Shadow Angel: Volume 1

Discovery

Turning back to the Scissor Eldritch, Scott thought, He did all this himself? And his hand, it's not a human hand, that's for sure. He must be one of those rare late-bloomer cases. How can a kid take on an Eldritch himself?

Suddenly, Scott heard a crackling sound and he looked back at the boy. The fingers of his left hand were curled all over the shiny ball, which was showing visible cracks. The boy was squeezing the object, Scott realized. Before he could approach him, the cracks grew on the sphere. Then all of a sudden, it broke in his hand and the Scissor Eldritch's body became limp, the red light in its eyes fading to black. Scott was stunned at the sight of it, not knowing what to say or do.

Meanwhile, Mia slowly walked out of the trees to join Scott, only to find what he was looking at. She found the now-dead Scissor Eldritch on the ground before turning to look at the boy, who just stood in silence.

"Who's that?" Mia whispered to Scott.

"I don't know," Scott whispered back. "But you were right. This kid found the Scissor Eldritch and slayed it before we could."

"How did he do that?" she asked.

"Look at his left hand." Scott pointed to the boy's hand as Mia obeyed. "That's not a human hand. He must have some transformation ability that hasn't been detected. Also, he's armed with an ax, see?"

"What should we do?" Mia looked back at her friend.

"I'm gonna talk to him and make sure he's okay." Scott turned back to the boy and said, "Hey, kid!"

In response, the boy slowly turned around to find Scott and Mia standing several feet away from him. Once they made eye contact, the adults saw the exhaustion in his golden eyes. Scott began approaching the boy but stopped halfway before pointing at the Scissor Eldritch's body.

"Just so you know, that was our target you just killed," Scott said. "It must have been taxing for you to fight a beast like this yourself."

The boy didn't say anything in response. All he did was stare at the two adults with half-lidded eyes, which left the blue-haired man concerned.

"Kid, are you okay?" Scott slowly walked up to the boy. "We're not here to hurt you. We just want to make sure you're alright."

Meanwhile, Mia looked at the boy with pursed lips and furrowed eyebrows. But then, she looked down and her teal eyes went wide at the sight of his right leg.

"Scott!" the red-haired woman called, getting her friend's attention. "Scott, his leg!"

"His leg?" Scott repeated before turning back to the boy.

He looked down and his purple eyes grew wide like dinner plates when he looked at the boy's right leg. On his right thigh were four long scratches, presumably left there by the Scissor Eldritch. However, these scars were pitch black and his pants were ripped and stained with the same black liquid. Scott stared at the boy's wound before suddenly, realization hit him like a truck.

"Kid, you're..."

Before Scott could finish his sentence, the boy's grip on the ax loosened and he exhaled from his mouth. Then, his eyes closed as his body was about to fall to the ground. But then, Scott sprinted up to him and caught the boy in his arms before he could fall onto his front. The blue-haired man looked down to look at the boy, but he sighed in relief when he heard him breathing.

"Scott, is he okay?" Mia asked as her friend turned around to look at her.

"He's still breathing. He's just unconscious," Scott answered.

"What should we do with him?" Mia's eyes turned to the boy.

With a deep breath, Scott propped the boy over his shoulder and said, "We're taking him with us! He needs medical attention!"