the Criminal Bureau Chief by tomorrow morning. He would be stripped of his badge, placed on mandatory psychiatric leave, and locked in a padded room.
The next day, precisely at noon. The Yotsuya residence.
Yozora sat at the dining table, his chin propped heavily on his palm. He stared blankly at the kitchen, where Miko, her mother Touko, and Yui were bustling about, chatting and laughing amidst the clatter of pans. His eyes were half-closed, and his expression screamed of a man who was entirely done with the waking world.
He had spent the entire night hunting in the Inner World, devouring several high-tier evil spirits to digest their energy. He hadn’t crawled into bed until five-thirty in the morning.
He had fully intended to sleep through the entire Saturday. Then, his phone rang at eleven o’clock sharp.
Girls who disturbed a man’s sacred sleep were truly a menace to society.
Yet, the very first sentence out of Miko’s mouth had completely paralyzed his ability to refuse.
“You have to take responsibility for my mom.”
The sheer shock of those words had instantly vaporized his exhaustion. In those brief two seconds, it was as if a supernova had detonated inside his skull.
Responsible? For what? When the kid is born, what exactly are they supposed to call Miko?
For a terrifying moment, Yozora genuinely questioned if he had developed amnesia and actually committed a grave offense. It wasn’t until Miko frantically clarified the situation that his blood pressure returned to normal.
‘Responsibility’ simply meant dealing with the fact that Touko Yotsuya had been relentlessly pestering Miko to invite him over for dinner every single day. When Miko casually mentioned she was hanging out with Yui and Yozora this afternoon, Touko immediately hijacked the plans and demanded both classmates come to the house for a meal.
Miko had reached her absolute limit dealing with her mother’s hospitality.
Yui, on the other hand, was thrilled. She hadn’t expected to make such a close friend in high school so quickly, let alone be invited over to hang out with her family.
And so, Yozora’s precious Saturday sleep was sacrificed for this chaotic luncheon.
“Yozora-kun, come, you have to try the first bite!”
Touko’s warm, cheerful voice snapped him out of his internal grievances.
He offered her a polite, practiced smile. Under her expectant gaze, he picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a steaming piece of glazed meat from the freshly plated dish, and popped it into his mouth.
The instant the flavors hit his tongue, Yozora froze.
‘What the hell?’
His taste buds were subjected to a violent, beyond understanding assault. He stared down at the plate of what visually appeared to be a perfectly normal serving of stir-fried bitter melon with pork. His expression twisted into something deeply complicated.
“You really… you really can’t judge a book by its cover,” he muttered softly.
Touko tilted her head, her smile faltering slightly. “What’s wrong, Yozora-kun? Is it not good?”
“No, no, no. Using the words ‘not good’ to describe this would be a massive understatement.” Yozora slowly set his chopsticks down on the ceramic rest, looking at the plate with a melancholic gaze. “I just don’t understand the physics of it. This thing looks exactly like stir-fried bitter melon with pork.”
“It smells like it, too.”
“So how in the world does it taste exactly like spicy curry?”
Touko blinked, looking highly skeptical. “Really?”
She picked up her own chopsticks, grabbed a piece of the pork, and tasted it. For three seconds, she stood perfectly still. Then, her eyes widened in absolute shock. “Wow, you’re right! There isn’t a single trace of bitter melon flavor in this. It’s literally just curry!”
Yozora let out a quiet sigh. He didn’t even need to ask to know exactly whose culinary masterpiece this was.
“Hey, how is it? How is it?” Yui trotted out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on an apron. Her pretty face was flushed with heat, her eyes sparkling with undisguised anticipation. “Is the stir-fried bitter melon with pork I made delicious?”
“Delicious. It’s absolutely delicious.”
Yozora’s acting skills activated flawlessly. He immediately snatched up another large piece of meat, shoved it into his mouth, and chewed with exaggerated enthusiasm. “It’s too good. Actually, can I make a selfish request? Let me pack the rest of this up to take home for dinner.”
“You really like it that much?” Yui’s cheeks bloomed with a bright, shy red. She tucked a strand of light pink hair behind her ear, her voice dropping to a soft, pleased hum. “If it gets cold… it won’t taste as good. If you really want to eat it, I can just make it for you fresh anytime.”
“No need, I want this exact batch. Quick, Touko-nee, help me pack it into a container. We can’t let the soul of this dish escape into the atmosphere!”
Touko caught on instantly. With the swift, practiced movements of a veteran housewife, she produced a plastic Tupperware container and scraped every last cursed morsel of the curry-flavored bitter melon inside, even wiping the residual oil off the plate.
She shot Yozora a look of deep admiration. His reaction speed was terrifying. It was the only way to permanently seal away the biohazard while perfectly preserving Yui’s pride.
“Since you like it so much, I’ll go whip up another dish!” Yui chirped, turning back toward the kitchen.
“Absolutely not!” Touko grabbed Yui by the shoulders and gently but firmly pushed her down into a dining chair, her tone ringing with righteous hospitality. “Little Yui, you are our honored guest! Helping with one dish is more than enough. If I let you cook again, I’d be failing my duties as a hostess. You just sit right here and chat with Yozora-kun. Miko and I will handle the rest!”
Touko wasn’t about to let that girl near an open flame again. If Yui could mutate bitter melon into curry, who knew if she might accidentally trigger nuclear fusion in the frying pan next.
With Touko retreating to the safety of the kitchen, Yui was left sitting across from Yozora. She watched him rest his chin on his hand again, stifling a yawn, looking utterly relaxed.
Suddenly, a wave of awkwardness washed over her. She gripped the edge of her seat.
She had just realized something. This was the first time she had ever been completely alone with him without Miko acting as a buffer.
“Yuigahama-san—”
“Yozora-kun—”
They spoke at the exact same time. Both stopped, waiting for the other.
“You go first…” they said in unison again.
The silence that followed was thick enough to cut with a knife.
After a long moment of fidgeting, Yui lowered her gaze to the table and asked softly, “Yozora-kun… can I ask you a serious question?”
“You want to know if you can awaken a Soul Manifestation too, right?”
Yui’s head snapped up, her eyes wide with surprise. “Eh? How did you know?”
Yozora waved a hand dismissively, his tone lazy but factual. “As a hero protecting Kyoto from the shadows, what high school student wouldn’t want to possess supernatural powers? Especially when you’re constantly hanging around walking anomalies like me and Miko.”
He paused, the lazy drawl vanishing from his voice. “But the short answer is, I can’t help you.”
The light in Yui’s eyes dimmed instantly. Her shoulders slumped.
Just as she thought. She wasn’t special like Miko or Yozora. She was just an ordinary girl…
“Don’t misunderstand,” Yozora added smoothly. “I didn’t say you couldn’t awaken an ability.”
Yui’s head snapped back up, the spark returning to her gaze. Her voice trembled with sudden hope. “I… I can awaken one too?”
“Of course.” Yozora nodded, his expression turning analytical. “According to Rio Futaba’s quantum theories and my own field observations, every human possesses the latent aptitude to awaken a Soul Manifestation. The only variable is the catalyst required to trigger it.”
He leaned forward slightly. “In the real world, you’re just a normal person. Your spiritual perception is sealed, leaving you completely blind to the existence of ghosts. But according to our current intelligence, the moment you cross into the Inner World, the environmental pressure forces your senses open. Regardless of whether you’re a natural Psychic or not, you will be able to ‘perceive’ them.”
A thoughtful, determined look crossed Yui’s face. “You mean… if I go into the Inner World, the exposure might force an awakening?”
“It’s highly probable. But…” Yozora shook his head, his voice dropping to a flat, chilling register. “I strongly advise against it.”
He held her gaze, refusing to let her look away. “You’ve heard Miko talk about the sheer psychological toll of her awakening. Facing the darkest corners of your own heart and finding the raw courage to stand against pure, unfiltered terror is not a simple task.”
“…”
Yozora’s dark eyes locked onto hers. The usual sarcastic, detached aura he carried vanished entirely, replaced by the heavy, suffocating presence of a predator who lived waist-deep in the abyss.
“Are you truly prepared to face the bloody truth of this world?”
Faced with the sheer intensity of his stare, Yui parted her lips to answer. The words formed in her throat, but her brain suddenly short-circuited.
‘Yozora… is so handsome.’
The stray thought hijacked her entire nervous system. A furious blush exploded across her cheeks, and a hazy, watery mist rippled in her eyes as she stared blankly at his face.
Yozora stared back, utterly speechless.
‘Girl, what is actually wrong with you?’He was trying to deliver a grave, life-altering warning about the horrors of the occult. Had she been hanging around Miko for so long that she caught some kind of brain-damaging virus? Why did every girl in this city default to a love-struck stupor at the worst possible moments?’I’m an exorcist, not an incubus. Can we just communicate like normal human beings for five minutes?’
“Hey. Snap out of it,” Yozora said, snapping his fingers sharply in front of her face.
Yui violently jolted back to reality. Her cute face turned a shade of red that rivaled a traffic light, and imaginary steam practically whistled out of her ears.
It was too awkward. She wanted to crawl under the floorboards and die.
“I-I… I understand what you mean!” Yui stammered, desperately trying to force down her embarrassment and project an aura of calm maturity. She lowered her voice, her tone finally steadying. “But… I already know those ‘things’ exist. Knowing they are out there, breathing down our necks, but being completely unable to see them… it’s agonizing for me.”
Yozora studied her for a moment, then shrugged, the heavy tension breaking into a soft chuckle.
“Since you’ve already made up your mind, I won’t waste breath trying to talk you out of it. But I will remind you of one absolute rule.”
He leaned back, crossing his arms. “As far as I know, Miko and I are the only two people who have successfully awakened a Soul Manifestation. You don’t know the details of my awakening, but Miko has told you hers.”
Yozora’s next words struck Yui’s heart like a hammer, leaving a lingering tremor in her chest.
“If you want to step into our world, no one can hold your hand across the threshold. Only you have the power to make that choice.”
[Inorin’s Note: “White Album Trigger” refers to the infamous love-triangle dynamics from the anime White Album 2, often used as slang when characters argue over “who met the protagonist first”.]