I blinked. Spots danced across my vision as the light of the beam dissipated. Before me was a horrifying sight. The monster had taken the full force of Scarlett’s magic attack, but clearly her aim had been off. The thing’s left arm was gone; as was part of the left side of its torso, but still it was very much alive.

With its enraged eyes still placed firmly upon me, it hobbled closer and lashed out, grabbing me by the ankle. With immense strength I was dragged across the roof tiles before being hoisted into the air and tossed. I winced as I felt the crunch of my landing. The pain rang through my body, hitting me hard when it reached my stomach and leaving me swimming in nausea.

My head rolled to one side and I saw Scarlett, her sword arm hanging at her side. The attack must have drained a big chunk of her energy. If I had to guess I’d say that the limited light of the moon on this cloudy night wasn’t enough to sustain her magical power.

The monster approached me. I’d dropped my sword when I’d ducked out of the way of Scarlett’s beam. I had no defence. No plan. But, a few meters away from me, the monster stopped walking. Its movement was jilted, like poor animation. Its eyes spun and it raised its remaining arm shakily in my direction before collapsing in a heap of flesh.

The corpse writhed like a pile of worms – expanding and contracting and rolling over itself as it dissolved into sand, until, with a final hiss; nothing remained.

I was stunned. Something so horrifying… Even if they were no longer a human, it sickened me to see someone meet such a grisly end.

“Hmph, pity. Though that one lasted a bit longer than the others.”

The voice was smooth. Hushed and yet pronounced. I turned to the source of the sound. The half-light of the moon fell dimly upon the figure who crouched on a roof’s edge, across the street. In the light night breeze, its silver-white hair billowed out past its shoulders. I couldn’t tell if it was male or female. Its lithe figure was garbed in black – a cloak and leather beneath it.

When it noticed my stare, its eyes met mine. They were a bloody red, all-consuming and soul piercing. Its deathly pale face twisted into a smile, revealing the tips of its fangs between thing, bloodless lips.

“I’ve been watching you for a while,” it said. The pleasantness of its voice disturbed me. It didn’t have the sinister air I expected from such a person. It raised a hand gracefully to its cheek. “Pity about that girl, huh?”

I saw an image of Avi and something clicked in my mind. I felt a rise in me. The growing presence in my forehead I’d felt before. I retrieved my blade and then made my way towards the thing. It continued smiling bemusedly. I wanted to kill it right there, to end its twisted existence.

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“Sander, wait,” Scarlett said, approaching me. “I want to talk to it.”

I frowned. I didn’t like the idea of speaking to this thing. It was a demon. A monstrous, foul presence that was here only to take. The sooner it was erased entirely the better, I said. Still, Scarlett approached it, leaving me to stand by and observe.

“I don’t know what to call you,” she said.

It stood. It was even more beautiful standing upright. Beautiful and terrible. An unnatural creature, one who’s very aura screamed that it didn’t belong in this world.

“Names are irrelevant,” it replied. “You have no intention of treating with me and I have no intention of considering whatever requests you may have.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” the Lunar Knight replied. The thing raised an eyebrow. “I have no requests for you. Only a demand: that you return to your own world or fall to my blade.”

She raised her weapon as she spoke to emphasise her point.

“Why bother speaking at all then?” it said with a laugh. I could feel the tension between them from here.

“I like to know my enemies before I defeat them,” she responded coolly, brushing aside her hair.

The pale monster smiled wickedly. It snapped its fingers and I heard a scurrying from all around us. Along the edge of the rooftop many more transformed girls appeared. They were at varying stages of decomposition, but all had that wild, animalistic fire burning hotly in their eyes. They howled and screeched as they surrounded Scarlett and me.

The Lunar Knight backed away from the sandman and drew close to me.

“Shit,” she said. “How many do you see?”

I did a quick count. “At least a dozen.”

Her eyes tilted briefly to the clouded sky above. “This is going to be tough.”

Across the street, the black-clad figure stood and crept silently away. I clenched my fist.

“Think you can cover for me?” I asked

“Cover what?” Scarlett responded.

Without another word I dashed after the sandman. Scarlett, responding instinctually, ran around me and let loose a magical beam from the tip of her blade.

“Mondscheinangriff!” she shouted, and a bolt of green flew past me, blasting aside the enemy in my path.

When I reached the roof’s edge I jumped, barely making the gap. I pulled myself up onto the tiles by the metal gutter, which creaked under my weight, and then turned back. Scarlett nodded to me before turning to face her incoming opponents. I ran on. I could still see the sandman. He was gliding through the air like some kind of spectre. Shit, it was fast. I didn’t know if I could keep up.

Just then, as I slowed momentarily to catch my breath, Scarlett’s drone pulled up beside me. It flew in close and dropped something in my palm. It was a small device, with a blinking red light on a square display. I watched the movement of the dot, and then glanced up again. She’d managed to get a tracker on that guy? I took out my panic button and rolled it over in my hand. Scarlett would be able to find me later. I just needed to follow this guy. Maybe I could even stop him before she caught up.

As I ran towards the sandman’s lair, I pictured what her face might look like if she arrived to find that I’d already defeated our elusive foe. I smiled.