Shadow Angel: Volume 1

Discovery

Scott wasn't sure how far he and Mia had walked from Heather, Evan, and Rich. However, he only focused on finding the Scissor Eldritch and the other one that came after it. As far as he was concerned, the Scissor Eldritch threatened those living nearby his and his peers' current location. As for the other Eldritch, he didn't know if it is just as dangerous or not, but Scott was eager to find out. As he and Mia walked through the snow, he looked down at the ground and stopped as his red-haired friend bumped into his back.

"Why'd you stop?" Mia asked as Scott pointed at the snow.

Mia turned to where he pointed and her teal eyes grew wide when she saw a scissor-shaped crater in the snow. Meanwhile, Scott walked up to it and went on one knee to investigate it, furrowing his eyebrows at it as he did. Then, he placed his hands on the ground and brought his face closer to the crater so he can take a whiff at it. Once he was done, Scott lifted his head and stood back on his feet, dusting the snow off his pants.

"The Scissor Eldritch was here," Scott said, looking up to point his hand forward. "And from what I could smell, it continued north before taking a left."

In response, Mia nodded as her arms were crossed. But then, her head perked up and she put her left hand behind her left ear, listening for what she thought was a growling and hissing sound. With furrowed eyebrows and squinting eyes, Mia heard for it and suddenly, a loud screech and a chopping sound were heard and she gasped. That tore Scott's attention away from the path he was looking at, making him turn to look at Mia.

"Mia, what's wrong?" Scott wanted to know. No, he needed to know.

"I heard something from far away!" Mia replied, removing her hand from behind her ear.

"Is it the Scissor Eldritch?" he asked.

"I think so, but I heard something else!"

"Something else?" Scott repeated. Then, he asked, "What do you mean something else?"

"I-" Mia was disrupted when she heard the chopping sound again, and it was going on repeatedly. Along with it was a screech of agony. "I think someone found the Scissor Eldritch before we could!"

"What? That's impossible!"

"We need to get there immediately!" 

With that, Mia started running, following the path of footprints with Scott behind her. As they ran, the red-haired woman listened as the chopping and screeching became louder and louder. Scott and Mia ran straight before taking a left, sprinting through the trees as they tracked the treads in the snow. But then, a squelching sound and another screech of pain caused her to stop as her eyes went wide with shock. Meanwhile, Scott was running until he was standing next to her and had a hand on her shoulder. Before he could say anything, he saw the expression on the red-haired woman's face.

"Mia?" Scott said before his nose detected the smell of metal.

The blue-haired man turned to his left, looking back at the trail of footprints. Removing his hand from Mia's shoulder, Scott continued to follow the path until he was in an area encircled by the trees. Upon entering the circle, his breath hitched at the sight of what he found. Lying in the snow was a tall and thin beast with red eyes and blades for fingers; it was the Scissor Eldritch. However, the Scissor Eldritch's arms were missing and there was a dark hole inside its chest. Scott even found that the snow was stained with black blood. For this, he looked around and thought, What the hell happened here?

As Scott looked around the area, his purple eyes spotted something, or rather someone, else. Standing above the Scissor Eldritch was a boy who looked about fourteen with messy dark brown hair that reached his shoulders. The boy was only dressed in a brown coat, pants, and boots. In his right hand was an ax and in his left hand was a glossy spherical object that emitted a red glow. The boy was also breathing heavily, most likely exhausted. However, Scott's eyes were only focused on the object in the boy's left hand, which somehow looked like a raven's talon.