The deeper they went, the heavier the air around them became. Every step felt like sinking deeper into the throat of something... rotten. Crumbling buildings leaned inward, their windows black and shattered. A musty funk filled the air, which made the inside of Daiki's nostrils twist.
Daiki tried breathing through his mouth, but even that didn't help.
It was as if they were in a corpse that refused to decay.
"Man," he muttered, covering his nose with his hand, "this place smells like shit."
Yui walked right beside him, her hands wrapped tight around her knife. Sweat ran down her palms, her breathing quiet but uneven. The only sounds were their footsteps and the occasional crack of broken glass.
"You hear that?" Daiki whispered.
Yui's eyes flicked around. "...Yeah."
The sound came before they saw anything: a wet, scraping nose, like claws dragging across broken stone, that was soon followed by a loud and piercing screech. From a nearby alley, four Yurei that looked like short but humanoid canines slipped out. Their heads turned in eerie unison, their glowing eyes burning with hunger. They didn't stumble mindlessly like some of the other Yurei.
They were moving in sync, circling, watching, almost like a pack of animals.
Daiki swallowed hard, a nervous sweat slowly dripping from his face. "That's great.."
Then, all at once, they lunged.
Daiki swung hard, cracking one right across the face with a heavy blow. Another claw raked his side, tearing his uniform. Yui darted in, shoving her blade into a Yurei's arm, twisting hard before leaping back.
"They're... working together," she said through gritted teeth.
"Yeah, no kidding...!" Daiki blocked another swipe with his bat, the impact rattling his arms. "It's like they've practiced this a thousand times!"
The pack of Yurei only pressed harder with each attack. One of them barreled Daiki into a wall, claws scraping inches from his throat. Yui slashed it away, but another slammed into her side, sending her sprawling into a wall. Daiki rushed over and dragged her back to her feet.
Heavy breaths exited both of their mouths.
"We can't win like this," Yui said, voice shaking.
The pack of Yurei shrieked in unison as their bodies began to distort, melting together into a grotesque twist of shadow and flesh. Limbs lengthy and tangled, jaws sharp and split, and in seconds, one towering beast stood before them.
Its claws were longer than Daiki's bat.
And its eyes were blazing with ravenous hunger.
Daiki blinked once, skin pale. "...Did they just fuse..?"
Yui's throat closed. "...We can't beat that."
The monster roared and swung down at both of them. Daiki moved before he could think and shoved her out of the way, taking the brunt of the fall as the stone shattered. He pulled himself up, blood dripping from his temple as a result of the impact.
He could feel Surge, like embers beneath his skin.
Why wasn't it exploding as it did before?
"Yui!" he yelled desperately. "Use your Ketsugojin, or dosomething!"
Her lungs refused to work. She wanted to scream I can't. She was useless and only dragging Daiki down.
The giant's claw came down—
And something tore loose inside her chest.
A shadow erupted from Yui's being, tethered to her by a thread of blue light. The same Yurei she'd killed earlier, reborn as a snarling spectral familiar[1]. Its rotund body slammed into the monster's arm, deflecting the blow that would've surely ended Daiki's life.
Yui's eyes widened. "...I summoned it?"
Daiki blinked, half laughing through the blood on his lip. "Okay, that was actually awesome, Yui!"
The summoned Yurei screamed for her, and something shifted within Yui.
The terror was still there, but now it was lined with determination.
"I'm not useless."
She tightened her grip on the knife, heart pounding with something she couldn't explain yet. Her summon threw a blow at the giant's throat. Daiki rushed forward and smashed his bat into its knee, swinging with unreal force. Yui drove her blade into its chest with more force and power than she thought she had.
The monstrous amalgamation howled, backhanding Daiki into a wall. Blood ran down his arm, but he forced himself up, gritting his teeth through the pain.
Daiki could feel it more now.
The rush.
"Still breathing."
Yui's legs shook and trembled, but she refused to back away.
Not anymore.
Her summon lunged again, using its hands to deliver a swift punch into its chest. Daiki charged, Reiki rapidly rushing through the entirety of his body. He slammed his bat into its knees, swinging with every ounce of power he had. The hit cracked bone, the creature dropping to one knee. This opened a path for Yui, allowing her to dart forward at great speed and thrust her blade right into its stomach, stabbing deep.
The monster, still not having been taken down yet, raised its claws to crush them all in one fell swoop—
But something blurred in from the shadows, slicing the arms of the monster off cleanly.
It was that fox from earlier.
It immediately followed up by smacking the monster's face with its tail, which delivered a surprising amount of force that sent it staggering back.
A sharp grin was on its face, eyes glowing blue. "You two have the survival instincts of headless deer, but you definitely make for great entertainment."
"...What the hell is going on?" Daiki muttered, eyes widening.
Yui blinked, not entirely trusting what she was seeing. "You... again?!"
The fox-like spirit landed lightly, teeth bared in a sly grin. "What? Don't be so shocked. You two were about to be eaten like a snack. Figured I'd keep you guys alive just a little longer."
The fox turned, looking at the monster, slowly regaining its balance. The thing screeched, before charging forward with destructive and murderous intentions.
"It's time to fight. Keep staring, and you'll be smears on the wall," the fox barked before rushing forward.
Daiki snapped out of it, finally lifting his bat again. "Right, Yui! C'mon!"
They charged forward together, ready to end this battle once and for all. The sudden involvement of the fox gave Yui's summon the opportunity to grip onto the monster's neck and bury its teeth right into its neck.
The fused monstroisty let out an ear-splitting screech, a sign of the pain it was in and the conclusion of this fight. Daiki dashed toward its leg and slammed his bat into its already damaged knee, the Reiki flooding his body, increasing the damage of this blow.
It fell to one knee again.
It was getting overwhelmed.
With one last attack, Yui plunged her blade straight into its chest. The fused Yurei let out one final cry before exploding into a cloud of black energy that surged into her chest, just like last time.
Yui staggered a bit, gasping for air.
Daiki leaned on a nearby wall, a small grin on his face despite all the pain and exhaustion flooding his body. "...That was insane."
Yui let out a weak laugh. "...But we did it."
The fox padded forward, flicking its tail. "Not bad at all, little humans. A bit sad though, almost dying in the kiddie pool." He winked, then dissolved into mist. "Get stronger, and don't drown when the waves hit."
The cold silence of the Hollow District returned.
The shadows were not as heavy as they were before, however.
Daiki rested his bat on his shoulder, glancing at Yui. "Guess we make a pretty good team."
Yui smiled faintly. "Yeah. We do."
They stood side by side amidst the quiet district. The oppressive air and lingering shadows of the Hollow District felt a little less frightening now.
Two students had just survived their first real taste of what being an Exorcist meant.
And it was only the beginning for both of them.
[1] Yui is a Late Bloomer just like Daiki, and her Ketsugojin, Yurei Assimilation, allows her to absorb the Reiki from Yurei she has killed/exorcised to completely control them in battle.