The river roared like a beast, its black surface rippling under the moonlight. Gunfire cracked over the rushing water, each shot echoing off the stones and trees. Men shouted, their voices laced with panic and defiance.
"Hold the line! Keep firing!" one of them roared.
Three men crouched on the rocky bank, gripping rune-inscribed rifles. Blue symbols along the barrels pulsed each time a shot went off, releasing bolts of light that struck the figure in the river. She staggered but never fell.
The supernatural girl is tall, lithe, her body wrapped in spectral chains that moved with terrifying grace. Her long hair whipped behind her, streaked crimson, eyes glowing like molten sorrow. Each step she took sent ripples rushing outward across the water.
The three men fired again, their runic guns cracking. Bolts slammed into her torso and limbs. She hissed, a voice that was layered—half young girl, half nightmare.
"You think those toys can cage me?" she spat.
The water beneath her exploded as she lunged forward. Chains lashed from her arms, whipping across the riverbank. One chain slammed into a rifleman, smashing his gun apart and flinging him into the dirt. He rolled with a scream, blood spraying from his shoulder.
The other two staggered back, firing frantically.
"Keep her pinned!" shouted another voice.
From the treeline came two figures, glowing faintly with supernatural aura. They were transcenders, bodies already warped by the power they carried.
One was a man with jagged, stone-like skin. Cracks of orange light ran through his arms, heat hissing from every movement. He carried a warhammer etched with fire runes.
The other was a man with hair like flowing frost and eyes pale as ice. His breath fogged the air around him, and frost clung to his skin. Blades of crystal floated behind him, orbiting him like stars.
"Let's go!" the stone-skinned transcender shouted, charging across the bank.
The supernatural girl's chains lashed toward him, but he swung his hammer wide. Flames erupted, blasting the chains aside in a burst of sparks. He barreled in, slamming his weapon into her ribs. The impact cracked like thunder, hurling her against a rock.
Before she could rise, the ice-haired transcender thrust his hand forward. Crystal shards launched like arrows, piercing the supernatural girl's limbs and pinning her against the boulder. Frost spread instantly, creeping up his arms and chest.
The girl shrieked, the sound sharp enough to make the river tremble. Her voice carried sorrow, rage, betrayal, a cocktail of torment that sent shivers down the men's spines.
"Now!" shouted the ice-haired man.
The stone man yanked a relic from his belt, a pendant inscribed with complex runes glowing purple. He pressed it against the girl's frozen chest.
The relic flared. A vortex of light erupted, sucking at her body. Chains rattled as her form distorted, fragments of her body pulled like smoke into the artifact.
The gunmen gasped, watching in awe. "It's working!"
But the girl's eyes flared crimson. Her voice thundered through the night.
"I will not be caged again!"
The relic shook violently in the stone man's hand. Cracks spiderwebbed across its surface.
"Hold it steady!" the ice-haired man shouted.
"I'm trying—"
The relic exploded with a sharp blast, hurling both transcenders backward. Purple shards scattered into the river, fizzing out of existence.
The supernatural girl dropped to her knees, panting, half her body flickering with unstable light. She glared at them with burning hatred.
"You dare…" she hissed. "You dare try to chain me again…"
With a scream that shattered the air, she ripped free from the frost and bolted into the forest. Her chains snapped trees aside as she vanished into the dark.
The stone-skinned transcender staggered up, blood dripping from his temple. "Damn it! After her!"
The ice-haired ma spat blood, clutching his side. "We can't let her escape!"
The three gunmen groaned on the ground, clutching wounds. One of them managed to croak out, "We… we can't move… too injured. You two… go."
The transcenders nodded grimly and sprinted into the woods, vanishing into the shadows.
---
Deep in the forest, Nash ran through Hina's porcelain body, the indestructible frame tearing through roots and branches without slowing. He was enjoying the silence when a sound cut through the air.
Gunshots. Many, fast, echoing across the woods.
Nash's porcelain head tilted, listening. "What the hell? A shootout in the middle of nowhere?"
The sound of screaming followed, sharp and furious, shaking the treetops.
Nash muttered, "That doesn't sound like any normal firefight." Curiosity gnawed at him. He turned, running toward the noise.
It only took a minute before he caught movement out of the corner of Hina's glassy eyes.
There.
Through the trees, a figure sprinted, chains whipping behind her. Her torn clothes, her crimson-streaked hair, her glowing eyes, everything about her screamed unnatural.
Nash froze, porcelain body stiff. "Holy shit… that's a supernatural."
The girl stopped. Her gaze locked on him. For a moment, the world went silent. Only the river roared behind them, only the trees swayed.
Then she screamed.
It was not just a scream, it was a sonic spear of pure rage and despair, rattling the forest floor. Birds scattered from the canopy, branches quaked. Her crimson eyes narrowed, hatred locked on Nash like a blade.
Nash staggered inside Hina's body, confused. "What the fuck? Why's she looking at me like that? I don't even know you, lady!"
Her answer was another scream, louder, shaking leaves loose from the trees. Then she bolted forward, chains flaring with spectral light.
Nash's instincts screamed at him. He braced Hina's porcelain fists. "Alright then. Guess we're doing this!"
The first chain lashed at his head. Nash ducked, the porcelain body moving fast. The chain whistled over him and smashed through a tree, snapping the trunk clean.
Nash swung back with a wide hook. His porcelain fist slammed into her jaw, the impact cracking like a cannon. She spun, crashing through brush.
But she rose instantly, eyes blazing brighter. Blood smeared her lip, and she smiled, a smile twisted with hatred.
"You… look like them," she hissed. Her voice layered, like a girl's sweetness buried under venom.
"What? I don't even know you!" Nash barked.
She charged again, faster this time. Chains whipped like serpents. Nash blocked with Hina's arms, each clash ringing like metal striking stone. Sparks showered the forest floor.
She kneed Hina's chest, the porcelain trembling slightly from the force. Nash grunted. "The hell! You're stronger than you look!"
She followed with a spinning kick. Nash ducked under, countering with an uppercut. Hina's fist connected with her stomach, launching her skyward.
But midair, her chains lashed the trees, anchoring her. She twisted and came crashing back down, foot slamming into Hina's head. The impact buried Nash half a foot into the soil.
"Goddamn it!" Nash spat. "You fight like a damn video game boss!"
The girl stood over him, crimson chains writhing. Her voice dripped venom. "I'll will kill you'll!."
Nash forced Hina's body up, cracking dirt off her porcelain frame. He sneered. "Seriously girl, I don't fucking know you!"
He lunged, fists swinging. The forest echoed with their brutal clash, chains against porcelain, fists against wraith. Each hit was heavy enough to shake the trees.
Nash slammed her into the dirt, drove his knee into her ribs, then headbutted her with porcelain force. She shrieked but wrapped chains around his arm, twisting, making Nash almost unable to move.
Pain jolted through Nash's mind. He snarled, "Fine, you wanna wrestle? Let's wrestle!"
He wrenched the chains, spun her like a ragdoll, and hurled her through a boulder. Rocks shattered, dust filling the air.
But when it cleared, she crawled out, body glowing with crimson energy. Her wounds closed, her chains flared brighter.
"I'll will kill you!" she hissed, "I will have my revenge!"
Nash groaned. "Shit, she is completely in berserk... and somehow has a personal beef with me."
She bolted again, chains snaring his legs. Nash toppled, smashing into the dirt. She leapt onto him, fists pounding his porcelain face, each blow ringing like a hammer.
Nash cursed, blocking with crossed arms. "Girl, you're strong, I'll give you that. But you picked the wrong puppet to beat up!"
He shoved upward, launching her off. She flipped, landed on a tree trunk sideways, chains anchoring her. Then she kicked off, shooting toward him like a missile.
Nash roared, meeting her with a punch midair. The impact burst like a thunderclap, both sent flying in opposite directions.
She rolled across the ground, snarling. Nash staggered but stayed standing, porcelain body uncracked.
The girl glared, trembling with rage. "Why won't you fall!"
"Because I'm literally fucking indestructible." Nash spat. "Well... that's what the description say... I hope it's not fake news."
Her crimson aura flared brighter, shaking the forest.