The canopy shook as the Celestial Captain descended, light spilling off his armor like molten gold. He hovered above the ruined grove, mace dangling loosely from his gauntlet. His voice was calm, deep, and utterly unwavering.
Celestial Captain: "Last chance. Atone for your sins now, or pay with your blood."
Ephraim wiped the blood from his lip, chin tilted upward.
Ephraim: "How about you come down here and make me?"
The captain's gaze sharpened.
Celestial Captain: "Do you speak for the group?"
The four exchanged a look—Johnny's cocky grin faltered, Rika's jaw tightened, Eliyah's eyes narrowed—but none spoke.
The captain gave a single nod.
Celestial Captain: "The group has decided then."
Before anyone could even blink, the Captain dropped like a meteor. His dice-shaped mace spun once, twice, and connected squarely with Ephraim's jaw. The weapon landed on a twenty—the perfect strike. The blow blasted Ephraim through a wall of trees, his body vanishing into the forest's black undergrowth.
Eliyah surged forward instantly, sword flashing in a downward arc toward the Captain's shoulder. But the Captain was already leaning back, sliding his palm up to meet the blade. A radiant shield bloomed from his hand with a hiss, the sword skidding across it harmlessly.
The Captain twisted, his other arm whipping the mace in a brutal sideways arc. The head smashed into Eliyah's ribs—an eight. Not fatal, but enough to stagger him back with a strangled grunt.
Rika swept her elastic leg from the left, but the Captain vaulted over her strike with frightening agility. Midair, he twisted, body curling into a spin as he drove the mace forward like a spear. It cracked into Johnny's chest—sixteen. The napalm user coughed blood as he was hurled through the treeline, fire sputtering in his wake.
The Captain landed smoothly, switching hands with the mace mid-motion. His boots kissed the soil for only an instant before he spun again, this time bringing the weapon down toward Rika's skull. Eleven. Her inflated head slammed into the dirt, earth shattering beneath her.
The grove fell silent.
Eliyah, clutching his ribs, forced himself upright. The Captain's eyes flicked toward him, and then he charged. His mace swung from the hip, up, then over in a devastating downward arc aimed at Eliyah's head.
Eliyah's blade rose desperately to meet it. The steel screamed—and shattered. The light-infused mace crashed through, striking the young swordsman's temple. Nine. His eyes rolled back as he collapsed, unconscious, weapon in shards at his side.
The Captain's stride didn't break. He turned, rushing Johnny, but before the mace could fall, Ephraim came tearing out of the woods. He landed a raw, desperate punch across the Captain's jaw.
The Captain paused. His head turned back, almost lazily, rotating his jaw until it clicked. He looked at Ephraim with calm disdain.
Celestial Captain: "Look at your friends. What has this battle amounted to? Do you really think you'll win?"
Ephraim spat blood, squaring his stance.
Ephraim: "Yeah. I'm gonna win."
He lunged with a straight punch, but the Captain swung his mace upward, deflecting the fist. His leg shot out in a whip-kick, but Ephraim leaned back just in time, the boot grazing his nose.
Johnny roared and sprinted in, arms out to grapple. The Captain flipped backward with shocking grace, catching Johnny's shoulders mid-air. He twisted, driving both heels into the back of Johnny's head. The Dominican crashed face-first into the dirt, the ground cracking under the impact.
Ephraim swept his leg low. The Captain vaulted over the attempt. Ephraim's palms pressed to the soil, magnetism snapping in his muscles—he launched a backwards donkey kick. His heel whistled through the air, missing by an inch as the Captain arched away.
Ephraim didn't stop. He twisted midair, pulled at the metal traces in the ground, and slammed downward in a brutal dropkick. The Captain caught his leg inches from his face. With a grunt, he swung Ephraim overhead and planted him into the ground.
Before the boy could recover, Johnny was already charging again. The Captain didn't even hesitate—he pivoted and hurled Ephraim like a weapon, slamming him into Johnny. Both men crashed into a tree with a bone-shaking crack.
They staggered back to their feet, battered but unbroken. Both sprinted forward again—only for Ephraim to feel it. A cold instinct. He shoved Johnny aside and dove in the opposite direction.
A rifle cracked.
The bullet struck the Captain's face dead-on.
Light flared and smoke hissed from the wound.
Johnny's eyes went wide. "WHAT WAS THAT?!"
Ephraim, panting, grinned faintly. "Our killer. And our witnesses are here too."
The sound of boots pounded into the clearing. Mr. Black and Mr. White emerged, Fists raised.
Ephraim spun, pointing frantically toward the trees. "LOOK—LOOK BEHIND YOU! IT'S THE KILLER, I FOUND HIM, HE'S HERE, HE—"
But before he could finish, both agents tackled Johnny and Ephraim into the dirt.
Mr. Black & Mr. White (in unison): "YOU'RE UNDER ARREST FOR THE MURDER OF TWO CELESTIAL GUARDS AND ONE CELESTIAL CAPTAIN."
Ephraim thrashed. "NO, NO, NO! IT WASN'T US, IT WAS THE KILLER—IT WAS HOMICIDE!"
Dragon core cuffs snapped around his wrists, cold and unyielding. The agents moved with chilling efficiency, slapping irons on Eliyah's limp body and Rika's unconscious form.
Mr. Black: "Nero informed us you may try something like this. Then we see you jump after three Celestials. Three specific Celestials. Ones that were at the Colosseum. And now they're dead."
Ephraim: "WHAT THE FUCK—I DIDN'T KNOW THAT! I WENT FOR ELIYAH, NOT THEM!"
Mr. White (scoffing): "Yeah, right. Just so happens a man at the bar, the bar WE WERE AT! Tells the Celestial precinct that your friend is in the area, and voilà—we find you exactly where the bodies fall."
Ephraim's voice cracked. "I… WHAT… LIKE… MAN, WHAT THE FUCK—I DIDN'T DO IT! YOU WERE LITERALLY WATCHING ME ALL NIGHT!"
Johnny scratched his head nervously. "Well, papi… I mean, I don't really remember them by you…"
Ephraim snapped. "JOHNNY, SHUT UP—YOU ARE NOT HELPING!"
The agents ignored him, eyes tracing the bullet's path. They moved to the trees and found a long, unfamiliar weapon lodged in the branches—a rifle. They knew its purpose, had read reports, but their hands hovered over it like it was cursed steel.
Mr. Black: "An accomplice. Someone else was here."
Mr. White: "They'll show themselves eventually. For now, let's get them locked up downtown. Call Nero. He'll be very pleased."
The dragon-core cuffs tightened. The forest was silent, save for the distant echoes of the killer's laughter no one else could hear.
END
Created and Written by Mateo Woodson
Written and Storyboarded by John Fallout