Lying on the floor, the robed young man groaned in pain.
His torso was bleeding and his elbow was dislocated because of the previous attack by the creepy man.
The ponytail lady appeared out of nowhere to aid his fallen ally.
“Don’t worry, Zaine. I’m here,” the ponytail lady assured.
She placed her palms on top of the young man’s crippled body.
“SANITATEM INCREMENTO!”
Her palms started glowing. A healing light radiated as it slowly mended the young man’s wounds.
Meanwhile, the creepy man and the buffed man were having a standoff; the creepy man was leering menacingly at the buffed man.
“OPULENTOS PRAESIDIUM!”
Crystals manifested from the buffed man’s right hand and formed a bulky shield.
The creepy man slouched his body, eyes straight to the buffed man, and a face with an intent to kill; he was preparing to pounce.
Suddenly, the last robed person appeared and chanted, “AQUAM RUINAM!”
A violent stream of water poured on the creepy man, hindering his movements.
The buffed man moved, dashed, and tackled the creepy man using his crystal shield. He pushed and dragged the creepy man as he continued his stampede.
At the end of his march, the buffed man pinned his enemy against a wall.
The creepy man growled as he tried to struggle with the constraint. He roared loudly and all of a sudden, large wings spurted from his back.
With his 2 hands, the creepy man grabbed the shield along its edges. Using his bat-like wings, he lifted his body into the air, also pulling the buffed man who was still clinging to the shield.
A tug-of-war happened as the creepy man and the buffed man contended for the shield.
Seeing himself slowly losing ground, the buffed man had to let go of his grip.
The creepy man flew away with the shield.
“AQUA IMPETUM!”
The robed young woman tried to hit the creepy man using her waterballs.
But like an agile bat, the creepy man maneuvered his body midair and dodged the projectiles with ease.
The creepy man diverted his attention to the woman who was attacking him. He swung the bulky shield and threw it in the direction of the young woman.
The shield came in like a missile. It made an explosive impact on where the young woman stood. The destructive force left a rubble of crumbled cement, broken pipes, and damaged steel frames.
The shield didn't hit the young woman directly, but the impact made her stumble to the ground. She sprained her leg in the process.
"Aww… I need help here, Lae…" the young woman groaned.
"I'm coming!" the ponytail lady answered as she finished healing her first patient.
The ponytail lady hurriedly ran towards her grounded ally.
The creepy man noticed the ponytail lady; he immediately realized what she was trying to do. Setting his eyes on his next prey, the creepy man swooped like a falcon, aiming to pounce at the running woman.
Urgently, the buffed man stood in the way to protect his ally. He planted his feet on the ground, and using his beefy arms, he took on the diving creepy man, stopping its momentous charge.
They wrestled as they pushed their arms against each other.
“REVELO!”
The robed young man appeared and tried to hit the creepy man's head with a High Kick. But again, the creepy man just clicked his tongue and dodged the incoming attack.
The creepy man grappled the young man’s leg. Like a ragdoll, he whirled the young man’s slim body and used him to hit the buffed man.
The 2 robed men tumbled to the ground.
“That freaking hurts, Man,” the buffed man moaned as he tried to recover from the attack.
The creepy man snarled. Slowly, he walked towards his fallen enemies, choosing which person he would lunge at first.
But then…
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
FWEEEEETTTT!!!
A loud sharp whistle blasted and shook the creepy man.
The deafening blare made the creepy man cover his ears and shake his head like a rabid dog.
BLAM!!
A metallic pipe struck the creepy man’s head, making him drop to his knees.
The cunning attack came from Triggs - who was holding a broken pipe he found lying on the rubbles.
The creepy man was enraged. He growled as he got back to his feet again. He tried to retaliate by attacking Triggs with his claws.
Triggs blew the whistle once more.
FWEEEEETTTT!!!
The creepy man was disoriented again.
While assuming a ready stance, Triggs gripped the pipe tightly with his right hand. He swiveled the tool backward overhead while simultaneously stepping back his right foot.
Then, with a single swift motion, he moved his right foot forward, swung his torso, and performed a downward strike to the head of the bewildered man.
The attack made the creepy man stumble to the dusty street.
“Ha! I knew it…” Triggs muttered.
The creepy man was relentless. With just a short span, he recovered and tried to get back to Triggs again.
“GRAAAAAA!”
FWEEEETTT!!! BLAAAAAM!!!
The creepy man rolled to the floor again. But he didn’t stop.
FWEEETT!!! BLAAAM!!!
“GRAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
FWEET!!! BLAM!!!
"Come on! Why don't you give up already?" Triggs said in his mind. He, himself, was also getting tired of the assault.
However, there was no sign of the creepy man stopping. Without taking a single second of rest, he charged at Triggs again.
FWEE - ......... "Shit! I'm out of breath!"
The creepy man tried to stab Triggs with his claws.
Fortunately, Triggs was able to dodge the attack. He countered by striking the creepy man’s temple.
But with the creepy man’s fast reflexes, Triggs’ attack was defended. The creepy man grabbed and snatched away the pipe from Triggs’ grasp.
Using the sharp end of the stolen pipe, the creepy man tried to stab Triggs in his abdomen.
Luckily, Triggs was able to gulp in some air - enough to blow the whistle again.
FWEET!!!
With that, Triggs was able to evade a fatal strike.
“REVELO!”
The robed young man suddenly appeared beside them. Using the pair of karambit, he performed a cross-attack. It completely sliced off the extended arm that the creepy man used to stab Triggs.
The amputated limb dropped to the floor. Blood drizzled everywhere. The creepy man roared in pain.
The buffed man came in. He grabbed the remaining arm of the creepy man and locked it between his mountainous biceps.
“Don’t let it get away again!” the buffed man signaled his allies.
The creepy man tried to escape by flying away.
“ACCELERATIO VITAE!!!”
A vine whip flew like a lasso and tethered the creepy man’s wings.
At the other end of the vine whip were the 2 robed women, trying to rope down the escaping man.
Triggs also helped by grabbing the creepy man’s legs.
With their combined effort, they were able to root down the enemy to the ground.
“Zaine! Go for it!” the buffed man commanded.
Swiftly, the robed young man swiveled his weapons backward, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
After a short deep breath…
SLAAAASH!!!
The creepy man's head rolled to the floor. The headless body dropped like a withered plant.
"Finally!" the robed young woman sighed.
They took a moment to catch their breaths.
A while after, the ponytail lady approached Triggs, "How did you know its weakness?"
"Hmm...... When you were fighting this… man, I noticed that he kept clicking his tongue," Triggs answered. "I assumed that he was like a bat - he was using echolocation."
“Woah! You are a good observer!” the other robed young woman’s enthusiastic comment.
Triggs was flattered, “Thanks. Hehe.”
"That might be the reason why it can evade Zaine's attacks even when he's invisible," the ponytail lady stated.
"It could be," Triggs replied. "But most creatures that use echolocation are too reliant on their highly sensitive ears. Loud noises can easily disorient them. Good thing I still have this whistle with me. Hehe."
The buffed man walked closer to Triggs. He patted his shoulder and praised Triggs, "I see that you're a great fighter, Man. The way you used that pipe - do you have a background in martial arts?"
“I used to practice Arnis when I was young,” Triggs answered.
"That's why. Haha."
Their conversation was interrupted when the severed head suddenly growled.
Triggs jerked away in shock. “It’s still alive!”
“Don’t worry. It can’t do anything now that the head is separated from the body.”
With angst and curiosity, Triggs asked, “That - that man… What in the world is he even supposed to be?”
“Well… Obviously, he is not human,” the buffed man answered.
The ponytail lady expounded, “That man - I mean creature - can be called by many names: Aswang, Athol, Vetala, Tjinimin, and many more. But our group calls it ‘Oeproa’”
“And we are hunting them,” added the robed young woman. “These creatures are being spotted a lot these days.”
Triggs was overwhelmed by the bizarre information he was taking in.
Drops of rain started to drizzle from the sky abruptly.
Triggs looked upwards and saw thick dark clouds blanketing the sky above them. "Oh, it's starting to rain."
He, then, turned back his gaze to the robed people. "By the way, who are you peo-"
But just like what happened to the old lady, the robed people just disappeared.
Even the body parts of Oeproa couldn’t be found. The only traces that could be seen were the rubble and damages left by the battle.
“Ugh, damn it. Why do people keep on disappearing!?”