Chapter 1: I can't die anyway

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In the town of Fourthville, a black-haired girl named Harleen Rudreen was writing about quadratic equations when she noticed an eerie pink light emanating from her bag. She quickly closed it, but someone had already noticed.

Harleen's teacher, Ms. Intel, was trying to get her attention, but Harleen was lost in her thoughts about the glowing bag. She wondered what could be causing the chemical reaction, as quartz doesn't typically react unless exposed to phosphoric acid.

During lunchtime, Harleen went to her designated spot for her tutoring job. As she entered the service room, she set up her tutor sign and began eating her lunch while changing into a baggy shirt.

A student named Wemer arrived for his tutoring appointment, and Harleen started teaching him, as usual, ensuring that he understood the material. At the end of the session, she collected the payment and thanked him.

The rest of the day passed without any major interruptions, and Harleen returned home with her bag on 21st Street. However, upon entering her house, she encountered her father, who was demanding his beer. She handed it to him and quickly left, as her father had a strange red mark crawling up his neck.

Harleen then remembered that her next tutoring session was at Wemer's house, just a couple of houses down on the same street. She rang the doorbell and was greeted by Wemer, while a black-haired person was walking on the street, listening to music.

"Nice place you have," Harleen commented, trying to maintain her composure.

"Thanks, I like to keep it clean because it gets messy later," Wemer replied casually.

Harleen couldn't help but wonder what he meant by "messy." Was it in reference to food or perhaps living with siblings or family?

"You'll be cool too," Wemer added cryptically.

Confused by his statement, Harleen turned to see a figure that appeared to be a cross between a wolf and a man. The realization sent a wave of fear through her, but she managed to hold back her scream, reminding herself to stay calm and let her body produce the necessary adrenaline.

Without hesitation, Harleen darted out of the house through the back door, fleeing into the dark forest. As she ran, she noticed that the ground beneath her feet had turned an eerie shade of red.

Amidst the chaos, Wemer's chilling voice echoed, "I love it when they run."

Harleen's heart raced as she continued to navigate the forest, uncertain of what lay ahead.

...................

How much time had passed? Harleen couldn't tell. It could have been a day, an hour, or maybe three hours. Night had fallen, and she continued to push forward despite her scratches and concealed bleeding, knowing that werewolves had a keen sense of smell.

She reflected on the unbelievable existence of werewolves and pondered the possibility of hunters existing as well. Her chosen direction through the woods led her toward a group of men her father used to associate with. Her thoughts became jumbled and fragmented, her exhaustion taking a toll on her mental clarity.

As Harleen rambled on, her mind drifted to her father and his well-being, but her recollection was hazy. Who was he, exactly? The questions swirled in her mind as her weariness grew.

"I've been running for so long, and the station is still out of reach," she murmured, frustration lacing her words. It felt as if the forest itself conspired to keep people from crossing. The owls in the forest... held a peculiar significance to her, but the thought dissipated before she could grasp it fully.

Her words trailed off, and exhaustion overwhelmed her. Harleen lost consciousness, her weakened state and blood loss taking their toll. As she faded away, the forest revealed its true form, eyes multiplying and a familiar face emerging.

"Hey~... I'll have to ask all of you to get the hell away from my meal, please," the figure spoke with a twisted, chilling tone.

The sound of scattering feet, hooves, and claws filled the air before abruptly ceasing as if an unspoken rule dictated their retreat.

"...I'll have to be more careful next time. Anyway, it's time to eat, you... what's-her-face."

A gruesome scene unfolded as the hairy figure, now covered in blood-soaked fur, began devouring the lifeless body of the human girl. Delighting in the apparent "radiant" taste, the creature revelled in the grotesque feast.

"Delicious! Ah, perhaps I'll save you for my family visit next year. Who would have thought that the spleen, my least favourite part, could be so delectable? It's like a warm milkshake, but actually tasty-"

"...I'm just built differently," the figure in the black trench coat replied to the creature's astonishment.

"Anyway, I needed werewolf blood to create another spleen for her, so you had to die either way..."

Observing Harleen's severe injuries and profuse bleeding, he let out a sigh before carefully extracting a nerve from himself, miraculously unharmed. He slowly dripped his blood into her side wound.

"...At least I can say I've been inside a girl before... chuckles."

"Alright, that's all you get. Too much, and you'll go kaboom. Now, time to feast on Wemer's corpse."

As predicted, the expected outcome occurred, and our female protagonist managed to survive, albeit in a significantly altered state. A more civilized meal commenced as the figure set up a picnic basket and a table, enjoying a werewolf steak, a specialty from Norway.

.....

12 hours later...

"So, this is what your shiny crystal does... Unfortunately, it's of no more use to me. Nonetheless, I must thank you for helping me exterminate an actual Dire Werewolf without being treated like an ordinary person in the MyHero's fandom."

"...But it takes you so long to regenerate. It should only take half an hour for a normal Seer... unless you're like me and get bullied because you're the equivalent of a non-white person during the 1900s... I'm so lonely that I can only talk to myself like a loser, right, fake tree man?" He glanced at a subtly shifting tree.

"..."

"..."

"...Are you not going to move? Because I'll just be concise here."

Whoosh

"Wow, a surprise attack. Who could've seen that coming? Not me, but sadly, buddy—"

He paused, his gaze directed downwards at the multiple tree arms impaling him.

"That's so rude... We were having a proper conversation, and you just decide to interrupt like that... So uncivilized."

"And because of your rude behaviour, I'll have to show you my finisher... PLANT KILLER!"

Pointing his finger, he uttered the words "Weeds..." as red parabolas shot forward, acting like corrosive acid and melting their torsos into four melted stumps.

"...I like trees..."

(Anyway, my anxiety is acting up, so I gotta go, but how can I solidify my presence as extroverted...)

"I can't die anyway, noob."

(That was lame.)

He vanished in a flash, leaving behind a subway sign that read, "You just missed us," and leaving Harleen to wake up at any moment now.