"If a human turns invisible there's a possibility they might encounter Veil, an entity that lurks in the concealed plane of existence. It doesn't like to be seen by beings that aren't from its world." Douma explained both he and Shinobu were looking for a place to stay in this part of Atami.
"That sounds creepy."
"If Veil sees you it'll absorb your colors. When that happens you'll be invisible forever. That's why invisibility shouldn't be played with your voice and touch will eventually disappear too."
The last few words sent shivers down Shinobu's spine. The thought of not being able to reach your loved ones anymore while still seeing them go about their daily lives wondering what happened to you was incredibly disturbing.
"Is there a way to avoid it?" Shinobu asked sounding a little too hopeful she knew the answer may not be so positive nothing about this entity is.
"Veil exists everywhere it's the manifestation of invisibility. Even if you run to the emptiest parts of the universe it'll somehow be there. You can be the fastest being in existence, it'll still catch up with you. No matter where you go it's bound to exist in the same location. If you decide to jump into a time machine good luck it'll be knocking on your door when you get there."
"So there's no way to escape this thing? It'll just keep chasing you until it absorbs your life force?"
"That is correct."
"Can't we just get rid of it or something?"
"There hasn't been anyone who's managed to put it down or even have a direct battle with it. I've heard of a few beings who fought this thing no matter what attack you pull off it doesn't land a hit on Veil. It's like as if nothing was there in the first place you're fighting invisible opponents." Douma stopped when he noticed a bridge above a stream. The duo had reached their destination.
The forest was no longer as dense this time there were houses and walkways leading towards various facilities. Shinobu was relieved to see people outside their homes and talking with their neighbors. If only times were always like this but they knew that wasn't always going to be the case.
Their impression of this so called peaceful place changed the moment they saw a sign in front of a blocked path that said "No Entry," which meant something occurred before they got to town. There was only one explanation and the duo didn't want to dive in further they had to keep going.
"The closest thing you'll get are fragmentations of creatures or objects that blend in with the space. But the second you look away they disappear so you start questioning yourself if they were really there or it was just your mind playing tricks on you. Some say those are Veil's avatars lurking around or an illusion that your brain is being forced to create in the presence of another unseen being. It's impossible to land a hit on those things that appear in a millisecond and then vanish the next."
Whoever gets Veil as their opponent must be very unlucky. Shinobu thought about how there's a possibility that Veil was in the same area as them right now, they just couldn't see it. Like what Douma said earlier, Veil is everywhere the question was, if Douma wanted to, could he see Veil or was this entity completely unseen by any living being in existence? This was a huge mystery.
"Has anyone survived a battle against Veil?"
"If there are survivors we would've heard from them by now."
Which meant there were most likely none. They met the same fate as an unaware human or worse. Death from something that one couldn't see in an invisible lair must be excruciatingly painful. Shinobu didn't want to think about this anymore it was making her muscles go numb.
Shinobu decided to change the topic to something more important; Atashi's whereabouts it seems that completely slipped from their mind. It was getting dark and they still haven't caught up with Atashi he could be hiding anywhere by now.
"How are we going to find Atashi now it's going to be dark soon. Is there any other way we can catch up with him somehow?"
"We probably won't find him today but there is a way to track him." Smiling at Shinobu, Douma summoned an energy source that revealed a place located at a rural area. Atashi being the main focus.
It was fascinating seeing this energy source acting as a magical mirror that showed users what was going on at the other side. Shinobu found it incredibly useful.
"There's Atashi he's still on the move."
"So he's still out there."
Perhaps I could lure him away from where he's going. If he slows down from this attack we could bring him back by today. I'll just fly back to Hasu Mountains with Shinobu and Atashi quickly while he's unconscious. Douma slowly stuck his hand through the energy source careful not to surprise Atashi it would be peculiar to see an arm reaching out to him in the air.
Before Douma could even get his entire arm through, a burst of flames surrounded the mini portal engulfing it in flames. The image of Atashi and that place disappeared in the raging flames leaving only a pit of fire in view.
"Where did he go?" Shinobu panicked.
"That entity Atashi's with, it knows we're tracking him. It's cutting off any contact that would lead us to Atashi. This is going to be a problem it doesn't want anyone to find Atashi." Douma dispersed the energy source and continued walking with Shinobu. The only way to find Atashi was to soar to the sky and scan every area. As much as Douma didn't want to there was no other choice. Shinobu needed to know why flying wasn't an option the satellite could track her and anyone could easily spot them before Douma turns them both invisible he already made it clear to Shinobu that if they're not careful these things are bound to happen.
"There's something following Atashi? Is it another monster?"
"We have yet to find out it's got something to do with that artifact."
If we find him soon. Looking up at the sky, Shinobu took a deep breath and focused on their main objective which was to find a place to stay for the night.
"Help! There's a mess on the floor!" The screams came from one of the houses.
Both Douma and Shinobu ran up the hill and saw an old woman staring at a crippled animal corpse on the ground.
"W-what is that?" Pointing at the dead animal lying on the floor, Shinobu stayed in her tracks she didn't want to go near the corpse.
Puddles of the same dark goo from the mountain stained the snow on the ground. Half of its body had been submerged in the liquid. It looked like a mammal from the fur and hind legs. Douma picked it up and threw it in the nearest garbage can.
"Are you alright Ma'am?" The young founder asked.
"Thank you so much son. I was so worried that thing just appeared outside my house." The old woman replied.
Shinobu stepped over the spot where the dead animal laid. The droplets of the dark goo remained on the snow.
"Hello Ma'am do you happen to know where the nearest inn is?"
The old woman looked at the purple-haired girl and gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm afraid most of the inns are closed. There were a few sneaky intruders last night they even got into our home! That's why my husband and I barricaded all the windows."
Both Douma and Shinobu saw the wooden planks that have been hammered against the windows. It seems every part of the country wasn't safe anymore. People were trying their best to survive with the current situation.
"You can stay at our place if you like. Don't worry it's bug free." The old woman smiled once again.
Douma and Shinobu exchanged glances with each other. They might as well since other places weren't available. It was better actually they could watch the old couple and keep them company too. Most of the time it was just them running around the city looking for hints and clues for their investigation at least they could get to know some new faces during this trip.
"Thank you Ma'am." Both of them said.
When the old woman went over to her garden. Douma decided to take a quick look at the area to see if the alien creatures had a hideout somewhere. From the looks of it, this neighborhood had been attacked several times already. That explains why the old couple resorted to barricading their windows.
Until Shinobu called him it was time to go in the house and prepare for dinner. Douma wasn't hungry but Shinobu insisted he joined them so it wouldn't seem weird or suspicious he could always investigate later.
"We have a lovely couple here." The old woman said to her husband who welcomed them.
Douma scratched his head awkwardly while Shinobu looked away in embarrassment. "We're not a couple." She said trying not to look at anyone in case Douma came up with an absurd response.
"Oh I thought you were a couple! So you're just friends? Alright then!" The old couple went into the house getting everything ready for the duo.