⠀"Hey, you can slow down now! I think we lost them!" Sora gripped onto the Red Oni's broad torso as he sprinted blindly through the streets of Shinjuku, turning sharply down side streets and heading down small alleys full of restaurants. The Oni came to a grinding halt in front of a Lawson corner store, a small plume of fire coming from his feet as he skidded along the asphalt.
⠀"Are you okay, Master?" the Red Oni set Sora down gently on the front steps of the store. An employee inside watched the scene with curiosity.
⠀"Yeah. Are you? You ran pretty far." Sora shuffled out of the way so people could leave, standing next to a sign for a restaurant building. The Red Oni seemed surprised by their concern, and it took him a while to respond.
⠀"I...am fine. You should head back to school, back to a safe place." he bowed, erupting in a ball of fire before disappearing. A smell reminiscent of blowing out a candle blew past them, the scent making their eyes water. As much as they wanted to honor the Red Oni's wishes, Shiro was still out there.
⠀"You're not going to listen to it, are you, Master?" Lil' Sal spoke quietly, appearing near Sora's feet. He floated into their view, frowning. Sora put their phone to their ear.
⠀"I can't, Shiro's missing and we need to help him…."
⠀"On that note, Master!" Lil' Sal nodded, respecting Sora's resolve, yet not quite yet understanding, "Those boys that you fought earlier happened to mention something interesting. I followed them for a bit, and it looks like they're after your friend as well."
⠀Sora's face broke into concern, their silence telling Lil' Sal to continue.
⠀"That kid named Ken was stopping every black-haired, glasses-wearing person in a uniform they came across until the Summoner Yamato reminded him that they were looking for a Nether Summoner with a book Sacred Artifact. Now, who fits that description and had a weird looking book earlier?"
⠀"...Was that book a Sacred Artifact?" Sora was recalling the unsettling purple book that they had spotted Shiro holding before his outburst.
⠀"It sure is! The fact that he has it makes him a player in the game as well as a target for newbie hunters like those boys, "Lil' Sal motioned for Sora to follow him, and they both started heading down the street away from the shopping district past the Lawson.
⠀"But why are they after Shiro in the first place?" Sora asked, being careful crossing the street as they followed Lil' Sal.
⠀"Dunno! Maybe he did something to get their attention, but you don't have to worry about that for long. Since at this point I've learned that you're stubbornly caring for everyone you come across, I've already used my humble powers of searching to locate those boys. They're nearby in this Shopping District so you won't have to worry about looking for a long while. Once we find them you can pull another one of those smackdowns and show those scoundrels who's boss!" Lil' Sal giggled, leading Sora up Kokusai-Dori where they were to get to the heart of the shopping district.
⠀Sora spent most of the time looking around at the tall buildings and reading the endless amount of signs. There were a lot of karaoke places and restaurants within reach of each other, Sora wondering why. Lil' Sal floated around a corner and down Nibangai Street, passing by a tax-free store. Sora's attention was immediately grabbed by the huge display of snacks outside, the racks taller than they were.
⠀"Woah…" Sora picked up a pack of yogurt gummies, turning the red package over in their hands before grabbing a bag of chips to look at next. They probably would've stayed there for a while if Lil' Sal hadn't lightly smacked their cheek to snap them out of their wonder.
⠀"C'mon, Master, we can go get lunch later!" Sora sheepishly put the bags back and continued following the small familiar. He stopped in front of an alleyway, opening up his textbook to reveal glowing blue sparks and symbols that flew off the page. A white symbol resembling three human figures flew towards the alley, and the two followed it quickly. They had almost gone down the narrow street before Lil' Sal slammed into an invisible wall, Sora just barely avoiding hitting it as well.
⠀The impact Lil' Sal made sent shockwaves of vibrant, shifting colors across the surface of the wall. It reached a little taller than a single story and continued down the end of the alley before disappearing down the forking street. Lil' Sal frowned, reaching a small, gloved hand out to the surface of the wall. Smaller ripples appeared, his face illuminated softly by the colors.
⠀"It this what a Battle Zone looks like?" Sora asked, tapping the wall repeatedly to cause the ripples. Lil' Sal nodded, reopening the book. The three-person symbol went back in, Lil' Sal gently closing the book afterward. Sigil Search could be useful when it needed to be, he supposed.
⠀"To us it does, but for those people in the restaurant back there it looks like a large blue box. They don't get to see inside as we do." Lil' Sal smiled. A scream from inside the Battle Zone got both of their attention, Sora staring intently down the alley to see if they could spot what was wrong.
⠀They didn't expect to see an arm get thrown. It hit the shutter of a closed repair building, the metal rattling from the impact. Sora and Lil' Sal stood still, their blood running cold. Sora thought back to the park, how close they had come to dying. What if they had lost? What would have happened to Ryouta?
⠀Sora watched as a familiar blonde teen came crawling into view at the end of the alley, his arm missing from the socket down. It was Ken, and with what strength he had left, he was attempting to stand, grabbing his arm and hobbling away from where his opponent was. He noticed Sora watching from outside. He scowled at them before collapsing, his health bar dropping quickly.
⠀"Sal, we have to do something…." Sora whispered, their voice barely audible. Their throat was dry. The ground around Ken was slowly being covered in a pool of blood.
⠀"Well, to be completely honest, Master, you can't. You cannot influence what's in the Battle Zone, as much as you might want to. So for now we just have to watch and wait." Lil' Sal explained, his tone rather relaxed even though someone had just collapsed, and from what Sora could guess, died in front of them.
⠀Sora leaned against the Battle Zone wall, the shimmering, tangible hologram surprisingly warm. Though it was faint, they could hear the sound of people fighting, no doubt Yamato and Taro. Wasn't there anything they could do?
⠀Please state your name.
⠀Sora backed away from the wall to see a hovering blue box above where they had just been. The layout and appearance looked similar to SUMMONS, and the voice itself was the one that announced the fights in Battle Zones.
⠀"Well that's interesting, Master." even Lil' Sal was surprised by the appearance of the box, "Just out of curiosity, say your name."
⠀"...Sora Watanabe?" they spoke nervously. A chime sounded, their name appearing along with a picture of themself with a gray border and an odd symbol. There was other information as well: lack of guild affiliation, health, charge points, skill names, and their Sacred Artifact category.
⠀Please choose your action of choice, Sora Watanabe.
⠀Another box appeared, showing icons similar to Sora's, but with Taro and Yamato. The box was split into two teams, one labeled 'Watchers' (Taro, Yamato, and Ken), the other called Team 2. There were ten icons below the second team, but they were the exact same type of enemy. Below these two teams was a label reading 'Reinforce?' that shimmered.
⠀"I can't believe I forgot! Master, you might just be able to get your wish!" Lil' Sal's body shot off blue pixels as his excitement grew, "Though you can't enter a Battle Zone as a third party, you can reinforce people in Battle Zones if you so choose! While I don't recommend you do this, you won't listen anyway so I won't bother trying to talk you out of this. Master, just promise me you'll do your best to not get killed!"
⠀Sora smiled at Lil' Sal, "Don't worry, I think I've figured out how to fight now. If something goes wrong, I can always call the Red Oni for help, right?"
⠀"You bet, that's what we familiars are for, after all! I wish I could go in with you, Master, but I'm...not really the best for fights." Lil' Sal chuckled, disappearing back into Sora's phone with a wave, "Just keep on your toes, Master! You can do this!"
⠀Sora put their phone in the front pocket of their slacks. The pockets were deep enough where the phone wouldn't just shoot out at every movement, a problem they had later on in their last fight. They quickly pressed the Reinforce button under Taro's team, and within seconds, were standing in the Battle Zone.
⠀Ken's body was exactly where it was previously, unfortunately right beside where Sora had appeared. A little blood splashed as they headed quickly towards the sound of battle around the corner. Taro was fending off a couple flying, toddler-sized purple demons with his epe, and Yamato was maneuvering with the slime to capture a couple others. The red wolf transient-who Sora recalled was named Katsu-was there as well, fending off his own group. Sora took the initiative to take out a couple of the monsters themself. The first few swipes they made at the opponents-labeled 'Nether D-Evil' in their name plate-missed or only grazed them. A D-Evil flew quickly at Sora, startling them.
⠀"Duck!"
⠀Sora flung themself to the ground, missing Taro's thin blade as it stabbed through the attacking D-Evil. Its body landed on the cinderblock street before disappearing into a puff of purple smoke. A couple others that were flying around in the air made high-pitched screeching noises, watching Taro and Sora closely.
⠀"Why are you here, newbie?" Taro helped Sora to their feet before kicking away another D-Evil. It spun around in the air before disappearing.
⠀"You guys were in trouble!" Sora attacked a couple more D-Evils, the blows doing little damage. Minus 10, minus 4, minus 8...even though they had gained a level the last time they fought, Sora had a feeling it wasn't going to help that much in this fight.
⠀Taro scoffed, assisting Yamato before getting slammed into by five D-Evils at once. Their stubby arms had long, black claws at the end, scratching and clawing into Taro's skin and clothes. He thrashed about, trying to get them off without any luck.
⠀"Taro, stay still for a moment!" Yamato flung his slime familiar at Taro, the sticky mob grabbing hold of the D-Evils and sliding off onto the ground. Katsu grabbed a traffic cone that was resting against one of the buildings and slammed it over one of the D-Evil's heads. The weight of it knocked the creature over, their arms too short to push it off successfully.
⠀"Thank you, Katsu, "Taro sliced through the slime and another D-Evil, making the current number of their opponents 6. Yamato and Sora helped Taro to his feet, the deep wounds on his arms bleeding through his jacket. The D-Evils fluttered in the air with their small wings, watching the four teenagers with eerie grins.
⠀"What are they?" Sora asked quietly, unnerved by one of the D-Evils, whose eyes were specifically trained on them. It was a little bigger than the others, and an array of green dots floating behind it. The name listed above was unreadable, shown as ████████ D-Evil.
⠀"They're low-level mobs called D-Evils from the world of the Old Ones. They may look cute but they're hella strong when they feel like it, "Yamato answered, waving his slime over towards his feet. It obliged, squirming across the pavement towards the group. Inside its translucent body was a ball of smoke, indicating it had taken out a D-Evil itself; 5 left.
⠀"Hey, why are they just starin'?" Katsu grimaced, the ears on his head flattening to match his trepidation. The others were on guard as well, unsure of what the D-Evils were going to do.
⠀Sora watched the ████████ D-Evil put its hands together, and a phone appeared. Taro dove for it, but it flew out of the way. The other teens attacked in tandem, dealing with the remaining enemies.
⠀"It's got Ken's phone!" Taro yelled, attacking the other D-Evils within his reach. Yamato tried grabbing the phone, but it's kidnapper only flew higher. It continued upwards until it reached the upper edge of the Battle Zone, dropping Ken's phone. The black iPhone landed on the hard ground, cracks spider webbing across the screen. Everyone but Sora stopped what they were doing.
⠀The ████████ D-Evil let out an unsettling noise that sounded akin to a laugh, floating down towards Sora, "...You...enemy? Master's...enemy! Eliminate Summoners! Eliminate! Eliminate all Master's enemies! Destroy...phone. Destroy...power? Destroy phones to destroy power!"
⠀"Sora! Don't let it take your phone!" Taro yelled, ripping a D-Evil off of his back and stabbing it. Sora nodded, doing their best to inflict some damage on the D-Evils. For the first time this fight, they were doing higher than 10 damage per hit, but not by much. Looks like they would need back-up….
⠀Sora focused on summoning the Red Oni, picturing his face in their mind. Now, they just had to call him. A summoning emblem appeared below them, spinning quickly before suddenly disappearing.
⠀Maximum number of teammates reached.
⠀"Huh?" Sora asked, confused as to why they weren't allowed to summon the Red Oni. Yamato tackled Sora as a beam of green light blew towards them. It collided with the edge of the Battle Zone, shockwaves radiating from the impact.
⠀"Watch it! Don't just space out!" Yamato grabbed the slime from the ground and tossed it at a D-Evil. The two mobs connected mid-air, crashing into a restaurant sign.
⠀"I-I tried calling for help-"
⠀"We saw! Teams have a max of five members plus an optional Support reinforcement. With you here, it's at six." Yamato continued explaining as Sora kept attacking the same D-Evil, assisting them with another traffic cone. It took a lot of hits before finally disappearing. The two were breathing hard, Sora's arms aching from repeatedly swinging their sword.
⠀"Everyone! Regroup!" Katsu yelled, the other three teenagers running to his position against a wall. They had managed to get all but the ████████ D-Evil, who was letting out high pitched shrieking as it flew around in circles, the green dots following it.
⠀"That thing is the leader of the other mobs, which means if we don't take it out now, it'll keep calling in reinforcements." Taro scowled as it cocked its head at them, it's grin getting wider, "It's already done it once before, and we're all running out of steam."
⠀"Mobs can do that?" Sora asked, thinking about what they could do.
⠀"No." Sora turned their head towards Taro, his answer catching them off guard, "This one is different. I don't think it's a mob at all, it's too...smart. It knows what it's doing, while the others are just following orders."
⠀"So how do we kill it, since you seem to have all the answers?" Katsu scoffed, taking a swing at the D-Evil, making a surprising hit on it. About an eighth of its health went down, causing it to stop flying for a brief moment. It turned to look at Katsu slowly, narrowing its eyes. Sora shoved him out of the way as the D-Evil rocketed towards them angrily, stopping it with Boundless Tail. The impact pushed Sora back, the strength of the mob starting to overpower Sora's weak arms.
⠀"Sora! Your charge is maxed!" Taro called out, pointing to Sora's status bar hovering above them. A bar labeled CP (which they assumed was Charge Points) was at 100% and flashing orange.
⠀"What does that mean?" Sora asked, floundering for answers. They heard Katsu groan in frustration at Sora's lack of knowledge.
⠀"Call your weapon, dipshit!" Katsu leaped towards them, grabbing Sora by the torso and tossing them in Taro's general direction. Taro fumbled his sword as he caught Sora, the impact knocking them both to the ground. Sora sat up, watching as the D-Evil started shredding Katsu's arm. The red wolf yelped, fighting off the D-Evil the best he could.
⠀"Sora, do you know what to do?" Taro asked, pulling them both up. Sora didn't respond, frantically trying to understand what the two meant. Call Boundless Tail? How? Sora saw Yamato run over to help Katsu, the slime trailing behind.
⠀"...I think so." Sora said nervously.
⠀"Just relax. It's the same way you called the Oni earlier, but you state your role and rule before-hand." Taro put his hands gently on Sora's shaking shoulders, and gave them a reassuring nod. Sora snapped to attention, remembering when they Summoned Boundless Tail the night before.
⠀Sora focused their energy on their sword, willing it to help win the battle. Would this work? Were they doing it correctly? Taro's reassurance settled their nerves enough to help gather their thoughts to recall the chant.
⠀"...R-Role of the Wanderer...Rule of Rending...Engrave my name unto thee. Come forth! Boundless Tail!" Sora charged at the D-Evil, their sword starting to glow brightly. With a good, powerful slash, they hit the ████████ D-Evil, it's health rocketing to zero with a critical hit that did 600 damage.
⠀「Battle Concluded.
Winners: Ken Ishizuka, Katsuhiko Hanba, Yamato Sawaki, and Taro Canna of the Ikebukuro Berserkers.
Congratulations.
Sora Watanabe has leveled up to level 3.
Yamato Sawaki has leveled up to level 4.
Thank you for playing SUMMONS」
⠀The walls of the Battle Zone deteriorated quickly, the shimmering barrier easing away into nothingness. The teens breathed a sigh of relief. It was over. Sora winced at how sore their arms were, trying to flex to stretch the muscles a little. They looked around to the people they had just fought alongside, who looked as relieved as they were that it was over. Taro was helping Katsu off the ground while Yamato went down the alleyway where Ken had fallen. Sora felt a small hand ruffle their hair, turning to see Lil' Sal.
⠀"I have to say, Master, you continue to surprise me! You fight so well it's almost like you've done this before!"
⠀"Do I really?"
⠀"Nope!" Lil' Sal shrugged with a grin, "But you are making this humble little servant very proud, Master. Now, let's interrogate those guys for info on Shiro while they're resting!"
⠀Sora shook their head, "They helped us. It wouldn't be right."
⠀"Master, wasn't the reason you went in was to get a bargaining chip for information?" Lil' Sal stared at them with narrow eyes, trying to find their path of logic.
⠀"I...think so? But it looked really bad in there so I wanted to help…" Sora murmured, knowing Lil' Sal had a point.
⠀"May I remind you that they attacked you, are currently hunting down your friend for unknown reasons, and are also noob hunters? You didn't have to save them, you know." Lil' Sal's tone turned from scolding to exhausted, "You're way too soft, Master…."
⠀"Hey, newbie." Taro's languid voice came from behind them, along with a grumble from someone else. Sora faced Taro, their unease written on their face. Taro laughed before clapping their shoulder, "Thanks. You really saved our butts back there."
⠀Taro's sincere appreciativeness caught Sora off guard, who took a moment to process before smiling, "It was the right thing to do."
⠀"Glad to hear it!" Katsu approached the two, his teeth bared slightly. He grabbed Sora by their collar, lifting them off the ground. Sora gasped, scared at what the bigger, scarier teenager was going to do.
⠀"Katsu, what the hell are you doing?" Taro asked, clasping his hand on Katsu's arm.
⠀"This kid became a target the moment he decided to attack us, Taro, or did you forget? Why don't you keep looking for that Summoner and I'll deal with him. "Katsu snarled, his white teeth fully bared and shining in the sunlight. Sora felt their body freeze with fear.
⠀"Katsu, stop being a bastard for five minutes and have some tact, will you?" Taro kicked Katsu in the knee and grabbed Sora out of his loose grasp. Yamato grabbed Katsu around the waist, along with Ken, who was surprisingly upright.
⠀"I didn't think he was that much of a lapdog to Oniwaka, but I guess I was wrong." Taro gave a small chuckle at his bad joke, "You did have a reason for saving us, though, that much is obvious. What is it?"
⠀"...I wanna know why you're going after that Nether Summoner." Sora responded, putting on an air of seriousness.
⠀"How'd you know we were going after a Summoner? Or looking for someone at all, for that matter?"
⠀"Lucky guess." Sora thought of Lil' Sal, who was listening closely to the conversation, invisible to anyone but themself. They had him to thank for overhearing that Taro was looking for Shiro.
⠀"Very. I don't know the specifics, but a Nether Summoner with glasses and a mole under his left eye attacked some of our friends and we're getting revenge. We had the bad luck of actually finding him earlier, " Taro scowled, looking over his shoulder to Ken, who gave him a thumbs up.
⠀"Bad luck?"
⠀Taro leaned against the shutter of a closed restaurant, thinking, "I would say good luck, but the moment we approached him, he screamed at us to leave him alone. That was when a bunch of those D-Evils showed up, along with that really odd one. We saw him run off before the Battle Zone was created, so he got away."
⠀Sora nodded sadly, their worry for Shiro's wellbeing growing the longer they waited.
⠀"Master! Look!"
⠀Lil' Sal frantically smacked Sora on the cheek shoulder before pointing his gold staff towards the ground, where a pulsating orb of greens and reds appeared. Out of it fell the ████████ D-Evil from before. It looked at its small purple hands before looking up at Sora, it's smiling face unchanging.
⠀"You. You after Master. You hurt Master?" the D-Evil stated brokenly.
⠀Taro went to draw his weapon, but Sora grabbed his hand gently, their eyes not moving from the childlike familiar. They kneeled down, keeping a calm expression.
⠀"No, but I'm looking for him. I'm worried he's hurt." Sora's shoulder drooped. The D-Evil cocked its head to the side in confusion.
⠀"You look. You find, but...what? You hurt Master, I betray Master. I will not."
⠀"I don't want to hurt him, I want to help him." Sora stated, trying not to sound like they were pleading for it to help them.
⠀"...Master suffers. He's in pain…" the D-Evil's eyes closed sadly, it's tiny body sitting down onto the concrete with a plop, "Please. Please help Master. Please make him smile again. He suffers…."
⠀"Sora, what are you going to do?" Taro asked, his hand resting on the hilt of his epe, just in case. He knew they were going to do something reckless, but what they weren't sure.
⠀Sora didn't answer, only stared at the D-Evil with a sad expression. What could they do? It was only when Sora saw the soft yellow glow of Desummoning did they start to panic.
⠀"Skree?" the D-Evil looked around, it's three tails standing up in alarm. It turned to look at Sora, "You...broke me. No Master. I...don't want to disappear…." The D-Evil's words switched something on in Sora's brain, and they recalled the moment where they severed the Red Oni's bond to the world. They unintentionally did the same thing to the ████████ D-Evil, and now it was fading out of existence.
⠀Sora grabbed the D-Evil's tiny hand and took a deep breath. Now was the time, "Form a pact with me. If you do, we can look for your Master together and try to help him."
⠀The D-Evil's eyes widened before putting its other hand on Sora's. The woman's voice rang out that the pact was complete. Immediately, the soft glow dissipated, and the D-Evil stood exactly the same as before. Taro scoffed at the ridiculousness of what had just happened, the other boys sharing his sentiments.
⠀Sora stood quietly, watching as the D-Evil climbed into his hoodie, poking its small purple head out of the top. They looked up at their former enemies, now allies, with a new-found confidence in their eyes. A nod from Taro sent them on their way. It was time to bring Shiro home.
⠀They found Shiro in Shibuya, across a busy street, and in a residential area. The once prideful teen was wandering listlessly, his shoulders tensed and shaking as a small parade of D-Evils trailed behind him, all similar to the ones that Sora had fought only ten minutes prior.
⠀"Go away! Leave me alone, already!" Shiro yelled, his voice cracking as he moved a little faster. The soft footfalls of the D-Evils grew in speed as well. Shiro didn't know why this was happening, or how, but he just needed to get away from Shinjuku. He didn't care how far, as long as no one was able to find him and learn what he did.
⠀"My Master...Summoner…what is your order? Summoner…." One of the D-Evils vocalized quietly, the others joining with the same question.
⠀"Sad. Master...sad...we sad too...."
⠀"No! I'm not your Master, I didn't summon anything, and I'm certainly not...I didn't…." Shiro went pale, recalling the incident the prior night. It wasn't his fault, it just spiraled out of his control…..
⠀"I'm not a Summoner, I don't even know what that is! None of this has anything to with me-"
⠀"Shiro?" A soft, demure voice brought Shiro back from his precipice. The bespectacled class rep looked up from the red and gray asphalt to see Sora standing beside a telephone pole with a mirror hooked onto it. The D-Evils did not react well to the new arrival, hissing and growling at Sora, who didn't react to the shows of aggression.
⠀"Sora? What are you doing here…?" Shiro stared at them in disbelief, the idea of someone they had barely met coming to find them incomprehensible. Why?
⠀"Ryouta and I have been looking everywhere for you. Are you alright?" Sora started to walk towards Shiro, his D-Evils starting to go prickle up, "Why did you run away earlier?"
⠀"No! Stay back!" Shiro suddenly screamed, catching Sora off guard, the D-Evils around him began to rise off the ground, their blank yellow eyes filling with harsh malice. Shiro looked around frantically at the small familiars, panic rising in his face, "Wait, no! He's-Sora's my friend! Run, Sora! Run!"
⠀Sora barely registered what was happening in time to move; several of the now hostile familiars barreled into them, the combined weight knocking Sora to the ground. They started flailing, the sharp pain of the D-Evils slicing into their arm making them yelp. The ████████ D-Evil crawled out Sora's hoodie, viciously retaliating against the other D-Evils. Shiro's hostile familiars were caught off guard by the appearance of one of their own. As it made quick work of them, Sora summoned Boundless Tail and began waving it wildly at the D-Evils. They connected with a few, sending them flying into the pavement or into a nearby car.
⠀Shiro's eyes widened at the sight of the wooden sword with golden inlays, slowly feeling his back pocket for the book he had placed inside, connecting with the rough, handmade pages. A mysterious book that had caused him nothing but pain since he received it, but for some reason couldn't bring himself to get rid of it. He watched as Sora and the larger, stronger Nether D-Evil that was their companion fought alongside each other, defeating his unwanted entourage easily. After the last of them retreated into a puff of smoke, Sora lowered their sword shakily.
⠀"Sora, that sword…." Shiro muttered, not taking his eyes off of Boundless Tail, "It just appeared out of nowhere…like my book."
⠀They looked at Shiro in confusion before looking at the sword in their hands. They hadn't noticed until now, but it wasn't heavy, as if it was the perfect weight for them to wield. The strange-looking wooden handle was comfortable in their grip, the familiarity of it unsettling Sora for a moment, before chalking it up to having fought with it more than once as the reason. Sora walked over to Shiro, crouching down in front of him. Their unnaturally golden eyes met his soft, wise brown ones. Dark bags sat under them, and Shiro's current state of being was starting to become clearer.
⠀"What do you mean by 'your book'? What's going on?" Sora asked, plopping onto the ground to get comfortable. Shiro lowered his gaze to the asphalt, taking a deep breath before looking back up at them. His posture grew stiff and proper; the same posture Sora had first met him with.
⠀"...It started last night, around midnight...right after you and the others headed for the rest of the campus. I had some business to take care of, so I received special permission to leave the school premises. I was heading to a convenience store off-campus. That was when my phone suddenly lit up on its own. On the display was a registration screen and terms of use for SUMMONS. As soon as I registered, this book appeared in front of me. It caused quite a ruckus, there was this...energy that swirled into different colors and moved its way around the area as the book fell."
⠀Shiro clenched his fists and continued, "Whatever had happened got the attention of some people nearby, and they approached me with their phones out. They called themselves Rookie Hunters or something."
⠀Sora exchanged a look of surprise to Lil' Sal, who was stroking his chin in deep thought.
⠀They wondered if the guys in question were related to Taro somehow, maybe another group like his. Sora stayed quiet, watching as Shiro adjusted his glasses, which had slipped down his nose as he stared at the ground.
⠀"They went on for a lengthy amount of time about something I couldn't fathom, like guilds and affiliations….As I tried to make my escape, the book in my hand began to glow, and odd shapes erupted from the pages, and those things formed from them." Shiro cast a bitter look at the few D-Evils that remained, ones that had hidden nearby instead of joining the others in fighting Sora. They let out a sad skree, shrinking behind the blue Coffee Boss vending machine.
⠀"I didn't intend to hurt anybody, but it was over before I knew what was going on...these things just tore one the hunters to pieces. His...arm…." the faraway look in Shiro's eyes came back, his fist clenching the purple book. Sora noticed a jumble of symbols along the spine, unable to make out if they said anything. It wasn't Japanese, they knew that, but what else could it be?
⠀"What happened after that?" Sora carefully placed their hand on Shiro's, his skin clammy.
⠀"...It was chaos. Everyone was panicking and running over each other to get away...they disappeared into the book after that. I fled as quickly as I could, but I...that poor kid...it was a bloodbath. I just hoped everything would go back to normal once I got back to the dorms. I hoped it was a bad dream, I hid the blood on my pants from Triton when I came through the gate." As Shiro lifted his head slowly to look at them, the hollow emptiness in his eyes was dark enough to make Sora's skin crawl, "They said he was murdered."
⠀Sora didn't move, fear running up their spine as they barely managed to repeat what Shiro had just said to them. Shiro blinked, his expression returning to panicked as if he had just snapped out of a trance. Shiro crawled backwards, the book beginning to shake on the ground, greenish orbs sparking and bubbling up in the air around it.
⠀"No...I didn't kill him! It was them! They won't leave me alone, and those hunters are after me again, and you...Sora, how did you find me?" Shiro's face washed over with a harsh realization, "You're one of them, aren't you? You came to finish me off, to get revenge…."
⠀"That's not-"
⠀The emptiness returned to Shiro's eyes, sorrow joining in tandem as his face changed into a blank mask. Just then, the book exploded with D-Evil's of every color, clawing at the pavement trying to escape towards the person that had slighted their master. Sora leaped from where they were sitting, drawing Boundless Tail once again to defend themself. As more and more came from the book, they knew that taking them on alone wasn't an option.
⠀"Master! We need to run, your friend's lost control of his familiars and they're half-mad with anger towards you! We need to go!" Lil' Sal grabbed Sora's collar, pulling them down the street behind them, the now ridiculously outnumbered teenager, mysterious familiar and ████████ D-Evil sprinting away from the cloud of demons.
⠀Shiro watched them leave, his shoulders dropping sadly as he reached for the purple book. The name on the spine read 'Necronomicon', a name he knew all too well. The fleshy cover felt wrong and warped under his fingers, and Shiro slipped it back into the back pocket of his uniform.
⠀"There's no place for me in this world anymore. There's nowhere left for me to go."
