The imposter Albert who had gone up ahead, had already disappeared from sight, and I couldn't shake the feeling of unease that settled over me. Who was he, and why did he want to pretend to be Albert? My mind raced with possibilities, each one more frightening than the last.

I had to protect Abby, and I couldn't do that if I didn't know who I was dealing with. I took a deep breath, my mind racing as I tried not to think of worst-case scenarios.

"Abby," I said, crouching down to her level. "I need you to stay close to me, okay? No matter what happens, don't let go of my hand."

She nodded, her grip on my hand tightening. I stood up, scanning the hallway for any sign of the imposter Albert. He could be anywhere, and I had no idea what he was capable of.

I had to find out who this imposter was and what he wanted.

As I scanned the crowd, my eyes settled on a large, bulky frame I could recognize anywhere. It was him, the imposter Albert. He walked calmly among the crowd, his eyes darting around as if looking for something. They landed on a soldier by the entrance, and I saw them glaze over. My heart skipped a beat as I realized this imposter was not just a random person but someone with specific intentions.

"Dammit. Keep her safe, Al," I spoke as I looked at Albert with determination. I felt bad for leaving Abby after what I'd just told her, but my instincts were screaming at me to intervene.

Before he could protest, I began to sprint forward at the imposter.

"Sienna, wait!" Albert cried out as he instinctively hugged Abby tight.

I took off after the imposter, weaving through the panicked crowd. I had to stop him before he did something terrible. But as I got closer, I saw him approach the soldier manning the gate and instinctively knew I was too late.

The imposter leaned in to whisper something toward the soldier as his hand contorted and transformed into needle-like appendages. I threw myself at him out of instinct, tackling the imposter by the knees, causing him to plunge forward, falling onto the ground.

We struggled on the ground, rolling as the soldier shouted in alarm and aimed his rifle at us. Blinding pain shot through my arm as the imposter's needle-like hand pierced my flesh. I gasped in agony but managed to grab his wrist with my other hand and pull it away.

He bucked his hips and threw me off him, sending me sailing into the air. I scrambled to my feet, panting and stepping back as I tried to refocus my vision. Then, a wave of terror washed over me as I looked at the imposter's face.

The imposter had no face.

It was a pure, blank expanse of pale skin. The imposter had no face. He didn't have a single feature on his head, only an empty canvas of pale stretched skin where a face should have been. It was like looking at an unfinished sculpture or a mannequin without its paint job.

The panicked crowds around us screamed and shoved each other out of the way, trying to escape the chaos. Most attempted to flee the way we'd come, stumbling over each other in a frenzy.

Blue, spiderweb-like veins spread where the creature stabbed me. Still, I instinctively activated my [Luminary Conversion] ability, causing my veins to glow a bright amber and the pain to dull. Then, to my own surprise, I shot my hand forward, tossing a ball of energy toward the imposter, causing him to stagger a few steps backward. The force of the energy also threw me off balance, and I flew back, catching myself on the wall with my arm before falling.

I sucked in a deep breath as I scrambled to my feet and prepared to fight back.

[Skill Acquired: Luminary Bolt]

"Al! Get the girl to safety!" I shouted back at my best friend as I stepped forward, ready to take on the faceless imposter. Whatever he was, I didn't care as long as Abby and Al were safe.

Al didn't need to be told twice as he scooped her up in a bridal carry and ran wide around us, pushing past the rubbernecking crowd to dash into the shelter entrance. I watched as the soldier aimed his rifle at the imposter, shouting orders for him to stand still.

"Halt or I'll fire!" The soldier shouted, his finger twitching on the trigger as the crowd around us screamed, fled, and fell over each other.

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The imposter merely stared at him with his blank expression — or lack thereof before calmly walking at the soldier.

In a moment of panic and rage, the soldier opened fire in the wide hallway.

But it was to no avail; bullets penetrated clean through the creature's flesh, and it continued to move forward until the soldier backed up against the wall. I tried to summon up the ability I'd just used again, but I couldn't focus my energy.

I watched in horror as the imposter reached out and took hold of the soldier's face, his fingers piercing through his skin like knives through butter. The soldier's eyes rolled to the back of his head as he began to convulse and spasm uncontrollably.

The imposter seemed to be transfusing something from the soldier's body. I could only watch in horror as his skin began to change.

The soldier's body turned pale and grey, his eyes becoming two bright blue orbs that seemed to glow with an unnatural light. His lips stretched into a snarl as the blue veins spread over his neck and down his torso before he turned around, leaping at me with supernatural speed.

"SHUT THE GATES! SHUT THE GATES! SHUT THE FUCKING GATES!" I heard a soldier scream out, but I couldn't take my eyes off the imposter as he blurred with supernatural speed toward the soldiers at the open gate.

The zombified soldier closed the distance toward me in a split second. I scrambled to dodge the creature, barely managing to roll out of the way as it crashed into a wall. It stumbled back up, snarling and growling at me before rushing forward to pounce again.

But then, something unexpected happened. A dark-haired, olive-skinned teenager wearing a black windbreaker appeared out of nowhere and intercepted the creature with a flurry of punches and kicks. The boy moved like lightning, deftly dodging the zombified soldier's attacks while barraging it with his own.

The faceless creature grabbed hold of a terrified elderly woman as it marched upon the soldiers, quickly injecting her with its needle hands before tossing her aside. I watched in horror as the woman's skin began to turn pale and grey, the veins running over her face and neck like a paint job. Her eyes changed from brilliant green to an eerie blue hue, and she moaned before snarling and diving for the neck of a man nearby.

One of the soldiers hit a red button on the wall, and the entire wall began to rumble and shift. The soldiers moved out of the way, watching as a large metal gate slammed together vertically, locking out the rest of the crowd from the shelter's entrance. At the last second, the faceless creature's appendages stretched out like a whip. They grabbed a soldier by the collar of his uniform, but the wall slammed shut just in time, crushing the creature's 'arms and saving the soldier.

The dark-haired teenager took a firm stance by my side and pulled out a pair of long knives from his belt.

"You a Magical Girl?" he muttered, gripping his weapons firmly.

"Uh... well... er... n-no. I just awakened today, I don't know how this works," I muttered, my voice shaking.

The teenager sighed, "Great. A Magical Girl who doesn't know how to use her powers. So, you're useless."

"Hey, wait a minute-"

"Whatever. We've got a zombie problem on our hands. Bye," he jumped forward and threw a powerful spinning back kick directly into the torso of the zombified soldier. Another zombie rushed at him from the other side, and he ducked under the creature's arms as he jabbed his blades into the zombie's chest.

The teenager jumped back as the creature stumbled backward and fell; he prepared to leap forward again when another zombie came rushing at him. The zombie tackled him to the ground, and I could only watch as the teenager struggled beneath the creature's gnashing teeth.

"Hey, corpse breath!" I shouted, raising my hand and focusing on the amber energy within me.

The energy coalesced into a solid, amber-colored orb, pulsing between my hand and the red-orange glow. I aimed it at the zombie crushing the teenager, and fired.

The teenager looked up, eyes wide, as I launched a bolt of energy at the creature. The orb slammed into the zombie, causing it to roll off the teenager. He rubbed his head and back as he got to his feet, glaring at me.

"Thanks, but next time, just leave it to me," he muttered.

"Save it, asshole, I'm trying to help you," I fired back, taking a position behind him. I looked around the hallway, and my eyes settled on the faceless creature.

The teenager settled into a low stance, and a red and black aura suddenly surrounded him. "[Assassination Arts: Crimson Moonlight]!" he shouted, collapsing the red aura around him into a thin, horizontal arc.

Several zombies rushed toward us as the teenager shouted, and the thin beam struck each creature in the torso.

I couldn't really see what happened next; I could only hear the sound of a dozen otherworldly shrieks as the zombies were cut in half, clawing at their own heads.

My blood ran cold as I stared at the youth, who had a sadistic grin across his face.

That was a signature skill used by a notorious supervillain mercenary.

A moderately high-level skill, at that.

The teenager turned to me and smiled, his smile fading as he noticed my horrified expression. "What? What's wrong?"

I shook my head and stuttered, unable to find the words.

"Oh," he said, his face shifting from a smile to a more serious expression. "Don't worry about it. I'm not an evil person. More of an intern. My dad's a paid goon and got me lessons, even. Name's Black Star, if you will."

The faceless creature shrieked, causing a chill to run down my spine.

Then, it turned away from the gate and started walking toward us as more and more zombies rose from the ground.

"We have to run!" I shouted, fear coursing through my veins.

Black Star nodded, and we ran down the hallway, dodging zombies along the way. I briefly met eyes with a mortally wounded soldier, whose eyes pleaded for help before we ran past.

"I'm sorry..." I muttered to myself. I hated that I was so weak and helpless.

My thoughts wandered to my best friend, who'd managed to get into the shelter with the little girl.

Al.

...I hope you're safe.