Chapter One

Part 1.

The sound of footsteps could be heard as three teenage looking people walked down a dim and dark looking corridor, surrounded by darkness and followed by a creepy sound similar to that of the wind blowing through the small cracks in the wall.

The small amount of moonlight that covered their bodies and allowed them to see the path ahead of them came from the big glass windows standing to their left side, while on their right one were a bunch of old-looking wooden doors which lead into abandoned classrooms filled with crooked old desks and half-destroyed boards.

This creepy and unsightly place filled with dust and filth, that looked like no one took care of was actually the old and currently abandoned school building of the Marina general High School. Recently, a lot of weird and creepy rumors had been going around school about a ghost supposedly haunting this place, and how students who went home late could hear creepy voices coming from one of the classrooms on the highest floor.

Apparently, the creepy voices the students heard sounded like they came from a women's mouth and were followed by the sound of chains being dragged across the old wooden floor.

They never lasted for very long and people described them as otherwordly, no one knew what exactly the voice was saying because they didn't want to stay long enough to find out.

“I don’t think we should be here you guys!”

Said the boy in a low and somewhat shook manner as he continuously proceeded to take short glimpses behind them to reassure himself that no one was following them. One could tell just how scared he was from his tone of voice and quivering posture he was holding.

“What is it John, are you scared?”

Said the boy standing next to him in a calm and somewhat arrogant tone of voice. Unlike Jonn, this man looked completely calm and fearless, despite the atmosphere and all the creepy rumors about this place.

Unlike the two of them, he wore casual clothes consisted of a gray hoody and sports pants that gave him the appearance of an athlete, which he was. One might think that because of his somewhat big and muscular build and scary-looking face he was a delinquent who loved breaking the rules and getting himself in trouble, but on the contrary, he was a very sweet guy who everyone loved, and someone who loved playing pranks sometimes, especially on his best friend who was currently standing next to him.

“Are you kidding me? Being in the abandoned school building at midnight while all the crazy rumors about the ghost are going around… no, not at all.”

Sarcasm could be heard in his voice as John said those words, but even so, Steven couldn’t help himself but take this perfect opportunity and play a prank on him. This was the perfect setting to do something like poking his shoulder and make him freak out and think that the ghost was behind him, and so he did.

The result of his little joke was John letting out a loud and high-pitched scream that could be heard all throat the building as well as outside of it. To him, this was but a harmless joke that almost made him burst out in laughter, but to John, it was nothing less than a heart-stopping experience that almost made him piss his pants.

“Pfff, I didn’t think you would freak out like that!”

“N-not funny jerk, my heart almost stopped!”

Unlike his friend Steven, John was a skinny weakling who barely had any fat on his body and spent all his time cooped up in his room studying and or playing videogames. He had short brown hair and square glasses covering his dark eyes, and just like the girl in front of him, he wore his school uniform that consisted of a gray pullover, white west, red tie, and black jeans.

“Will you two stop acting like children for once!”

The somewhat angry-sounding tone of voice that followed those words came from the long, blond-haired girl walking in front of them. Her gorgeous face and bigger than average female assets, followed with an Icey cold soul made her a very well known person around the school, although her reputation didn’t go any further than that of an intelligent ice queen.

“I mean seriously John! There is nothing to be afraid since things like ghosts and monsters aren't real!”

“B-but Paula!”

“No but's! The main reason we came here tonight was so we could prove that those rumors are just that, rumors!”

Paula was the kind of person who believed in science and thought of the supernatural as nothing more than a bunch of nonsense. Things like monsters, ghouls, ghosts, etc. were to her nothing more but made up fiction to entertain those whose mind’s didn’t develop enough, and once the rumors started going around the school all she ever heard people talking about was that ghost that is apparently haunting the abandoned school building, and it made her frustrated.

She gathered her closest friend and decided to go into the building to finally put the end to those silly rumors, and prove that things like monsters don’t exist, but now she’s somewhat regretting bringing these two dimwits with her since all they can do is act like children.

“Monsters don’t exist, they’re just fiction so there is nothing for you to be scared about John!”

“A-are you sure about that?!!”

While Paula was having her speech and tried to tell John that there was absolutely nothing to be worried about and that monsters didn’t exist, an all too familiar sound could be heard coming from behind them.

The sound of chains being dragged across the floor followed by a crepy female voice saying some unrecognizable words came from the distance behind them and was getting closer the more time passed. Every passing second the sounds became louder and louder, which meant the person making them also came closer and closer.

Even though she didn’t believe in ghosts, this situation sent chills down her spine and made her heart start beating rapidly. For a split second, she considered the possibility of the sounds following them coming from a supernatural creature, a ghost who dragged her chains across the floor as she walked and got closer and closer to her victims, however, the possibility of this not being the work of a ghost nor a monster but another student trying to scare them into thinking it was, was much bigger.

“P-Paula?!!”

Even Steven who was previously unscathed by the entire situation was now clearly afraid and had cold sweat coming down his forehead. Both of the boys didn’t know what to do since the entire situation was too scary and fear got the grip on their hearts. They relied on Paula’s guidance since she was the only one of them who looked completely calm in this situation.

"W-what should we do?"

Paula, who was somewhat scared herself took a deep breath and calmed down her rapidly beating heart before telling the guys in a cool and collected manner to not worry about anything and to just let her handle things form here.

“Don’t worry, that’s just some guy from our school trying to scare us and further promote the stupid ghost rumors.”

“A-are you sure?”

John asked in a terrified tone of voice, to which Paula replied with nothing but a gentle and reliable smile that made him feel somewhat safer. On her command, they just continued walking normally as nothing had changed and waited until the sound became so loud and the person making it stood right behind them.

Their hearts started beating rapidly as the fear the unknown overtook their bodies, and with a single word that came out from the person’s mouth almost made them scream out in fear at the top of their lounge.

“Leave…”

Before he could even finish his sentence, Paula swiftly turned around at the speed of light and with a taser in hand electrocuted the monster standing behind them until he no longer had any more strength left in his legs and fell to the ground like a puppet whose strings have been cut.

Screams of pain and suffering filled the building as the monster fell to the grounds from being electrocuted by a maxed-out taser, no not a monster but in fact, a person their age holding what appeared to be, long and thick chained in both hands and dressed in white religious robes.

His short and spiky blond hair, lean body size, and somewhat handsome face made it easy for the three of them to recognize him.

“J-Jason?!!”

The apparent ghost following them and desperately trying to scare the hell out of them was no one else but their classmate Jason Markova, a well-known prankster, and trouble maker. 

“What the hell is wrong with you guys? Pulling out a taser like that on a guy is seriously messed up!”

After seeing him, Paula could conclude what was actually going on here. Those rumors about the ghost haunting this building were just as she thought, made up, by this guy in fact so that he could scare the people who actually believed in them and came here to check them out. Just like they did, and unfortunately fell for it.

“Wait, so does that mean there is no ghost?”

John asked Jason in a somewhat relieved tone of voice as it looked like this was all a well planned out rouge to play a prank on whoever was dumb enough to believe in ghosts, to which he answered thoughtfully.

“Ghosts? Of course not, this was all planned to scare those dumb enough to believe the rumors!”

“I mean, you should have seen your faces there! You two looked like you were about to shit yourselves!”

Both John and Steven couldn’t help themselves but get flustered from the embarrassment they felt at the moment for actually falling for a silly prank like this. They should have known better than believe in a stupid story about a ghost, because, after all, monsters don’t exist.

“See, I told you that there was nothing to be afraid of.”

Just as she said those words, Paula felt a chilling breeze going down her spine followed by a gust of wind that created a sound that resembled a woman screaming in fear. 

This, of course, was just another part of Jason’s silly plan to scare people Paula thought to herself, However, after turning her gaze towards the floor on which he was laying at, what she saw put doubt in that thought of her’s.

His previously annoyed and angry face was now completely pale and looked like it lost all life it had, his body quacked in fear and his eyes widened like he was looking at some sort of a monster.

“What is it?”

Paula asked in a confused manner, not knowing why he looked the way he did. She then turned her gaze towards her friends in hopes of getting some answers to the weird way Jason was action, but the only thing she got was the same expression as him.

“Seriously, what is it…”

Before she could finish her question, she felt a looming feeling coming from behind her. It was a feeling like no other, a feeling she experienced only once before in her life, once she was a little girl and almost got hit by a car.

It was the feeling of death itself. She wanted to turn around and face whatever it is standing behind her and made her feel this way, but she couldn’t. Fear got a tight grip on her heart and made her unable to move a single muscle, even in this life or death situation.

The only thing she could do is watch as a pair of long and skinny brown hands, slowly made their way from behind her, and made her heart race fast and faster. The three boys who stood witness to the unworldly sight in front of them couldn’t even say a single word as their bodies were also overwhelmed by fear.

The only thing they saw was the darkness behind Paula and a pair of skinny brown hands coming out of it. They could only watch as a single tear made its way down her scared and now completely broken face until it hit the wooden floor on which they stood.

And once it did, the hands took a tight hold of her face and pulled her into the darkness where the only thing they heard were screams of pain and suffering that lasted no longer than a few seconds, after which the previously dusty floor became tainted in the red color of her blood.

Another three screams were heard that night all coming from the abandoned school building, but just like the rest of them, they lasted no longer than a few short seconds before silence once again covered it.

Part 2.

Just like every morning, the sounds of laughter and friendly chatter filled the first year’s classroom as the students engaged in friendly conversations with their friends or next-door neighbors.

Things such as Tv shows, sports, video games, or comics were the usual topics, however, today was somewhat different. It didn’t take long for the word to spread, and before you knew it the whole school had heard about what happened last night in the abandoned school building.

“Hey, did you hear?”

“You mean about the pool of blood that was found in the abandoned building, Yeah!”

“Super creepy, right?!!”

Because multiple screams were heard coming from the abandoned school building late last night, a janitor went to see what was going on and chase off any kid’s who thought it was a good idea to go and see if the rumors were true, however, what he found weren't kids but a massive pool of red liquid that closely resembled blood and tainted the entire portion od the floor red.

This turn of events only boosted the popularity of the rumor and made more and more people believe in it, especially since the three students who said they were going to go prove that the rumors are just that, rumors, went missing and no one heard from them ever since.

Of course, there was a much more logical explanation to all of that and one in which not a lot of people believed. The fact of the matter is that the strange red liquid that they found was never stated to be blood, so it could very well be paint put there by someone who wanted to boost the popularity of the rumors, and the fact that those three students haven’t shown up for school today was probably a coincidence.

Not a lot of people believed in that theory, except one girl in particular. 

“You really think so, Kate?”

“Of course, I mean being killed by a ghost is just ridiculous. Monsters don’t exist dummy!”

Katherin Katic was the smartest person in their entire class going according to her academic record as well as the most reliable person someone could know. She was a girl who was good at everything she did and always down to earth.

They were the rare few who could match her in the field of math and none who could beat her in sports on any kind of physical activity. Although lacking in the womanly departments, her body was strongly built due to all the physical training and activities she does in her free time.

 She has short hair and deep brown eyes that perfectly match her hair color and the face that can make any man fall on the ass with a single glance of her smiling face.

“It does make more sense, I mean if it was blood wouldn’t the school be brimming with cops?”

“Yeah, your right.”

The little circle of friends that Kate was part of consisted of four girls who she met at the entrance ceremony and got along well ever since. Unlike her, they were easy-going girls who didn’t like to study all that much and preferred going out and having fun, which wasn’t really her thing but she still sticks to them because they were friends and more importantly nice people.

“What are you guy’s talking about?”

“Jaden! Nothing much, just the rumors going around about the ghost haunting the old school building?”

The Hansome blond-haired boy accompanied by his charming black haired friend that casually joined their conversation were their classmates and friends Jadon and Kyle. The two of them were what most people considered being the popular guys at school. They were handsome, charming, smart, well built, and all in all nice people to be around.

“You too?”

“Well, it’s been the talk of the school for the past few days after all.”

 “Yeah, but they’re just rumors or, don’t tell me you actually believe them?”

Whether one believed them or not, the fact of the matter was that no one knew what was actually going on in that building. Being it an actual ghost, monster, or something else entirely, just thinking about it was scary.

“Kate was just saying how all of it was just some sort of a prank, and I would like to believe you girl but I don’t even know myself anymore.”

If the pool of blood was never found and the students didn’t suddenly disappear, it wouldn’t be hard to believe that all of it was just a prank set up to scare those who dare enter the abandoned building, but now no matter how well one might try and explain it, there will always be doubt.

“Alright then, why don’t we go and check it out for ourselves?”

The words that came out of Jaden’s mouth were extremely idiotic and had “Bad Idea” written all over them. The best way to find out what was going on in that building was to go and see it for themselves and since Jaden didn’t believe in the supernatural and was sure that all of it was just a well planned out prank, so going there was no problem for him, which couldn’t be said for the rest of them.

“A-are you serious?”

One of the girls said in a surprise and somewhat shook tone of voice. At first, they thought he was just joking around but from the look on his face, one could tell he was one hundred percent serious.

“It’s the only way to find out the truth, and by truth, I mean that the whole thing is nothing but a big joke!”

The girls considered Jaden's words but weren’t all that sure about following throughout with them, that is until one of them girls bluntly accepted.

“I’m in! I don’t believe in monsters and such things, plus, with you there to protect us Jadent, there is nothing to worry about!”

Those words came from a blond-haired girl who obviously fancied Jaden and couldn’t end up looking like a scaredy-cat in front of him. Following her lead, more and more girl’s agreed to join them on this little adventure in finding out the though behind all the rumors, however, the only person who rejected was no other than Kate.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea!”

“How come? I mean weren't you the one who said it was all just a prank!”

“I did say that, but I never said we had to go there and see it for ourselves!”

“Ah, come on Kate.”

“Don’t tell me, are you actually scared?”

“I’m not scared, I just think that there’s no need for us to go there!”

“Sure, you just continue telling yourself that, scaredy-cat!”

At that moment, their conversion was interrupted as a certain student opened the door and entered the classroom. The previously loud and cheery room suddenly turned quiet and the student's attention suddenly shifted towards him. Shortly after, whispers started filling the room as the students couldn’t help themselves but converse about the boy who suddenly made his appearance in class.

Things such as “I didn’t think he would show up again.” and “What’s he doing here?” were the most repeated statements going around, and it was understandable due to the boy’s bad reputation.

He wore dirty clothes covered in mud and motor oil, all the while his plain-looking face was filled with cuts and bruises, some of which were bandaged up with tape. He held his hand in his pockets and walked towards his desk which was located in the last row on the far left side of the classroom without saying a single word to the rest of his classmates.

Because of the incident that happened on the first day of school in which he beat up five upperclassmen so badly they needed to go to the hospital, as well as his delinquent type behavior in which he skips class every few days gave him a bad reputation. The bad rumors about him beating up people who just look at him the wrong way don't help his case much either.

The few times he does show up in class he spends the time sleeping or just barely awake, which explains his bad grades and lack of friends. Even so, Shin Ellis, the boy in question couldn’t care less about how others saw him, or what kind of a reputation he had, all he cared about was getting to school to fulfill his student duties, and while he’s at it take a well-deserved nap.

Just like usual, Shin put down his bag next to his desk and went to sleep as the rest of his classmates turned their attention away from him and continued talking like usual.

“Fine then, I’ll go!”

Said Kate as she released a deep sigh and thought to herself that no matter what she said they wouldn’t listen to her and would go into the abandoned building no matter what. This way, if she goes with them at least they'll be a lot safer then going in alone.

Part 3.

The school hours having finally come to an end, the party of six met up in front of the abandoned school building under the thick cover of the night and waited for one more person until they were ready to go in.

The person they waited for was Kate, even thou they said to meet at exactly eleven a clock sharp so that they could all go home shortly after midnight and their parents don't figure out they were out. Kate was already running late for more than half an hour and no one could get in touch with her.

“I tried calling her but it just goes to voice mail.”

“I wonder if something happened?”

Kate wasn’t the type of person who ran late on anything, and especially on meetups with her friends, so the situation was more than strange, more so since she didn’t pick up her phone. 

Many things went throughout their minds at the moment's notice. They were worried if something had happened to her, if she had an accident, was injured and some even if she just decided to bail on them and not show up, but all those thoughts went away in a matter of seconds after she showed up running and covered in a gallon of sweat.

“I-I’m sorry you guys, I was out training and didn’t see what time it is!”

The reason behinds her running late wasn’t anything like they thought, it wasn't an accident or and injuries and it wasn’t as if she decided to ditch them. Just like usual, she got way into her training and lost track of time, and because her battery died she couldn’t hear her phone when the girls called her.

Usually one would expect them to get angry at her, but since this was Kate they were talking about, things like getting too into training or studying and losing track of time weren’t all that uncommon for her, and honestly, most of them already accepted it as a part of her that can’t change, so there was no point in getting angry.

“Well, since we’re all here now, shall we go in?”

Jaden said unenthusiastically as all of them entered through the double door and walked into the abandoned school building. What awaited them inside was a humongous hallway filled with destroyed and broken wooden planks and parts of the seeling that crumbled down.

The entire place looked just like they imagined it, filled with dirt and dust from top to bottom and no light to illuminate what’s in front of them, however, they came prepared by bringing flashlights with them. 

Since they were already running late they decided it would be for the best if they just headed straight towards the top floor without any unnecessary detours, and the path that leads there was by climbing the rundown staircase to their right, that looked as if it would collapse with a single wrong step.

Since the entire building was more than hundreds of years old and no one determent it's stability, the possibility of it coming crashing down on them with one false step was big, so it didn't need to be said that they needed to be extremely careful.

"I'll go first."

Jaden said in a quiet tone of voice as he turned around and looked at his friends who stood a few feet behind him and waited for him to start climbing so they could follow. Jaden's heart started beating faster and faster the more steps he took and the higher they got, and it wasn't because he feared what they might encounter once they finally reach the third floor. It was because he feared that the entire building might collapse before they even reach it.

"I know this is a given, but due be careful where you step!"

He knew his classmates weren't idiots and were very aware of the danger, but he still felt as he needed to say those words. Climbing to the second floor didn't take all that much time as he thought it would, only a few seconds to be precise and once they reached it they immediately started climbing the staircase next to them which lead to the third and final floor.

This staircase, just like the one before it wasn't any longer and it only took them a few short seconds before reaching their intended destination. Once they did, they were greeted by an extremely dusty hallway filled with a bunch of spiderwebs on every corner, and ahead of them, the path that leads forward split in two.

"Do we take the left or the right side?"

There were two paths in front of them but only one they could fallow, either the left or to the right one, since splitting up wasn't an option. They took a few seconds to decide which one they should take and then one of the girls standing behind Jaden raised her hand and gave a proposition.

"How about the right one, since it's the RIGHT path."

The pun she made got across to everyone, but sadly no reaction was given since they heard this one over a dozen times already, however, they still decided on the right path since they didn't want to waste any more time and in the end, it didn't matter which one they took because they could easily take the other one later.

"Alright, let's go!"

They turned off their flashlights since the moonlight coming from the windows on their left side illuminated the path in front of them and gave them a way of seeing up ahead. As they walked down the dim and dark hallway they felt a chilling gust of wind coming from behind them but once they turned around there was nothing there.

They brushed it off as the wind coming from the outside and continued walking ahead. Fear and uneasiness slowly started rising in the girl's hearts the more they walked, since this was where the rumors took place at.

Right now, they somewhat regretted their decision of coming here and wanted nothing more but to turn around and go home where their soft and comfy beads awaited them, but neither one of them wanted to be the one to say it, so they continued following Jaden and Kyle who walked in front of them.

"This is seriously creepy!"

Said one of the girls as she took tight hold of Kate's arm.

Time slowly passed and the more they walked the more it seemed like the hallway would never end, and currently, they no longer cared about the stupid rumors and whether they were true or not, they just wanted to turn around and go home.

The entire place was more than creepy and the weird sounds they heard every few seconds didn't help their cause.

"Alright, we walked for a few minutes now and nothing happened, can we go home now?"

Jaden ignored the girl's question and stood in silence for a few seconds before turning on his flashlight and pointing it towards the darkness in front of him. The place he pointed it towards was pitch black and nothing could be seen in front since the windows that let in the moonlight ended there.

"W-what are you..."

"As I thought, a wall!"

After walking for a few minutes Jaden thought it was strange how they still didn't reach the end of the hallway, however, after seeing there were no more windows in front of them he was sure they had reached it, and more importantly there was no sign of blood what so ever anywhere around them.

"As you can see we reached the end of the hallway and there is no sign of blood what so ever, and we didn't encounter any kind of ghost or monster on our way here, so it's pretty safe to say that the rumors are fake."

"Great, but that still doesn't help with this creepy feeling I'm having!"

"Just relax, if someone did die here and their blood was found I'm pretty sure it's illegal to clean it up without calling the cops firs."

Jaden had a point, cleaning up a supposed crime scene was considered an illegal act and was punishable with twenty years of prison, knowing that, neither one of them could imagine the little old principle committing such a federal crime, so the theory of the blood being nothing more but red paint was much more likely since there would be no problem with cleaning it up.

"You do have a point, but that still doesn't answer the question of why would they clean off the paint since they didn't move a since finger in twenty years to clean the rest of the building."

Kate said as she kneeled to the corner of the hallway, and with her finger touched the small amount of red liquid that couth her attention after Jaden enlightened it with his flashlight, and the cleaning crew apparently missed.

"Isn't that obvious? Because they didn't want any more kids coming here night after night and confirming the rumors for themselves. Doing so would only damage the stability of the building and not long after cause it to collapse and actually kill someone!"

"Cleaning off the paint won't stop them from coming, as we can vouch for, but it will at least shorten the amount of them!"

"That's a good theory and all, but there's just one problem. This isn't Paint, its blood!"

From the foul smell and texture on her fingers, she could tell that the red liquid wasn't Paint but in fact, blood, which meant that something did happen here last night, and whether it was a serial killer or a supernatural being, one thing was certain and that was that they needed to leave.

"We need to leave, now!"

She said in a fast manner, however, it was already too late. The sound of one of the girls falling to the ground was heard after which silence covered the entire hallway and the only thing that could be heard was the quivering lips of the ones watching the scenery unfold before their very eyes.

Cooming out from the darkness of one of the classrooms in front of which Kyle was standing was a pair of long and skinny brown hands that slowly wrapped themselves around his head like they were about to grab it and pull it back into the darkness behind him.

Instead of helping him out all they did was watch as the hands of death came ever so closer to putting an end to Kyle's life and sending him to the afterlife. It wasn't as if they didn't want to help him, but they simply couldn't.

The fear that overcame their bodies after encountering a supernatural being, a monster to be precise, was enormous. Most people lose consciousness, while those with stronger will simply become unable to move their bodies and end up becoming their next victim, however, that was not their fate today.

In a fast and swift manner, Kate grabbed Kyle's hand and pulled him away before the monster's hands could grab hold of him and drag him into its territory. 

"What the hell are you all doing just standing there, run! NOW!"

Kate yelled at the top of her lungs which seemingly managed to activate their animal instincts and made them run as fast as their legs could take them. They no longer cared if the entire building crammed to the ground, all they cared about was getting away from that monster and going to safety, while Kate on the other hand was keeping him company.

"I didn't think I would run into a monster here, well, doesn't matter."

"You'll end up the same as the others, dead and by my hand!"

Kate's words and posture were both fearless and powerful, unlike her friends who cowered in fear at the mear sight of the monster's hands, she stood tall without a single drop of fear in her body while facing into the darkness in which the monster resided.

Her aura was calm and relaxing as she avoided the attack aimed at her head by ducking, after which she grabbed the monster by its hand and with sheer strange pulled it out from the darkness in which it hid and hunted its prey.

"Let's see how tough you are in the light, where I can see you!"

The thing she pulled out from the darkness was a tall, almost three-meter long monster whose arms were as long as its torso and it's the entire body a deep dark-brown color. Its skin wasn't like that of a human, rater, it resembled charcoal both in looks and roughness. Its mouth was sewed up from ear to ear and the place where his eyes were supposed to be only two empty black holes remained.

"I'm currently not at a hundred percent, so fighting you alone would be stupid."

Kate said as she pushed the emergency button on her phone that sent a "Danger" message to the closest headquarters asking for reinforcement at her current location. The fact that Kate was a member of the Monster Hunter Core, and a high one at that, was a secret neither one of her friends knew about, and she wanted to keep it that way.

"But until they arrive, It's just you and me!"

The monster moved with incredible speed as it jumped from the ground and prepared for another attack, however, just like the last time Kate avoided its attack by the split-second by moving out of the way.

"He's fast!"

But fast wasn't the only thing this monster was, It was a hunter who hunted from the shadow so it was incredibly silent, to the point where it made no sound what so ever when it moved, which made it incredibly hard to pinpoint. 

The monster once again stood up from the ground after it failed to capture its prey and silently walked into the darkness of the classroom located to its right side. It knew that aimlessly attaching would bring it nowhere so it retreated to the darkness.

"Is it running away?"

Confused by its actions, Kate rushed towards the empty classroom in which the monster went in only to see that it was empty. Its presence completely disappeared and she could no longer sense the monster's incredible blood loss and killing intent.

"No..."

Something didn't make sense, although it wasn't strange for monsters to run away and go into hiding once their lives were threatened and put in danger, Kate didn't do anything of the sort, she didn't even pull out her weapon yet. So why did it run away, no, the fact it ran away was just something she thought but what if it never left and was still waiting in the shadows?

Before she could react, the monster appeared from the darkness behind her and with an attack more powerful than any of its previous ones, sent her flying into the concrete wall of the classroom.

"I get it now, you can travel throughout the darkness!"

The monster moved swiftly and before she knew it, he pinned her down on the ground. Unable to move her hands, kate was left defenseless before this behemoth standing on top of her.

The thick string that kept its mouth pitched up suddenly started to break as it started opening its mouth and getting ready to devour her whole, head first. Its razor-sharp white teeth came closer and closer before suddenly stopping just inches in front of her face.

"Like hell, I'm going to give you the pleasure of eating me!"

With all her strength put into her feet, Kate kicked the monster into its abdominal region and sent it flying into the selling above them. She had no time to waste and couldn't afford to play around anymore, otherwise she won't be this lucky next time.

She put her hand into her jacket and reached for a hand-sized object that should be in there, but to her surprise, it wasn't. 

"My Stigmada, where is it?"

The object she referred to as "Stigmada" was a weapon used by the Monster Hunter Core to kill monsters since it was made out of a specific material that, unlike normal Human weapons could actually inflict damage to these creatures, but now her Stigmada appeared to be missing.

She was sure she had it with her when she came here, but now it was gone. Kate looked around trying to find it, only to see it laying on the floor outside of the classroom. It must have fallen out from her pocket when the monster attacked her and sent her flying into the wall.

"I can't believe I did such a rookie mistake!"

Letting go of your Stigmada was the first thing they were thought not to do, since losing it means you have no way of inflicting damage to the Monsters and in the long term means that you are a sitting duck, waiting until they kill you.

Getting a hold of her stigmada was the first thing she needed to do right now, however, running straight towards it and turning her back to the enemy was an even bigger mistake she couldn't afford to do, so the only thing left for her to do was face the monster in a one v one duel and hope to get as close to the weapon as possible until she can safely grab it.

To a normal person, this plan sounded like a one-way path to suicide, however, to Kate, a well trained martial artist with years of experience and high rank to prove it, this was nothing out o the ordinary. 

"Alright, lets dance!"

While the Monster finally stood up from the cold hard floor on which it fell after her kick, Kate took this liberty to take a fighting stance and prepare herself for the upcoming fight she was about to enter.

He Calmed down her beating heart and focused her mind on one singular target, the monster standing in front of her. She took a deep breath and with cold dark eyes made the first move.

She rushed towards it at the speed of light and with all her strength-focused into her right hand, she pushed it straight into its chest. It was needless to say the monster felt no harm and took no damage what so ever, however, it did return the punch with a left hook of its own.

Its hand moved fast, but not fast enough. Kate saw its attack coming and blocked it with a left hand of her own. Her next attack followed soon after, in which she focused all he strength into her right leg and used it to kick the monster into the wall behind it.

She once again focused her strength into her right hand and with an attack stronger than any of her previous ones, punched the wall in front of her and completely destroying it. Leaving only small dust particles and the pressure released from the attack, however, the monster had managed to escape the forefront of her deadly punch.

Just like before, its presence completely finished and she could no longer feel its immense blood loss and killing intent.

"I won't fall for the same trick twice!"

Kate said as she turned around and grabbed it by the hand before dealing him a straight punch to the head and sending it flying into the opposite side of the classroom. She fell for the same trick before, and she sure as hell won't fall for it again.

She knew that when its presence vanished that it ran into the darkness and would most likes try attacking her from behind, just like he tried with Kyle and her as well, so she predicted its movement and countered them.

What followed next was a barrage of punches with her full strength behind every single one of them. One after another, and each time her fist hit the monster's body the next one was even more powerful then the previous one, however, one second was all it took for the tide of the battle to shift.

The big scale attacks she used took a lot out of her and made her, otherwise strong and tough body start slowing down and creating a brief, but still useful opening that the monster took and with a single punch to the stomach made her hurl liters of blood as she went flying into the writing board behind her.

Although she used her strongest attack and gave it everything she had, there wasn't even a single dent on the monster's body, which was understandable since humans couldn't harm them or inflict any kind of significant damage onto their bodies.

However, this did give her the opportunity she needed to get a hold of her Stigmada which was currently standing right next to her. 

"P-perfect!"

She kneeled down and swiftly grabbed her weapon before turning around and seeing how the Monster once again vanished into thin air. It retreated into the darkness and prepared to strike from behind her, however, this time she was armed with a weapon that could injure it. 

Her Stigmada was a metal sword handle and not just any typical one. The beautiful and detailed carvings on the hilt show just how much dedication and hard work were put into making it, and the small cuts on the upper part showed just how much it was used.

Kate focused all of her strength into her right hand in which she held her Stigmada and prepared to release it as she turned around thinking the monster would appear behind her, however, this time it didn't. Unlike last time when it attacked her from behind, right now its attack came from her right side and knocked her into the wall next to her, which resulted in her once again letting loose of her Stigmada.

Despite giving it her all she was currently too weak to try and break loose of the monstrous clutches holding her down as she waited for death to take her, however, death did not come for her but the monster currently standing on top of her and getting ready to devour her.

A pitch-black scythe cut through the Monster's body like its was butter and killed it in one fell swoop. At that moment, Kate thought that this would be her last fight, her last moments as a monster hunter living on this planet and as her consciousness slowly started fading she could just barely see the face of the boy who wielded the weapon created from darkness and saved her life, and it was no one else but her classmate Shin Ellis.