Qingxiao's pupils contracted slightly.
He hadn't expected Higuruma to open his domain right off the bat.
Wasn't it supposed to be hand-to-hand combat first, then cursed techniques, and finally a domain?
This guy was as quick to pull the trigger as Megumi Fushiguro.
And wasn't he a modern sorcerer? How did he know Domain Expansion too?
Xiaolu, look at him! You loser!
As these thoughts flashed through Qingxiao's mind, his surroundings had already changed.
The abandoned theater's dome and seats disappeared, replaced by a simple courtroom.
A wooden railing separated the two of them. It wasn't tall, only reaching their chests.
Warm yellow spotlights shone down from overhead, stretching their shadows out long.
This was Higuruma's domain.
Higuruma stood on the other side of the railing, a gavel now in his hand.
His hair was still wet, but his entire bearing had changed, from a relaxed middle-aged man taking a bath to a courtroom attorney.
He tapped the gavel lightly against the railing. The knock echoed through the quiet street.
"Court is now in session," he said, his voice amplified within the domain and carrying an echo. "Hiromi Higuruma, counsel for the plaintiff, versus the defendant, Guyue Qingxiao. Judgeman, please read the charges."
As his words fell, a streetlight at the end of the street flickered. Then a black inverted triangle emerged from its light, wearing a white mask with two stitched seams where the eyes should have been.
Judgeman hovered above the street, the warm yellow light falling on his mask and illuminating the stitches with particular clarity.
Qingxiao looked up at him and waited two seconds. Nothing happened.
"He doesn't talk?"
"He's reading," Higuruma said, resting his gavel on the railing, his fingertips gently brushing the wood grain. "He automatically searches through the records of all your actions."