Art Museum
Kotoko Iwanaga and Minoru Kageno stepped out of the taxi to find police tape strung across the entrance. Undeterred by rules, they lifted the barrier and slipped inside.
The museum was silent, only their footsteps and the tap of Kotoko's cane echoed through the halls.
"Isn't this dangerous?" Minoru forced cold sweat to bead on his forehead, playing up his fear.
Kotoko waved a hand dismissively: "For someone so strong, you're useless. Don't worry, if things go wrong, you take the hits while I call backup."
They cut through an alley to the crime scene. Kotoko flipped on her phone's flashlight chaos littered the room, but one painting at the center stood out. A sword wound sliced through its canvas, blood staining the lower half, yet the image remained clear: a medieval knight facing a Slit-Mouthed Woman wielding giant scissors.
Minoru stepped back, feigning terror: "Look! The spirit you summoned is in the painting!"
Kotoko nodded firmly: "We found the source!"
She approached carefully: "This is Redemption, the story of a dragon slayer who becomes the dragon himself."
Minoru leaned in to look. Behind the knight, where blood had soaked the canvas, a pair of demonic eyes had opened.
A chilling scream tore through the air. The Slit-Mouthed Woman in the painting was ripped apart, and the knight turned slowly, his sword dripping red. Before Kotoko could react, a terrifying aura surged from the canvas and lunged at Minoru.
"Stay back!" He yelled, stumbling to the ground before scrambling out of the museum on hands and knees.
"Hey!" Kotoko couldn't stop him in time, muttering, "Useless," as she watched the canvas shift.
Black mist swirled around her but was blocked by an invisible barrier. Inside the painting, the Slit-Mouthed Woman's body mended itself, and she charged out once more to clash with the yin energy.
Kotoko held back, knowing she needed a fatal strike to end it. The Slit-Mouthed Woman was unkillable and relentless given time, she would prevail. But as the battle raged, the mist transformed into a grotesque demon, its laughter warping minds and sapping the spirit's will to fight.
Kotoko bit her thumb, weighing her options: "Joining the fight won't help much I'd just be a weak point. Maybe I can contain it instead…"
A deafening crash shattered the second-floor window. Glass shards hovered in the air as moonlight streamed in, casting star-like patterns across the room.
A cloaked figure stood at the broken frame, robes billowing in the wind.
"Hmph."
Shadow leaped down, his magic-infused crowbar slamming into the demon. The black mist exploded into countless dots before reforming with a terrified howl.
"Shadow?" Kotoko recognized the acquaintance Shaka had mentioned. "Why are you here?"
Beneath the cloak, he smirked, twirling his crowbar: "I smell darkness…"
Kotoko's eyes widened as she glanced at the Slit-Mouthed Woman: "…Don't tell me you're here for your old lover? Sorry, she's mine now."
Shadow froze mid-movement, mouth opening and closing before letting out a sharp "Hmph." He advanced on the demon, muttering, "From the moment I was born, I've had only one purpose…"
"Let us hunt down those who have fallen into darkness."
Blue threads of magic bound the demon as it shrieked. Kotoko warned, "It can't be killed—even with special powers!"
Shadow said nothing, grabbing the demon's head as his cloak writhed. Viscous black substance covered the creature, and his [Disguiser's Cloak] began to assimilate it.
Unkillable? Then I'll eat it.
When the cloak fully enveloped the demon, it thrashed inside. Kotoko stared in shock: "How did you do that?"
"None of your business." Shadow turned his back coldly before approaching the painting. He touched the canvas, magic rippling through his arm as purple patterns spread across the surface.
BOOM—
The painting exploded like a grenade. Kotoko shielded her face as Shadow reduced it to splinters. With its host destroyed, the demon grew docile and sought a new home in Shadow's cloak.
He looked down at his updated gear:
Whispers of Satan
Supernatural Prop
• Enhances mimicry and deterrence
• Parasitic curse that alters appearance and can split into multiple forms
• Cost: For 3 days after use, you seeeveryone as trash
Siren wails approached. Shadow flicked his robe and vanished into the moonlight. Moments later, Minoru ran back, gasping: "Ms. Iwanaga, are you okay? I called the police!"
Kotoko kicked his shin: "What are you doing? Run! Do you want to get arrested for an explosion and weapon use?"
"Right!"
They fled just as the peach-blossom-eyed girl arrived, sucking on her lollipop. She examined the scene with approval: "Not bad at all! Special Division's taking this over let's go back to base."