Nanashi thought today would be another quiet one for the Paranormal Research Club.
But unexpectedly, an urgent call came through.
And then—static.
"Nanashi-kun!"
Yui's voice came through the phone, tinged with panic.
"What's wrong?" Nanashi asked, sensing her distress.
"The school building… something supernatural… I'm—ah!"
Bzzzt—!
The call abruptly cut off, replaced by static.
"Yui?" Yukino raised her head, her expression tense. She thought she had heard Yui's scream.
Nanashi didn't hesitate.
"She said something about the supernatural… It seems Yui's stumbled into a real paranormal case. Looks like our club's first commission came from one of our own."
"Yui, what do we do?! Are we in the middle of some paranormal event?!"
A girl with flowing golden hair clutched Yui's hand tightly.
They were no longer in the school.
Just moments ago, they had been walking through the building together when it suddenly shattered like glass—and in the blink of an eye, they found themselves in a twisted, desolate world.
Dark.
Broken.
Ruined.
Yui gripped her phone tightly in one hand—no signal. Her voice trembled, but she tried to reassure her friend.
"Don't worry, Yumiko. I already called Nanashi-kun. He'll definitely come save us."
Yumiko Miura looked confused. "You trust him that much?"
She knew Yui and Nanashi were close.
But what could one boy do in this situation?
Sure, Nanashi was probably the top student in their class—no, in the whole school.
She herself had even thought about getting closer to him.
But seeing how close Yui was with Nanashi, she had hesitated, not wanting to make things awkward.
Still, this wasn't the time for petty feelings. They were in danger.
"Yui… is Nanashi your boyfriend?" Yumiko asked, puzzled.
It was the only explanation she could think of for Yui's blind faith.
"Uh… no," Yui answered, scratching her head awkwardly.
Well, not yet anyway.
They liked each other—it was obvious—but things were complicated. People around them made it hard to be honest.
"Then why do you trust him so much?"
Yui didn't know how to explain it.
She couldn't just blurt out that Nanashi had supernatural powers.
Before she could come up with an answer—
"GAGAGAGA—!!"
A twisted, grotesque scream tore through the air, sending chills down both girls' spines.
From the ruins, a massive monster crawled out—bloated, malformed, easily several stories tall, and so disgusting it made their stomachs churn.
Its gaping mouth was full of decaying, black-and-yellow teeth.
Its eyes spun in all directions—until they locked onto Yui and Yumiko.
"Gaa-gaga-ga!" it shrieked again, saliva dripping like sludge.
Then it started walking toward them.
"M-Monster! Run!" Yumiko cried, grabbing Yui's hand.
But fear sapped their strength.
They hadn't gone far when Yumiko's legs gave out, and she collapsed.
Yui, still holding her hand, was pulled down too, hitting the ground hard.
Blood ran down her scraped knee.
"It Hurts…" she winced, hissing in pain.
The monster loomed over them, casting a terrible shadow.
Its enormous hand reached out—
Grabbing Yumiko.
Dragging her closer to that horrible mouth.
It was going to eat her.
"No! Help!"
Yumiko screamed in terror.
Yui cried out in panic, "Let go of Yumiko!"
She tried to leap up and grab Yumiko's legs, but her injured knee gave out the moment she jumped. Pain shot through her, and she collapsed to the ground again.
Yumiko looked like she was about to be eaten.
But then—the monster froze.
"!!!"
Yumiko blinked, confused. Was it… not going to eat her?
From Yui's point of view, the monster appeared completely immobilized, its body frozen mid-motion.
Then, its massive palm opened.
"W-Whoa—!"
Yumiko tumbled from the monster's grasp, about to scream—until she felt herself caught in a firm embrace.
"Nanashi-kun!" Yui shouted in relief.
"Nanashi-kun!?"
As Yumiko landed safely in his arms, her expression was one of pure disbelief.
Yui had been right. Nanashi had really come to save them.
"This place is strange…" Yukino muttered, frowning as she scanned the ruined landscape.
"Yukino, Marin-chan, Megumi, Miko—you're all here too?" Yui called out, surprised and relieved to see the others.
Eriri had been busy with the art club and hadn't been called.
"Hehe, who would've thought our Paranormal Research Club's first request would come from one of our own?" Marin said, waving at Yui with a cheerful grin.
Miko stepped forward and helped Yui to her feet.
"You're not freaked out by all this? It's a full-on supernatural event!" Yumiko said, still cradled in Nanashi's arms and completely bewildered.
Weren't they scared?
The monster had been right there!
Megumi calmly responded with the explanation Nanashi had prepared for moments like this. "We're members of the Paranormal Research Club. We specialize in dealing with supernatural occurrences."
"Eh?! So all of you—Yukino included—have superpowers?" Yui asked, eyes wide in disbelief.
The others simply nodded, not offering any further explanation.
"So I'm the only normal one here?" Yui muttered, suddenly feeling like the odd one out.
"Well… I'm technically normal too. I can only see evil spirits," Miko added shyly.
"…"
That offered Yui a little comfort.
"Uh… Yumiko-san, are you okay?" Nanashi finally spoke, hesitating.
He'd been silent for a while—mainly because his arms were soaked.
"!!!"
It hit Yumiko all at once, and her face went pale with shame.
She had… wet herself in fear.
While being carried in Nanashi's arms!
She'd gotten his arms wet!
I want to die. I seriously want to die!
If Yukino or anyone else noticed…
Social suicide. Actual, real-world social suicide!
"…"
Yumiko hung her head and clenched his shirt tightly, her embarrassment written all over her face.
It was clear she desperately wanted to vanish.
"…Guess I'll be the good guy to the end," Nanashi muttered softly.
Then, Yumiko suddenly felt warmth spread across her damp skin.
A moment later—the dampness vanished completely.
"Yumiko, are you okay?" Yui approached, supported by Miko, worry etched on her face.
Yumiko looked at Nanashi with a complicated expression, then slowly shook her head. "I'm fine. Just… scared out of my mind."
"Can you stand?" Nanashi asked gently.
"Y-Yeah… I think so."
Her voice was a little shaky, and she avoided eye contact. Seeing her respond, Nanashi carefully set her down.
Yumiko stood and blinked.
The dampness—completely gone. She felt clean and strangely comfortable.
How did he do that? she wondered.
"Nanashi, what is this thing?" Yukino asked, glancing briefly at the now-frozen monster.
"I'm not sure. This is also the first time I've seen something like this."
The strange ruins, the grotesque creature—none of it was familiar.
Yumiko stared at the unmoving beast. "Nanashi-kun, why did it suddenly stop moving?"
"My ability froze it in place," he replied.
But it was more than that. He had tried to peer into its memories—only to find there was nothing.
No thoughts. No structure. Just a churning mass of filth and chaos.
"A complete waste of space," he muttered.
Frustrated by the lack of useful information, Nanashi prepared to finish it off—
"Out of the way!"
But a sudden shout cut through the air.
A girl wearing a white fox mask appeared, charging in at high speed.
With dual blades in hand, she slashed the monster in a blur of motion.
In seconds, it was carved into dozens of pieces—before disintegrating into ash.
Dead. No doubt about it.
"…Did she just steal Nanashi-kun's monster?" Marin said in disbelief.
"Monster… steal?" the masked girl repeated, confused.
"This thing is called Kegare(*Impurity). You've all been dragged into something dangerous. You need to leave—now." She pulled out a slip of paper, a talisman, ready to use it.
But before she could activate it—
Fwoosh!
The talisman suddenly caught fire and burned to ash in her hand.
"What?!" she gasped, clearly caught off guard.
"Hahaha… What a delightful little feast."
The laughter that echoed across the sky was maddening—high-pitched, unhinged, and chaotic.
Floating above them was a girl with dark skin and long, white twin ponytails.
At least, she looked like a girl.
But something was deeply off.
Her right eye, unlike anything human, was black with a red glint—unnerving and unnatural.
"A Kegare in human form… Basara!" the masked girl exclaimed, recognizing her at once.
"Ah~ I go by Suzu. Onmyoji, humans—everything is a feast."
Her twisted smile widened as she scanned the group. Her eyes sparkled with excitement—as if she were looking at prey.
The masked girl turned sharply and shouted, "Run! All of you! If you stay, you'll die!"
Basara—the highest grade of Kegare. She was no match for it.
But it was an Onmyoji's duty to protect ordinary people, no matter what.
"…So this is the Disaster Field," Nanashi said quietly.
His words cut through the tense air like a blade.
Just from listening, he'd already pieced things together.
Onmyoji. Kegare. Basara.
This was straight out of the world of Twin Star Exorcists.
So Is this ruined world a disaster zone?
"You..."
Suzu, the Basara, was just about to question Nanashi—
But he cut her off coldly.
"I hate people standing over me. Get off my feet."
"Huh?"
Before she could fully respond, her pupils widened in shock.
Her body moved on its own—
Spinning uncontrollably—
Crashing into the ground with a heavy thud, and continuing to roll.
She tumbled to her knees in front of Nanashi, unable to stand back up.
"My body! What's happening?! I can't control it!" Suzu cried out in panic.
When she looked up, she met Nanashi's starry gaze—cold and condescending.
"W-What's going on?" the masked girl gasped.
Nanashi ignored her, eyes still locked on Suzu.
"Suzu. A Basara, right?"
"Y-Yes..."
Suzu couldn't even stop herself from answering. Her voice obeyed his will.
"I've judged you. You're guilty."
Black wings unfurled behind Nanashi.
A thick black mist surrounded Suzu.
"AAAHHHHHHH!!!"
Gone was the arrogance, the mad laughter from before—now replaced with a shrill scream of pure agony.
In mere seconds, the mighty Basara had turned to ash.
"W-What?!"
The masked girl's scream startled everyone.
But Yui, Yumiko, and Miko weren't frightened by the monster—or its ash remains.
They were more spooked by her outburst.
"You all head back first," Nanashi said calmly. "I still have to handle the matter with this place."
His wings beat the air.
Wings of Chaos.
They didn't disturb the air like normal flight.
They tore through space itself.
In a blink, Nanashi vanished.
The group was left stunned, exchanging uncertain glances.
"Um... is Nanashi-kun a god or something?" Yumiko Miura asked, eyes wide, staring into the empty sky.
Her worldview had completely crumbled today.
"I don't know either..." Yui replied, turning to Miko for support. "Nanashi-kun only told me he has supernatural powers."
"I... I had no idea Nanashi-senpai was that incredible!" Miko shook her head, still in disbelief.
She had always thought Nanashi just specialized in dealing with evil spirits.
And Yumiko noticed something else:
Yukino, Megumi, and Marin were surprisingly calm.
Megumi, in particular, carried an air of control—her presence adjusted so subtly that others could only notice her when she wanted to be noticed.
It was like someone had installed a presence switch in her mind.
Now, she could command attention at will.
That's why Yumiko and the others had been able to notice her at all.