Local Faith III

In the countryside, there were two people who were at a playground having fun. They both had black hair and bright smiles in their faces. One of them was a boy while the other a girl, the boy looked in his early teens while the girl was even younger.

"Yu! Let's go to the park!" The girl said to him affectionally. It wasn't romantic but was more of a familial love.

The two were Haibara Yu and Eino and they were enjoying their time together. Their smiles was untainted by the world's darkness.

"Haha! Don't run that fast, Eino!" He laughed along with her but then stopped. His face was suddenly drenched in his sweat as he began shaking uncontrollably.

'Park... park?' The word kept being told in his head as if it was an unbelievable occurrence.

He felt someone touch his head and looked back up to see his sister there looking at him concerned.

"What's wrong?" She was worried about him as his face was pale and cold. It was like his soul was sucked out of him.

'Right... right. It's okay. She's here, that's all that matters.' His face had some light back and he smiled at her while rubbing her head. "Don't worry about me, didn't you say that you got a new friend."

Her face was now bright like before. "Yeah! He's a good person but he's a bit shy. Come on, Baku!"

Her friend looked different than what he had imagined. He sported an elephant's trunk, rhinoceros' eyes, an ox's tail, and a tiger's paws. He wore a black gown and had Chinese dialect written on it. He also had Mala necklace on its neck and it was wrapped several times over.

She grabbed both their hands and had them shake. "Yu, this is Baku. Baku, this is Yu."

Her friend was certainly wearing an odd outfit but it didn't bother Yu. He smiled and gladly shook Baku's hand. "You can call me Haibara if you want, Baku."

"Ar-are yo-you alright?" Baku had a weird voice as there was always an echo that followed it but Yu Haibara simply dismissed it as a foreign accent.

But weirdly, his hand began twitching right as he was about to answer. Like a reflex that warned him, a danger of sorts.

But this was his sister's friend, there was no way that there was danger here. It was all right.

A completely normal friend of theirs that was here to have fun.

Baku was even concerned enough to ask if he was alright.

It was rude to leave him hanging without an answer so Haibara answered.

"Don't worry, Baku! I'm doing just fi-"

Just then he heard a voice that broke his sentence, but that wasn't the only thing that it broke. The whole world was shattering like glass. Haibara who was stunned recognized that voice. A voice that he was all too familiar.

[Contract Technique: Invasion!]

"Arai!" He yelled out surprised before his vision changed.

He was now back at where they were just a moment ago. In front of him, the curse was standing still but kept twitching. A scream of anger could be heard from it.

"Haibara, Arai is keeping it busy. We need to take care of it now, he won't hold for long." Nanami said gaining Haibara's attention. Nanami's arm was drenched in blood with a large cut running across it.

His uniform was torn but he was still keeping his calm and telling Haibara of the situation.

Looking at his right, Haibara saw Arai standing still. Dead curse spirits were all over the ground, they were all Arai's shikigamis. His eyes were devoid of life and he wasn't moving an inch. The only indication that he was alive was by his breath.

When the curse had deployed the Innate Domain, because the Innate Domain can only be focused on one target, it went for the weakest.

Although in normal situations, the weakest would be Arai. He had resisted the curse that had hit him and dispelled it easily. When attacking one's mind, against someone like Arai who's whole ability focuses on it, then it would be hard to successfully beat him.

The curse spirit realized that and went for Haibara who was next in line. Haibara was the most susceptible and was hit by the technique.

{AN: Nanami was able to handle being hit by [Idle Transfiguration] from Mahito so his soul is actually pretty strong. Which is why the curse went for Haibara who's weaker.}

The technique would trap one in a dream and have the curse spirit befriend the user through manipulation and ask the question 'Are you alright?'. If answered then the target would be trapped in the dream for 5 minutes without being able to break free.

Thankfully Arai had managed to stop it before it can take effect.

But Arai was now currently in a deadlock with the curse. When Arai had had been learning about curses, he had always tried to find ideas and techniques to counter them. But when he had learnt the idea of a Domain Expansion, he was stuck.

There was no way that he could counter a domain with what he knew.

At least, not completely. When he uses his eyes to enter ones mind, he enters their Innate Domain. But he can do more than just place a pact on someone's mind. He can attack it, though entering someone's mind who is able to use a Domain Expansion is just plain suicide.

If someone that is capable of manifesting their mind into reality, they'd already be stronger than Arai. Their soul is more powerful than his as he isn't capable of using a Domain. And entering someone's mind is like attacking an army and being at the center of it.

There is no logical reason to do that.

But attacking someone's mind will make them be occupied to take care of you. Which will leave them open in the real world. This was the opening and situation that Arai had created for Haibara and Nanami.

He may not be able to beat it, but he can stall for as much time as he can!

Nanami and Haibara who saw Arai struggle started their attack. Nanami with his sheathed cleave and his innate technique made devastating blows to the curse as he cut off its arm.

Haibara's innate technique was most of the time made to restraint an enemy or defend but now he focused everything in attacking power. He used his clay to form a giant spike which reached the length of 10 feet and 4 feet in diameter.

Normally if he used this in a fight, it wouldn't work as it takes a lot of time but now that the enemy was restrained than he didn't need to focus on that aspect.

*RRAAHHH!*

A scream of pain but it came out of Arai's mouth. His eyes were filled with red veins and was bleeding. Even his ears, nose and mouth had blood pouring out.

'He's the one hitting his limit first?!' Nanami gritted his teeth and continued hitting the curse.

Now that Arai wasn't restraining it, it was now free to use it's Innate Domain. Healing its broken arm, The curse swatted Nanami with its tail but he had jumped over it.

With a 7-3 ratio hit, he strike the tail cutting it off, spilling purple blood.

Haibara unleashed his clay as a barrage of needle flew at a remarkable speed.

These strikes injured the curse spirit even more and it was beginning to feel overwhelmed. It couldn't even concentrate enough to use its techniques because of their attacks.

Their blows made it lose its balance and concentration. At the end of the barrage, it fell to the ground on death's door. Holes all over its body and missing limbs. The clay had entered its body through the wounds and membranes slowing it down even more.

"That was tough." Nanami commented as he wrapped his shredded clothes to tie his left arm which was bleeding very badly.

"Yeah, we were lucky this time. If it wasn't for Arai then we'd have had more trouble." Haibara said relieved and thankful for Arai. He was the one who broke the Innate Domain and stalled for time.

Arai was lying down on the floor still conscious but was heavily injured. He had no real injuries but his mind was almost obliterated. Someone or something that can make an Innate or Domain Expansion have their souls be a fortress.

If one's soul was a house, theirs would be a castle.

And Arai was the sole invader.

But thankfully, because Nanami and Haibara also attacked it. It had its eyes in both its soul and to them. With its concentration split, Arai was good enough to buy just enough time so that Nanami and Haibara could finish it.

"Serves you right." Arai said as he struggled to get up.

The mental damage he received was far more than a normal sorcerer can endure.

"Let's finish this." Nanami brought up his weapon and was about to strike down at the curse spirit.

But before he could, they had now come face to face with another problem.

"BOMBA!"

With their attention concentrated on the curse spirit they fought, they had let their guard down towards external enemies. Another curse spirit had entered the fray and with the condition activated.

A new Innate Domain had been formed!