DxD: Chapter 56/58

Chapter 56: Yuuko Kanoe

"Is this really okay?"

"Letting an ordinary person…?"

Yukino sighed, glancing at Hana, who was chatting and laughing with Miko.

She actually followed along.

She didn't realize the seriousness of the situation at all.

It was as if they were just on an elementary school outing.

"Ordinary person?"

Lynn reminded her, "Aren't you the same?"

Uh…

Yukino blinked.

Indeed… that was true.

Lynn mercilessly added, "The only difference is whether it's one burden or two."

Hmm…

She couldn't refute that…

On the other side, Utaha suddenly spoke up. "By the way, it turns out you guys took the name 'Service Club' ahead of time?"

Yukino: "?"

"Could it be…?"

"That's right." Utaha crossed her arms and continued, "We originally wanted to use that name for this club, but you got it first."

Heh…

So there really was someone else who wanted to use that name.

Yukino silently complained in her heart.

But…

She glanced at the three beautiful girls of the Supernatural Investigation Club, each with their own unique charm, then at Lynn, and said in a subtle tone:

"It certainly would have lived up to the name, Service Club."

Compared to them, her club seemed more like a glorified title.

"Heh, the fact that you thought of that name means your mind isn't pure at all."

As the group stepped into the old school building, a sudden chill swept over them.

Yukino and Yui shivered, rubbing their hands together.

"It feels even colder than when we came here last time."

She couldn't help but glance at Lynn and the others.

Ah…

They seemed completely unaffected.

Not even Hana?

"Eh? What's wrong with you guys?"

Hana walked over, curiosity in her eyes.

"You… don't feel the cold?" Yukino asked hesitantly.

"Hmm…"

Hana thought for a moment, then smiled brightly and said, "Not at all."

"Heh, it seems you're the only ordinary ones here."

Utaha taunted.

Yukino secretly gritted her teeth.

This woman was really venomous.

Lynn ignored the exchange between Utaha and Yukino.

His gaze shifted slightly to the right and landed on Yurikawa Hana.

Utaha and the others might not be able to see it.

But he could.

That life energy was practically overflowing.

Another talent.

Once this matter was settled, he'd have to find a way to bring her into the fold.

Then, he looked back at the school building.

The moment they stepped onto the first floor of the old building, a woman's voice echoed.

She seemed to be complaining about something.

"Why are more and more people coming to the old school building lately?"

"Ah…"

A helpless sigh came from deep inside.

Then, Lynn saw a worn-out chair float up, swaying as it flew toward them.

"It's here!"

Yui exclaimed, quickly covering her mouth, afraid of disturbing whatever it was.

But her body trembled uncontrollably.

A ghost!

It's a ghost!

Yukino stopped arguing with Utaha.

Seeing the same eerie sight as before, her pupils shrank.

Hana, on the other hand, widened her eyes in amazement.

"Wow! That's so cool!"

The terrifying scene left Yukino and Yui speechless.

Only Hana seemed excited, completely unaware of the danger.

But while they found it horrifying, Lynn and the others saw something entirely different.

"Hey!"

A tall, voluptuous beauty with long black hair, fair skin, and narrow eyes floated in the air, struggling to hold up a tattered chair.

She muttered in an exaggerated tone:

"Look, look~! It's a floating chair~! Run away quickly, or the big ghost will eat you~!"

Lynn and the others: "…"

The ghost girl floated there for a while.

Seeing that none of them reacted, she finally sighed and set the chair down, panting.

"Damn, are students these days really this fearless?"

In the blink of an eye, she appeared right in front of them.

"Hey! Why aren't you running?"

She floated in front of Yukino and shouted at her, only to see Yukino staring blankly at the chair she had just put down.

"Strange… why did the chair suddenly stop moving?"

Yuuko Kanoe: "…"

Of course, it's because I got tired!

She sighed. As expected, no one could see her.

But she had to find a way to make them leave.

The big ghost upstairs was too terrifying!

If they barged in, things would turn disastrous.

She subconsciously passed by Hana and stopped in front of Lynn.

Hmm…

That girl's life energy was strong and burning hot.

"Oh? A boy surrounded by girls?"

Yuuko Kanoe teased, then waved a hand in front of his face.

"Can you see me? Can you?"

Nothing.

No reaction.

Alright, he probably couldn't see her either.

Even so, she had to try something.

She had scared off plenty of students lately with supernatural events.

This time, it had to work!

Just as she was about to leave.

Snap.

A broad, warm hand grabbed her wrist.

"Eh?"

Yuuko Kanoe, who had been floating in the air, suddenly froze.

She leaned back slightly, eyes widening in shock.

"This… Miss Ghost?"

Lynn smiled. "Mind telling me what's going on here?"

"You—you—you can see me?!"

Yuuko Kanoe's red eyes widened, filled with surprise and joy.

"Of course."

Lynn nodded and gestured toward Yukino, Yui, and Hana.

"Aside from those three, everyone else here can see you."

The rest were all devils, so naturally, they could perceive her.

Hearing this, Yuuko's pale face lit up with uncontrollable excitement.

Then, she lunged at Lynn, pressing up against him.

She tilted her head up, her eyes sparkling. "Really? Really? Really?"

Lynn looked down slightly.

Her lips were close, almost as if he could feel her breath.

Well, if ghosts even needed to breathe.

"This ghost lady, we can all see you," Utaha stepped forward with a fake smile and casually pulled Yuuko off Lynn.

"Ah~"

Yuuko let out a contented sigh.

Decades.

She had floated here alone for decades.

No one could see her.

And today—

So many people could!

She was overjoyed!

For a moment, she basked in her happiness.

Then, as if suddenly realizing something, her face stiffened.

"Wait! If you could see me this whole time…"

"Then you saw me pretending to be a ghost just now?"

Miko and the others nodded.

"Ugh…"

Yuuko suddenly let out a miserable groan.

"Why didn't anyone stop me?!"

(To be continued.)

Chapter 57: This Is The Real World

If no one saw her, it would be considered a bizarre supernatural event.

But they had seen her.

And that made it feel… a bit ridiculous.

Yuuko awkwardly tapped her foot in the air.

Miko was surprised. "Eh? Ghosts can get embarrassed?"

Yuuko retorted loudly, "Ghosts were humans too, you know!"

"Uh, sorry, sorry!"

Miko scratched her cheek awkwardly.

"You… are you really communicating with a ghost?"

Yukino's voice trembled slightly, while Yui shrank behind her, too scared to even peek out.

"Eh? Where? Where's Miss Ghost?"

Hana looked around, shaking her head back and forth as if trying to spot something.

Miko: "…"

You really are something, Hana.

But this ghost was different from the ones she had encountered before.

Not only could she communicate, but she also seemed to be creating incidents to scare students away.

A kind ghost.

Meanwhile, Lynn looked at the glowing [Evil Piece] on his panel, then at the ghost floating in front of him. His expression turned strange.

Can ghosts be turned into peerage members?

Is this… diversity in the Devil race?

Adhering to his usual approach of studying the [Evil Piece], Lynn felt it was worth trying.

Once this commission was over, he'd find an excuse to recruit her.

For now, he put the thought aside and listened to her story.

The ghost's name was Yuuko Kanoe.

An old ghost.

A groundbound spirit.

Because she was stuck here and had nothing to do, she spent most of her time sleeping.

Then, one day, when she woke up, the atmosphere of the old school building had completely changed.

It was now crawling with cursed spirits.

Of course, they were just low-grade cursed spirits and didn't pose a direct threat to her.

But they were invading her territory.

Mainly, they were just disgusting.

Then, at some point, a barrier had appeared in the old school building, preventing the cursed spirits from escaping.

So, Yuuko drove them all to the second floor and moved the barrier to the stairs to keep them trapped.

As a result, the cursed spirits began to devour each other, eventually forming a composite monster.

Even Yuuko was a bit frightened.

She hadn't expected that driving them to the second floor would actually accelerate the creation of a terrifying cursed spirit.

If not for the barrier, she might have already been eliminated.

But now, the barrier was full of cracks, and she had no idea how much longer it would last.

Still, Yuuko was surprisingly calm.

She had been a ghost for decades, with nothing much to do every day.

Dying completely didn't seem like a big deal.

After listening to her story, Lynn quickly grasped the situation.

Someone was deliberately cultivating cursed spirits.

By trapping them in a closed environment and allowing them to cannibalize each other, they were producing stronger cursed spirits.

Yuuko's decision to confine them upstairs had only sped up the process.

No wonder Natsuki said the people on the board of directors were idiots.

Cursed spirits were easy to breed but hard to control.

If one of them went rogue, it would spell disaster.

Lynn had Miko explain the situation to the three who couldn't see the supernatural.

Yukino was surprised. "So the floating chair was just Yuuko's way of keeping students away?"

Unexpectedly, she was a kind ghost.

But…

Yukino glanced up.

As expected, she still couldn't see anything.

She frowned before sighing. "Even if you tell me there's something terrifying up there, it won't feel real if I can't see it."

She couldn't help but glance at Lynn and the others.

Aside from Lynn, could they all see?

Was it something innate, or was there a method?

After a brief hesitation, she asked, "Is there a way for us to see it too?"

Lynn glanced at her. "Of course there is."

"But… are you sure you want to?"

"Once you see the real world, there's no going back."

His tone was calm, but something about it made Yukino and Yui's skin crawl.

After a brief pause, Yukino gritted her teeth. "I'd rather understand everything than remain ignorant!"

"Utaha, give her a buff."

Following Lynn's instructions, Utaha summoned the Devil Tome.

Devils had plenty of spells to grant humans temporary spirit vision.

As the floating tome opened in Utaha's hands, Yukino's pupils shrank.

Does this woman actually have supernatural abilities?!

Utaha activated a ghost-seeing spell through the Devil Tome.

A golden beam shot into Yukino's eyes.

She instinctively closed them.

A strange sensation washed over her vision.

When she opened her eyes again.

A black-haired woman floated in the air before her.

Her eyes widened slightly. "Is this… Miss Ghost?"

She really was floating.

Taking a deep breath, she looked up toward the second floor.

And then—

"Hngh…!"

Her pupils shrank, and a chilling sensation rushed down her spine.

Cold sweat dripped from her forehead.

A thick, eerie purple mist filled the old school building like a dark storm cloud, covering everything in a hellish shroud.

"This is the real world…"

Yukino trembled slightly.

For years, she had believed in a certain reality.

And now, that reality had shattered completely.

The world she thought she knew had been nothing but an illusion.

"What? What?"

Hana's curiosity was piqued.

"I want to see it too! I want to see it too!"

Seeing her excitement, Utaha cast the same ritual on her.

Then, she turned to Yui.

Do you want it too?

Her gaze silently conveyed the question.

Yui hesitated, then looked at Yukino who seemed utterly shaken and took a deep breath.

She nodded firmly.

Another golden beam was cast into her eyes.

"AHHH! So scary!"

Even Hana, who was usually carefree, let out a startled yelp.

"Ah, but Miss Ghost is cute."

Miko: "…"

Hana is still completely off track.

Yuuko blinked, then chuckled.

"Thanks~ You're cute too."

"Hehehe~!"

On the other side, Yui felt like crying.

She wanted to act natural like Hana.

But…

I can't do it!

She just couldn't!

Is this even the same world I knew?!

While the three of them were struggling to process their new reality, Lynn casually walked toward the second floor.

Yukino instinctively reached out.

Are we really… going to fight something capable of causing this?!

Shouldn't the school handle this kind of thing?!

"Uh…"

Even Yuuko wanted to stop him.

But Lynn was already at the staircase.

He raised his hand and lightly tapped the cracked barrier.

Crack—

Crack-crack—

BOOM!

The weakened barrier shattered into dust.

"YAAAAAAA!!"

As if it had sensed its release, a deafening roar erupted from deep within the building!

Lynn turned around and smiled at them.

"Now… let's begin the real commission."

(To be continued.)

Chapter 58: A Bit Ridiculous

"Ah…"

Yuuko was stunned.

Did this guy not understand what she just said?

The big cursed spirit upstairs was terrifying!

"Don't worry, Miss Yuuko, Master is very strong," Shiina said with a gentle smile, trying to reassure her.

Mahiru always had a way of calming people's nerves.

That said, they had never really seen the full extent of Lynn's power.

It always felt like he was omnipotent, able to handle any situation effortlessly.

Whether it was Utaha, Miko, Mahiru, or even everyone in his peerage, they all had an unwavering confidence in him.

"Well, it's already come to this anyway," Yuuko sighed.

They really weren't nervous at all.

But fine. If they weren't going to be scared, neither would she.

Her eyes burned with determination. "I've had enough of this! Every time I'm sleeping, my head keeps getting knocked against the walls!"

"It's ruined my sleep quality! I even have dark circles under my eyes!"

"Today, I'll risk my life to settle all my old and new grudges!"

"Uh… Miss Yuuko, aren't you already dead?"

Miko couldn't help but point out.

Yuuko shot her a speechless look.

Why did this kid always have to ruin the moment?

"A ghost's life is still a life!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The roar from upstairs was followed by heavy footsteps.

Each step felt like it was stomping directly on Yukino's heart.

Her face turned pale, and a deep sense of powerlessness crept over her.

She had no idea what was going to happen next.

BOOM!

Behind Lynn, a grotesque mass of flesh tumbled down the stairs!

The sheer impact instantly smashed a gaping hole into the wall.

The old wooden steps shattered under its weight, sending shards flying everywhere.

The moment Yukino saw it, her heart nearly stopped.

So scary!

So scary! So scary! So scary!

No matter how composed she usually appeared, she was still just a girl.

How could she not be terrified of such a monstrous creature?

As for Yui, she was already frozen in fear.

"Eh~ So disgusting!"

Hana wrinkled her nose in distaste.

Her appetite for tonight was completely ruined.

Damn it!

It actually made her lose her appetite?

Unforgivable!

This was the greatest offense anyone had ever committed against her.

Even Utaha and the others, seeing a first-grade cursed spirit for the first time, were visibly disgusted by its grotesque appearance.

Miko even felt a twinge of PTSD.

For just a moment, she recalled certain… unpleasant memories.

"YAAAAAAA!!"

The tumor-like monster let out another deafening roar!

A powerful gust of wind blasted outward, sending their clothes fluttering.

"So noisy…"

Lynn frowned and casually waved his hand.

A black magic circle appeared in front of the cursed spirit's mouth, sealing it shut.

"AAAA—"

The roar was cut off abruptly, and the entire building fell silent.

The cursed spirit opened its mouth, but no sound came out.

It thrashed around in frustration.

It felt humiliated.

Enraged, it lunged at Lynn from behind!

"Watch out!"

Yukino instinctively cried out.

Lynn didn't even turn around.

BANG!

A loud impact echoed through the building.

But then, something bizarre happened.

The cursed spirit suddenly froze in mid-air, its massive body colliding with an invisible force.

The impact caused its grotesque flesh to contort and warp.

And the next second.

BOOM!

The repelling force sent it hurtling backward at an even greater speed!

It slammed into the wall, creating a massive crater of debris and dust.

The cursed spirit stopped moving.

The entire room fell silent.

Yuuko, Yukino, Yui and Hana were all stunned.

This… this cursed spirit wasn't as strong as they thought?

No, no!

Yukino quickly shook her head.

It wasn't that the cursed spirit was weak, Lynn was just too strong!

The President of the Supernatural Investigation Club…

No wonder.

No wonder he had been so confident.

No wonder Minamiya-Sensei had told her to seek their help.

Because this man was absurdly powerful!

A cursed spirit that could smash through walls, dent floors, and shroud an entire building in malevolent energy.

To Lynn, it was nothing more than a toy.

It hadn't even been able to touch him before it was crushed.

And then… Yukino remembered her attitude toward him back at the club.

Her body stiffened.

Lynn… surely he's not the type to hold grudges, right.... right?

Yuuko understood even more than she did.

After all, she had lived with that cursed spirit in this building.

She knew how terrifying it was.

And yet, to Lynn, it was just a trivial nuisance.

"He's so reliable…"

Hana was much simpler in her admiration.

"Miko! Your club president is so cool!"

Lynn, meanwhile, had no interest in the cursed spirit.

With his current strength as an Ultimate-Class- devil, a first-grade cursed spirit wasn't even worth his time.

Let alone one that was just a stitched-together mass of lower-ranked spirits.

But…

It was perfect for giving Utaha and the others some combat experience.

"Utaha, Miko, Mahiru—your turn."

"Yes!" x3

They stepped forward, their expressions serious.

For Lynn, this thing was a joke.

But for them, it was a real opponent.

"Don't let it recover!"

Utaha took the lead.

The pages of her Devil Tome flipped rapidly before settling on a high-tier lightning spell.

"Lightning!"

A magic circle formed within the book.

BOOM!

A crackling blue bolt of lightning struck the cursed spirit, sending green smoke rising from its charred flesh.

A faint burnt smell filled the air.

Mahiru followed up immediately.

She pulled out the Blazing Spear she had received from Rias and fired a beam imbued with holy energy straight into the cursed spirit's body!

Holy energy was particularly effective against evil creatures like this.

Miko didn't have many offensive techniques, nor were there other cursed spirits here for her to control.

But—

Her abilities under allowed her to attack spirit-based creatures directly.

She had learned a few basic magic techniques, and even with just that, the damage she inflicted was greater than Utaha and Mahiru's combined.

Yukino watched in silence.

She stared at Utaha and the others, seamlessly using their supernatural abilities and coordinating in battle.

Her feelings were… complicated.

Is everyone in the Supernatural Investigation Club a supernatural being?

They were all students at Shuchiin Academy.

And yet, she couldn't help but feel like they lived in entirely different worlds.

While she was busy talking about changing society by addressing people's weaknesses.

They were in some dark corner of the world, fighting monsters like this.

Compared to them…

She felt ridiculous.

(To be continued.)