55 Mayham

[A/N: Sorry for the delay! My editor took a five-hour shower and only just finished the edit. If you don't want this to happen again then join my server and become my editor! Or just join to call Xeno an idiot, either works.

Discord link is https://discord.gg/ybaJQdR2ZV ]

-Unknown Location, Third Person-

While Rin and Shura were busy escaping the tunnel shrouded in darkness, another force was watching their every move. Enjoying each and every one of their actions in the comforts of their dark, messy room. There laid a man who was shaking in excitement for the things he wanted to do to them.

"Kukuku, those little exorcists don't know when to quit, do they? Good! That's absolutely perfect! They really know how to please a demon."

The man smiled under his mask before laughing crazily. He's wearing a black and silver domino mask that has a white feather out of it, a black hoodie with the hood covering his medium-sized dark brown hair, black shorts that barely go past his thighs and pink slippers.

He's wearing a mix-match of clothing but the most bizarre thing about him was his eyes. One eye had an ocean blue colour iris with two pupils. Yes, pupils. One is coloured white and just below it was a yellow pupil.

The other eye had two irises instead of the regular one. One of them was a crimson red colour and the other was a deep purple shade. They both contained pupils too, but they were just the regular black colour. Even so, it definitely wasn't something you'd expect.

He is a demon with a rare eye condition called pseudopolycoria and polycoria, mixed with heterochromia. But that didn't bother him the slightest. In fact, for the regular human that would have their vision affected by it, he believes it lets him see better than the ignorant mortals.

"Hahahahaha, this is way too fun! I need more of it! I should've made more traps though!"

The man laughed crazily as his fingers trembled in excitement. He was the reason for Rin and Shura's recent misfortune within the dark tunnel and every other thing that's been annoying them while inside of it. Every trap was set up by him after all. Though it wasn't as effective to them as he once hoped.

But even with these outliers in his trap, he still felt an adrenaline rush. It was like he was the hunter toying with his prey and the prey was a little more feisty than the usual ones. He was staring at one of his quintuple-monitor displays, each showing different scenes of the tunnel through a hidden camera and was smiling mischievously like a child waiting to prank their next victim.

"They aren't your average Exorcist either. One is a half-demon and the other is a human with a demon sword. They both were able to make out the tunnel o' insanity with their sanity! Awesome! I'm gonna love testing out these babies on them!"

He laughed out loud again as his body was shaking from excitement. All he cared about right now was his entertainment and not his work. He looked behind him to see the prized gadgets that he's been working on and made an even bigger smile when remembering how this situation might be a chance to test them to their full potential.

You could barely make out their figures, but they came in all shapes and sizes. Some look like a regular weapon, like a pistol or a knife, others look questionable at best. Whatever they were in this dark room, they didn't look pleasant nor would the average person want to be near them.

But before he could think of how to use them against the duo, the domino masked man paused as he remembered something. Something important

"Ah shoot, I was supposed to go over to that test subject and see what happened to him."

He had forgotten about the work he set for himself, as the leader of the experiments taking place underground. The latest guinea pig for his experiment needed to be checked upon regularly to see if they've survived the transplant or not. He was quite eager for their survival and had high hopes for it.

"It's not my fault I forgot. Those two suddenly appeared and were way too tasty to leave alone. Oh well, I can always check up on that kid later. He must be in so much pain right now. Kukukuku!"

The demon started out pouting to himself as he made excuses to justify his actions before laughing and wheezing from anticipation. He wanted to toy with them so badly, he was going crazy. Well, crazier than he already is.

One would also question who he was talking to in the room, but he was all by his lonesome As he much prefers.

"Now let's see what I can do now? Hmm, I got some more traps ready installed and just begging to be used. Kukuku."

He said as he was looking at a monitor with Shura hugging Rin's arm. They were both walking towards the exit door, unaware of what plans he was making for the sake of his entertainment. The thought of that alone made his unusually wide smile even wider.

It's like a massive game to him.

"Hmm?"

However, he was forced to pause his fun once again as one of his spare monitors had a red skull flashing on it. It was a warning notification. The same warning he got when the sensors he secretly applied in the supermarket reacted to the exorcists arriving.

When he clicked on the monitor to see what the problem was, a child no older than nine was shown. The child looked to be a boy with dark brown hair with patches of premature grey hair. His clothes were ripped and covered in dirt but he didn't care about any of that as he navigated through the underground sewers.

This was the test subject the domino masked man was talking about. It looks like he's escaped from his confinement.

"Oh, looks like that brat managed to break out and is on the run, huh. Fun! Looks like he's getting a hang of his new powers now too. But no matter, those fools will find him eventually. Greed and Envy should've given me better subordinates though. They can be too much of a hassle to deal with. Maybe I should feed on one of them to free up some space? They wouldn't mind losing one, would they?"

The mysterious man spoke as if someone was there with him again before licking his lips. He felt his throat parched from all the exciting things that were happening right now. Even with the exorcists investigating the scene and the child test subject escaping his room, he was enjoying every moment immensely.

"I can't wait to see what that kid's abilities taste like! Maybe having him meet those exorcists would do well for his potential? Kukukuku"

The demon laughed out loud again as he sets up some more traps for Rin and Shura, who will wish to personally dismember the man after this is all over.

-Rin's Pov, present-

Shura used her serpent fang to destroy the door in front of us. It took three swings before it was destroyed and what we found on the other side was...

(Rin): "Are you kidding me?"

…The same fucking supermarket we were already at. Perfect. We've done a goddamn loop.

(Shura): "Guh, it's too bright."

While I was complaining in my head about how we went in circles, Shura groaned in pain from the sudden exposure of the store lights. After spending about a day and a half in that place, it's no wonder her eyes are in pain from the unexpected change.

(Rin): "At least we're out of there. I can finally breathe."

(Kage): 'I agree. It was uncomfortable.'

I said that as I found the nearest air freshener and body spray the store has and sprayed around. Usually, I wouldn't do something like this as my nose is sensitive but today's an exception. Finally, the smell of blood is gone. I don't want to smell it again for a long, long time.

(Shura): "Man, it feels like we've wasted our time in there. I feel like I aged a year now."

Shura said that as she stretched her body once her eyes stopped hurting. I looked away to avoid seeing her tits sway before talking to her.

(Rin): "Not really, time hasn't moved much."

(Shura): "What? But it's been at least a day though?"

In response to what Shura said, I just pointed at the clock above us. It's just before 5:30 pm. We got here around an hour ago. The time delay for that dark tunnel is much better than the one in the pocket dimension, but it did take away your sanity to make it feel like years went past.

(Shura): "Jeez, those time-related demons are such a hassle to deal with. Can't they make things easier for us for once?"

Shura grumbled to herself as she summoned her demon sword from her chest again. The sight is something I don't think I'll get used to.

(Rin): "You know how demons are. The way we took earlier disappeared too."

I say that calmly while having my arms crossed. It disappeared as soon as we walked out, but I guess Shura was still trying to get used to the sudden brightness to focus on that.

(Shura): "Wait, what? Damn, they're quick to hide their trail."

Shura scratched her head in annoyance when she realised it was gone. Yup, they're sneaky alright.

(Rin): "Let's continue searching around. They should still be nearby to make this damn trap."

I declared before turning around to face the vegetable aisle again. I wonder if we take the same route again, would we go back to that dark tunnel or not? I'm interested in whatever demon made it but I rather not go back into that mess for now.

Well, Shura went to the alcohol section and still ended up in the same tunnel as me. Was that just a coincidence or are every aisle connected to each other in the dark tunnel dimension?

(Shura): "Alright, let's search together~!"

I had my train of thought ruined as Shura announced to us to go before clinging on to my arm again. Why's she doing that again? They're really fucking soft though.

(Rin): "Do you still need to borrow my arm?

I asked her while staring her straight in the face. I'm not beta enough to get flustered or overreact with tits touching me, but I still feel uncomfortable having to deal with my third leg and walking around with it.

More importantly, my daughter is here… I don't want her to get any weird thoughts or pick up anything bad from her.

(Shura): "Why? Don't like what you see?"

Oh, I enjoy the sight and the feeling, don't get me wrong, but now when I'm on a mission. Having one of my arms occupied isn't a safe move here. I got my priorities, alright?

(Rin): "Hmm, maybe another day. I got my fair share already."

I said as I dragged my arm off away from her chest. It was comfortable and all, but the right time and place are needed, you know?

(Shura): "Boo, stingy old man. I'm only 18 yet he resists my charm-ow"

Soon after, Shura started mumbling and calling me an old man. Something about hearing someone a decade older than me calling me an old man was a little triggering. As such, I flicked her forehead in spite.

I'm just not a horny kid, alright? Well, at least not as horny as some people out there.

(Rin): "Just keep walking already. If something happens I'll step in and help out."

I said before walking forward to a different aisle without waiting for a response. I wanted to take a bath really badly, but I ignored that urge. The bad feeling I had from before was creeping up on me again.

I was being more vigilant this time around since I didn't want to go through a smelly situation like before. I'm scarred by that smell now. We walked halfway down the aisle and once when we took another step forward did we find out what the next trap was.

(Shura): "Shit, quicksand!"

Shura yelled out as we both got stuck. The marble floor suddenly turned into a muddy sand-like structure as our bodies were getting sucked in. This is annoying.

(Rin): "Today is not my fucking day, is it?"

I complained as we went knee-deep into the quicksand. Seriously, what kind of cursed ass business is that shop owner running? Was she that bad of an owner that one of her customers cursed her or something?

Dammit, the sand's getting in my clothes now.

(Kage): 'Over there, Otou-san."

While I was getting annoyed and thinking of a way to get out, Kage pointed beside us to see vegetables in the fruit and veg section turn into human skulls. The sight sorta creeped me out but something made it worse.

The fucking smell of blood is back again! Fuck's sake! Who's the fucker with the blood fetish!? Get out already!!

(Shura): "When I get back to the damn Mephisto's office I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!"

Shura yelled in an annoyed voice as she tried escaping the quicksand. Yeah, I'll give that fucker a piece of my mind too, what kind of mission did he even send us on? We've been here for too bloody long.

But before that, let's fucking escape this current predicament. I thought as I looked at Shura.

(Shura): "What?"

(Rin): "Alright, see you on the other side."

Shura questioned why I was walking towards her instead of the other side of the aisle, but I ignored that as I grabbed her by the waist before throwing her to the other side of the aisle.

(Shura): "Whoa!"

Shura yelled out a little in surprise before quickly somersaulting and making a clean landing on her feet. Are you a cat or something?

Never mind, she's a ninja. Good landing though.

(Rin): 'Kage, I need to use your shadow skills.'

(Kage): 'Yes, Otou-san. Kage rope.'

Kage said those words as I raised my arm to one of the ceiling lights. Dark strands started appearing from that arm as they fired out to the ceiling before pulling me out and swinging me to safety.

I'm still not used to using Kage's powers. It feels weird to me. I have to request permission each time to use it, plus It's a lot harder to use than my flames. It makes me realise how much of a cheat they are.

Or maybe I'm just bad at using other elements.

(Shura): "Aren't you reliable. Thanks, kid. Those were some good skills."

Once I made it, Shura thanked me before messing with my hair. I didn't say anything about it though as I waited for her to stop.

I would've enjoyed it a lot more if I didn't have to worry about a demon peering on us.

(Rin): "No worries. Whoever is here really likes their illusions."

I said as I escaped her hands. Ugh, I can feel sand in my clothes. I used Kage's shadows to sift the dirt off of me and anything else, just to make me feel a little better in this crappy situation.

Kage learned this yesterday while Akane and Naneko kept on failing their fusions. Which kinda makes their failures worth it for this situation. I then got rid of the sand off of Shura too, just in case.

(Shura): "Yeah, the creepy bastard is a fuckin' sicko. Oh, thanks."

(Rin): "No problem, let's get going."

Shura thanked me before we worked through another aisle. The sweet aisle, but unlike the previous two aisles, nothing happened here. Hmm, I was sorta expecting the liquorice or laced sweets to bind us or something weird like that. Guess I was expecting too much.

(Kage): 'A candy warrior sounds tasty.'

Kage said that as a little droll came from her mouth. Oi, you'll get sick of it after reaching halfway.

(Rin): 'No, you'll ruin your appetite.'

Anyway, seeing as nothing happened in that aisle, we carried on to the next one. The meat section. The area looks normal, but that just made the eerie feeling for both of us get worse.

And once we entered midway to the aisle, a new change took place.

(Rin); "You smell that?"

I looked behind me to Shura as I asked that with an annoyed tone. It smells like rotten meat… and a ton of it. Like there was a war and the corpses are decomposing. Goddammit...

(Shura): "Yeah, they ain't selling rotten food here, are they?"

Shura says that as she becomes more vigilant. I did the same as my instincts told me to be wary.

(Rin): "I hope no-what the...?"

Just when I was in the middle of responding to Shura, I paused myself thanks to what I saw at a distance. Are you fucking kidding me?

(Shura): "Hmm? What are you looking at- what the hell?"

Shura turned back to look at what I was staring at as we both experienced the ground shaking. From where we first entered the aisle, there was something rolling towards us at high speeds. Something that's 3 times taller than me or Shura and covered in mould.

I swear, I'm having a chef's crisis here.

(Kage): 'It's a giant mouldy meatball!'

Kage screamed as she covered her nose again. Yep, a giant fucking rotten meatball is approaching us! Why!?

(Shura): "Fuck that smells like shit. Snake Belly."

Shura almost immediately responded to the incoming meatball as she prepared her attack. She bit her finger till it was bleeding before wiping it along the blade of her demon sword, which caused it to transform.

Her sword became longer and gained a wavy edge that reminded me of a snake. Not only that but two of the eight green circles on her purple blade suddenly gained eyes, which makes it look like it's given a certain amount of sentience

(Shura): "Snake Lance!"

After transforming her sword into snake belly form, she swung her sword as a purple zigzag-like shockwave was emitted. It was powerful enough to stop the meatball and slice it into pieces, but it didn't stop the stench that remained.

(Rin): "Oh god I'm gonna puke."

I said as I covered my mouth again. This demon likes the nastiest of smells, don't they? Luckily I kept the air freshener with me just in case but it's just barely able to keep the smell away.

(Shura): "Come on, suck it up, lad."

Shura looked at me with a dumbfounded expression as her weapon, fang, transformed back to its normal form. I just glared at her for not understanding my pain. You don't know what I'm going through, alright? I feel like Kiba when Naruto farted in his face during the Chunin exams. The smell's starting to make me go insane!

(Rin): "Easy for you to say. My nose is sensitive like a dog."

I've already tried using miasma to block out some of the smell, but it's still too bad. Goddammit demon nose, why are you too good.

(Shura): "Hmm, that's a problem. Lemme try something."

Shura thought for a second before approaching me. I looked at her with questioning eyes as she made a hand sign before saying a chant.

(Shura): "Those who sought injustice and become condemned. Seek the silence."

A pink-purple light flashed for a second as I felt my nose relieved of its pressure. I can breathe again!

(Rin): "That's actually helped out a bit."

I'm surprised that aria chants were effective if I'm being honest. We've not learned many aria spells in our lessons yet and Yukio doesn't specialise in this subject too. Guess I should focus on that instead of religious history and training for the time being.

(Shura): "You should learn the chant. You can break out of it by thinking or saying 'The silence is sought'."

With a thought huh. The silence is sought.

I regretted it immediately afterwards. Fuck, go back!

(Rin): "Yeah, that works. Those who sought injustice and become condemned. Seek the silence."

I acknowledged its effects before quickly making a chant to fix it back. God, this chant is a lifesaver.

(Rin): "Awesome. It works."

(Kage): 'I can breathe better now.'

Kage and I celebrated this good news as our moods got better. Now I don't have to worry about the bad smells anymore. At least not as much now.

(Shura): "Just a little tip from a senior."

Shura said that with a wink and a smirk. I have a feeling to annoy her a little for some reason now.

(Rin): "At least now you admit to being older."

(Shura): "Oi, I'm still only 18!"

I messed around with her a little to lighten up the mood. I was still paying attention to the surroundings though.

(Rin): "Uh-huh, thanks though. Let's get going. We only got a few more aisles left."

(Shura): "I'm on my way."

We still got a few more aisles left to go through, but knowing our luck all of them are booby-trapped.

>\/<

That's what I thought at least but after going through three whole aisles we found nothing happening, which was starting to stress my nerves. Weird.

(Kage): 'Some of the aisles have no traps. It makes me uncomfortable."

(Rin): 'Same here.'

Are they trying to have a build-up of tension before they drop a jumpscare or something? This ain't a horror game, mate. Well, my instincts haven't changed from just being careful of this place so I guess that's a silver lining.

(Shura): "Next is the frozen food section."

(Rin): "Yeah, be careful."

I said as we walked through the frozen food section. Same as we did with the other aisles. When we were walking, there was finally a new change in the scenery, which made me both relieved and annoyed.

The floor suddenly got replaced by ice as the temperature around us dropped. It feels like I'm at a skating rink or something.

(Rin): "Looks like an ice rink. Too bad I forgot my skates."

It sorta reminds me of my date with Tsuno. How she made the floor frozen with just a thought. I adapted to that one quickly, but I still want to learn how to use ice skates.

But I didn't have much time to think about that as a packet of peas was suddenly thrown at us with the speed of a pitcher's throw.

(Shura): "Seriously? I know it says in adverts to eat your greens and all but this is a bit much."

Shura reacted to that easily and sliced the packet in half as more frozen foods were fired at us. I joined in on the frenzy as the entire aisles became a mess from frozen stuff flying out everywhere.

It feels like being in a weird frozen food fight. We don't have to clean this up, do we?

*Bzzt*

(Kage): 'Run, Otou-san!'

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to worry about the mess as I heard a weird buzz from one of the frozen packets that I cut. Kage's voice soon followed afterwards which reaffirmed my bad feeling as I grabbed Shura by the waist and ran.

(Shura): "What the-?"

*Boom*

Shura's body jerked from the sudden skin contact, but I ignored that as the peas from the bag earlier exploded, which knocked us forward. The explosion wasn't the biggest but it still packed a punch to make the shelves to be partially destroyed.

(Rin): "That was a close one."

I said that as I looked back on the explosion. I'm not sure about Shura but If I stayed there for a little longer I would've taken quite a hit.

(Shura): "Nice going there. I owe ya one."

Shura said that as she looked up at me which made me realise what position we're in now. My back is leaning to one of the shelves while Shura is leaning on top of me with her face on my chest.

And I'm still hugging her. Guess that's another sight for the memory bank.

(Rin): "No worries. You able to stand up?"

(Shura): "I'm fine."

The two of us picked up our swords beside us before trying to stand up. The damage in the store is already done so I guess there's no point in worrying about it now. We'll just leave the repairs to Mephisto to deal with. It's the least he can do after what he's been making us go through after all.

(Rin): "Get down!"

When Shura tried standing up, I immediately pulled her back to my side as another food packet was sent towards where she was at. A loud boom was heard immediately afterwards as I embraced her a little tighter by reflex.

Looks like they got sensors. We should be good if we stay underneath it.

(Rin): "If we stand up we'll just get targeted again. Let's crawl our way out."

(Shura): "Uh yeah. Sure."

I said that as I released her from the hug and began taking the lead again. I took a quick glance towards Kage's direction, who was smirking at me again. For fucks sake.

Luckily after half a minute of crawling on the ice floor, we managed to get to the other side safely.

(Rin): "Now the home depot section…"

I said as I was getting annoyed with what's happening in this store. There are cooking appliances on both sides of us and I can already imagine a frying pan trying to bonk us in the face.

Or maybe an electrical appliance attacking us with electricity? What about a talking knife that backstabs you?

(Kage): 'Otou-san, below us.'

While I was thinking of different situations that could happen, Kage stopped those once we were a quarter into the store. Hmm, something below us huh.

(Rin): "Wait here."

(Shura): "What's up?"

I told Shura to stop before I put my ear to the ground and tapped on the floor. I did this for a bunch of places until I found an area that sounded odd. It's hollow beneath, huh.

Seeing that as the case, I picked up a slow cooker at the shelves and slid it onto the hollow floor.

*Crash*

And just like I thought, the floor caved in once something semi-heavy was on it. Within the pitfall were spikes, the usual you'd see in a booby trap like this. Kage's shadow perception is getting better for finding traps.

(Rin): 'Good job, Kage.'

(Kage): 'Thank you, Otou-san.'

(Shura): "Nice one."

I thanked Kage as Shura whistled at me thinking I was the one who discovered it. Hmm, how should we continue from here?.

(Rin): "Looks like we go back to where we came from or we jump across the fallen pit. Which do you prefer?"

The jump is at least 12 meters long. I can make the jump with Kage's abilities but even without them, it's still possible for me.

(Shura): "Hmm, how good are your jumps?"

Shura suddenly asked me as I had an idea of what she wanted to do. I just made a wry smile under my mask as I answered her.

(Rin): "It's decent, I should be able to make it. Plus I got my shadows to help me."

I answered her as I saw her eyes had a little flash to them. Oh boy.

(Shura): "Good, hurry up!"

And as I expected, Shura jumped ahead of us to get to the other side. She was using the thin spot of the shelves as the only platform to travel with. Damn, she can wall run? I wanna learn how she does that.

(Rin): 'Guess we can't let her leave us behind. You ready Kage?'

(Kage): 'Yes, Otou-san.'

We nodded to each other before I raised my arm again. Strands of shadows appeared once again before they were sent to the nearest pipe on the roof and pulled me over to swing to the other side.

But while it was pulling me forward, something unexpected happened.

(Rin): "What the-?"

The pipe suddenly disappeared into the wall, making me lose my support as I went falling down again. The reality of my situation didn't kick in until gravity did.

(Shura): "What the heck?"

I could hear Shura shout in shock as the floor beneath her was rumbling. Fuck, is the floor moving backwards? I'm not gonna make it.

(Shura): "Grab on!"

Shura yelled out to me as her fang transformed into its snake belly form and wedged it into the side of the pit. She then walked on top of the sword and went to the very end and held onto her sword handle to just barely catch me.

Jesus, she has balls of steel. She didn't even hesitate to use her fang as a platform to catch me.

(Shura): "That was a close one kid."

Shura said that before throwing me to the floor to safety. She however grabbed onto the edge and made her katana transform back to normal before she unwedged it. Damn, she's skilful at quick thinking.

(Rin): "Thanks for the save."

Even though I could've used Kage's shadows in the pit to block my fall with a shadow safety net, I feel warm that she went out of her way to save me. My respect for her increased thanks to that.

(Shura): "No worries, It's payback."

Shura paid no heed to it though as she winked and gave me a smirk. I gave her one of my own, but it couldn't be seen under the mask.

After tidying up the dirt off our clothes we carried on searching through the other aisles. We had the western foods aisle, the Asian food aisle and the fizzy drinks aisle but nothing happened. It was only in the bakery aisle did we find a trap.

And this one is just too cartoon-like. I don't like it.

(Rin): "Who's the mother fucker that made homing missile baguettes and alcohol bottles!?"

I screamed as we began running again. The last time we had this ordeal there was micro bombs and these are the same but much fucking larger!

(Shura): "Snake Fang!"

(Rin): "Kage Fangs!"

The two of us used our long-range attacks to deal with the projectiles, but even those can't deal with the absolute mayhem I'm seeing right now. Explosions were everywhere and food was spilt in all areas!

(Rin): "What the hell is happening!?"

I screamed as I sliced a bottle of beer that was targeting us. When it got sliced, it exploded as glass shards were sent out everywhere.

(Shura): "Dammit, that's such a waste of good beer!"

(Rin): "Get it together and run already!"

Shura complained as she saw her favourite brand of beer getting destroyed as I yelled at her to run faster. Godammit can you stop worrying about alcohol for just a minute?

Luckily this aisle wasn't as bad as the frozen food aisle that had a slippery floor so we made it to the other side in less than a minute.

(Rin): "Alright, that's the last one off the list. Seriously, if we find out there's no demon in this entire building I'm gonna lose it."

I complained as that was the last aisle. Seriously, why are there so many traps? I feel like these were made more for the demons' entertainment than anything else.

(Shura): "Let's do one last search again through the aisles before we head to the last area, the manager's office."

(Rin): "Haah, fine."

I sighed as I agreed with Shura. I'm curious to find out if the traps are one-time use or not. Guess there's only one way to find out. Dammit, I need a nap or something.

Maybe a beer? I'm tempted now even though I'm underage.

>\/<

And whoop-de-doo, after spending a couple of minutes re-exploring the aisles we found out the answer to one of my questions. All the traps are fucking one time uses!

(Shura): "Man, this sucks. Feels like we're in a game. At least now we only have a place left to check out."

Shura complained as she took a drink of beer. It does make me question how civilians were able to shop in this place. Unless the demon we're facing has some kind of ability to detect who has a Mashou? But what about an off-duty exorcist? They'd still need to do the shopping so how would that work?

Also, the store's previous damage was mysteriously gone. Like nothing happened there at all. Even the pitfall from earlier was gone.

Dammit, more questions and no answers. The only thing I can think of is the demon has access to the security cameras and found us through our clothes, but the manager before mentioned it was only her at the store.

(Rin): "Stop drinking and let's go already."

I took the beer away from Shura as I got annoyed. How's she drinking on a mission in the first place? Whoa, she already drank three-quarters of it.

(Shura): "Gimme ma' beer."

Shura said that with an annoyed tone as she tried taking the beer back from my hands but I dodged her hands as I put it back into Kage's shadow. Looks like I found an unexpected use for this skill.

(Shura): "You can't stop me from drinking this memory away!"

Shura declared as she ran to get another drink nearby, but I already expected her to act like that. I made a deep sigh before my shadows extended and the drinks disappeared within Kage's shadows.

(Rin): "Work. Now."

I started to feel like a teacher who's trying to get their student to do their work. Note to self: don't become a teacher. It doesn't feel like it's worth it.

(Shura): "Tch, bastard."

Shura kissed her teeth at me as she said that. Oi, you haven't even paid for them in the first place. I complain even though I've been using that air freshener till it's empty and not paid a single penny for it.

Trust me, I was doing the manager a favour. They can't run a stinky business like this without it, alright?

(Shura): "Alright, let's get going…"

After much difficulty and convincing, I finally got Shura to move as we headed to the last place, the manager's office. It wasn't that far from the aisles.

Shura and I nodded at each other when we finally got there. We got to either side of the door as Shura and I made one last nod before going in. She opened the door as I ran in with my katana in case there was anyone else inside but there wasn't a single soul there.

(Shura): "Nothing here too."

Shura grumbled as we began looking around. Damn this office is messy. How does she even work in this condition? There are files and papers in every corner of the room. Her computer looks like it's been here for 20 years, damn.

Actually, what am I expecting from a shitty store manager? She was a cheapskate in the anime too.

(Kage): 'The shadows are condensed over there, Otou-san.'

While I was staring in amazement at the room's state, Kage pointed to one of the rooms. She was pointing out a stack of papers that was against the wall. Hmm.

(Rin): "Hmm?"

When I removed the papers, there was nothing there but Kage was adamant about what she was feeling so I trusted her. I put my hand to the wall expecting it to be a regular wall, but instead, I felt nothing as my hand went through it.

It reminds me of the dark tunnel earlier when I stuck my hand through complete darkness. Looks like it's a similar concept.

(Shura): "Sweet, looks like we have something to work with now. I wonder what the managers doin' to have a lil' secret passage like this?"

I don't know, but the size of it isn't enough for her body to fit in, to be honest. So it couldn't have been her who made this.

Unless that body of hers was a cover and she's secretly not overweight? I think I've been watching too many anime to even consider that.

(Rin): "I don't know but I'm starting to get sick of this wild goose chase."

I said with an annoyed tone as I looked at the fake wall. Though I must admit, thanks to this experience, my respect for the scouts, in general, have increased. They have to go through so much just to make the main team of fighters able to fight in a secure place. Without them, everything would be ten times harder

(Kage): 'Why do you chase after a goose? What's a goose?'

(Rin): 'It's a saying, I'll explain it later.'

I rubbed my head when I replied to Kage, which made Shura look at me questioningly since she can't see or hear her. I'll add this to the list of things to explain to Kage later.

(Shura): "So who's going in first?"

Shura asks me as I just look at her with a deadpan expression. Do you think I'm gonna let you go first and worry about bumping into you? I feel like she'd just tease me so that's why I wanna go first.

(Rin): "I'll go in first."

(Shura): "Gentleman till the end huh."

Shura said that with a weird smirk before I entered the tunnel. Yup, it's cramped but workable to move around in. Why do I feel like it was made this size on purpose?

After a minute of navigating through this, I felt like we were going lower instead of going in the same level direction. It wasn't until five more minutes did I realise why that was the case.

(Rin): "Why does this connect to the sewers?"

I complained as I got out of the tunnel. Yeah, I'm gonna bleach my nose after all this is over. I quickly applied the aria spell again as it was about to wear out again.

(Shura): "Who knows. Looks like they've been travelling from her office to the sewers. Guess it must be an underground base."

Shura says that as she had trouble exiting the tunnel. Damn, her large chest is making it difficult for her to get out. It almost made me laugh at how ridiculous the scene is.

Another sight to the memory bank added. I thought that as I helped her get out.

(Shura): "Phew, thanks. I thought I would've been stuck there forever."

Shura says that as she wipes the sweat off her head as she looks around. The sewers had two sides to them and had the sewage water in between them as the divider. Oh god, I'm gonna cry if I have to deal with a sewage demon.

What's it gonna be? A sewer gator?

(Rin): "Let's stick together and search."

(Shura): "Okie!"

And as soon as I said that, she grabbed my arm again. I just sighed and started walking since I got better night vision. Her chest is sweaty, giving it a weird yet comfortable feel to them.

>\/<

And after a while of walking with the scenery not changing much, we suddenly heard sounds. Like little wet feet tapping along.

*Tap tap tap.*

Hearing this, Shura and I looked at each other before hiding behind a pipe. The sound got closer to both of us as we both slowed down our breathing to reduce the chances of getting caught.

When the footsteps were just around the corner, Shura and I nod once again to symbolise we're both ready to attack. We got out of hiding and raised our weapons, but what we found was...

(Rin): "A child?"

Both of us paused when we saw a young boy here. Why's he here?

(A/N: Alternative Titles: "Poor Rin's nose", "How do you even shop in that place", "Mystery boya")

Edited by Xenoblade

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