On the hospital's small TV, shaky footage from a helicopter camera was playing. The crocodile-like creature was dragging its massive scales around the corner where a supermarket stood. The sounds of sirens and the panicked screams of people were blurred together. People were rushing out of the market, running for their lives without looking back.
At that moment, the reporter's voice trembled: "Camera, focus right there! There is someone in the middle of the street... Why isn't he moving?"
The camera zoomed in on a man standing on the sidewalk right in front of the market. Holding grocery bags in both hands, he was looking at the monster as calmly as if he were just waiting for a bus. His beige trench coat fluttered slightly in the wind. No one else was left on the street; on one side was a roaring beast, and on the other, a lone man with bags in his hands.
"Who is that?" Lena whispered in astonishment. "Why isn't he running? He's going to die!"
Fast held his breath, watching intently. The monster closed the gap between them to twenty paces. Its massive head was ready to lunge forward. At that moment, the man in the trench coat calmly set his bags down on the ground. He reached his right hand inside his trench coat and gripped his sword, with only its hilt visible. He delivered a cut no eye could follow. There was a metallic flash that lasted less than a second; he unsheathed his blade, the blade flashed out and back before vision could register it, and sheathed it again. Then, as if nothing had happened, he picked up his bags again, turned his back, and began to walk away with calm steps.
The reporter was in total shock: "What's happening? Is this a hero? Did he give up on fighting? What is this man doing?"
The sentence was cut off by a bone-shaking crash. The camera shook. A second later, the giant crocodile's head separated from its body in a perfect line and slammed onto the asphalt with a heavy thud. The monster's body had been split right down the middle. The man had already started to distance himself, continuing on his way with the bags in his hands.
Far from all this destruction and the cloud of dust, in a dark corner of the street, two eyes were watching this battle second by second from within the shadows. Standing on two legs, a purple-skinned and scaly creature with a gecko head slowly wiped its eye with its tongue. Its voice was like a deep, muffled whisper:
"Very interesting... I think I need to add one more person to my target list."
The gecko's purple body suddenly flickered and began to change shape. Within seconds, it transformed into an exact replica of the mysterious man who had just split the monster in two. The fake figure reached into its trench coat and drew its sword. With a single move, it shredded the trash container behind it into a thousand pieces with a silent whistle.
It smirked to itself. "This power will really come in handy. But I must not stray from the mission."
As soon as the sentence ended, it reverted to its purple form. However, its body suddenly split in half. Two new gecko figures emerged, shorter than the original; one glowed with a vivid red, and the other with a dark and shiny blue.
The blue one whispered in a sneaky and chilling voice:
"I'll go to the hospital... The prey awaits us."
The blue one's eyes flashed in the dark for a moment and disappeared silently within seconds.