Drawn by Joshua McLaughlin
"The Abstract Concept of Hate" was the nickname given to the mysterious creature described in the third episode of The Last Stage. Very little is known about it aside from the fact that it was connected to an independent Delaware artist named Casey Wolfe, who was in contact with or psychologically influenced by otherworldly beings. It was suspected of being a horrific painting brought to life by a magical paintbrush, but it is just as likely that the Abstract Concept of Hate is actually a former inhabitant of an alternate dimension. If the latter theory is true, then Wolfe may have unintentionally created a portal to the reality it originally came from, allowing it to travel into our world.
Biography[]
Cells P and Q of The U.S.S.D. learned about this creature's existence during their investigation of an unusual incident in which a husband and wife both went into comas after suffering epileptic seizures. The team searched through the couple's home and discovered a series of paranormal paintings that depicted a surreal dimension. The operatives agreed to dispose of the artwork due to the potential hazard they posed, only for a much greater threat to emerge when a local police officer received a call about an animal attack two houses down. Operatives Patrick, Quincy and Quinn joined him to see what was happening and found the mangled corpse of a woman along with a variety of unusual tracks going in multiple different directions left by an entity of unknown origin. As the Detachment secured the crime scene, Quincy spotted the creature responsible for murdering the woman.
He was unable to describe its physical appearance to his teammates at first due to shock, so he referred to it as The Abstract Concept of Hate instead. Once Quincy calmed down, the three of them searched for the creature deep into the woods in the hopes of killing it. Just as they were about to return to the crime scene they spotted it. Patrick and Quincy immediately started shooting it with armor piercing rounds but Quinn was too stricken by fear to help. Their attacks did not harm the creature much, as it phased through rock and clinged to Quincy's arm. It was able to inflict multiple lacerations to Quincy's arm, but he gathered enough strength to pin it to the ground.
The creature immediately phased through the ground and targeted the rest of the U.S.S.D. members. As Patrick went on his own to save the rest of his squad, the Abstract Concept of Hate came out of the ground and latched onto his leg. Phillips tried to save him by burning it with a flame thrower, but much like Quinn, he was paralyzed by shock. It attempted to attack Philips while he was still indisposed, but Patrick shot it once more and finally killed it. The beast's legs curled up as it died and Patrick destroyed what was left of it with Phillips' flamethrower.
Appearance[]
The Abstract Concept of Hate appeared to be made entirely out of abstract, angular lines that vaguely resembled a jumbled ball. These lines extended into numerous thin, pointed insect-like legs that leave multiple tiny holes in the ground wherever it walked, making it exceptionally difficult for even the most experienced hunters to track it. It had countless jagged mouths spread across every single corner of its body and was estimated to be roughly three feet tall based on The U.S.S.D.'s brief encounter with it. Simply catching a glimpse of this creature caused onlookers to become irrational, as shown by Quincy's momentary thoughts of suicide when he saw it run away and Quinn becoming temporarily paralyzed by fear when he saw the Abstract Concept of Hate for the first time.
Behavior[]
This creature was extremely hostile towards human and didn't seem to have any discernible goals aside from killing anything it saw. The exact reason as to why it was so aggressive is still a mystery, though it can be safely assumed that it was assaulting people it deemed to be a significant threat to its survival. It mainly attacked its targets by latching onto their body so it could repeatedly impale them with its sharp legs until they were a horribly mutilated corpse. It also emitted several high-pitched shrieks from its mouths at random intervals, presumably to establish dominance by intimidating its prey like any other predator would or out of intense pain from being shot.
Although the Abstract Concept of Hate's mental capacity seemed to be on par with most wild animals, this could simply be a misconception based on what little information is known about it. It may have been much smarter than it initially let on, but was too preoccupied by what was happening around it to show its true intellect.
Abilities[]
The Abstract Concept was capable of turning itself intangible in order to phase through solid matter, but did not appear to have any other supernatural powers. It was only able to utilize this ability twice before its death; once to pass through a large rock that blocked it from attacking Quincy directly and a second time to phase into the ground so it could escape to another area when it was successfully pinned. It was also very resistant to physical harm, as it took several armor piercing bullets to finally kill it for good and it did not have any apparent wounds.