The night wind howled across the cracked shingles of the old mansion roof. Nash stood there in Hina's body, long black hair whipping across her porcelain face. From this height he had a clear view of the van speeding off into the distance, its taillights bouncing wildly as Emma floored the gas.
He crossed Hina's arms and muttered, "Good riddance. Those guys nearly gave me a heart attack with their screaming."
But then his borrowed eyes caught movement below. Something writhed near the rusted gates.
Nash squinted, tilting Hina's head. "What the…?"
A small shape crouched on the cobblestones. Its skin glistened with a wet, oily sheen, like it had crawled out of a sewer. Its mouth stretched wider than its head should allow, lined with teeth like needles.
Nash recoiled. "The hell is that? That's not a ghost. That's a straight-up monster."
The creature lifted its head, eyes glowing faintly yellow. Its throat bulged as if something inside churned. A hiss escaped its lips, and then it bolted toward the mansion.
"Ah, crap," Nash muttered. "It saw me."
The thing skittered unnaturally fast, its limbs bending at odd angles as it scaled the cracked stone wall. Its oily claws scraped for purchase, dragging streaks of black slime across the brick as it climbed straight toward him.
"Oh no you don't." Nash crouched low, channeling the strength of Hina's body into her legs. He launched off the roof like a missile.
The creature's eyes widened as six feet of living statue came crashing down. Nash swung a fist, the air whistling around it.
But the gutter fiend was fast. At the last second it leapt sideways off the wall, dodging the strike. Nash's punch smashed through the stone with a deafening crack, tearing a crater into the mansion wall.
"Holy—" Nash blinked, pulling her hand back out. Bricks and dust rained down around him. "That would have turned it into paste if it landed."
The gutter fiend landed on the ground below and hissed up at him, bile dripping from its mouth. Then it spat.
A sizzling stream of green fluid shot toward him. Nash crossed Hina's arms in front of her chest. The acid struck, hissing and bubbling, eating through stone where it splattered. But against Hina's skin it only smoked for a second before dripping harmlessly off.
Nash lowered her arms and laughed. "Nice try, slimy. You're gonna need a lot more than bad breath to hurt me."
The fiend screeched, infuriated. It bounded forward on all fours, faster than a dog, its claws carving grooves into the cobblestones.
Nash grinned. "Alright. Round two."
He vaulted off the ruined wall and landed hard, the ground shuddering under the impact. The fiend leapt at him, jaws wide. Nash twisted Hina's body sideways, letting it sail past, then snapped a kick backward.
The blow connected.
The fiend flew like a ragdoll, smashing through a rotted fence and tumbling across the weeds. It scrambled back to its feet with an animalistic snarl.
"Indestructible body for the win," Nash muttered, flexing Hina's hand. "Feels weird though. I can feel the hits connect, but it's like punching a pillow. Zero recoil."
The fiend roared and charged again. This time it zigzagged, trying to confuse him. Nash's eyes followed every twitch. He waited, perfectly still, until the monster was almost on top of him.
Then he clapped Hina's hands together.
The sound boomed like thunder, a shockwave of air exploding outward. The fiend was caught mid-leap, sent spinning sideways as though it had been struck by an invisible hammer. It slammed into the mansion wall, leaving a smear of slime.
Nash burst out laughing. "Yo! That was sick! Did I just sonic-boom clap this thing?"
The fiend screeched in rage, its oily body smoking where it struck the wall. It coughed up another stream of acid. Nash ducked, rolling Hina's body forward across the ground. The acid splattered behind him, corroding a hole through the cobblestones.
"You missed again," Nash taunted. "You're like a broken water gun."
The fiend lunged desperately, claws slashing. Nash caught both arms mid-swipe. Its oily skin was slick, but Hina's grip was iron.
The creature writhed and screeched, spitting bile across his chest. The acid bubbled, but again it did nothing.
Nash leaned close, staring into its glowing eyes. "Guess what? You picked the wrong body to mess with."
With a roar that wasn't his own but felt like it should have been, Nash drove Hina's arm straight through the creature's gut.
The fiend convulsed, its claws flailing weakly. Its body shuddered, and then, impossibly, it began to crumble. Dust poured out of its wounds, its oily flesh dissolving into nothing.
Nash pulled Hina's arm free and stepped back as the fiend collapsed into ash. The dust swirled unnaturally, drawn toward Hina's body like iron filings to a magnet.
"What the hell—"
The dust sank into her skin, vanishing completely. For a moment, the mansion courtyard was silent.
Then a glowing screen flickered into existence in front of Nash's eyes.
[Supernatural Acquired: Gutter Fiend]
Would you like to keep it, or convert to Aether?
Nash's jaw dropped. "Wait. What? I actually got it? Like a drop system? This is insane."
His heart pounded as he reread the options. "Keep… or turn into Aether?"
He rubbed Hina's chin thoughtfully. "Okay. If I remember right, Aether's the thing I need to get more slots, right? To summon more puppets? That's important."
But then he tilted her head. "On the other hand… what happens if I keep it? Do I get a gutter fiend minion? Or like… do I become the fiend?"
The screen shimmered, and a line of text appeared as if answering his thoughts.
[System Notice: If you choose to keep the supernatural, you may merge it permanently with one of your existing puppets. Be advised: the puppet's appearance will change and will gain sentient according to the supernatural it merges with.]
Nash's face twisted. "Wait, so you're telling me if I keep this thing, Hina ends up looking like… that?"
He glanced down at where the fiend had dissolved, remembering its oily skin, its grotesque mouth dripping with sludge.
Nash recoiled immediately. "Oh hell no. Nope. Not happening. I finally made one beautiful puppet and you want me to turn her into a sewer gremlin? Not in a million years."
He waved his hands at the screen. "No deal. I'll take the Aether."
The UI pulsed faintly, waiting for his final decision. Nash crossed Hina's arms again and sighed.
"Man, this is like a video game, but with way scarier stakes. If more of these things are crawling around the city, I'm gonna need every bit of Aether I can get."
He looked around the dark courtyard. The night was silent again, but the silence felt different now. He could almost sense the world watching him, the same way the walls had earlier.
With a tired chuckle, he muttered, "Guess my second life isn't gonna be boring after all."
The screen faded, the ashes gone, the courtyard quiet. Nash let Hina's body slump into the broken chair left in the dining hall, her arms crossed over her chest again.
"Alright. That's enough excitement for tonight," he whispered. "Time to get some rest… before something even uglier shows up."
The mansion creaked in the distance, as if laughing.