Both its arms pressed into the ground, struggling to lift the massive body that had smashed through the stalls earlier. Its legs trembled, weak. Its right arm was held close to its body, twisted unnaturally. Injured. Maybe broken.

Its eyes locked onto the man in front of it.

The dented wok was still raised, pointed straight at its face.

A heavy snort escaped the creature’s chest. Anger mixed with pain.

The man didn’t move.

Tired eyes. Blank face. No emotion. No intent to attack.

Pelesit and human stared at each other.

Time stalled.

Ratree clamped a hand over her mouth. She didn’t dare make a sound. Her eyes were glued to the man, disbelief flooding her chest.

How could someone that small hurt something that big?

A minute passed. Only breathing and wind filled the space between them.

Ratree frowned.

Something was wrong.

The man didn’t attack. He didn’t advance. Even though, by all logic, the pelesit still had the advantage.

Then the pelesit stepped back.

One step. Then another.

Its legs shook violently. Its breathing hitched, body swaying, close to collapsing. But the man remained still, unmoved, like nothing had changed.

“What’s going—” Ratree tried to speak.

The world tilted.

Her vision blurred. The man doubled in her sight. Her breath caught. Weakness washed through her limbs and she sank to the ground.

“Zing radiation…?” she whispered, barely audible.

She tried to crawl away, forcing her body to move even as strength drained from it.

“This… isn’t possible…”

She focused on her breathing, fists clenching as she pushed herself up slightly, pain pulsing through her body.

Pip! P-pip! P-pip!

Her tablet shrieked.

The sound stabbed into her ears, panic surging. The pelesit let out a sharp snort, suddenly alert. From afar, engines roared. Sirens wailed, growing closer.

Ratree’s AirPods crackled. The dead static snapped into life.

“Alpha, Beta moving in…”

“Zingforce.” Ratree gripped her AirPod, heart hammering. Help was coming. Any second now.

The pelesit scanned its surroundings, but its eyes never left the man.

It released one final roar.

Then it leapt.

Up onto a rooftop. Then another. And another.

Gone.

Ratree exhaled shakily, a long breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. Her chest felt lighter. With what little strength she had left, she pushed herself up. The dizziness faded.

“Zing radiation’s gone…” she whispered, relieved.

She moved carefully, trying not to draw the man’s attention.

Pip! Pip! Pip!

She froze.

Slowly, she picked up her tablet. The alarm stopped, but through the cracked screen, two graphs remained.

Her heart skipped.

One Zing reading was five times higher than the other.

Ratree lifted her head.

The man had tossed the wok aside. He was already walking away. His steps were calm, fast, steady. Like a shadow slipping through the morning.

Ratree followed at a distance, hiding between stalls. Her sharp eyes tracked every movement as he disappeared between the buildings beside Pasar Muae.

She swallowed hard. Her mind raced.

Humans don’t have Zing like pelesit do.

But this man…

He was different.

Her body kept moving, following him, even as her mind screamed for her to stop. There was something about him. Something that didn’t fit. Something she couldn’t explain.

And for the first time, that question pressed heavier on her chest than fear itself:

“What… is this man?”