The Lonestone Trade District, even in the late afternoon, hummed with a predictable rhythm. Carriages clattered, steam-powered vehicles hissed, and the cacophony of vendors hawking their wares blended into a constant urban drone.
It was late afternoon.
Jack was currently in his Racer Jack form. He zipped through the busy roads. A high-pitched, almost imperceptible whistle accompanying his passage.
Rune, his new [Fairy Companion], flitted quietly beside him. Able to move in similar super speed without any problem.
It was now a silent, winged fur-ball creature. Surprisingly, the tiny fairy changed form whenever Jack used different incarnation.
It was a mechanical fairy for Jack Night. A winged fur-ball for Racer Jack. A spectral will-o'-the-wisp for Jack Mystery. And a tiny dragon for Judge Jack.
It was... convenient. It would be strange and suspicious otherwise. Seeing the same fairy following different creatures.
Jack enjoyed the patrols. Not because he expected trouble. But because he could view the world in a unique way. The sheer speed of his kamaitachi form allowed him to cover vast distances. To observe the city from a unique perspective.
He saw the genuine smiles. The hurried footsteps. The quiet desperation. All moving as if in slow motion. He cataloged it all. A silent observer of humanity's unending theatrical performance.
"Nothing juicy today, Rune." Jack's high-pitched, nasal voice chirped. A stark contrast to his usual deep tones. "Just honest folk trading honest goods, and probably a few dishonest ones trying to offload counterfeit gears. Boring, boring, boring. Where's the grand larceny? The dastardly plots? A weasel needs his entertainment, you know!"
Rune pulsed with a soft red light. Flitting around his head as if offering a silent, agreeable nod.
Then, the rhythm shattered.
A muffled explosion. More concussive than loud. It ripped through the air a few blocks away. It was followed by immediate screams. Sharp and terrified.
Then another, louder blast. Accompanied by the distinct sound of glass shattering on a massive scale. Black smoke billowed into the sky.
"Well, speak of the devil and he appears clutching a dynamite stick!" Jack exclaimed. His previous boredom vanished instantly. "Now this, Rune, this is more like it! Let's go!"
He was a blur. A streak of white and grey. Leaving a shimmering afterimage in his wake. Rune, with surprising speed, kept pace. A tiny comet trailing behind him.
The scene that greeted them was utter chaos. The grand sturdy façade of the Lonestone Capital Bank was ripped open like a tin can. Despite its polished granite and reinforced steel,
Smoke poured from the cavity. And debris from the multi-story building littered the street. Civilians scrambled. Shrieking. Some were trampled in the frantic escape.
And in the midst of it, five figures moved. Each one was a grotesque mockery of human form. Four transcendent City Enforcers lay sprawled. Groaning.
They were clearly outmatched and severely injured. One was pinned under a slab of concrete. His uniform soaked crimson.
Jack skidded to a halt. the sudden stop creating a tiny whirlwind of dust and gravel. His keen eyes, always analyzing, instantly cataloged the threats.
"No way!" He muttered. His usually flippant tone replaced by genuine surprise. The characteristics of the five figures seemed familiar. "This can't be... The Calamity Stars?"
His internal monologue confirmed it. The descriptions matched perfectly. He saw a squat, muscular man. No taller than a child. Originally. But he grew and transformed. His skin turned to rough, grey stone. As he swelled into a hulking, four-meter-tall behemoth.
This was the Rock Monster. Famed for his impervious hide and crushing blows.
Beside him, a gaunt, sickly figure twisted. Limbs elongating. Skin sloughing off to reveal festering, necrotic flesh.
He kept transforming. His fur sprouted. Claws extended. And a bestial snout ripped through his face. Revealing rows of jagged teeth. As he emanated a foul stench of decay. The Death Beast. An undead zombie werewolf.
Above them, it was a figure with leathery wings unfurled. Perching precariously on a shattered cornice. Its skin had turned to obsidian. Wreathed in flickering flames.
Its eyes glowed with malevolent fire. Flame Demon. A blazing gargoyle. He surveyed the pandemonium with cruel satisfaction.
From inside the bank, emerging from the vault, was a reptilian monstrosity. His scales shimmered. A long tail lashed. And his hands clutched two serrated, wickedly sharp blades. Ones that glinted with an unnatural hunger.
The Blade Devil. A lizardman berserker. He let out a guttural hiss.
And oozing from the shattered entrance was a... slime man. A pulsating, viscous entity. A crimson blob of corrosive fluid that melted the ground it touched.
The Blood Fiend. A blood slime sorcerer. He seemed to expand. As he absorbed the splattered blood of the injured.
They were notorious... fifty years ago. Before they disappeared without any news. Five evil Supernatural Sorcerers. The bringers of Anarchy. The Calamity Stars.
"Well, well, well..." Jack chirped. The high-pitched voice returned. Laced with a familiar, cutting sarcasm. "Looks like grandpa's back from the grave. And he brought his entire retirement home with him!"
He confronted them directly. "Didn't your doctors tell you to take it easy, fellas? Bank robbery doesn't exactly belong to the old men's leisure activities!"
The Rock Monster turned his massive, stony head. His eyes glowed faintly. "Who's the gnat?" He asked. His voice was a grinding rumble.
"Gnat? Oh, honey, I'm the entire pesticide spray!"
Jack zipped forward. A shimmering streak. His blades, extensions of his kamaitachi body parts, appeared. They were razor-sharp. Leaving faint silver trails as he moved.
He aimed for the Rock Monster first. A blur of motion.
"You're a bit slow for a big guy, aren't you, Boulder Boy? Did you forget to lube your joints for fifty years? Or is that just your natural pace? Slower than frozen snails, I swear!"
The Rock Monster swung a massive, stone fist. Jack was already gone. Weaving under the lumbering blow. His blades flashed. Striking the monster's knee joint. Then his ankle.
The blades scraped against the stone. Sparking. But only leaving shallow gouges.
"Tough hide, I'll give you that." Jack chirped. Circling the monster. "But even mountains erode, right? Just ask any geologist! Or a good set of diamond-tipped tools!"
The Death Beast lunged with terrifying speed. Reeking of carrion smell. His claws were extended.
"Another pest!" His voice rasped. A sickening guttural growl.
"Woof woof! Someone needs a bath!" Jack retorted. Ducking under the werewolf's swipe. "And maybe a trip to the necromancer for a tune-up!"
He zipped around the beast. His blades arced. Slashing across its putrid flank. The rotting flesh tore. But the beast merely snarled. Regenerating almost instantly.
"You smell worse than my socks after a week-long speed run!" Jack mocked. "Did you forget your deodorant for half a century?"
Rune zipped around. A tiny, winged fur ball. It suddenly pulsed with a red light. Indicating a particularly dangerous attack was coming.
From above, the Flame Demon roared. A torrent of fire erupting from its mouth. Aimed directly at Jack.
"Hot stuff! You trying to toast marshmallows?" Jack commented as he easily evaded it.
He zipped upwards. Scaling the side of a nearby building in an instant.
"Because you're just burning taxpayer money, pal! And you call that flying? My grandma in a wheelchair moves faster than you. Ugly pigeon!"
Jack reached the rooftop. Then, he launched himself off. Plummeting towards the blazing gargoyle at an impossible speed.
His blades whistled. Scoring deep gashes across the Demon's obsidian wings. A sudden burst of speed propelling him away from retaliation.
"Hey, Scaly Dude!" Jack shouted.
His voice was echoing from multiple directions as he bounced off walls and lampposts. Now targeting the Blade Devil. One who was now emerging from the bank. Holding jagged blades that were dripping with what appeared to be blood.
Jack quickly mocked him. "Those knives are as dull as your fashion sense! Did you borrow those from a cave troll's kitchen drawer?"
The Blade Devil hissed. His reptilian eyes narrowed as he charged. He moved with surprising grace. His dual blades were a deadly blur as he tried to anticipate Jack's erratic movements.
Jack, however, was way faster. He darted between the Devil's legs. Slashing at his tendons. Then rebounding off a wall to strike at his back. The scales protected the lizardman. But the force of the blows still caused the Devil to stumble.
"You're quicker than I heard, Little Pest!" The Blade Devil snarled.
"I've been working out!" Jack quipped. Dashing away as the robbers tried to surround him.
Now, he was circling the Blood Fiend. The corrosive slime-man was expanding, threatening to engulf the injured Enforcer pinned under the concrete.
"Eww, what is that?" Jack exclaimed, his voice laced with disgust. "Did someone spill their fermented tomato juice?"
He attempted to slash at the Blood Fiend. But his organic blades passed through the amorphous mass.
"You're going to give me nightmares about leaky pipes, you sticky menace!" Jack decided to mock when he couldn't harm his opponent.
"And seriously, Are you going to melt that poor Enforcer? That's just ugly. Even for you lot!"
The slime-mam pulsed. Attempting to engulf his tiny form. Jack, however, was too fast. He zipped away. The corrosive material missed its target.
"Right, the squishy one needs a different approach." Jack muttered to Rune. Who pulsed with a red light. Indicating danger from the slime. "Can't cut what doesn't have a solid form, can we? Details, details."