Night alert.

Later that evening, Anna and Reina went back to their apartments since Ruth was falling asleep on the couch. The girl had a very exciting day and it was all catching up to her now.

Will and Ruth went to his bedroom and undressed fully before they got into the bed. It wasn’t that they were going to fuck again, but more that they found it more comfortable that way. Cuddling naked, it was never too cold or too hot, and it wasn’t even uncomfortable. Another one of the strange side effects of sexual energy. As Ishtar said many times, sexual energy allowed sex to be pleasurable and easy beyond human understanding. With Ruth sleeping soundly on his shoulder, Will felt he understood that just a bit more and fell asleep with her.

It was much later that night that he woke up with the sound of a high-pitched bell directly in his mind. Will stirred and checked his phone. It was 4:00 am. Immediately on high alert, he gently moved away from Ruth and got out of bed.

Sadly, it still woke up his girlfriend. “Will? What is it?” she asked sleepily.

“I’m going to check something downstairs. I’ll be back in ten minutes.” He kissed her forehead and watched her close her eyes again with a smile.

Will threw on some pants and a t-shirt, not even bothering with shoes. He went down the stairs as quickly as he could without running until he reached the lobby on the first floor.

One of the windows was broken and there was a dog inside standing in the middle of the lobby. But perhaps calling it a dog was generous. It may have once been a rottweiler, but it now looked grotesquely malformed with bulging muscles. Its thighs were three times as thick as they should be, its back resembled a camel’s, its nails looked like claws and it had teeth so long and sharp that they dug into its own snout.

It looked furious, but confused and in a panic as it turned to look to its sides, behind and in front, like it was completely lost. It was foaming at the mouth and its eyes looked bloodshot.

Will grimaced. “So this is who we’ve been looking for…” he muttered.

‘I’m kinda pissed. We’ve been out looking for it for days and now it suddenly appears at our doorstep?’

“I was hoping Aoi would find it first. I don’t want to put a dog down…”

‘Will, look at it. With how mutated it is, it’ll die on its own eventually. What’s more, it’s a danger to everyone’

Yeah. Reina had told him about the rumors surrounding her neighborhood. Rumors of ghosts and beasts, of people getting attacked by dogs. It was also the reason the property value had shot down and why Amelia had bought the building in the first place. When Will asked Aoi about it, she said it was most likely an animal possessed by a being of aether.

‘Someone from the other world wandered into ours through the portal and possessed a dog to keep its form. Now that long enough time has passed, it’s losing itself. Do you think that’s plausible?’

‘More than it being a failed experiment at a biological weapons laboratory.’

‘...We’ve been watching too many horror movies.’

‘But they’re fun!’

The dog finally noticed Will standing there, and with a furious bark, it lunged at him with teeth bared.

Will clicked his tongue, stepped aside and gave the dog a hard kick in the neck as it was in the air. It landed on the floor with a loud thud, having also hit its head.

Will winced. He could punch a person if he had to, but kicking a dog just felt wrong, no matter how monstrous it looked. The least he could do was at least end it quickly.

…

But the dog stood up like nothing had happened. It shook its body and its head, but assumed another wary stance with its head low and growled at Will.

‘You didn’t hold back, did you?’

‘You think I WANT to kick a dog more than once? Or at all, for that matter? That thing is tough.’

‘So the muscles aren’t just for show. You’re gonna have to use something stronger if you want to end it quickly. Don’t hesitate, Will. Three of your girls are here. Do you want this thing roaming around and risking them getting hurt’

“Fucking hell…”

Will assumed his own stance. Body in a loose state, left shoulder forward and left arm down, right shoulder behind and arm raised close to the face. He stood on his toes, lightly bouncing in place, and took a deep breath.

The dog lunged at him again, in the same way, but with a bit more speed. Will quickly threw an upward kick with his right leg towards the dog’s chin. It landed, and it was strong enough to send the dog flying up. Immediately after, he rushed in and grabbed it by the neck before it fell to the floor. His aether flowed and from his palms came a shock of power that broke the creature’s neck.

It didn’t even whimper. The body went limp, and Will gently set it down on the floor.

‘Will. Step back.’

Ah. Right.

He did as Ishtar said, and only a moment later a white vapor began to ooze from the creature’s corpse. It quickly began to take shape in the air, resembling a vague figure of something he’d seen before. Reptilian in nature, yet humanoid. It was one of the kobolds that inhabited the other world. It screeched at Will in fury, yet turned back and tried to escape, attempting to fly through the wall.

Will kicked the floor and rushed forward. His hand oozed his own purple-colored aether, and he swiped at the ghostly figure with it. The spirit screeched again as it faded.

Will relaxed his body, yet remained alert. He looked at the malformed corpse of the dog and grimaced. It would cause a panic if anyone were to see it, and he had to check the warding field, anyway.

Will took a shovel from the toolshed in the basement, picked up the creature in his arms and carried it outside, behind the building. He dug a hole and buried the poor thing.

‘You’ve seen other creatures die already, Will. What’s so special about a random dog?’

Will sighed. ‘I don’t know. Most of us humans are just sympathetic towards certain animals. We could watch two people fight and not bat an eye, but seeing a dog or a cat get hurt triggers our compassion. It’s weird. Having to put it down myself doesn’t help.’

Will shook his head. He knew there was nothing he could’ve done, and Aoi had told him as much. Most spirits who came into this world lost their minds and became violent, possessed some living creature and caused mayhem. Searching for them and putting them down used to be her organization’s role.

Will walked around the inside perimeter of the building’s fence, checking all four corners. He knelt at every one of them and ran his aether-covered hand over specific sports. Small sigils reacted to his aether and lit in a faint purple light. All of them were in good condition, and since he’d heard the bell in his mind, it meant they’d worked well. The dog also seemed completely lost at first, so the defense function was also working properly.

Will smiled. It had taken him and Nanami an entire day to set these up, but it was worth it. He had treated her to a meal the day after to thank her for her help. If not for her, staying in this building would be a nightmare.

He stood up again and made his way back to his apartment. He hoped Ruth was asleep, or she’d scold him for taking more than 10 minutes.