Dark night

Landon didn't wait for them to come to him; he bent his legs and in a second appeared in front of one of the shadowy ninjas. These things were neither human nor alive, which greatly simplified the fight, he wasn't going to hold back.

He threw a punch, accompanied by his concentrated flames, aiming at the chest of the dark being, unleashing a small explosion of blue and golden fire.

But Landon didn't celebrate his hit; he knew from his Haki that he hadn't inflicted any damage. His punch apparently did nothing, and only his flames were effective, but not for long. These things were like they were made of darkness; when his flames touched the ninja, they pierced through and sank inside of him, but his fire was quickly covered by darkness and began to fizzle out.

Landon didn't give up and continued to strike at high speed, landing a dozen punches all over the body in a matter of seconds, each strike accompanied by his fire, which could almost melt steel.

But it was all in vain, as if the ninja was immune to the damage.

Landon wanted to step back, but he sensed a threat behind him. He turned around and placed both hands on the chest of one of the ninjas who had been in front of him just a second ago but had somehow sunk into the ground to reappear behind him.

He transformed his hands into claws and ripped the chest of the shadowy soldier with his talons. Landon ducked his head to dodge the punch from the same ninja and spun to the side to avoid a kick from another.

He jumped back and saw that the torn chest of the ninja he had just eviscerated was turning into smoke, slowly reforming...

"It seems I haven't done any damage..." thought the confused young boy, but then an idea struck him.

"It's like fighting against Logia users..." In the world of One Piece, certain Devil Fruits represented aspects of nature, and they were particularly terrifying because they made their users indifferent to any physical damage or even to most other Devil Fruits unless they had a natural counter, like ice and magma, for example, ice and fire.

But of course, they weren't invincible; there was another way to defeat them.

Landon was lost in thought for only a second. He snapped back to reality and saw the ninjas approaching him again, and just like his first move, he bent his legs and appeared before one of the shadowy ninjas. He struck exactly the same way, but this time, at the moment of impact with the ninja, there was a thin black layer covering his fist.

"Boom..." With a crash and an explosion that illuminated the night with a bright blue light in this deserted parking lot, the ninja was thrown away like a mere punching bag, crashing against one of the cars about fifteen meters from where he was hit.

The car wasn't spared either; the sound of metal bending under the impact could be heard as the car slid about two meters from the force of the hit...

Luckily, the car was an old model and didn't have an alarm.

The other two soldiers stopped in their tracks, turning to see their brother disintegrate into black smoke, leaving behind only the mark of his body on the severely dented car.

At first, he hadn't wanted to use his Haki; it was too undertrained and required concentration. He thought his Devil Fruit would be more useful and destructive.

"It seems I was wrong..."

"Apparently, my Haki is effective against them. I wonder if Haki is also a counter to the supernatural like it was to Devil Fruits in the One Piece World..." Landon thought.

Landon looked at the two shadow demons in front of him; despite their lack of consciousness, they were still confused and surprised.

"Well, now this is going to be fun, gentlemen..." The ninjas turned their heads, looking at him, and Landon gave them a big smile.

The assassin demons weren't giving up either. They plunged their hands into their chests, black smoke escaping from where they had pierced themselves, and less than a second later, they pulled out their hands, now accompanied by a sword of an almost glowing whiteness.

It was a short, straight sword like a ninjato, and it looked incredibly sharp.

The contrast between the darkness of their being and the whiteness of their weapon wasn't strangely out of place; it was more as if the ninjas were the darkness of the night and their weapon was the whiteness of the moon that accompanied them.

The two remaining ninjas suddenly started swinging their blades in a display of superhuman skill and speed, the sound of their ninjatos slicing through the air could be heard.

And as if one misfortune wasn't enough, Landon's Haki warned him that the third ninja he had eliminated was reforming, appearing behind him.

Landon cracked his knuckles, enveloping his arms in his fire, preparing his Haki.

The parking lot showed a strange scene, the area split in two between a battle of seemingly endless darkness and a bright azure and golden fire that burned fearlessly...

*************************************************

What Landon didn't know was that he wasn't the only one who would face these dark beings that night, and all the targets shared the same trait: they were all supernatural.

But of course, they wouldn't fare as well as he did...

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Lydia watched the young people having fun in front of her, dancing, drinking, flirting with each other.

They moved in the neon lights of the party and to the sound of the music that the DJ was playing.

Lydia wanted to take her mind off things, so she came to the rave party organized in Derek's loft.

"Hopefully, he never finds out... no need to be a banshee to know that someone will die," she thought with amusement.

"Groarr!!!" Aiden suddenly appeared behind her, growling, before laughing and taking off the fake fangs he was wearing in his mouth.

"They're not as good as the real ones," said the boy with a smile.

"Nor as deadly..." replied the pretty redhead.

Aiden paused for a moment, feeling awkward.

"Listen, Lydia, what do I have to do to make it up to you?" the boy asked, almost pleading.

Lydia looked at him for a second, then looked away, her eyes finding Allison.

"I don't know, figure it out yourself. I have to go see Allison," she said, leaving without giving him another glance, much to the boy's frustration.

Allison was dancing with Isaac; the two seemed to be having fun, finally moving beyond their status as friends.

"Not too soon..." thought the young redhead as she made her way towards them.

Normally, she wouldn't have disturbed them while they were finally making a move towards each other, but she needed to ask about the results of the research she had asked Allison to do.

"D***mn, I shouldn't be thinking about that tonight," Lydia paused for a second. She wanted to take a break and not think about her research on the blue fire, but seeing Allison there, who might have some answers, she couldn't help herself.

Lydia continued her steps and reached them.

"Hey, you two, can I borrow her for a second?" The redhead took her friend's hand and left with her as quickly as she had arrived.

"Hey, but..." Lydia ignored Isaac's complaints and led Allison to a quiet corner.

"Lydia, I'm glad to see you. Did you come with Aiden?" her friend smiled and asked.

"Please, don't talk to me about him..." Lydia replied to her brunette friend.

"Haha, how can I help you? Are you looking for a 'distraction' for the evening and need my hunter's eyes..." Allison asked her.

"No, that's not it, I'm not in the mood for that right now..." Lydia said.

"Then what are you in the mood for?" her friend responded with a teasing smile.

"The research I asked you to do, do you have anything new?" Lydia decided to stop playing around and get to the point.

"Oh yes, your strange fire..." Allison replied more seriously, taking a moment to review everything she had found in the bestiary.

"I went through my family's entire bestiary and found a lot about flames, but when it comes to blue and golden flames, or purifying flames, I found less, but I still found some answers..." Allison answered calmly. Her head was down as she searched her bag, so she didn't see her friend's reaction when she said those words.

Lydia's heart skipped a beat, her eyes widening at her friend's words.

"Here, I've compiled everything I found..." Allison finally found what she was looking for in her bag. She pulled out a USB stick and looked up to hand it to Lydia but stopped mid-motion.

"Hey Lydia, are you okay?" Allison asked, looking at her friend. Her friend's eyes were trembling, her lips tight, there was a glimmer in her gaze, a hope.

Lydia took a deep breath and regained control of her emotions, nodding to her friend as she took the USB stick from her hands.

"Yeah, don't worry, go have fun with Isaac..." With those words, she turned and left.

Allison watched her friend leave. She said nothing, understanding that it was important for her to find the meaning and origin of what she had seen.

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"Whew..." Lydia exhaled as she stepped out onto the balcony, wanting to escape the incessant noise.

She took a deep breath of fresh air and looked at the palm of her hand, where the USB stick that might bring her closer to her answers lay.

She dove into her thoughts. Ever since she had seen the person connected to the fire at Beacon Hills High School, her visions of the flames had become stronger,

 more real, more vivid. But she knew she had to strike while the iron was hot; the more she investigated, the closer she got, and the more her powers would show her things. Eventually, she would find out what this fire was and the person behind it.

"Whew..." Lydia sighed as she looked at the city of Beacon Hills before her. Due to the power outage, almost the entire town was in darkness, with the only exceptions being Beacon Hills Hospital, the sheriff's office, Derek's loft, which had a generator, and a few other rare establishments.

"It's a rare sight, as if the whole town was asleep," Lydia thought.

In this moment of respite, the young redhead simply stood there, silent and motionless, like a tranquil observer, unwittingly presenting a breathtaking scene herself.

The girl wore a long, light white summer dress, her hair slightly lifted by the night breeze, the moonlight enhancing her red locks, her relaxed and peaceful face, freckles on her cheeks, dimples, and her green eyes gazing at the horizon.

She wasn't just beautiful; she was ethereal.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she saw something in the distance, a kind of brief pale blue light that lasted only a moment. She doubted what she was seeing and felt she wasn't having a Banshee vision, but suddenly, another small azure blue light illuminated a small corner of the town...

"What the..." the girl murmured to herself.

Lydia focused on the area in question and saw tiny blue lights flickering on and off in the night. She also noticed that sometimes these small points would turn into bright lights resembling explosions...

"No... Could it be...?" Lydia continued to murmur to herself, but before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly felt a wave of unease, a shiver running down her spine.

She heard a loud, strange, metallic humming sound, both high-pitched and deep.

She turned to her right and looked down at the source of the sound, seeing a sort of dark pit on the ground, emitting black smoke.

Lydia took a few steps back, her heart pounding in fear at the sight, and the scene became even more terrifying when a black-gloved hand grabbed the edge of the hole, followed by another, as if something was climbing out of the ground.

In a matter of seconds, a being made of darkness emerged from the abyss. It lifted its head to look at her, and she saw a white-silver mask covering the face of the creature, a hood hiding its head, and the only thing visible were its two greenish-yellow eyes that seemed to pierce into her soul.

Terrified, Lydia wanted to flee. She turned around and tried to use her Banshee scream to call for Stiles, Scott, Aiden, or anyone.

She opened her mouth and began her piercing scream, but a gloved hand appeared in front of her lips, absorbing any sound that came from her throat. A second ninja had appeared right in front of her.

After a few seconds, Lydia fell to her knees, out of breath. She had screamed with all her might, but the creature in front of her had somehow absorbed her scream.

It gently grabbed her by the neck, placing its hand on the side of her face with its thumb on her temple, like an intimate or protective gesture. It lifted her head and looked straight into her eyes.

Lydia stared into the yellow-green light, feeling herself being pulled in, like drowning in an ocean of darkness, a deserted place, empty, where the cold was absolutely freezing.

She felt alone despite the gaze she could still feel on her, piercing into her very soul.

Lydia only looked into its eyes for a moment, but it felt like an eternity had passed in their gaze. A few seconds went by, and the non-human ninja finally released her.

Lydia collapsed to the ground, completely drained of energy. She shivered from the cold and seemed to be in some sort of coma or waking dream, not even realizing that after the ninja let her go, a tattoo had appeared behind her ear.

A tattoo that could signify a note, a score, like for a test or exam, or a mere registration like for common cattle.

Lydia lay on the ground, shivering from the cold, whimpering, and the two shadow ninjas had disappeared...

************************************************

A loud crash resounded as the concrete was severely damaged by the impact of a body. Landon lifted his foot and harshly crushed the head of the ninja he had just slammed into the ground.

"Boom!!!"

His flaming foot crushed the assassin against the ground, his fire battling against the darkness that composed it.

Landon ducked his head, and a blade sliced through the air just above him. He instantly turned around and struck the attacker's chest, his fist covered in Haki and blue flames, violently propelling it several meters away.

He suddenly leaped several meters to avoid the blade of the ninja he had pinned to the ground. Despite having his head almost entirely smashed, the ninja still tried to cut him, indifferent to his own wounds, which were already reforming in black smoke.

'This isn't going to work; it's completely pointless...' Landon thought. He had destroyed, gutted, and burned them, but they kept coming back as good as new shortly after. The only difference was the time it took them to reform, depending on the injury.

Landon kicked backward towards the ninja who had appeared behind him, trying to attack by surprise, sending him flying even though he knew the ninja would return.

Landon knew that if he wanted, he could easily escape, fly away. He had never used his hybrid or full form until now and didn't want to reveal it, keeping them secret from everyone. Who knows what this world hides and if someone can observe through visions or dreams, or a magical crystal ball.

Landon immersed himself in his thoughts, thinking of a solution, but that didn't mean he wasn't focused on the fight. His Haki was always active, easily observing all the movements of the enemies around him.

The young boy with green eyes moved to the right, dodging the slash of one of the ninjas who had appeared behind him. They kept trying to surprise him from behind, despite their lack of success.

'Michael told me that one of the basic rules in the supernatural world is that all supernaturals have at least one weakness. It makes sense; nature ensures balance...' Landon turned and struck the ninja's chest, sending him flying once again.

'They must have at least one weakness, a counter, I just have to find it...' Landon thought as he concentrated his fire into a single flame and shot it like a projectile at the ninja he had just thrown away.

A small explosion of blue and golden fire lit up the parking lot.

'First of all, since they are made of darkness and shadow, it's likely they might be stronger or even only exist at night and not during the day...'

Landon reached this logical conclusion quite easily. He raised his foot, covered it in fire and Haki, and slammed it into the ground where one of the ninjas was about to emerge, trying to take him by surprise.

'But they must be weak to sunlight, not just light or heat in general...' Landon had thrown his particularly hot and bright fire at them, but they recovered quickly every time...

'There must be another way...' Landon decided on a new approach. He bent his legs and propelled himself towards the ninja he had exploded with his fire, who had just recovered...

Landon reached him in a fraction of a second and placed both hands covered in Haki on his shoulders, tearing off his arms with a simple motion. 'I have about ten seconds or so.'

He grabbed the ninja by the neck and focused his Observation Haki on the ninja in front of him, leaving his guard down around him, but he had a plan. He started running, jumping, darting, and then changing direction, moving rapidly in all directions. Landon wanted to be undisturbed during this period, without being attacked by the other ninjas.

With his speed, the ninja could only catch up by teleporting behind him, but that took a few seconds, and he would already be gone from the spot by the time they arrived.

Landon felt his Haki scan the entire being made of darkness in his hands.

'Not entirely made of darkness...' Landon sensed the small light he had noticed at the beginning of his encounter with the ninja; he had simply ignored that detail.

'It's like a light inside them, covered in darkness, wrapped up like a protective layer...' Landon thought.

He had allocated a small part of his mind to continue jumping and dodging everywhere, but most of his attention was on his discovery.

'It's a core, some sort of heart...' Landon realized, his instincts telling him he was on the right track.

He covered his arms in Haki and plunged his hand into the ninja's chest. It felt like diving into an icy ocean. He easily found what he was looking for with his Haki, grabbing it with his hand and pulling his arm back.

Landon looked down and opened his palm.

'A firefly...'

A tiny bioluminescent insect was there, its wings glowing green and yellow. Landon followed his instincts and summoned his azure fire to his hand.

"Kyak!!!" The insect was burned alive with a sizzle, turning to ash.

And at that moment, the half-reformed ninja in his grip let out its strange howl and quickly disintegrated until nothing remained.

Landon turned around and saw the two remaining ninjas. They had witnessed the scene, and when they saw the boy look at them, they took a step back...