Yukino stood calmly, assessing the cursed spirits around her, while her mother and sister looked on in shock.
"Grade 4 cursed spirits?" Yukino murmured. Thanks to her training with the Service Club mbers and the guidance of Ryuji and the Hasaba sisters, she could now recognize cursed spirits and their classifications. Grade 4 cursed spirits were the lowest rank under normal circumstances, an average adult could beat them with a sturdy stick. But there were simply too many of them here.
"Yukino!" Haruno shouted as she saw the cursed spirits rush towards her sister, assuming Yukino was frozen in fear.
But the next mont, Yukino moved with precision and strength, her leg snapping out in a powerful kick that sent the nearest cursed spirit flying. Enhanced by her cursed energy, her physical abilities were far beyond those of a regular person.
"Yukino... what are you doing?" Haruno's voice trembled with both amazent and confusion. She hadn't expected her younger sister to handle herself so well against these monstrous apparitions.
Ignoring the stunned looks from her sister and mother, Yukino called out, her voice sharp and clear. "I know you're here. Show yourself."
In the surveillance footage earlier, it was clear that soone was controlling these cursed spirits. If they'd co here tonight, it was likely their handler was nearby as well.
After a few monts of silence, a slow, mocking applause echoed through the courtyard. An old man with a haggard face and shrewd eyes erged from the shadows, hunched and unassuming—yet his gaze was cold and calculating.
"Well, well," he sneered. "The second daughter of the Yukinoshita family is a sorcerer. Quite the surprise."
Yukino's eyes narrowed. "You're not here just to kill my father, are you? This is about taking down the entire Yukinoshita family."
The old man chuckled, making no attempt to deny it. "Clever girl. Saves the trouble of explaining. Yes, soone paid handsoly for your entire family's lives. And I simply couldn't refuse."
"Who sent you?" Yukinoshita Fumino demanded, anger simring beneath her composed exterior.
The old man shrugged. "Apologies, madam. Professional ethics." His smirk widened. "In this day and age, with so many cursed spirits around, sorcerers are too busy to pay attention to us curse users. We can operate however we like."
Yukino realized what he was. He wasn't a true sorcerer, but a "curse user"—soone who used curses for personal gain, often to commit cris. And judging by his words, he thrived on the recent chaos.
After surveying the scene, his gaze settled on Yukino. She was the only sorcerer here, and the only real threat. "For a sorcerer, there's always a price," he muttered, almost to himself.
The old man wasn't strong; his power barely reached Grade 3. But against ordinary people, that was more than enough.
"Allow to introduce myself," he said with mock politeness. "My technique allows to control weaker cursed spirits, though only a limited number of them at once." He gestured to the Grade 4 spirits surrounding him. "But thanks to the binding vow of explaining my technique, their strength will increase."
As soon as he finished speaking, the cursed spirits around him began to grow larger and more nacing, swelling from Grade 4 to Grade 3.
"Attack!" he commanded, sending the spirits charging toward Yukino.
"Yukino!" Fumino and Haruno both shouted, terrified. But Yukino stood her ground, calm and focused.
She clasped her hands together, summoning a chill in the air. Frost began to gather around her fingertips.
"Ice Convergence: Frost."
With a controlled exhale, she unleashed a frigid wind that swept over the cursed spirits, freezing each one in place. They stood immobilized, turned into ice sculptures.
The old man's smug expression vanished, replaced by shock.
"Run!" he stamred, attempting to flee. But Yukino wasn't about to let him escape. She knew if he got away, tracking him down later would be nearly impossible.
Despite her exhaustion, she pushed through the fatigue, channeling cursed energy into her hand to form an ice-covered fist. She struck him as he turned, her icy punch landing squarely on his back.
The old man collapsed, his eyes wide as he slipped into unconsciousness, his mind flashing back to long-buried mories—a phenonon known as the "revolving lantern," a final vision before death.
With a deep breath, Yukino straightened, the ice around her dissolving. The frozen cursed spirits shattered into pieces, vanishing one by one.
In the silence that followed, Fumino and Haruno stared, too stunned to speak. They could hardly believe that Yukino, their quiet, restrained Yukino, had handled the entire ordeal alone.
"Yukino... you..." Haruno stamred, her usual confidence shaken.
Yukino managed a tired smile. "As you can see, sister, I'm not the sa as I used to be. I've changed, and from now on, I'll live life on my own terms."
Fumino's initial reaction was relief, if her daughter had such power, then the Yukinoshita family's future was secure. But as she listened to Yukino's words, her satisfaction quickly turned to shock.
"Yukino, what are you talking about? Don't forget, it was this family that raised you!"
Yukino's eyes hardened. "And I just saved all of you, didn't I?"
"You…!" Fumino was montarily speechless, thrown off by Yukino's sudden defiance.
"I'm not abandoning the Yukinoshita family," Yukino continued, her voice calm but resolute. "If the family needs , I'll help. But if you expect to sacrifice myself for your ambitions, or force Haruno to do the sa, then you're wasting your ti."
"Yukino!" Fumino's voice held a mix of anger and disbelief. She wasn't used to being defied by either of her daughters.
"I'm not a puppet, Mother. I have my own life to lead," Yukino said, turning her gaze toward Haruno, who looked at her with pride.
Without waiting for her mother's response, Yukino turned and walked away from the house. She felt an overwhelming sense of relief, as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. In her mind, she thanked Ryuji. Without him, she might never have found the courage to break free.
"Yukino! Yukino!" Fumino called after her, desperation creeping into her voice. But Yukino didn't look back.
Behind her, Haruno watched with a smile. For the first ti, she felt no need to worry about her younger sister. Yukino could handle herself just fine.
"Is this amusing to you?" Fumino snapped, glaring at her eldest daughter.
Haruno t her mother's gaze with a calm smile. "It is, actually. Yukino's grown up, and she deserves to live her own life."
Fumino bristled. Haruno had always been the dutiful daughter, the one she could rely on. But now, even she was slipping from her grasp.
Haruno shrugged. "I'll still handle so responsibilities at the company, but from now on, I'll be taking more ti for myself. It's long overdue."
Fumino's face twisted with frustration, but she said nothing as Haruno turned to leave. Her daughters were slipping away, each of them determined to carve out their own path.
Once alone, Fumino sat down in silence, a bitter realization settling over her. Sowhere along the way, she had lost her daughters. They no longer looked to her for guidance, and she had no one to bla but herself.
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