Yogiri was the type to enjoy these kinds of situations, but he now felt a little bad for praising Mokomoko.
And so Yogiri took off his blazer and handed it to Tomochika before looking towards Romiko.
Apparently, Romiko had attacked Tomochika. And judging by the situation, Mokomoko had possessed Romiko.
"That"s Mokomoko, isn"t it?"
"How did you know?"
"By the way she talks, I guess. I"m not sure what"s happening here, but I"ll have to kill her if she"s attacking."
That was how Yogiri felt about Mokomoko.
He wouldn"t go out of his way to kill her. But if she attacked, he would not hesitate to fight back.
Basically, if Romiko tried to launch a lethal attack, he would have to kill them both.
He had never before killed someone that was possessed while keeping the spirit alive, and he didn"t know if he could.
And while there were times where testing things were necessary, Yogiri did not consider this to be one of those times.
"Ah, I do remember you saying something about purging the battle suit so I can find peace."
Tomochika had a very cold expression. She was clearly very angry.
While Yogiri wasn"t sure if she was joking, he felt that at this point, she would understand if Mokomoko died as a result of his attack.
Romiko didn"t move. He didn"t sense any hostility. He wasn"t even sure if she was looking at him.
And so Yogiri decided to wait.
However, things changed rather quickly.
Mokomoko had jumped out of Romiko.
"…Hmm. Uh, yes. I hadn"t antic.i.p.ated something like this, and could not react in time. That"s how all of that happened. I wasn"t able to resist."
"I don"t care about that. Can you return me my clothes?"
As Tomochika said this, the fragments of the battle suit gathered together and enveloped her body.
"So, what"s happening here?"
Yogiri asked the hesitant Mokomoko.
"She seems to have had an awakening. Maybe she is what the sage is looking for."
Romiko had regained her senses now.
She hadn"t even seemed present a moment ago, but now she was staring at them with clear eyes.
And behind Romiko, was a giant shadow.
The thing was getting larger as well. Perhaps it was a body of united spirits, because it oozed with a feeling of death.
It looked like it was made of white bones and rotting flesh. But overall, it had the shape of a human.
There were multiple expressions of pain on the surface, and they let out moans of resentment.
Wiggling arms grew from all over its body, and they also seemed to writhe in pain.
It was dark, big, sinister, and twisted. And somehow it continued to turn into an even uglier monster.
"Hey, Tomochi. Do you get it? I feel so good now. Everything in the world is bowing before me. I"m so happy. Look, I can even do this."
Romiko laughed as she raised her arm.
She pointed at Yogiri.
"Die."
But Yogiri moved first.
The monster stopped, and then Romiko fell powerlessly to the ground.
The monster fell apart and evaporated until there was nothing left.
Perhaps Romiko had wanted to kill Yogiri first, so that Tomochika would be forced to watch.
Yogiri had sensed the will to kill, and so he had unleashed his power first.
"You could have at least let her do something interesting first…"
"She would have killed me if I waited."
"Mikochi…"
He had heard that they were friends.
However, Romiko had a very low priority in Yogiri"s mind. And he had not cared to look for another solution.
"It couldn"t be helped in this situation. I"ll get over it."
Tomochika said. He doubted that was how she really felt, but at least she wasn"t going to blame him.
"Hey, Tomochiktan! That"s not how the heroine should act!"
"Huh? Hanakawa? Why are you here?"
Tomochika finally took notice of him.
"I thought you would be crying more and saying, this is too much! It"s wrong! That is how a proper heroine would act! It"s these kinds of events that cause tension and misunderstandings! You fight and that is supposed to give me a chance to take advantage of the situation!"
"There"s nothing that could happen that would give you a chance of doing anything, if you ask me."
Tomochika said with a serious face.
"Ooomph! By the way, I finally get to open my eyes again, but you are already wearing your clothes! No, well…that skin-tight suit has its charms as well!"
"Do you want me to take out his eyes?"
"I am so sorry!"
"So, why is Hanakawa here?"
"I don"t know the details, but I brought him with me because he was on the seventh layer. He"s useful because he can control the elevator to get out of the demon world."
"Well, we"ve reunited again. Now what?"
"Mokomoko, you may act like you"re a friend, but I haven"t forgiven you yet."
"I-I"m sorry! It was just a little! I just got a little carried away. I shouldn"t have!"
"You can talk about that later. As for what we"ll do, since Hanakawa has been added to the roster, we"re thinking of all getting out of the combat area. Because, Shion will come for him if he tries to leave, right?"
"I see. Then you will be able to achieve your current goal."
"Yes, it would be pointless if we hadn"t been added. So it was a good thing."
"Tomochiktan! You"re supposed to stop him! I don"t think it"s right for you to agree to this immoral man"s plan!"
"…I think it"s fine. Probably."
Tomochika said as she turned away.
Maybe it was immoral, but it was a good strategy.
"No! No! No! I don"t mind being used as bait. But my life has not been guaranteed! You do realize that it"s going to be me who is targeted!? You guys haven"t even been added!"
"…I"ll avenge you."
"So now the goal includes my death!"
Hanakawa"s creepy shriek echoed throughout the forest.