Chapter 40 – Sayuri Sawamura

"Tatsuki!"

Seeing Tatsuki burst into the room, Eriri's pale face lit up with relief.

Sayuri Sawamura, her mother, initially looked panicked but quickly gasped in shock, "Tatsuki-kun!"

"Tatsuki-kun! Get away!"

The crazed man—Eriri's father—shifted his focus toward Tatsuki, charging at him with a knife in hand.

Tatsuki's brows furrowed slightly. He could feel something unnatural festering within the man.

With a mere flick of his finger, Eriri's father was suddenly suspended mid-air, unable to move. The knife in his hand was wrenched away by an unseen force and clattered harmlessly to the floor.

"Eh?"

Both women stared in disbelief at the surreal scene.

Tatsuki's precise control of airflow allowed him to manipulate force vectors with ease, creating an effect akin to telekinesis. By redirecting and amplifying air currents, he could exert powerful, precise control over objects and people alike.

Tatsuki calmly walked past Eriri's father and approached the two women.

"Eriri, Sayuri-san, are you both alright?"

Eriri launched herself into Tatsuki's arms, tears streaming down her face.

"Waaah! I was so scared! The whole house felt so eerie and uncomfortable! Waaaah!"

Tatsuki gently patted her back, soothing her trembling form. While Eriri clung to him, he turned to Sayuri.

"Sayuri-san, what's been happening here?"

Sayuri glanced at her husband, suspended in the air, her expression a mix of fear and confusion. She took a shaky breath and recounted the events.

"Over the past few days, both Eriri and I fell ill. No matter what medicine or treatment we tried, nothing helped."

"Then, out of nowhere, my husband—who hadn't been home in years—came back today. He just barged in with a knife and tried to attack us. At the same time, this house started filling with this…black mist."

Tatsuki nodded grimly. He was already aware of the strained relationship between Sayuri and her husband. Their discord had roots in the incident from Eriri's middle school years—a situation also tied to Aki Tomoya.

During the middle school bullying ordeal, Sayuri had desperately tried to protect Eriri. She pleaded with her husband to leverage his connections to punish the bullies.

However, her husband refused, citing the complications and risks of using his position for personal matters.

But for Sayuri, Eriri's deteriorating mental state—culminating in suicidal tendencies—made the issue non-negotiable. This led to a fierce argument that drove the two even further apart.

Tatsuki, stepping in as Eriri's steadfast ally, ultimately resolved the matter. He turned to a trusted friend whose family was involved in the underworld, offering nearly all of his substantial earnings at the time.

What followed was ruthless retribution. Each bully faced catastrophic consequences, with some families ruined entirely.

Naturally, the party Tatsuki sought out back then operated within the confines of legitimate economics and legal means. As a result, nobody dared to hassle Eriri anymore, though she did lose many so-called "friends."

Throughout it all, Tatsuki stayed by her side, helping her pull through the dark times.

Unfortunately, after that incident, the conflict between Sayuri and her husband only intensified, leading to the near-ruined marriage they had now.

Eriri wiped her tears and looked up. "Tatsuki, is there… a ghost here?"

Tatsuki deliberated briefly. Since mother and daughter had already witnessed these supernatural phenomena firsthand, they were now effectively "in the know." They deserved an explanation, at least regarding the basics.

"Evil spirits and yokai," he said at last, pointing to Eriri's father.

"There's a yokai inside your father, feeding on his negative emotions. And somewhere in this house lurks an evil spirit."

"When your father returned, the yokai and the evil spirit must have merged, creating this black mist."

"A…an evil spirit and a yokai?" Both Sayuri and Eriri were shocked, yet neither doubted Tatsuki's words. After all, they had witnessed him hold a grown man suspended in midair with an unseen force.

"But what happens when they merge?" Sayuri asked, anxiety etched on her face.

Tatsuki shook his head. "I don't know. I've dealt with countless evil spirits and a few yokai, but never a fusion like this. It must require an extremely strong grudge to fuse two such entities."

Suddenly, Eriri's father—still hovering above the floor—let out a piercing, anguished howl:

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

Before their stunned eyes, the swirling black mist in the room funneled into his mouth, as if drawn by a powerful vortex.

Tatsuki immediately stepped in front of them, shielding Eriri and Sayuri with his broad back. Having him so close gave them an overwhelming sense of safety.

He wasn't afraid of any old evil spirit or yokai. He simply wanted to see what new horror their fusion might produce.

Once every wisp of black mist had been swallowed, a sinister cackle rang out. "Kyekehehe…"

A pitch-black, grotesque claw bristling with eyes forced its way out of the father's mouth. Then a second claw, a third, all the way to a fifth…

Finally, an even more twisted head and torso began slithering out from that tiny orifice.

There was no doubt about it—an abomination was being born.

Mother and daughter both quivered violently, horrified and revolted by the ghastly sight.

"Tatsuki…" Eriri, trembling in terror, pressed herself closer against his back.

Even Sayuri couldn't hide her fear, edging nearer to Tatsuki as well.