At midnight, the city's clamor had gradually fallen silent. Only the occasional honk of a car drifted in from far away.
Haruno Yukinoshita stood in the center of an unfinished construction site, surrounded by more than a dozen bodyguards in black suits.
Each of those bodyguards was powerfully built, and the bulges at their waists made it obvious they were carrying real weapons.
Moonlight spilled through the roofless floors above, scattering mottled shadows across the ground.
The night wind swept through, bringing with it the distinct scent of concrete and rebar. Mixed with the dampness of the night, it was faintly unpleasant.
Recently, several of the Yukinoshita family's construction sites had been plagued by strange incidents.
Late at night, eerie sounds often appeared. Sometimes they sounded like someone crying. Other times, they sounded like some kind of thing whispering.
On a few occasions, night-shift workers had even seen blurred human figures wandering around the site.
Yet no matter how the Yukinoshita family investigated, no matter how many surveillance recordings they reviewed or how thoroughly they searched every corner, they never found a single clue.
Where did those voices come from?
What were those figures?
Why did the cameras fail to capture anything abnormal?
Those questions lodged themselves in the Yukinoshita family's heart like a thorn.
They suspected someone might be playing tricks on them.
After all, the Yukinoshita family had made plenty of enemies in the business world. It was not impossible that someone would resort to such underhanded methods just to disgust them.
That was why tonight's operation had been arranged.
Haruno had personally led the team, bringing the family's most elite bodyguards here to lie in wait.
She wanted to see exactly which fool had the nerve to play ghost on the Yukinoshita family's territory.
"Ojou-sama, it's midnight."
A bodyguard walked to her side and spoke in a low voice. "Based on the previous pattern, that thing should appear soon."
Haruno nodded, her gaze fixed on the darkness ahead.
She wore a black business suit beneath a trench coat, making her look capable and elegant.
Even though she was in such a gloomy environment, there was not the slightest trace of fear on her face.
As the eldest daughter of the Yukinoshita family, she had received all kinds of training since childhood.
Courage, boldness, decisiveness. She lacked none of them.
Time passed second by second.
The construction site was terrifyingly quiet. Only the wind blowing through the rebar produced a low, whining sound, like some eerie lament.
Just as Haruno was beginning to think tonight would be another fruitless effort...
A low murmur suddenly sounded.
The voice was faint and indistinct. It seemed to come from very far away, yet also seemed to whisper right beside her ear.
It had no fixed rhythm and no clear tone. It was only a mess of chaotic syllables, but hearing it made a chill crawl up one's spine.
The bodyguards immediately became alert, their hands moving to their waists, ready to draw their guns at any moment.
Haruno narrowed her eyes and looked in the direction of the sound.
There, in the deepest shadows of the construction site.
Then she saw it.
A figure slowly drifted out from the darkness.
It had the shape of a woman, dressed in a tattered white dress. Long hair hung down, covering her face.
But her body was translucent, and the rebar and concrete behind her could be faintly seen through it.
She floated in midair, her feet off the ground, her entire body radiating a faint, eerie glow.
A vengeful spirit.
That was a vengeful spirit.
Haruno's pupils contracted sharply.
She had imagined countless possibilities: a corporate spy sent by a competitor, a prank by local thugs, or even some mentally disturbed lunatic playing tricks.
But she had never imagined it would be this.
Things like this were supposed to exist only in horror movies.
How could it...
How could it really exist?
"O-open fire!"
Haruno forced herself to stay calm and shouted with every bit of strength she had.
Although the bodyguards were frightened as well, they were still professionally trained elites.
The moment they heard the order, they immediately drew their handguns and fired wildly at the vengeful spirit.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
Gunfire exploded through the empty construction site. Bullets poured out like a storm.
The bullets passed straight through the vengeful spirit's body and struck the rebar behind her, throwing off tiny sparks.
But the spirit was completely unharmed.
She did not even dodge. She simply floated there in silence, allowing the bullets to pass through her body.
Then she raised her head.
Beneath the long hair covering her face, a pair of hollow eyes appeared.
Those eyes had no pupils, only a dead, ghastly white, yet they stared fixedly at everyone present.
"Rrraaaaagh!"
The vengeful spirit released a low roar filled with resentment and fury.
She moved.
Like a streak of white lightning, she rushed toward the nearest bodyguard in an instant.
The bodyguard did not even have time to react before the spirit's hand pierced through his chest.
His eyes went wide. His mouth opened as if he wanted to scream, but only a choking gurgle came out.
Blood surged from his chest and stained the ground red.
His body collapsed limply, and he never breathed again.
"Ojou-sama, run!"
The remaining bodyguards immediately shielded Haruno while continuing to fire.
But the bullets had no effect on the vengeful spirit. She only charged again and again, taking life after life.
One.
Two.
Three.
The Yukinoshita family's most elite bodyguards, those battle-tested professionals, were like lambs waiting for slaughter before the vengeful spirit. They had no power to fight back at all.
Their bodies fell across the ground in disarray. Blood gathered into small streams, gleaming with an eerie light beneath the moon.
Haruno watched it all, her body trembling uncontrollably.
She wanted to run, but her legs felt nailed to the ground. She could not move.
She wanted to scream, but her throat felt as if it had been seized. No sound would come out.
She could only watch. Watch as the people protecting her fell one after another.
At last, the final bodyguard collapsed as well.
The vengeful spirit turned around. Those hollow eyes fixed on Haruno once again.
She slowly drifted closer, inch by inch, coming nearer and nearer.
Haruno stared at that face drawing closer, and countless images suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Her childhood, playing together with little Yukino.
The nervousness and excitement she felt the first time she took over family business.
Those wine-filled banquets. Those false smiles and empty social calls.
And then...
That boy named Genichi.
The orphan she had sponsored for more than two years, who had always kept a careful distance from her.
The boy who had suddenly changed today, looking at her with those calm, confident eyes.
"Looks like I'm really finished this time."
Haruno murmured, forcing a bitter smile onto her lips.
"Little Yukino... I won't be able to shield you from the storm anymore. You'll have to become strong on your own."
Her eyes reddened slightly, but the tears never fell.
"And Genichi-kun..."
She paused, and her voice became even softer.
"It's such a shame. I never got to hear that clear voice of yours again."
The vengeful spirit had already arrived in front of her. It extended that pale hand and reached for her chest.
Haruno closed her eyes.
And waited for death.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Nothing happened.
She opened her eyes.
Then she froze.
In front of her stood a familiar figure.
It was a boy in a simple T-shirt and jeans, his hands in his pockets, his back looking somewhat slender.
He simply stood there, facing away from her and toward the vengeful spirit.
That spirit, which had been so vicious and terrifying moments ago, was now frozen in midair as if it had been pinned in place.
Not because of fear, but because...
A hand was gripping its neck.
That hand belonged to the boy.
Genichi.
He turned his head and looked at Haruno. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly, revealing a faint smile.
"Good evening, Haruno-nee."
His voice was so calm that it sounded as if he had simply run into an acquaintance on the street and greeted her, with no tension of someone standing in the middle of danger.
Haruno opened her mouth, only to find that she could not say a word.
Her mind had gone blank.
Genichi?
Why was it Genichi?
Why was he in a place like this?
How could he... how could he grab that vengeful spirit by the neck?
That orphan she had personally watched and sponsored for years. That ordinary-looking boy.
Why had he appeared here?
Why did he possess this kind of power?
"You... you..."
Haruno finally managed to make a sound, but her voice trembled so badly it was almost impossible to hear.
Genichi looked at her, and his smile became even more distinct.
(End of Chapter)
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