"Originally, a company owner and his family lived here. He ran a local chain of barbecue restaurants."
"But starting last July, because of mad cow disease, his restaurants took a devastating hit. With debts piling up at home, the entire family eventually committed suicide."
"After that, this house became a well-known haunted spot in the area. Local middle and high school students, college students from out of town, and even freelancers all came here to play courage-testing games, only to disappear one after another."
"The rumors kept escalating, and the range of victims kept expanding."
Utahime was sitting in the car, reading through the materials provided by the assistant supervisor while reporting the mission details to Mei Mei.
Mei Mei, her pale blue hair that was nearly white tied into a simple ponytail, typed on her phone as she replied.
"He used real beef for his barbecue? No wonder he went bankrupt."
"What?"
"Nothing. I mean, rumors about haunted locations always spread especially fast. Lately, they've been spreading at an unbelievable speed through the internet, which has really increased our workload as sorcerers."
"There are already multiple victims. We need to cut off the source as soon as possible."
Mei Mei glanced at the balance displayed on her phone, then closed it.
"That's why the higher-ups commissioned me to investigate. The appearance fee they offered was pretty generous."
As they spoke, they arrived at a sinister-looking haunted house.
Mei Mei stopped Utahime from lowering a curtain.
"I don't sense any cursed energy. The source should be inside the house. Fighting indoors won't be easy to detect, so we'll put up the curtain when we need to strike from the outside."
Mei Mei tossed a flashlight to Utahime.
"You'll probably need this. Sweep the whole building first. I'll check the first floor. You take the second."
"Huh? Just me?"
"Is that a problem?"
"N-no, not at all."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Utahime held the flashlight and shakily searched the second floor. After checking the final room and finding nothing but a few rats, a hand suddenly landed on her shoulder.
"Ahhhhhhh—!"
Utahime spun around and saw Mei Mei standing behind her.
"Mei-san, don't scare me like that!"
"You scared yourself."
"Have you finished checking the first floor?"
"Hm? This is the first floor."
Mei Mei pointed with her umbrella at the soda cans, chip bags, backpacks scattered on the ground, and the markings carved into the walls with cursed energy.
"I've seen all of this three times already. Looks like we're already inside its belly."
The two continued walking down the corridor for a while longer.
Utahime stopped to catch her breath.
"This isn't an Innate Domain, is it?"
Mei Mei shook her head.
"We've already been walking for thirty minutes, and an Innate Domain is the physical manifestation of a mental landscape, which means…"
"A Barrier technique."
"Exactly. But judging from the nature of the technique, the Cursed Spirit itself shouldn't be very strong. As long as we leave the Barrier, this can be resolved. So, Utahime, how would you get out of here?"
"This corridor loops, but I've been counting. Each loop takes a different number of steps. That means if we sprint through the corridor at full speed, the Barrier is bound to collapse somewhere."
"Good thinking. Unfortunately, ninety points."
"Huh?"
"If we run in opposite directions at the same time, the Barrier will collapse even more easily."
"Then let's do it. If this works, I'd appreciate it if you'd recommend me for a promotion."
"How much savings do you have?"
"Huh?"
"Never mind. I'll think about it. Now, run."
The two of them took off in opposite directions. After a while, Utahime felt the floor beneath her feet begin to crack as the entire corridor started collapsing.
Just as she was about to fall into the rubble, the outside was suddenly wrapped in a black [Curtain]. A gigantic owl swooped in, caught Utahime, and gently set her down on the ground.
Utahime had barely managed to relax when a massive Cursed Spirit appeared behind her. But the moment it emerged, it was torn apart and devoured by a huge white hound.
Still shaken, Utahime watched as the animals dissolved into shadows and disappeared. A figure with dark circles under his eyes slowly walked over.
"Ah, it's Akira. That's a relief. If it were Gojo, there's no way it would've been this quiet."
Akira Zenin nodded lightly.
"I'm glad you're okay, senpai."
In truth, Akira Zenin's mood was terrible. What was happening now was already beginning to diverge from the storyline he remembered.
Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto had been called away a day early to protect the Star Plasma Vessel. The principal had sent him here to look for the two who'd gone missing. Still, that was fine. Once this mission was done, he could catch up with them. At the very least, he had to save Riko Amanai, who was supposed to die… and his uncle had to survive as well.
Mei Mei was sitting on a nearby rock.
"Oh? You're that laid-back student from the Zenin Clan. Why are you here?"
Akira Zenin closed his eyes and answered in a flat, almost recited tone.
"You've been out of contact for two days, so I was sent to find you."
"Looks like this Barrier affects time as well. If that's the case, my actual working time was two full days. I'll have to charge a higher appearance fee for that."
Akira Zenin had no interest in continuing the conversation.
"Since the mission is complete, I'm heading back."
"Huh? That fast? Akira, why don't you come have coffee with us? Consider it my way of saying thanks."
"I'll pass. Maybe next time."
A phone suddenly rang from inside Akira Zenin's clothes. After answering it, his face filled with disbelief.
"What? You want someone like me, who's always out in the field, to go back to the Zenin Clan and handle internal affairs?"
...
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