"Don't worry!"

  Seeing Eriri so tense, Ryuji gently pced his hand on her head to fort her.

  "It's okay. You'll uand everything when the person responsible arrives."

  No matter encer had been pnning, the cy doll had already beeroyed by him. Spencer would surely sehat something had gone wrong. Ryuji was certain he was on his way here now.

  "Almost there... just a little more, and Mary, you'll be back!"

  In a quiet, private vil, Speared eagerly at the lifeless girl lying in front of him. The girl was indeed Spencer's first love, Mary. Although she wasn't breathing, her face didn't look pale she seemed as though she were merely sleeping.

  The more lifelike she appeared, the more crazed Spencer's eyes became. He looked like a man willing to sacrifice everything t his lover back.

  But at that moment, something began to ge.

  Mary's previously youthful appearaarted to deteriorate rapidly. Her skin paled and aged before his eyes.

  "No! Wait! What's happening?!"

  In mere seds, Mary's plexion worsened, and her body began to wither.

  "No! No! No!" Spencer screamed, trying desperately to stop it, but there was nothing he could do.

  "Something's wrong, something must've happened!" he muttered, panic setting in. He quickly realized that something must have gone wrong with the cy doll he left with Sayuri. Without a sed thought, he dashed out of the house.

  "Wait for me, Mary. I'll save you!" Spencer's eyes, now full of madness and desperation, flickered with a dangerous light.

  ---

  Back at the Sawamura residence, Sayuri looked at Eriri, her face full of resolve. "Eriri, I've had enough. I'm going to divorce him!"

  In the past, Sayuri had hesitated because of Eriri, but now her resolve was firm.

  Eriri looked flicted, but how could she stop her mother now? She, too, wao know why her father had turned against them.

  "They're here," Ryuji suddenly said, setting his teacup down.

  The sed, Bang! The front door smmed open as Speormed in, his face a twisted mask of anger.

  "You!" Sayuri started, but Spencer ignored her pletely. His crazed eyes locked onto the broken cy doll at Ryuji's feet.

  "You bastard! What have you done?!" Spencer shouted, charging toward Ryuji, his hatred palpable.

  His sudden aggressihtened both Sayuri and Eriri. But Ryuji, calm as ever, sighed.

  "It seems I o remind you how a weakling should behave," Ryuji said coldly, as Spencer lu him.

  Just as Spencer reached him, Ryuji's eyes gleamed. "Shadow Bind!"

  In an instant, dark shadows surged from beh Spencer, ing around his legs and arms, log him in pce. Spencer, uo move, fell forward onto the floor with a thud.

  "No!" Spencer screamed, struggling against the shadows as he desperately tried to crawl toward the broken cy doll, as if hoping to somehow piece it back together.

  "This 't be happening!" he muttered frantically.

  "Give it up," Ryuji said, rising from his seat and walking over. "The spirit ihe doll is go's just an ordinary piece of ow."

  Spencer's hands froze, trembling as the reality of the situation finally hit him.

  "So, why don't you tell us what you were trying to do with this thing?" Ryuji asked calmly, looking down at him.

  "It's all because of you!" Spencer screamed, his voice hoarse. "If it weren't for you, I could've saved Mary! You ruined everything! You murderer!"

  Ryuji raised an eyebrow, unphased by the accusation. But Sayuri, standing off to the side, looked stunned.

  "Mary is dead?" Sayuri whispered. She had known that Mary encer's first love, and that he had stayed abroad to be with her. But she hadn't known that Mary had passed away.

  "She's not dead! I save her!" Spencer cried out, his voice trembling. "The fox spirit promised me! It said if I absorbed the vitality of my family, it could help me resurrect Mary. That was the only way! Mary wouldn't die!"

  "Fox spirit?" Ryuji frowned, clearly pieg together the story.

  Sayuri's face darkened. She had already guessed what had happened. Her fists ched tightly. "So, t back your dead lover, you were willing to hurt me and Eriri? I could uand if you wao harm me, but why Eriri? Isn't she your daughter?"

  Eriri, standing nearby, felt her heart sink as the pieces began to fall into pce. Her father had been willing to sacrifice her and her mother... for someone else.

  "Daughter? I don't care about that! As long as I bring back Mary, nothing else matters!" Spencer shouted, his voice wild with desperation.

  Ryuji shook his head, disgusted. "Do you even hear yourself? You're pathetic."

  But Spencer wasn't listening anymore. His eyes gzed over, and suddenly, a twisted smile formed on his lips.

  "If I 't have my family, her you, Sayuri!" With a sudden surge of adrenaline, Spencer broke free from the shadow binding his legs, using his hands to unch himself toward Sayuri, holding a small, sharp cy shard.

  "Mom!" Eriri cried out, panig.

  But Ryuji remained calm. "Shadoution: Lock!"

  The shadows under Spencer reactivated, this time pletely binding his limbs. Before Spencer could even process what was happening, Ryuji walked over and spped him hard across the face.

  Smack!

  Spencer's head so the side, the forog him unscious. He colpsed to the floor in a heap.

  Ryuji turo Sayuri and Eriri. "He's not worth w about anymore."

  Without wasting any time, Ryuji dragged Spencer's unscious body outside, tossed him he gate, and called an ambunce. He returo the living room, dusting off his hands.

  Sayuri and Eriri stood there, both still processing what had just happened. Sayuri looked up at Ryuji, her expression a mix of gratitude and exhaustion.

  "Thank you, Ryuji," she whispered. "If it weren't for you…"

  Ryuji waved it off. "Don't worry about it. I just did what I had to."

  But Eriri, overwhelmed with emotion, suddenly rushed into Ryuji's arms, g softly. "Ryuji… thank you…"

  Ryuji gently held her, f her in silence as her tears soaked into his shirt.

  Sayuri, watg the se, couldn't help but feel a strange sense of relief and perhaps, just a hint of jealousy.

  For the first time in a long time, she felt like she could finally put Spencer behind her.

  The aftermath was handled quickly. Spencer was taken away, and divorce proceedings were set in motion. Sayuri was resolved, and Eriri stood by her, ready to move forward with their lives.

  *****

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