“Who the hell are you?” the woman asked as she watched Henry toss the Demon Rat across the alley like it weighed nothing. Her gaze became ever more vigilant, instead of softening, upon seeing Henry’s superhuman strength.

“At the moment, you can say I’m the enemy of your enemy,” Henry responded dryly without taking his eyes off of the Demon Rat.

The abominable creature bounced to its feet and glared at Henry with its purplish-glowing hollow eyes.

Henry taunted it with a beckoning gesture.

The Demon Rat screeched in response and charged toward him. It lunged at him in its final steps with its claws bared. Henry scoffed and backhanded the Demon Rat to the ground.

This is a tad disappointing. It is weaker than the average creatures back in the forest. Is this truly a Demon?

As if hearing Henry’s unspoken doubt, tendrils of darkness sprouted from its back and shot towards him.

Okay. It is indeed a Demon.

Though he had ample time to dodge, he tangled his legs and ended up tripping himself. The tendrils struck him square in the chest and one even left a scratch on his left shoulder. He let out a moan from the unexpected pain. He was too used to his tough hide that was impervious to just about anything.

The Demon’s tendrils came again, giving him not a moment of respite. He quickly dove out of the way but he was far too slow in moving his human and ended up being grabbed by the leg.

Oh, fuck! This is gonna hurt.

The tendril tightened its grip and pulled but Henry barely budged.

Oh, wow. That's it?

Henry snickered and grabbed the tendril that was coiled around his leg. He then swung the Demon Rat by its tendril, slamming it into the wall.

Okay, this is too weird. This Demon is too weak. But who am I to complain? The weaker, the better.

The Demon Rat was back on its feet already. It gave Henry a low growl before it turned around and climbed up the wall. Henry tried grabbing the tendril again but it had already melted into nothing.

Running? Oh, no, you don’t!

Henry pried a condenser unit off the wall and flung it at the Demon Rat. The condenser unit hit its mark but the Demon held on to its grip and continued climbing.

Shit! It’s going to run away at this rate!

Henry could easily chase the Demon Rat down but in order to do so, he would need to partially transform and that would expose himself to a person he had just met.

“Like hell, you’re running away!” shouted the woman as she conjured another blade in her other hand. She then threw both of the blades at the Demon Rat, precisely slicing its forelimbs off.

The Demon Rat screeched as it fell from the wall and crashed into the dumpster below. It sprang back out of the dumpster just a second after it fell. It didn’t even need to take a breather but it was not fast enough. Henry was already upon the Demon Rat as it was falling. Before it could run away again, he grabbed the Demon firmly and slammed it to the ground.

Henry kneed the Demon back down as it tried to get back up. Pinning it to the ground with his knees and hand, he stuck his free hand into the chest cavity of the Demon Rat. His face lit up with relief when he felt the familiar coarse solid surface with his touch. Gripping the solid object tight, he tugged it out of the Demon Rat’s body. In an instant, the Demon Rat seized its struggle and withered into ashes.

The Demon’s Murux Heart was already sprouting tendrils, wrapping around Henry’s hand. Wasting not another second, he tossed the crystal into his mouth, letting it melt into fumes on his tongue before thoroughly swallowing it. The tendrils that had wrapped his hand faded into nothing as he gulped.

Hmm… I don’t feel anything with this one. Is it because the quality is terrible? I only feel slightly rejuvenated.

“What the fuck did you do?” the woman cried. “Did you just eat something that is part of that monster? And what the fuck happened to it? It just became dust when you pulled that thing, whatever it is, out of its body. Just what the fuck is happening and just who the fuck are you!?”

Henry stared at the woman and blinked. “Should I treat it as one question or do you want me to answer them one by one?”

A blade was formed in the woman’s hand which she used to point at Henry. “Are you a friend or a foe?”

“If I answer your question, will you answer mine?”

“That will depend on your answer.”

Henry sighed. “Okay, this is much harder than dealing with the Demon. Fucking hilarious.”

“So, do we have a deal?”

Henry sighed again. “Fine. Ask away.”

As soon as he said that, footsteps could be heard approaching the alley.

Impeccable timing.

Henry grunted inwardly and wrapped his arm around the woman’s waist.

“Wait, what are you trying to—” the woman barely had any time to struggle or refute before Henry leapt straight up to the roofs in a single jump. As the woman’s eyes were on his upper half, she did not notice Henry transforming his legs in order to make the jump.

When they reached the roof, Henry quickly turned his legs back before the woman could catch a glimpse of his secret. And as fortune would have it, the woman was in too much shock to take notice, though Henry tripped on his own foot and nearly fell. He managed to catch his bearing before he was able to make a fool of himself.

“What the hell was that?” the woman snarled. “You just suddenly—”

“Shh…” Henry shushed her with a finger to his lips while pointing at the alley below them.

“Oh,” she muttered after taking a brief glance into the alley. She was absorbed in her surprise that she failed to hear people approaching them. “T-thank you,” she said, brushing her locks behind her ears.

Henry gave a thorough look-around of their surroundings before taking a seat on a tattered sofa with springs coming out that was just left there to the elements. “To answer your question, I’m a foe to the accursed creature we just fought. I do not know your agenda, so I won’t know if I’m a friend to you. Are you some kind of vigilante perhaps?”

The woman scoffed and took a seat on a tower of stacked-up empty crates. “I’m not a vigilante and my agenda is just to kill that wretched monster. Since my answers answered my questions, it's your turn to ask.”

“Alright. What can you tell me about that… monster?”

The woman narrowed her gaze. “Really? You’re not going to ask me who I am?”

“I don’t care who you are.”

For some reason, the woman wanted to just punch Henry for giving that response but she held her unfounded anger back.

“I just want to know what you know about the monster.”

“Can you be more specific?”

“Do you know where the monster came from?”

“It’s a rat monster. The sewers, I bet.”

“You’re not sure?”

“I stumbled upon the rat monster by chance. I was not hunting it.”

“So you weren’t actively out hunting down these monsters?”

“As I have said, I’m not a vigilante or some kind of monster hunter. You watched too many movies and read too many comics. Just because I have superpowers, doesn’t mean I will feel obligated to beat up thugs and save damsels in distress when night comes. Now that I have answered two of your questions, you will answer questions of mine too.”

Henry shrugged. “Shoot.”

“Are you a vigilante?”

“No. I suppose I am sort of a hunter if I have to give my purpose a name. I’m hunting these monsters.”

The woman peered closer at him. “What’s your name?”

“...Henry,” he answered.

The woman burst out laughing. “Are you an idiot?” She continued laughing. “Why would you give out your name to a stranger without any hesitation?”

“My turn. Do you know if there are any other sightings of monsters like the one we fought?”

“Why are you asking me about that? Just look it up on the phone. You’ll get more information that way than asking me.”

“There’s no way for me to validate the credibility of those answers and information, unlike asking from a person directly. Also, I don’t have a phone.”

The woman raised an eyebrow. “You don’t? How could you not have one? Did you lose it recently? You can’t be too poor to afford one, can you?”

“You haven’t properly answered my question.”

“Urgh,” she groaned and pulled out her phone from a pocket that appeared briefly on the chest area. Her fingers moved quickly on the screen and in seconds, she skimmed through comments and articles about strange and possible monster sightings in her area. “Hmm… There seem to be a lot of unconfirmed sightings on the third and twenty-fourth street. It's the current buzz on the net right now There’s a sewer entrance under the overpass at that street if I remember correctly.”

“Interesting. That’s worth a look,” Henry mused. “And where is that?”

The woman pointed south. “In that direction, five blocks down. You can’t miss it. There’s a nice bar near the overpass.”

“Thank you,” he said and rose from his seat and began to walk off.

“Wait,” she stopped him. “Y-you’re leaving now?”

“Yes, I am. Problem?”

“But I still have questions.”

“I don’t. I have answered the same amount of questions as you have. We’re even now.”

“Are you serious? You don’t have any questions regarding me at all?”

“Why would I have any questions about you?”

The woman let out an infuriated noise while clenching her fists and gritting her teeth. It somehow felt incredibly maddening that the man in front of her was showing her no interest. Though her face was hidden, her nubile and shapely figure was perfectly bared for all to see with how tight the bodysuit was clinging on to her but Henry had only looked at her figure once and that wasn’t even intentional. It was irking her to no end and she was well aware of how petty and vain she was being.

“If there’s nothing else, I’ll be—”

“Wait!” she shouted.

Henry sighed exasperatedly. “What?” he asked with slumped shoulders.

The woman’s bodysuit turned into goo and started remoulding and morphing into garments that were much more common and dull in the look and feel. She was now wearing a blue denim jacket donned over a white singlet with a pair of short jeans. Her hair colour was now pale blonde instead of black. Her face was no longer covered, revealing the young beauty underneath that was no younger than Henry’s human form. Her striking pale blue eyes complemented her hair colour well. She was around his height on heels but now they had become sneakers, she was about half a head shorter.

“My name’s Chloe,” she said, extending an arm out with her hand splayed open.

Henry took it and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you, Chloe. Now, if you will excuse me—”

“Hold it, damn it. I’m not finished yet.”

“What else do you want?”

“Why aren’t you curious about me?”

Henry frowned. “Why should I be?”

“Because I’m very curious about you!”

“...Thank you? I’m flattered?”

“That’s not what I meant, you dunce? Why are you not curious about me having superpowers like you?”

“Should I be?”

“Besides my ex, you’re the only one I know who has superpowers.”

“I see… But I stand by my words. I am not curious about you or your ex.”

“Ugh, fine!” she grumbled, stomping the ground. “Can you at least tell me how you got your powers? You can ask me a question in return”

Henry furrowed his brows. “But I don’t have any questions I want to ask though?”

“Gosh, you are so annoying. Look, I’m not actually curious about you. I’m curious about this power that I somehow acquired. I got this power one day when I was chilling with my ex. Even until now, I have not a single clue as to why I have this power or how I got it. None at all. I don’t have anyone to ask. I’m a college student. I don’t have much time to go around searching for answers. By knowing something about you, a superhuman like me, maybe I can get some clue as to how I got this supernatural power of mine.”

Henry nodded in understanding as he listened to Chloe’s exposition. “Well, I won’t mind telling you but it’s a long and very unbelievable story and I’m in a rush.” And Henry just dashed off without glancing back.

“God damn it!” she howled and chased after Henry. “I’m coming with you then.”

Hearing that, Henry glimpsed behind him as he sped through the roofs, barely missing his steps and balance. “Are you for real? You don’t have homework or anything?”

“You obviously know something and I’m not letting you out of my sight until you tell me what I want to know. Fuck the tests and assignments.”

“Have it your way then but just don’t expect me to accommodate you.”