[Evil. Perspective.]

"You shall threaten this town no longer!" The hero drew his blade as the hulking beast in a white trench coat huddled in the corner with his back toward the hero and the rest of the inn. The wolf-man stared down at the corner and the top of his head was covered with dirty blonde fur. The hero held his sword firm while the best did its best to ignore him. And, he couldn't help but notice the distinct lack of glowing power.

Since the wolf wasn't looking anyway, the hero brought his blade closer to examine it. The sharp edge was gone and replaced by the dull wood of a practice sword.

"Huh?" he voiced his surprise and the wolf-beast stiffened.

"I don't want any trouble," he spoke with a low; but youthful grumbling tone. He slowly raised his hands in the air to show he meant no harm. "I'm going to change forms...," he said. The hero didn't quite understand what he meant at first until the beast began to shrink.

"You're... human?" the hero asked. It made sense as far as his weapon; he'd never known humans to be as evil as the creatures of darkness. He relaxed his weapon; but, not his guard. The now much smaller human nodded as he turned around with his hands still in the air. "... and a kid??"

The stranger only reached the hero's shoulder and he looked as young as 14 or 15 summers. He was tan with a mop of curly dirty blonde hair reaching his shoulders.

"Yeah," he nodded. "My name's Ace," he gently lowered his hands, then reached forward with one to offer a handshake.

"I am.. the hero of this town..," the hero accepted the greeting. He wasn't surprised at the teen's firm grip. He had a sudden insight after the exchange. "You're not... the same creature that has been assaulting this town are you?"

"What?" Ace looked surprised for a moment, then he shook his head with a grin. "No, this is my first time," he answered. Thinking back on it, this wolf was obviously different from the other... from the others? As he tried to picture the real threat, the hero had several different images pop into his head. All of them wore different clothing or armor; but, Ace was the first one he could say for sure he'd never seen before. The white trenchcoat made him stand out.

"What brings you to my town?" the hero asked.

"I'm on a quest," Ace replied.

"You're an adventurer?" the hero finally relaxed. If Ace was an adventurer, he would have had no trouble dispatching him. He felt instant respect for Ace trying to resolve things peacefully. And his white coat obviously painted him as one of the good guys.

"I am," Ace nodded.

"That's a relief," the hero had never heard of a werewolf adventurer that he could remember; but he assumed they had to exist. He wandered to the closest table and gestured at one of the seats for Ace. He sat across and rested his wooden sword on the table.

"Tell me about your quest, Adventurer. Perhaps we can help each other; there's a troublesome wolf in the area I'd like your help with."

"I appreciate it," Ace nodded as approached the chair. But, he reached into his coat before he sat down. And he placed a gleaming white shotgun on the table. "There's an item I'm trying to recover. It's supposed to be a challenging fight; but, I think I found a shortcut," he said.

The hero wasn't listening though, he was intrigued by Ace's weapon. It was so white and glossy that at first glance it could be mistaken for a child's toy.

"That is a curious shotgun...," he commented.

"Would you like to inspect it?" Ace happily handed over his gun and the hero didn't hesitate to accept it. It was light as a bundle of sticks. It still felt solid and well-crafted even if it wasn't as heavy as the guns he was used to holding. Not that he had much experience with firearms; his magic sword was all he needed.

"It's...is it real?" he asked.

"Real deadly," Ace chuckled with a nod.

"Where did you get such a magnificent weapon?" he asked as he offered it back to Ace. The teen didn't accept it right away.

"Same place I got the quest," he shrugged. "I can get another one easy enough. If you like it so much... how about a trade?" he asked. Ace's eyes landed squarely on the wooden sword.

"I couldn't...," the hero replied after a moment of deliberation. He wanted to; but, the simple fact that Ace 'could get another one' meant his artifact was the more rare item.

"Ah well, I tried...," Ace shrugged as he reached for the shotgun in the hero's hand. Then, several things happened at once. The hero heard a growl; but, his reflexes were too slow.

Ace leaped from his seat and pushed against the hero with the shotgun he was holding. He was a blur of motion and by the time the hero's mind caught up he was already on his back with an 8-foot-tall werewolf in a white coat stepping on his chest.

Ace held rested his shotgun on the hero's chest as he held up the glowing sword. It now had a sharp, silver edge and was surrounded by brilliant white light.

"WHAT??" the hero was confused. Why didn't the sword warn him? "How??" Ace shrank back into his human form; but, he still kept pressure on the hero to keep him down.

"So, I read the quest text and it's funny," Ace grinned. "It only warns you in the presence of evil because it senses "evil intentions", he said. "I didn't have any until you wouldn't give me the sword."

The hero struggled to push the now-lighter teen off him. As he thrashed around, he noticed all the inn's patrons sitting in the usual spots, eating their usual meals and ignoring the commotion.

"RUN!" he shouted. "Why isn't anyone running??"

"You know what, I'm not really a bad guy," Ace shook his head. Even the sword seemed to agree as its glow dimmed slightly.

"I'll even give you a chance to get out of this with your life; but, without the sword of course," he chuckled. The hero struggled again but made no progress. "I just need you to answer one question for me," Ace said. "If you have an answer."

"What is it?" the hero asked. Ace leaned down to make sure the question was clear.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"I'M THE HERO!" Ace chuckled and shook his head. The hero heard Ace say something before the shotgun fired.

"Obviously not."

***
Thank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1872 in a row. (Story #062 in year six.). This story is part of an ongoing saga that takes place at a high school in my universe. It began on August 22nd and I will be adding to it with prompts every day until May 26th. They are all collected in order at this link.