Henry stepped out of the cabin and faced the creature as it lumbered closer through the trees.
Up close, it looked even worse — its body a grotesque mass of different forms fused together, human faces protruding from its sides, all of them moving independently.
One face turned toward Henry, its mouth stretching into a grin.
"Human struggle is pitiful. In the end, humans die. Why don't you end yourself and become part of us? You could have eternal life."
Henry looked it over with obvious disgust.
"Well, first of all, you're disgusting. Even if I die, I'd rather have my soul obliterated than become something like this." He pointed his lance at it.
"Besides, you're so ugly it actually hurts my eyes."
The creature didn't seem bothered. Several of its faces laughed at once, voices overlapping into an unpleasant chorus. Then its whole body lurched forward.
"JOIN US!"
Henry sidestepped as it charged past, spun, and drove the lance sideways through one of the protruding faces. The blade punched through flesh, dark blood spraying the ground as the face let out a shrill scream.
He pulled the lance free and stepped back.
"Okay. That hurt."
The creature staggered but didn't fall — the wounded face kept screaming while the others turned toward Henry, expressions shifting from amusement to fury.
He tightened his grip. "Yeah, definitely going to need more than one hit."
It attacked again, thick vines bursting from the ground beneath him. He jumped clear as they tore through the earth, the lance dissolving from his hand as he landed among the trees.
"Well, time to bring out the big guns."
Ether energy erupted from his body, throwing leaves and loose dirt into the air.
He brought his hands together, energy gathering rapidly between them, forming into a massive greatsword — blue power pouring off the blade like a raging current, crackling as he tightened his grip.
"Try to survive this."
He jumped onto the nearest tree, pushed off, and launched himself at the creature, greatsword raised overhead, Ether concentrating along its edge.
Ether Burst.
He brought the sword down.
The instant it struck, the air around the impact point distorted violently. The creature's many faces screamed at once as the force tore through its grotesque body.
"No!"
A massive burst of Ether exploded outward. Trees snapped under the shockwave, leaves and dirt hurled through the air, the ground around the creature ripped apart.
Chunks of its twisted body scattered across the forest as the blast tore through everything nearby.
When the dust settled, the creature was barely recognizable — nearly eighty percent of its body destroyed, only fragments left scattered across the ruined ground.
Henry landed a short distance away, looking at the remains. "That should do it."
Then they started swelling.
His eyes widened. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me."
The remains expanded rapidly, then burst apart like an overfilled balloon. Henry was too close to avoid it — dark blood and chunks of rotten flesh splattered across his clothes and face.
He stood completely still for a few seconds. "Shit." He looked down at himself. "I smell like crap."
***
Inside the cabin, Ash had watched the whole fight through the window. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, trying to process what he'd just seen.
"What the fuck did I just see?" He looked at Dean and Sam. "That guy's human, right?"
"Yeah, he's our cousin," Sam said.
"Cousin?" Ash still had trouble believing it. No normal human being did the things Henry had just done.
Dean shrugged. "You know how every family has that one strange guy? Henry's ours."
Ash stared at him. Strange? That wasn't strange. That was alien strange.
Still, there was one thing he'd already figured out — whatever Henry was, he was on their side, and given what had been waiting outside, Ash wasn't about to complain.
The cabin door opened, and Henry walked back in covered in blood and chunks of the creature.
Sam looked him over. "Henry, you need a bath."
"Yeah," he said, glancing down at himself. "And a change of clothes."
Ash pointed toward the room. "You can wear mine. There's some clothes in there."
"Thanks."
Henry started for the room. Dean grinned. "Need some perfume, Henry?"
Henry stopped and turned around slowly. "Why don't I give you a huge hug, Dean, to show you some family love?"
Dean's grin vanished instantly. "Nope." He immediately ducked behind Sam.
Sam sighed. "Dean, seriously?"
Henry laughed and headed for the room.
Ash watched the whole exchange, thoroughly confused. "Your family is weird."
Dean looked at him from behind Sam. "You have no idea."
***
At the same time, four unlucky people were making their way through the woods toward the cabin, with no idea what had happened there only minutes earlier — or what they were about to walk into.
Leading them was a young woman who knew the area better than the others. She was Raymond's daughter, come into the woods to meet her father.
The rest followed close behind, flashlights trained on the narrow trail. The forest had gone strangely quiet, nothing but footsteps and the occasional crack of a branch underfoot.
"How much farther?" one of them asked.
"Not far," she replied, checking the trail ahead. "The cabin should be just through those trees."
*****
🔥 For Advanced Chapters Join My Patreon 🔥
👉 patreon.com/DeathNote4455
🚀 Get early access to 24 Advanced chapters.