Immediately Himiko's hit landed, the creature twisted its body in an unnatural manner, screeching right in her face before lifting its large claw.
Himiko shielded her face with one hand, the other hand swiftly reaching for a dagger that was hidden underneath her shirt.
Still, she was not fast enough; in a split second, the razor-sharp claw would rip into her skin, permanently scarring her face.
But as the claw came, it froze in the air as Kyle grabbed it, then he shifted his foot, launching the creature to the other side of the room.
'It's surprisingly light…'
The creature flew to the wall, but instead of crashing into it, it blended into the darkness once more.
Silence…
Kyle sniffed the air, but he could not pick up a single scent from the room; it was almost as if the creature had completely vanished.
But he knew that it was still among them; he could feel it from the shadows.
It was watching, stalking them like a predator did its prey in the wild, its feral instincts directing its every step.
Vwooosh!
The shadows around them distorted, growing darker, and Kyle picked its scent a second later, followed by a slight rustling sound that reached his ears.
'There—!'
He twisted his body immediately, grabbing Himiko by the arm and pulling her to his chest, her eyes widening at the sudden movement.
WHOOOSH!
Right from the floor where she had stood mere moments ago, a large spike of shadows emerged, rippling through the floor and driving right to the ceiling.
A gust of wind blew past them from the sheer speed and viciousness of the attack, splinters of wood exploding down as it crashed into the wood above.
Himiko swallowed, while Kyle's gaze darkened.
If he had been just a second late…
In that very moment, Himiko would have died.
Kyle subconsciously pulled her closer to his chest, his arm tightening around her back.
The thought of losing her, it was something Kyle had never even imagined in the past. He hated the feeling.
The creature angrily breathed out, seeing that its plan had failed, then it turned its dark pupils in their direction, a low growl reverberating in its throat.
Strangely enough, the creature had not directed any attack towards Anika, who had fled to the corner of the room.
It was almost as if it was only after them…
In the very next moment, the monster charged at them on all fours and pounced, only to vanish right in front of him.
And then a dozen versions of the monster appeared all around him, mid-pounce.
Each one was identical, each one was feral, each one seemed real.
Himiko threw her dagger, the blade phasing through one of the monsters. She pulled out another one just as they descended.
But Kyle's gaze sharpened, his eyes moving from creature to creature.
He was not trying to spot any differences… that was what he wanted the creature to think.
Just as one of them was inches away from reaching his neck, Kyle turned his body, completely ignoring it—
The creature realized that Kyle had seen through its trick, its eyes widening, but it was too late.
In a flash, Kyle reached out and snatched one of them from the air, his arm tightening around its throat just before he brought it down with a bang, the attic shaking from the impact.
All other shadows vanished into thin air as the creature became unconscious.
But what Kyle saw in the next moment was something he had never expected.
•••
Kyle let go of the creature's throat, staring at its slender body.
'To think something like this could be so much trouble.'
Now that he was no longer focused on trying not to become its next meal, he finally figured out what the creature must be.
In the world of MHA, there were unfortunate people who ended up with quirks that twisted their bodies, making them unfit to live in regular society.
Heteromorphs…
For some, it was something they could live with; they had minor mutations that could be managed, some even got traits that made them strangely attractive—
And then there were those who drew the short straw, people often referred to as 'freaks.' They were often bullied, made fun of, and found it hard to get any type of job.
'Is that why they were hiding here?'
That was a possibility, but it still didn't explain why they attacked them with such killing intent.
Himiko stared down and watched the person, frowning slightly. At a glance, it was impossible to tell the gender of the person.
"A heteromorph? They are pretty tiny…"
She was right. Although they were a blend of human and wolf, the heteromorph was about the size of a thirteen-year-old.
'A kid maybe?'
If that was the case, then it would only make the condition several times worse.
When Anika heard the sound of Himiko's voice, she opened one eye, peeking from where she was crouching, before opening both eyes.
"I-s it over?" she asked, tears rolling down her eyes.
Himiko gave her a thumbs up and smiled wide. "You can stop hiding now, Anika, the 'monster' is down."
"O-o-oh? It is?" She stared at the heteromorph and flinched as though she had touched electricity. "I'm fine right here!"
"Huh?" Himiko gave her a tired expression.
"O-oh, and by the way, I was right!" Anika folded her arms across her chest, smiling smugly from the side of the room.
As they were talking, Kyle grabbed some rope from the side of the room and bound both the heteromorph's arms and feet.
'Can't have you escaping…' he thought.
Then he turned to face the place the person had come from, the deeper parts of the attic. "Miko, can you watch them? I need to check something."
Himiko nodded. "You can count on me!"
"Alright, be careful, call me if there are any signs of waking up."
Kyle left Himiko and the heteromorph, moving deeper into the attic.
The room had been dusty and messy, just as an attic was meant to be, but as he moved deeper into the attic, everything changed.
The floors were neatly kept, there was a waste bin by the edge of the room, improvised boxes that served as furniture…
And worst of all—there was even a fucking television set on mute.
'How long have they been camping here?!'
Seeing this only confirmed his earlier suspicions; it seemed the heteromorph had come here seeking shelter from the world.
'All we did was interrupt their peaceful life.'
But no matter how sad the heteromorph's story would be, occupying another person's building illegally was a crime.
It would be up to Anika to decide their fate––
"K-K-Kyle?!!"
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of Himiko's agitated scream.
Kyle immediately sprinted to where she was, only to see her pointing at the heteromorph, a shocked look on her face.
Only that the heteromorph was… gone?
Lying where the beastly creature had once stood was a petite girl curled up into a ball.
Her skin was deathly pale, like the first snowflakes of a coming winter, and her body was frail.
Framed around her body was thick, wavy, raven-black hair that had long overgrown, and right on top of it were two wolf ears that moved slightly.
When Kyle arrived, her eyelids twitched, and then her eyes fluttered open, revealing pupils as dark as an endless void.
— — - — – —— — - — – —
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