"This is insane, it's like they were waiting for us," said Mio, hovering above the battlefield. The wind coiled around her like living armor, fluttering her shimmering hair as she exuded a goddess-like aura.
ROAR!! SCREEECH!! — the deafening cries of mutated beasts shattered the air. Giant rodents with blood-tainted eyes skittered over each other in a frenzy, their fur patchy, their fangs glistening with venom. Hulking lizards snapped their jaws, their forked tongues tasting the air, claws grinding against shattered pavement. The horde surged toward the entrance of the convenience store, a living tide of hunger and rage.
"Giant rats and lizards, huh? Well, you don't see that every day..." Chloe muttered from her perch on the store's roof. Her tracksuit pants were burned all the way up to her knees, her feet still glowing like molten steel, radiating heat into the air.
"Well, on the bright side... we could earn stat points by killing them. Just think of it as an opportunity to farm," said Mike. A faint blue hue enveloped his frame, suspending him in the air — a living testament to his kinetic powers. His posture, his demeanor, his very presence burned with confidence.
He smiled, glancing at the girls.
"What do you think? Wanna give it a shot?"
Others saw danger. Mike saw opportunity.
"This was your plan all along, wasn't it?" Chloe shot back, eyes narrowing, the glow in her feet pulsing brighter as if echoing her irritation.
Mike chuckled, a sly grin tugging at his lips. He tilted his head toward Mio and winked.
"Don't hold back."
The horde shrieked, claws tearing into concrete as they charged. Dust and rubble sprayed into the air under their weight.
Mio's lips curved into a fearless smile. Her blue eyes gleamed like twin blades of ice, filled with raw excitement. The storm gathered around her, begging to be unleashed.
She couldn't wait to show off.
The ground trembled. The first wave of mutated rats skittered forward, their claws sparking against broken concrete. Behind them, lizards slithered, their scales grinding like stone plates, tails whipping with enough force to shatter steel beams.
"Here they come," Chloe growled, her feet blazing hotter, cracks forming on the rooftop beneath her.
Mike stretched his hands out lazily, as though welcoming the oncoming horde. His grin widened.
"Let's make this quick."
The first rat lunged. In an instant — CRACK! — it was yanked midair, twisted like a ragdoll, and slammed into the ground with bone-splintering force. Blue kinetic ripples pulsed out from Mike's body, throwing back the beasts like they had been caught in a storm surge.
"Phase Two — Kinetic Armor," Mike muttered, his body shimmering with translucent plates of force. He vanished from sight — WHOOSH! — then reappeared inside the swarm, fists pounding like falling meteors. Every strike landed with a deafening BOOM, splattering ichor across the ruined street.
Above, Mio's eyes glowed brighter, her hands spreading as the wind howled around her. "Let's see if you can keep up, Hawkins," she teased, her voice carried on the gale.
The air pressure dropped. Dust spiraled upward. Then — FWOOOM! — a hurricane descended from the sky, ripping through the beasts. Giant lizards were lifted screaming into the vortex, their bodies shredded against debris that whirled like blades. Rats tried to cling to broken walls, only to be torn free, their shrieks drowned by the roar of the storm.
Chloe snarled. "Tch, show-offs." Her molten feet ignited, sparks hissing off the rooftop. She leapt high into the air, landing in the middle of the horde like a meteor. KRAKOOM! The shockwave cracked the asphalt, flames racing through the fissures as dozens of beasts were incinerated instantly.
She slammed her glowing fist into the ground — BOOM! — a fiery ripple surged outward, vaporizing anything in a ten-meter radius.
The battlefield was chaos — storms above, kinetic force tearing through the middle, and molten fire erupting from below.
Mike laughed, weaving through the swarm with ease, his armor absorbing every strike. "Now this... this is fun!"
But as more beasts poured from the shadows of the ruined city, their red eyes glowing like coals in the fog, Chloe's smirk faltered.
"There's too many…" she muttered, her chest heaving.
Mio's storm faltered for a second, her expression tightening as she realized it too.
Mike, however, hovered higher, his silver-tipped hair catching the dim light. His grin twisted into something darker.
"Then we'll wipe them all out. Time to get serious —"
"Way ahead of you Goku" Mike turned towards the owner of that sassy tone and there she was...
Chloe crouched low, her blazing feet scorching cracks into the rooftop. Her lips curled into a fierce grin.
"Alright, you overgrown pests… let's play ball."
She kicked off the roof with a thunderous BOOM, soaring into the sky. Solar fire roared around her hands, molding into a blazing sphere — a perfect volleyball of molten light. For a moment, she hung above the battlefield like a star, her silhouette radiant against the smoky sky.
"Solar Spike!!"
She swung with both hands, slamming the burning sphere down toward the horde.
KRRAAASSHHH!!!
The ball exploded on impact, flames erupting outward in a blinding wave. A crater ripped through the street as dozens of beasts were reduced to nothing but ash and molten gore. The shockwave blew back even the ones at the farthest edges, their twisted bodies flung like ragdolls into collapsing walls.
Chloe landed, panting, sweat beading on her forehead. She smirked as the ground still sizzled beneath her.
"Not bad for match point, huh?"
Mio clapped slowly from above, her voice riding the shifting air.
"Impressive, Hawkins. But I could do better."
Her crystalline eyes flared brighter, and in an instant the battlefield shifted.
The temperature plummeted so fast their breaths turned to mist. The storm around her changed, the wind itself crystallizing into needle-thin shards of ice, orbiting her like a shimmering crown of frost.
Her voice carried, calm and resolute.
"Frozen Paradise."
The words were a command.
The air snapped shut with a deafening CRACK as her power unfolded. A circular domain of blinding cold spread outward in a twenty-meter radius, frost crawling up broken walls and sinking into the asphalt. Mutated beasts shrieked, their bodies slowing, skin cracking as ice claimed them limb by limb. In seconds, dozens of them stood locked in place—monstrous statues, mouths still frozen in the echo of their last scream.
Mio raised a single hand. "Shatter."
GBOOOOSHHH!
The frozen horde exploded in unison, bursting into shards of crystal and gore. Fragments of flesh and glittering frost rained down across the battlefield, dusting the broken streets in a crimson snowfall.
For a heartbeat, silence ruled.
The ground was littered with icy tombs, jagged fragments, and shattered limbs. It looked less like a battlefield and more like an execution ground.
Chloe's smirk faltered, her molten aura dimming slightly. Her wide eyes betrayed it before her voice did.
"Tch… always gotta one-up me, huh?"
Mio descended slowly, the wind taming itself beneath her heels as if bowing to her presence. She crossed her arms, smirking.
"One-up? No. I'm just showing you how a real pro does it."
"I—" Chloe began, her pride bristling—
"Good job, guys. But we've still got to take care of the stragglers," Mike cut her off, his tone calm but edged with authority.
Chloe glared, but held her tongue.
"To ensure utmost safety, we need this whole area clear," Mike concluded firmly.
"Right," chorused the girls.
The battle dragged on, but with their combined strength, the tide finally broke. One by one, the mutated beasts fell silent, leaving only the crackle of scorched earth and the brittle crunch of frozen debris.
When the last screech faded, the three stood in the ruins of their battlefield, bruised, sweat-streaked, but victorious.
They wasted no time storming into the convenience store.
Inside, the air was stale, thick with dust and the faint rot of expired goods. But hidden among the ruined shelves, they found treasures: canned food, energy bars, bottled water, first-aid kits. The essentials that survival demanded. They packed quickly, their camping bags filling with supplies until the straps groaned under the weight.
By the time they emerged, the sun was sinking, draping the ruined streets in bruised orange light. The night crept closer, shadows lengthening like waiting predators. The city was eerily quiet.
Not a single beast in sight.
"Uhh… Mio, if it's too heavy, I could give you a hand," Mike offered as they walked, turning toward her with his usual easy smile. She carried a massive camping bag slung across her back as if it weighed nothing.
"I'm fine. My strength stat is pretty high," Mio said, her voice confident, though a faint pink flush crept across her pale cheeks.
"Seriously, you two should just get a room already," Chloe cut in, rolling her eyes as she adjusted her own overloaded pack. Her smirk widened as she added, "And hey, Mr. Nice Guy, you should offer to carry mine too."
Mio's face burned crimson now, her words tangling in her throat.
"T-That's—"
But her voice was cut short when Mike suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.
Both girls stumbled, blinking at him.
"Mikey?" Mio asked softly, her brows furrowed. "Why are we… stopping?"
Mike didn't answer. His silver-tipped hair caught the last rays of the sun as his eyes swept the empty streets, sharp and wary. His instincts screamed.
(Something's wrong. The streets are too quiet. No beasts… no sound at all. But we didn't clear this far. Which means…)
He turned toward a half-collapsed building, scanning its jagged edges.
"Hey! She asked you a question, jerk!" Chloe snapped, raising her voice, irritation sharpening her tone.
Mike kept walking toward the building, ignoring her. His gut twisted with unease. Every step only deepened the silence pressing down on them.
(What could it be? Another swarm? Or worse—something stronger? It's not right… this calm. It feels like—)
"MI0!! LOOK OUT!!"
The warning tore from his throat too late.
SLAAAASHHH!
A crimson arc ripped through the air, slicing the street in half as it came screaming toward the girls.
Chloe moved without thinking. Her body blurred, shoving Mio out of harm's way just as the blade of energy ripped past them.
KRRAAASSSHHH! The crimson slash carved a jagged wound across the pavement, the force splintering concrete and shattering debris into the air.
"Chloe! Mio!" Mike's voice cracked as he sprinted back toward them.
Mio's eyes were wide, her chest heaving as adrenaline surged through her veins. "Y-you saved me…" she stammered, her voice trembling.
Chloe grit her teeth, forcing a smirk even as she tried to push herself up. "Guess my body moved on its own… you owe me one, bitch."
Mio's lips parted, her throat tightening. "T-thank yo—"
But the words froze as her gaze dropped. Her face drained of color.
"C-Chloe… your arm…"
Chloe blinked, confused. "Huh? What are you—"
Then she felt it.
The warmth dripping down her elbow. The sticky wetness trailing along her side. And then—
The pain.
It hit like a blade burying itself deep into her flesh.
"AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!"
Her scream ripped through the empty city, raw and unrestrained. Blood poured from her arm, splattering onto the fractured street as her knees buckled.
Mio's hands trembled as she reached for her, horror etched into every line of her face.
Mike's blood ran cold. His heart hammered as he spun toward the ruined building, his voice breaking into a snarl.
"…Who's there?!"
The shadows stirred.
Something had been waiting for them all along.