Three bodies were bleeding in the grass, while Shin rummaged through their things. Sadly, besides the crowbar and a small sum of money, the dead treasure hunters had little of use.
Tetsu took a bite of a bleeding chunk of a liver and made a face before carelessly throwing it away.
"This stinks! Too bad that their friend wasn't with them—he's the one who has been summoned and Contracted, right, boss?"
Shin hummed in agreement and left dead men's things alone. "It looks like he just tried to avoid problems. Maybe he did. We can pay him a visit after we get what we came for—even if he's not there, it will be a start. Origami proved that it can track people as well as a dog."
He threw a glance at the shikigami rat, which now had this nickname. Origami also partook in the bloody feast of flesh. Unlike Tetsu, who preferred organs, Origami seemed to gravitate towards fat.
The rat was how Shin found this group. He stumbled on their car at the end of the road, then ordered Origami to track their scent. The paper rat found the people in record time and led Shin to them.
"Finish eating and let's go," Shin said to both his demons. "We are only halfway to the lighthouse."
Soon, they—well, Shin was the only one technically doing it—resumed walking. Sometimes, Shin would let Origami scout ahead to make sure that he didn't lose his way. Other times, Tetsu would notice some interesting bug in the foliage and try to catch it before Shin reminds her of the mission.
The traps and dangers of the forest that were about to kill the treasure hunters were a breeze for Shin. What Origami or Tetsu couldn't sniff out, Shin could destroy. Most of those things were just a nuisance.
Like now.
"Damn," he muttered when his legs sank into a hidden bog. Shin was ready to swear that the ground underneath him was solid only a moment before.
'Boss! Oh, I should've noticed this illusion… Do you need my help?' Tetsu asked worriedly.
'No, but thank you, Tetsu,' Shin declined, looking at the nearest trees. 'The strength you give just by being Contracted with me is enough.'
He hooked his crowbar to a hanging branch of a nearby tree and used it to pull himself up. Then, with an ease of a pro athlete, Shin pulled himself higher until he crouched on the branch. In another graceful movement, Shin jumped off the branch, safely landing on the other side of the hidden bog.
Inside his head, Tetsu sighed dreamily. 'You are so resourceful, my friend… Even with only a half of my strength you deal with these obstacles so easily! And the way you beat those humans earlier was so grand. I only wish I could've felt it the same way I feel things when we fully merge…'
Shin crouched on the ground and tore some grass to clean his muddy sneakers. He was all too aware of the phantom sensation of Tetsu caressing his chest and shoulders.
'So you want us to merge more often? Do you like it?' Shin asked.
'Yes! It's great! Although… I don't know. It doesn't feel QUITE right, that's all. Something is missing. I don't make any sense, am I? Sorry, my friend… Maybe I will be able to make more sense out of this when I remember more of my life. It's still all flashes to me.'
Shin frowned. This really made no sense, and he couldn't imagine what about merging didn't seem right to her. So far, it worked exactly as it should have been.
'Take your time, Tetsu. Don't worry,' Shin placated her.
He stood up. The grass was a poor replacement for a good washing. It didn't make Shin's sneakers any less soggy, but he had to keep moving.
The rest of the walk towards the lighthouse went in a similar vein.
A pack of wolves Shin easily killed with Tetsu's help. Several easily torn snares were just more nuisances. And a nest of anomalously aggressive vipers almost became Tetsu's pets—the only thing stopping them was the lack of containers to stuff them in.
The sun was still high up when the forest finally ended. The topside of the cliff was like a bald patch on a middle-aged man's head, from the middle of which the old lighthouse grew like some giant wart.
Time had weathered the brick walls, and someone boarded up all the windows. Grass grew from cracks in the porch's stairs. There was no light inside, and no other signs of life.
But even without entering, Shin could feel the echoes of dark magic in his skin. The inhabitant of this place used magic so much that it stained the air.
Instead of the sea, Shin could smell only blood and rot.
He picked the rat from his shoulder.
"Origami, go inside. Find how many people are there, where they are, and if any of them smell like demons."
The rat nodded back. As soon as Shin sent it down, it scurried off towards the lighthouse. In a minute, it disappeared through a crack in the foundation.
Origami couldn't talk or write, but it understood human speech perfectly well. Now Shin only had to wait.
Five minutes… ten…
And then he felt it—a malicious gaze directed at him.
With a start, Shin lifted his eyes. On the very top of the lighthouse, someone was staring at him through the crack between window boards. There was nowhere to hide nearby from that stare, but as soon as Shin tried to meet it, the feeling disappeared.
'We have been noticed. Was Origami caught?' Shin thought darkly, but then calmed himself down. 'Doesn't matter. This is someone we can take on.'
And then, as if inviting Shin to prove his words, the door to the lighthouse opened on its own.
Shin smiled at it and went forward. This was a trap, and he knew it—just like he knew how to deal with it.
'This is like playing poker while knowing all the cards in the deck.'