The next day arrived, and Frederick attended his morning meeting with the retreat center workers. In addition to providing hot breakfast, they showed him certain facilities like the main event cabin, overnight lounge, outdoor amphitheater, and trails. By the time Frederick was driving home, his head spun with retreat center information, and several pamphlets stuck from his duffel bag.

He arrived home to find his family out for the day and a note on the counter.

Written in loopy handwriting, it said, “I’m working late this evening. There’s a leftover casserole in the refrigerator for dinner. Heat it in the oven for 20 minutes and serve.”

Frederick set the note down and smiled. He had a wonderful family.

The heartwarming thought strengthened his resolve, and he held onto it as he packed his belongings away before heading outside. Fortunately, he’d eaten lunch on the drive home while picking up supplies. This left him with a full hour before he resumed work.

Outside, the sun shone high in the sky, warming the afternoon air. Combined with the cool breeze, the weather provided the backdrop for a picture-perfect lunchtime walk around the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, Frederick ruined the illusion with how he watched over his shoulder, listened for footsteps, and felt for any random cold spots.

Several blocks into his walk, the hairs on Frederick’s neck rose. He stopped and sat on a nearby bench. Thanks to his recent training efforts, he could switch between his natural and spectral sight within seconds, and he could even glimpse both at once in small doses. However, for tracking details, he could only handle one view at a time.

After ensuring nobody lurked nearby in the physical world, Frederick switched to examining the astral plane. His initial scan didn’t reveal anything suspicious, but past experience taught him to trust his gut and continue searching.

Had he not, he would’ve missed the faint but unmistakable inky splotches within the grass.

A message from Amara popped up on his phone with a ding. “Hey, dear. Did you make it home safely?”

The sudden noise made Frederick jump. A pair walking past gave him strange looks, but he ignored them as he took deep breaths to slow his racing heart. As the previous Sunday’s ordeal had shown him, being in his physical form didn’t guarantee him protection from aural tracking. Therefore, he wanted to conceal his presence as much as he could, which meant no sudden jolts.

Despite that, he didn’t want to leave Amara in the dark. He considered how to respond without lying while ensuring he could work uninterrupted. Eventually, he came up with a response.

“Hey, honey,” he typed. “Thanks for checking in. I made it back home just fine. I also saw your note, and you don’t need to worry. I got some things on the drive home, so I’m squared away for now. See you tonight.”

With that technically true message sent, Frederick focused on his next steps.

He scanned his surroundings again using both his natural and spectral vision. Either everyone was working or running errands, for nobody lingered in or near the park. Likewise, the inky splotches he spotted earlier were fading. If he wanted to track them, he needed to act now.

Keeping the monster’s trail in sight, Frederick strolled along the sidewalk with as casual of a pose as he could muster. Sneaking around while staring over his shoulder would draw instant suspicion to him. Plus, if he kept his posture relaxed, that would translate to a more reduced aura. 

Eventually, he reached the end of the trail, and he didn’t need to search long to determine where it started. Located in the far corner of the park, away from the sidewalks and playground, a large retention pond collected all the stormwater in the surrounding area. Some days it sat dry, while others it contained enough water for wading. 

Today, the water reached the top of Frederick’s toes without soaking his socks. Additionally, it filled the pond to about half capacity. 

Not that that made a difference. As Lian Hai mentioned, water bodies didn’t need to be much larger than a person to turn into interdimensional abyss portals for travelers.

Failing that, the black splotches on the pond’s edge that made even the soil look light in comparison showed that monsters had entered through this portal.

Now, he just needed to locate them.

He raised an arm and turned in a slow circle while pretending to stretch. At the same time, he stuck his other hand in his pocket and grabbed the folded pocket knife within. On his drive back, Frederick had picked up a few items to hunt down interdimensional monsters, and the pocket knife had topped his list of priorities. 

He’d considered purchasing a larger blade or firearm but rejected both ideas. Wielding either in public, even against bloodthirsty monsters, would earn him scrutiny or even legal trouble. For guns, he didn’t trust his astral-based powers enough to risk shooting an interdimensional foe with an earthly bullet.

Hopefully, the hand-length pocket knife would suffice in stopping a charging bloodthirsty fiend.

The first shadowy beasts lurked close to the lake. Hidden within the trees, it prowled with its nose to the ground. Frederick had closed the gap between them around halfway when it snapped its head toward him and charged. Even though it occupied the astral plane, in his spectral vision, it looked as solid as ever.

Despite adrenaline making his heart race and muscles tensed, Frederick watched as it bore down on him without running or even flinching.

Then, as it launched itself at his chest, he extended one hand toward the shadowy beast’s throat and pulled out the pocket knife with the other.

As he hoped, his hands and the metal blade glowed with blue light.

The monster collided with him, and sharp claws dug into his shoulders and chest. Had Frederick not grabbed its lower jaw, it would’ve torn his throat out. Stinging pain cut him to the core and demanded his attention, but he gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the monster’s jaws to keep them shut.

It must’ve had an effect, for the monster began to dissolve into shadows. Instead of letting go, Frederick gripped its jaw tighter and dragged it close. As he did so, the monster solidified back into the physical plane. Its empty stare and disoriented head twitch indicated that it hadn’t anticipated this move. The one second of distraction provided the ideal and perhaps only window of opportunity.

Frederick stabbed the monster in the throat.

The blade punctured through fur, skin, and cartilage as the shadowy beast let out a mix between a gurgle and a cough. Then, dark red blood seeped from the wound.

Not wanting any to stain him, Frederick pushed it to the ground before delivering the final blow. To ensure it couldn’t come back for round two, he grabbed its hind legs and dragged it through the bushes on the way to the pond.

Then, he remembered what the Cloaked Figure had done to camouflage. 

Although the prospect made his skin crawl, Frederick scooped up some of the dying monster’s aura and smeared it on his face and neck.

The concoction burned and froze his skin as soon as it made contact. Within seconds, it intensified until it drowned out the pain in his chest and shoulders. Sharp needles stabbed his skin in rapid succession until he wanted to wipe it all off and never touch it ever again. 

Instead, he took several deep breaths and squeezed his hands, willing himself to focus.

When he glimpsed himself in his spectral vision, his aura had disappeared altogether.

Before he could set out again, rustling in the distance made him duck into the bushes. Had he not, the second monster trekking through the area would’ve caught him for sure. Unlike the first one, it kept its head high and swept its gaze over the forest and park. Frederick held his breath and waited for the inevitable moment when it would detect his presence and lunge.

Instead, it walked past his spot without even looking in his direction.

The complete concealment almost made the excruciating pain worth it.

Frederick waited for the monster to pace by his bush, then lunged and sliced its throat. By the time it registered the situation, it too collapsed to the ground. He moved its remains into the bush next to its fallen comrade, planning to dump them into the lake once he finished this hunt.

Another spectral scan of the area showed that one monster remained.

Tracing the last inky trail with his spectral vision showed that it disappeared into the canopies above.

Frederick’s heart stopped, and he had time to race out of the bushes before a hulking shadowy mass dove at the spot where he once hid. He swiped his pocket knife at the monster, but sharp pain shooting up his arm hindered his attack strength. Worse, the once piercing blue flame enveloping the blade was fading into a moderate glow.

Both factors resulted in his slash only grazing the monster’s skin instead of slicing it open like with its comrades.

Frederick backed away from the shadowy beast, his pocket knife extended in front of him. The shadowy beasts stalked in his direction, its head lowered and its teeth bared. Despite hovering within striking distance, it made no attempt to lunge. Was it toying with him or waiting for him to make the first strike?

Then, Frederick noticed the way its gaze flitted around, and it hit him. It could guess Frederick’s general location but didn’t know where he stood.

With how the shadowy goop was dissolving from his face, this advantage wouldn’t last for long.

A plan formed in Frederick’s mind, and though it posed several risks, it beat standing there and waiting for certain death. First, he closed his eyes and switched to his full spectral view. An aerial view of himself, the shadowy beast, and the small woody grove filled his mind. 

Then, he started creeping back toward the lake. Moving backward while also seeing everything from an outside perspective made his head spin, and he almost fell a few times. It didn’t help that he weaved in a pattern to make it harder for the monster to track him. However, he eventually reached the bushes that separated the small wooded grove from the rest of the park and prepared to separate the bushes behind him. 

His heel bumped something stiff, and a glimpse back showed he’d bumped into the monster carcasses.

Frederick’s blood ran cold, and he almost rushed away before clamping down on his panic. Running would cause a ruckus and give away his position for sure.

Instead, he used his free hand to move the bushes away so he could crawl past them, all the while praying the rustling wouldn’t attract the shadowy beast’s scrutiny. He’d made it through the shrub line and was relieved to find that the monster hadn’t followed him, as it stood on the other side without moving.

Then, he noticed what had made it freeze. It was sniffing at its dead colleagues’ corpses.

Suddenly, it shot up straight and glared at him. 

Even without words, Frederick knew his concealment had disappeared. He sprinted halfway to the pond before the shadowy beast barreled into his side and knocked him to the ground. Its claws dug into his shoulders and torso, and it bore its teeth before lunging at his throat.

As a last resort, Frederick squeezed his eyes shut and slammed his fist into the beast’s skull.

A loud crack emitted, and blood drenched his face.

When he cleared his eyes, he saw the aftermath of his desperate attack. The shadowy beast’s head had been reduced to chunks.

His adrenaline faded, and fatigue sapped away at his muscles. Moreover, his stomach churned until he thought he might hurl.

Using the last of his energy, Frederick gathered the bodies of the dead shadow beasts and dumped them into the retention pond. They disappeared within seconds, sinking much deeper than should’ve been possible for such shallow water. He then put his pocket knife away and was about to head home before realizing he needed to clean himself off. People would freak out if he walked around covered in monster blood and viscera.

Except when he looked at his reflection, he didn’t see any of that on him. The only blood came from his wounds.

He sighed. So much for having a retreat center t-shirt as a souvenir.

At least, he couldn’t detect any more monsters nearby.

With his mission completed, Frederick returned home. He ignored the throbbing pain in his muscles and the white-hot stinging in his newest injuries. Additionally, he tried in vain to cover the new tears and blood stains in his shirt and hoped nobody would notice or care.

Fortunately, he walked the rest of the way home without passing anyone. He didn’t let his guard down until he locked the door, in which he slumped against the wall and contemplated taking a nap.

Instead, Frederick booted up his work computer and continued the rest of his work day. As he did so, memories of him defeating the shadowy beasts replayed in his mind. Despite the danger and gruesomeness of the mission, he couldn’t deny a sense of satisfaction.

That would show the bloodthirsty fiends that they couldn’t go around killing people without pushback.