I Got Married To A Girl Who Hunt Poltergeists

The ancient stone staircase stretched endlessly toward the heavens.

Each weathered step had been carved centuries ago by hands long forgotten, their edges softened by countless seasons of rain and snow. Moss clung stubbornly between the cracks, while towering cedar trees stood like silent guardians on either side of the path.

A cool mountain breeze drifted through the forest.

The white paper streamers tied around sacred trees fluttered gently.

Somewhere farther above...

A shrine bell rang.

Its deep, resonant tone echoed throughout the mountains before gradually disappearing into the forest.

Serena slowly climbed beside her older sister.

Neither of them hurried.

This wasn't merely a staircase leading to a temple.

It was the same path every heir of the Yuuki bloodline had walked for generations.

Every step carried history.

Every stone held memories.

Tamayo walked several steps ahead with practiced ease, her footsteps calm and measured as though she had climbed these stairs thousands of times.

Which...

She probably had.

Serena glanced around the surrounding forest.

"It hasn't changed."

Tamayo smiled without looking back.

"It never does."

"The temple caretakers repair the buildings."

She gently ran her fingers across one of the old wooden handrails as they continued upward.

"But the mountain..."

"...The mountain is left untouched."

Serena nodded.

"I remember Dad bringing me here once."

"You were six."

"I tried feeding one of the fox statues."

Tamayo laughed.

"You kept insisting it looked hungry."

"I was a kid."

"You cried because it wouldn't eat."

"...Can we stop talking about my childhood?"

"No."

The older sister's smile widened.

"I've accumulated a year's worth of teasing."

Serena sighed dramatically.

"I regret being happy to see you yesterday."

"So do I."

"...That's not how that works."

Tamayo laughed softly.

The atmosphere between them remained light.

Comfortable.

Natural.

Despite not seeing each other for nearly a year, it felt as though no time had passed at all.

After climbing another section of stairs—

Serena finally looked toward Tamayo again.

"...Sis."

"Hm?"

"I know you said you'll teach me Haikirin..."

She hesitated.

"...But..."

"...Do I actually know anything about it?"

Tamayo raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean..."

Serena awkwardly scratched the back of her head.

"...I know... something."

"Oh?"

Tamayo stopped walking and turned around with an amused expression.

"I'm listening."

Serena cleared her throat.

"...Well..."

She tried recalling everything she'd overheard growing up.

"...Haikirin..."

"...Wraps your weapon..."

She gestured vaguely with her hands.

"...With a cloak of lightning?"

Silence.

Tamayo stared.

"..."

"..."

Then—

She laughed.

Not mockingly.

Genuinely amused.

A warm laugh echoed across the mountainside.

Serena immediately frowned.

"...What's so funny?"

Tamayo wiped a small tear from the corner of one eye.

"That explanation sounded exactly like something Dad would tell a ten-year-old."

"...Wait..."

"...Really?"

She nodded while trying to stop laughing.

"Almost word for word."

Serena crossed her arms.

"So..."

"...I'm wrong?"

Tamayo smiled.

"...Close."

Serena's face brightened.

"Really?"

"...Very close."

"...But still wrong."

Serena deflated immediately.

"...Never mind."

Tamayo walked over and gently patted her younger sister's shoulder.

"You aren't completely mistaken."

"The lightning is real."

"It simply isn't the source of the technique."

Serena blinked.

"...Then what is?"

Tamayo resumed climbing the staircase.

Serena followed beside her.

"For generations..."

"Our family believed lightning was merely a visible phenomenon."

"But Haikirin isn't lightning."

She looked toward the dense forest surrounding them.

"It is resonance."

Serena frowned thoughtfully.

"...Resonance?"

Tamayo nodded.

"Our bloodline possesses an unusually high affinity for ambient spiritual energy."

"Instead of relying only on the spiritual power within our own bodies..."

She slowly spread one hand toward the surrounding forest.

"...We borrow the spiritual energy that already exists around us."

The breeze suddenly shifted.

Leaves rustled overhead.

Small white paper charms hanging from nearby trees swayed gently.

Tamayo smiled.

"The mountains."

"The rivers."

"The wind."

"The earth beneath your feet."

"They all possess spiritual energy."

Serena quietly listened.

"The purpose of Haikirin..."

"...is to harmonize with those surroundings."

"Rather than forcing your own spiritual power outward..."

"...you become part of the world around you."

Serena's eyes widened slightly.

"...That's..."

"...Incredible."

Tamayo nodded.

"And once that harmony is established..."

Her voice grew quieter.

"...Our bloodline is able to call upon an ancient spiritual guardian."

Serena looked at her curiously.

"...Guardian?"

Tamayo stopped beneath a massive cedar tree.

Sunlight filtered through its branches.

She looked toward the distant temple.

"...The White Fox Spirit."

She spoke its name with unmistakable reverence.

"...Kerauna."

The moment the name left her lips—

The mountain breeze strengthened.

Paper streamers fluttered wildly.

Even the forest seemed to grow strangely still.

Serena unconsciously straightened her posture.

"...Kerauna..."

"I've only heard that name in legends."

Tamayo smiled.

"They're not legends."

"They're memories."

"Our ancestors didn't worship Kerauna."

"They fought beside it."

Serena remained speechless.

Tamayo continued walking.

"The White Fox Temple wasn't built simply to preserve techniques."

"It was built..."

"...to preserve a promise."

Serena's curiosity only deepened.

"...A promise?"

"You'll learn about that another day."

Tamayo smiled mysteriously.

"For now..."

"...You only need to remember one thing."

She looked directly into Serena's eyes.

"Haikirin isn't a lightning technique."

"It is the art of allowing Kerauna's blessing to flow through you."

Silence settled between them once more.

Eventually—

Serena spoke again.

"...Before I can learn that..."

"...What do I have to do?"

Tamayo answered immediately.

"You begin with the fundamentals."

"...Channeling spiritual energy."

Serena nodded.

"...That makes sense."

She remembered watching countless Geists train.

Even Yuma had only recently begun learning how to strengthen his body through spiritual reinforcement.

Naturally...

Something as advanced as Haikirin would require mastering the basics first.

Then another question suddenly entered her mind.

"...Wait."

Tamayo looked toward her.

"What?"

"If we're learning spiritual channeling..."

Serena tilted her head.

"...Where are the Protocol Weapons?"

Tamayo blinked.

"...Protocol Weapons?"

Serena nodded.

"Dad always said high-ranking Geists use specially crafted weapons to stabilize and direct spiritual energy."

"I figured..."

She looked around the shrine grounds.

"...The temple must have dozens stored somewhere."

"...Right?"

Tamayo stopped walking.

Then—

She laughed again.

Not as loudly as before.

But with genuine amusement.

"...Those old relics?"

Serena blinked.

"...Relics?"

"You won't be needing them."

The younger sister stared in complete confusion.

"...What?"

"Protocol Weapons."

Tamayo shrugged casually.

"I've never liked them."

Serena looked genuinely stunned.

"...What do you mean you've never liked them?"

"They're standard equipment."

"Dad uses one."

"Uncle Alumna uses one."

"Every elite Geist I've ever seen carries one."

Tamayo smiled.

"Exactly."

She resumed climbing the staircase.

"Unlike Uncle Alumna..."

"...Dad..."

"...Most of the old masters..."

"...And nearly every Geist who has ever lived..."

"They all rely on Protocol Weapons."

She spoke without the slightest hint of disrespect.

Simply stating a fact.

"They've become tradition."

"They're reliable."

"They're proven."

"But..."

She paused.

"...To me..."

She looked over her shoulder at Serena.

"...They've always been inefficient."

Serena stopped walking entirely.

"...Inefficient?"

She couldn't hide the disbelief in her voice.

Protocol Weapons were considered one of the greatest inventions in Geist history.

They stabilized spiritual output.

Directed purification techniques.

Allowed Geists to fight opponents vastly stronger than themselves.

Entire academies were built around teaching students how to wield them.

Yet...

Tamayo had just dismissed them as inefficient.

"...Sis..."

Serena said carefully.

"...Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?"

Tamayo smiled.

"I know."

"...Then why say it?"

The older sister's expression gradually became serious.

"Because relying on a weapon..."

She gently tapped her own chest.

"...Means there is still something standing between your soul..."

"...and your power."

The mountain breeze swept across the staircase once more.

Sunlight filtered through the cedar branches above them.

Tamayo's calm voice echoed softly through the ancient temple grounds.

"My goal..."

"...is to remove that barrier completely."

Serena looked at her sister.

The woman standing before her suddenly felt different.

Not merely like an older sister.

Not even simply a teacher.

But someone who viewed the very foundations of Geist combat from an entirely different perspective.

For the first time since arriving at the White Fox Temple...

Serena realized something.

She hadn't come here merely to learn an ancient technique.

She had come here...

To have everything she thought she knew about being a Geist challenged from the ground up.

And somehow...

That realization excited her more than it frightened her.

The mountain was quiet.

Only the whisper of the wind disturbed the silence as it flowed through the towering cedar trees surrounding the White Fox Temple. Sunlight filtered through the dense canopy above, scattering patches of gold across the ancient stone staircase.

The sisters continued their climb.

Each step carried them deeper into sacred ground.

The temple was no longer merely visible in the distance.

It towered above them now, its white walls and dark wooden beams emerging through the morning mist like something pulled from an old legend. Prayer banners fluttered gently from its rooftops, while dozens of stone fox statues silently watched over every path leading toward its gates.

Serena's mind, however, wasn't on the scenery anymore.

It was on one sentence.

"You won't be needing Protocol Weapons."

Those words refused to leave her thoughts.

For nearly every Geist in existence...

Protocol Weapons were considered indispensable.

Entire academies dedicated years teaching students how to synchronize with them.

Government research facilities spent fortunes improving them.

Veteran Geists treated them almost as extensions of their own bodies.

Yet Tamayo...

Had dismissed them as outdated.

Serena finally broke the silence.

"...There's something I don't understand."

Tamayo smiled without slowing her pace.

"I expected that."

"You said Protocol Weapons are inefficient."

"I did."

"But..."

Serena frowned.

"...How are we supposed to manifest spiritual energy without them?"

Her voice carried genuine confusion rather than disagreement.

"Isn't that exactly why Protocol Weapons were created?"

"They stabilize spiritual output."

"They prevent spiritual collapse."

"They guide purification."

"They allow Geists to properly manifest Cybernetic Protocol."

She looked at her sister.

"Without one..."

"...How do you even begin?"

Tamayo stopped walking.

For several seconds...

She simply smiled.

Then—

She laughed.

Not because the question was foolish.

But because she had once asked the very same thing.

"...A fair question."

She slowly crouched beside the stone staircase.

Her fingers reached toward the ground.

Among scattered pebbles and fallen pine needles...

She picked up a tiny green leaf.

Barely larger than her thumb.

She held it carefully between two fingers before standing once more.

Serena blinked.

"...A leaf?"

Tamayo nodded.

"A leaf."

She raised it toward the sunlight.

The tiny piece of nature danced gently in the mountain breeze.

"...Watch carefully."

Serena instinctively focused.

Tamayo slowly closed her eyes.

The forest seemed to grow quieter.

The wind softened.

Even the birds appeared to stop singing.

Then...

Tamayo spoke.

One word.

"...Haikirin."

Nothing happened.

For the briefest moment.

Then—

Crack.

A tiny spark of pale blue lightning danced across the edge of the leaf.

Another followed.

Then another.

Within seconds...

The ordinary leaf became wrapped in brilliant arcs of spiritual lightning.

Electricity didn't simply surround it.

It flowed through it.

As though the leaf itself had become alive.

Serena's breathing stopped.

"...What..."

The lightning emitted no heat.

No violent roar.

Only a soft humming sound that resonated throughout the surrounding forest.

Tamayo calmly looked toward a grove of cedar trees nearly a hundred meters away.

Without changing her expression...

She casually flicked her wrist.

The leaf disappeared.

Boom.

A deafening explosion echoed across the mountain.

Several nearby birds burst from the trees in fright.

The air itself cracked.

Serena's eyes widened.

Far ahead...

The tiny leaf had pierced directly through one cedar tree.

Then another.

Then another.

Then another.

Each trunk exploded into splinters as though struck by a high-caliber anti-material rifle.

Only after tearing through five massive trees did the leaf finally lose momentum and vanish into the distant forest.

Silence returned.

The mountain...

Fell completely still.

Serena simply stared.

Her mouth opened slightly.

"..."

"..."

"...That..."

She couldn't finish the sentence.

Everything she had learned about spiritual manifestation...

Every lecture.

Every training manual.

Every combat theory.

Everything...

Had just been overturned by a single leaf.

Tamayo brushed a small speck of dust from her sleeve.

"...Now do you understand?"

Serena slowly shook her head.

"...No."

"...Not even a little."

Tamayo smiled.

"I figured."

She resumed walking.

Serena hurried beside her.

"My sister..."

Tamayo spoke calmly.

"...Haikirin requires something much more important than spiritual talent."

"It requires perspective."

Serena frowned thoughtfully.

"...Perspective?"

"Yes."

Tamayo looked toward the endless mountain horizon.

"For years..."

"You've been taught how spiritual manifestation works."

"You've memorized textbooks."

"Combat theories."

"Weapon synchronization."

"Protocol efficiency."

"Spiritual pathways."

She glanced toward Serena.

"All valuable knowledge."

"But only..."

"...One perspective."

Serena remained silent.

Tamayo continued.

"The moment your mind becomes convinced..."

"'This is how spiritual energy works.'"

"...You unconsciously stop searching for other answers."

She gently tapped Serena's forehead.

"Your greatest limitation..."

"...isn't your spiritual power."

"It's the assumptions living inside your mind."

Serena unconsciously lowered her eyes.

Tamayo's voice remained gentle.

"If you're trapped believing only how things should be..."

"...You'll never discover what things could become."

The words lingered in the crisp mountain air.

Serena slowly repeated them in her mind.

What things could become...

Tamayo smiled.

"That's why Haikirin is so difficult."

"It isn't merely teaching your body."

"It forces you to relearn how you think."

She looked toward the temple standing high above them.

"For generations..."

"Our family became too comfortable."

"We refined existing techniques."

"We perfected existing methods."

"We respected tradition."

Her voice became quieter.

"...Perhaps too much."

She sighed.

"We became trapped by it."

Serena looked surprised.

"...Trapped?"

Tamayo nodded.

"Too attached to the system."

"Too attached to the way a Geist should fight."

"Too attached to tradition."

She looked down at her own hands.

"For centuries..."

"We kept improving Protocol Weapons."

"We made stronger materials."

"Better inscriptions."

"Greater spiritual conductivity."

She smiled faintly.

"But almost nobody stopped to ask..."

"...Why?"

Serena blinked.

Tamayo continued.

"Were we improving ourselves?"

"...Or merely improving our crutches?"

The question struck Serena harder than she expected.

Tamayo looked toward the temple courtyard.

"For a very long time..."

"Those relics have limited us."

Serena immediately frowned.

"...Limited?"

"They expanded our power."

"They protected countless Geists."

"They saved lives."

"I know."

Tamayo nodded immediately.

"And they remain wonderful inventions."

She smiled.

"But every invention creates dependence."

"Instead of encouraging innovation..."

"...They encouraged comfort."

"Instead of asking..."

"'How can I become stronger?'"

"People began asking..."

"'How can I make a better weapon?'"

She looked directly at Serena.

"The focus shifted."

"The weapon slowly became more important than the warrior."

A gentle breeze swept across the mountain.

Tamayo raised one hand.

"...Tell me."

She looked calmly into Serena's eyes.

"What is a Geist's greatest weapon?"

Serena answered instinctively.

"...Their Protocol Weapon."

Tamayo shook her head.

"No."

"The greatest weapon..."

She placed one hand over her heart.

"...Is the Geist."

Silence.

"No sword."

"No staff."

"No dagger."

"No relic."

"They are merely tools."

She slowly lowered her hand.

"I've asked your father."

"I've asked senior Geists."

"I've asked researchers."

"I've asked instructors."

"The same question."

Serena listened carefully.

Tamayo smiled.

"...What happens..."

"...if a Geist loses their weapon?"

Serena answered automatically.

"...Immediate death."

"Exactly."

Tamayo nodded.

"That answer..."

"...Has become normal."

She sighed softly.

"And that's the problem."

She looked toward the ancient shrine.

"For generations..."

"People slowly forgot to ask another question."

She met Serena's eyes once more.

"If removing your weapon also removes your ability to fight..."

"...Then who was truly strong?"

"The weapon?"

"...Or the user?"

Serena remained speechless.

Tamayo continued quietly.

"To me..."

"No weapon should ever replace the strength..."

"...Skill..."

"...Or spirit..."

"...Of the one wielding it."

She slowly raised her right hand.

Without holding anything.

No sword.

No staff.

No relic.

Nothing.

"...Watch."

Her fingers gently opened.

Crack.

Blue-white lightning instantly erupted across her bare hand.

It danced between every finger like living serpents.

The surrounding air trembled.

Tiny sparks leapt harmlessly into the wind.

Serena unconsciously stepped backward.

"...Without..."

"...Any weapon..."

Tamayo nodded.

"Spiritual manifestation isn't a shortcut."

"It isn't a trick."

"It demands complete understanding."

She clenched her hand.

The lightning condensed into a dense sphere of brilliant white.

"You either learn..."

"...Or relearn..."

"...Everything."

She looked toward her younger sister.

"Question every principle."

"Question every limitation."

"Question every certainty."

Then—

Ask yourself..."

"...Is this truly the limit..."

"...Of what Cybernetic Protocol can become?"

The mountain breeze intensified.

Leaves danced around the sisters.

The spiritual pressure surrounding Tamayo slowly expanded.

Her white jacket fluttered dramatically behind her.

She extended her glowing hand toward the distant forest.

"The user evolves."

"So do techniques."

"They simply wait..."

"...For someone willing to discover the next possibility."

Her eyes remained fixed on the cedar grove.

"...Someone willing..."

"...To destroy the limits created by doubt."

She inhaled slowly.

Then spoke calmly.

"...Haikiraiju."

The world exploded.

Not with sound.

With light.

A brilliant chain of white-blue lightning erupted from Tamayo's outstretched hand.

It did not travel randomly.

It moved with purpose.

Like a living dragon made entirely of thunder.

The lightning leapt from tree to tree with impossible precision.

Each impact released a deafening crack that echoed across the mountains.

One cedar.

Then another.

Then another.

The current continued racing through the entire forest, illuminating the mountainside in blinding flashes before finally disappearing somewhere beyond the distant horizon.

Silence returned.

Smoke drifted lazily upward.

The ancient trees still stood.

Untouched.

Not a single trunk had been burned.

Not a single leaf had caught fire.

Only faint scorch marks remained where the lightning had briefly danced before vanishing.

The technique had unleashed overwhelming power...

With perfect control.

Serena simply stood there.

Unable to speak.

Unable to blink.

Everything she believed impossible...

Her sister had performed as casually as breathing.

At that moment...

The realization finally settled into her heart.

Tamayo Yuuki was not merely a gifted Geist.

She was not simply the heir of the White Fox Temple.

She was not only one of the five known masters of Haikirin.

No...

Standing before Serena...

Was a prodigy whose understanding of Cybernetic Protocol had surpassed the conventions of an entire generation.

For the first time in her life...

Serena truly understood why even her father had entrusted this training to Tamayo alone.

And for the first time...

She wondered whether becoming her student would be far more terrifying than fighting a Calamity-Class Poltergeist.