The Hunter Pt2

They thought their work was done. Casual stretches, small laughs, like any other team wrapping up a long night shift.

The drunk man, still trembling, could only watch, unsure if he was free or about to vanish next. "Y-You guys… You're not cops, are you?" he asked, his voice barely steady.

Lisa's eyes flicked toward him, cold and unbothered. She gave a faint, crooked smile. "Close enough."

"What do you mean? Do we look like police officers from the outside, sir?" The guy with futuristic glove/arm thing replied.

"Stop messing around! Who the hell are you people?! What the hell was that thing?!"

"It's okay, don't worry. You don't need to remember anything..."

*Grab!

Just when he had relaxed, the drunken man was suddenly apprehended for the second time. Unfortunately, he was restrained more tightly so he couldn't escape.

"What?! Let me go!!"

A young woman typed something on a strange camera, approaching.

"Hmm... the memories of returning from the drinking place. On the way home, you got too drunk on the road until you passed out. When you woke up, you didn't remember anything and were confused. Alright, this one is enough."

"What are you talking about?! What are you going to do to me?"

"Relax. You won't even remember this nightmare," She said with a playful smirk.

"Wh'what do you mean? Stay away!"

Hearing the commotion, it seemed that Lisa was disturbed. She quickly fixed her weapon, took off her hat, and casually walked towards the victim. Instead of trying to calm him down, she slapped him hard.

*SLAP...

"You! Getting drunk and wandering around at night! Meeting ghosts will only get you in trouble! It's better for you to focus on working tomorrow instead of thinking about what just happened."

The man didn't understand why he was slapped. He also didn't understand why he was scolded like a father who always comes home late.

"Okay, sir, now look at the camera and don't forget to smile."

As the girl lifted her camera, he finally spotted something—barely visible under the streetlights. A logo stitched onto their uniforms.

It was the same logo printed on the wine bottle he drank earlier.

His lips parted. "Wait—"

*FLASH!

White light swallowed everything.

* * *

Late at night on Rowosari Street, the mysterious squad in charge of handling supernatural beings was still there. Five more people dressed in scrub suits and gas masks approached the scene to tidy up the victims. They looked more like a rogue medical team than any legitimate responders.

"Mission accomplished, let's return to base," their leader said, putting on his hat again. With the scene secured, they finally let their guard down.

"Nimi, could you write my report today? I feel like I want to rest right away," one of them interjected.

This man had been carrying a strange and suspicious pair of mechanical gloves since earlier.

She suddenly got annoyed because he called her name out of nowhere. "Call me by my code name! Besides, why should I write other people's reports?"

"Just relax, we're done now. What's wrong with a name anyway? Don't worry, I'm just asking in case you're free."

"Don't be like that, Panji! We cannot let our guard down because we're still on duty. Our identities are secret," their leader scolded sternly.

That shut them up—but only for a second.

"Uh, Leader… didn't you just call me Panji too?"

Silence.

Lisa groaned, palm to face. "…Forget it. Just get moving. Where's Udin?"

Their identities were no longer taboo now. Freely and unintentionally, they called each other by their real names without any burden. It may seem careless, but their interactions looked so intimate despite the professionalism required by their job.

There was still one person left who was called "Udin" earlier. If counting their membership, then this Udin was the one who had the duty of carrying a tool called the extractor in the form of a spray paint can. After investigating his whereabouts, it turned out that he was sitting against the wall while playing a game on the gadget he brought.

"Hey! What are you doing!? Let's go home now." Nimi interjected.

"Just a moment, it's almost time for the game's daily reset. I have to log in here so I won't miss it."

"Ugh, haven't you logged in all day?"

"No. Besides, we haven't rested all day," Udin replied.

Lisa, as the leader, smiled faintly at their conversation. She immediately ordered them to return to the base so that her members could rest.

"Alright, let's go back to base so you guys can relax."

"Roger that!"

They packed up and tidied up the scene again so as not to leave any traces. The roadside surveillance camera seemed to be of no concern. Instead, the four of them waved to it. Lisa gave a motion code to the surveillance camera, indicating that they were leaving the scene.

But.

Just before they were about to leave, a detector held by Nimi blinked a few times. The blink was soundless. The four of them immediately fell silent and took on a cautious stance. Lisa quickly readied herself and took out her pistol, as it was easy to grab and was in her right pocket.

"Leader!" Panji exclaimed in panic.

"I know..."

From within the night fog, about 20m away, a figure observed them from afar. The figure stood casually on the electric cable, not losing balance. The person was surrounded by black mist and wore a barong mask. Slowly, its presence became visible as the direction of the fog changed.

"Hmm, so you're watching us again," Lisa continued.

"Leader, what should we do?" Panji asked.

"Let him be. According to the information from headquarters, he's not dangerous."

*Whoooss~

The person in the barong mask disappeared immediately. The dark aura surrounding the person grew thicker, and then they left without saying a word. It was as if the darkness had swallowed them up. Nimi's detector stopped blinking, and the team members were made calm again by lowering their guard.

"Ugh! That freak again," Udin muttered, glaring at the empty spot.

"They are the people who are poison in this world. People with abilities beyond reason. Those who call themselves espers," Lisa said, still in a cynical tone.

Panji looked uneasy. "Once again, it is spying on us. And HQ still lets them run loose?"

"We're not allowed to interfere. Orders are clear. No matter how strong these people are, we can't mess with them," Lisa said.

Their debate left Nimi still silent. To be honest, she was afraid when she heard the term 'esper' from her leader. She would rather face the most terrifying ghost than meet the so-called espers. Even now, she was still trembling, although the figure on the electric pole had disappeared.

"Okay everyone, let's forget about it and go back to base!"

All of their activities were closely monitored through CCTV cameras. A young man with a relaxed appearance observed the team's movements. He watched both the four military personnel and the five strange medical personnel. He sat behind the many monitors, observing and eavesdropping.

"Once again, the person in the barong mask appeared," he muttered to himself.

He typed something on his computer. The screen that should have displayed the events on the field was empty. He modified the CCTV footage to make it look ordinary, even though something was happening at the location.

* * *

The birds started chirping and singing to each other slowly. It was still quite dark even though the dawn was beginning to break. Julius woke up with a slightly ruined mood. The reason being that he woke up 20 minutes earlier than the alarm he set. Even though he woke up early, being made aware before the time he set felt annoying.

Actually, he was still sleepy, but if he slept again, he was afraid he would oversleep. Hearing the birds chirping reminded him that he had to check social media. As usual, to read news and search for trending information.

"Ugh..." he grumbled irritably.

*Knock-Knock!!

He was startled by the loud sound of knocking on the front door. The copy-shop was not open yet. But it seems unlikely that any customers would come this early.

The man became alert and took a kitchen knife to be on guard. Regardless of him still wearing his pajamas, he was ready for whatever would happen.

*KNOCK~~

"Just a minute." Slowly, he opened the door.

There was someone who looked as cold and disoriented as he was. They looked at each other confusedly as they were still attacked by drowsiness.

"Um...? Who are you?" Julius asked.

"Can I have a blanket, please?"

"Huh??"

"I... got drunk last night and... I don't remember everything. Next thing I knew, I fell asleep in front of this place."

Julius blinked, unsure if he was still dreaming.

He didn't know it yet—but this wouldn't be the last strange guest showing up at his door.

* * * *