Just then, Takeshi realized that his body in this realm hadn't changed from the state it was in when he had left—right after their encounter with the giant serpent made of bone.
As he calmed himself down and stopped running, he looked to his left and saw Renji, who had also stopped. A fireball hovered in Renji's hand, ready to be cast.
In front of them stood the girl with daggers made of shadow, and behind them was the girl whose scream had brought Takeshi and Renji here in the first place.
After observing the situation, Renji let out a sigh of relief.
"Thankfully, we got lucky and returned to the real world just in time," he said. "And we're even luckier that, even though our bodies disappear from this place, time here still moves forward normally. Who knows where that serpent went…"
He then turned his attention to the girl holding the shadowy daggers. She had dark gray hair and deep blue eyes.
"Now, lady," Renji addressed her, "may I ask what your problem is?"
The girl frowned slightly. "Huh?" she responded, clearly taken aback.
Renji continued, "You wanted to be left alone to face that undying monster. You would've died for sure."
Her expression softened a bit at that, but then, without warning, her entire form turned dark and shadowy—for only a second. Then, she vanished.
The spot where she had been standing was now empty.
Takeshi and Renji stared at it, mouths agape.
Then her voice came from behind Renji:
"I wasn't planning on fighting it. And as you can see, I would have been fine."
Renji quickly turned around—only to see nothing. She was nowhere to be found.
Takeshi watched the scene in amazement and confusion. Then, as he looked at Renji, he saw something strange: Renji's shadow stretched and shifted. From it, a figure emerged—made of darkness.
A second or two passed before the shadows dispersed from the figure's surface, revealing the girl with the dark blue eyes once again.
What else am I going to see in this world? Takeshi asked himself in awe.
Renji turned around—and came face to face with the woman who had just emerged from his shadow. They were standing uncomfortably close, so he instinctively took a step back.
"I wasn't aware you possessed such abilities," he said, trying to keep his composure.
The woman responded in a calm, emotionless tone. "It's alright."
Then, after a brief pause, she added, "Let's make camp."
Renji considered telling her that he and Takeshi had just left their camp before being drawn in by the scream—but ultimately decided to stay quiet and follow her lead.
From the inner pocket of his ragged coat, he pulled out a few sticks. He placed them carefully on the ground and supported them with small rocks he retrieved from another pocket.
Then, with a casual flick of his fingers, he used his fire domain powers to ignite the makeshift campfire.
All four of them sat down around the fire.
Takeshi glanced at the woman with dark gray hair and deep blue eyes. She wore black robes that carried an air of elegance—but also gave her a strangely intimidating presence.
Then his gaze shifted to the other girl, the one who had previously hidden behind her. She had wavy light brown hair and gentle hazel eyes. Her dress was lovely—beige at the top, fading into a rich brown at the hem.
Takeshi couldn't help but think both women were beautiful, each in their own way.
After they sat down, silence filled the air. To break it, Renji spoke up.
"I'm Shiranui Renji."
The woman with dark blue eyes and gray hair raised an eyebrow, her tone slightly surprised.
"Are you a descendant of the Shiranui family?" She emphasized the word the, clearly recognizing the name's weight.
Renji simply gave a calm nod, then shifted his gaze to Takeshi. Soon, both women turned their eyes toward him as well.
Why are they all staring at me? Takeshi wondered—until it clicked. They were waiting for him to introduce himself.
"Oh—Ren Takeshi," he said.
Following that, the woman with the dark robes finally spoke. "Tanaka Aiko."
Then, the girl with light brown hair gave a small, polite smile and said, "Saito Rin."
With all the introductions done, Takeshi sat back and thought to himself:
Should we really be trusting them this easily—and giving out our real names?
Now that I think about it… I also blindly trusted Renji, told him my name, and agreed to travel with him. I guess… in a place like the Shadow Realm, we humans have no choice but to stick together if we want to survive.
After a brief silence, Aiko turned to Renji and spoke directly.
"I don't mean to be rude, but from what I can tell, you're only a Struggler, while I'm a Servant. So I don't understand why you ignored me when I told you to run."
Both Takeshi and Renji looked at her, clearly confused.
Struggler? Servant? What is this lady talking about? Takeshi wondered. Renji seemed just as lost.
Seeing their expressions, Aiko let out a small chuckle.
"I see… So you're not familiar with the titles."
"Titles?" Renji and Takeshi said at the same time.
Aiko smiled and shook her head gently.
"Every human contracted to a demon has seven stages of power they can ascend through. When someone forms a contract, they begin at the first stage and can progress by deepening their bond with their demon and gaining greater control over their powers. Each stage has a title that represents the level of strength they've reached."
She paused briefly before continuing,
"The first stage is called Struggler, and the second is Servant."
Hearing this, both Takeshi and Renji instinctively nodded, finally grasping a deeper understanding of demon contracts.
Renji then added, "I knew there were stages of power for contracted humans, but I wasn't aware of their names. Do you know the titles of the other five?"
Aiko shook her head.
"No. I only know that the third stage is called Warden."
Struggler, Servant, Warden… Takeshi thought. Each one sounds stronger than the last. I wonder what comes next?
Then Aiko spoke again.
"I don't know how much you already understand, but I should mention that progressing through the stages varies from demon to demon. However, the general power level at each stage is relatively the same. In short, two Strugglers will typically be around the same strength in terms of their demon powers, regardless of how powerful their respective demons are."
She paused for a moment, then added,
"That said, I only know this applies to the first three stages. I'm not sure how it scales beyond that."
After that, silence settled over the group.
In that silence, Takeshi couldn't help but reflect on the past few minutes—and realized that the other girl, Rin, hadn't said a single word.
He glanced over at her and asked,"Why are you not speaking, if I may ask?"
Rin lifted her gaze and replied softly,
"I-I'm sorry… I'm just a bit frightened by this world. This is only my second night here."
Before Takeshi could say anything else, Aiko interjected,"I found her cowering while that skeletal serpent loomed over her, so I protected her."
Takeshi thought to himself, Thanks for the context, lady, but I don't remember addressing you. I asked her a question. Sigh… I guess some people just like being at the center of everything.
Then the quiet girl, Rin, added, "I don't know anything about this place… or you people. So don't be mad if I'm a bit reserved."
A long conversation followed, in which all three of them—Takeshi, Renji, and Aiko—helped Rin better understand the Shadow Realm.
From that conversation, Takeshi made two important discoveries.
The first was that Rin, like him, was also a blessed of her demon—a human trapped in this world without access to her demon's powers.
The second, and more significant, discovery was something he learned from Aiko. Her demon had once explained to her that the Shadow Realm consisted of nine layers, each one more dangerous than the last, and home to increasingly powerful demons.
The Boneyard was the first layer of the Shadow Realm.
Aiko had also been told that almost no demons currently reside in the Boneyard. According to her demon, most had migrated to the second layer—for reasons he refused to reveal.
After that long conversation, they all came to an agreement—to stick together, as it was their best chance at survival.
Shortly afterward, they left the campsite and ventured deeper into the Boneyard, now aware that they couldn't escape this place, but somehow could descend into the second layer.
Whether they wanted to do that, however, was another matter entirely. It was likely filled with demons that, at their current level, they couldn't hope to face.
As they wandered through the labyrinth of bone, they eventually stumbled upon the stone ruins of a structure.
The other members of the group weren't sure what the building was—it didn't resemble anything from their world. Its design was alien, unfamiliar, and out of place.
But as soon as Takeshi laid eyes on it, his expression changed.
His eyes widened in recognition.
He knew exactly what the structure was.
It was an old, abandoned church—one that looked exactly like those on Earth.