The bloodhunter moved with practiced precision as she climbed onto the platform, her injured leg barely slowing her down. She carried herself like someone who’d fought through worse—someone who knew how to keep going no matter what. Well, I guess that came with the job, with all the blood and all. But there was something more to it, It was like a mask had fallen away, and the bloodhunter underneath was someone far more dangerous—and far more determined.

She squared off against the ghoul, her glowing eye flaring brighter, the black veins around it pulsing with faint energy. The crimson scimitar in her hand shimmered like a living thing, its jagged edge glowing faintly in the dim light.

The creature was relentless—its wiry frame a blur of motion as it darted toward her with monstrous speed. Its claws hissed through the air, meeting the bloodhunter’s blade in a clash of steel and unnatural flesh. Each strike landed with a sickening crack, but the ghoul didn’t falter.

For every wound she inflicted, the ghoul regenerated, its grotesque limbs knitting themselves back together with disturbing ease. Its red pinprick eyes burned brighter with every clash, like the violence was feeding it.

The bloodhunter pressed forward, her attacks precise and unyielding, but it was clear she was pushing herself beyond her limits.

I grabbed Benny by the back of his collar, yanking him out of the way as the ghoul’s claws ripped through a rusted barrel with a screech that drilled into my skull.

“Move it, bonesack!” I snapped, dragging him backward like a stubborn kid refusing to leave a toy store. “Unless you want to end up as her midnight snack!”

The bloodhunter adjusted her grip on the crimson blade, her glowing eye flaring brighter as she squared off against the ghoul. Her breath came in shallow bursts, but her voice carried a steady, mocking edge.

“Is that all you’ve got?” she called, sidestepping another swipe of those grotesque claws. “I’ve seen scarier things crawling out of my breakfast.”

The ghoul hissed, its twisted frame jerking towards her as it lunged, claws tearing gouges into the concrete. She spun away, taunting it again. “Come on! You’re supposed to be a monster, not a punching bag.”

From the corner of my eye, I saw Benny crouched on the ground, frantically flipping through his grimoire. Pages fluttered as his skeletal fingers fumbled, trembling in panic.

I pressed my back against the rusted remains of a support column, my mind racing. The bloodhunter was keeping the ghoul occupied, but it wouldn’t last. She was slowing down, her movements less fluid, and even I could tell she was running out of steam. Another swipe from the ghoul’s claws narrowly missed her, but the effort to dodge left her staggering.

“This is bad,” I muttered under my breath, glancing between her and the hulking nightmare she was trying to keep at bay.

“Come on, think,” I growled at myself, gripping Yellow-Girl tighter. My fingers hovered over my belt, brushing against the fire bolt. It was expensive—too expensive to waste—but what was money worth if we all ended up dead?

With a resigned sigh, I slid the fire bolt into Yellow-Girl’s chamber. The mechanism clicked, smooth and satisfying, as the bolt locked into place. I raised the crossbow, taking aim at the ghoul’s head.

“Wait! I found it!” Benny’s yell broke my focus, my finger twitching on the trigger as I nearly fired in surprise.

The bloodhunter twisted at the sound, her glowing eye flicking toward Benny for a fraction of a second. It was enough of a distraction for the ghoul to close the gap, its claws slashing through the platform beside her. Splinters and chunks of wood exploded into the air as she barely dodged, her footing slipping on the debris.

“You almost got her killed!” I barked, lowering Yellow-Girl as my heart pounded in my chest.

Benny scrambled over to me, clutching his battered grimoire like it was a lifeline. Without so much as a warning, he shoved the book into my face. “It’s an exorcism ritual! It repels undead spirits. I can do it!”

I pushed the book away enough to focus on the page. “You’re joking. This is a joke, right?”

“No! Look, the book says it’ll work. I’ve got the spell memorized. I just need the materials.”

“And what miracle ingredients do you need for this... masterpiece?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Table salt, candles, chalk, and...” Benny’s voice faltered as he read further, his expression crumbling. “...blood from the hunted victim.” He looked up, his sunken eyes wide with despair. “We don’t have that.”

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Of course we don’t. Because that would be too easy.”

Benny fidgeted, hugging the book closer. “I mean, I couldn’t use Lisa’s blood! That’s why I used... ketchup.”

My hand dropped to my side, and I stared at him. “Ketchup?”

“It worked for the first ritual!” he said defensively, his skeletal fingers tightening around the book.

“Sure it did,” I said dryly and let out a slow breath, shaking my head. “Okay, back up. These components sound way too... ordinary. Table salt? Candles? I’ve seen necromancers hoarding newt-oil, imp’s tongue, or other weird crap. What kind of amateur wrote this?”

Benny’s skeletal fingers flipped the book over as he peered at the cover. “Harry... something. The 70% off sticker covers the rest.”

I stared at him, deadpan. “You’re kidding.”

Benny shook his head earnestly. “No! He was a genius! He said all that extra stuff was just to scare off rookies. The important thing is for the wizard to believe the components fit the idea of the spell and that the materials align chemically with the spell’s calculations.”

I rubbed my temples, resisting the urge to throw the book into the nearest puddle of ghoul blood. “Right. So we have a discount second-hand wizard’s guide and ketchup-powered necromancy.”

“It’s not ketchup-powered!” Benny protested. “It’s a real ritual! But we don’t have—”

“—the blood,” I finished for him, cutting him off with a pointed gesture at the platform. “Except we do. Look again, bonesack. That ghoul’s practically bleeding all over your ritual space.”

Benny’s eyes darted back to the platform, black ichor was everywhere—splattered across the floor, dripping from the ghoul’s claws, and pooling beneath the creature as it lunged at the bloodhunter, realization dawning. “Oh,” he said again, his tone somewhere between sheepish and relieved. “Right.”

I turned back to the bloodhunter, still locked in a deadly dance with the creature. Her blade flashed as it collided with the ghoul’s claws, sparks flying with each strike.

“Hey!” I shouted over the chaos. “We’ve got a plan! We just need you to keep it busy for the next—”

I glanced at Benny, who was fumbling with a piece of chalk. He froze like a deer in headlights. “What? Oh! Uh... ten minutes!”

“...for five minutes!” I finished, waving at the bloodhunter. “Can you do that?”

She didn’t bother answering with words. Instead, she ducked under a vicious swipe from the ghoul and twisted, her crimson blade carving a deep gash across its side. It didn’t slow the creature down, but the move was enough to throw it off balance. She grunted, sparing me a brief glance before leaping off the platform with practiced ease.

Landing on the ground below with a thud, she straightened and turned to face the ghoul. “Come on!” she shouted, her voice like a whip crack. “That's all you’ve got? Let’s see what you can really do!”

The ghoul let out a shriek that clawed at my ears, its twisted frame coiling as it launched itself after her. Its claws leaving black ichor imprints on the platform as it scrambled to keep up, its glowing red eyes locked onto her with a predatory hunger.

“What?! I said ten minutes!” Benny squawked, his voice cracking in panic.

“Then work twice as fast, bonebrain!” I snapped as I followed them, trying to look for an opening to shoot. “Lisa’s counting on you!”

This exorcism better work. And I wondered, what will happen if that thing gets out... then what? What happens when it latches onto one of us? The bloodhunter's already half-dead on her feet, Benny’s a skeleton the size of a medium dog, and I’m... well, me. Not exactly a recipe for success. I’ve seen people possessed by evil spirits like that, and it's never pretty. Twisted into something unrecognizable, hollow and... just evil. And the thought of that happening here, now, after everything we’ve been through?

Let’s just say it’s not an option. But what can I do about it...? Only push through and hope, I guess.

I darted toward the bloodhunter, nearly losing my footing as my boots skidded on the cracked concrete. The factory floor was a nightmare—rusted debris, jagged edges, and sudden drops waiting to swallow anyone dumb enough to run without watching their step. Naturally, that meant me.

She was still going, though. Injured, bleeding, and somehow keeping the ghoul focused on her. I had to hand it to her—whatever kept her moving probably came in a bottle labeled “insanity” with a side of “masochism.”

The bloodhunter’s glowing eye burned brightly, her crimson blade meeting the ghoul’s claws with a sharp crack that echoed through the space. But she was slowing down. The wound in her thigh was still gushing, staining her armor and leaving slick, dark trails on the ground. I could see her precision faltering—not enough to be obvious, but enough for someone who was paying attention.

“Got room for one more?” I called out as I tried to keep up with her.

She didn’t even look at me. “Just don’t slow me down,” she said, slicing at the ghoul’s arm and ducking away before it could retaliate.

“Don’t worry,” I muttered, scanning the chaos for a shot. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

I jogged around the edge of the floor, trying to keep an eye on both her and the ghoul while not falling into the gaping holes scattered everywhere. My luck ran out when my boot caught on a twisted piece of rebar, nearly sending me face-first into a pit.

“Damn it,” I hissed, righting myself just in time to see the bloodhunter slip.

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Her foot skidded in her own blood, her leg buckling for half a second. It was all the ghoul needed. The thing lunged, claws outstretched, aiming straight for her exposed side.

My mind blanked. Instinct took over.

“Duck!” I shouted, snapping Yellow-Girl to my shoulder and pulling the trigger.

The bolt flew true, slamming into the ghoul’s face. For a fraction of a second, nothing happened. Then, FOOOM!.

A thunderous roar split the air as the chemicals inside the bolt’s head mixed and ignited, flames erupting in a bright, searing burst.

The heat hit me like a punch, forcing me to shield my face as the ghoul shrieked, its head engulfed in fire. It thrashed wildly, clawing at the air as the flames devoured its grotesque features.

Good ol’ fire bolt, I thought, already starting to reload. Tightly packed vials of unstable chemicals jammed into the bolt’s head. They mix on impact, and—poof—instant inferno. Hot enough to melt steel. Or, if I’m lucky, even thaw out this bloodhunter’s frosty glare.

Speaking of which—she’d rolled away just before the fire burst hit, smothering the flames that had caught on her leather armor with a calm efficiency that screamed “I’ve done this before.”

The ghoul was still shrieking, flailing blindly as the fire ate through its upper body. I glanced at her, expecting some kind of reaction. Gratitude, maybe.

Instead, she gave me a look that could’ve frozen the flames. “Your aim could use some work,” she said, deadpan.

Her lips twitched, though—barely. Was that... a smile?

“Next time, I’ll let it eat you,” I shot back, reloading Yellow-Girl with a click. “That better?”

“Much,” she said, her tone dry as she turned back to the ghoul.

I glanced at the bloodhunter, her blade still in her hand, though her grip was unsteady. Her glowing eye dimmed, and her stance wavered as she leaned heavily on her uninjured leg. She didn’t need to say anything—it was written all over her.

“You good to keep going?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

She didn’t reply, just stared at the ghoul as it snarled and twisted in the aftermath of the fire bolt. Her gaze was unfocused, her breathing shallow, and it looked like it took every ounce of her strength just to stay upright.

“Right,” I muttered. “Guess it’s my turn.”

Her silence was all the confirmation I needed. She was done for, at least for now. That left me. Alone. Against the snarling, regenerating nightmare that had once been Lisa.

I tightened my grip on Yellow-Girl, quickly swapping in a standard bolt as the ghoul turned its glowing red eyes toward the bloodhunter. Not on my watch.

“Hey!” I yelled, stepping into its line of sight and waving my crossbow in the air. “Yeah, you! Big, ugly, and hungry! Let’s see how you do against someone who can actually fight!”

Its head snapped toward me, the flames from the fire bolt now a distant memory as its charred skin knitted back together.

“Oh, great, that works,” I muttered as I raised Yellow-Girl and fired.

The bolt struck the side of its face, not deep enough to do real damage but enough to get its attention. It let out a bone-rattling screech and lunged toward me, claws tearing up the concrete as it closed the distance.

“Yeah, that’s it,” I muttered under my breath as I cracked a chemical light-stick and hanged it on my poncho, then spun on my heel and bolted for one of the hallways. “Come get me, you oversized corpse.”

----------------------------------------

The ghoul was fast. Faster than anything that size had any right to be. I ducked around a corner, my boots skidding on the slick floor as its claws raked against the wall behind me.

“This is insane,” I hissed to myself, vaulting over a rusted beam that had collapsed into the corridor. “I should be running the hell out of here, not playing tag with the apocalypse.”

The ghoul screeched behind me, its claws catching on the beam and tearing it in two.

“Okay, okay,” I muttered, fumbling with my belt. “Time to get creative.”

I pulled out a smoke bomb, yanked the pin, and tossed it over my shoulder. The hallway filled with thick, choking smoke, and I heard the ghoul’s screech turn into a snarl as it barreled through, blind and furious.

Good, I thought. Stay mad.

I darted into a side room, barely avoiding a hole in the floor big enough to swallow a car. The ghoul charged blindly, missing me by inches as it skidded over the edge of the pit, falling right in.

"Yeah! How do you like that, huh?" I shouted at it, adrenaline pounding in my ears.

The ghoul's shrieks echoed from the bottom of the pit, its fury reverberating through the factory. It was far from done. I could hear it scrabbling at the walls, trying to pull itself back up. The gap was too wide, and it couldn't make the leap, but that wouldn't matter for long. This should give me a minute or two to catch my-

A loud crack and rumble shook the floor I stood on. I took a quick look down the hole and saw the fricking creature sink its claws into the walls of the hallway below me, slowly climbing it upwards. It twisted its face towards me and roared in rage as it doubled it's efforts to get to me.

"Right. That's... just great." I muttered as I backed away, reloading Yellow-Girl in a smooth, practiced motion and bolted for the next hallway. My lungs burned as I ran, the air thick with dust and the metallic tang of blood .

But if there was one thing I knew, it was how to outrun trouble. solving cases on the streets of Crescenta , evading the undead and worse, you either learned to be a damn good sprinter, or you didn’t make it to see the sunrise. And I liked being alive, thank you very much.

The corridor I raced down was a mess – rusted metal, shattered glass, and god-knows-what-else littering the ground.

I pulled another device from my belt—a tightly packed razor-wire grenade. My fingers trembled as I armed it, the tiny timer ticking down as I flung it behind me.

“Come on,” I whispered, not daring to look back.

The grenade went off with a loud pop, unfurling ten meters of razor-sharp wire in every direction. I glanced over my shoulder just in time to see the ghoul plow straight into it.

Its screech this time was pained, high-pitched, and furious. The wire caught on its limbs, slicing through its flesh and tangling it in place.

I grinned, only for the smile to fade as I realized how fast it was tearing through the wire, its regenerative abilities outpacing the damage.

“Stupid job doesn’t even pay enough for this,” I muttered, ducking through another corridor.

I rounded a corner and almost stumbled into a massive puddle of swamp water that had pooled on the factory floor. An alligator—a real, living alligator—watched me from the murky depths, its eyes gleaming in the faint light.

“Not today, buddy,” I muttered, veering away just as the ghoul crashed into the hallway behind me.

The creature snarled, its claws screeching against the walls as it clawed its way closer.

“This is fine,” I muttered to myself, fumbling for another smoke bomb. “Totally fine.”

I threw it at the ground, the thick smoke filling the corridor as I darted ahead, yelling "See you later!", and after a moment of realization I added, "..Alligator! See you later alligator!" Damn it, Eric, fumbled that one as well. Behind me, I could hear the ghoul smashing into the walls, disoriented but still relentless.

Four and a half minutes, I thought grimly. All I’ve got to do is keep this thing busy for four and a half minutes. No problem .

I darted into a familiar corridor, the layout clicking into place in my head. My chest heaved, lungs burning from the sprint, but a smile tugged at my lips despite the fear clawing at my gut.

“Now you’ll see why it’s good to balance the scales before the fight,” I muttered, leaping over a seemingly clear patch of floor. I landed a few feet beyond it, spun around, and raised Yellow-Girl.

The ghoul was already tearing through the smoke behind me, its glowing red eyes locked onto mine.

I aimed and fired, the bolt striking it square in the chest. It barely flinched, snarling as it charged, its claws scrabbling against the cracked floor.

This is insane, I thought as it closed the distance. My heart pounded in my ears, my legs trembling beneath me as I held my ground. This thing’s going to rip me apart.

The ghoul roared, its monstrous maw opening wide as it lunged, claws outstretched and ready to tear my face off.

And then, with a sharp snap, its forward momentum stopped cold.

Its foot shot into the air, followed by the rest of its grotesque body, which flipped upside-down in a sickening arc. The ghoul dangled mid-air, suspended by one leg as it screeched and thrashed, the razor-sharp wire cutting into its ankle.

I smirked, though my hands were shaking so badly that I almost dropped Yellow-Girl. Sweat trickled down the back of my neck, cold and clammy, and I realized my entire body was trembling.

“Holy hell,” I whispered, my voice barely audible over the ghoul’s enraged howls.

The wire loop had done its job. Tied to a sturdy steel beam overhead, it pulled tight as soon as the ghoul stepped into the trap, hoisting it into the air like some twisted piñata. It flailed violently, but the wire held firm, the steel beam groaning under the strain but refusing to give.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady my breathing. “And that, my friend,” I muttered, forcing a shaky grin, “is why you prep for every possibility. Even if it means scaring the hell out of yourself.”

The ghoul let out another piercing shriek, its claws raking at the air as it twisted and swung in its suspended position. The sight should’ve been satisfying—proof that my trap worked—but all it did was remind me how close I’d come to losing my head.

I wiped the sweat from my brow and took a cautious step back. The trap might’ve worked, but the ghoul wasn’t going to stay there forever. It was targeted for the bloodhunter in mind, not a mass of claws and muscles, The beam was already creaking audibly.

“Let’s see you wriggle out of that one,” I muttered, though my hands still trembled as I reloaded Yellow-Girl and ran towards the main hall, the four minutes were nearly up, hopefully Benny had prepared everything for the spell, or this was all for nothing.

After something like 20 seconds I heard a loud crushing sound behind me. Knowing what it meant, I sprinted forward, a high pitched scream of panic sounded throughout the hallway, not from my own throat, mind you, no matter what anyone else tells you, that girly scream was definitely the wind.

As I made my way toward the main hall, I heard the telltale hiss of the ghoul’s breath right behind me. A shiver ran down my spine as I picked up the pace, my boots pounding against the cracked concrete.

“Crap, crap, crap,” I muttered, cursing under my breath. I wasn’t even pretending to keep it together anymore.

Rounding the corner, I skidded to a stop just short of the main hall. Benny was kneeling inside the ritual circle, his hands trembling as he chanted words that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

And there she was—the bloodhunter. She stood near him, her blade in hand, her glowing eye flickering faintly. My stomach tightened.

Is she still planning to kill him?

But then her stance caught my eye. She wasn’t poised to strike at Benny. She was waiting. Watching the hallway I’d just come from. Waiting for me to bring the ghoul.

“At least I’m good at that,” I muttered bitterly, sprinting toward the circle. “Collecting problems and running away from them.”

The ghoul’s triumphant roar was almost on top of me now. I risked a glance over my shoulder and immediately regretted it—the thing’s glowing red eyes burned with hatred as it lunged forward, its claws outstretched and ready to tear me apart.

Ahead, Benny’s chanting grew louder, his voice rising in intensity. The bloodhunter’s expression, however, was grim.

I loaded my final special bolt into Yellow-Girl as I ran, the mechanism clicking into place. “Please be ready, bones-for-brains,” I muttered, my pulse pounding in my ears.

Reaching the edge of the circle, I jumped, my boots barely clearing the line of chalk and ichor as I turned mid-air. The ghoul was right there, its maw open in a silent roar.

I fired.

The bolt exploded mid-flight, the steel net unfurling like a spider’s web and wrapping around the creature. The ghoul’s momentum carried it forward, sending it crashing directly into the circle. Black ichor dripped from its wounds, staining the already bloodied ground.

“Exorcismus!” Benny screamed, his voice shaking with desperation and triumph.

The circle erupted in golden light, blinding and intense. The ghoul thrashed, its roars vibrating through the air as if reality itself wanted to tear apart. But something else was happening.

I squinted against the light, focusing on the air around the ghoul. It shimmered and rippled, almost like heat waves, as something began to ooze out of its form—something invisible but undeniably malevolent.

“Is it... working?” I muttered, my voice caught between hope and disbelief.

The ghoul’s body began to shrink, its grotesque limbs retracting, its monstrous features softening. Bit by bit, the thing was retreating, melting back into what I could only describe as... Lisa.

Her undead form lay there, motionless but intact. No claws, no fangs—just a fragile, broken version of the girl she once was.

I let out a shaky breath, but my relief was short-lived.

The bloodhunter stepped forward, her glowing eye narrowing as her grip tightened on her blade.

“Wait, wait,” I whispered, panic creeping into my voice. “She’s not a threat anymore.”

She didn’t stop.

Her movements were deliberate, but something about her posture caught my attention. It wasn’t Lisa she was after. Her glowing eye was fixed on something above the circle—something I couldn’t see.

I turned back to the circle, and there it was. The disturbance I’d noticed before. It pulsed in the air like a shadow caught between dimensions, writhing as it tried to pull itself free.

The bloodhunter leapt.

Her blade slashed through the disturbance as it darted toward Benny, the spirit’s shape briefly illuminating with a crimson glow. It let out a silent scream—no sound, but I felt it in my bones, a piercing, otherworldly agony.

The spirit exploded into a red mist, dissipating into nothingness as the bloodhunter landed in a crouch, her blade still glowing faintly.

For a long moment, no one moved. The only sound was my own ragged breathing.

“Okay,” I muttered, breaking the silence. “That was... something.”