Himiko wasn't wrong to assume that it was a bird or a rat up in the ceiling, but now that Kyle had heard the sounds Anika had spoken of, he was sure it was something different.
It was far larger than a bird, and far more feral than any mouse could be.
'A large dog?' No, it made no sense that a dog would find its way up there. 'Then an eagle?' It still didn't quite fit what he was hearing.
Even his geolocation was not accurate, because whatever was upstairs was no longer moving, and was probably crouched on the ground, because it was hard to tell it apart from all the junk lined up in the attic.
He sighed.
"That… sounds really weird," Kyle muttered as he stared at the ceiling. "Anyways… where was I?"
He returned to his book, trying to pick up from where he stopped.
Anika, who was now shivering like a cornered mouse, floated down and tapped his shoulder repeatedly.
"A-aren't you g-g-going to c-c-check it out?!" she asked, her teeth clattering from fear.
Kyle sighed and stared at the girl nestled calmly on his chest. Normally, he would have gone upstairs to find out what was going on there.
But Himiko was like a portable heater, and in the cool atmosphere created by the raging storm, he felt extremely lazy and impossibly comfortable.
It would take an earthquake to make him move an inch.
"I'm not really interested in hunting ghosts today, or whatever is up there."
The sound came again, this time louder than before. The banging was so loud that dust fell down the sides of the ceiling.
Anika flew down to the base of the couch and covered her head while lifting a shaky finger to poke Kyle.
"Y-y-you must b-be at leassssst c-c-curious, rrright?" she stuttered, trying to find the best way to convince him.
"If you go, I'll give you lifetime access to my library and this room!"
Kyle flipped to the next page and yawned, blinking slowly.
Anika flinched at his disinterest, multiple other more enticing options running through her mind.
"I'll give you this room! You can come here anytime you want! It's cozy, isn't it?!"
"Wow!" Kyle's eyes widened slightly.
Anika felt a wave of relief wash over her. "Thank goodness, I thought you weren't going to—"
"This book is actually pretty good, Miko," Kyle said, earning a smug smile from her.
Anika placed her hands on the floor in despair.
When Himiko glanced at her, she sighed and stood up, completely ruining the comfort Kyle had been enjoying.
"Why don't we just check upstairs, just a quick glance and we can come back."
Anika nodded furiously in agreement.
Since his perfect mood had been ruined, Kyle sat up as well before standing up.
"Alright, alright… let's see what is up there."
The group of three left the confines of the cozy reading room and ascended the stairs, the old floorboards creaking underneath each step.
While Kyle and Himiko were in front, Anika was walking behind them, her staff clutched in her hand like it was her lifeline.
They climbed up to the highest floor, which was a large space with multiple tables and shelves littering the space.
But it seemed Anika had long abandoned it, because unlike the lower floors which were clean, this area was dusty and had that old book smell.
Kyle didn't spend much time on this floor, because he knew at a glance that whatever they were looking for was not here.
It was in the attic, the room that competes with the basement for creepiest place in a house.
Anika directed them to the staircase that led up to the door leading into the attic.
Now that they had arrived, Kyle was actually a bit curious. "Alright, let's see what is really hiding here."
Without wasting a second, he and Himiko began climbing up, leaving Anika at the foot of the staircase.
She shook her head vigorously to pump herself up, taking a few deep breaths before she jogged up the stairs to meet them.
"Wait for me!"
Kyle stood in front of the door for a few seconds, listening for sound, but all he could hear was a quiet breathing, one unlike anything he had ever heard before.
He glanced at Himiko. "Stay behind me just in case…"
Himiko frowned playfully. "Do you really think a bunch of rats will scare me? Let's not waste time…"
She pushed the door open and stepped inside, Kyle following after her and Anika being the last.
Immediately they stepped into the space, it was as though the atmosphere shifted.
Although it was morning, the room was nearly completely dark, save for a flickering bulb up on the ceiling.
There were countless old books and supplies stacked up in the attic, things from years ago, so they could not see the end of the hall.
But Kyle could sense it. Something else was in the room with them.
Even Himiko, who had been unshaken at first, was beginning to get jittery.
Bang—Bang—Crash!
They all froze, staring in the direction of the sound, but what greeted them was dead silence.
One second, two seconds, three, five—
Suddenly, the sound of fast-moving footsteps reached their ears.
Raspy taps on the cranky wood that echoed through the abandoned attic…
Like the movement of a beast.
Himiko tensed, her eyes searching the room.
Anika was quivering like she was seconds away from fainting.
But Kyle remained impassive, his eyes piercing through the thick darkness.
Vwooosh!
The darkness around them suddenly seemed to recoil, the intangible black twisting into something against its own nature—
Large demonic arms stretched out from all sides of the room, reaching out to grab them.
"Eeek!!" Anika crouched into a ball, covering her head with her arms.
Kyle acted immediately; she could not see him, daggers made of blood appearing right in his hands.
He cleaved the nearest hands to pieces, moving to each one so fast that in less than ten seconds, he had destroyed every single one.
But just as he turned towards the source of the attack, long silver claws flashed in his vision, inches away from his face.
He darted back, nearly bumping into Himiko as the claw swiped through the air, a shrill ringing in his ears.
And then he saw it—
Dark fuzzy fur, piercing blue eyes, slender arms and a humanoid shape. It was something in between human and wolf, and the darkness clung onto its fur like a veil of shadows.
'What the hell is this?'
Whatever it was, it was confusing Kyle's senses. He was sure it was a human, and yet his senses also told him that it was a feral beast.
'I'll have to catch it and find out.'
Kyle's body blurred as he approached the creature with blinding speed, the room blurring as it washed past his vision.
The creature's eyes widened, shocked by how fast he was moving, his fingers already nanoseconds away from grabbing it when—
Whoosh!
The creature suddenly melted into the darkness, leaving Kyle to grasp at the plain darkness.
In the next second, it appeared right behind him, jaws wide open to bite into his neck.
But before it could even lay a scratch on him, Himiko let out a battle cry as she drove her knee into the creature's side.
"Get away from him!"
But all she seemed to do was anger the beast.
..
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