A huge blast of spiritual energy erupted out, flooding the ruined hospital corridor—! Engulfing the once void darkness with blinding, radiant light!
And in its path—
Screeech—!?!!
It plowed straight through the horde of demon spiders, incinerating and tearing apart countless of them by the sheer overwhelming force of the blast—!
The raging beam continued on for several seconds—roaring and even shaking the entire building...!
Until, eventually... it faded.
Soon... silence followed, and once the light of the blast finally died down...
What remained... was a corridor burned into a blackened crisp.
Walls scorched, floor steaming, and last but the most important one—
The horde of demon spiders reduced to nothing but brittle husks scattered across the ground...
And Noah was... speechless.
He was in disbelief after witnessing the aftermath of the spiritual energy blast he'd made...
'Hmm, not bad, mortal,'Evangeline purred inside his head, her voice dripping with smug satisfaction. 'A bit unstable in its output, I do say so myself. But nevertheless, you have done well utilizing my power~.'
"Uhuh... thanks, I guess..."
He then looked down... toward the woman that was clinging to him for dear life...
Or not, as she was just burying her face into his chest in silence—
A complete contrast from her previous frantic screaming.
"Uh... hello? Miss?" he called out to her, somewhat concerned. "...You okay there?"
"...Is it over?"
"Yeah, all of the spiders are dead."
"..."
But she stayed quiet, still burying her face in his chest—still hiding her expression from him...
Noah scratched his head, somewhat awkward at the current situation—
'...Hey, mortal. How long are you going to play this charade?' Evangeline suddenly snapped; her voice annoyed—borderline disgusted even. 'Do not tell me you actually enjoy being clung to by these pitiful vermins...?'
"Okay, okay! Geez..." he grumbled, before turning his attention back to the clinging woman, "hey, missy, that's enough, okay?"
"Ah—!?"
Noah forcefully detached her away from him!
The woman stumbled back a bit from the treatment, before her face turned into a pout.
Ignoring her dissatisfaction, he instead shifted his focus, expression turning serious. "Okay... so what happened to the other two?"
"The other two?"
He raised an eyebrow at her apparent confusion.
"...I meant your boyfriend and the other Video Tuber guy," he inquired once more. "Where are they? I thought Sophia was pretty clear that you shouldn't have separated, was she not?"
"...Oh, them?"
Her confused expression suddenly twisted into one of annoyance.
"Hmph! Those guys ditched me at the first sign of danger!" she huffed with exaggerated disbelief. "They ran off without me the moment they saw that horde of sentinel spiders marching in!"
"Is that so...?"
"Men are the worst, I tell you. They tell you all those sweet words and act like they care, but when it actually matters, men would just run away like cowards!"
"Uhuh... sorry to hear that, I guess..."
"Ah! But of course not every man~."
Miss 'Girlfriend' quickly shifted her attitude—her lips curling upward as her eyes gleamed with sudden excitement, before she flaunted her way toward him...!
"You're different from those pathetic men~," she purred, getting closer to him once more, "and I would loooove to be embraced by you—"
"Stop."
"...Huh?"
He raised his palm, halting her advance.
"I ain't gonna play anymore of your game, missy."
"W-what...?"
She was stunned, eyes widening in disbelief at his rejection, "W-what are you saying—"
But then, she was cut off—
A large surge of spiritual energy began gathering at the palm of Noah's raised hand once more—!
"—Ghost Blast."
And he unleashed a torrent of spiritual energy at the woman—!
The blast swallowed her whole—! Erasing her torso clean in a violent burst of light—!
And yet... the torso-less body did not fall—
It still stood on its two legs...!
"...You were right all along, Eva... she's not a human."
'Of course, she isn't, mortal—no mere human would emit this vile of a spiritual energy...!' Evangeline hissed inside his head, her voice dripping with vindication, '...and now, bear witness to the creatures hiding within...!'
And what they saw from this grotesque body... was not made of blood and flesh.
Instead—
Countless tiny spiders spilled out, scattering across the scorched floor...!
The torso-less body twitched violently... but then—
It slowly began to reform...!
Thousands of skittering legs crawled together, weaving themselves back into the shape of 'Miss Girlfriend'...
Until 'it' stood once more—
Until 'she' appeared once again!
Wearing the same human face!
Yet this time...
A wide, unnatural grin stretched across her face...! And instead of normal eyes—six glossy, pitch-black spider eyes lined vertically across her face, reflecting nothing but darkness...!
And—
"HeHeHe~..."
An unsettling giggle escaped her lips... layered, echoing, as if two voices speaking as one...!
"How perceptive of you, human," the "woman" purred with eerie amusement, "Do tell, how did you know I wasn't as harmless as I pretended to be~?"
She tilted her head with interest, her grin stretching wider...!
"Perhaps... did your little spirit friend inside of you become a tiny snitch~?"
He only glared at her attempt at provocation, before raising his hand once more—gathering energy into the center of his palm...!
"She warned me, alright... but you were already a walking anomaly, both literally and figuratively," he muttered with disdain, "I was already skeptical when you could run in this void darkness without a single source of light—especially when you were practically outrunning a horde of giant spiders..."
He narrowed his eyes... spiritual energy crackling in his palm...!
"...And not only did you blatantly reveal these damn roasted bugs' name—you tried to use a damn charm magic on me, didn't you?!"
"Hmmp! Watch your tongue, human...!" The 'spider'-woman hissed at his accusation, a faint venom lacing her voice...! "These lovely darlings aren't mere bugs—! They are my precious children that serve all of my desires...!"
"So you didn't deny it, huh..."
Noah shook his head in disbelief, seeing that she took more offense at him insulting her "children."
"...Forget it. I'm not falling for any charm magic no more nor to any damn mind game... Tonight, I'm doing bug extermination—! Starting with you!"
He thrust his palm forward—aiming the growing ball of spiritual energy toward the 'spider'-woman...!
"Take this—! Ghost Blas—"
"Oh, what this? Are you sure you're not gonna check on that female friend of yours~?"
"...What?"