-----
Mentis fell like a comet—body igniting into a burning spear. The atmosphere screamed. Clouds split. Shockwaves detonated mountains before he even hit the ground.
Then—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The impact erased a city upon contact. A crater miles wide instantly formed—terrain carved out like soft clay. Buildings warped, bending inward before dissolving under the heat.
Smoke and burning dirt drowned the sky.
Megalodon descended, landing with a thunderous crash, the ruined ground fracturing outward from his feet. His huge silhouette towered over the destruction.
Black Mentis lay tangled in broken metal and pulverized concrete—haunted breathing, blood streaming down his jaw, suit torn and shredded. He pushed himself up, coughing a thick splatter of blood onto cracked ground.
But his eyes… they still burned.
Megalodon stepped closer, grin widening.
Megalodon: "Persistent aren't you? I'll give you that."
He tilted his head. "But you're bleeding. Your body's giving out. And even with all that willpower… your power's slipping, isn't it?"
Mentis clenched his fists, muscles twitching.
(Thinking) Damn it… he's right. Why the hell am I this weak? I'm supposed to be stronger than this. What's wrong with my body?
Megalodon raised his hand—dark energy crawling across his arm like living shadows.
Megalodon: "Rest now, puppet. I'll deal with your master."
Mentis' vision blurred. The world doubled. His limbs trembled, refusing to fully respond. But his mind stayed razor-sharp.
He spat blood, wiped his mouth, and smirked.
Mentis: "Will you… shuut the fuck up for a moment?"
.
—--
MENAWHILE BACK ON EARTH
The battlefield was hell.
Smoke wormed through the sky in thick black ribbons. The air stank of burnt flesh, melted concrete, and ozone. Flames crawled up collapsed buildings, casting flickering orange over piles of corpses—human and demon mixed together in a twisted mass. Screams cut through the chaos. The few remaining heroes held the line, their bodies shaking with exhaustion.
Blink materialized beside Photon, daggers dripping black demon blood.
Blink: "Guys—cover me. I'll take the women, kids, and elderly. Just keep theae fuckers off my ass!"
Photon drove a boot into a demon's throat, splitting it open, then gutted another with a single thrust of his blade.
Photon: "My hands are full here but—!"
He blocked an incoming claw, parried, then sent a head spinning into the air.
"—I'll try my damn best!"
Blink blinked out of sight and reappeared across the battlefield, teleporting civilians one after another. Her body flickered violently—the stress of rapid teleportation making her vision blur.
Blink: "Come on—come on—move! Move!"
A shrill cry echoed.
Woman: "H–help! Please—someone, help us! We're trapped!"
Blink appeared above the alleyway—daggers already in motion—cutting down a few undead closing in.
Blink: "Hold on! I got you—just don't move!"
But the moment she landed, her stomach dropped.
She wasn't alone.
A pale, grinning figure stepped out from behind a torn dumpster—holding a child by the throat, feet dangling.
Mimic, still wearing part of someone else's face, smiled with a mouth too wide.
Mimic: "Gooooooot youuuuu…"
Blink's breath froze.
Then the shadows moved.
Dozens of red eyes ignited at once—creatures turning toward her like a hive sensing prey.
They rushed her.
Claws sank into her arms, her back, her legs. Flesh tore. Blood sprayed. She screamed through clenched teeth, stabbing wildly.
Blink spat blood onto Mimic's chest.
Blink (choking, laughing through pain): "G–good… o-one… (coughs hard)
…asshole."
Her arm stretched toward the child.
She touched his ankle.
And pushed.
The kid vanished—teleported far outside the alley.
Mimic: "Ahhhh… heroic to the end…"
The horde ripped Blink apart.
Her scream choked out as her torso split, intestines spilling across the ground. Claws ripped into her face, her limbs, her spine snapping like wet twigs. A final wet crunch—and Blink was gone.
Spectra streaked overhead, lasers cutting down dozens of demons in a glowing arc.
Spectra: "What's happening down he—"
She froze.
Blink's shredded remains lay scattered across the alleyway—blood smeared across walls like someone had been using her as a paint roller.
Spectra's pupils dilated. Her throat tightened.
Spectra: "…No."
Then louder—
Spectra: "BLLLLIIIIINK!!!"
Her scream shook the air.
Her eyes flashed white-hot—And beams erupted from her face wide and wild. Uncontrolled.
They carved through demons like butter—melted bone, evaporated flesh. Buildings behind them ignited, collapsing under the heat wave. Asphalt curled and cracked. Demons shrieked as they dissolved into vapor.
Spectra::"YOU—FUCKERS—WILL—PAY!
She dove into the horde, firing nonstop.
The battlefield trembled.
—--