The Devil Summoner in Shadow

After introducing herself in such a stupid way, I briefly considered giving her an introduction worthy of a true legend.

"I am Shadow. He who lurks in the darkness to hunt the shadows."

Yeah, that would shut her up. Drown her in sheer awe.

But... there was no point.

I'd have to share my information anyway. Coming up with some grand, theatrical entrance just to ruin it seconds later would be more embarrassing than dying in this damn cave.

I sighed.

"Minoru Kagenou from the Tenth Division."

A beat of silence-

Then, Mei snorted.

"Ehhhh... So Mister Zombie's from the Tenth?"

Seriously. This zombie thing again?

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Fine. Whatever. More importantly, do you have a Dia Stone? Or better yet, the Dia skill itself?"

Alright, let's see if my C- rank luck is worth anything.

Instead of an immediate answer, she let out a dramatic, arrogant laugh-

"Fufufu~! Behold the might of my all-powerful Dia!"

I sense Magatsuhi-

Then, warmth.

A soothing wave ran through my body, spreading from my core to my limbs. The faintest sensation returned to my dead right arm, the overwhelming numbness fading into something just bearable.

Instead of being completely charred, my skin now looked just heavily burned.

Cuts and wounds across my body sealed up, minor burns disappeared entirely, and the bruises shrank-some even fading completely. I could even feel part of my face reconstructing itself.

Oh.

I get it now.

If my face was this messed up before, then...

No wonder she thought I was a goddamn zombie.

I exhaled, flexing my fingers for the first time in what felt like forever.

Damn.

I felt alive again.

A voice rudely cut through my thoughts.

"Oi, if ya done bein' all starstruck by my godly healin' skills, how 'bout ya tell me what you're doin' here?"

I let out a slow breath.

"After a fight with a Dark Summoner, I passed out. When I woke up, I was already in this cave."

Mei made a weird, exaggerated noise of shock.

"Whaaaat? You fainted in the Vortex World? Damn, you sure you ain't a zombie?"

There it was again.

But honestly, by this point, I was starting to get numb to it.

Still, before I could shoot back a reply, I heard her mutter under her breath-

"For real tho, what kinda busted-ass luck is that...?"

Luck?

Right. If I actually had good luck, I wouldn't have gotten burned alive and dumped in a death trap. But, if my C- rank luck had been any worse...

I'd probably be dead.

Shaking the thought away, I focused back on the important part.

"I told you why I'm here. Now it's your turn, what demon are you hunting?"