feel like this story has potential but i hope she doesnt die.. i mean yeah it seems dark af but im hoping that she turns into a mermaid or develops a relationship with this monster girl . Also i have a feeling some of her friends or at least 1 of them might be a monster girl? seeing how its to do with monsters it would be cool to see another monster battle

Just caught up on this manga and started catching up on all the discussion, but this comment turned out to be so prescient that I finally created an account just to point that out, lol.

As far as discussing the actual story, personally I'm hoping that Hinako sees that Miko has been trying to help her just as much as Shiori has, and I don't think it's unreasonable to believe that her motives are (mostly) unselfish. There are plenty of benevolent spirits or creatures in various folklores, so I don't think it's a stretch to think that she's protecting Hinako just for the sake of helping her heal from her trauma.

That said, she's definitely got that yandere energy, lol.

Also, Shiori's got a lotta nerve calling Miko a monster when she herself has basically said, "Once you find happiness and a will to live, then I'm gonna kill you."