The building crumbled, collapsing into itself with a deafening roar. Debris shot outward like shrapnel, blanketing the ruins in a fog of dust.
Lying amidst the wreckage, Floris stirred.
"Gray… slake…" she muttered, her voice low, nearly feral.
A rescue personnel spotted her. Sprinting through the haze, he dropped to her side. "Hey! Are you alright? Can you move?"
Floris tilted her head slightly, her bloodshot eyes narrowing into a glare.
"Whoa you're badly injured!" he exclaimed, fumbling for his phone. "Hold on, I'm calling an ambulance just hang in there!"
"You're… not Grayslake," she whispered.
She stretched a hand toward him.
"Sorry, what did you—"
He stopped mid-sentence. His body twisted unnaturally, melting into a long, flat shadow on the ground. Then the shadow began to bleed, seeping crimson into the concrete. With a horrific snap, he reverted to his normal form lifeless, discarded.
A large black truck skidded to a halt at the scene, steam hissing from its engine. Several hunters stepped out.
Rowan adjusted his jacket, scanning the ruins. "What happened here? Got any clues, Mira?"
Mira blew a bubble of gum before letting it pop. "Nah, but something definitely leveled this place… I swear, a nineteen-year-old hottie like me deserves better than chasing down shadows."
"Don't flatter yourself," Rowan said flatly. "This wasn't even the main HQ…"
A faint voice echoed through the dust. "Ugh…"
"Wait," Mira pointed. "Someone's there."
From the wreckage, Floris rose, her movement unnervingly smooth. Her face glowed with twisted satisfaction. "This body… it's perfect."
Rowan stepped forward. "Kid you alright?"
Floris tilted her head, annoyed by the interruption. "Who are you?"
"That's our question," Mira said, suspicion in her tone.
"You're not who I'm looking for," Floris replied coldly, turning to walk away. "Go away."
"Halt!" Rowan barked. "Did you do all this?"
Floris paused. Then, with a flicker of malice, the house beside her warped its structure turning shadow-black, floating ominously above before plummeting toward them.
"MIRA!" Rowan shouted.
"Roger!" Mira replied, flaring her hands and generating a shimmering force field. The collapsing house smashed against it, splintering into rubble. Her shield dissipated with a ripple.
Rowan didn't hesitate. He drew his gun and fired at Floris' head.
With eerie grace, she tilted her head the bullet grazing past her cheek as she dodged with ease.
She smirked. "So… you must be the one with the force field. That's going to be troublesome."
Mira tried to move but froze. Her shadow remained perfectly still. So did she.
"I… can't move!" Mira gasped.
Floris raised her palm. A dark vortex swirled to life in her hand an energy far denser than anything the hunters had seen.
"But I promise you… you won't block this."
Before the blast could fire, another shot rang out Rowan had fired again, this time into Floris' stomach.
She flinched, the attack collapsing in her palm.
"Oh, that was faster than the last one," she said, amused. She reached down and pushed the bullet out, her wound sealing shut with a sickening squelch.
Rowan's eyes widened.
"What is this?" Mira whispered, still frozen.
"Some kind of… shadow or dark manipulation," Rowan said tensely. "I don't even know anymore."
Floris giggled. "This whole 'Hunter's Mark thing is pathetic. If this is the best it can offer, your powers are utterly useless against me."
Sweat slid down Mira's face.
Rowan steadied his gun, ready to fire again
"Enough of that," Floris said sharply. His entire body turned pitch-black, then slammed into the ground, reverting back to his normal form.
Floris tilted her head, scanning the two helpless hunters. "Now… who should I kill first? Hmm… eeny… meeny… miny—"
She froze mid-sentence.
A chain lashed around her body, yanking her backward violently.
"Moe," a voice said coolly, finishing the rhyme.
It was kochi!