The construction site was now marred with crevices and debris from the battle. Metal beams meant for the new building had also been scattered in its midst. The night was exceedingly dark except for the half-moon in the sky, and a heavy thud resounded as a human’s skull was struck with immense force.

Iyo was sent tumbling along the ground like a rag doll from the Wraith’s attack. The monstrous wolf chased after him and swooped in for the finishing blow.

"Open, Vinea!" An ethereal green tendril rocketed forth and wrapped around the Wraith's arm from the side, holding it back. The claw was a hair's breadth from ripping Iyo's face apart. Allen strained vigorously with the Craft Card in hand and the vine-whip around his wrist to restrain the large monster.

“Knock it off! It’s time for you to fight someone who's in the same weight class!” Nera flew in with a kick to the Wraith's face, sending the Specter several meters flying. Nera landed on the ground while the Wraith gradually picked itself back up along with the body it had stolen.

“Hey! There’s someone in there. Don’t you care if you hurt the person inside?” Allen berated from behind Nera.

She merely clicked her tongue before saying, “Of course, I do, but would letting Goggles here become dog chow have been the better option?”

Allen simply grimaced in response as Nera marched forward.

“If you’re dissatisfied with how things are, then put your two heads together and figure out a better way out of this nightmare than me beating the tar off of someone who might not even be in one piece once I’m done.”

After giving that ultimatum, Nera leaped forward to meet the charging Wraith. Its claws met her gauntlets with a sharp clang. This left Allen to his own thoughts. He wanted to go and help but was worried about hurting an innocent bystander in the process. When he had made up his mind to risk his own life while fighting specters for his own gain, he did not consider having to risk the lives of regular people in the process.

‘Did Nera already have that resolve from the very start? Is that something I need to gain myself? Allen let out a heavy sigh.

‘No, I did all this to free myself of regrets and there’s no way I’m not going to regret not trying as hard as I can to find a way where everyone makes it out of this intact. It might be a selfish daydream to placate my own conscience but striving for that outcome can’t be wrong!’

With his mind cleared of doubts, the next step was to turn his daydream into reality and Iyo was the key to that. Allen walked over to where Iyo lay prone on the ground with a downcast look in his eyes. Allen was amazed that even after taking such a brutal hit, Iyo did not seem that worse for wear besides some light bleeding from his temple.

“How long are you going to take a nap before getting back in there? Don’t you want to save your friend? He was a landscaper just like you, so you must’ve known each other.”

Upon no response from the other young man, Allen continued to speak while the sounds of Nera’s battle with the Wraith roared behind them.

“C’mon, your glowing eyes and claws are awesome!” He spoke earnestly. “Now that you know what we’re dealing with, I’m sure you won’t make the same mistake again.”

“You don’t get it,” Iyo replied hoarsely as he sluggishly pushed off the ground and took a seated position with his head held down. “I’ve made this mistake many times. It’s like your friend said before, I’m a Grendel.”

“I have no idea what that means, so that argument has no chance of working on me.” Allen brushed Iyo’s deepest insecurity aside like a leaf in the wind from his sheer cluelessness concerning magical society.

Iyo was stunned speechless for a moment before regaining his composure. “...You’ve heard of beings that possessed the shape of humans but also had fantastical appearances and powers, right? That branch of human magic users is known as Grendels.”

“So, there’s more than one type of magic user? Is Nera one?” Allen questioned as he watched Nera jump into the air with superhuman agility and dropkick the Specter on its back. Just seeing that made him wince.

Iyo shook his head.“She’s special, but not like that. Unlike the Crafters and their spiritual constructs, Codexes, that allow them to inherently control their power, Grendels have magical blood they need to master in order to rein in their powers and I’ve never been able to do that myself.” Iyo continued to stare at his hand which was soaked with blood.

Allen could not deny that sight nor the bad history Iyo had endured, but as he watched Nera fight as hard she could with none of the usual bravado she had while fighting, he knew they would need all the help they could get. That is when he spotted something small next to Iyo out of the corner of his eye and picked it up.

‘What’s this?’

It was a piece of wood stripped of its bark and carved into the shape of a miniature crow. Its surface held not a single scratch or imperfection. Allen could see the faintest traces of orange Extract that was the same color as Iyo’s and that gave him an idea.

‘So, he’s an artist too. Might as well put that to good use.’

“Hey, why don’t you carve the Wraith off of him like you did with this wood?” Allen held up the carving to Iyo.” I know you’ve made mistakes in the past with your power and just before, but what happens in the past isn’t guaranteed to be what happens in the future. No one can know the future, just try to shape it the best they can.”

Iyo’s eyes opened up wider at Allen’s last sentence. Meanwhile, Allen got up to his feet and turned to face where Nera and the Wraith were fighting.

“...My mentor, the one who taught me to use my abilities for art, spoke of the future in the very same way.”

“Is that so? Sounds like a wise man to me.” Allen slammed his fist into his other palm.”When you spot the right opportunity to jump in, do it. Right now, it’s time for me to do my job as a part-time monster hunter.”

***

Several minutes went by as Allen and Nera kept the Wraith occupied while waiting for the right opportunity to appear. Allen used Subtle Iron but only for defense while using Vinea to hold back the Wraith's attacks. Nera did not pull any punches while going toe-to-toe with their adversary. She knocked it back time and time again with precise kicks and punches.

“I hope your little chit-chat showed some results besides leaving me to take care of everything.” Nera snidely remarked.

“It did. The playmaker just needs to figure out when to make the play!” Allen held up his mana-cloaked arms to block as the Wraith unleashed two heavy slashes of its claws to force them both over a dozen meters away. Allen dug his heels into the ground to keep from being sent even further than that.

They both rushed back but the Wraith did something unexpected by exhaling an enormous amount of air after opening its jaw to an obtuse angle. Allen felt an immense amount of Extract gather all around them.

“Not good, we need to fall back!” Allen exclaimed this and the two quickly leaped in the opposite direction. They did so just as the Wraith crashed its canines together and the ground they were just under was pulverized with excessive force.

Allen’s mouth hung open at the ridiculously destructive attack. “What? I thought the story it was from was Red Riding Hood, but maybe it’s the Three Little Pigs!”

“I’m pretty sure that would’ve been enough to blow down a brick house. Try again.” They both stood far back from it. At the same time, clouds of dust were expelled from the sides of its maw.

Allen shrugged but did not dismiss her rebuttal entirely.

‘She has a point. Plus, I didn’t feel any wind blow towards us and have no clue how that dirt ended up in its mouth.'

In the middle of his thoughts, someone suddenly spoke up from the sidelines.

“It’s neither. It’s a Warg, one of Fenrir’s kind. The same beasts that are prophesied to swallow the sun and moon whole during Ragnarok.” Iyo explained succinctly.

“Great, now we know it has super-eating powers that don’t give a shit about size or distance. Does that give you any ideas, Bookworm?” Nera huffed.

“Norse mythology again, eh? If I remember correctly, Fenrir gets defeated by someone who destroys its heart and/or tears its teeth apart. One of those is definitely more fatal for the Wraith’s unwitting host. But the latter…” Allen pondered for a moment. “Nera, the next time it tries to use that crazy attack can you kick its teeth in? That might be the trick to canceling that attack and its possession.”

Nera grinned, glad to hear a plan that could work. “Sure, it will give me the chance to test out a new move.”

Allen gave a thumbs up. “Good, because it looks like it’s been charging up something much worse than the last one with all the time we spent talking.”

True enough, it had spent even more time gathering up an astonishing amount of mana into the surroundings that made Allen’s hair stand on end. He was not sure he would be able to get out of the attack radius even if he broke out into a full sprint now. Nera instead burst out in a charge straight toward the monster.

Meanwhile, Iyo clenched his fist so hard there was a sickening noise. He had been able to help somewhat by giving them information about the Wraith but was not sure if that was good enough. The line between caution and cowardice had grown frustratingly hazy for him.

A moment later, the Warg Specter began to clamp down its teeth, but Nera launched herself in the air with a 720-degree spin.

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“Eat this instead. Magical Teeth Smasher!” Using the force of her centrifugal motion, she used the heel of her steel-sole shoes to shatter both rows of the Wraith’s teeth in quick succession. In response, the Wraith picked up a large metal beam that had gotten torn loose on the ground and hit Nera with enough force to slam her into the dirt. It reeled back its arm for another thunderous blow but Allen used Vinea to restrain it.

"I liked it better when you were just using your claws. That five-meter metal beam is overkill." Allen said through grit teeth. The young man was not able to stop the Warg from pulling on the vine-whip itself and hurtling him into some construction supplies. An excruciating pain ran through Allen's back as it collided with the wooden crates and he slumped to the ground.

"Ugh...feels like I got hit by a truck." Allen groaned while picking himself up. Using Extract to shield himself at the last second was the only reason he was still alive. "If Vinea won't work, I'll have to try out another Craft Card."

He pulled out a Craft Card empowered with the Draugr's Sculpture. Allen glanced over the image of a stone axe on the card and grinned. His smirk quickly disappeared when he noticed that Warg was about to land another hit on Nera.

He used magical energy to boost himself over to the two and shouted, "Open, Gravesinker!"

An earthen axe sprung forth from the card into Allen's right hand and he tried to meet the Wraith's metal beam with his own weapon. Allen's eyes widened when his weapon passed straight through the beam and hit the Warg before it rapidly leaped back. The slash had dug deep enough to reveal a portion of the hostage's shirt within the Wraith.

"So it can pass through this too!" The young man had not been trying to activate the axe's power but it was not like he knew exactly how that worked anyway. Instead, he took this situation in stride.

With renewed conviction, Allen ran to meet the Wraith by himself. It tried swiping at him again and once more, the axe careened through a metal beam and slashed directly at the Wraith. The monster was forced to retreat to avoid it while Allen made sure to stop right before landing a strike. He still didn't want to hurt the person concealed inside of the Warg. At the same time, Nera used this opportunity to land another flying kick at its head.

"Alright lackey, another move like that and we might be able to subdue it ourselves." Nera egged Allen on and he steeled himself to at least attempt to knock the Wraith out with her help, if that was even possible. His axe ran through the metal beam again to nearly strike the Wraith. With a crack, the blade shattered into pieces and Allen's fist landed harmlessly on the monster's torso.

"Huh?!" Allen uttered hoarsely as the Warg swung the heavy piece of metal at him. His ace-in-the-hole had suddenly disappeared right before his eyes and he had no time to dodge.

"Allen!" Nera yelled frantically as she leaped into the path of the beam to shield him as it slammed into their bodies and sent them careening against the ground. The Warg had thrown the support object as well and was now charging at them on all fours in a frenzied rush.

In a blur, it was already pouncing upon them like a meteorite.

‘...a shooting star?’ The thought flashed in Allen's mind.

However, it was not in reference to the Wraith’s strike.

A streak of orange light split through the darkness. It left a blazing streak on the Warg. That streak split in all directions like a willow tree around it and burst outward. The wrath’s frame was rent apart instantly in a cloud of miasma and dust.

Appearing from that, was the unconscious body of Liam. Before he could fall, Iyo grabbed hold of him. Ember-like particles drifted from two fingers Iyo had aligned like he was holding a knife in them. He had used his power to carve Liam out of the specter just as Allen had envisioned, but it was still incredible to see.

“That was metal,” Allen uttered in amazement.

“Yeah, and you make an awful cushion,” Nera complained before getting up from Allen and he stood up as well.

“Bummer, I was going to try that out if this gig didn’t pay well enough. Speaking of that…” He looked around until he saw an amber stone glowing and promptly placed the Warg's fang-shaped Dream Sculpture into his pouch.

***

After the dust settled, the three of them watched as the wound on Liam's neck faded away due to whatever faint Expanse covering the area going away after its destruction. Just in case, they still decided to call an ambulance for the unconscious landscaper, Liam, informing them that he was a victim of the same strange ailments as other workers at the construction site had suffered recently.

They then walked a few blocks away before any authorities could appear. Over that time, Allen had asked how Iyo knew what kind of monster the Wraits and only for Iyo to respond that he and his friend had seen one before. This made it sound as if this Wraith did not manifest from Liam’s fears originally.

“So, why was it targeting him?” Allen asked in confusion.

“It wasn’t. He likely had a deep-seated fear of that monster, but it’s more likely it was targeting me. I was the one it attacked first two years ago.”

“Two years ago?! A Wraith held a grudge for so long that it decided to sabotage your workplace? Wait, can Specters even hold grudges?”

“They can’t,” Iyo answered flatly. He was looking straight ahead as they walked along the streets of the dimly lit area. They had no clear destination in mind besides away from where they had been previously. In a matter of minutes, the three’s paths would likely diverge.

“Which means you think that someone is controlling it.” Nera infered and Iyo’s lack of denial all but confirmed it.

“Yes, I’ve noticed a spike in Specter activity recently. Many people despise Grendel. At worst, it could be the Grim Reaper themself and more might target me, so you should avoid me. I don’t want to involve anyone who has no stake in this fight.”

‘I doubt that since she’s dead, but who knows? It could be another one of the Inheritors.’ Allen decided to keep those thoughts to himself for now.

“Well, if you join us then we’ll have one then, right? We’re both hunting monsters already for our own reasons, why don’t you join our team.” Allen offered while holding out an outstretched hand.

Iyo eyes widened before returning to their usual neutral state. “Sure, I’ll join you two.”

Allen and Nera both grinned deviously, glad to have a powerful ally added to their ranks. This odd pair of a newfound Magician and a questionable Reaper were now joined by a taciturn Oni.

***

In the early morning of the next day, in the main art studio of Dezigners, a variety of posters all appeared to be dyed a deep blue regardless of the pigments that were used on them. Allen was currently working on a poster for an upcoming event called the Summer Sun Mirror Festival and was looking for inspiration while gazing around the room at other people’s posters. What eventually caught his eye was none of them, but a realization that the blue light that seemed to dye the posters did not come from the windows but the walls themselves. The walls were painted a luxurious and vibrant blue that mirrored an early morning sky. The way the painting used color to appear almost luminescent compelled him.

That gave Allen an idea.

He proceeded to spend a lengthy amount of time on his poster using colored pens past a point that was feasible for a single poster.

“Hmm, almost done now…” The dried-up colored pen scraping against the poster snapped him out of his trance. He checked all the rest and saw they were dried up as well. He breathed a sigh and looked at what he had done so far.

The scene depicted on the poster was that of a shadowy, ebon wolf devouring a blazing sun amidst an azure sky. It drew from the events of the previous night. Allen highlighted the color of the rising sun and morning sky through a sharp contrast with the inky blackness of the Warg’s figure. It made each part more striking in comparison.

‘Just need a little more to fill in that sun…” Allen could tell without looking around how empty the room was.

‘Well, Leonardo Da Vinci took over a decade to paint the Mona Lisa’s lips.’

He proceeded to head to where supplies were stored for more pens but caught a glimpse of someone else in the studio. A young woman with long, curly blue hair wearing a colorful crop top and shorts, a sapphire jacket wrapped around her waist like a makeshift skirt. She was so absorbed in her work that she was unaware she was running out of pigments for the oil painting she was working on.

‘Hmm..’

“Here,” Allen said as held out some paint tubes to the fellow artist. In response, she tilted her head back oddly to look at him with piercing sea-green irises, her long hair drooping even closer to the ground. He set the paint tubes down on her stand, unfazed. Owlette’s head-spinning trick had done well to prepare Allen for something like this.

He got a good look at the woman’s upside-down face. She had an olive complexion and ear piercings with a tie-dye bandana covering her lower face. Her dark mascara-lined eyes shifted slowly to where he placed the paint tubes. “Ah, I didn’t realize I was almost out. I appreciate the favor…”

“It’s Allen.”

“Oh, I’m Xalia.” She tilted her head back forward and looked at him normally. “Never noticed you around before, you’re not some kind of specter are you?”

“Huh?!”

She lowered her bandana to reveal a large mischievous grin spread out on her face. Her lips had ring piercings on them as well. “Sheesh, you should see your face right now my man. I’m just joking. Who believes in ghosts anyway?” Xalia pulled her bandana back up and proceeded to evenly disperse the paint tubes onto her pallet. She quickly glanced behind him.

“So, that’s what you’re working on, looks wicked. A wolf devouring the sun is a bold move for a festival celebrating it, dontcha ya think?”

Allen could not tell if she was praising him or mocking him.

“Yeah, but it sort of just came to me.”

“I understand. The inspiration for my art is like that as well.” Xalia turned to her painting again and Allen observed it keenly. It looked like a random splattering of blues, greens, and oranges.

“Hope you don’t take offense, but what exactly is this supposed to be? Abstract art?”

“You must be playing me if you can’t tell, man. This is obviously the sun’s light reflecting off the surface of a murky swamp.”

“Uhh, I think I can see it now,” Allen stated while rubbing the back of his head.

“Damn, you’re gullible.” Xalia snickered to herself and kept on painting. This struck a nerve for Allen.

“What’s the point of creating art for the Summer Sun Festival if no one can tell what the hell it is?”

“Not creating this for the Summer Sun Festival. It’s for my personal collection.”

“Why-’

“And I’ll be lending it out for people to hang from the balconies during the festival.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Everything. My art is always for myself first and everyone else second. I didn’t come here to follow some cookie-cutter template just to make a quick buck.” Her attention never left her canvas for a second.

“Roger. For me, art is just a path to success. If I have to follow some ‘cookie-cutter template’ to do so, then that’s fine by me.” He responded nonchalantly.

“Hmm, I wonder how that’s going to turn out.”

Allen could almost hear her grin from underneath the cloth covering her face.

‘I know this is bait, but I have to ask.’

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t come to Atelier City to not be successful. Aside from becoming an assembly line artist that can produce exactly what is asked of them, there are two other types of artists that Atelier City’s benefactors are looking for.”

“And what are those?”

“One, an artist with a charismatic personality and large following to draw in publicity for any work they have their hand in, and two…” Xalia gestured to the walls all around them.

“An artist with a distinct creativity that can spark the imagination of others around them.”

Allen viewed her skeptically until it dawned on him and his eyes widened.

“These inspirationally blue walls were my contribution to the Summer Sun Festival.”

“I guess you are the real deal then,” Allen admitted with a humbled grin.

Xalia looked back at him with a hunched-over gaze filled with mirth. “Enough about me. Just what type of artist are you trying to be, Allen Lee?”