Saved...

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'Tap' 'tap' tap', the slow movements of the thing right beyond their sight was definitely getting closer. They both tried looking through the metal slits at the top of the door.

Kevin could see the cracks and dents it was creating under its large frame. From a little ways down the hall a stopped for a moment.

"Kevin," Chase whispered. "I think it's coming after me."

"What?"

"Considering its eyes are ghastly-white and its ears look like a brain funneling out of holes in its head, I think it was sensing us through other mean. I left my bag there to see if it was smell, but I think it's something else. You should probably leave after I create a distraction."

Just then, without a moment's hesitation, Kevin rushed out the door towards the sound and swung a mop aimlessly upwards. The head of the mop getting into its eyes and haphazardly lashing one of its front claws at him. The older male's body was flung limply away with blood flowing out.

The centipede was distracted with its eyes burning and Chase saw a possible weak point. He grabbed a broom from the room and jabbed it right into a broad crystal-like object in its navel. A large crack formed on it with it writhing in agony and falling over.

Its movements slowed to a stop and Chase's hefty exhalations paused to focus on Kevin.

"Are you okay!?" The trembling in his voice when he touched to sticky red fluid was unmistakable.

"Yeah - don't worry, it's not that deep, I just got the wind knocked out of me."

He responded.

"Why did you do that!?"

"Your reasoning didn't make sense - what if it was sensing humans in general rather than just you. If you're going to be a detective, you should probably make sure your thorough even when flustered." He said matter-of-factly.

He sat up and Chase urged him upwards, which Kevin was able to do without much issue.

A imperceivable sigh flooded his body with a calming that left his legs weak. The moment Chase fell to his knees from shock, Kevin lunged himself behind his back.

A bug leg had made its way through Kevin's body. The tip just barely grazing Chase's forehead. The vitality that flooded from the young man's body was gone - just vanished.

Even with another person just lying there, Chase couldn't move an inch. He could only watch as the creature uses its front legs to carry Kevin to it mouth. It's jaw didn't just unhinged, it completely stretched down to shove the whole head in, slowly, as if savoring the moment.

A nearly endless stream of blood sputtered to halt and a clear fluid came rushing from its mouth. Solidifying rapidly meant that the sticky substance didn't allow him to move even if his body would allow him to.

He couldn't even respond to the pitch darkness within its gaping mouth. He couldn't hear the screams his brother made to the hall that intersected with his. Hatch ran as fast as he could, but the corridor seemed to stretch forever.

Until a wall to the outside burst open and a man charged forth with an axe larger than him that split the creature in two. It's body cracked with white light and dissolved into what looked to be moonlight with the Sun still being out.

Hatch finally made it and basically tackled his little brother and himself into the sticky substance. "Are you okay!?"

"Y-yeah, but Kevin..."

"..." Hatch's dark eyes widened and breathing became a little heavy at the graphic sight.

Though - they realized they couldn't move... The mysterious man raised the axe in silence. "Lestignis, 'Wheel of Fire'!"

Both brothers held each other in fear but looked at each other in surprise when they could suddenly move again. "Sorry, I should have explained, but I didn't want to ruin the moment..."

The sticky stuff was burning while the two siblings were completely fine. "It's interesting you two can see me."

"Are you like that thing?" Asked Chase.

The man laughed, "Oh heavens no! The only things in common I have with it at that point was typically we aren't seen by mortals." His smile faded after looking at the headless corpse.

"Can you heal him!?" Pure desperstion was etched deep into Chase's voice.

"I'm sorry, I cannot. Once their spirit is gone, we cannot heal them in any way." He puts the top-heavy axe on his back and recites some sort of prayer. "With the beads of eternal life, I ask for the blessing of not harming those of this world; poison to be relieved of this body and soul, so as to be renewed in a dignified mind and spirit."

After the long prayer, small orbs of moonlight formed and dropped down onto Kevin's body. He disappeared just like the monster did before.

"What did you do?" Hatch questioned.

"I sent him back through the Cycle of Rebirth. When Haunted Souls like that one inflict harm to mortals, it causes them to eventually cease to be human and turn into a Haunted Soul." He explained calmly but quickly changed gears. "My team has exterminated almost all of these things in the area, the issue is that Bug-type Souls usually are part of a colony-"

"You mean there's a queen!?"

"Yep. I'll have to deal with i-"

'Crash'!

Two men wearing the same white robes as the one that saved us came bursting through as if something flung them. "Sorry, Sir, but the Queen is a 'High-level Demon'."

"A Demon!?"

"Yes, sir!" Both Chase and Hatch could see the could see the colossal centipede monstrosity with the body of a beautiful woman, if she were not attached to that... thing. Its wails sent shivers through the siblings' backs and a wave of air kicked at them.

"You two stay back! We three will handle this!"

A golden circle on the back of the robe-like clothing. It was divided into four equal sections with a depiction of a sword on the right, a book in the left, a crown of gold at the top, and the bottom had orbs forming a necklace.

The three men in white lounged into battle with weapons and stood firm to face the humungous creature.