"Holy Mother of God, what kind of aberration gave birth to this damned wretch? Not even my dog's mother birthed such a creature. How did this happen? A man with a wolf or vice versa, genes can't combine this way, so it's impossible."
Anton walked away to avoid hearing more silly jokes about the werewolf. He looked around to make sure no one was nearby, but then he heard footsteps behind him.
At that moment, footsteps echoed at the end of the alley, alarming Anton so much that he pointed his weapon in that direction.
Jay, who was taking photos with the slain dark entity, looked in the direction Anton was pointing and did the same with his rocket launcher.
"Whoever is playing mysterious in the dark, we are not playing around, and it only takes pulling the trigger for this baby on my shoulder to turn you into mush. Are you listening to me?"
Anton didn't have to say anything; Jay seemed to be enjoying this, so he left him to talk to whatever was in the darkness.
"God forgive me if it's a cute kitten, but I think you're actually a damn two-faced creature."
"Wait." Anton didn't want to cause trouble that would harm other people.
Everything in due time; they needed to be sure that whatever was hiding in the darkness was indeed an enemy.
"A ShadowBane, I never thought your kind still existed... Just look at how you've left this dark entity—a real mess." A silhouette slowly emerged from the darkness.
But Jay, who didn't like mysteries, turned on a flashlight he had in his pocket and lit up the entire alley.
What they saw left them stunned. The silhouette was actually of a vagabond holding a piece of newspaper.
"Give me a reason not to eliminate you now."
"What are you saying, boss?" Jay then got worried; he no longer wanted to fire a rocket at a man who seemed to have serious economic problems.
Anton didn't lower his weapon; instead, he moved his finger to the trigger. "You know who I am, but I don't know you. Identify yourself."
"How much longer will you understand that you can't stop the rot of this world? Humanity is lost, and the ShadowBane can only delay its destruction." The man, shielding himself from the light, removed his hand from his face, revealing his condition.
"The world is coming to an end, and you've never accepted it. You have the power to fight the King of Hell himself, but that won't allow you to end the war."
Anton frowned. He didn't understand what this man was saying, so he changed his way of questioning. "So should we just wait for our deaths?"
"Of course!"
"The day we stop fighting for what is ours, we will be nothing but microbes in a foreign system... I will fight as the predecessors have, but not for me, not for the world, but for those who deserve life."
The man smiled, showing his rotten teeth. He liked hearing that, so he said, "You're the only one who has changed your reason for fighting several times. Now I see in your eyes that you fight for someone else dear to you, and I suppose you're going to be a father. Let me give you a chance. The better you prepare humanity, the more chances you'll have to win."
"What the hell is this crazy man saying?" Jay raised the rocket launcher to his shoulder again, waiting for the moment this old man would finally become a problem.
"The only way the world survives is by eliminating the weak, letting the elderly die, and preparing the strongest for the final battle. Not everyone will be ready for the change; you know not everyone will accept the change, so you will be the one to dictate the beginning or the end."
Anton lowered his weapon; this man standing before him was not alive.
"Lower your weapon, Jay."
"Do we shoot this man or not?" Jay was losing his patience.
Anton shook his head and said, "He's a ghost. Report the containment status and wait for the cleanup crew."
Jay looked at the man in the alley, only to realize there was no one there. "Did a dead man just get on our backs? Damn it, I haven't been baptized."
"There's no problem; you won't die from having a ghost on your back."
"Damn it, cover me in salt... Boss! Don't abandon me!"