Two days had passed since the destruction of the hellride amusement park. One of the largest amusement parks in the city had been completely wiped off the map. All the people who were under the spirit's ability had entirely lost their memories of the event—which included nearly every visitor to the park.
To the mundane world, it appeared as though the park had been destroyed by an earthquake. However, many people were skeptical online, questioning the plausibility of such an explanation. The lack of any recollection among the victims, combined with the unusual damage to the park, raised doubts about the official story. Thankfully, there had been no deaths or life-threatening injuries.
Viora was still recovering in the hospital after the incident. Doctors were astounded by her rapid healing—her body had managed to achieve a week's worth of recovery in just two days. At this rate, she would be able to leave the hospital within a day or two. For now, she lay in her hospital bed with a bored expression, waiting for her release.
Then a doctor entered the room, an old bald man with a gentle smile.
"Miss Viora, you have a visitor!" he said kindly.
Viora sat up in her bed with a bored expression and sighed. "Let him come," she muttered.
Moments later, Cyrus walked into the room, carrying multiple bags in his hands. He was dressed in a simple black hoodie, sweatpants, and sneakers. It was the first time Viora had ever seen him dressed that way.
He walked over to the chair next to her bed, sat down, and stared at her for a moment before speaking.
"What is it this time?" he asked.
Viora's bored demeanor shifted entirely as she responded, her voice tinged with frustration. "It just… sucks that all our hard work goes unrecognized. I thought everything would change after that, but we're still just the weird loners of the class."
Cyrus sighed, setting his bags down under the chair. In a nonchalant tone, he said, "Well… we don't do what we do for recognition, do we?"
As she placed her hand gently on his cheek, she spoke in a low voice, "Still…"
Then, something seemed to click in her mind. Her eyes widened slightly, and she asked in a curious tone, "Ah, also, what happened to Umeboshi? Since I lost consciousness, I don't know what happened to him. Is he okay?"
Cyrus lingered for a moment, his expression unreadable.
"He's fine… I think. But our alliance pretty much ended there," he said, his tone calm but carrying an undertone of something heavier. "He was frustrated—said he felt useless against that spirit. And then…" Cyrus hesitated before continuing, "he told me that the next time we see each other, he'll kill me."
Viora giggled, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks.
"He probably meant it like… 'I'll beat you up,'" she said, her voice playful. "You know, like in those delinquent anime where they always say, 'I'll kill you,' but really, they just beat the guy into a pulp. Which, now that I think about it, is pretty much like killing someone…"
She waved her hands in a playful manner, a wide smile on her face as she continued, "After they beat you up, they humiliate you, and you lose all your respect. That's happened multiple times in the prequel of that one anime about a professor who wants to be the best in Japan!"
As she was about to continue, he blushed slightly and said, "Viora…"
Viora looked at him, her black and purple hair swaying gently as her piercing black eyes met his. She spoke in an annoyed tone, "What? I wasn't done speaking."
He searched through his bag, then gently placed something in her lap—a wooden bat.
He looked away, running a hand through his hair as he spoke.
"I apologize for the way I treated you in the past," he said. "I was really a douchebag to you. And since I broke your bat, I figured I'd go around the neighborhood to replace it. Consider this my apology, and again, I'm sorry. That's what I wanted to say."
She looked at him for a moment, then, with a gentle smile, said while glancing at the bat, "That's very nice of you…"
Then she coughed and let out a nervous laugh. "I suppose, since now we're partners in crime, I can forgive you for wronging me in the past! I accept your apology, Miravine!"
He looked at her for a moment, then spoke to himself in a more serious tone, his voice low.
"That's right... we are partners."
He lifted his head and said, "Viora, when you're better and can leave the hospital, I need to talk to you about something that happened in the park."
She looked at the wooden bat with admiration, then said, a gleam in her eyes, "Alright… so, where do we meet?"
He gave her a nonchalant expression and replied, "Well, of course, my place."
She looked at him for a moment before turning her head away, blushing. "It's the first time I've been invited to a friend's house…"
She quickly turned her head back, nearly falling off the bed, and said, still blushing, "We are friends, right, Cyrus?"
He looked away and said quietly, "Since we're partners in taking down spirits, of course, we're friends."
She punched him playfully in the shoulder and said in a playful tone, "That's right! So… we're best buddies forever!"
He sighed, clearly annoyed, and muttered, "So annoying."
Then he began walking away as Viora made finger gestures at him. Before leaving, he waved a hand and said, "Well, that's all. Get well, Viora."
Viora smiled gently, placing her hand over her heart as if saluting like a soldier. "I do!" she replied.
***
One day after their conversation, Cyrus was painting the new fence he had installed. The old one had been destroyed, and he decided to replace it himself. As he carefully brushed on white paint, he heard a voice calling from the other side of the fence.
"Cyrus... Cyrus... C-Y-R-U-S... Cyrus! Answer me, you silly boy!"
He let out a long sigh before responding. "Don't mess with me and your nonsense. Just go to the front door—it's not locked."
As he continued painting, he muttered to himself, What the hell is a silly boy, anyway?
From behind the fence, Viora replied cheerfully, "Okay!!"
Moments later, Cyrus heard the sound of hurried footsteps. The front door creaked open, followed by quick, heavy steps across the living room. Before he knew it, Viora had burst into the garden.
"You shall not fear now, partner, because the great Viora is finally here!"
Cyrus turned to look at her. She was wearing a yellow and blue hoodie, matching blue sweatpants, and skate shoes. Around her neck hung a talisman with a moon symbol, which immediately caught Cyrus's attention.
His voice dropped as he asked, "You've had that talisman in your possession this whole time? When our memories came into contact, I saw that talisman..."
Viora nodded, stepping closer to him. "Yeah, I've had it. All of Mama Ipoh's talismans, actually. She gave them to me, I guess. The reason you've never seen me wearing one outside is... well, just looking at them made me feel sad all the time. And I knew that's not what she would have wanted for me. But now... I think I'm strong enough to wear them."
She stood beside him, a gentle smile on her face as she lightly touched the talisman around her neck.
"It's funny how one object can make us feel like we're not worthy of using it," she said softly. "Even though the last owner wanted us to have it, to cherish it."
Cyrus glanced at her briefly and replied in a low voice, "Yeah... I know how that feels."
Viora lowered herself to the edge of the fence, looking up at him. "Can I help you paint that fence?"
He hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Fine. But don't mess it up.."
She smirked, her tone suddenly confident. "Who do you think I am?"
Handing her a paintbrush, Cyrus watched as they started painting the fence together. Viora began to sing as she worked, a habit Cyrus would normally find irritating. But this time, he didn't mind.
She sings pretty well, he thought to himself, brushing another stroke of white paint onto the wood. Despite himself, he realized how much he enjoyed Viora's company—more than he would ever admit.
As they painted, Viora's singing gradually faded, but she kept working, her brush gliding smoothly over the wooden slats. Breaking the comfortable silence, she asked, "So... what was the most urgent thing you wanted to talk to me about?"
He sighed, continuing to paint as he spoke. "When you were unconscious... just seconds after we escaped the canvas world..."
Viora stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.
"Immemorvis Obscurita was there," he said, his tone heavy. "Right in front of us. He devoured the soul of the park's spirit... her name was Mnemosyne. He consumed her to grow stronger."
His eyes grew determined as he kept painting the fence, his voice steady but laced with a sense of urgency.
"But it's what he said next that caught my attention... no, worry is the right word," Cyrus admitted. "Everything that happened in the Hellride Amusement Park—it was just the beginning. Something greater, something more terrifying, is coming."
He paused, letting the words sink in before continuing. "I don't know who those 'Ten Lower Corrupted Spirits of the Wicked' are... or even who this 'Wicked' really is. But apparently, they're infamous in the spirit world. And by defeating her... Mnemosyne... it's likely my name is now known across the entire spiritual world. Not just because I'm a shaman—one of the rare ones who actually practices the belief seriously—but because I'm gaining a reputation."
He exhaled sharply, brushing another streak of white paint onto the fence. "But after what happened at the park... Immemorvis Obscurita said something that's stuck with me. He said we'll face more of the Lower Corrupted Spirits of the Wicked in the future... and they'll all be stronger than her."
Viora listened intently as Cyrus's voice dropped. "He told me we have to grow stronger—fast. If we don't... we're going to die."
Cyrus stopped painting, letting Viora process the weight of his words. He looked at her in silence, his expression guarded, almost as if he was expecting her to respond with anger or frustration.
But instead, Viora gave him a gentle smile and said softly, "Don't worry, Cyrus. I... don't want revenge against them. It's not what she would have wanted."
Her voice wavered slightly, but her resolve was clear. "We both decided to live and be happy, no matter what. Revenge isn't a path to happiness. But, Cyrus..." She hesitated, her gaze falling to the freshly painted fence. "I... I don't know what to think about facing adversaries stronger than her. We barely managed to survive against her. Heck, if she hadn't toyed with us, she could have made us brain-dead the second we entered the canvas world."
As he was painting the fence, Cyrus stopped and said, his eyes sharp and determined:
"They are too dangerous to be allowed to walk freely in the city."
Viora looked at him with determined eyes as well.
"One of them," he continued, "she was not the strongest of them all, but she was so powerful that her destructive force was able to destroy one of the largest amusement parks in the city. Her power of destruction was comparable to the aftermath of an earthquake. They are capable of killing hundreds of human lives in an instant. I can't allow them to walk freely in this city—not when spirits with such malice in their hearts hold so much power. That's why, Viora, I decided that…"
He looked at her, his face full of resolve.
"That I… No, we are going to send every single one of them back to hell. That's why I called on old acquaintances to train us—people that I haven't seen for four years."
The words of Immemorvis echoed in Cyrus's mind, lingering like a shadow he couldn't shake.
"If you think you're going to confront spirits you can easily beat, you're mistaken. This day is just the beginning... After defeating a low corrupted spirit of the Wicked, the entire spirit world will hear your name.
If I were you, I'd grow stronger—and fast... because you'll meet more of us in the future. And if you're still weak by then... you'll be swallowed whole.
Grow strong and survive, or stay weak and be devoured. Oblivion and I are excited to see your decision, Cyrus Miravine..."
Cyrus clenched his fist tightly, his knuckles turning white. His thoughts were sharp and unwavering—not driven by bloodlust, but by pure, unshakable resolve.
You wanted to see my decision? he thought. Then wait until you see me again. Playing with human lives like they're nothing... it's inexcusable. And I will show every single one of you my resolve.
chapter fifty-eight end