They rushed out of the office, panic in their every step.
"What the hell is happening?!" Stan shouted, his eyes snapping first toward the center of the city, then jerking toward the outer walls.
His heart skipped a beat.
"The wall... it's broken," Stan muttered, stunned.
Through the thick dust and crumbling stones, two gigantic elephant-like beasts lumbered forward, their monstrous figures tearing through the ruined wall, heading straight for the city.
"Gigongomos..." The elf beside,her voice was sharp with fury. Her bow was already in her hands, string taut. "This isn't their usual route. Why here? Why now? Huhhh, damn demons!"
Without another word, she sprinted toward the approaching beasts, her figure vanishing like a ghost.
"Hey—! They're too big, you...!" Stan tried to stop her, reaching out uselessly. But she was already gone.
BOOM!
The city trembled underfoot. The cobblestones cracked. Screams filled the air.
"If those monsters reach the city... it's over."
Stan's gut twisted. He bolted back into the office, slamming the door behind him so hard it nearly cracked in its hinges.
"Where's my suitcase?!"
He tore up the stairs like a madman, vaulting over stairs.
CLACK! CLANG!
He kicked open his office door and dove under his desk, grabbing a battered black suitcase.
"There you are," he growled, yanking it out.
He straightened up, a dark, chilling smile creeping across his face.
"Looks like it's time for a little... Day Raiding."
---
Meanwhile, the elf was a green blur dashing toward the Gigongomos.
"Nito, where the hell did you disappear to...?" she muttered under her breath, scanning the madness around her.
The whole town was in uproar.
Merchants were scrambling, tossing precious goods into wagons.
Mothers clutched their children, dragging them through the chaotic streets.
The cobblestone ground shook violently with every step of the approaching beasts, throwing the town into sheer, unfiltered panic.
The Gigongomos were nearly at the city's gates.
"No time to wait for Nito. I'll handle this myself!"
The elf leapt onto a stack of crates, using them like stepping stones. With a final, explosive push, she launched herself high into the air.
Her voice rang out, loud and fierce:
"O Spirit of Nature, grant me your strength and wisdom!"
A radiant green light shimmered into existence, forming an ethereal arrow in her hand.
"ASTINA!"
She fired.
The arrow split mid-flight into four glowing projectiles, each twisting through the air like living serpents.
Two arrows whipped into the first beast's eyes, slamming it with explosive force.
The third slammed into its front leg, sending the monster sprawling with a titanic crash that shook the earth.
The fourth arrow, with a mind of its own, sliced past the first beast and darted toward the second.
Sensing danger, the second Gigongomos leapt, the ground howling beneath its colossal weight.
BOOM!
The shockwave from its landing hurled the elf through the air like a ragdoll.
She crashed hard into the stone wall of a distant building.
Pain blurred her vision. But there was no time to recover.
---
"Faster! Faster, it's coming!"
A woman screamed desperately, clutching her child's hand and dragging a battered suitcase behind her.
The little boy, legs too short, stumbled on the uneven cobblestone.
His foot caught.
He tripped.
Their hands ripped apart.
"SHANE!" the mother shrieked.
She tried to fight her way back through the surging crowd, but it was like swimming against a river in full flood. People shoved past her, trampling anything in their way, fleeing for their lives.
"SHANE! MOM!"
The child's terrified cry was swallowed by the roar of the crowd.
The ground trembled harder.
The shadow of the second Gigongomos fell over the boy like a monstrous eclipse.
His wide eyes stared up at the incoming doom.
"Somebody... Please... Save my child!" the mother screamed into the chaos.
---
GASP— BREATH— THUD THUD—
Distant, sprinting footsteps thundered.
HORSE HOOVES — BUGGY WHEELS SCREECHING—
Inside a fleeing buggy, a young girl clasped her hands tight, whispering prayers through trembling lips.
"Please, Almighty... do or please send someone... anyone... to protect those who can't protect themselves..."
Through the cracked window, she caught a glimpse of something—
A figure leaping effortlessly across rooftops, faster than the eye could follow.
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
"That... that's..." she gasped, throwing open the window to see clearer.
It was the same man who had saved her the night before.
"A raging soul," she whispered, awestruck. "GO, HERO!!"
---
"PLEASE! SOMEBODY! SAVE MY CHILD!"
The mother's desperate screams tore through the air.
The Gigongomos's monstrous foot was already descending. The world seemed to slow. The boy stood frozen, helpless.
A shadow appeared between him and death.
"NOT ON MY WATCH!"
Stan's voice cut through the madness like a blade.
He stood tall, fearless, between the boy and the monster.
Stretching his hand wide to the side, Stan muttered under his breath, voice low and electric:
"Yeah, I'm a vigilante. But that's not my only secret."
From his hand, a black, shimmering liquid materialized, rapidly shaping itself into a wickedly sharp sword.
Stan gritted his teeth, planted his feet deep into the ground, and pointed the blade at the beast's oncoming leg.
From the window of the buggy, the girl screamed, "IS HE CRAZY? A SWORD AGAINST THAT MASSIVE THING?!"
But Stan didn't flinch.
At the moment the blade touched the beast's skin, he swung upward in one savage, fluid motion.
WHOOSH—!!
The Gigongomos was lifted.
LIFTED.
Like a home-run baseball, the colossal creature was sent hurtling into the sky, soaring over the rooftops, finally crashing down far, far beyond the city limits with an earth-shaking explosion.
A whirlwind of dust and debris spiraled in its wake.
The girl watched, mouth open in disbelief.
"He... He sent it flying... Like it was nothing... Who the hell is he?" she whispered, awestruck.
---
Stan, breathing heavily, knelt down, planting his sword into the cobblestones like a crowbar. With one smooth lever motion, he popped up a loose stone, freeing the boy's trapped foot.
"Are you okay, kid?" Stan asked, voice still steady despite the adrenaline roaring in his ears.
The boy didn't answer. He just ran—straight into his mother's arms.
They collapsed together, sobbing, clutching each other with everything they had.
"Thank you... thank you..." the mother cried, her voice cracking with overwhelming gratitude.
Stan just smiled.
----------
Stan turned his gaze to the other side.
The city lay in ruin—ravaged, shattered, gutted. steel and stone dangling like threads, their remains barely clinging to the skeletons they once stood upon. Smoke curled into the dusky sky, carrying the scent of burnt iron and something far more human.
It wasn't his first time witnessing a scene like this. Destruction had long since become an old acquaintance.
The weak are always crushed beneath the heel of the strong, Stan thought bitterly. That's just how this world works.
The screams were fading now—once shrill and endless, now replaced by silence that felt heavier than the chaos before it.
"Looks like my work's done here," he muttered, turning to leave.
Then it came.
Craaaaaack Crrrkrrrrroooʻdd
A distorted, unnatural sound tore through the air. It wasn't like the rumble of buildings collapsing, or the whine of steel under pressure—this was wrong.
Stan froze.
His eyes flicked to the source, brows furrowing. "Oi, oi… what the hell is that?"
Before him, space itself wavered, like heat rising off the ground, but twisted—jagged and shifting. The air bent, shimmered, and folded in on itself.
"No way… is that… the fabric of reality bending?"
His instincts screamed.
Without hesitation, Stan unsheathed his sword. In one fluid motion, he slashed forward—just as the distortion reached him.
Shhhhhlk
A clean cut.
He stood still for a breath, eyes scanning the aftermath. The air settled. Whatever it was, it was gone.
"Hah… thank the skies. Not as bad as Gigongomos. But still... what in the world was that?"
Then—normalcy.
The sound of hooves clattered against the cobblestones. Life returned, slowly.
"No, no, this is too expensive—drop the price!"
"That's the market rate, madame. Take it or leave it."
"Mama! Mama, look!"
"Did you hear? The Imperial Army's in town!"
Laughter. Chatter. Bartering.
Stan blinked rapidly, stunned. The world had changed. Or maybe… reset?
"Ah... ah, ahhhhhhh..."
His eyes widened. Disbelief punched the air from his lungs. This wasn't just unusual—it was impossible.
A buggy rolled to a stop behind him. Hooves clopped once more, then halted.
The window creaked open.
A girl leaned out, her eyes sharp, strangely familiar.
She locked her gaze with Stan's.
"Hero," she called out, firm and clear.
Stan turned, utterly blindsided.
"Huh!!???"
---