Sir Smith's knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel, eyes still glued to the hotel like it might disappear if he blinked.
"That feeling just now…" he muttered.
Sir Walter nodded, grim. "Yeah, but how did a Skilion manage to evolve in this day and age? They are usually eliminated before they get the chance."
The two sat in silence for a moment longer, the hum of tense anticipation crackling in the air around them.
Then Sir Smith unbuckled his seatbelt and stepped out.
"We're checking it out," he said flatly, his brows furrowed.
"I thought we were off duty, for pity's sake, we just finished chasing some kids around the District, there are a dozen other Wizards and Witches around, they'll take care of it," Sir Walter argued, but his tone was low, wary, his curiosity overriding his protest.
So he followed nonetheless.
As they crossed the street, a sudden crash rang out, and a sharp, shattering sound assaulted their ears.
Glass sprayed from the highest floor of the hotel, glinting like shards of starlight as a large mirror tumbled end over end and smashed onto the pavement near them.
"Ahhh!"
The civilians screamed, with some getting out of their cars, looking above.
"Yup," Sir Walter said, stretching his arm as if unperturbed by what was happening "Definitely not laundry day."
But at that moment, the sirens began.
"WEEEOOO!"
"WEEEOOO!"
Emergency broadcast towers on nearby buildings flared red. A mechanical voice began to repeat:
[CODE RED. UNREGISTERED ENTITY DETECTED. ALL CIVILIANS SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY.]
People scattered like ants, rushing into nearby shops and any sturdy buildings they could find, but the Wizards moved forward entering the hotel with firm steps.
Because of the alarm, inside the hotel was oddly quiet; the staff had hidden themselves, so there was no screaming, no chaos, just the hollow echo of their boots on marble flooring.
At the same time, Sir Walter's hand brushed his waist as though moving to grab something, then he realized that there was nothing to grab as he had not come prepared, they were originally supposed to be looking for a normal human after all.
"Are you sure this is a good idea? While you're high E rank, I'm a low E rank, if that thing's evolved it's at least D rank," Sir Walter said loudly, his voice echoing in the hallway.
"Let's take the stairs?" Sir Smith said, already climbing the stairs before he responded to Sir Walter, "I've never been able to test my strength since my recent advancement, the beast could be benign or an E rank, and if things go south didn't you recently learn a tier two nethercraft techniques specifically for running away."
"Tease me, but when you're getting your guts torn out by one of these beasts, I'll escape," Sir Walter defended.
As they spoke, they moved quickly but cautiously, passing through dark hallways in seconds.
Until they reached their destination, Suite 49-A.
The door was open, so they approached, and as soon as they got in, they noticed it.
A body.
Unmoving, sprawled near the center of the room. It wasn't torn apart or injured, it was just still, like it had collapsed mid-motion, its skin unnaturally pale.
One hand was outstretched, as if reaching for something just out of sight.
Seeing this, Sir Smith stepped closer, careful not to touch anything. "Is that... Is he dead?"
Sir Walter was less reserved than Sir Smith, directly kneeling beside it. "Sure looks like it's dead."
He then reached out and placed two fingers on the neck, noting that it was cold.
Turning to Sir Smith, Sir Walter then said with a forced smile, "You can sense that thing above us, right?"
"I noticed since we stepped into the room, but I've been too scared to look up," Sir Smith interjected, and in that moment.
"Bam!"
He raised his hand to block a kick from above, his teeth clenching from the force as he grunted, his muscles tensing, 'It's D rank alright,' he thought.
A small wave of air was released in all directions.
Meanwhile, sensing the pressure in that kick Sir Walter had skidded to the sidelines to call for help knowing that he would only hinder his partner.
The thing that hit Sir Smith on the other hand was clear for all to see, and when Sir Walter saw it, his eyes widened, "isn't that—"
"Yeah, he's the kid we've been looking all over for," Sir Smith responded before thinking, 'How did he become like this? Is that even him?'
"Maybe he was the last person eaten by that Skilion so it just evolved into his form," Sir Walter theorised from the side before adding, "Skilion's can evolve into anything after all."
Ignoring his partner, Sir Smith observed the beast before him, who also seemed to be observing him.
It was naked, exposing its completely humanoid figure, its dark eyes locked on him while its arms slumped as though it were tired.
It then tilted its head and moved.
And in that moment, Sir Smith chanted, the glow in his eyes intensifying, "first page of the savage chronicles, Vis flagelli"
"Whoosh!"
The air tore as both parties flung their arms, but something happened.
The beast seemed to sense the lethality of Sir Smith's move so it attempted to dodge, slowing down and performing a ducking motion.
And yet it failed, as the speed of Sir Smith's punch doubled in an instant, hitting it in the face.
"Creak!"
Its head was thrown aside by a heavy whiplash, its bones cracking in the process.
"Solid hit!" Sir Walter yelled from the side, but his joy transitioned into shock as he watched the thing's neck snap into place, visibly healing instantly.
It then moved in again, this time with quicker movement that made it difficult to hit: it was learning.
"Whoosh!"
Sir Smith focused and threw another punch, and yet the beast weaved through it, before delivering a steep uppercut that shot Smith's face upwards.
"Bam!"
"Argh," Sir Smith grunted and moved in again, but no matter how much he tried, the beast seemed to be able to dodge it, its form weaving while waiting for an opportunity to strike.
And yet Sir Smith was a pro never letting his—
"Bam!"
A right hook shattered Sir Smith's notion of the beast's speed, sending him staggering to the side, and before he could react, a left hook followed, and in that instant.
"Bam!"
"Bam!"
"Bam!"
A quick succession of punches left Sir Smith disoriented, each hit strong enough to break through concrete.
"Smith, watch out," Sir Walter's yell could be heard in the distance, and in response to this, his eyes focused, noting that the beast was already in the process of a different strike, one that felt more sinister.
Its strike was not a fist but a claw, and Sir Smith knew that if this strike connected, it would pierce his skin; alas, there was nothing he could do.
Suddenly, the air crackled with sudden, immense force before:
"Bang!"
The thing was suddenly dragged out the window by an invisible force, slamming through the next building, its world slowing to a crawl as it caught sight of a man hugging his daughter tightly, before being pulled through the other end.
"Bang!" Concrete, dust and specks of its blood flew with each loud bang of impact.
It was then slammed down by said invisible force pushing hard against the concrete, its bones shattering, black blood gushing from its pores like a stream.
But then it felt the force let up slightly, allowing it to get to its feet, its wounds healing in real time.
Strangely enough, in all this, the beast was completely calm, its eyes scanning its surroundings for the source of this invisible force.
And it found it, it's black orbs locking on a pitch black dot in the sky, a woman sitting loftly atop a disc-like object staring down at it like an ant.
Meanwhile, up in the sky, Luna, wearing another male-tailored suit, raised a brow from her position, her eyes narrowing, 'Why did it take the form of that boy? Is it because it bit off his fingers?'
She then felt it's gaze on her and smiled. 'Interesting. It perceives me.'
With that thought the woman suddenly reached out and balled her fist, but something strange happened.
It was as though the thing sensed the change in air pressure around it, forcing it to move quickly, barely dodging the clutches of Luna's invisible grip.
"What?" Luna muttered in shock as she repeated the same process again but still it dodged.
'It's holding back,' she thought yet again repeating her grip with more focus, and yet, the thing still dodged.
After trying for a few more times, Luna finally sat up straight, her brows furrowed for the first time.
Meanwhile, the beast, which had been observing for a while, suddenly moved, its muscles contracting as it blasted off the concrete, using its claws to scale the nearest building.
It pulled itself up quickly, and if one paid attention, they would discover that it was rapidly reaching Luna's height, but she did not falter, nor did she fly higher to avoid it.
Instead, she showed her palm and pressed down, the glow in her eyes intensifying as she chanted, "second page of the undying lotus, Palma Buddhæ."
As that hand pressed down, a pressure wave that threatened to flatten the entire neighborhood erupted but the humans under it were left unscathed.
The only thing that could not escape the effect was every glass material in the surrounding which shattered.
The beast, left with nowhere to run in the face of such a force, was pushed down to the ground with a loud bang.