What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck?

A long strand of glistening saliva, turned red by the eerie light, dropped from the Hound’s lips as it snarled. The drool hissed upon contact with the floor; it was burning Zachary.

Its paws felt like daggers, glowing hot. Its red and black coat blurred and shifted like rolling smoke, and the creature, so large it took up the entire doorway, bared its fangs and growled. It glared at Haden and Mona and Sophronia and lowered its snout, as though trying to figure out who to attack first.

Daemonic Hound (Silver 5/5)

Where had it come from? Was it the sign on the door? Did this thing get summoned somehow? Or did Zachary summon it by accident?

But then why was it so angry? Why did it look like it wanted to attack?

It was a daemon. Like Zachary was supposed to be. Which meant it grew by Ingesting; it was going to eat Zachary's found family. And they seemed to have picked up on the threat too.

Mona cried out and raised her hand. Wind blew her bushy hair back, and silver light flared to life, but it was drowned out by the horrible red light spilling in through the doorway. The Hound snapped its jaws in her direction with a bark and a burst of redness, and she stumbled back, collapsing on the floor. Haden shouted something and stood in front of her, arms outstretched. He was trying to draw the monster's attention. Sophronia stood silent, petrified, arms at the side and eyes wide like she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Zachary couldn't believe it either. His consciousness spun around the room. He tried using Ingestion on the creature, but just like with the mailman, his skill took no effect. The Hound didn't even seem to notice. It was a red and black blur, rushing at Haden as Mona screamed. Zachary had to try something.

Poltergeist!

It wasn’t anything like moving the dining room table or pulling open drawers. The Hound was powerful. It resisted Zachary’s pull; he could barely slow it down. He focused all of Poltergeist on the creature’s tail and yanked.

It wasn’t enough to stop it, but the Hound’s jaws snapped shut right in front of Haden’s face, missing his nose by half an inch. Growling ferociously, its momentum carried it forward, and it crashed into Haden. Both of them tumbled to the ground, a mess of snout and teeth and red eyes.

Claws carved deep red lines across Haden’s face. Jaws sank into Haden’s shoulder, and he screamed as he wrestled with the Hound. Silver light burst out of his arms, but the Hound was too big, too strong. He was losing the fight. The Hound's teeth kept snapping on either side of his head. It was going for the jugular.

Desperate, Zachary used Poltergeist again, sending an assortment of cooking ware and pots flying across the room to crash in the Hound's side. It snarled and twisted its head, trying to find the new attacker, but then the table, golden light shining around its circumference, zipped toward it. A golden, wooden blur smashed into the Hound with the force of a truck.

The Hound let out a pitiful cry as the table swept it off Haden, slamming the creature into the kitchen sink. Cabinet doors burst from the impact, and the window over the sink shattered. Water burst out of the broken faucet, bursting into steam upon contact with the Hound’s fur. It howled bloody murder. Knives and forks glistened along its pelt, stuck to its flesh. Some of them had cut deeply enough, and the Hound sank to the floor, panting for breath, paws squeaking on the wet floor as it tried to clamor out of the ruins of the kitchen sink. But Sophronia wasn't done.

Shrieking, she levitated, arms outstretched as more golden light blossomed around her. Her hair and nightgown billowed as her eyes turned completely golden. She drowned out the red glow of the Hound and the sign on the door, and the creature looked up at her with such pitiful eyes. It was frightened of her. With a movement of her arms, she raised the table and the sink. For a second, the Hound blinked, its red eyes burning. It was free. It could get out. But before it could take a single step, Sophronia smashed the table and the sink in the Hound with a savage, definitive crunch.

With that, her light blinked out. Sophronia collapsed to the floor, almost face-first but Zachary caught her. He slowed her fall and brought her down gently as Mona rushed to scoop Sophronia into her arms. Haden sat up, blood oozing from the claw marks on his face. His nightgown was torn all over, and more blood soaked into the cloth. He was clutching his shoulder and breathing hard.

Zachary stared at the ruined dining room. At the ruined door. One of its hinges had popped, and the door hung at an angle. The bolt was somewhere on the floor. The sign on the paper had lost its demonic red glow, and cool night air carried snowflakes inside. Everywhere the Hound had stepped on, there was a dark pawprint. It had literally scorched Zachary with every step.

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He heard the gate squeak open and threw his consciousness toward the sound. Shadows shifted. He braced himself for the worst, expecting that cloaked stranger to come back, but it was a different figure hurrying up the little pathway to his doorstep. She wore her usual blouse and skirt, except the clothes were torn, and claw marks glistened from her back and her thighs. Her gray hair was a mess, and her usual gait had a slight wobble. Silver light shimmered around her, and she was panting for breath. Zachary almost attached her with the scattered knives on the floor, but when she stopped on the doorstep to catch her breath and survey the scene, he finally recognized her. It was Ms. Jezebel.

But before she could say anything, the wreckage of the sink and table shifted. Mona cried out as the Daemonic Hound growled. The damn creature was still alive!

With silver light, Mona pulled one of the knives toward her. Sophronia was still unconscious, and Haden was too injured. Ms. Jezebel raised her hand and was about to blast the Hound, but Zachary was too pissed to wait for them. Rage stirred through him hotter than that damn Hound could ever burn. He wanted it dead.

He used Poltergeist on the sink. It budged and came off the floor. It wasn't like his failed attempt at stopping the Hound, but the sink was much, much heavier than anything he’d picked up before. Metal and dense. Pipes jutted out from the bottom, but he figured that was perfect. He was only somewhat aware of Ms. Jezebel staring. Silver light glistened around the sink. Water dripped from the bottom, but Zachary raised it slowly over the struggling Hound’s head. It was struggling to stand up. One of its legs was broken; every time it tried to put weight on it, the Hound sank back to the floor. And Zachary was sure its spine was crushed.

That didn’t matter. He was going to kill it. The sink hovered, falling a few inches as Zachary nearly dropped it. Not yet, he thought. The house creaked all around. Mona and Haden and Ms. Jezebel stared. Mona glanced down at Sophronia as if wondering who could possibly be doing this, as if realizing Sophronia had told the truth all along about the house.

Poltergeist: Silver 2/5 -> Silver 3/5

Zachary released the sink just as the Hound managed to get up. One of the broken pipes burst through its shoulder and into its chest. The rest of the sink smashed into its red and black head, and the Hound crumpled to the floor.

And still it was alive. Panting for breath. A large tongue extended over its teeth. Its sides rising and falling as it lay helplessly. It was near death, and in a blind rage, Zachary almost wanted to lift the sink again. To drop it again. To crush the Hound until there was nothing left but a smear on the kitchen floor. But he had a better idea.

Ingestion.

Ingestion. Ingestion. Ingestion. It took so much effort. There was a strain that Zachary hadn’t felt before, and much like lifting up the heavy sink, the house creaked again. It kind of reminded him of trying to wrap his jaws around an oversized burger, but then he felt a give. He felt it the same way as when he’d eat a bug or a frog. The Hound stopped moving. It seemed to recognize its fate.

Several of Zachary’s mouths emerged from the floor. Unlike before, they weren’t invisible things that latched onto little creatures. Now they emerged like smoky tendrils, almost like snakes. Twisting and winding until they connected with the Hound. Something like teeth cut through the Hound’s fur and skin and burrowed deep into its mangled body. And with a series of sucks, Zachary drained the Daemonic Hound of its Essence as though he was drinking a smoothie.

Essence: +1014

Essence: 1014/1000

Spirit Rank: Silver 1/5 -> Silver 2/5

Maximum Durability has increased to 3491

Durability: 466/3491

Excess Essence has been converted into Durability

Updated Durability: 480/3491

Ingestion: Bronze 5/5 -> Silver 1/5

A silver glow flashed across the Hound’s body. It shuddered one final time before what was left of it, a husk of black and red fur, its skin sticking to its bones, and the light fading from its eyes, turned to dust. Zachary shivered with warmth as he ranked up. He didn’t have much extra to put into Durability, and he felt like a mess, but he was satisfied with the large meal he’d just had. One creature had given him so much! He settled, fighting the urge to sleep as his consciousness expanded through the room.

He’d been achingly aware of everyone watching, but he’d stopped caring. A threat had barged into the house. Even after Sophronia’s attacks, the Hound would’ve been too much for Mona to handle, and Ms. Jezebel didn’t look like she was in any state to fight.

The night was quiet again except for Haden’s labored breathing. Ms. Jezebel shook herself out of her shock and rushed across the dining room. She’d glanced around quickly, puzzled, and then knelt by Haden’s side.

Mona stared at where the Hound had crumpled to dust, at the mess of crumpled wood and the metal sink sticking out of the ground. She picked Sophronia up and stumbled backward, toward her husband.

Ms. Jezebel was healing his face. “I’m sorry,” said the old woman. She sounded tired, strained. “It’s going to leave scars. We'll have to find you a proper healer.”

Haden didn’t respond. Neither did Mona who held the limp Sophronia in her arms. There was a blank expression on Mona’s face as though she wasn’t sure if this was a dream or not. And now that the adrenaline – was it really adrenaline for a house? - was fading, Zachary stared at the wreckage of the sink and wondered if it was his fault. Had he somehow brought the Hound upon them? The sign started glowing right after he’d used his Size Update.

Ms. Jezebel released Haden’s face and the silver light faded away. She stood and straightened up her torn blouse and skirt. Then she glanced nervously at Mona. “Was that Sophronia who...?”

Mona shook her head slowly, her lips pressed tight. She lifted her eyes to the ceiling, her bottom lip trembling in the same way Sophronia’s did when she was frightened. For a while, she didn't say anything, but when Mona spoke, her voice was barely a whisper. “I think that was House.”