Following the gruesome discovery of the former chief’s body and his message engraved in blood, the heavens finally burst open.
A freezing, driving rain began to pelt the town of Happy, washing over the dark alleyways.
Sensing the imminent danger, I immediately instructed the sheriff to gather all the remaining residents inside the chapel for their safety.
The sheriff acted without delay, and in the ensuing panic, everyone scrambled to grab their few belongings and run for shelter.
For my part, after a final sweep of the surroundings, I hurried to join them.
But on the way… there it was.
It was standing there.
Straight and massive, right in front of the heavy chapel doors that the residents had just hastily slammed shut behind them.
The Calamity.
With its hunched torso, bestial build, and prominent, jagged fangs, it bore the terrifying resemblance of a werewolf ripped straight out of a nightmare.
My breath caught in my throat, and I quickly realized that a frontal assault would be suicide—Alya was nowhere to be found, so I couldn’t rely on her strength.
Without a moment’s hesitation, I spun on my heels and bolted into the surrounding forest to save my own skin and isolate the beast.
The monster gave chase.
Its speed was inhuman; it leaped from tree to tree with frightening agility, snapping branches in its wake.
Knowing the terrain, I came to a sudden halt in a clearing.
I drew a heavy wooden stake from my gear.
The beast landed heavily between two trees right in front of me, its scarlet eyes locking into mine.
I stayed on my guard, my body coiled tight, when the creature let out a raspy laugh:
“Do you truly believe you can beat me with that little toothpick?
Abandon all resistance; it will save you from suffering.
Your journey ends here, hunter.
You’re nothing but a failure.”
I didn’t say a word.
Instead, I raised my weapon and fired a shot.
Guided by pure reflex, it dodged the bullet by snapping its head aside.
Taking advantage of the distraction, I threw the wooden stake, which I had ignited with my lighter, with all my might.
With a growl of contempt, the creature shredded the projectile with a single bite of its fangs before lunging at me at lightning speed to devour me.
That was when my lips curled upward.
I grinned.
“Go to hell, you piece of shit.”
It fell straight into my trap.
Trapped by its own momentum, its body slammed into an ultra-resistant steel wire I had secretly strung between the trees.
The cable snapped taut around it, capturing it mid-air.
Without wasting a single millisecond, I ignited a cigarette with a high-voltage electric lighter, then hurled the conductive device directly onto the wire.
A massive electrical surge surged through the cable.
The creature shrieked in agony, its body wracked by violent spasms under the flashing electric arcs.
I exhaled a cloud of smoke, a fierce grin playing on my lips:
“Case closed.”
But my satisfaction was short-lived.
From the depths of the forest, another roar—more powerful and visceral than the first—echoed out.
Instantly on my guard, I whipped my head toward the source of the noise… and when I redirected my gaze back to the trap… there was nothing.
The steel wire was empty.
The beast had vanished.
“That trick with the flames and electricity might come in handy in the future…” I muttered to myself, packing away my gear before sprinting back toward the chapel.
Before I could even step inside, I came across a chaotic scene: the former sheriff’s son was supporting the current sheriff, both escorted by a few terrified residents who hadn’t managed to get inside in time.
I helped them push through the doors to take refuge inside.
The sheriff was heavily weakened, his face completely blanched.
“My condolences about your father.
It’s tough… losing a parent in a situation like this.”
He bore a strange, almost detached expression.
Intrigued by his calm demeanor and that of the remaining survivors, I asked him:
“Why haven’t you and the others left this town despite all these horrors?”
He stared at me for a moment before replying:
“My father and I lived here our whole lives.
I was born right here; my mother lost her life bringing me into this world.
As for the other residents… they’re all criminals or fugitives.
For them, it’s either Happy or the outside world, where the Calamities are even more numerous.”
I nodded, then gestured toward the lawman:
“Why is the sheriff so badly beaten up?”
“The Calamity attacked us on the path,” the potter explained.
“The sheriff stepped in to protect me, which is where his injuries came from.”
I left him to check on the sheriff, who looked entirely struck down by fatigue and pain.
He insisted he would be fine and just needed rest.
I settled him into an isolated room within the chapel, then returned to the nave to ask the people if they had seen Alya.
Right at that exact moment, a violent pounding rattled the chapel doors.
It was Alya.
As the doors swung open, she collapsed onto the floor, utterly exhausted and covered in marks as if she had just emerged from a monumental battle.
Catching sight of her in this state, a resident pointed an accusing finger at her and screamed:
“It’s her!
She’s the one who caught us in the alleys when we were looking for shelter!”
In an instant, the panicked crowd turned hysterical.
The villagers surrounded her with makeshift weapons, fully determined to kill her on the spot.
I immediately stepped in, throwing my full authority as a hunter to form a barrier with my body.
“Lock her up first!” I proposed to calm the mob.
“Give me some time.
If I don’t find anything… you can do whatever you want with her.”
“This is all your fault!” another villager bellowed in a blind rage.
“Before you arrived, the monster only chose one person at a time!
But ever since you got here, the death count has exploded!
The creature chose you, Eden!
If we don’t hand you over, it will kill us all!
Let’s offer him to the Calamity!”
I listened to him without flinching, my face expressionless like marble, as I calmly lit a new cigarette.
My composure contrasted provocatively with their hysteria.
“Unlike you,” I said in a low tone, quiet yet absolute in its firmness, “I didn’t come here to die.
This matter will be settled.
Quickly.
Don’t worry about it.”
“That’s a lie!
You don’t even have any proof, let alone a lead!” the man spat back.
I looked him straight in the eyes, a smirk playing on my lips.
Two hours.
That’s all I need to rid you of your Calamity.
If I don’t succeed, you can do whatever you want with us.”
But at that very moment, the silhouette of the beast made a brief appearance through the shattered stained glass of the nave.
Without a second thought, I drew my weapon and fired.
The bullet flew true and struck its arm.
Wounded, the creature fled at a prodigious speed.
I rushed in pursuit through the corridors, firing several more shots, but it was too fast, forcing me to return to the residents.
It was right after those gunshots that the sheriff burst out of his room, yelling with his weapon in hand:
“Where is she?!
Where is that counterfeit nun?
I’m certain I hit her, that damn Calamity!”
His accusations led us straight to the Mother Superior’s quarters.
Bursting into the room where she cremated the bodies, we discovered her standing near the kiln, a fresh bandage wrapped around her hand and arm.
The sheriff triumphed instantly:
“There!
You see?
As soon as the Calamity is hit by a bullet… the nun turns up injured in the exact same spot!”
I stepped forward and calmly asked the Mother Superior the reason for the bandage.
“I severely burned myself while placing the latest bodies into the furnace,” she replied, her voice trembling but dignified.
“In that case, let me see the bodies,” I demanded.
She categorically refused, citing respect for the dead.
The sheriff exploded with anger:
“If she has nothing to hide, why does she refuse to cooperate?!
She thinks we’re fools!”
“I will not allow you to insult me any further in my own home!” the Mother Superior cried out, tears welling in her eyes.
“I did everything to welcome you, I broke the sacred rules of this chapel so that you would be safe… and this is how you thank me?!”
Attempting to defuse the bomb, I intervened:
“Please… just do it, if only so everyone stops suspecting you…”
Cornered, she stepped back and showed us the inside of the kiln.
The bodies were indeed there, reduced to ashes within the furnace.
However, she still obstinately refused to unwrap the bandage to show her bare arm.
Faced with this highly suspicious refusal, the sheriff ordered her to be thrown into a cell immediately.
The case was growing murkier by the second; the puzzle pieces just weren’t fitting together.
Suddenly, a shriek of absolute terror rang out from the far end of the building.
Another apparition had just occurred, and a new corpse had been discovered in a hallway.
There was one major problem: the Mother Superior was still locked right in front of my eyes in her cell.
She took that exact moment to rip off her bandage, revealing her arm: it was a genuine, terrible flesh burn, not a bullet wound.
Meanwhile, off to the side, the injured sheriff was now under the tight surveillance of the former sheriff’s son… and his wife.
Seeing this specific layout, the pieces of the puzzle finally fell into place inside my mind.
A masterful realization.
I let out a light laugh, and then a wide grin split my face.
“Release the nun,” I ordered the militia.
“And call the sheriff here.
They are NOT the ones responsible.”
I turned toward the back of the room, pointing my finger directly at the true mastermind behind this nightmare, and shouted at the top of my lungs:
“CASE CLOSED!”