"..."

  Shouko didn't say anything, but she stared at Ryuji with a look of dissatisfa.

  In her heart, she didn't think there was anything wrong with what she had done.

  If she were given the choice again, Shouko was certain she would still make the same decision.

  She was, at her core, a girl with an incredibly ki.

  Even after years of bullying, she tio see the world with passion and love.

  "Well, I don't think your idea was naive," Ryuji said, waving his hand dismissively.

  Shouko's eyes brightened for a moment, but Ryuji quickly followed up with a sharp observation.

  "But… since you khe videotape was tied to Sadako's curse, how could you be sure it was the only tape?"

  "..."

  Shouko froze, her expression bnk as she stared at Ryuji.

  Her mind raced, repying his words. She realized he was right, it had never occurred to her that there might be more than one cursed tape.

  "So even if you destroyed that oape..."

  Ryuji paused, his tone calm but firm. "There's no guara would have ged anything."

  Ryuji didn't know Sadako personally, but based on what he'd heard about the legend, her curse wouldn't be limited to a single copy of a videotape. Destroying one was, unfortunately, meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

  Though, he admitted silently, it was admirable that Shouko had the ce to destroy it.

  "..."

  Hearing this, Shouko's heart sank. She lowered her head in disappoi, the small hope she had been ging to crumbling.

  So… in the end, she hadn't ged anything. She felt powerless, the same way she always had.

  "I don't want to hear that kind of self-pity!"

  Ryuji's voice cut through her thoughts, breaking her spiral of despair. He waved his hand as if to shoo away her ivity.

  "Let's solve your problem first. Once Sadako is dealt with, even the people who watched those tapes won't be cursed anymore. That's what's important right now."

  Shouko's eyes widened with hope, and she looked at Ryuji with surprise.

  "Really? Is that possible?"

  Beside her, Yaeko and Yuzuru both turheir hopeful gazes toward him, waiting anxiously for his firmation.

  "It's not that big of a deal," Ryuji said with a casual shrug.

  He stepped closer to Shouko, raising one hand aly pg his palm on her forehead.

  "e here," he said softly, his tone calm and reassuring.

  Shouko hesitated for a moment, then obediently stepped forward. Slowly, she lowered her head, letting her forehead rest against his palm.

  Though Ryuji hadn't expined much, Shouko instinctively felt like she could trust him. She closed her eyes, letting herself rex.

  Ryuji focused, extending his cursed energy to sehe lingering curse on her.

  Sadako's curse worked like a mark, leaving behind a trace of her energy oargets. Through this mark, Sadako could trad torment her victims for seven days before ultimately g their lives.

  During this period, the cursed were pgued by fear and halluations, uo find peace even with their eyes closed.

  The room grew silent as everyoheir breath, watg the se unfold. No one dared to make a sound, afraid of disrupting whatever Ryuji was doing.

  "Found it," Ryuji murmured, his eyes narrowing.

  He had located the cursed energy emanating from Sadako's mark on Shouko. Without hesitation, he formed his hand into a cw-like shape and made a pulling motion.

  Everyone gasped as something dark and sinister began to materialize. A phantom of Sadako, wild and menag, was slowly pulled out from Shoko's forehead.

  The phantom's expression was twisted with rage, and it filed its limbs as if trying to fight back. But no matter how much it struggled, it couldn't break free from Ryuji's grip.

  "This…"

  The Nishimiya family stared in shod fear. Even Masumi, who usually stayed posed, looked uled by the sight.

  Arisu, while calm on the surface, couldn't hide the flicker of surprise in her eyes.

  Within moments, Ryuji had pletely pulled Sadako's phantom out. The cursed spirit's translut figure writhed in his grasp, its face torted in an eerie mix of fury and desperation.

  But Ryuji remained unfazed.

  He smiled faintly, his grip tightening.

  "Ha!"

  With a small burst of strength, his hand crushed the phantom.

  "Bang!"

  The shadowy figure exploded in his hand like a balloon, dissipating into thin air.

  "Is… is it over?"

  The room fell into silence for a moment before Yaeko cautiously stepped closer to her daughter.

  Shouko looked slightly pale, but for the first time in days, her expression seemed calm, almost peaceful.

  "I… I think I'm okay now," Shouko said softly, her voice trembling with a mix of disbelief and relief.

  Her words made Yaeko and Yuzuru freeze in pce.

  "W-What's wrong?" Shouko asked, fused by their stunned expressions.

  Shouldn't they be happy? Why were they staring at her like that?

  "Uh…"

  It was Masumi who finally broke the silence, blinking as if to firm what she was seeing.

  "Shouko… it seems like you speak now."

  "???"

  Shouko blinked, startled.

  Her lips parted, and she stammered, "I… I really speak?"

  The sound of her own voice made her gasp, her hands flying to her mouth in disbelief.

  Tears welled up in her eyes as the realization sank in.

  "I talk!" she said again, her voice crag with emotion.

  Yaeko hesitated for a moment, then asked carefully, "Shouko… try to see if you hear me too."

  Shouko's hearing had been impaired for so long that she had always needed a hearing aid. Nervously, she reached up and removed it, holding her breath as she looked at her mother.

  "Shouko?" Yaeko called out, her voice trembling with anticipation.

  ****

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