As the sun rose into the sky in its full glory, its golden rays seeped into the room, thereby bringing both brothers out of their short-term slumber. It was early in the morning, around 7:00 Am.

Both brothers woke up, exchanged pleasantries, and then got to getting ready. Performing the needed necessities: brushing their teeth, bathing, and adorning some set of clothes. Subsequently, they had a free meal, which was the main reason why Klaus had chosen this hotel. Klaus opted for bacon cheeseburger, whilst Xavier, ever the healthier of the two, went for salad.

As they passed the front desk, Klaus exchanged pleasantries with the receptionist, his charm disguising the flirtatious being within.

Xavier watched with a hint of amusement, shaking his head with a wry smile. Klaus could talk to anyone and win them over without breaking a sweat. It was almost like a God-gifted talent, but as of now, there was no time for idle talks.

They have got work to do.

Minutes later, they sped down the nearly deserted morning streets. Klaus kept the car at a steady pace, the roar of the engine a soothing rhythm in Xavier's ears. His thoughts, however, were anything but calm. The shapeshifter- an elusive, cunning and a psycho of a creature- had vanished right under their noses.

They needed answers, and at that, fast.

A few minutes of absolute silence easily passed by, before the car finally came to a stop before a small mall. The greenish shade on top of the mall was carefully designed, giving off a strange liveliness.

They pulled up in front of Shoprite Mall.

Above them, the CCTV camera slowly rotated, scanning its surroundings with mechanical precision.

"This place should have the footage we need," Xavier said, his eyes following the camera's path.

"Let's hope so," Klaus replied, exhaling sharply.

He reached under his seat and pulled out a shotgun, checking it with practiced ease.

His mind flashed back to a scene. A middle-aged man stood amidst rumbling thunder and muddy floor. The endless darkness before them sent cold chills running down young Klaus's spine.

The middle aged man retracted his gaze away from the depths of the shadows that stretched for as far as the eyes could see.

Eyes lingering on Klaus, the middle aged man spoke.

"Remember Klaus. As a hunter, you must make sure to never perform unprepared. Always keep this in mind."

Klaus face softened for a moment there, before sparkling back to its normal stoic expression.

He sighed internally before passing a gun to Xavier.

Xavier's mind spiraled into the depths of his subconsciousness. Remembering a fragmented scene amongst the many within his mind.

"One of the necessities of being a hunter is to never perform unprepared.

A rule you must always abide by."

He knew they needed to take the necessary level of precaution. Who knows, the shape-shifter might even be looking at them right now; hence, they had to be prepared for the impossible so they could at least put up a fight against the inevitable.

Xavier allowed his thoughts to run amok before his gaze shifted towards Klaus, who handed a forged badge over to him. Holding onto the bade, he glanced at it before letting out a light chuckle.

Alighting from the car.

Xavier pushed open the door before they both walked into the mall. Arriving before the receptionist, their badges flickered to light.

"I am Detective Zander. And this here is my partner, Detective Hollerein." Klaus said, his voice clipped.

"We are working on a case and need access to your surveillance footage."

The receptionist hesitated, her fingers twitching toward the phone.

"I... I don't have the authority for that," She stammered.

Klaus leaned forward slightly, his eyes cold. "Make a call. We don't have time to waste."

Her hands shook as she dialed. She ended the call within a minute.

"The surveillance technician will be here, shortly." She stuttered, her eyes lingering on Klaus's cold pair of eyes. She felt as though a cold chill was running across her spine. Every second she spent with him, filled her with hallucinations.

She felt as though she was trapped within the depths of an endless darkness, with shadows reflecting within the depths of her eyes. The man before her, evoked an unspeakable sense of dread. Each breath of his, each second her eyes spent lingering on him, filled her with crazy, unbelievable hallucinations that sent cold droplets of sweat running down her spine.

A minute later, a man emerged from the back, with Klaus gaze leaving her, shifting towards the approaching middle aged man.

Upon realizing that the eerie dark, indescribable shadows had receded into an endless darkness of sort, she breathed a sigh of relief.

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"Good morning, detectives. I'm Raphael, the surveillance technician. How can I assist you?"

Klaus had a light smile creeping up his face. He nodded his head enthusiastically, "Good," He paused for a second before he added, "It's good to know that we have still got good law-abiding citizens."

Xavier's lips slightly twitched.

Says the worst of them all. He lampooned inwardly, a wry smile creeping up his face.

Klaus shook hands with Raphael, who was now starting to get slightly uncomfortable from the long expanse of time which the shaking was going on for.

Xavier rolled his eyes at Klaus before his gaze shifted towards Raphael.

"We need to see the footage from last night," Xavier said, cutting straight to the point.

Raphael nods, "This way," He said before learning both detectives towards the closed ashen door.

They walked down a narrow hallway, past flickering lights, rythmic echoes of mechanisms and faint hum of machines.

Inside the surveillance room, screens lined the wall, each one depicting a different angle of the Mall.

Raphael sat down, his fingers working wonders on the keyboard before him.

A minute of fruitless endeavor passed by with Xavier's mind spiraling into an abyss of endless frustration, his hands tightly clenched whilst his hands lightly kneaded his temples as he paced up and down the room.

Just when it seems like his mind would shatter from the endless abyssal strain that enveloped the depths of his mind, a flash of light; a rekindling spirit sparkled to light amidst this endless darkness that gnawed onto his mind.

"There" Xavier pointed at one of the screens. "Can you zoom in on that?"

"This?" Raphael raised his eyebrow, whilst his hand pointed at one of the screens.

Upon receiving a light nod from Xavier. Raphael was silent for a while. His lips trembled slightly, his mind breaking into splinters of shards and fragments of constant hesitation and subtle hints of fears.

Amidst the fear that gripped onto him, he finally managed to voice out his thoughts, "You know. You could just tell me what you're looking for. Perhaps then, I will be able to help."

"Yeah, you would," Klaus muttered, before his cold gaze shifted towards Raphael, "That's for us to know.

"Just do as you're told."

Raphael nods his head, forcing a smile before he continued as instructed.

"Zoom in on that guy," Klaus suddenly commanded, his tone cold and distant, causing Xavier to chuckle inwardly.

"This guy?" Raphael's gaze moved away from the screen after pointing at a guy who appeared to be slipping through the crowd with unnatural grace.

"Yeah," Xavier nods in reply.

A light smile appeared on Raphael's face before he got back to work. Seeing the flare of light within the depths of the man's pupil and the face of the dead guy, Xavier didn't need to be told to know that was their shape-shifter.

Hmm…Xavier's brows got slightly raised, a thought crossing his mind "Can you zoom in on the guy," He paused for a second before he added, "And then if possible, slow done the footage."

Raphael let out a light chuckle before nodding, "Yeah, of course. I can do that."

"Good," Klaus said, receiving a light nod from Raphael, who proceeded to slow down the footage.

The footage finally slowed down, then continued to replay the scene of the shape-shifter; at first, they weren't able to figure out what was happening.

But after Raphael tampered with some controls. It seemed to be enough to do the trick. The footage was no longer blurry, and as the footage played in slow motion, the truth became clear. The shape-shifter had blended into the crowd before disappearing into an open manhole cover.

Klaus clenched his fists, the muscles in his jaw tightening. "Damn it. Should've seen that."

After a few seconds, he finally managed to heave a light sigh.

His gaze shifted towards Raphael, "Thanks for your service."

A light smile slowly crept up Mr. Raphael's face, "The pleasure is mine." He was quiet for a while before letting out a deep sigh, a grim expression creeping up his face, "Most of the victims were friends or neighbors' of mine. And I assume this is the criminal behind the various death."

He paused for a second, receiving a nod from Klaus he then proceeded, "Guessed as much. Hopefully, you detectives will be able to put him behind bars for all the heinous crimes that he has committed." Mr. Raphael said with tightly clenched hands.

The brothers couldn't really blame him anyway. Whilst the shape-shifter had the power to take law into his hands.

Mr. Raphael is just an ordinary citizen, hence would have to behave like one. Not to even talk of the fact that he was simply a normal guy with no ability whatsoever. Hence, he could only grit his teeth and clench his hands whilst being filled with hatred towards the killer who continued to kill people assumingly close to him.

Xavier sighed inwardly, "We will be sure to put an end to the murder cases." He could only try to reassure Mr. Raphael.

"Good," Raphael nods his head, he paused for a second. A light smile crept up his face before he added, "Guess I should be expecting good news then."

"Definitely." Xavier nodded, his voice laced with a tinge of confidence.

Klaus and Xavier were quick to leave the Mall.

They both got into the car. Klaus was about to grab onto the gun inlaid with silver bullets, when Xavier's voice suddenly rang into his ears.

"So, what do you think?" Xavier's right hand was placed on the window whilst his gaze shifted towards Klaus.

He paused for a second before he added, "Do we first go after the shape-shifter or find the corpse of the cursed spirit."

Klaus was silent for a whilst, his hand rubbing against his temples,

"Trying to hunt down the shape-shifter by nighttime, wouldn't really give us much an advantage compared to hunting it down by daytime."

Klaus paused for a second, organizing his thoughts before he added, "And since the cursed spirit is bounded to the isolated school. It stands to reason that it doesn't pose a threat to anyone.

"Well, except for fools who venture into its confines.

"Whereas the shape-shifter is the complete opposite. It's strong, cunning, and it's out for blood."

Xavier who already understood what his brother was getting at nods his head, "Alright then. Guess the shape-shifter is the first on the kill list."

A cold look slowly crept up his face, before both brothers got out of the car after picking up the needed gun- in this case, a gun imbued with silver bullets!

They both arrived before the manhole cover with Klaus opening the lid, before both brothers proceeded into its confines. Climbing down the ladder, they landed on the ground with a light thud.

Their gaze assessed their surrounding. Everywhere was slightly dim with sporadic lights flickering with an eerie glow, casting long shadows across the wall. Their gaze moved about whilst they paid close attention to any sudden, strange movement.

On numerous occasions, Xavier's heart skipped a beat by the sudden movement of shadows later realized to be the shadows of rats causing Klaus to chuckle every once in a while, a brief break amidst the tension that weighed heavily against their mind.

Distant echoes seem to reverberate into their ears, shadows lingering across the corner of their eyes. A weird irritating pungent smell clouded their nose, chilling winds running down their spines while a seemingly endless darkness spread for as far as the eyes could see.

Slowly, they started to come across trails left behind by the shape-shifter. Each trail, heightening the sense of dread that pervaded the atmosphere to the very air they breathed in.

Torn out flesh, mangled and sticky flesh, skin ripped apart from one's body- All these were more than enough to prove that they were on the right track.