Koutarou and the others adhered to the policy they decided on during their meeting and searched for the kidnapped children. They had two leads to assist in their search. The ritual required a large space, and the place where Maki had run into Crimson.
There were many large buildings that had been constructed during the economic growth bubble in Kitsushouharukaze city, which had been abandoned during the recession after the bubble burst. Two such buildings existed in the outskirts of the city where Maki had encountered Crimson.
The first was a closed down shopping mall. Construction had begun relying on an expressway being built and open to public, but once the bubble burst the plans for the expressway were reconsidered. However since construction on the mall had already begun, plans could not be reconsidered and the mall was opened for business. However, without the expressway the mall was in an inconvenient place, and once the opening hype died down, management failed within a few years. As a result, only the shell of a concrete building built to last a hundred years remained.
The second was a resort hotel. This opened during the economic growth bubble, and the building was already over 50 years old. However, while it had been the largest facility when it opened for business, it was now an ordinary size, and combined with the aging building, the number of guests steadily dropped over the years, and it finally closed down a few years ago.
Both the shopping mall and resort hotel had large spaces which were perfect for ritual magic. However, they didn't have the time to search each place in turn. So Koutarou and the others split into two teams of five.
Yurika and Maki took the lead of one team each. Since this was a magic related incident, it was only natural for these two, well versed in magic, to take the lead. Yurika's team consisted of Harumi, Kiriha, Shizuka and Clan. While Maki had Koutarou, Sanae, Theia and Ruth. The teams had been split up with a good balance in mind.
If there was any problems with this plan it was that there would be no one defending room 106, but since children's' lives were at stake, stopping the ritual was the top priority, moreover, Darkness Rainbow should be waiting for the ritual to complete before they attack. It would also take some time to control the magical power in room 106. So leaving Kiriha's subordinates and unmanned fighters from the Blue Knight was deemed to be good enough. It wouldn't be that hard for Koutarou and the others to get back to room 106 before control of the magical power was seized. Right now, taking a few risks was worth it to save the lives of the children.