A distant howl met Lozo's ears. It was quite loud and directed to the large silver ball in the sky. The night was quiet, most of the laughter of the day gone to the dream world with the children who brought it. Underneath the ball's silver light, Lozo's shadow casted on the main path of the row of buildings they were in. He sat on the wooden roof of one of the buildings, his legs dangling close to the open circular window of the house. Inside He could swear he could hear snoring was constantly being paused by a gaggling sound. The possibility of sleep in that house was a wonder to Lozo.
But Lozo didn't sit on the roof just to listen the sound of a man snoring in their sleep.
No.
Down the street a single house still had its lights on. The curtains were still drawn revealing the uneasy motion that occurred inside. Approximately four people were inside, with one too short to form a silhouette on the high window curtains. Another of the four was currently exiting and walking into the main path and searching for his where he was. Another was carrying a steaming kettle and pouring some tea it into a cup before handing it to the last figure in the house. This last figure had been crying for a while now and had only just calmed down a few moments before she was poured the tea. She was also the reason why Lozo was seated at the top of the roof.
"Has she calmed down yet?" Lozo asked Karin as he dropped from the roof top.
"Yes, but you are still not allowed to come inside. The correspondent has only just calmed her down and doesn't want you to agitate her."
"Ahhh! It's cold out here." Lozo complained.
"Well, that's what you get for whatever the hell you think you were doing back there. What were you thinking? Standing off Normals like that? You could have been killed you know."
"Yeah, yeah. I know. Anyway, what happened to the thing that popped out of the kid?"
"It got away. But it couldn't have gotten far. if it shows up again the TNTs will lead us to it."
"I don't know about that. "Lozo said scratching the back of his head." There is something of with that thing. It's actually the reason why I knew there was something odd back at the alley. But first could you explain to me what these domains are?"
Karin sighed but continued.
"Domains are unexplained natural energy phenomena. They exist in different shapes, forms and natures just like the one we saw earlier. That's an example of a domain, a Purger domain to be specific. Domain usually exists with a purpose and most of the time the purpose is malevolent and that's why we are tasked with handling them."
"That help?" she asked before giving a tired yawn.
"Purpose huh? and do they have things like… um" in a distance the earlier howl rose again." Oh, like how wolves have alphas who lead the pack?" Lozo asked looking into the correspondents' house.
"How did… Yes, they do. It a higher concept of their behavior and why they are called domains in the first place."
"In the real world, a domain holds more than one entity in it. As do these domains. The entities are usually classified into two. The mind of the domain is called the Goryos as for the other the Onryos. Think of them as the minions to the Goryos. "
"But these characteristics are seen in only the other higher classes of domains. Wanderer and Limbo Domains. The one we have here is a simple purger domain. It hasn't developed enough to have a Goryo mind." Karin added.
"Why did you ask?"
Lozo was silent for a while. His eyes strolled around while he was in thought. For a moment they happened cross into the house.
Inside the earlier lady that had a shawl was sipping a steaming cup of tea. She was seated on one of the wooden chairs in the room, buffering the heat from the cup with her shawl. Just below her the boy, Covy, stood. His eyes glared up to her. They were sad and almost tearing. They still had the old man look but less exaggerated than before.
"Are you sure a purger domain can't have smaller underlings?"
"Yes, Purger domains can't have either Goryos or Onryos. They aren't developed enough."
"The if the domain is a Purger that means… it's…"
Just as the final words in his conclusion formed two sudden cries filled the nightly atmosphere.
One was the sound a child's cries immediately after a loud door bang. Soon after the child's cries began the second started in a symphony.
A symphony cats in the night. Meowing in the place of the hounds to the moon.
"It's going to come back for the boy." Lozo's words finally came out.
Just then he saw Covy rush by. Though his steps were small, his motion was swift. He ran blindly into the night, covering his watering eyes.
Inside the lady with the shawl hadn't moved an inch. She only blew into her tea pushing away the steam that rose from it. in her place was the old correspondent. She waddled as fast as her aged legs could.
"Please go after him. It's too dangerous out in the night." Her voice was muffled in the meowing but Lozo and Karin could make out what she was saying. Yeah, also it was common sense they needed to go after him.
***
"What's with all this cats?" Lozo complained as they rushed through the main path.
As they ran more and more across the street, more houses lit their light. One could see parent silhouettes rush in the houses and enter a room with another silhouette that was screaming. The screaming one would be covering their ears in a panic frenzy trying to block out the cats in the night.
"It must be the domain. It's going after the boy." Lozo said.
"Why?" Karin asked
The two cut into a corner and could see Covy slip into an alley.
"I think Covy has something that it wants. Just like the sphere from earlier."
"I think the domain is here to chase for the smaller ones we found scattered around."
Just to the adjacent building, something was crossing from roof to roof. Its form was malleable, bending like slime slithering through the air, flowing as though it didn't obey gravity.
Karin looked up and saw it. "I guess you're right. It's the domain."
Just as sudden as it appeared crossing through the night, the slime ward dropped and disappeared into the alley the boy had just ran into.
"I'll attack. Cover me with your slime." Lozo ordered as he slid into the alley.
At first the command sounded weird but then Karin took the same sharp turn into the alley and noticed the Domain tower towards Covy. Lozo was racing behind it, a fist fully formed and ready to inject it into the Domain. Then the command clicked.
"Tazugata!!" she summoned into a sliding stop with both hands glowing a dark shimmer and in contact with the tiled ground of the alley.
Under her summon, her black mass rose and curved past Lozo and towards the advancing Domain.
The domain dodged with zero need to look, just a fluid weave. But at the end it Lozo waited.
"Aaaah!" Lozo roared as he charged his fist into the domain.
His fist went right through and into the jelly body of the domain. He could see his finger wiggle around in the lavender fluid that was the domain. He tried to retrack his hand but it was stuck. Elbow deep and advancing for the rest of his arm and hopefully… his body.
"Karin!!" He shouted in distress.
"Hold on." She said as she swirled the dark mass back toward the Domain. "Just pull it back and stop it from getting to the boy."
Her next onslaught missed just like previous one. Only this swayed past the domain striking the hard tiled ground and dispersing into bit.
Karin almost cursed.
Just ahead Lozo's head was defyingly pressing against the body of the domain that so dearly wanted to eat him wholly. The domain looked oblivious to the two's presence compared to their earlier meeting where it ran. Wherever its eyes were Karin was more than sure that they were locked onto the cowering boy shaking and crying at the end of the alley.
The domain's advanced continued. Currently it stood in the way of whatever moonlight that was meant for the boy sheltering him under its shadow.
"Aaargh!" Behind it Lozo pulled relentlessly. Quite the nuisance. But their efforts didn't matter anymore. It had gotten what it wanted.
The boy's tears clouded his vision. If not, Covy would have seen the domain's form move about and form a single thick finger. The finger would stretch towards him like branching roots to a water source.
Covy felt a cold touch on his fore head. Startled he tried to jump back to react to the sudden touch. Even he did, it would have mattered.
The extraction was complete.