Why is my anime art style so weird?

Suddenly, a huge circular magic circle rose from the talisman paper, instantly expanding to a diameter of five or six meters, hanging high above the paintbrush.

"You little brat, you're quite the listener!"

The paintbrush cried out, releasing a large amount of black, ink-like mist that barely managed to stop the slowly descending magic circle.

Kato Megumi raised a cold eyebrow, extended her hands from her sleeves, and formed a series of complex hand seals before letting out a sharp shout.

"seal up!"

The magic circle instantly released an incomparably dazzling golden light, directly crushing the black mist and landing on the paintbrush.

Then the magic circle suddenly transformed into golden chains, binding the paintbrush from all directions.

"Why are all the young girls these days as violent as Ah Rong!"

The paintbrush let out its final cry before being completely bound by chains.

Immediately afterwards, a large number of golden patterns appeared on the paintbrush. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be composed of mysterious characters that were difficult to understand.

These words form strands of 'golden threads,' firmly binding the paintbrush within them.

The paintbrush kept emitting black mist, seemingly trying to break free from the golden threads' restraints. However, the black mist immediately vanished upon touching the golden threads composed of runes.

Finally, the paintbrush seemed to give up, falling completely silent.

Xu Ming, who watched the whole thing, couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

"Great!"

To everyone's surprise, Kato Megumi shook her head.

"This is not my achievement alone."

This artifact had already consumed a significant amount of energy. Furthermore, its danger level is only 4, equivalent to a Wraith, making it one of the weakest artifacts.

Xu Ming stroked his chin. It seemed that what the colored pencil had said before—that it would pull Eriri and Mashiro's souls into a special space and teach them painting skills—was not an exaggeration.

In any case, this "Soul-Binding Brush" incident can be considered a successful conclusion.

Xu Ming also quickly received a transfer of two billion yen.

The only drawback is that, apart from the initial investigation, he was basically just a bystander throughout the most crucial moments of the incident, only offering empty praise. The core of the incident was essentially resolved by Mashiro and Eriri themselves.

Therefore, when the task was settled, Xu Ming only received the most basic reward of 100 points.

However, since he had essentially gotten 2 billion yen and 100 weird points for free, Xu Ming had no complaints.

The problem is solved.

The Stewarts kept thanking Xu Ming, making him feel a little embarrassed.

After all, he knew very well that he wasn't the one who actually played a role.

The credit was given to Shiina Mashiro simply because he was the one who brought her here and was the leader.

The subordinate's credit goes to the superior, but the superior's mistakes are made to be borne by the subordinate.

The harsh reality.

------

"Kaguya, happy birthday!"

Shirogane Miyuki handed over a beautifully packaged box with both hands.

"Oh my, President, welcome!"

Today, Kaguya Shinomiya wore a black evening gown, with a gemstone hair accessory in her hair and a pearl necklace around her neck, making her look elegant and graceful.

Shirogane Miyuki was stunned; he even felt his cheeks getting slightly hot.

The only thing that made him feel a little sorry for her was that Kaguya's evening dress was too conservative, almost completely covering her chest, with no curves visible at all.

Kaguya Shinomiya accepted the box with a charming smile.

"May I open it and take a look?"

"Ah, please go ahead."

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Kaguya Shinomiya quickly removed the outer packaging, revealing a beautifully designed music box in her hand.

"This music box is so beautiful, I love it! Thank you, President!"

Kaguya Shinomiya said with shining eyes.

"I'm glad you like it."

Shirogane Miyuki breathed a slight sigh of relief; his six months of work hadn't been in vain.

Book Two: Song of Shadows

Chapter 154 Shadow

"Hmph~~"

Kaguya Shinomiya, dressed in her pajamas, lay on the bed, excitedly fiddling with her phone while humming a song.

Beside her was the music box that Shirogane Miyuki had given her.

"Miss, you look very happy!"

Hayasaka Ai, dressed in a maid outfit, teased him with a hint of mockery on her face.

Kaguya Shinomiya blushed slightly.

"Cough cough!"

She coughed softly twice, then said, feigning seriousness:

"I just thought the music box the president gave me was really pretty, that's all."

"Really?"

Hayasaka Ai looked at her with amusement.

Kaguya Shinomiya suddenly felt as if her cheeks were burning.

She quickly wound up the music box, trying to distract herself.

A melodious tune immediately rang out from the box.

The voice seemed to possess a special, brainwashing power, making Kaguya Shinomiya unable to stop listening to it.

Ever since she got the music box, she has wound it up several times to listen to this mysterious melody.

The most amazing thing is that Kaguya Shinomiya searched through her entire memory but couldn't find any masterpiece or famous song that was similar to it.

It's well known that the Shinomiya family has a tradition of nurturing their children in every way. She had studied and been exposed to high art from a young age, yet she still couldn't recognize the origin of this piece of music.

She asked several people, but no one could recognize her.

That's really strange.

However, it was precisely because of this that Kaguya Shinomiya was even happier.

'The president gave me such a unique music box; it must be a hint that I'm his one and only. He's so subtle, so adorable~~'

Thinking of this, Kaguya Shinomiya couldn't help but wind up the clockwork again.

This piece of music truly possesses a magical power; whether it's Kaguya Shinomiya in a state of excitement or Ai Hayasaka teasing her, they can't help but start listening intently as soon as the music begins.

Unaware of the music's immersion, the two were caught off guard when Kaguya wound up the clockwork, and the music began. The last thirteenth gem on the box lid lit up, emitting an ominous, eerie green light...

It was late at night.

As Kaguya Shinomiya drifted off to sleep, the music box lid opened silently, and the spring started spinning automatically.

A large amount of black mist poured out of the box, turning into black tentacles that waved wildly, as if countless octopuses were scrambling to crawl out of the box.

Then the music started again.

This time, however, the music echoing in the darkness had a chilling, eerie quality.

Even more strangely, Kaguya Shinomiya, lying on the bed, showed no signs of waking up.

As the music echoed in the dark bedroom, Kaguya Shinomiya's muscles tensed, her body slowly curling up, her brows furrowed, as if trapped in a terrible nightmare...

1 points in the early hours.

Akemi Arioka walked towards her bedroom, rubbing her aching shoulders.

Today is the young lady's birthday, and many guests have come to the mansion, so the servants have spent more time cleaning than usual.

She was especially busy washing the dishes, and it wasn't until now that she finally finished.

The owners were already asleep, and only a dim night light was on in the corridor, emitting a faint white light that barely illuminated the path beneath her feet.

Akemi Arioka walked slowly forward.

Suddenly, a strange whisper reached my ears, as if something was on the other side of the wall.

Oh!

Then, as if there was a malfunction, the nightlight began to flicker, and the already dim light became almost nonexistent.

A strange chill began to envelop the entire corridor, and a faint frost began to appear on the mirror.

Akemi Arioka involuntarily crossed her arms over her chest, but her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

She instinctively sensed danger and quickened her pace.

Akemi Arioka looked around in horror.

I don't know when it started, but black, moss-like shadows began to grow on the walls.

Da da da!

She ran in a panic, but her footsteps sounded hollow and long, and even echoed around her.

The nightlights suddenly went out, and darkness enveloped her.

What was clearly just a corridor a few dozen meters long now seemed incredibly long, as if it would never end.

All she could do was keep running and running.

rustling sound~