Chapter 18: That's a lot of damage!

Luna and Jamal arrive at a hardware store, noticing how eerily empty it is. As they step inside, the silence feels oppressive.

"I don't like this one bit—" Jamal pauses mid-sentence, his eyes drawn to several flickering lights above. "Yeah, I really don't like this place."

As they cautiously walk through the aisles, Luna voices the obvious. "W-why isn't anyone here?"

"Great question," Jamal replies, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe magic? I don't know." He shrugs, trying to play it cool, but the unease is evident in his tone.

From the distance, they hear scurrying behind them, followed by the sound of a door locking.

"Ah, fuck," they say in unison.

Laughter and giggling echo from around a corner, making both of them freeze. They glance upward to see dolls perched on a shelf, their lifeless eyes staring down at them.

"Oh, hell no!" Jamal exclaims, snapping his fingers in a sweeping motion, setting the dolls ablaze. As the plastic melts, the two press forward cautiously.

Luna suddenly stops. "Wait, what's stopping us from doing this?" She unfurls her arm, sending it flying toward the front window of the store. Her unravel punch hits the glass but bounces off harmlessly.

"Huh," she mutters. "I'm pretty sure I've cracked trees with this punch before... This isn't going to be easy."

Before Jamal can respond, something grabs his leg, yanking him toward a dark room. He reacts quickly, snapping his fingers again and setting the tendril aflame. With his free hand, he forms a finger gun and grins.

"Burn this house down!" he shouts, summoning a massive fireball and launching it into the room. The explosion engulfs the area in fire, and a loud screech reverberates through the building.

Emerging from the flames is a writhing mass of black tendrils covered in grotesque, blinking eyeballs.

"W-what in the H.P. Lovecraft bullshit is that?" Jamal stammers.

The monster screeches again, slithering toward them. Luna wastes no time, unraveling her arm up to her shoulder and attempting to wrap the creature in her tendrils. The beast, however, wiggles free, its slimy body impossible to grip.

It shrieks and lunges at Luna, grabbing her with its tendrils and dragging her away at terrifying speed. Jamal tries to stop it, but he's too late. The creature darts out of the building, leaving him standing in the now oddly normal store.

As Jamal looks around, people seem to appear out of nowhere, shopping as though nothing strange had happened.

"W-what the hell?" he mutters, shaking his head before bolting outside. The monster and Luna are nowhere in sight.

Meanwhile, Luna struggles as the creature drags her through the town at breakneck speed. Its tendrils smother her, making it harder and harder to breathe. Before she loses consciousness, the monster carries her into a nearby warehouse, tossing her onto the ground and quickly restraining her.

From the shadows, the man in the fedora steps forward, smirking. "Well, Ms. Luna Gold, I can't believe how easy it was to catch you. Your family put quite the bounty on your head."

Luna coughs, trying to regain her composure. "W-what?"

The man chuckles. "Don't act surprised. Gold members aren't allowed to just leave like you did."

Before he can finish, Alter—already in control of Luna's body—smirks and speaks. "Sorry, buddy. I can't let you finish that statement."

With one swift strike, Alter sends the creature flying. The confidence in her movements is undeniable as she steps forward, her tone dripping with amusement.

The man panics, snapping his fingers to summon two monsters: a bird-like creature with three eyes and a headless suit of armor, fire billowing from within.

Both monsters charge at Alter, but she ducks and weaves effortlessly between their attacks. With one powerful kick, she splits the bird creature in half. The suit of armor roars and swings its halberd at her, but Alter grabs the weapon mid-swing and shatters it, obliterating the monster.

"Wow, that was pathetic," she says with a laugh. "C'mon, I know you're holding back."

Before the man can react, Alter charges at him and kicks him in the midsection, sending him flying into the wall. "So cute," she mocks, extending her hand toward him.

The man frantically reaches for a teleportation sigil.

"Adorable," Alter sneers. "You think I'll let you—" She suddenly freezes, sensing someone approaching.

"Tch, damn nosy people," she mutters, annoyed.

She glares at the slime monster and points her hand at it. "Sunset!" she shouts, engulfing the creature in white fire. As it begins to melt, she abruptly stops the flames. "Can't let it die; that'd look too suspicious."

Turning her attention back to the man, she allows him to use the teleportation sigil, watching as he vanishes.

With a sigh, Alter steps back and exhales deeply. "That should take care of things for now." She punches herself hard across the face, momentarily dazing herself and loosening her control enough for Luna to regain her consciousness.

Luna's eyes flutter open as she looks around at the chaos surrounding her. Confused, she tries to make sense of the destruction. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps catches her attention, and she turns to see Sunny rushing toward her.

"Holy hell! What happened here, partner?!" Sunny exclaims.

Luna rubs her temples, trying to recall. "I-I don't really remember... It all went dark. When I woke up, that guy in the fedora was here, and then he was gone. Now you're here!"

Sunny pauses, her brow furrowing in thought. Before she can respond, Jamal stumbles in, out of breath.

"Fuck, she's fast," Jamal wheezes, leaning against a wall.

Sunny's gaze shifts to a strange, writhing mass in the room—the slime monster. Her eyes narrow as she draws her blade. "What the hell is that doing here?"

Luna tilts her head. "It's... not just a slime monster?"

Sunny shakes her head. "No, it's not. That's a dreameater. They're creatures that create pocket dimensions mirroring the real world. They knock people unconscious to feast on their dreams, using the stolen memories to expand their hunting grounds." She points her blade at the creature, her voice sharp. "But what the hell is one doing here? These things are native to Russia!"

Reaching for her phone, Sunny tries to call for help but lets out an aggravated groan. "What the—no bars?! Damn cell towers." She looks around suspiciously. "No, this isn't normal. There's probably a jamming device nearby."

Her eyes land on a fading teleportation sigil etched into the floor. "So someone was here—and whoever they were, they knew what they were doing." Sunny kneels to inspect the fading sigil. "They can't be far."

Jamal cautiously approaches the slime monster, keeping his distance. "S-so... should we go after him? And, uh, what do we do about that thing?"

Sunny sighs, standing up. "Hell no, we're not chasing him. That could get us killed. As for this slime monster..." She pauses, considering her options. "Part of me wants to kill it outright, but another part of me wants to leave it here and see what it does."

Both Luna and Jamal exchange confused looks. "Why would we do that?" Luna asks.

Sunny folds her arms and leans against a nearby crate. "To gather information. Let's wait it out." She sits down, her expression calm but focused.

Ten minutes pass before the dreameater stirs, its gelatinous body darting around the room. The creature lunges at Luna, but Sunny reacts instantly, kicking it away with a force that sends it crashing into a wall.

The creature recovers and tries again, but Sunny's blade is faster. Each time it lunges for Luna, Sunny effortlessly counters, sending it flying across the room.

After several failed attempts, Sunny stands and unsheathes her blade fully. "Alright, I'm certain now—this thing's either a pact monster or a summoned creature."

Without hesitation, she charges the dreameater, slicing through its midsection with a single strike. The creature writhes before dissolving into fading fragments of black slime.

Sunny sheathes her sword, letting out a sigh. "Alright, that's dealt with."

Luna raises an eyebrow, her voice tinged with skepticism. "So... is the problem dealt with?"

Sunny shakes her head. "Nope. Dreameaters don't rip people to shreds, and they're not known for killing. Our little summoner, though? I'm pretty certain his goal was to capture you, Luna."

Sunny paces the room, inspecting every corner. "Damn. Nothing left behind. Alright, fedora guy might not be our main culprit, but we've got more digging to do."

Luna and Jamal let out simultaneous sighs as they follow Sunny out of the building. Once outside, Sunny turns to them with a firm expression. "No splitting up. I don't want either of you getting kidnapped or captured."

They both nod and give her a thumbs-up.

The group stops at the hardware store to pick up paint remover. As they finalize their purchase, the counter worker leans toward them, his voice low and conspiratorial.

"Thanks for dealing with that slime monster," he says with a knowing smile.

Sunny tilts her head, eyebrows furrowing. "Wait, what?"

The man chuckles and gestures toward the back of the store. "Follow me. I can explain everything!"

The group exchanges cautious glances before shrugging and following the man. He leads them into what appears to be a small break room.