Zep and Louie didn't dare look back.
Rain thundered from above, drenching everything—it felt like the sky itself had shattered. Their lungs burned with every gasp as they sprinted through the narrow, half-flooded path of Carvajal Street.
Water sloshed in their soaked shoes as they pounded the slick pavement. The street was dark, ghostly quiet. All the stores were closed. No one in sight.
Only them—and the monsters chasing behind.
"Get something!" Zep yelled, eyes wild with panic.
Louie didn't hesitate. He snatched a broken crate from the side and hurled it behind them. It slid down the wet street, splintering into jagged pieces.
Crack! Zep kicked over a trash can as they passed, sending its contents spilling into the flood—mirrors, wet boxes, a rusted frying pan.
A low moan echoed from the dark. One of the aswangs stumbled, slowed by the debris.
"Keep going!" Louie shouted, grabbing an old umbrella and flinging it backward without looking. It spun uselessly through the rain but bought them another moment.
They passed an abandoned food stall. Zep grabbed a metal tray and flung it like a frisbee—
Clang! It slammed against a steel shutter, followed by a sharp, animalistic growl.
The storm only made things worse. Rain lashed their faces. Their vision blurred. But they kept running, soaked to the bone, desperate to survive.
They burst onto Ongpin Street—narrow, shimmering under the relentless downpour, lined with old shops, faded signs, and red lanterns swinging violently in the wind.
Zep slipped on the wet pavement and crashed into a pile of monoblock tables and chairs, toppling them like a human bowling ball.
Louie looked back. Zep was on the ground, scrambling backward against a wall as two aswangs closed in.
"Give me a second!" Louie shouted.
Louie darted toward a nearby store—its roll-up door half-broken, partially open. No lights. No people.
Inside, Louie caught a glint of red—a fire extinguisher mounted on the wall.
Without thinking, he rushed in, grabbed it, and sprinted back to Zep.
Too late.
One of the aswangs—a tall, bald creature with grotesque nails—had already grabbed Zep by the throat. Blood trickled from where its claws had pierced his skin.
"U-ughh... let go of me," Zep choked out, kicking at its snarling face as he struggled to break free.
"Zep!" Louie shouted.
Both aswangs turned—glowing eyes now focused on him.
Louie yanked the safety pin, aimed, and sprayed with all his might.
"Let him go, you freakin' monster!" he yelled, anger overpowering fear.
The blast of white foam blinded them. One hissed. The other staggered.
Louie struck the hairy one's head, then bashed the tall aswang's arm with the extinguisher. Its grip loosened. Zep fell free.
Zep seized the moment, grabbed a monoblock table, and shoved the tall aswang back with its flat side.
But the hairy one, now snarling with fury, charged again.
The damage Louie dealt wasn't enough to stop them—only to enrage them.
The tall aswang lunged and grabbed Louie by the shirt, lifting him like a ragdoll.
"Wha—?!" Louie gasped.
Zep cried out his name, terrified, as the creature hurled Louie into a dumpster with a sickening thud. He crumpled to the ground.
Louie whimpered, pain flaring through his ribs. He tried to stand, but his legs gave out.
The tall aswang turned back to Zep and lifted him by the neck again. This time, its claws curled into a stabbing grip—aimed for Zep's stomach.
The hairy one stalked toward Louie, ready to finish him off.
Zep looked at his friend, wide-eyed and helpless.
Louie, barely conscious, whimpered in pain and fear.
He thought it was the end.
Then—from the shadows—a figure appeared.
In a blur of motion, the figure split the tall aswang's arm and neck with two crescent-shaped blades.
The body dropped.
In another flash, the figure vanished—then reappeared behind the hairy one. With one hand, They grabbed the creature's hair, yanked its head back, and drove the blade deep into its skull.
The figure moved like moonlight itself—fluid, silent, unstoppable.
Both monsters collapsed without a sound.
The figure stood still—moonlight briefly illuminating a glowing circle on their wrist and a crescent shape like a moon on their forehead.
Zep's eyes widened, heart pounding in his chest.
Louie blinked through the pain, barely able to focus.
The figure looked at them—for a moment, especially at Zep… then Louie.
Zep swallowed hard, his voice barely a whisper.
"W…who are you?"