A young love story that started with exorcism

The three of them walked forward hurriedly with worry, and soon arrived at the third entrance.

There was a small altar in front of me, and on the altar was a golden treasure chest.

Takahashi Takumi rushed over to try to open the treasure chest, but was blocked by an invisible air wall. Yotsuya Miko and Yukinoshita Yukino also came up to try to open the treasure chest, but were also blocked by the invisible air wall.

"It should be possible to use some mechanism to break his seal. Everyone, split up and look for him."

It wasn't long before Yotsuya Miko found her, on a nearby giant stone slab. It was a 4x4 grid of sixteen squares, each with a different letter, but there were only fifteen of them, with one empty. There was a controller beneath the grid, seemingly controlling the movement of the squares above.

"What does it mean?" Takahashi Takumi looked at the letters above and was confused. They felt like the letters in a math textbook, Alpha, Beta... well, he recognized the others.

"I know, those are the ones in the math book, Alpha, Beta, Delta and Gamma, I don't know the others," Yotsuya Miko said with a mixture of joy and sadness.

Yukinoshita Yukino took a look and said confidently, "Those are Greek letters, from 1 to 15. There is one empty grid among the 16 grids, and there are 15 messy Greek letters. This should be a numerical sorting grid. You just need to arrange the letter grids from one to fifteen in order."

"Great, thanks to Yukinoshita-san, let's get this done quickly."

Yotsuya Miko quickly moved aside to allow Yukinoshita Yukino to control the grid.

Yukinoshita Yukino was a true academic genius, finishing the sorting in just a few minutes. The moment she finished, the entire grid lit up, and a golden light shone on the altar. When she approached the treasure chest again, there was no longer any obstacle.

Since it was Yukinoshita Yukino who opened the treasure chest, Takahashi Takumi let her open it.

"clatter"

The treasure chest was easily opened, and Yukinoshita Yukino looked down, her face darkening. Yotsuya Miko, who was standing next to her, saw something was wrong and came over to take a look, also with a look of dejection on her face.

"What on earth is this?" Takahashi Takumi asked curiously.

Yukinoshita Yukino didn't turn back, but simply gently scooped up the contents with both hands. Unexpectedly, it was actually a cabbage! Yes, a fresh cabbage, still carrying the fragrance of soil and the grassy scent of fresh leaves.

What the hell is this? This is too much!

At this time, Yukinoshita Yukino said in a very sad voice:

I suspect the following places are basically like this. Maybe the bald man didn't put the mirror in at all, or maybe he hid it in a very secluded place. Didn't he say it lost once, so this time it must be..."

Before he could finish his words, he was in so much pain that he couldn't speak, and his eyes were full of despair.

"Well, what I want to say is that we may have guessed wrong at the beginning."

Yotsuya Miko was surprisingly calmer at this point. After thinking for a moment, she said, "The mirror will be shattered too, right? I remember there was a line in the puzzle: 'Touching and playing with it will make you lose your mind, but no attack can hurt me.' Since you can't hurt it, then the mirror can't be either."

"Ah, this... was an oversight on my part, indeed. So what is the answer to the riddle?"

Takahashi Takumi was also in a state of panic at this time. A Stand user couldn't just rely on the Stand, he also had to use his brain. Do you understand the concept of fighting with wits? He had no choice but to start discussing and analyzing the current situation with her:

"Since the three locations we just found were traps designed to buy us time, can I infer that the remaining five locations are the same? If the eight locations in the fourth circle are all traps designed to buy us time, then can we further infer that the entire maze is a decoy?"

Yukinoshita Yukino also came back to her senses and savored the thought: "If that's the case, then the bald man's intention is to keep us away from the place where the answer to the mystery is, in other words, where we just started."

"That's right. We can tell at first glance that the bald man is a bad-intentioned and malicious guy. The harder we try to find the answer, the further away we will be from it. He might even tell us the answer when the time is almost up, so that we will run back desperately, and finally watch the hourglass countdown and fall into complete despair," Jianzi said seriously.

When Takumi Takahashi heard what Yotsuya Miko said, a light bulb went off in his head, and he followed the light to see through the fog. Everything became clear, and the king and rook castled, and the situation was instantly turned around.

"What's the matter? Did I say something wrong?"

Yotsuya Miko suddenly saw Takahashi Takumi and Yukinoshita Yukino both looking at her with wide eyes, and asked in confusion.

Takahashi Takumi turned around and looked at Yukinoshita Yukino, nodded in understanding, and then the two of them hugged Yotsuya Miko together.

"Huh~?" Jianzi was hugged by two people.

Chapter 19 The Unbreakable Mirror

The road is unclear in the clouds and fog, but the ship enters the harbor with clear eyes and a clear mind.

After clarifying the target, Takahashi Takumi took the lead and led Yukinoshita Yukino and Yotsuya Miko to rush back quickly.

As expected, Gaunt O'Dimm taunted again:

"Haha, do you want to go back and wait for death? I thought you were smart people, but I didn't expect you to be so stupid. I'm so disappointed."

It’s a good thing that he can say that he is disappointed in us. He is really disappointed because the stupid people in his eyes are actually moving in the right direction.

Finally, the three of them rushed out of the maze of giant stone slabs and came to the giant glazed hourglass above the original sunken square. Most of the time had passed.

Takahashi Takumi hurried down to check again, and sure enough, the sunken square was paved with stone slabs, which seemed to be watertight.

At this time, Yukinoshita Yukino also came down to check around, but she didn't find any mechanism, and her heart tightened.

"What should I do? There's no one and nothing, and the hourglass above is out of reach."

"No hurry, let me do it"

Takahashi Takumi asked them to come up and move aside. He looked at the giant hourglass above and understood. It was big enough, but why was it glass-colored? Normally, an hourglass should be transparent, so you can clearly see the sand inside.

The purpose of this glass-colored hourglass is to prevent people from seeing what is inside, because if they know what is inside, the mystery will be almost solved.

The blue-white form of "Sticky Fingers" suddenly appeared, attacking without hesitation. The entire giant hourglass was cut in two.

Sure enough, it was filled with water instead of fine sand!

The falling water just reached the edge of the steps. Takumi Takahashi walked over and looked down at his reflection.

The reflection in the water suddenly shook and gradually turned into the appearance of a bald man.

Takahashi Takumi reached out and grabbed his neck and shouted:

"I've got you, Gaunt O'Dimm"

Gaunt O'Dimm, who obviously did not expect to be caught like this, was so angry that his eyes were wide open. After a struggle, his figure shattered into countless pieces like a mirror, and then disappeared in Takahashi Takumi's hands.

"Pah, pah, pah"

Gaunt O'Dimm suddenly appeared in the sky, but amidst the applause, his body slowly turned into ash like a burning piece of paper. Before leaving, he said without any sadness or joy:

"As expected, this riddle isn't suitable for a bet with a human. Losing for the second time is truly frustrating. Remember, I'll be back."

Although Yukinoshita Yukino and Yotsuya Miko had not yet figured out what had happened, they knew they were saved this time when they saw the bald man burning in the sky.

Sure enough, after Gaunt O'Dimm disappeared, the surrounding scene dissipated like a broken mirror.

When they came to their senses, the three of them found themselves back on the sofa in the living room of Yukinoshita Yukino's home.

"Great, we are saved." Yotsuya Miko jumped up happily and hugged Yukinoshita Yukino.

Looking at the two beautiful girls clinging to each other, Takahashi Takumi, who had relaxed, suddenly collapsed on the sofa and said to the two people in front of him in a Ge You-like lying posture:

"Alas, shouldn't I, a great hero, come and comfort you?"

Yotsuya Miko and Yukinoshita Yukino looked at each other, burst out laughing, and then slammed into his chest together. Fortunately, both of them were very light, so no bones were broken.

After hugging Yotsuya Miko and Yukinoshita Yukino, his hands were of course not well-behaved. The consequence was that he was severely beaten by the two beautiful girls with the pillows on the sofa.

After the fight, Yotsuya Miko asked curiously:

"Takahashi-kun, how did you catch that bald guy back then? What's the answer to the riddle?"

"I won't explain it. Yukinoshita-san, who is tied for first place in academic performance and age, you come and explain it."

Yukinoshita Yukino tidied her hair and said seriously:

"I previously guessed the answer was a mirror. While that wasn't right, it wasn't entirely wrong. It should be an unbreakable mirror, a reflection in water. That's the correct answer.

As you said, that guy is a jerk with a bad taste. The maze was just a decoy in the beginning, so that the more we search, the further away we are from the answer.

As for the sinking that we first saw, the most eye-catching thing was the hourglass on top. The glass-colored hourglass decoration didn't want us to see that there was water inside.

Break the hourglass and the sunken square becomes a reservoir. You can then see your reflection in the water."

After listening to Yukinoshita Yukino's explanation, Yotsuya Miko clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Yukinoshita-san is so smart, she can even think of this."

"This is all thanks to you, Yotsuya-san. If you hadn't said, 'In the end, he watched the hourglass countdown and fell into complete despair,' I wouldn't have thought that the answer was hidden in the hourglass. But this is also thanks to Takahashi-san for breaking the hourglass," said Yukinoshita Yukino with emotion.

"That's right, the greatest credit should be attributed to me. Yotsuya, you should praise me instead," Takahashi Takumi said proudly.

"Alright, alright, Takahashi-san, you're the best. Even though it's my words that are meant to wake you up, I'm just saying it."

……

After the three of them complimented each other for a while, it was already very late, and Takahashi Takumi and Yotsuya Miko left together with Yukinoshita Yukino watching them go.

Then he had to escort Yotsuya Miko home. When he arrived at Miko's door, he saw two people sticking their heads out from behind the door, smiling at Yotsuya Miko and Takahashi Takumi.

Yotsuya Miko's face turned red with shame. She immediately said goodbye to Takahashi Takumi, turned around and sent Miko's mother and brother back inside.

Returning home alone, Takahashi Takumi reflected on what had happened today. Although no one was injured, it had been incredibly dangerous. He felt powerless against Gaunt O'Dimm, his fingers imprisoned by the steel chain. He didn't even know how he'd managed it, nor did he see when he'd made his move.

Gaunter O'Dimm wasn't just any demon. Gaunter O'Dimm, GOD. He might actually be a god. While his power wasn't on the level of a Creator God, even if he was just an ordinary evil god, he was lucky to be alive.

And the final disappearance was probably because he was eliminated from this world, otherwise he would not have said that he would come back.

I probably won't run into him again. Otherwise, if I run into a hated evil god, how good will the outcome be?

Back home, looking over today’s harvest.

Whether near home, on the road, or at school, the number of evil spirits has greatly decreased, and the mere 20 points of income is better than nothing. However, the evil spirit killed in the maze finally dropped a handful of white ash, which was caught by the steel chain fingers and stored in the space.

At this time, Takahashi Takumi took it out and asked the system mall to quote a price for recycling:

[Item: Devil's Dust

Function: Alchemical material

Recycling price: 1 point]

As expected, we can't count on it, but I'm too lazy to collect something that looks like ashes, so let it be.

So the total system energy reached 346 points, recovering slightly.

Chapter 20: Visible Snow

At noon the next day, Yotsuya Miko came to the service department with Takumi Takahashi, carrying her lunch box.

Perhaps Yotsuya Miko was particularly concerned about what happened last night, and even though it was resolved, she couldn't help but come to meet Yukinoshita Yukino. With her lunch box in hand, Takahashi Takumi had no choice but to come along to avoid going hungry.

Since Shizuka Hiratsuka can come in without knocking, Takahashi Takumi will not go against the teacher. He should learn from the teacher's good example!

"Bang" two people pushed the door open and walked in.

Inside, Yukinoshita Yukino was startled by her acquaintance and looked so frightened that she almost dropped her chopsticks.

"Oh, Yukinoshita-san, let's come here and have lunch together." Yotsuya Miko said happily, but she also noticed that something was wrong with Yukinoshita Yukino. After all, Yukinoshita Yukino's pale face looked like she was frightened.

"What's the matter, Yukinoshita-san, are you guys here?"

Yotsuya Miko walked forward quickly, but just as she reached Yukinoshita Yukino, she suddenly stopped and froze in silence. She slowly turned around and looked at Takahashi Takumi, looking as if she wanted to cry but had no tears.

"what happened"

Takahashi Takumi looked at the two strange people and walked over. Looking down, he saw a fist-sized evil spirit lying next to Yukinoshita Yukino's lunch box, its mouth wide open, about to eat her lunch. The food it touched was covered in black and gray smoke, and the lunch box, once perfectly good, was now inedible.

"STICKY FINGERS"

He didn't even need to summon all the steel chain fingers. He simply put its arm over his own arm, grabbed the little evil spirit in his hand, and crushed it into ashes with a sudden force. He didn't absorb any energy at all, probably ignoring it so much that it was less than a bit.

Yukinoshita Yukino woke up this morning feeling refreshed. Free from the troublesome dream of a black cat, she slept through the night. However, everything changed when she left the house. Several black mist-like figures appeared on the road. Some could vaguely make out human forms, while others had vaguely discernible faces. Each one was hideously distorted and terrifying, giving people the chills.

Some of these things would even come closer, shouting words that were definitely incomprehensible. Yukinoshita Yukino was frightened and at a loss, but fortunately, after the even more shocking incident yesterday, her ability to withstand pressure had skyrocketed.

I secretly observed the people walking by and realized no one paid any attention to these creatures, who knew whether they were ghosts or monsters. I could only bite the bullet and ignore them. When I got to school, I was relieved that no one noticed them following me.

I didn't want to be in the service club. Just when I was about to eat my lunch, I saw that little evil spirit coming to eat my lunch. When I was at a loss, Takahashi Takumi came over.

I never expected that Yotsuya-san could also see it, and Takahashi Takumi's arm suddenly seemed to be covered with a blue and white armor with a golden zipper?

Seeing Takahashi Takumi and Yotsuya Miko looking unfazed, it was obvious that they knew what was going on, and they couldn't help but ask:

"Thank you, but what's going on now?"

Yotsuya Miko was even more excited and grabbed Yukinoshita Yukino's hand and said:

"That's an evil spirit. By the way, Yukinoshita-san couldn't see it yesterday? How come you can see it now?"