------
Megalodon grinned, eyes wide with open amusement.
Megalodon "Come on… where's that fire you had in your eyes, huh?"
He tilted his head slightly. "I guess it's over."
He flung Mentis away.
Mentis hit the rubble hard—concrete and twisted metal exploding outward as his body smashed through it. He slid across broken stone before stopping face-down. His armor was shredded, plates split apart. Skin torn open. One shoulder hung out of place at a wrong angle. Blood poured from his mouth in long, trembling strings, splattering the debris beneath him.
His fingers twitched.
Once.
His breathing was shallow. Uneven.
"D… d-don't…" His voice cracked, barely sound. "…don't leave…"
Rubble crunched under Megalodon's feet as he turned away from the crater. He rose slowly into the air, expression flattening into mild irritation. He flicked his fingers once—
Then the sky cracked again.
Megalodon stopped mid-air, glancing upward.
Megalodon (low, irritated): "Hmph… looks like I have no other choice but to re-do."
His jaw tightened slightly. "It seems he didn't even bother showing himself after all…"
He raised his three remaining arms.
SQUELCH.
A jagged obsidian spike tore straight through his chest.
Wet stone split. Flesh ruptured. Dark blood sprayed forward in a heavy arc.
Megalodon froze.
For the first time.
His expression changed.
Confusion.
Then pain.
:"What's this? I'm actually bleeding?"
Slowly, he looked down. One hand pressed against the spike protruding from his chest. His palm came away slick with thick, black blood dripping between his fingers.
Behind him.
Black Mentis stood.
Swaying.
Teeth clenched so hard his jaw trembled. Blood streamed down his chin, dripping onto his fractured armor. His legs shook, barely holding him upright—but his eyes burned. Sharp. Defiant.
Black Mentis (hoarse, ragged): "I told you to shut the hell up…"
He spat blood. "…you really love hearing your own voice, don't you?"
A violet-blue aura flickered around him unstable, sputtering like a dying flame. His wounds slowed, flesh twitching as if trying to knit itself back together, far too slowly to matter.
Megalodon turned fully now, rage rolling off him in heavy waves.
Megalodon (growling): "How the hell are you even still moving…?"
His eyes narrowed. "You're really starting to piss me off. I'll make sure you stay down for good this time."
Mentis wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, breathing rough and uneven.
"You were about to leave," he rasped. "Thought I was done, huh?"
His shoulders squared despite the pain. "I told you, asshole. I'm not dying before I avenge everyone who fell today. EVEN IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO."
He powered up.
Waves of compressed air blasted outward, kicking up dust, rubble, shattered glass. The ground vibrated underfoot.
Megalodon scoffed, floating higher, arms spreading slightly.
"You managed to increase your speed to five times the speed of light," he said calmly. "Impressive. I'll give you that."
He opened and spread one hand, almost casually. "But pointless. You still don't understand the gap between us, child. Speed isn't everything. I can go far beyond that."
Mentis swung his arm violently from left to right, fury cracking through his voice.
"That's bullshit!" he snapped. "You're saying you've been holding back? Cut the crap!"
His eyes burned. "You were beaten by Tempestia and Moonlight and I'm stronger than both of them combined!"
Megalodon tilted his head, studying him.
"Then tell me," he said slowly, "if you're so damn selfless… how did it all go wrong?"
His voice dropped. "What happened to you?"
Mentis frowned, confusion cutting through the rage.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Fuck it."
He lowered his shoulders and vanished.
CRACK.
Mentis smashed his forehead straight into Megalodon's face. The impact echoed across the ruined city. Megalodon staggered half a step back.
Mentis didn't stop.
He formed a spear of condensed dark energy in his hand and drove it forward, forcing it toward Megalodon's chest with a raw, guttural shout.
Megalodon caught the tip with one mere hand.
Stopped it cold.
The energy shrieked under the pressure, sparks bursting outward. His other two arms crossed calmly in front of him, unmoved, unfazed—even with the blade inches from his heart.
Megalodon snorted.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You still don't get it, Mentis."
He shook his head then leaned closer. "Fine. Fine… you're persistent. And annoying enough."
A cold smile crept across his face. "I'll explain everything. I'll wake you up from the delusions you're living in."
Mentis' eyes narrowed.
The air shifted.
"…Wait," he whispered. "You feel that too, right? That bloodlust—"
THUNDER.
The sky split with a violent crack.
A glowing sphere of energy tore through the clouds, screaming straight toward them at impossible speed.
Mentis and Megalodon both dodged—shooting off in opposite directions.
The incoming blast detonated behind them, erupting into a violent explosion that carved a fresh crater into the ruined city. Concrete vaporized. Twisted metal screamed as it was torn free and hurled outward.
Mentis skidded across the ground, boots scraping deep trenches through broken asphalt. His breath shook violently in his chest. His vision flickered at the edges, colors bleeding together. One knee nearly buckled, brushing the ground—but he forced himself upright, teeth clenched.
Smoke rolled outward.
Two silhouettes emerged from within it, standing atop the remains of a shattered building.
Their cloaks floated unnaturally, rippling as if the wind itself obeyed their presence rather than caused it.
Cloaked Figure 1 slow-clapped, each sound sharp and deliberate.
Cloaked Figure 1 (amused, sharp): "Nice fuckin' dodge."
His cloak fluttered against invisible currents, movements precise, controlled. His steps were light—predatory. Calm. Like he was already bored.
Cloaked Figure 2 followed behind him—taller, broader. The air around him bent and warped, growing heavy, suffocating, pressing down on the battlefield like a weight.
Cloaked Figure 2 (irritated): "Let's finish this and go home. I'm not wasting my energy on side missions."
Black Mentis' stomach twisted violently. Pain shot up his arms as he clenched his fists.
Black Mentis: "Another enemy…?"
His eyes narrowed. "These must be the ones behind Megalodon's release… huh?"
His thoughts raced.
Black Mentis (thinking):"Shit. I'm in trouble. Three against one in my current state? I have to retreat… heal then face them later. No, what am I saying?"
Megalodon lifted his head… blood dripping from his hand onto the ground. A wide, predatory grin stretched across his face.
Megalodon: "So. You two finally decided to show yourselves."
The cloaked figures didn't respond. They simply stood there silent while the battlefield subtly bent around them.
Cloaked Figure 2 tilted his head slightly.
Cloaked Figure 2: "That's our target over there."
Cloaked Figure 1 nodded.
Black Mentis stepped back a single inch, chest rising and falling sharply as he forced himself to stand tall. His body screamed for rest, for regeneration—but he ignored it, eyes locked forward.
Black Mentis (thinking):" Megalodon kept talking about someone he was expecting … but there are two of them.
That means he was waiting for someone else entirely… not these two. So who are they?"
Megalodon tilted his head, voice laced with mockery.
Megalodon: "Are you here to fight and kill on behalf of your master, foolish humans?"
Cloaked Figure 1 shifted his head slightly.
Cloaked Figure 1: "Kill you? No. Not yet, at least."
A faint grin. "That would be a simple task for us."
Cloaked Figure 2 spoke next his voice hollow, monotone, dripping with contempt.
Cloaked Figure 2: "You're standing in our way."
He turned slightly toward his partner. "C'mon. Let's finish off these two fools, complete our task, go take the dead heroes' powers—and let me finish this damn mission already."
A blur of motion.
Cloaked Figure 1 vanished.
"Hey—no fair!" Cloaked Figure 2 shouted. "I was talking!"
Black Mentis barely reacted in time, throwing up an energy barrier just as something slammed into it.
BOOM.
The impact sent violent vibrations through his bones. He was hurled backward, boots carving the ground apart as he skidded across the ruins. His arms trembled violently, muscles screaming.
Black Mentis (shaken): "…This strength—!"
His eyes widened. "It's familiar…!"
Cloaked Figure 1 laughed.
Cloaked Figure 1: "Cry me a river. You missed your chance while monologuing, you could've had that one."
He gestured lazily toward Megalodon. "Unlucky bastard."
Megalodon lunged forward, driving a brutal kick straight into Cloaked Figure 2's torso.
The cloaked being crossed his arms just in time, skidding backward across the street—but he didn't fall.
Cloaked Figure 2 shook out his arms.
"Yeah… that stings a bit."
He smirked faintly. "You're strong. But you're also way weaker than when you started."
Cloaked Figure 2 continues: "Ever since you fought that… "
He pointed at Mentis without looking away from Megalodon.
"Thing… he took a toll on you."
Mentis barely had time to react—
Cloaked Figure 1 appeared directly in front of him.
Without any wasted motion. And no build-up. He rushed Black Mentis with pure lethal intent.
Cloaked Figure 2 (cold, disdainful): "You should be ashamed calling yourself a demon king."
He sneered. "Pretending to be royalty when you're this weak? How pathetic. It's insulting to His Majesty."
A pause. "You're no king. That title's already taken by the real one."
Cloaked Figure 1 twisted his wrist.
The air cracked.
Mentis' barrier shattered instantly like glass.
Cloaked Figure 1: "I can't let you keep that shield all day, man."
He tilted his head, studying Mentis like a test subject.
Cloaked Figure 1: "You're still standing? Well bravo."
A grin. "This means we could continue our little fun a bit longer."
Black Mentis exhaled sharply, lowering his stance. Every muscle screamed in protest.
Mentis (thinking): I can't keep this up… the damage is coming faster than I can heal.
He grabbed his chest instinctively.
Thinking: "What's happening to my body? How can I be tired…? This has never happened before."
Behind them.
Megalodon teleported behind Cloaked Figure 2, slamming an elbow into his skull.
Megalodon: "If you know everything then where is he?!"
He roared. "Does your master really think sending two goons is enough—?!"
Cloaked Figure 2 blocked the strike—but Megalodon's overwhelming strength sent him crashing into a burned-out bus, warping the metal inward.
"—to stop me seriously?!"
Black Mentis' eyes tracked the faint energy trails Cloaked Figure 1 left behind—the flow of his aura.
Black Mentis (whisper): "…This power… this ki…"
His breath caught. "How? How are you still alive…?"
A pause. "…Is that really you…?"
His voice trembled.
"…Moonlight?"
The name cut through the air like a blade.
Cloaked Figure 1 froze.
Slowly, he turned his hood toward Mentis. Cold eyes gleamed beneath the shadow.
Oblivion: "Moonlight?"
A faint chuckle escaped him. "That name brings back memories."
He laughed softly.
"But it doesn't represent me anymore, old man."
Black Mentis' breath stopped for half a second. His fists tightened, blood dripping steadily from his fresh wounds.
: "It's.. it's you…!"
His voice cracked. "Why are you doing this? What happened to you?!"
The figure exhaled slowly—bored, detached.
Oblivion: "That's a long story you won't live long enough to hear."
He lifted his head slightly. "For now… I go by Oblivion."
A simple statement.
A death sentence.
A betrayal deeper than any wound.
Black Mentis stepped back, desperately searching the hooded face for something, anything human.
There was nothing.
No hesitation. No regret.
Only emptiness.
-----