Evelyn's fingers tightened around the radio as she sprinted across the cracked pavement, the Devourer's enraged howls shaking the air behind her. Every second counted. The creature writhed under the faint moonlight, its grotesque, muscle-bound body sizzling where the light touched it, but it wasn't enough.
She needed more light.
Static crackled from the radio before Leon's voice cut through. "Say that again? You need UV?"
"Yes!" she gasped, ducking behind an abandoned car as the Devourer lashed out wildly, its claws tearing deep trenches into the asphalt. "Bring every damn lamp we have. This thing reacts to light—it burns."
A blood-curdling shriek made her heart seize. The monster recovered, its glowing golden eyes locking onto her. It crouched, muscles tensing like a coiled spring. Evelyn knew what was coming—it was going to pounce.
The Devourer slammed into the car where she had been a second ago, its claws ripping through metal like paper. Sparks flew, the vehicle groaning as it was hurled aside. Evelyn rolled, chest heaving. She was running out of places to hide.
Where the hell was Leon?
A distant whirrrr filled the air. The hum of a generator. Then—light.
A beam of searing white illumination sliced through the darkness, striking the monster's shoulder. The reaction was immediate. The Devourer screamed, its flesh boiling and peeling away in layers. It staggered back, thrashing in agony.
Leon stood on the rooftop of a nearby building, gripping a massive industrial UV lamp. "You weren't kidding."
He twisted the lamp, directing the concentrated beam onto the monster's chest. Smoke poured from its body as it convulsed, clawing at its own melting skin. The air filled with the sickening stench of burning flesh.
Evelyn didn't hesitate. She grabbed a flare from her belt, yanked off the cap, and struck it to life. A brilliant red glow erupted in her hands. With all her strength, she hurled it straight at the Devourer's face.
The flare struck its exposed brain-like skull and ignited.
The beast reeled, its shrieks deafening, its body thrashing in an uncontrolled frenzy. Its form bubbled, convulsed—and then, with a final, agonized roar—it collapsed.
Evelyn lay on the ground, chest rising and falling as she watched the smoldering corpse twitch.
Leon climbed down, stepping cautiously toward her. "Is it dead?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she grabbed a piece of rebar from the ground, staggered to her feet, and drove it deep into the creature's exposed skull.
The body gave one last shudder—then stopped moving.
Evelyn exhaled, gripping the rebar so hard her knuckles turned white. Then, for the first time in what felt like an eternity, she looked at Leon and said, "We might have just found its weakness."
Leon smirked, wiping sweat from his brow. "Then let's kill every last one of these bastards."