[Eyes of Sodom]: The Authority of the One-Eyed God of War [Horatius Cocles]. All living beings encompassed by the evil eye will be turned into pillars of salt, but powerful curse-breaking force can disperse the salinization, although this is extremely difficult!
Source of the Authority: As recorded in the [Old Testament], Sodom was a city of sin, where filth flowed incessantly. [The Lord] saw everything, [The Lord] heard everything, and could not endure it, so He sent down divine punishment.
But [The Lord] is merciful. [The Lord] heeded Abraham's plea and decided to send angels to enlighten ten righteous people and persuade them to flee.
On the day of divine punishment, [The Lord] rained sulfur and fire from the heavens, turning the city of sin into ruins and the sinners into pillars of salt.
Looking at the system's explanation of [Eyes of Sodom], Nakano Yu showed a satisfied smile.
[Eyes of Sodom] could be regarded as a divine skill for clearing out minor enemies. A single glance was enough to turn all living beings within sight into pillars of salt.
Of course, this ability was not that simple. [Eyes of Sodom] could also be used against God Slayers and Heretical Gods. Although it could not instantly turn a powerful Heretical God into a pillar of salt, it could at least restrict their movements.
Moreover, the salinization caused by [Eyes of Sodom] was extremely difficult to remove. Unless Nakano Yu voluntarily withdrew the Authority, it would be necessary to gather the evil-breaking power of the [Talisman of Manifestation], the curse-absorbing power of [Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi], and a purification spell. But where in this world could such things be found?!
Thinking of this, Nakano Yu became somewhat eager to test this Authority.
His gaze swept across the room. Finding no living beings, Nakano Yu could only walk over to the window.
Standing by the window and observing for a while, Nakano Yu quickly noticed a mouse on the roof of the building opposite.
"Oh? A tanuki?"
Seeing that mouse—no, more precisely, it was a tanuki. Although it used yokai magic to appear as a mouse, that magic had no effect on Nakano Yu.
However, if it was a tanuki, then it should not be a yokai from the Nura Clan. It seemed to be from Tamazuki's side. But sending a yokai to spy on him?
"Pi, pi~"
At that moment, the tanuki pretending to doze at the edge of the roof also noticed Nakano Yu's gaze. It quickly stood up, letting out mouse-like sounds.
Seeing Nakano Yu watching it, the tanuki felt a tremor in its heart and turned its head, wanting to flee.
But Nakano Yu had already seen it. How could he allow it to escape?
The youth's purple, thirsty eyes flickered with a faint silvery glow. In the very next moment, the tanuki disguised as a mouse did not even have time to flee before it was directly turned into a pile of salt.
Seeing this, Nakano Yu nodded in satisfaction. He no longer paid attention to the tanuki outside the window. After playing with his phone for a while and chatting with Miura Yumiko and Katsura Kotonoha, he prepared to go to sleep.
"Drip… drip…"
In the living room, it was late at night. Tsurara, the Snow Woman guarding the entrance, was now sitting on the floor, hugging her Ice Blade. Her breathing was steady, clearly showing that she had fallen asleep.
"Creak~"
Suddenly, on the second floor, the door of a room was carefully opened.
Bright moonlight poured in through the window, casting the silhouette of a girl.
The girl closed her door on tiptoe. In the darkness, her blue eyes swept over the rooms of the Five Sisters and stopped at the door of Nakano Yu.
Pressing her lips together, the girl lightly stepped across the floor, trying not to make any sound, and arrived at the door of Nakano Yu's room.
She tried to open the door and found it unlocked. Only then did she gently push it open and slip inside.
In the room, Nakano Yu lay with his back to the door, his eyelids lightly lowered and his breathing even. He looked as if he were asleep.
"Click."
After entering, the girl first locked the door, then tiptoed to the young man's bed.
Under the moonlight, the young man's peaceful profile was reflected in her eyes. Looking at Nakano Yu, the girl smiled softly.
After watching for a while and confirming that Nakano Yu showed no signs of waking, the girl secretly glanced around, then lifted the light blanket from the young man and lay down beside him.
"Uf~"
At that moment, the girl felt her breathing become unsteady, but lying behind Nakano Yu, she felt a strange sense of calm.
Carefully, she stretched out her hand, wanting to hug the young man.
"Just for a moment, I'll leave in a moment."
She thought to herself, but just then she felt someone grab her hand.
At that instant, an indescribable tension flooded her heart.
"Miku, staying up late at night, aren't you afraid of dark circles?"
Nakano Yu was not asleep. Not only did he have a light sleep, he also had the habit of staying up late. The main reason was that system tasks refreshed every day at midnight, so Nakano Yu couldn't go to bed early even if he wanted to.
Still, today's situation was a bit unexpected for Nakano Yu.
At first, he thought the person who had secretly slipped into his room was Ichika or Nino. After all, Ichika had mentioned sleeping together before, and as for Nino, there was no need to say more, she would call it "deepening the relationship."
However, the one who came tonight was Miku, who was usually the quietest in the house.
This confused Nakano Yu a little. Why would Miku come into his room in the middle of the night? Was she trying to steal him away?
Of course, all of the above were just jokes. Only Miku herself knew what she was really thinking.
"Yu! Yu… y-you, why are you still awake?"
Hearing Nakano Yu's voice, Miku quickly tried to leave, but her hand was caught and she couldn't free herself immediately. She could only speak to the young man while stammering.
"Shouldn't I be asking Miku that?"
Hearing this, Nakano Yu actually laughed. Miku sneaked into his room in the middle of the night and asked him why he wasn't asleep. This silly girl, didn't that sound strange to her?
"I… I…"
Holding her hand, Nakano Yu saw Miku lower her head and nervously fiddle with the hem of her pajamas. Her long, slanted bangs covered part of her face, so her expression could not be seen clearly. Only Miku's hesitant voice could be heard.
"If Miku wants to sleep together, then climb up. Don't even think about running away, you locked the door yourself."
Seeing that Miku couldn't answer for a long time, Nakano Yu sighed helplessly and told her to sit beside him first.
"Mm…"
She replied softly, and Miku lay down beside the young man, while Nakano Yu released her hand.
The room fell silent for a moment. Neither Nakano Yu nor Miku spoke.
It wasn't that Nakano Yu didn't want to speak; he simply didn't know what to say.
Miku had come into his room in the middle of the night and wanted to hug him while sleeping—Nakano Yu didn't need her to explain her intentions. With Miku's shy personality, he was afraid that if he mentioned it, Miku would cry from embarrassment.
At the same time, Miku had her back to Nakano Yu, her thoughts in complete chaos. She was thinking about why Nakano Yu wasn't asleep so late, how Nakano Yu was looking at her now, and how to resolve the farce she herself had caused tonight.
Silence alone wasn't helping; no matter how much she racked her brain, Miku couldn't think of what to do.
"Yu!"
In the end, Miku couldn't take it anymore. She turned toward Nakano Yu and called his name.
"What is it?"
The young man was still awake, lying calmly, his purple eyes as tranquil as a still lake as he looked at Miku.
"Yu… I, I want to say…"
Clenching her fists tightly, Miku looked at Nakano Yu, wanting to pour out all her deepest thoughts and long-suppressed emotions before him. However, when the words reached her lips, Miku suddenly didn't know how to say them.
She hesitated, thinking about how to express her feelings toward Nakano Yu and how Yu would look at her after she said them.
It had to be said—Miku wanted to retreat.
But just the thought that Nakano Yu would be with Nino in the future, and that she might even have to stand there as a sister and watch her beloved kiss another, made Miku's heart feel as if it were being pricked by needles.
As expected, she still wasn't ready to give up!
With sudden resolve, and to prevent herself from ever regretting it, under the young man's confused gaze, Miku stammered out:
"I, I… I-I like you… Yu!"
Her voice was broken, but these simple words exhausted all of Miku's courage.
Listening to Miku's somewhat clumsy confession, Nakano Yu's expression became strange.
Although Miku's pronunciation was a bit unclear, Nakano Yu was neither deaf nor stupid. He clearly understood the meaning of her words…
But Nakano Yu was a little curious. Why would Miku suddenly confess her feelings? Even if she wanted to confess, shouldn't it have been a few years ago, when their relationship was at its best?
"Miku, do you know what you're saying?"
Wrapped in the cool blanket, Nakano Yu sat up and asked.
"I-I know! I fell in love with Yu a few years ago! Even though I'm only saying it now, but… but I won't be confused anymore!"
Looking at Nakano Yu, Miku decided to go all the way and completely reveal her true feelings.
However, these words left Nakano Yu rather confused.
She liked him a few years ago, but… why didn't she confess back then?
Carefully looking at Miku, whose cheeks were flushed and who didn't dare look at him after confessing, Nakano Yu realized.
It was probably about three years ago. His relationship with Miku had been outstanding; they spent a lot of time together every day. But that kind of life didn't last long. Miku began to deliberately distance herself from him.
At that time, Nakano Yu was very confused. Even when he asked her repeatedly why, Miku only said it was for personal reasons, and because of that she even avoided him for several days.
In the end, Nakano Yu had no choice but to accept it. Now it seemed that Miku had probably been afraid that her feelings would be exposed, leading to the breakdown of the relationship between the Five Sisters and him.
"Yu… Yu is already with Nino, right? Sorry, for suddenly saying something like this… I… Yu, just pretend I never said this…"
Just as Nakano Yu was thinking, Miku saw that he had no reaction, and her already unsteady heart became anxious. After saying this, she stood up to leave.
Seeing this, Nakano Yu quickly reached out and grabbed Miku.
Before Miku could react, the young man suddenly pulled her back. Caught off guard by Nakano Yu's sudden movement, Miku fell backward straight into his arms.
"Yu…"
Looking at Nakano Yu, Miku lightly bit her lower lip. She didn't know whether what she was doing was right; even knowing that Yu and Nino were already together, she still revealed her feelings to Yu.
But… if she didn't say it, Miku knew she would regret it for the rest of her life. She didn't want to remain confused about this forever.
She wanted to decisively choose Nakano Yu!
"Miku, is this really okay for you?"
Looking at the shy girl in his arms, Nakano Yu asked.
"I won't be lost anymore!"
To that, Miku gave an extremely firm answer.
"If I say that I might not only have Miku, but also Nino, and other girls, would Miku still be willing? The right to choose is in Miku's hands."
Seeing Miku's determination, Nakano Yu simply confessed. He didn't want to hide anything from the people around him; it was much better to be honest from the very beginning than to be exposed after hiding.
But Miku's next words stunned Nakano Yu:
"Is it Miura from Yu's class? Yu went to find her last night, right? And Katsura—Yotsuba mentioned her."
Looking at the girl in his arms, Nakano Yu was completely taken aback. Miku knew all of this?
But without giving Nakano Yu a chance to react, Miku turned around and cupped the young man's surprised face with both hands.
"No~ Yu, I like you, no matter what…"
Speaking softly, Miku was no longer willing to suppress her feelings. Filled with love, they overflowed through the window of her soul. Her flushed cheeks, bathed in moonlight, slowly lowered, drawing closer to the young man.
"I like you too, Miku…"
In the darkness, the young man's quiet whisper sounded.
"Kraa!"
The immortal phoenix flew across the moonlit sky.
Overlooking the mountains, rivers, and that deep abyss.
The phoenix circled above the chasm, releasing strings of song. In the end, it grew tired and had to rest.
The divine bird suddenly raised its head, dove straight down, and plunged into the bottomless abyss, following the traces of the White Horse.