Although Tomoya had faihe ive energy surrounding him only intensified.

  At that moment, Eriri seemed to have spotted something terrifying. She g tightly to Ryuji's arm, l her head as she shakily pointed ahead.

  "There… there!"

  Utaha also saw it. Though she was braver than Eriri, at the end of the day, she was still just a teenage girl. Just like Eriri, she tched tightly onto Ryuji's other arm.

  This sight left Megumi, standing behind them, at a loss for words.

  She wao g to him too, but there didn't seem to be any room left.

  Ryuji followed their gazes.

  In the dark space that had previously beey, the figure of a girl was slowly materializing.

  Half of the girl's face was strikingly beautiful, while the other half was a ghastly skeleton.

  It was clear this was the strange skeletal woman who had been feeding off Tomoya's energy.

  "Die!"

  The skeleton woman was visibly displeased. After all, Tomoya was her prey. Having her meal interrupted naturally left her in a foul mood. She reparing to attack Ryuji and the others.

  "Is her ability reted to ice?" Ryuji muttered, notig the subtle yer of frost f on the nearby furniture as the skeletal woman's anger surged. The temperature in the room dropped even further.

  "Iing ability, but…"

  "It's useless!"

  Without wasting another word, Ryuji activated his ability. The space behind him twisted, and several s suddenly emerged, instantly binding the enraged skeleton woman.

  Skeleton Woman: ???

  The anger in her expression vanished, repced by fusion the moment she was restrained by the s.

  "Wait...!"

  The skeleton girl seemed to realize something was wrong and tried to speak.

  But in the sed, the s tightened, and before she could put up aance, her figure was pletely swallowed by the void.

  "Hm?"

  Even though Ryuji had successfully absorbed her, something still felt off.

  "Is that… it?"

  "Amazing!" the girls excimed, astonished.

  Sihey didn't possess Ryuji's Yin-Yang Eyes, they couldn't see the s he had summoned. However, they could see the skeletal girl's sudderaint and disappearahe whole ordeal felt like it ended way too quickly.

  "What's wrong?" Utaha asked, notig Ryuji's slightly puzzled expression. Both girls were still a little on edge.

  "Nothing," Ryuji replied, shaking his head. "That wasn't the real Skeleton Woman. This seems to be just a e."

  That expined why she was so weak. He hadn't felt much from abs her either.

  The real Skeleton Woman robably the one who had appeared earlier. These es were likely maions that targeted anyone who came into tact with the woman's keepsake.

  "Just a e?" Utaha echoed.

  "Don't worry," Ryuji reassured them. "Now that her e's bee with, you're safe. As long as you don't run into another of her tokens, you'll be fine."

  "I see," Utaha and Eriri breathed a collective sigh of relief.

  Ryuji then raised an eyebrow, notig they were still ging to him.

  "So… you let go of me now?"

  "!!"

  Realizing they were still holding onto him, both girls quickly released him, their faces turning a shade of red.

  Eriri's eyes darted nervously, and she stammered, "I-I just… Anyway, it's not like I like you or anything! Don't get the wrong idea!"

  Ryuji wasn't surprised by her tsuburst. He didn't react much, already aced to this kind of behavior. While being tsundere might e across as cute in anime, in real life, it was holy exhausting.

  "Well then, sider this a reward for helping me, junior," Utaha said with a wink, much bolder than Eriri.

  But Ryuji wasn't fooled. He kaha well enough to see through her facade. She liked to act brave and tease, but when it came down to it, she wasn't much better than Eriri.

  She was, after all, the queen of talking big but ag small.

  "Wait, look! Something's happening to Tomoya!" Megumi suddenly pointed out, breaking the awkwardness.

  Everyone's attention shifted to the unscious Tomoya. As the skeleton woman disappeared, the temperature in the room began to rise, but something strange was happening to him.

  His hair, once bck, was gradually turning gray. His skin was aging rapidly, being wrinkled and covered in age spots. His vitality was slipping away right before their eyes.

  "What's happening to him?" Eriri gasped, her face paling in shock.

  Instinctively, the girls looked to Ryuji for answers. In the face of such a supernatural event, he was the only one who could expin what was going on.

  "It's perfectly normal," Ryuji said calmly, having expected this.

  "I mentioned earlier that even if we saved him, there was no way to restore the energy that had been drained by the Skeleton Woman. While she was still here, she was holding it in pce. But now that she's gohe energy has dissipated, and his body is reag accly."

  "So… he's aging because of that?" Utaha asked, still trying to process the se in front of her.

  "Yes. Without his energy, his body is rapidly deteriorating."

  "This is…" The girls didn't know what to say.

  "There seems to be something on him, "Megumi remarked, her tone as calm as ever. Uhe others, she wasn't too seal about Tomoya's dition. After all, she wasn't particurly close to him.

  Ryuji, notig the same thing, bent down arieved something from Aki Tomoya's pocket.

  It was a disc.

  "What is this?" Ryuji raised an eyebrow, notig the distinctively colorful pattern and revealing bodies on the disc.

  With that kind of design, anyone could immediately guess what kind of tent was on it.

  "Hentai!" Utaha muttered under her breath.

  "H!"

  Eriri was less restrained and yelled it out loud.

  "Want to take a look?" Megumi asked ily, her curiosity piqued by Ryuji's expression.

  "…"

  Ryuji stayed silent for a moment, realizing that when Megumi decided to be sarcastic, she could be just as sharp-tongued as Utaha.