The Tooth Fairy flitted around Lorcan with blinding speed, its tiny form too fast to track with the naked eye. It cackled, a high-pitched, mocking sound that scraped against his nerves. His heart hammered in his chest, each beat a frantic reminder that this creature was not just a nightmare, but a deadly threat.

  Before Lorcan could react, the Tooth Fairy vanished with a shimmer of iridescent light, disappearing from view. For a moment, the alley fell silent. Then, a faint buzzing sound—a sickly fluttering of wings—broke the stillness. Lorcan spun around just as the fairy reappeared behind him. Its black, soulless eyes locked onto his back, and its twisted mouth opened wide, revealing mismatched teeth. The pliers in its tiny claws glinted with malicious intent.

  Lorcan barely had time to react before the fairy lunged, its pliers snapping shut with a sickening clang. The tool’s rusted edges dug into his jacket, the sharpness threatening to pierce his skin. Lorcan jumped back, his legs heavy with panic, but the fairy was too fast. It darted in and out of his reach, its wings beating the air with a flurry of motion.

  The creature twisted its head at an unnatural angle, cackling as it danced around him. Lorcan barely managed to catch his breath, his mind racing for a plan. But the Tooth Fairy wasn't finished. It lunged again, this time sinking its sharp, jagged teeth into his arm with a grotesque hiss.

  Immediately, a cold, numbing sensation spread through his veins. The paralysis took hold—his limbs frozen, his body stiffening under the bite.

  [You have been struck by Paralysis]

  Lorcan gritted his teeth against the shock of the magic coursing through him, his body unwilling to respond to his desperate thoughts. He couldn’t move—could barely breathe. The fairy’s grin widened, pleased with its work.

  But the Tooth Fairy wasn’t just after his body. Its gleaming pliers moved to pry at his teeth, searching for its prize.

  That’s when the faintest whisper of magic tickled the back of Lorcan’s mind. He tried to focus through the growing numbness in his limbs, pushing past the paralysis, but it was too late. The Tooth Fairy's pliers were already closing in on his mouth.

  And then, to Lorcan’s shock, the Tooth Fairy stopped.

  It hovered in the air, confused for a brief second, before its grin deepened, if that was even possible. From the creature’s tiny form, a faint glow seemed to pulse. A sound like a soft laugh escaped its mouth before its small claws twisted, snapping open and closed in an eerie mimicry of a human hand.

  The creature was casting a spell—one that could disarm or distract, Lorcan realized. With a flick of its wrist, the Tooth Fairy conjured an ethereal floating hand, which darted toward Lorcan’s. The magic grasped for something—anything—and Lorcan’s fingers twitched as the fairy’s floating claw-like hand reached toward his knife.

  But just as the creature’s magic grabbed for his weapon, Lorcan’s thoughts surged. The knife, he had to stop it from taking it.

  Summoning every ounce of willpower, he fought the paralysis, trying to force his body to act. With a gasp, he broke through the numbing spell long enough to twist his body, knocking the floating hand aside with his shoulder.

  [You have resisted Paralysis]

  The Tooth Fairy screeched, furious at his resistance, but Lorcan wasn’t about to give up without a fight. His heart pounded, adrenaline surging despite the still-fading effects of the paralysis. The fairy came at him once more, its pliers raised high, but this time Lorcan was ready.

  Before it could strike, he yanked his arm back and swung his elbow at the fairy, knocking it back into a stack of garbage bins. It flinched but quickly recovered, its wings buzzing wildly as it righted itself.

  The creature’s smile grew even more devious as it floated back into the air, its pliers gleaming in the faint light. The fairy hissed, suddenly disappearing from view.

  Lorcan’s mind spun with panic. Where was it now?

  The sudden screech of the fairy's laugh filled the alley, and a chill ran down Lorcan’s spine. It had reappeared behind him, its pliers flashing in the dim light. But this time, instead of attacking, the Tooth Fairy seemed to hesitate. Its beady eyes twinkled with mischief, and with a mocking grin, it gave a quick snap of its pliers, then flitted just out of reach.

  Lorcan, still fighting the lingering paralysis, barely registered what the creature was about to do. It had one final trick up its sleeve.

  In an instant, it launched itself at him, slashing through the air with speed far beyond what Lorcan could follow. But in that moment, Lorcan’s eyes locked onto its trajectory, his senses sharpening in a desperate bid for survival.

  This was his chance.

  The Tooth Fairy shrieked in a mixture of joy and fury, but its attack was clumsy as it tried to snag him again with its pliers. Lorcan had already anticipated its movement. With a quick twist, he deflected the pliers and lunged forward, using all his strength to bring his elbow up and strike the fairy away. The attack sent the tiny creature sprawling across the ground.

  Lorcan’s breath came in ragged gasps as he staggered, his legs finally beginning to move again. His pulse thundered in his ears. The fairy lay motionless on the ground. Not trusting it, he lunged forward, sinking his knife into the creature’s chest.

  The Tooth Fairy's body twitched once, then it exploded in a burst of sparkling white fairy dust. The fine particles shimmered in the dim light, falling like glitter around Lorcan as the sweet scent of the dust filled the air. For a brief moment, the alley was filled with the soft, enchanting glow of the explosion, before the dust faded into nothingness, taking both the body and his knife with it. Because of course it did.

  Lorcan stared at the empty space where the creature had been, his chest heaving as his adrenaline began to subside. The streets were silent, but he was sure it wouldn't last.

  He stood in the alley, still catching his breath after the brutal encounter with the Tooth Fairy. The lingering scent of the creature's fairy dust hung in the air, a faint reminder of the chaos that had erupted in the streets. But the city around him was far from calming.

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  Pedestrians, once caught in their daily routines, were now scrambling in terror. Some ran aimlessly, while others dropped to their knees, clutching their faces in pain. But it was what they were doing—or rather, what was being done to them—that made Lorcan’s stomach twist with disgust.

  Another Tooth Fairy appeared, its tiny body fluttering silently between two pedestrians. It darted around the woman first, its wicked grin flashing as its pliers snapped open and shut. The woman screamed, hands pressed to her mouth, but the fairy was faster. It dove in, claws gripping her face, and with one horrifying twist, yanked out one of her teeth.

  The woman’s scream rose to a pitch that rattled Lorcan’s bones. She staggered back, hands shaking violently as she cradled her bleeding mouth. Her eyes were wide with terror, but her shock wasn’t enough to stop the Tooth Fairy from flying to her companion, a man in a leather jacket, who was now cowering on the sidewalk. His wide, fearful eyes locked onto the creature as it approached.

  Lorcan watched in horror as the Tooth Fairy tore into the man’s jaw with its pliers. It was quick, brutal, the tool sinking into his cheek with a sickening crunch. Blood spilled down his chin, and the man’s desperate, ragged breaths became gasps of agony.

  The crowd around them reacted in different ways. Some turned and ran, their eyes wild with panic, but others froze, paralyzed by fear. Lorcan could see the terror in their faces—shock that something so unnatural, so horrifying, was happening right in front of them. They couldn’t understand it. None of them could.

  Some people rushed toward the barrier, shouting and crying. A man threw a heavy trash can at it, only to watch it bounce off harmlessly, the dome rippling slightly in response. Another group tried to pry open a manhole cover to escape underground, but the shimmering light extended below them, blocking their path.

  “We’re trapped!” someone screamed. A young woman banged her fists against the dome, her voice cracking. “Help us! Somebody, please!”

  An older man—balding and sweating profusely—ran full speed at the barrier, wielding a crowbar. He swung with all his might, the metal clanging uselessly against the light. The impact sent a shockwave through the dome, but it remained unyielding. The man stumbled back, clutching his shoulder, as the crowd’s panic grew louder.

  A man nearby, clutching his phone, started shouting, but his voice cracked as he pointed toward the sky. “We’re being attacked! We’re being… killed!” His words were lost in the chaos. People screamed and shoved past him, but the Tooth Fairies were relentless. They moved in quick, vicious bursts, attacking anyone who looked vulnerable—picking people out of the crowd as though they were nothing more than prey.

  Lorcan saw a woman—a young mother—running frantically with a toddler in her arms. The fairy attacked her first. It swooped down from behind, claws reaching out, and Lorcan’s stomach churned as he watched it latch onto her, pulling a tooth from her mouth with brutal force. She screamed, but it wasn’t just her who was in pain—the baby, still in her arms, began to cry, his tiny face scrunched up in fear. The Tooth Fairy had gotten her, but it was the child’s terror that struck Lorcan like a punch to the gut.

  There was no escape. The Tooth Fairies were everywhere. They had no mercy, no hesitation. Each one swooped down on its victim with a sadistic grin, and every time they pulled another tooth free, another person collapsed in pain, their mouths filling with blood.

  Lorcan felt his heart pound harder as a cold realization settled in. These creatures weren’t just after their teeth—they were feasting on their fear, their pain. The screams were like a twisted symphony to the Tooth Fairies, who danced around their victims, taking delight in the suffering they caused.

  The air was thick with panic and blood, the smell of fear so strong it felt like it was suffocating Lorcan. The sound of pliers snapping echoed all around him, mingling with the shrieks and cries of the people who were being torn apart by these monstrous little creatures. The streets were a battlefield, and the innocent civilians were being picked off one by one.

  However, the fairies were not having it all their own way. Some people were fighting back like Lorcan had.

  A man in a tattered hoodie stood at the center of the street, his face twisted in determination. He swung a metal pipe wildly at one of the Tooth Fairies, the impact sending the tiny creature spiraling through the air. It screeched in pain, its wings flapping desperately to regain control, but the man was quick, advancing on it with another wild swing. He struck again, knocking the creature out of the air and into the pavement with a sickening crunch.

  Nearby, a woman in a red coat had taken to throwing heavy bags of groceries, using them as makeshift weapons. She hurled a can of beans with deadly accuracy, smacking a Tooth Fairy square in the face. The fairy screeched, its pliers clattering to the ground as it fell back. But another one was quick to swoop in, aiming for her exposed throat. Before it could reach her, a young man lunged from behind, a sturdy wooden broom in hand. He jabbed it forward with all his might, the broom handle slamming into the fairy’s body and sending it tumbling backward.

  The crowd, though still filled with panic, had begun to fight back with whatever they could find. A man holding a small folding chair swung it above his head like a battering ram, knocking another Tooth Fairy into a streetlamp. An older woman grabbed a fire extinguisher from a nearby building entrance, spraying it in a wide arc, covering a group of fairies with the freezing foam. They hissed, the cold seemingly numbing their wings, but they kept fighting, pushing through the frost to reach their next victim.

  Lorcan watched in awe as the tide of fear slowly started to shift. People, for all their terror, were no longer willing to be passive victims. The instinct to survive had kicked in, and for the first time, Lorcan felt a flicker of hope. These fairies were not invincible. They could be fought.

  But even as the crowd fought back with newfound courage, the Tooth Fairies were relentless. They moved in quick, terrifying bursts, darting through the air with unnerving speed. They were too fast to be caught by most, and even the best of the human counterattacks seemed to only wound, never kill. The fairies’ ability to dart away before a fatal blow was struck was maddening.

  Lorcan’s eyes locked on another figure nearby—a woman, tall and wiry, holding a jagged broken bottle in her hand. She jabbed it at a fairy that had lunged at her, narrowly missing its open jaws. The fairy hissed and retaliated, raking its claws across her arm. The woman staggered, but before the fairy could pull away, she managed to grab its wing and slam the bottle down into its skull. The fairy’s body went limp, the light in its eyes extinguishing with a final, sickening thud.

  Lorcan took a step forward, clenching his fists. He could hear the fairies’ laughter echoing in the street, shrill and mocking. Their twisted faces were everywhere. But these people—these brave, frightened souls—were fighting back. They were showing the first signs of defiance.

  Another fairy zipped past him, its pliers gleaming. It was coming right for a young man who had taken refuge behind a parked car, trying to catch his breath. Without thinking, Lorcan grabbed a nearby metal trash can lid, using it as a shield. He swung it with all his strength at the creature, knocking it sideways into a lamppost. The Tooth Fairy let out a shriek, its wings faltering, and Lorcan followed up with a solid kick to its body. The fairy exploded into a cloud of sparkling white dust, its form dissipating into the air in a final, eerie shimmer.

  Lorcan stood frozen for a second, staring at the dust cloud that had once been the monster. The air was thick with the remnants of the fight, but for a moment, the streets seemed almost peaceful, as though the world were taking a breath before the next wave hit.

  But then he heard it—the screech of another Tooth Fairy approaching, its pliers already outstretched. Lorcan barely had time to react, his legs instinctively moving as he bolted into the street. He couldn’t stop now. He couldn’t afford to freeze.

  The woman with the broken bottle was back on her feet, her face streaked with blood, but her eyes were sharp. She turned to the side, aiming the jagged edge of the bottle at another fairy that was coming at her. The moment it was in range, she drove the bottle forward, and Lorcan saw it shudder, its wings fluttering weakly before it fell limp in her hands.

  But just as quickly, more fairies swooped in to take its place, diving down at the group with terrifying precision.