Chapter 60: Fated Burn(16)

Neither Rea nor the tanned-skinned girl said anything as they stared at Nozomi.

After processing Nozomi's words, Rea looked around her surroundings. When she didn't find what she was looking for, she took a step forward towards Nozomi. "Okay... uh, sorry but, is this some kind of prank that I'm not getting? Am I being filmed?" Rea asked in a confused tone.

Rea frowned at Nozomi. "Because I don't have the time for whatever this is, since, y'know." Rea raised the plastic bag she carried so everyone could see. "I kind of have to deliver this to my aunt before she comes and kicks my ass for being late."

When Nozomi was about to say she was actually serious, the words stopped in her mouth as Rea interrupted her abruptly. "I mean, I suppose she did a convincing enough performan-, wait, no, what am I saying, shut up already!" Rea ordered to seemingly no one. She looked like a crazy person talking to themselves.

Could this be the result of some sort of darkspawn magic? If Judai could control bugs, what's stopping a darkspawn that can manipulate humans from existing? Nozomi wondered, her expression growing concerned. "Are you okay?" Nozomi finally asked Rea, letting her concern for their well-being show in her voice.

Seemingly snapping out of her crazy rambling, Rea turned her attention to Nozomi. Her sudden stare made Nozomi recoil a bit. After a moment of silence that felt stretched out for an eternity, Nozomi got her answer. "Yes... I'm okay... can I go home now?" Rea asked in the least convincing way possible.

The awkward silence in the air was so dense that Nozomi almost missed the girl with tanned skin slowly walking away from the scene. "Hey! I told you to stop right there!" Nozomi shouted at them.

The runaway girl, who Nozomi was sure to be a darkspawn, didn't think twice before she immediately bolted away from Nozomi. The latter soon followed suit with Yoshino and Seiza not too far behind. They all passed by Rea, who gave them puzzled looks.

Just when the darkspawn was about to exit the alley, they were welcomed by the barrel of a revolver pointed right in the middle of their face. The one holding the gun was none other than Rudabaugh.

"Now, now... why the need to rush? We just want to discuss some things with you. I promise it will be over quickly." Although his tone was playful, Nozomi could feel the underlying threat in Rudabaugh's words. Said words were reinforced as he turned the safety of his revolver off.

The darkspawn took a step back in surprise. When it saw Nozomi and company quickly approaching from behind, they didn't hesitate any more on what they were about to do. They raised a hand in the air as if to reach for the sky. "Barrier creation! Luebat Muzlima!" they shouted.

Soon enough, the entire hallway was engulfed in a black mass of shadows originating from the darkspawn that obscured Nozomi's senses when she was about to grab the darkspawn.

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When Rea's vision returned, she was welcomed by a completely unfamiliar environment.

The first thing Rea noticed was the sky. As far as she could see, it was filled with many giant-sized see-through tarot cards, each with a unique number and art to differentiate it from the others. "The fuck..." Rea muttered to herself in awe, as every time she felt her day couldn't get any crazier, again and again, the universe made sure to prove her wrong.

When Rea walked forward, she noticed how the ground below her feet felt softer. When she looked down, the floor was also made out of giant tarot cards. The one she had been on top of was a card with a king sitting on a throne with a white beard, indicating wisdom in experience.

Rea was snapped out of her awe by the sudden and loud sound of gunfire.

Turning to where the sound was coming from, Rea soon saw those people who had just suddenly appeared in the alleyway. Two of them were enveloped in what she could only describe as an ominous, sickly aura that seemed familiar for some reason. They continuously tried to shoot an old, creepy wooden doll that had features making it look like a mockery of a young girl, including eyelashes, long hair, and a slim body that was as tall as an average teenage girl. Wait, surely that isn't...

Even if Rea had zero experience with guns herself, she still felt like the projectiles had vastly more power behind them than they normally should with their size.

And that's not even accounting for the one wearing a white bull mask. Rea watched her shoot beams of light from her hands, which, for some reason beyond Rea's comprehension, produced the same booming sound as when a gun was fired.

But even with this much firepower, the wooden doll just stood there with her arms crossed, unbothered by all the metal and light projectiles fired at it. Rea soon realized the reason for it as her surprise by the situation diminished. She paid close inspection and soon noticed how the regular bullets bounced and were stopped by some invisible force surrounding the doll while the light bullets were reflected in random directions by what Rea would swear were floating shards of glass. The shards vanished immediately after the attacks were reflected.

Yeesh, we should probably... wait, where are you going?! Rea's humanity exclaimed as Rea went straight in the direction of the conflict.

I am going to get answers, duh! Rea mentally answered back as if she was stating the obvious to an infant.

Don't you "Duh!" me! Get back here this instant before you get both of us killed! Rea's humanity ordered enraged. Unfortunately, she was ignored by Rea.

If Rea and her humanity hadn't been distracted by their own banter, they would've noticed how the lighting around them turned slightly dimmer.

When Rea reached the commotion, she went to ask the ones who didn't look like a monster out of a trashy horror movie. "Tsk, of course, it wouldn't be so simple..." The one wearing a pink goat mask cursed under her breath as she stopped firing at the doll. The one who looked like a cowboy out of an old West movie ceased firing too when his revolver ran out of bullets.

"Hey, you, bull mask, what's going on?" Rea demanded as she approached the group.

When the goat-masked girl turned to address them, the bull-masked girl looked caught off guard. For a second, it seemed they were trying to think of how to explain it. For some reason, they were forcing their voice to sound unnatural in front of Rea, which she found strange as she had never met someone with white hair before. "W-well, you see..."

The girl didn't get to say more before the doll interrupted them. "Are you guys done now?" the doll darkspawn asked mockingly, with one hand on her hip. Her voice was the same one Rea had heard from that girl with tanned skin but distorted as if it had come from an old toy's broken recorder. Which further unsettled Rea.

Ok, should we ask or wait until...

Rea's humanity didn't get to finish before someone interrupted her. "What is going on?" The goat-masked girl demanded answers from the monster doll as she reloaded her revolver after sharing some of her bullets with the cowboy by her side.

Thank you, I almost thought we would be the ones asking! Rea's humanity exclaimed.

ZIP. IT! Rea ordered her humanity.

Thankfully, they didn't need to wait long for her question to be answered, the creepy doll gladly obliging. "Well, you see... your attacks didn't work thanks to my dark barrier's effect!"

The doll darkspawn pointed at the white-masked girl. "While inside, everyone will have to follow its rules, even the likes of you will have to play along!"

"So a combat barrier... great," the cowboy sarcastically commented.

"Uh, so that's what they are called? The more you know," the doll said to herself.

"Wait, what kind of barrier?" the goat-masked girl asked.

The cowboy sighed. "We would've discussed it later, but long story short, it's a barrier created to give the user an advantage under certain conditions."

"Wait, what do you mean by Play along exactly?" Rea asked, frowning at the doll.

As the doll turned its attention to Rea and acknowledged her existence, it seemed slightly surprised by her presence. "Oh, you're here," the doll's glassy eyes looked awkwardly around. "I didn't account for this..." The doll admitted before shrugging off. "Just... try to not be in the way. I'll quickly deal with them and let you go. Now..."

Five cards materialized in front of the doll before it swiped them in one fell swoop with her left hand. "Prepare yourselves, as you have all been challenged to a dark game by yours truly, Mukarramma!" Mukarramma declared while dramatically pointing at Rea and the group.