Hayato's eyes locked on the little toy car in Yúzé's palm. "Uh… Nabi? Why do I get the feeling that isn't a Hot Wheels collector's edition?"
Yúzé smirked. "You'll see."
With a flick of his wrist, he hurled it to the ground.
The toy expanded in a burst of shadow, twisting and warping until it slammed onto the street as a full-sized black sedan. Its headlights flared with demonic red, and the engine roared like some hellish beast.
"Aw, crap—" Hayato ducked instinctively, wings flaring as he dove to the side. "Shotgun's not gonna cut it against that!"
"Stay down!" Nabi's voice rang out. She thrust her hand forward, frost spiraling into the air. A torrent of ice and snow surged, colliding with the car as it accelerated toward them. The blizzard slammed against its hood, frost spreading across the windshield, tires locking in a sudden screech.
The sedan still hit, its impact shoving them both back through the alley but the force was dulled, blunted by Nabi's storm. The crash tore crates apart, scattering wood and paper into the air, but they were still standing.
Hayato coughed, shotgun clutched tight. "Okay. Props. You definitely saved us from becoming roadkill."
Nabi's eyes narrowed. "He's moving."
They both turned in time to see Yúzé, his black wings spread wide, slamming the van door shut. The darkness rippled across its frame like ink sealing over glass. Rui was gone.
Yúzé looked down at them, his smile sickly sweet again. "You're too late."
Then with a single beat of his wings; he launched into the sky, climbing higher and higher, the night swallowing him as if he were one with it.
Hayato's heart hammered in his chest. He aimed the shotgun upward, then lowered it, grimacing. "Yeah, that's… a little out of range."
Nabi's frost swirled around her, her jaw tightening as she prepared to take flight.
Nabi shot into the sky, wings slicing the night as Hayato followed close behind. Yúzé was faster than he looked, his black wings beating with surprising strength as he darted above Chinatown's glowing lanterns.
Then he reached into his pocket again.
"Not another toy—" Hayato started.
Yúzé threw it.
This time it wasn't a car. The object expanded mid-air, warping, bending, dripping. When it hit the ground, it didn't clang or shatter—it squelched.
The thing that rose up roared like no beast Hayato had ever heard. A humanoid mass of thick, dripping sludge pulled itself together, its "skin" glistening like black tar in the moonlight. Its face was stretched too wide, with eyes like cloudy marbles that floated loosely inside its skull, sliding back and forth whenever it moved. Its mouth gaped, dripping sludge like saliva, every breath bubbling grotesquely.
The monster slammed a hand onto the street, the impact sending a wave of sludge crawling across the pavement, hissing as it ate into stone.
Hayato froze mid-flight, shotgun raised. His mind raced. He's… bringing toys to life?
His eyes darted to Yúzé, who hovered above, breathing harder now. Sweat streaked down the old man's wrinkled brow, his movements a touch less sharp. The way he uses them… it's second nature. Which means… Just like our powers, only us angels can see them.
Hayato's gaze flicked back to the sludge beast. It gurgled, dripping tar as it started dragging its bulk toward them.
"Great. A sentient oil spill," Hayato muttered.
He snapped his head toward Nabi. "Hey! That thing's all yours, you're way better suited for sludge-busting."
Nabi didn't argue. Her eyes narrowed, frost blooming at her fingertips as the air chilled around her.
Hayato cocked his shotgun and turned upward, locking onto Yúzé's weakening form. "I'll chase grandpa. You keep the puddle monster busy."
Without waiting for confirmation, he flared his wings and shot higher into the night sky.
The sludge monster bellowed, its voice a wet, gurgling roar that rattled the alley walls. People on the street turned their heads, confused, none of them could see the hulking creature, but they felt it. A sudden chill swept through Chinatown, papers scattering, lanterns swaying violently in the unnatural gusts.
"Stay calm," Nabi whispered, more to herself than anyone else. Her wings spread wide as she circled the beast, frost already coiling around her fingertips.
The sludge swung a massive arm, crashing into the street. Pavement cracked, a wave of oily tar surging outward. To the human eye, it looked like nothing more than the ground trembling but to her, it was a black tide racing to engulf her.
She shot upward, spinning in a spiral as she unleashed a torrent of snow. Ice blossomed along its surface, slowing the sludge's crawl.
It regenerates too quickly for brute force… Her eyes narrowed, scanning its movements as she kept weaving in circles. But it's heavy. That means—
She dove low, skimming past its oozing torso, and released a concentrated stream of frost directly into its chest. The sludge convulsed, freezing over in jagged patches. Nabi didn't stop, she kept circling, carving line after line of ice into its body, locking it piece by piece.
The creature roared again, sluggish now, every swing slower, its grotesque head craning toward her as if it knew what she was doing.
"Too late," she whispered, her breath misting.
She landed on a nearby rooftop, crouched low, then slammed her palm into the ground. A final surge of blizzard burst outward, converging on the frozen patches she had left behind. The cracks connected, locking the monster in a crystalline shell of jagged ice.
It thrashed once. Twice. Then fell still, frozen solid.
A sharp crack split the air. Then another. Lines of fracture spread across its icy prison like a spiderweb. With a final groan, the hulking form shattered, breaking apart into thousands of shards that glittered briefly under the moonlight.
The pieces didn't scatter as rubble, they dissolved midair, evaporating into tendrils of cold mist. The vapor coiled upward, curling through the street like ghostly smoke before fading into nothing.
Below, the people felt only the sharp drop in temperature and the sudden gust that swept through the street, causing children to shiver and vendors to clutch their jackets tighter. None of them knew what had just happened inches away from them.
Nabi straightened, frost still curling around her arms. She looked up at the sky, catching a glimpse of Hayato's white wings as he shot after Yúzé. She knew she was too far behind to catch up but even still…
Her lips curved into the faintest smile. "…Good luck, Hayato."