Ever since the weird attack happened, instead of trying to make sure it doesn't happen again, Amaya did everything she could to make it happen again. Every day after she was well enough to go out on her own, she would spend hours in the forest to lure… whatever those things were out. She was confident that now that she knew what would come out, she was better prepared to beat it up. The creature last time was lucky that it got a jump on her. This time around, nothing was gonna get as lucky. She even made a habit of bringing brass knuckles with her since her brother wouldn't let her out with any weapons and those were the only ones she could sneak out.

She stood in the middle of a clearing and took a deep breathe, taking in the serenity of the environment. She pulled her head back and closed her eyes as she filled her lungs. She then opened her eyes and shouted, "Whoever's out here, come out and get me!"

She looked around and listened for anything that might indicate movement. She only heard a gentle breeze blow past her. After five minutes, nothing. No response. She sighed and her figure slumped. Another day, another failure. It had been two weeks and a half since the attack happened. At first, she stayed in the forest for six hours but as she got more and more tired, she spent less and less time in the wilderness. That day, she turned back and started to walk to her motorcycle after only two hours.

Before she could take the first step back, she heard a sudden rustling noise to her left. Her heart beat faster and her stance got lower. A smile made its way into her face. This was it. She could show those creatures who's boss and take them back to her brother so he could study them, make those creatures public, and they'd be famous. She turned to where the rustling came from and waited. After a few seconds, the creature behind the flora came out. Amaya almost jumped into action but stopped herself when she saw what it was. Her heart sank at the sight of it.

It was a rabbit.

She sighed once more and mentally kicked herself for getting so worked up over nothing. She walked all the way to her motorcycle and silently rode her way to her home. She walked inside the house and plopped down on the couch, putting her face in her hands. She heard footsteps coming her way but didn't acknowledge it.

"No luck today either, huh?"

Only after Tetsuya spoke did the younger sister look up. He held a cup of coffee in his hands, swishing it around as he waited for a response. His lax posture implied that he was used to her failures to find one of those creatures. Amaya elected to simply sigh in response. There was no point in explaining to her brother what he already knew. At this, the older of the two sighed and took a sip of his coffee.

"Why are you even looking for… whatever that thing was?" Although she started her search some time ago, this was the first time Tetsuya had asked the question. He didn't even try to stop her from looking for something that could possibly kill her.

Amaya's expression lightened and she smiled. If she could get her brother to help her, she might have an easier time hunting one of those creatures down. She stood up and excitedly explained, "Onii, If we can manage to bea– I mean capture one of those creatures, imagine how famous we would be if we reveal to the world an actual monster. If we do that, you would have an easier time getting some rich people to fund your projects."

However, her brother didn't look the least bit impressed. He took a swig of the last of his coffee before putting the mug down at the coffee table. "First of all, we already have enough money to fund my projects." He then took of his glasses and looked Amaya in the eye. "Secondly, it's clear to me that you're only in this to prove yourself strong."

The little sister staggered back. It was scary how accurately Tetsuya can read her thoughts. "S-So what? I am strong. I just need to show it to anyone who dares mess with me," she confidently stated, showing off her biceps.

The man put his glasses back on and shook his head as he put his hands on his waist. "Why are you so obsessed with strength in the first place?" he asked, "You were exactly like a princess a few years ago before you suddenly decided to become this…" he trailed off as he gestured at her, "... this bad girl."

Amaya rolled her eyes. "None of your business, onii."

This was not the first time Tetsuya had asked the question. The change in her personality was so abrupt that her brother thought she had hit her head. He used to ask the question everyday and they always had the same response as the one she had just given. Just like Amaya with her search, Tetsuya slowly got tired of asking and grew to seldom ask the question as he just let her be.

Tetsuya sighed again as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "What makes you think it was a monster that attacked you in the first place?"

Amaya's eyes widened. He was doubting her the whole time? How could he? Her eyes slowly filled up with rage. "I know what I saw, onii. It definitely wasn't a man or an animal. Plus, you saw my injuries."

"I know a number of things in the forest that could do that," her brother nonchalantly remarked.

Her fists shook in anger. "That's it. You. Me. Outside. Now!" she threatened.

Tetsuya was unaffected. His face deadpanned at the challenge. "I'm not playing one of your little games. Besides, you know you can't beat me."

The little sister's expression turned from that of anger to that of confusion. "What? No. I meant let's ride on my bike and go to the forest."

"Why can't we just take my car? It's faster," the man asked.

Amaya raised an eyebrow at the question. "Do you even remember where your keys are?"

"Fair point."

They walked to the aforementioned vehicle and they both put on their helmets. Amaya hopped onto the motorcycle and put the keys in. Her brother sat behind her and grabbed onto the back of the seat. They then set out for the forest. Once there, they got off the vehicle and took off their helmets.

"You haven't been able to see one of those things so far. What makes you think it'd be different this time?" Asked Tetsuya.

"Don't worry, onii," the woman started with a smile on her face, "If we don't see one today, you'll get your chance because you'll be coming with me from now on."

The bespectacled man raised an eyebrow at the announcement. "When did I agree to that?"

"When you became my big brother," Amaya responded as she walked into the forest. Her brother shrugged his shoulders and followed along.

They walked for about thirty minutes before stopping at a clearing. Tetsuya waited silently while his sister yelled out into the forest every once in a while. Eventually, the older of the two got tired. He sat on a felled log nearby and watched Amaya do everything she could to get one of those creatures to come out. An hour passed and nothing happened. Tetsuya stood up and grabbed his sister by the shoulder, wordlessly telling her that it was time to give up. She sighed and gave into her brother's silent request. They began to walk back to the motorcycle. After a few minutes, Tetsuya stops in his tracks and stops his sister from moving as well.

"Hey!" Amaya complained, "What gives?"

Her brother promptly shushed her and looked around. Amaya put on her guard as well, lowering her stance and focusing her sense onto the surroundings. Tetsuya then saw some plants moving. He immediately went in between it and her sister, taking Amaya by surprise. Something then jumped out and landed in front of them.

Amaya gasped. She remembered those red eyes and markings clearly. It was the same creature that attacked her. Tetsuya froze in place, finally realizing that his sister was telling the truth all along. The creature took one step forward with its eyes on the younger sibling.

Instead of being afraid, Amaya put on a smile. "Finally found you," she pointed at the monster, "Time to show you who's boss."

Before Tetsuya could snap out of his shock, his sister dashed toward the green creature with her fist cocked. As she expected, it put its hand up to block the attack. She pulled away her cocked fist and threw a punch at its unprotected abdomen. The attack connected but to her surprise, the monster didn't even flinch. She slowly looked up to see it looking down at her.

She jumped back and aimed a roundhouse kick at its head but it easily caught the leg with its hand. She struggled to wriggle her limb free but the creature's grip was unrelenting. Seeing his sister in trouble, Tetsuya jumped into action and kicked its hand away. The monster seemed surprised, as if it forgot the man was even present in the first place.

Before Tetsuya could continue attacking, Amaya charged at the creature. She pretended to attempt to lunge but dropped down and tried to sweep its feet off the ground but once again, the monster didn't flinch. Her brother then through a hook at its jaw but it easily caught his fist. He threw a gut punch but his fist was once again caught. Amaya immediately got up, spun around and delivered a heel kick to its temple but the creature only looked annoyed. It swung Tetsuya around and slammed him into his sister, sending them both sprawling to the ground. The monster took one step forward but something jumped in and kicked it away.

The newcomer turned its head to the siblings. "Tetsuya, Amaya, run!" he urged.

Amaya's jaw dropped. This was likely the one who saved her. And he can speak. That voice sounded familiar but she couldn't quite put a finger on it. She then remembered the voice she heard while she was semi-conscious. Did this monster know them? How did he know their names?

The newcomer also had large red eyes but a closer look revealed that the eyes were like that of an insect. He had a black shiny body with orange lines running across the edges of his body and in between joints. Two antennas grew diagonally out of his head and a diamond-shaped red object is visible on the center of his forehead. He had a silver metallic mask covering his mouth and nose and coming to a point between his eyes. There were blades coming out of the sides of his forearms and the back of his calves. There was something akin to a cape on his back but with a slit down the middle. Finally, there was an orange belt with a weird-looking buckle. It had an oval silver base with a red gem held onto it by metallic overlays that looked like the teeth of a beast.

The monster snarled as it got back up. "You…" it choked out with its inhuman sounding voice. It then lowered its stance. It was bow ready to actually fight.

"It speaks…" Amaya whispered under her breath.

"I lost you last time," the black creature started as he went into a stance of his own, "This time, I'm going to kick your butt."

The green creature charged first, going for a punch to the head. Its opponents bent backwards to avoid the punch and threw a hook of his own which connected with the monster's jaw. While it was reeling back, the newcomer planted his foot on its lower back, sending it flying forward. Not letting it have the chance to give up, he raised his foot above his head and slammed his heel on the very same spot he kicked. The creature audibly groaned in pain but before its attacker could make another move, it rolled away and kicked up. As soon as its feet was on the ground, it blocked a kick to its face and grabbed the leg before turning around and throwing the black monster over its shoulder, slamming him face first into the ground.

"Ow! That hurt!" he complained.

The creature still kept its hold on his ankle. It turned around again and tried to do the same thing but the newcomer planted his heel on the back of its head once he was just above the creature. It let go of him as it staggered forward while the belted monster landed on his feet. He pivoted on his left foot and slashed his right calf across its side, turning it around. He kept spinning, he jumped into the air, and slammed his heel into the creature's temple and cutting one of its frills. The creature got up but it struggled to move. It was too disoriented to step forward.

The black monster saw it as an opportunity. He began charging power into its legs, making them glow a bright red before running forward. He jumped and spread his legs to perform a scissor kick. The attack connected with the blades on his calf slicing through the monster's torso. Soon after it had been cut in half, the green monster exploded into a fireball as its defeater landed on his feet.

The siblings still haven't gotten up. They were too mesmerized by the fight, or rather, too afraid to butt in. Now that it was over, they both let out breaths they didn't even know they were holding in. The creature they could not even move was beaten within two minutes by this newcomer.

The newcomer turned to them, making them take a step back and get ready to fend for themselves. However, the monster simply stared at them. His body then started changing. His armored skin turned to human skin, his antennas went back into his head, and the hole in his forehead closed up. Messy black hair appeared on his head and his eyes shrunk and turned into black human eyes. His body shrunk in size, reducing in muscle mass and revealing a black hoodie with a yellow undershirt popping up from behind the hoodie's chest area. He wore simple jeans and black trainers. The mask and the belt were still there. They weren't a part of the monster.

The siblings' eyes widened at what they saw. He was human. Their guards dropped in surprise. How could that monster be a human underneath? Was the monster they just fought a human too? These questions and more swarmed within the siblings' brains. They then snapped out of their daze when the man before them began to move again. They put up their defences once more but the man only raised his hand to remove his mask.

He really was human. He looked close to Amaya's age, maybe a bit younger. His face was clean-shaven and he looked handsome by anyone's standards. He opened his mouth, still with a serious expression on his face.

"Boy, am I glad you're okay," he sighed.

The siblings' defenses dropped in surprise once again. His voice wasn't deep. It was light and carried an air of carelessness. Amaya then remembered that he called out their names. She stepped forward and pointed a finger at the man. "Hey, you! Who are you and how do you know our names?"

The man stepped back. "Oh, I, er, I said your names? W-Whatever do you mean?" he tried to play dumb.

It was Tetsuya's turn to speak. "You clearly called our names when you jumped out."

"Well, I-I, erm…" he stuttered, trying to find words to say. His posture then straightened and his expression turned serious again. "My name is Invictus. You best remember that," he announced with a deeper voice.

"Invictus?" Amaya repeated. She didn't remember knowing anyone with that name.

"See ya," he suddenly said with his lighter voice and jumped away into the forest. The siblings were dazed seeing how high and how far he jumped. A normal human couldn't possibly hope to do that.

Amaya shook her surprise away and yelled, "Hey! Get back here!" However, there was no response.

"Well," Tetsuya started, "you at least proved your monster story true."

"...yeah." Amaya responded. Her surprise at what just happened resurfacing.

"Let's go home for now."