The afternoon sun still hung above Westbridge University.
Yet the warmth had vanished.
The old library wing had become unnaturally silent.
Lucas stood frozen.
Billy leaned against the shattered classroom wall, barely able to remain conscious.
The remaining upperclassmen no longer looked like bullies.
Only frightened boys.
“…Boss…”
One of them swallowed.
“…Boss… please…”
Parker never answered.
His head remained lowered.
Blue lightning crawled weakly over his body.
Then…
Something black emerged.
Not smoke.
Not shadow.
It flowed through the lightning like living ink, swallowing every blue arc it touched.
Blue…
Black…
Blue…
Black…
Until darkness consumed it completely.
The air grew heavy.
Lucas suddenly found it difficult to breathe.
Billy stared in horror.
“…Parker…?”
CRACK.
His neck twisted.
CRACK.
His shoulders shifted violently.
His fingers curled inward as though invisible strings were pulling them.
The upperclassmen instinctively stepped backward.
Nobody dared move.
Slowly…
Parker lifted his head.
His eyes…
Had become two endless voids.
No pupils.
No whites.
Only darkness.
His lips parted.
“…I…”
Silence.
“…sense…”
His head slowly tilted.
Those pitch-black eyes drifted across the terrified students.
Then stopped.
“…fear.”
The words barely escaped his lips.
For several seconds…
Nothing happened.
Then—
A low growl rolled from somewhere deep inside his chest.
“Grrrrrrrr…”
It didn’t sound human.
It sounded hungry.
The growl grew louder.
Lightning exploded in every direction.
“ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRRRR!!”
BOOOOOOOM!!
The roar shook the entire library wing.
Every remaining classroom window exploded into thousands of glittering fragments.
Glass rained into the courtyard.
The concrete beneath Parker’s feet shattered.
Before anyone could react—
BOOM!!
He vanished.
The nearest upperclassman barely had time to scream.
CRUNCH!!
Blood sprayed across the pavement.
Parker’s jaws had already buried themselves deep into the boy’s neck.
The scream became a wet gargle.
His body twitched helplessly before collapsing.
Silence.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The second upperclassman staggered backward.
“…Boss…?”
“…Boss!”
His legs gave out.
Parker slowly lifted his bloodstained face.
His black eyes stared without emotion.
Then-
BOOM!!
He disappeared again.
Another scream echoed across the courtyard.
It ended almost as quickly as it had begun.
Billy collapsed onto his knees.
“…Monster…”
Lucas couldn’t disagree.
Whatever stood before them…
Wasn’t Parker Wilson anymore.
Far across the campus…
The basketball team stepped out of the athletic building.
One player bounced a ball against the pavement.
Another laughed.
“You still owe us dinner.”
“Dream on.”
A third suddenly frowned.
“…Did you guys hear that?”
The laughter stopped.
They looked toward the library wing.
Smoke drifted lazily into the sky.
Then…
They saw him.
Standing alone in the middle of the courtyard.
Motionless.
Watching them.
“…Who’s that?”
One of them took a cautious step forward.
That was enough.
BOOM!!
The ground exploded.
Parker appeared directly before the nearest athlete.
A black hand wrapped around his throat.
CRACK!!
The young man was lifted completely off the ground.
His teammates froze.
“MAX!!”
The athlete clawed desperately at Parker’s arm.
His feet kicked helplessly in the air.
Parker lowered his head.
Rows of jagged teeth slowly emerged between his lips.
The athlete screamed.
“HELP!!”
Lucas moved.
“No!”
He sprinted toward the nearby staff building.
His shoulder slammed into the emergency cabinet.
CRASH!!
Glass exploded outward.
Inside—
Two heavy fire extinguishers.
He grabbed one in each hand.
Ignoring the blood running down his elbow, Lucas spun around and ran.
His lungs burned.
Every instinct screamed at him to flee.
Every heartbeat begged him to survive.
But behind him…
Someone screamed again.
Lucas’s heart pounded.
“Please…”
“…Don’t let me be too late.”
He ran faster.
As he burst back into the courtyard…
The athlete was still struggling.
The others had backed away in terror.
Billy could only watch from the ruined classroom entrance.
Lucas planted himself between Parker and the remaining students.
His grip tightened around the extinguishers.
His arms trembled.
His breathing became uneven.
“…Come on…”
His voice barely rose above a whisper.
“If you’re looking for someone…”
He lifted both extinguishers.
“…I’m right here.”
Parker stopped.
Those endless black eyes slowly shifted toward Lucas.
For one impossible moment…
The entire campus became silent.
Wind ceased.
Dust hung motionless in the air.
Even the screams faded.
Only two figures remained.
One…
Still human.
The other…
A nightmare wearing human skin.
Then—
Parker exploded forward.