Chapter Five: Your Name—Tohka Yatogami

After leaving the campus, Su Mo truly ran as if his life depended on it, pushing himself with every ounce of strength he had. Along the way, he witnessed many terrifying sights: roads devoid of vehicles, streets empty of people, not a soul in parks, on avenues, or in convenience stores. It was as if everyone in the city had vanished in an instant, though in reality, they had all retreated to underground shelters.

Due to the frequent occurrence of spatial quakes, many shelters had been built throughout Tengong City. Some were even designed for individual families, making the city’s shelter coverage rate the highest in the nation.

Determined to complete his mission, Su Mo pushed himself to the limit. He used to be a hopeless couch potato, rarely exercising, yet now he ran forward relentlessly, until his feet ached, his lungs felt as if they would burst, and his vision spun with dizziness. Still, he gritted his teeth, refusing to give up, casting aside thoughts of danger or exhaustion. For in his mind, failing the mission meant being trapped in this world forever, and with his parents still alive, how could he simply give up?

As he ran, Su Mo lifted his head to look above. At the edge of his vision, something seemed to move—several figures floated in midair. But soon, Su Mo had no time to notice them, for a blinding light suddenly enveloped the road ahead.

An instant later, his ears were blasted by a deafening explosion as a violent shockwave barreled toward him. Instinctively, he raised his arms to shield his face, but the force hurled him through the air. He tumbled across the ground before slamming to a stop.

A searing pain wracked his body, compounded by exhaustion, and Su Mo wondered if the next second would be his last. But when he managed to open his stinging eyes, the scene before him had transformed entirely.

Just moments earlier, the street had stretched before him; now, it had been annihilated in an instant, erased from existence. Nothing remained. It was as if a meteor had fallen, shearing off the earth itself and leaving behind a shallow, bowl-shaped crater. At the center of this hollow, something stood upright.

From a distance, Su Mo could see a throne positioned in the middle of the enormous pit. When the smoke cleared, he caught sight of a young girl in peculiar attire, her long purple hair cascading down, her clothes radiating an otherworldly light. She lounged lazily on the throne, one foot propped on its armrest, her gaze fixed like a predator’s on the figures floating in the sky above.

Perhaps noticing Su Mo, she moved slowly, gripping what appeared to be the hilt of a sword jutting from behind the throne, and drew it out with deliberate care.

It was a massive sword, broad-bladed and imposing. It glimmered with rainbow brilliance, dazzling like the stars themselves—a blade beyond imagination.

She swung the great sword, and a dazzling arc of light tore through the sky, shooting straight toward Su Mo. His eyes widened; the intense threat to his life pushed him past his limits, and he managed to roll aside just in time. The blade of light crashed to the ground, exploding with a thunderous roar and gouging a deep crater into the earth with ease.

Su Mo couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his mouth. Only now did he recall that, no matter how harmless a spirit might appear, their destructive power was extraordinary. Lacking common sense and unable to distinguish good from evil, spirits acted entirely according to their whims, treating humans as little more than background characters. When dealing with such beings, utmost caution was essential, for a single misstep could mean death.

It was this very understanding that made Su Mo silently curse his own foolishness. He was just an ordinary person—how had he dared to come here to win over a spirit? It was complete madness. But he had his reasons; he had no choice but to try.

The girl across from him seemed surprised that Su Mo had managed to dodge her attack. In a tired-sounding voice, she asked, “You too? Have you come… to kill me as well?”

Her voice was sweet, almost enchanting. She looked to be about Su Mo’s age, perhaps even a bit younger. Her long purple hair reached her knees, her face a blend of cuteness and dignity, and her eyes shone with a brilliance like crystal refracting a thousand lights. Even her attire was strange—a dress reminiscent of a princess’s gown, made of fabric or perhaps metal, its skirt covered in a mysterious, immaterial glow. In her hand she held a giant sword, nearly as tall as herself.

Everything about her was extraordinary: the bizarre circumstances, her singular appearance, her supernatural existence. Each detail drew Su Mo’s gaze inexorably to her.

Yet the terrifying power she wielded forced him to treat her with utmost care. That blade of light, so close to ending his life, was the closest Su Mo had ever come to death—it left him breathless, as if even the air had abandoned him.

Though his situation was perilous and his life hung by a thread, Su Mo remained outwardly calm. He had thought it all through on his way here: as commander of Ratatoskr, Kotori Itsuka must be observing this area, since their organization specialized in dealing with spirits. If Kotori saw her brother in mortal danger, she would never stand by and do nothing.

This was Su Mo’s trump card. He believed Kotori would rescue him if needed. Moreover, if even the original protagonist could win over this spirit, there was no reason Su Mo couldn’t do the same. After all, youthful bravado thrives on the absence of fear, and Su Mo refused to believe the Main God would send him to this world just to die.

Confronted by the girl’s near-tearful expression and the giant sword she brandished overhead, Su Mo shouted, almost at the top of his lungs, “No, you’ve misunderstood! I’m not here to kill you—I’m here to help you!”

“What?” she replied, as if hearing such words for the first time—or perhaps it was simply the first time a human had ever tried to speak with her. Slowly, she lowered her sword and, in a blur of impossible speed, appeared before Su Mo. “Don’t humans always try to exterminate spirits on sight?” she asked in confusion. “And you claim you’ve come to help me?”

This spirit girl, desperately lacking in common sense, bore no inherent hatred for humanity. It was only after arriving in this world and being hunted by the AST forces that she grew distrustful of humans.

“No, not all humans hate spirits. At least—I don’t hate you!” Su Mo answered earnestly.

“You really don’t hate me?”

“I really don’t!”

“Really, really?”

“Really, truly!”

“Really, really, really?”

“Absolutely, truly, really!”

After this somewhat awkward exchange, the girl fell silent for a moment. But the sword she had been holding aloft had now been lowered, and the corners of her mouth quirked up in a faint smile. She suddenly snorted, “Who’d believe those words of yours anyway? But since you’re the first human to actually talk to me, and I need information about this world, I’ll go ahead and trust you—just this once.”

That tsundere tone only made her seem more endearing. Su Mo could do nothing but nod instinctively, a sheepish smile on his face.

“So, what’s your name?” Su Mo’s eyes darted as he suddenly asked.

“My name? What’s that?” The spirit girl looked at him with curiosity.

“A name is what people use to address each other. For example, I’m called Su Mo Itsuka, so you can just call me Su Mo,” he explained.

“Really? But I don’t have a name. Why don’t you give me one?” she replied, her expression unusually earnest as she blinked, looking at Su Mo with hopeful anticipation.

Without hesitation, as if already prepared, Su Mo declared, “Today is April tenth—the day we first met. So your name shall be Tohka Yatogami!”

“Your name—from now on—is Tohka Yatogami!”