I’m Hard as Rock!
Inside a residential home.
In a young woman's pitch-dark bedroom, a human face slowly materialized on the wall.
The concrete-like face glanced around before a full body emerged from the wall.
The figure stepped out completely, reverting to human form.
"This scent… that delicate fragrance. It must belong to a lovely maiden."
The man nicknamed Wallface smirked at the room's pink decor.
His hand brushed over the rose-colored bedsheet before hovering above the sleeping girl.
He inhaled deeply. "Mmm… exquisite."
The girl stirred, eyelids fluttering open—only to find the room empty.
As she closed her eyes again, the wall behind her rippled with another face.
"What an alert little darling," Wallface murmured, fully emerging from the wall.
Just as he leaned closer, the girl's brows twitched.
Her eyes snapped open. In one fluid motion, she grabbed a dagger from her nightstand and stabbed at his chest!
Clang!
Sparks flew as the blade bent grotesquely against his petrified torso.
Wallface examined the white scratch mark left on his stone-like skin. "Pretty… and feisty. Admirable reflexes."
The girl stared, frozen, at the warped knife and his mineralized body.
What… what is this thing?
"Hel—mmph!" Her scream died as his hand clamped over her mouth.
"No, no. Screaming ruins the elegance of this moment."
Tears streamed down her face as the bedroom door burst open.
"Sweetheart!" Her father charged in.
Wallface sighed. "Ah, how tedious."
He plunged a hand into the wall. The plaster writhed before a stone pillar erupted sideways!
Boom!
The projectile grazed the father's shoulder. "Consider this a warning, sir," Wallface said, retracting his arm. "Shall we avoid further… messiness?"
The girl shook her head violently, tears spilling.
Wallface wiped a tear with his thumb. "Don't fret. This is merely an unconventional dinner invitation. No harm will come to you—or your dear father—if you accept this gentleman's proposal."
"Of course, had I not missed intentionally…" He gestured to the shattered wall. "…he'd be skewered like a kebab by now."
"Let her go!" the father roared.
Wallface grimaced. "No, no. I've no interest in men—only beauty. Well, miss? Your answer?"
"I'll call the police!" the father threatened.
Wallface's expression darkened. "Ah, humans and their death wishes…" He raised his wall-piercing hand—
"I accept!" the girl screamed.
Wallface grinned. "Elegant choice. But I've changed my mind. Best eliminate loose ends—"
"NO!!"
Caw!
A raven materialized at the windowsill.
Wallface groaned. "You again? Stalking me now, featherbrain?"
The raven transformed into a human girl, leaping inside. "You said I should 'find self-worth.' Turns out following you provides endless… opportunities."
She flexed clawed hands. "Though absorbing so much despair lately… makes me wonder how your soul would taste."
She lunged!
Wallface ducked. "Must we? Such a waste of beauty—"
"Try me."
Her mermaid-like claws slashed downward.
"Stubborn wench." Wallface raised his hands—each finger adorned with rings of diamond, graphene, meteorite, and other materials.
"Diamond."
His body crystallized into transparent hardness.
Screech! Her claws blunted against his diamond form.
"Futile," he said, reverting to flesh. "Even your fish-man claws can't scratch me."
The raven girl retracted her claws. "Disgusting trick."
Wallface smirked. "I can be just as hard down below as the rest of my body."
"Ugh… disgusting." She recoiled.
Their brief clash left the human girl and father paralyzed with terror.
"P-please keep fighting…" the girl stammered.
Wallface and the raven girl exchanged glances. "We're… technically allies," he admitted. "But witnesses complicate things."
The raven girl produced a syringe filled with amber fluid. "Queen Bee's bodily fluid. Controls minds… or turns men into women. Her choice."
"Public figures get mind-whammied. Lesser folks? Let's just say gender's negotiable."
She aimed the needle. "Cooperate or die. Choose."