In this crossover anime, I fight against the supernatural in my everyday world.

Tamamo-no-Mae was very curious upon hearing this.

"What does it do?"

“To become my mount... in the true sense, of course. If it's a mount in another sense, I already have many.”

"He's talking in abstract terms again."

Tamamo-no-Mae could vaguely understand what Yohoshi meant by "mount" in another sense.

She simply didn't care.

Despite being an evil spirit born after the appearance of the underworld, Tamamo-no-Mae's thoughts are actually quite similar to those of a traditional woman from the Cherry Blossom Province.

A professional exorcist as skilled as Ye Xing, starting a harem...

Isn't this normal?

What's the big deal?

"Um..."

Tamamo-no-Mae recalled the entire details of the incident and said thoughtfully.

"First, the enemy is certainly aware of your abilities, and..."

Tamamo-no-Mae is not stupid; on the contrary, she is quite clever. After all, she was able to recognize the power of Yoru-no-Shiki on their first meeting and chose to cooperate with him instead of becoming his enemy.

Her analysis of the enemy's motives and insights coincided with those of Rio Futaba in the real world.

However, what followed was something that Rio Futaba, who was not in the Otherworld, could not analyze.

"If I'm not mistaken, the black mist that lingers in the inner world, never dissipating and impossible to see through, combined with these characteristics, probably represents one of the deepest fears in the human heart: the fear of darkness and the unknown."

"The reason why the black fog suddenly erupted at the beginning was probably because something different happened in the real world... a power outage... that's quite clever."

"However, judging from the fact that the black mist has gradually returned to normal, your companions in the real world have gained the upper hand."

"As for the mastermind behind this, the only one I can think of who possesses this level of intelligence and power, and is capable of commanding other evil spirits..."

Just as Tamamo-no-Mae was speaking, she saw Yoru-no-Shita in front of her making a shushing gesture.

She immediately quieted down and looked ahead.

What comes into view is a door with two semi-transparent windows, unique to hospital stairwells.

Tamamo-no-Mae saw it clearly.

Behind those two translucent glass panes...

One after another, figures with indistinct faces lingered.

Episode 230: A Demon Exorcist's Extreme Hunger at a Mental Hospital

"Oh, you're even trying to create an atmosphere for me?"

Seeing the black figures flashing past behind the two semi-transparent, dimly lit windows, Yoru chuckled and said something. Before Tamamo-no-Mae could stop him, he walked straight forward and opened the door to the stairwell.

"Ye Xingjun..."

Tamamo-no-Mae was about to stop them when she discovered that the door, which had been showing figures flashing behind the window, was now just a white wall when Yosei pulled it open.

She quickly stepped forward, shielding Ye Xing behind her, and peeked out to look towards the door.

Outside was a very ordinary hospital corridor, with wards on both sides, each with a small transparent window on the door.

Apart from the complete absence of light, creating a chilling darkness and silence, there was nothing particularly special about the place.

"The figure from just now..."

Tamamo-no-Mae pressed her lips together, her eyes revealing tension as she carefully surveyed her surroundings, looking as if she were facing a formidable enemy.

If, after opening the door, a terrifying and crazed evil spirit were to appear, she would actually feel relieved.

If you can see it, you can kill it.

However, the strange phenomenon of seeing people moving around but finding nothing unusual after opening the door made Tamamo-no-Mae feel nervous.

"It's interesting."

Yoruichi still looked relaxed as he scanned the long corridor in front of him, but his gaze was completely different from Tamamo-no-Mae's.

There was no fear, no tension, and no wariness.

It was like a starving person searching for hidden food, with an almost frenzied craving.

Noticing the look in Yoru's eyes, Tamamo-no-Mae had only one thought.

The child was really starving.

Ye Xingjun......

Has he been controlled by his appetite and emptiness, losing his usual caution and going so far as to lose his reason?

It's obvious that there's some kind of trap hidden in this corridor.

But for Night Star now...

Trap = Food.

"Ugh."

Seeing that Yoruichi entered the corridor without hesitation, Tamamo-no-Mae could only sigh helplessly and immediately followed.

"Hmm... there's nobody in the ward, oh wait, nobody's here either..."

Through the small windows on the ward doors, Ye Xing surveyed the furnishings in each ward.

The dirty bed sheets, stained with blood and tinged with dark red, almost black, were fluttering in the breeze through the slightly open window, making it seem as if someone was hiding behind the curtains.

And the ground, stained with blood.

It must be said that the atmosphere was created very well.

If this were made into a horror game, it would surely be a huge hit.

Like most normal people, Tamamo-no-Mae was on edge in this eerie silence, constantly on guard against a monster that might suddenly jump out from some corner.

Ye Xing's thoughts were different.

"Byd, has the plot not been triggered yet? Why isn't it showing up? I'm so anxious!"

Kyoto's number one butter shooter truly lives up to his name.

Even in such a terrifying environment, Night Star's current mindset is exactly the same as that of those ADV eroge players.

He wished he could press the skip button to the death, skip all the plot points at lightning speed, unlock all the CG images, and then start his thrilling adventure.

Seeing Yoru's impatient and excited expression, Tamamo-no-Mae couldn't tell for a moment whether the evil spirit was hiding in the shadows to create a more terrifying atmosphere to torment those who entered the area, or whether it was afraid of this clearly mentally unstable exorcist and dared not come out.

I can't tell them apart, I really can't tell them apart.

"Oh?"

Just then, Tamamo-no-Mae suddenly heard Yohoshi, who was walking ahead of her, let out a surprised sound.

She quickly stepped forward and followed the other person's gaze. In the ward, she saw a strange man sitting with his hands and feet bound by leather shackles and his face wrapped in bandages.

Beneath the bloodstained bandages, only a pair of bloodshot eyes could be seen, turning the head like a puppet, looking towards Tamamo-no-Mae and Yohoshi who were standing outside the ward.

The moment their eyes met...

The once peaceful corridor suddenly began to tremble, and the lights above flickered, emitting bursts of blinding light.

Amidst the flickering white light, the bandaged monster in the ward would vanish whenever darkness returned.

The moment the light shone on it, it had already stood up from the bed.

With the flickering of the lights, it approached the ward door like a ghost, until finally, its entire face was pressed against the small window.

Just as the bandaged monster pressed his face against the window, piercing screams from children and women echoed through the corridor, making Tamamo-no-Mae feel as if her eardrums were about to be pierced.

This sudden, bizarre scene, as if the entire mental hospital had been stimulated and finally awakened, made Tamamo-no-Mae's expression change.

"Night... Night Star Lord, we...we have to hurry..."

Before Tamamo-no-Mae could even utter the words "leave," Yoru-no-Hashi nodded slightly, looking deeply in agreement.

"That's right, we need to get in quickly, before this BYD gets away."

Before Tamamo-no-Mae could react, Yosei had already reached out her left hand and grasped the doorknob of the ward.

He tried to twist it a couple of times, but found he couldn't open it.

"Open it for me right now."

Ye Xing pointed seriously to the bandaged face behind the small window and said righteously.

"Hurry up, ward rounds, open the door!"

The bandaged monster's eyes froze for a moment, seemingly not expecting such a thing to happen.

"You're not opening it, are you?"

Suddenly, Ye Xing pressed her face against the window, separated from the bandaged evil spirit's face only by a pane of glass. Her eyes shone with excitement and anticipation as she whispered something.

"Let me in right now!"

Seeing Ye Xing's state, the bandaged monster spirit instinctively put its hand on the doorknob, locked the door with a click, and took several steps back, standing there unsure of what to do.

For some reason, it felt an unprecedented emotion called fear.

The human standing outside the door showed no trace of spiritual energy...

But the bandaged monster felt that if he really let the other party into his hospital room, something extremely terrible would happen.

"You won't let me in?"

A kind smile appeared on Ye Xing's face, and she spoke in a gentle tone, as if coaxing a child.

"Good boy, let your brother in quickly."

The bandaged monster spirit trembled slightly, and then, to Tamamo-no-Mae's astonishment, it lay back down on the hospital bed, covered its head with the blood-stained, dirty blanket, and was still shivering.

"Tch, they won't let me in..."

Seeing the disappointed look on Yoru's face, Tamamo-no-Mae was dumbfounded.