Narrator's POV
"Hey Rin, haven't you seen a girl named Aira around?"
After searching for several dozen minutes, Mahito finally found his second subordinate.
"Hi, Mahito-sama. I think I saw her at the gym with two other girls," she replied after a brief moment of reflection.
'I didn't kill the Acrobatic Silky spirit back then, but I slightly fixed her...'
Mahito had initially planned to devour her, but he had changed his mind for several reasons.
First, at the time, he wasn't sure if it was even possible.
Second, the spirit's story had deeply unsettled him, to the point of deterring him from taking action.
Any person or entity losing their aura is erased from existence.
Granny Turbo claimed that humans and spirits would not remember the missing individual, but Mahito didn't really believe her.
Why? Because if everyone forgets, then how would Granny Turbo be aware of it?
In the end, after eating a spirit , Mahito still remembered him.
So Granny Turbo had exaggerated for some unknown reason...
"Thanks, stay here. It could be dangerous for you," he declared.
Rin nodded, obeying Mahito's order.
She didn't know why he was suddenly interested in Aira, but seeing her teacher's serious expression, something was brewing at the school.
....
*bam*
"You want to harm MY Aira!!!" shouted a female voice coming from the gym.
"I think things are really going off the rails... sigh" Despite her intervention, Acrobatic Silky still found herself in conflict with the protagonist Takamura.
"Stay behind me, Mahito-sama. I can handle this spirit," said Kouki, taking the lead.
Her large silhouette, standing in front of Mahito's small shota body, was a comforting sight to observe.
"In just a few days of training, she's already so reliable," thought Mahito, nodding with satisfaction at Kouki's attitude. However, he refused her offer.
"Thanks, I appreciate it, but I'll handle this," he declared, entering the gym, no longer hiding his spiritual energy.
"This energy... it's repulsive," muttered Granny Turbo, scrutinizing the origin of this presence.
At the center of the gym stood a child, apparently around 11 or 12 years old. Yet, his facial expression betrayed a much older age: a wide, excited smile distorted his originally cute face.
"My... my child?!"
Acrobatic Silky turned her head towards the entrance after sensing this threatening aura.
Unlike Granny Turbo, she hadn't had the "luck" to see Mahito's true nature before his arrival.
"Sorry for the delay, kids," Mahito declared in a nonchalant tone, followed by Kouki walking a few steps behind him.
"My child!!!" Acrobatic Silky cried out, rushing towards him, holding Aira in her arms.
*bam*
Her hand hit an invisible barrier.
"Telekinesis?!" Momo, still on the ground, was surprised, her eyes fixed on Kouki with a shocked expression.
"*Sigh* Kouki... didn't I tell you I was handling this?" Mahito's voice betrayed a slight weariness.
'I hate repeating myself, but I understand she's worried...'
In response, Kouki immediately apologized.
"Sorry Mahito-sama, my body moved on its own," she said nervously.
Mahito was not yet satisfied with her quick response to the attack, but also her humility before him.
"Watch out!!!" screamed momo, but her warning came too late.
*bam*
"Can't you see I'm talking? And what's all this drama with Aira? I'm sure I restored your memories," Mahito declared as his hair elongated to impale the Yokai.
His technique resembled Jiraiya's from Naruto. Mahito's hair protected Kouki while removing the panicked Aira from the enraged woman's arms, simultaneously counterattacking.
"You... you want to take Aira, my child away too??" Tears began to slowly flow from beneath Acrobatic Silky's mask.
'I see... you've indeed regained your memory, but it's only reinforced your despair and obsession with Aira,' Mahito sighed, shaking his head in disappointment.
He abruptly withdrew, carrying the two young girls in his hair.
*boom*
Acrobatic Silky destroyed their previous location by making hair strands surge from the ground.
"If she wasn't a spiritual being, I might have been caught..." Mahito thought, grateful for his soul sensitivity.
"Kouki, watch over the little one," Mahito ordered without turning back.
"I'm not a little girl!!!" Aira protested, despite the red tint on her cheeks while observing Mahito's adult form.
Mahito ignored the teenager's reaction behind him and continued advancing towards his target.
*throat vomiting sound*
"Finally, you made me come out!!" Diablo's annoying and lazy voice echoed in the gym.
'I could easily win with my cursed technique, but I prefer to avoid showing everything to this old grandma,'Mahito thought, having already spotted Granny Turbo's presence.
"If you're ready, execute the soul resonance," Mahito said bluntly.
"You're really an abusive master... You only bring me out to fight or train!!" Diablo complained, while still obeying.
"Soul resonance," they declared in unison.
Mahito and Diablo's souls were originally one, which made their soul resonance remarkably fluid. Thanks to this unique connection, their spiritual energy was amplified far beyond the usual norms of the Soul Eater world.
"They're strange... their spiritual energy resonates with each other, and it seems to amplify in a terrifying way," Granny Turbo murmured, her eyes wide open, fascinated despite herself.
'I would never have thought of using spiritual energy like this... But it seems they can't increase the intensity indefinitely,' she quickly analyzed.
Mahito had been right to be cautious with Granny Turbo. Thanks to her experience, she had quickly grasped the essence of soul resonance.
"Are you sure you want me to exorcise you? You'll never see Aira again," Mahito declared in a serious tone.
"I'll NEVER abandon Aira... OR YOU!!!" Acrobatic Silky screamed, projecting several debris towards Mahito.
"Okay, I'll have to calm you down a bit," Mahito declared. At these words, the blade of his scythe glowed intensely.
"Witch Hunter," he murmured in a low voice before his androgynous silhouette disappeared from Aira's vision.
(Image)
At that moment, only two people could still distinguish Mahito: Okarun and Granny Turbo.
Momo, on the other hand, felt his presence but knew she couldn't react in time against him.
*Slash*
All the debris projected by Acrobatic Silky was cut cleanly, like butter against a white-hot blade.
'I really need to train in wielding weapons, or opt for something much simpler to use than a scythe...' Mahito thought while eliminating the last wave of hair separating him from Acrobatic Silky.
*Bam*
The enraged woman tried to hit him with a kick, but her attack met the shaft of Mahito's scythe.
Taking advantage of the opening, Mahito pushed her back with a backhand punch, then sliced her legs with a quick and precise gesture.
"Phew, we managed to take her down quickly," Diablo declared, returning to his imp form.
"So boss, do you want to take her under your wing or really exorcise her permanently?" he asked with a smile so wide it made everyone uncomfortable.
"My child... my child..." Acrobatic Silky murmured, her disordered words breaking the silence despite her miserable state.
Mahito crouched in front of her, his cold but curious gaze fixed on her.
"Tell me, why did you attack Aira when you now know the truth about your child?"
Tears began to flow abundantly from the woman's hollow eyes.
"Yes... I... I remember... but it's so painful," she sobbed.
"I didn't want to suffer like this anymore, not again. So... when Aira could sense and see me, I swore to protect her from supernatural danger. But..."
"You resisted, didn't you? So why did you put yourself in this situation?" Mahito extended a hand, although he had already decided to take her with him for a new experiment if her answer didn't satisfy him.
"Yes, I resisted my impulses and emotions thanks to my memories. But when this delinquent hit Aira... I lost control," she confessed in a trembling voice.
While Okarun held back Momo, furious that Acrobatic Silky had dared to call her a delinquent, Acrobatic Silky's terrifying mask began to crack.
'Had she found peace? Or was she destroying herself under the weight of despair?' Mahito slightly furrowed his brow at the situation.
"I see..." Mahito murmured, extending his hand to take her with him, but a surprising scene unfolded before him.
"Mom... I love you," Aira suddenly declared, hugging Acrobatic Silky.
Mahito observed the scene, intrigued.
'Why is she acting like this? She didn't receive Acrobatic Silky's aura, so no memories... unless.'
'She must have remembered her, precisely from the time when she was still a child.' This was the only logical conclusion Mahito could draw.
"Do you still want me?" Acrobatic Silky asked in a hesitant voice.
Aira lowered her eyes to her and then slowly nodded.
A light explosion then burst from Acrobatic Silky's body.
When the light faded, a woman dressed in white, wearing a large hat, stood before them. Her frightening mask had completely disappeared.
"If my little Aira wishes it, then I will continue to protect her," she declared, sketching a soft smile.
(Image)
'Great, she no longer has her powers, but she's gained a stand...' Mahito thought silently, slightly amused.