spr | The House in Which Nightmares Dwell 14.4

The sounds continued. The moment they descended the staircase, a loud thump resounded.

Hirota gazed at the top of the staircase and nodded at Mai and the others who were looking through the gap between the cabinet and the wall with anxious faces. He saw a blanket thrown out from the gap and quietly returned his gaze towards the corridor.

The sounds continued. It still didn't seem the case that all the stuff was removed. After he held his breath and stuck his head from the side of the stairway, he could see the refrigerator and cupboard that was placed in the inner part of the dark corridor. Further in, there should be the chest that was set against the table as a support weight, but he couldn't see that table. Instead, a dark hole was in sight.

-- The door opens towards the outside.

Naru softly grasped Hirota's arm. When he looked back, he was pointing at the living room. Hirota followed after him, stooped over and slipped through the door of the living room without making any sounds with their footsteps. After that they left and concealed themselves in the dining room.

"... ... Is this really okay?"

Hirota asked in a low voice, but only a silent affirmation returned.

"The door."

That was all Naru said as he pointed at the door. He leaned against the window with his back. Hirota merely nodded and hid himself in the shadow of the door that led to the corridor. No matter how much he tried to conceal his breathing, it still sounded loud in his ears.

Naru nodded and leaned his back against the window even more.

-- Naru.

Naru heard his name and frowned. This voice -- his mind might be playing a trick on him, but he'd heard it before. He looked around to figure out where it was coming from, but he discerned that it came from behind his back. He heard it from the mirror touching his back.

"... ... You can talk. That's good."

Naru smiled a little. It wasn't a real voice nor were it any kind of soundwaves. It came through the hot line that existed between the brothers.

(... ... I finally reached you... ...)

Naru replied sharply at the hint of relief in his voice.

(Now's not the time to be easygoing. -- How many are there?)

(Three people. Their possession is deep.)

(... ... Can you tell where they are?)

(I don't know. I can't see the real world very well.)

(Useless.)

He sensed a wry smile from him.

(I'm going to charge at them. Can you toss to me at a distance?"

(I won't know where you are unless you are in front of a mirror. It's more reliable if there's a point of contact.)

(You really are useless.)

As he said that, he reached back with his left hand and touched the mirror.

There was no reasoning behind how they did that. Naru only knew how to use that power from experience.

He imagined a small point of light. Without minding it as much as possible, he imagined that that light doing a round inside his body and then tossed it to Gene. What came back was a light orb that had grown exceptionally stronger. By repeating that several times, it grew into a very powerful force.

He tossed the energy back by touching the mirror with his palm. From there, the energy returned in similar manner.

(It's slow in returning.)

It used to return immediately, but now it took about the same time as it took to blink.

(You're really far away. But I don't know why.)

Naru frowned slightly. Because they could only depend on what they had learned by experience, and not by logic and the like, so these small differences had a large effects.

There was a thump. It was the sound of something heavy lightly hitting the wall. A plank creaked.

-- They're coming.

There was a condenser inside Naru's body. Naru didn't know its capacity either. As the light point went around inside of him, energy became stored there. It was important to accumulate as much as possible there. As proof of that, he started feeling the burden on the palm of his right hand. He wet the palm of his hand with Midori's bottle of lotion that he'd concealed in his pocket. If he didn't, he would end up seriously burning his hand when he releases energy.

There was a small metallic sound. It was the sound of the doorknob moving.

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The House in Which Nightmares Dwell 14.4

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