The golden vines tightened with a faint, metallic creak, pinning Robert’s arms against the cracked wall. He thrashed anyway, muscles bunching uselessly as dust sifted down from the shattered ceiling.

  The Baroness stepped in close.

  “You don’t know who you’re messing with,” Robert snarled, his fear bled through the anger. “I have powerful friends. Peopl—”

  Thud! Her hand struck his forehead and drove his skull back into the wall making Robert gasped as the vines tightened in response.

  The Baroness's gilded mask hovered before him, smooth and reflective. His own face stared back from it, wide-eyed and shaking.

  "Please, tell us more about these powerful friends of yours." she asked calmly, though the anger beneath her voice was clear.

  Robert swallowed. The vine at his throat pulsed, a silent reminder not to try anything foolish.

  Behind them, the outer wall had been torn open by the blast. Beyond the jagged concrete, the forest lay ripped apart, trees snapped and smoldering. Smoke drifted between the trunks like fog.

  666 stood at the breach, red visor sweeping the devastation. Readouts flickered across the glass, resolving shapes among the wreckage. Movements were detected stubbornly refusing to fade.

  The Pretender’s all-white suit.

  Havoc’s colorful military uniform.

  And Divine’s unmistakable size.

  666 exhaled, “They all survived!! And they are coming right back to us!”

  The Baroness did not turn right away.

  "Dios nos bendiga a todos," The Baroness' brief murmur slipped from behind the mask, soft enough to be meant for no one else.

  She stepped away from Robert, already done with him for the moment. The golden vines held firm, unmoved by his shallow breathing.

  Then straightened. “We change plans. That explosion was not subtle. Authorities will come. Find whatever is useful and leave nothing else behind.”

  “Noted.” 666 turned from the ruined wall and moved back into what had once been a living room.

  The space is half-collapsed, furniture reduced to warped skeletons. In the far corner, Krov stood alone. Smoke curled around Krov’s boots without disturbing the hem of his brown coat. His gaze was fixed downward.

  666 followed the line of sight.

  Sugarlumps lay crumpled against the burned floorboards. She had been caught in the initial blast.

  The room suddenly felt heavier.

  Krov spoke without looking up. The voice was low, almost gentle. “Go,” Krov said. “There is still work to do.”

  666 hesitated, fingers curling once at the side.

  “I will save Sugarlumps,” Krov continued.

  The air shifted subtlety, like pressure equalizing after a sealed door opens.

  666 nodded once and turned away. The search began again, visor scanning for anything worth taking before sirens arrived.

  Krov remained behind, standing watch over Sugarlumps as the ruined house breathed and waited.

  666 could feel it. He meant what he said.

  ----

  The Pretender stood very still among the broken ferns and scorched trees, hands low, breath shallow behind the white mask.

  Above, Eugene hovered over the tree top, as if reality were an afterthought. The young man’s face was sharp and unreadable, eyes fixed on the Pretender. There's only judgment in that stare.

  One wrong move and this ends, the Pretender understood with a certainty that settled cold in the chest.

  The forest seemed to hold its breath.

  Then something crashed through the undergrowth.

  “Eugene! —hold on—wait—”

  Branches snapped. Leaves sprayed. Nikolai burst into the clearing, bent forward with his hands on his knees, sweat darkening the collar of his shirt. He was messy, a complete contrast to Eugene’s polished appearance.

  He straightened, blinking between Eugene in the air and the masked figure on the ground.

  “…Wow,” Nikolai said, still breathing hard. “Okay. I feel like I missed something.”

  Eugene did not look away from the Pretender. Not even for a fraction of a second.

  “Another attack,” Eugene's voice was level, clipped, controlled. “The pattern matches the Workers' Association."

  Nikolai wiped his face with his sleeve, squinting at the Pretender now.“Is that… no way...”

  “You look exactly like the Pretender. That costume is spot on!” He took a step closer, eyes lighting up despite the tension.

  The words hit hard for some reason

  *Twelve years,* the Pretender thought.

  *The real one died twelve years ago.*

  *To them, this was a costume. A lie walking around in a villain’s skin.*

  Eugene’s mouth tightened. Disgust crossed his face openly now, curling the calm into something sharp.

  “Imitating the Tyrants,” Eugene said. “Wearing their image like this… it's repulsive.”

  The Pretender’s pulse spiked. The mask suddenly felt too tight. Eyes darted beneath it, searching the trees, the shadows, anything that could offer an exit.

  Nothing clear. Nothing safe.

  A faint rustle came from the brush to the left. Havoc, barely visible, crouched low among the leaves. One gloved hand shifted just enough for a signal.

  *Stay still.*

  To the right, behind a thick trunk, Divine eased into position. Massive frame blending into shadow with surprising care. Divine’s eyes met the Pretender’s through the mask. A single, deliberate nod.

  The Pretender took notice and lifted both hands slowly, fingers spread, movements careful and unthreatening.

  “Please don’t hurt me,” The Pretender's voice shook, soft and felt genuine.

  Eugene’s eyes flickered. Just slightly. The first break in the composure.

  Nikolai blinked. “Oh...” He straightened. “You’re a girl?”

  “Yes… yes, I’m a girl,” The Pretender said, forcing the word out evenly.

  “Please help me. I’m scared,” she pleaded weakly, trying to keep their attention on her while Divine made his move behind them without sound.

  He hauled a broken tree from the ground. The trunk was thick as a car, splintered at one end. Divine lifted it overhead, muscles locking, body coiling for the throw.

  Eugene did not look back.

  “Silence,” Eugene said coldly. “You will speak when addressed.”

  Nikolai snapped upright. “What is wrong with you? She’s hurt.”

  Eugene’s finger hovered near the trigger, perfectly still.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Nikolai exhaled, forcing the anger down. He turned to the Pretender, voice lowering, trying for calm. “Okay. Let’s calm down.”

  He took a step closer.

  “And introduced ourselves.”

  The Pretender backed away immediately, widening the gap. Eyes flicked between them.

  Eugene’s head tilted a fraction. “Another step,” Eugene said, “and I will fire.”

  The Pretender flinched.

  Nikolai stopped, hands raised slightly now.

  “You heard him, no stepping.” He advised. “I’m Nikolai. He's Eugene. What about you?”

  “I’m…”

  The Pretender hesitated, eyes darting past the two of them.

  Behind them, Divine’s grip tightened.

  A single nod.

  The Pretender sucked in a breath.

  “ I am….”

  “ I'm….” she repeated

  “I’m the Pretender.”

  And she turned and ran.

  The forest detonated into motion.

  FWOOOSH! Divine hurled a massive tree trunk—like a spear—straight towards Eugene

  SCRASH! At the same instant, Havoc exploded out of the bushes near Nikolai, arm extended, his banana aimed straight at Nikolai’s head.

  “WARNING! INCOMING COLLISION! “

  A crisp voice blared from Eugene's Gun.

  Instinctively, Eugene flipped backward midair, body rotating cleanly as the tree screamed beneath him. Metallic wings grazed the trunk, slicing it in half as Eugene cleared it by inches.

  Mid-flip, he rotated and To Eugene, time seemed to stretch. In that fraction of a second, he assessed all three threats:

  Divine was charging forward towards them.

  Havoc’s banana is aligned towards Nikolai.

  The Pretender was desperately running.

  And he fired three shots in perfect rhythm.

  Bang! The first round punched straight through Divine’s forehead. The charge stopped instantly. The body collapsed forward, dead before it hit the ground.

  Bang! The second shot caught the Pretender in the leg. Bone cracked. She screamed and pitched forward, slamming face-first into the dirt, hands clawing at the ground as blood spread fast.

  Bang! The third round shattered Havoc’s mask. The impact snapped Havoc’s head back and threw the body sideways out of the bushes.

  As Havoc flew, his finger twitched and the banana fired. Flying out of its yellow skin.

  The banana flew past Nikolai by a breath, clipping his hair, then smashed into a tree behind him and exploded into yellow pulp.

  Divine lay still, a dark hole between the eyes.

  Havoc twitched weakly in the dirt, limbs jerking once, then again.

  The Pretender screamed through clenched teeth, clutching her ruined leg.

  Nikolai stared at the banana pulp dripping down the tree. “Wha—what just happened?”

  Eugene landed lightly beside him.

  “I saved your life, As usual.” Eugene said, with a proud and calm tone.

  Nikolai nodded shakily, still staring. “oh..…woah...”

  “You should thank Tomoe,” Eugene advised, raising his sleek white handgun in hand. The silver gem along its frame glowed softly.

  “Right..Uh… thanks for the assist, Tomoe,” Nikolai said awkwardly.

  “You’re welcome,” The gun responded in a warm, feminine voice.“It is my duty to protect.”

  Eugene allowed a small nod of satisfaction before he looked back toward the wounded Pretender.

  “Now let’s finish this.”

  The Pretender crawled through the churned dirt, right leg a mangled, bleeding ruin. Each movement radiated pain from the shattered bone, sharp and relentless.

  Eugene’s boot pressed lightly against her shoulder, tipping her onto her back. She landed with a muted thud, the ground vibrating through her spine.

  “Talk,” he ordered, leveling Tomoe at her face. The gun’s silver gem caught the dappled light through the trees.

  The Pretender trembled, stammering. “I—I… I’m not… I’m not… one of them! Please, I’m just—”

  Behind Eugene, Nikolai’s expression wavered between guilt and disbelief. He shifted his weight slightly, hands tight at his sides, but did not intervene.

  “Eugene, she… just a girl,” Nikolai whispered softly, voice low.

  Eugene’s lips pressed tighter. “Doesn't matter, anyone working with the Workers’ Association is a terrorist,” he said.

  The Pretender’s hands shook visibly, rising instinctively to shield herself as if that could stop the gun.

  At the edge of the clearing, unseen to them, Divine’s chest rose and fell rapidly. Thin white energy flickered along his fingers as the wound in his torso closed.

  A few meters off, Havoc’s body reformed similarly, white sparks crawling over his fingers, each spark like a miniature pulse of life. A quiet crackling accompanied each twitch, joints realigning with mechanical precision.

  “No—no, you’re wrong!” the Pretender stammered in terror.

  “Please, we—we aren’t the Tyr—”

  KRAKOOM!! The words were cut off by a sudden, cataclysmic explosion behind them. A blinding white flash ignited the forest, leaves incinerating in a split second, branches snapping, trees splintering as the ground heaved. A massive pillar of pure white light surged skyward, tearing treetops apart, soil and stone spiraling upward with it.

  “HIGH AETHER SURGE DETECTED,” Tomoe warned sharply from Eugene’s gun.

  A colossal humanoid being emerged within the pillar, like it was a gateway. Hundred meters tall, it radiated blinding white light. Eyes glowed solid blue, long golden hair flowed past broad shoulders, and a thick, godlike beard framed a stern, ancient face. White robes rippled in the wind, each fold catching flashes of exploding light.

  “What the fuck is that?!” Nikolai shouted, eyes wide with horror.

  “It can’t be…” Eugene muttered, unable to comprehend the sight.

  The Pretender’s voice barely left her throat, hoarse and disbelieving. “…Divine?”

  The titan’s leg lifted, and then slammed into the forest floor with the force of tectonic plates. Trees bent and cracked under the shockwave. Earth split in a wide fissure, rock shards slicing through roots.

  The Pretender was hurled across the ground, tumbling over dirt, stones, and upturned roots, finally groaning as she landed against a scorched tree trunk.

  Nikolai was launched sideways into another tree. The bark splintered beneath his back, splinters raining down. He rolled with the impact, coughing and stunned.

  Eugene flared his metallic wings, rising dozens of meters to escape the blast zone. His body thrummed against the wind and debris, holding him steady as his eyes swept over the surroundings.

  In the center, Divine stood like a monument of wrath, enormous limbs casting shadows that dwarfed everything, and the forest seemed puny in comparison.

  “Tomoe, analyze!” he said, voice tight.

  “Im detecting an unprecedented level of pure Aether from that thing,” she reported, smooth and measured.

  Divine’s eyes locked onto Eugene, solid, blinding blue. A grin twisted across the glowing face—mocking, cruel, impossibly confident.

  Sending a chill around Eugene spine

  Eugene raised his gun, the embedded silver gem flaring violently. A burst of concentrated white energy leapt from the muzzle, slicing through air. The blast struck Divine squarely, trees shuddered and exploded outward under the reflected force.

  Divine did not flinch , only the grin widened. With impossible speed, he vanished.

  “Behind You!” Tomoe chimed urgently.

  Eugene twisted midair, before he could recalibrate, massive fingers closed around the barrel of his gun stopping his attack.

  “Boy, this here feels like holdin’ the tip of a chink’s little ol’ pecker,” A low cackle rumbled from Divine, slow and mocking.

  Eugene fired a rapid burst into Divine’s colossal fingers, sparks flying, gun screaming against impossible force. Yet nothing stopped the titan’s grip.

  “You reckon your JapCrap can hurt me?” Divine grin widening, voice thick with a slow southern swagger.

  “Incoming!” Tomoe’s voice rose above the chaos.

  Two massive fingers flicked and struck Eugene dead centre. The force blasted him across the sky, his body becoming a streak of light and sparks until finally he crashed into the distant mountains with a deafening crash.

  “Eugene!” Nikolai gasped, watching everything go down from below.

  He forced himself upright, dirt and splinters in his hair, bruised but still functional. He moved himself behind a tree for cover.

  At that moment, Divine gaze swept the battlefield. But he still didn't notice the existence of the tiny Nikolai behind the trees.

  "I need to find a way to stop that thing," Nikolai muttered to himself.

  “Grrrrrr….” a low, guttural growl rolled across the clearing, vibrating through Nikolai’s chest before his ears caught up. He turned.

  Havoc stood a few meters away.

  A bulbous red nose and a deep, furious frown smeared with dark, crusted red. The painted expression looked permanently enraged.

  The clown mask was wrong up close. No eye holes yet somehow, it was staring directly at Nikolai.

  From the oversized central pocket of the military vest, Havoc reached in and pulled free a hammer that should not have fit. The head was enormous, a slab of metal big enough to crush a car, balanced absurdly on a thin handle that bent slightly under its own weight.

  Havoc lifted it overhead.

  Nikolai barely had time to react.

  Crack!! The hammer came down.

  Nikolai dove and rolled as the impact split the ground where he had stood. Dirt and stone erupted upward.

  Havoc followed the strike with another low, animal sound and hauled the hammer back up.

  The swing was slow and heavy.

  Nikolai surged forward instead of retreating. Taking the chance he planted his feet and drove a punch into Havoc’s cheek with everything he had.

  Bam! The impact landed solid.

  Havoc’s head twisted all the way around.

  One hundred eighty degrees. Bone and flesh stretched impossibly like pulled taffy before snapping back into place with a wet, rubbery recoil.

  "What the hell…" Nikolai’s breath hitched

  for half a heartbeat.

  Then he moved again.

  He stepped in and threw an uppercut, aiming to lift Havoc clean off the ground.

  Kabam! The punch connected.

  Havoc’s head tore free.

  It rocketed upward, neck stretching after it in a pale, sinewy column that elongated far beyond anything human. At its limit, the neck snapped back down, the head slamming into place and sealing seamlessly, as if nothing had happened.

  A bead of sweat rolled down Nikolai’s brow. "What are you…?”

  Havoc stood still.

  The mask tilted slightly forward.

  It was a silent invitation.

  Head shots were useless. That much was clear. So he shifted his stance, drawing his weight down and in. Red energy surged to life around his fists, igniting them in flickering flame.

  He lunged and buried a burning punch into Havoc’s abdomen.

  The impact caved the vest inward.

  Havoc’s torso twisted around the point of contact, rotating again and again like fabric being wrung dry. Ribs bent without breaking. The spine spiraled. The body deformed into a grotesque helix.

  Then Havoc unwound.

  The rotation reversed instantly, faster than Nikolai could track. The body became a spinning blur of tornado, mass and momentum collapsing into a single violent axis.

  "What?!" Nikolai gasped.

  The hit came like a train.

  BOOM! Nikolai barely got his arms up before Havoc smashed into his forearms to block, but the sheer force was enough to launch him backward through the air to crash into a massive tree behind him.

  He braced for a painful impact— but when he finally crashed , the trunk did not break.

  It stretched. Absorbing the force of his collision as if he’d been caught in a giant trampoline. For a fraction of a second, he was embedded in it, then with a vicious snap, the tree rebounded—launching him straight back where he came from.

  Where Havoc was already waiting for him, now equipped with a boxing glove, his fist drawn back for another massive strike.

  BOOM! A boxing glove filled Nikolai’s vision.

  The punch struck him midair and sent him back into the same tree. It stretched and absorbed his momentum before whipping him back like a slingshot toward Havoc again.

  BOOM! Another direct hit. Another impact. Another recoil.

  The rhythm accelerated.

  Tree. Havoc. Tree. Havoc. Tree. Havoc

  Their battle became a twisted game of squash—Nikolai as the ball, the tree as the wall, and Havoc as the cruel racket.

  Over and over.

  Each time faster and harder.

  Each time air was knocked from Nikolai’s lungs again and again, pain stacking until the world narrowed only to motion and impact.

  Finally, Havoc wound up.

  This time, the punch carried everything.

  The final punch launched Nikolai through the treeline that no longer stretched. They shattered into splinters this time as his body tore through them one after another, a path of destruction carving straight out of the forest.

  He hit the dirt hard at the other side.

  The broken tree trunks and branches that had been launched skyward began to fall, landing one by one around him—forming a perfect coffin-shaped pile, like some cruel cartoon gag.

  But there was nothing funny about it.

  Nikolai breath lost somewhere under shattered bark and splintered wood.

  -----

  Eugene lay half-buried in pulverized stone and scorched earth. Blood streaked down the side of his face, pooling in the dust beneath his cheek. One mechanical wing lay twisted at an unnatural angle.

  “Eugene,” Tomoe said urgently. The voice trembled despite its usual composure.

  “I have called for assistance. Please remain still. Help is coming. You must hold on.”

  Eugene coughed and rolled onto an elbow. Every breath scraped through his chest like broken glass.

  “…Who,” he rasped, “did you call?”

  Tomoe hesitated. “Eugene—”

  “Who,” he repeated, teeth clenched.

  “Hahahaha!” Before she could answer, laughter rolled down from the sky.

  It was vast. Layered. It shook the air itself.

  Divine loomed where he was before. His laughter boomed again, echoing across the broken forest like thunder.

  “Still breathin’?” Divine called down, voice thick with sadism.

  “Asians are stubborn little things, ain’t ya?” His glowing blue eyes narrowed.

  Eugene dragged himself upright inch by inch, despite his muscles screaming. He wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

  “I will not,” Eugene said, voice shaking but loud enough to carry, “allow a monster like you to trample my honor.”

  The gem pulsed frantically. “Eugene, do not engage. Your body cannot withstand another exchange. Please—”.

  With shaking fingers, he reached into the torn lining of his coat and withdrew a single golden bullet. Its surface gleamed even through the grime, engraved cleanly with a dark V. He slid it into Tomoe’s chamber with deliberate care, each motion precise despite the tremor in his hands.

  He exhaled once. Steady. Focused.

  “You think that scares me?” Divine sneered. “Y’all’s chopsticks are nothin’ to me.”

  Eugene leveled Tomoe with both hands. White energy began to coil along the barrel, the embedded silver gem blazing brighter and brighter until it cast long shadows across the trees. The forest hummed under the pressure.

  “Tomoe,” Eugene said quietly. “Ready.”

  “I am with you,” Tomoe replied, voice firm now, fear locked beneath duty.

  Kabang! Eugene fired.

  The golden bullet tore forward, trailing a torrent of white energy that twisted and expanded the midflight. The light unfolded into wings, talons, a screaming beak. A massive eagle of pure radiance surged through the air as it flew towards Divine.

  Divine’s grins however, only expanded. He puckered his lips, and with a grotesque sound, he leaned to expel a massive, disgusting glob of spit that flew with terrifying speed.

  The glob that launched from his mouth was immense and grotesque, moving with terrifying speed. It struck the eagle head-on.

  The two projectiles collided with a deafening crash, a blinding flash of light illuminating the forest as the impact shook the ground.

  The eagle construct shattered, fragments of glowing energy scattering like fireflies before winking out.

  But the spit did not stop.

  It tore through the fading light and hurtled straight toward Eugene.

  “EUGENE!!” Tomoe screamed.

  Eugene crossed his arms and poured everything he had left into defense. A shimmering white barrier flared into existence just as the projectile struck.

  KABOOM!! The impact was cataclysmic. The air itself seemed to rupture as Eugene’s barrier failed to hold off the attack.

  What followed was a grim silence.

  A moment of silence followed with Divine’s laugh echoing through the haze. “Stay in your own country next time,”

  Swoosh!! Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through the smoke, tearing away the debris to reveal a lone figure standing before Eugene —completely unscathed, their body a shield against the destruction.

  Divine’s amusement faltered for the briefest moment as he took in the newcomer, “Who’s this supposed to be? Your boyfriend?” But still, he couldn’t resist to taunt.

  The newcomer was draped in a blue cloak, its hood obscuring their face entirely leaving only a a glowing white pair of eyes to be seen. Beneath the cloak, they wore an all-black suit reinforced with golden gauntlets and leg guards, the shoulders pad adorned with intricate horse-head sculptures.

  On the chest of their suit gleamed a mighty golden V.

  Vic.. Victory…? Eugene muttered, upon watching the figure presence radiating an almost unearthly power.