Alright then! Time to let my non-existent domain expansion do the talking and unleash the power of the scaredy-cats! While the sound of my amused teacher's laughter still echoed behind me, I was already stepping into the abandoned shopping mall.
And holy hell, was it creepy! It felt, from the very first step, like I had crossed into another dimension. The atmosphere immediately flipped, and it felt like everything was being cloaked in mist and veils of darkness. Not just because of the dark purple aura that had been seeping from the building — it was pure chaos in there.
First, the musty smell hit me, coming from the thick layer of dust covering the countless cardboard boxes, between which old receipts and documents peeked out.
With every step I took deeper into the building, the floor crunched and cracked beneath my shoes because of the shards of glass scattered everywhere — fallen from the once-glass ceiling above, now lying in all shapes and sizes across the floor.
I clutched the formerly cold steel tightly in my sweaty hands.
The special-grade curse within it probably wished someone would finally turn on the air conditioning.
"Why do I even have to do this?!" I muttered under my breath, eyeing the deactivated escalator leading to the numerous other shops upstairs. From down here, it was obvious that the upper levels were just as messy as the ground floor I was slowly making my way across. Here and there, nature seemed to have made an attempt to reclaim the place, with weeds sprouting through the cracks.
Alright then.
Whining wouldn't help either. And I did want to try out Megumi's little tool. Behind the escalator, the spot seemed shady enough to bring our little experiment to life. I immediately rummaged for the small white capsule, knelt down and carefully opened it. Gently, I spread the dark ash across the floor and traced the pattern of Megumi's hands with my finger.
I watched eagerly—only for absolutely nothing to happen.
Not a single thing.
Frowning, I double-checked the sign I had recreated with my hands and noticed I had missed a tiny corner. I quickly filled in the missing piece and stared at my little work again, hoping this time it would work and the hellhound would materialize.
Instantly, the ash was engulfed by a familiar turquoise glow, and to my delight, Megumi's aid began growing at a rapid pace. But that wasn't all—once fully summoned, the creature threw back its head and let out a loud, echoing howl, making me jump out of my skin and slap my hand over its muzzle.
Crap! Satoru!
How did he put it again?
"By the way, try not to let him find out, okay?"
Yeah, well... mission failed.