His partner for this patrol finally arrived and skidded to a halt at the edge of the ruined street, the sight before him freezing his breath.
Rurik lay crumpled on the cracked pavement. His coat soaked through with a lot of blood. His head slumped at an unnatural angle.
The thing crouched over him lifted its ruined face, jaw yawning wide with a wet snarl, strings of dark saliva and blood dangling from its teeth.
The Hunter's hands tightened on the worn grip of his shotgun. The weapon was already loaded with brass shells etched with faint runes, each one filled with the dormant heat of condensed Mana. It was an incendiary shell that turned to burn through flesh and spirit.
He didn't waste words. The barrel came up, his shoulder bracing for the recoil.
BANG!
The first shot thundered in the air. The shell burst mid-impact, igniting in a violent bloom of blue-white fire that clung to the creature's chest.
