"The further she walked, the more sparse people became. Is this really the Fuyuki city she’s so used to? Rin felt a faint chill creeping up her entire body.
Actually, Fuyuki city had already imposed a curfew. Strange murders and abductions have been happening recently and last night even a series of explosions, made for terrorism purposes, occurred at Shinto and the harbor district. The police was urging citizens to go out less often at night, and the smart ones have all obeyed this command.
But even if there were no curfews, there shouldn’t be many citizens who still liked to wonder at night. Nowadays something unwholesome was lurking in the Shinto night; human instincts would have already detected this.
“– Aaa, as I thought.”
The red police light lit up further down the street and Rin hid in the shadow of a building in fright. The patrolling police car was driving slowly, searching for any citizen who was walking alone at night. There was no way the police would leave her alone if they see her, and if that happens she wouldn’t be able to go save Kotone.
Rin finally relaxed as she watched the light move slowly away –
Clack.
– Rin swallowed the scream she almost yelled out.
That sound just then came from the depth of the alleyway by the house she was hiding next to, and it’s probably a stray cat sifting through the rubbish and knocked over some cans. But it’s hard to determine if someone was there.
Rin drew a sharp breath when she looked down on the magecraft compass in her hands.
Unmoving, as if frozen in place, the needle pointed straight towards the direction of the sound.
Something was there; something that emanated unnatural prana was there.
“…”
Isn’t this the result you're waiting anxiously for?
You've already gotten some response from your investigation. Isn't that a sign of a good start? Rin planned to go through all suspicious spots in Shinto and check Kotone’s presence one by one. Here, the first place she checked, already has something.
Come now, let's step into the inside of the alley and check what's there.
“No!”
Maybe there are some clues about Kotone right there. Or maybe, Kotone herself is there.
“Absolutely not!”
There's no reason to hesitate. If not, there would be no meaning coming this far. You are not a coward. You would not do things such as abandoning your friend as well. That's because you are one of the Tōsaka with a long and distinguished history. So you have to prove that you're brave and can become your great father's successor.
“No no no absolutely not no no no no noooooo…!”
A wet sound could be heard. Splash, splash, Something lurking at the deep inside the alley was breathing, as if sneering her, creeping towards her.
Rin finally realized that this journey of exploration, aimed to recover her best friend, was definitely not as easy to complete as she thought.
Kotone’s figure wasn’t in the depth of the darkness.
Even if she was in there, she wouldn’t be the same Kotone as before.
If she was thinking of finding Kotone in the darkness of Shinto, from the start, Rin should have aimed to find Kotone's ▉▉▉▉▉▉▉▉ instead.
“NO!!”