Upon leaving Evelyn's Heart, the first thing Finn and Iris did was head to their hotel here on the surface—the same one they had stayed at a few days ago, before going into the underground.
Of course, not being there for three days meant their room was gone, but they simply booked a new one and that was that. Unfortunately, once again, there only vacant rooms were ones with one bed, but Iris didn't seem to mind, so Finn didn't particularly care either.
After acquiring the room, Finn and Iris wasted no time opening the two boxes they had obtained from Evelyn. There was one male armor set and one female, tailored exactly to fit their sizes.
"Wow… how did she even figure out our measurements so accurately…?" Iris wondered aloud, slipping the white jumpsuit onto her body and trying to move her limbs. "These feel weightless… as if I'm not wearing them at all. We can wear our normal armor over this too!"
"… Hm." Finn didn't speak and instead did the same, having took off his usual armor, then slipped on the jumpsuit. It seemed to sink into his skin but not in a weird way, instead wrapping him in a weightless, airy warm feeling that could hardly be complained about.
"I think… there is just one standard size," he said after a while. "The suit stretches or shrinks to match the wearer."
"Huh… is that so? That makes more sense, now that I think about it…" Iris murmured, then put on her usual armor again. "But still, this really feels comfortable. I feel a layer of warmth around my body, but no actual weight… it's amazing. Though… will this be able to protect us?"
"Specters specialize in psychokinetic attacks," Finn replied calmly. "They are physically weak by nature and choose to invade our minds rather than our bodies. Actual materialistic armor would do little to protect us against that."
"I suppose that's true… but those guys from the House of Spectra we met in the Temple were wearing knight-like armor too, huh?"
"That is just their exterior armor, worn for either chivalry purposes," Finn said, rummaging through the box and pulling out even more equipment. "You told me the House of Spectra functions like a medieval army of knights, correct?"
"Yeah. Can't believe I forgot…" Iris sighed. "You're starting to become more experienced than I am, Finn."
"… No matter how experienced I become, I will still be blind. And you will always be better than me with a firearm."
"Heh~ that's true," Iris chuckled with a wink. "But that aside… what is that in your hand? There's one in my box too, but… how do we use this thing?"
Finn couldn't see for obvious reasons, but judging from the feel of the item held in his hands, he could feel it definitely was not a weapon—at least, that's what he assumed. Instead, it seemed to be like a scanning device of some sort, but what it was supposed to scan was a mystery.
"Huh… do you think we're supposed to scan Specters with these?" Iris asked with an arched eyebrow.
"… Perhaps," Finn answered. Then, in a quieter tone, he continued. "… Perhaps, we should have asked for instructions before leaving."
"Yeah, well… can't go back now, can we?" Iris replied with a sad smile. "Evelyn is probably already back in the underground city."
"Then there is only one solution to our problem," Finn said, then sealed the box after retrieving all the other tools inside. "We test them out."
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Night soon came, and Finn and Iris headed for the top of that building where the rift to the Paracausal Realm lay. With all the workers of the company having gone home, the building was vacant and they were free to do as they liked. Naturally, Finn conjured up a storm using her Stormbringer Angelica just to be safe, and in the matter of a few minutes, the entire city of District B was engulfed in rain and fog.
In the blink of an eye, Finn and Iris were the only ones outside beneath the hollow night sky, standing amidst the storm without fear. Silently, Finn took out a vial of black liquid, filled with blood of his own that he had accumulated earlier, and tipped it slightly after opening the cap. Very tenderly, a single drop spilled out and hit the ground of the roof of the structure.
Immediately, the spot where the drop of blood had landed seemed to emit a black flame that grew and grew until it turned into a vertical oval shape large enough to let a person walk through, and before the two knew it, a spiraling vortex portal had formed in front of them. For some reason, compared to all the ones they've seen before, this one seemed to be compelling them more.
It was almost as if… the portal was calling to them. The Paracausal Realm… was inviting them in. Beckoning them to enter, to come closer.
Whether that was the effects of their own eager mind or the Specters playing tricks and trying to lure them in, they did not know—and neither did they care. Even if the Specters were trying to lure them in, they would simply kill them. With this new equipment they had, it was that simple.
"You ready?" Finn asked quietly, almost inaudible against the thundering rain. Iris smiled.
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"Always."
"Then let's go."
Boldly, the two strode forward into the portal side by side.
- Inside the Paracausal Realm -
"… What is this…?" Iris muttered under her breath, taking in the view all around them as the portal closed behind the two. Finn, beside her, didn't need to be able to see to sense the drastic change that had happened since the last time they were here.
There was heat. Terrible, scorching hotness, but not dry. It was not like a desert. It was… humid. Wet and hot, like a tropical rainforest.
But the two knew better.
This was no mere tropical rainforest. This was a trick the Specters were playing on their minds, just like the normal forest that had been here the last time around. The two didn't know why the setting changed, or how. The path they once took was now gone, and the environment was filled with new, unknown dangers.
Finn and Iris didn't know what to make of this, but one thing was for certain:
"… Looks like things will be even more difficult than expected."