Under Ryuji's gaze, Megumi subsciously lowered her head, clearly recalling what had transpired on the rooftop. Her faentarily flushed with embarrassment, but she quickly shook off the feeling and lifted her head again.

  What's done is done, so what's there to be afraid of!

  "Let's go."

  Eriri and Utaha, unaware of what had happened between them, noticed Ryuji's arrival and began walking ahead, leading the way without hesitation. Their cheerful chatter filled the air, a stark trast to the growing unease Megumi felt.

  Soon, the group reached Tomoya's house.

  pared to the clear sky and warm sunlight in the surrounding area, the sky above Tomoya's house seemed noticeably darker. The entire pce gave off an unweling and foreboding atmosphere. The inside appeared pitch bck from the outside, casting an aura that warrao stay away.

  Notig that both Eriri and Utaha were hesitating at the doorstep, clearly scared to go in, Ryuji didn't pay it much attention.

  "Let's go!" he said again, this time with a bit more urgen his voice.

  Without waiting for them to react, he stepped forward, pushing open the creaky door. A rush of cold air greeted them, starkly trasting the warmth outside. Though it was broad daylight, the inside of the house felt gloomy and ominous, with a heavy chill that seemed unnatural. Both Eriri and Utaha instinctively shivered, their bodies tensing as the cold settled into their bones.

  Seeing their disfort, Ryuji raised his hand and pced it gently on Megumi's shoulder. Over time, he had grot at using his abilities, and dispelling the cold in the air was no difficult task for him.

  Feeling the warmth seep into her body, Megumi couldn't help but gnce up at him, her lips parting slightly in surprise.

  "You're wele," Ryuji said with a grin, catg her gaze before she could thank him.

  "…"

  Though she didn't say anything in response, Megumi felt a strange warmth bubbling up inside her, not just from his powers, but from something far more elusive.

  Eriri, oblivious as always, didn't notiything unusual about the iion, but Utaha certainly did. However, after a brief gn their dire, she chose not to ent, though her mind couldn't help but wander.

  "Why does it feel even colder here than st time?" Utaha muttered quietly under her breath. She ed her arms around herself as they ventured deeper into the house, which seemed to grow darker and colder with each step they took. The eerie feeling was so palpable that it sent a shiver down her spihough she tried her best to mask her fear.

  Occasionally, she stole g Ryuji, who walked beside her, his expression unreadable. Though she didn't say it out loud, she khat the only person who could expin what was happening was him.

  But there was something else that caught Utaha's attention. As she watched Ryuji survey their surroundings, his eyes seemed to flicker with a hint of something something she couldn't quite pce.

  "What's wrong?" she asked, her voice soft but ced with curiosity.

  "Nothing," Ryuji replied, shaking his head lightly. "I just didn't expect the aura of this pce to be so much weaker than I anticipated."

  Ihat was his biggest takeaway. With his Yin-Yang Eyes, he could sehe tration of Yin energy in the surroundings, allowing him to gauge the presence of anything supernatural. To him, the Yin energy in Tomoya's house felt surprisingly weak, almost negligible.

  "Weak?" Utaha was momentarily speechless. She vividly remembered the st time she was here how utterly terrified she had been, so much so that she couldn't sleep for aire night. A here was Ryuji, calling it weak?

  "I didn't expect my junior to be someone like this. Are you secretly an Onmyoji?" she asked, half-joking, though a part of her wondered if there was some truth behind her words.

  Ryuji gave her a strange look before crifying, "I'm not."

  "…"

  "Hahaha! Kasumi Fatty, you finally had your turn to embarrass yourself!" Eriri suddenly burst out ughing, finding the temosphere the perfect opportunity to poke fun at Utaha. It was on for the two of them to be at each other's throats, and Eriri simply couldn't resist mog her rival when the ce arose.

  Utaha shot Eriri a sharp gre, her voice dripping with venom as she retorted, "Blond loser!"

  "What did you say?!"

  And just like that, the two of them were at it again, bickering as they always did. Ryuji didn't interfere. After all, it was somewhat amusing to see the two women argue in such a childish manner.

  But before the argument could escate any further…

  "Creak…"

  The door to the dark bedroom slowly creaked open, revealing a shadowy figure standing in the doorway.

  It was Tomoya.

  The two girls, who had been in the middle of their quarrel, immediately froze iheir faces went pale, and without thinking, they instinctively moved closer to Ryuji, hiding behind him in fear.

  Before Ryuji could eveer what was happening, both Eriri and Utaha were ging tightly to his sides.

  "You were so bold just a moment ago, and now look at you," Ryuji teased, though he couldn't deny how distrag it was to have them pressed so closely to him. Something soft rested against his shoulder, making it hard to trate.

  "Shut up! Who said I was scared?!" Eriri shot back, though her trembling voice betrayed her bravado.

  "…"

  Suddenly, a hoarse voice cut through the tension.

  "Ellie… Ellie is mine! No one disturb the life Ellie and I share!"

  Tomoya staggered out of the dark room, his eyes wide and unblinking as he mumbled ily to himself.

  "He… he's ing!" Eriri's voice quivered in fear, her grip on Ryuji tightening even further.

  Tomoya's gaze sharpened, and without warning, he gripped a kightly in his hand, gring at them with an expression twisted by anger and madness. It was as if the very sight of them ignited an untrolble rage inside him.

  "Go to hell! Anyone who interferes with Ellie and me, go to hell!"

  With a guttural shout, Tomoya lu Ryuji, the knife aimed directly at him.

  "Ah!" The girls screamed, their voices filled with terror.

  Just as Tomoya reached them, Ryuji moved swiftly and calmly, raising his hand.

  "Sp!"

  The sound of the sp echoed through the room as Ryuji's hand ected with Tomoya's face. The force of the blow sent Tomoya spinning through the air like a top, his body crashing to the ground with a dull thud.

  "!!"

  Utaha and Eriri were left speechless, pletely stunned by how effortlessly Ryuji had hahe situation.

  "Don't worry, I held back. He won't die," Ryuji said casually, notig their wide-eyed expressions and assuming they were ed for Tomoya's well-being.

  "…"

  her of them knew how to respond.