There's a kind of fear that freezes you.
There's another kind that shatters you.
And then there's the kind that makes something inside you snap so violently you stop feeling fear at all—and all that's left is a burning, reckless fury.
That's the one that hit me.
Luci's full Devourer Princess form towered in front of us—long obsidian horns glowing with death-light,half her body swallowed by living shadow,pupils twin rings of rotating red.
Ami was barely standing.Yergba trembled like her bones were vibrating.Sam… Sam looked like she had minutes before she collapsed.
I felt like vomiting.
Not because of fear.
Because of helplessness.
Because once again—everyone was fighting for me.Bleeding for me.Breaking for me.
And I couldn't do anything.
I was useless.
Weak.
A burden.
My fists clenched so hard my nails dug into my palm.
I wasn't going to watch them die for me again.Not Ami.Not Yergba.Not Sam.
Not anymore.
Luci took one slow step toward me, horns humming with demonic resonance.
"Aki~," she cooed. "Don't break again. I like you better when you scream."
My heart pounded.
My vision blurred.
My pulse roared.
And then—
Something deep in my chest clicked.
Like a lock opening.
Like a door swinging wide.
A golden card symbol pulsed across my vision—a UI window glowing brighter and brighter, flickering like glitching light.
A voice, cold and cosmic, whispered in my skull:
"USER LIMIT REACHED.EMOTIONAL CORE OVERFLOW DETECTED.UNSEALING: [UNLIMITED GACHA MASTER CARD]."
I staggered.
A swirling void of golden and crimson light appeared above my hand—a card forming out of raw data and divine aura.
Aki:"What… the hell… is this…?"
Sam, even on her knees, stared in awe."A master… summoning card…?"
Ami's eyes widened."That's—impossible… That level of gacha is forbidden—!"
Yergba grinned despite the blood on her teeth."Finally. Finally the dude's waking up!"
Luci paused mid-stride.
"Oh?"Her eyes sharpened."That's interesting."
The card pulsed.
Then shattered into twin beams of light—
One black.One white.
The beams hit the ground like thunder.
The dust cleared.
And two figures stepped out.
✦ Grey & Tey — Twin Gacha Hunters
A boy and girl, same height, same posture, same deadpan expression.
Grey — white hair, black jacket, dual pistols holstered across his chest.Tey — black hair, white jacket, dual pistols glowing with cutting-point light like starlight through metal.
Both wore matching tactical boots, belts lined with magazines that glowed with enchantments.
Grey yawned."Who summoned us? I was sleeping."
Tey stretched her arms lazily."Ugh, I swear if this isn't at least a Demon-class target I'm quitting the gacha system."
Then both their eyes locked onto Luci's horns.
They froze.
Grey:"…Oh. That's a Devourer Princess."
Tey:"Finally. Something fun."
Ami nearly dropped her sword."Gacha… gunslingers…?!"
Yergba blinked rapidly."DUDE YOU SUMMONED FREAKIN' LEGENDS—!"
Luci tilted her head, amused."My, my… you're full of surprises, Aki."
✦ The Fight Begins
Grey loaded his pistols with black-rimmed bullets.
Tey loaded hers with silver-rimmed magazines, each round glowing faintly with runic power—not anti-aura, but pure nullification meant to strip magic apart at the core.
Grey:"Anti-magic rounds loaded."
Tey:"Null rounds loaded."
Both in unison:
"Commencing twin-chain annihilation."
They blurred.
Not teleported.
Just moved so fast the air cracked.
Luci's eyes widened a fraction.
Grey fired point-blank—
BANG–BANG–BANG–BANG–BANG!
Each bullet detonated on impact, tearing holes through Luci's shadow-flesh—making her flinch for the first time.
Black ichor splattered the ground.
Tey flipped over her brother, spinning mid-air, firing downwards—
B-B-B-BANG!
Her nullification bullets ripped through Luci's magic barrier, causing it to unravel in fractals of fading light.
Luci hissed.
A real hiss.
"You pests—!"
She slashed at them with her monstrous arm.
A shadow claw the size of a truck flew toward the twins.
Grey rolled under it.Tey leapt over it.Their movements were perfectly synchronized—like mirrors.
Grey slid across the ground, firing continuous bursts.
Tey danced around Luci's legs, firing upward like a blinding storm of silver.
Each shot disrupted Luci's demonic magic, forcing her to take a defensive stance.
Sam stared in shock."They're… pushing her back!"
Ami's eyes widened."This is unreal…"
Yergba grinned through the pain."I LOVE THESE TWO!"
Luci snarled as the smoke cleared.
Half her monstrous shadow form flickered.Her horns pulsed unevenly.
Luci:"…Anti-magic and nullification… combined? That's cheating."
Grey cracked his knuckles.
"We're gacha hunters. Cheating is part of the job."
Tey loaded new magazines with glowing runes.
"And unlike you, we actually WORK for a living."
Luci landed, claws sinking into the ground.
Shadow erupted around her like a storm.
"You think you can kill me?" she whispered, voice dripping with malice.
The twins answered together:
"No.We can weaken you."
Grey tossed two magazines into the air.
Tey shot them mid-air.
They exploded with a blinding flash—
A sigil formed around Luci, locking onto her demonic signature.
Grey smirked."Tey—ready?"
Tey spun her gun on her finger."Always."
In perfect unison:
"Twin Gacha Hunters:DOUBLE-BARRAGE — NULLIFICATION STORM!"
A hurricane of bullets erupted.
Black bullets shredded Luci's shadow.Silver null rounds tore apart her magic as it regenerated.
Luci screamed—a sound that cracked the barrier spell and shook the ground.
Her horns flickered.Her claw-arm dissolved into smoke.
Ami stared in disbelief."They're… actually ripping her apart!"
Yergba pumped her fist."HELL YEAH!!"
Sam whispered, stunned:"Aki… you summoned monsters…"
I shook.
Not from fear.
From relief.
From adrenaline.
From the sudden, blazing hope exploding inside me.
Grey and Tey landed beside me, both calm as stones.
Grey:"Target destabilized."
Tey:"One more phase and she's done."
Ami raised her blade, strength returning."Then let's finish this together—!"
But something changed.
A sound clicked.
A low, dreadful hum.
Luci slowly stood up inside the smoke.Her horns glowed like molten obsidian.Her shadow solidified again.
Her smile returned.
"Oh, Aki…" she whispered, almost affectionately."You think this is my final form?"
The ground cracked open beneath her.
A second set of horns began pushing through her skull.
Sam's voice broke."No—NO—she's evolving again—!"
Grey and Tey both stepped back.
Tey whispered:"That's… not possible…"
Grey clenched his teeth."She's forcing a metamorphosis…"
Luci's magic surged like a collapsing star.
She pointed at me.
New horns still growing.Shadow swirling like a beast rising.
"Aki…"
She smiled wider.
"…now I'm actually going to try."
My stomach dropped.
The twins raised their guns.
Ami raised her blade.
Yergba charged her lightning.
Sam stepped in front of me again.
And I—
I clutched my chest.
Feeling fear.
But for the first time—
Feeling strength too.
This wasn't the end.
It was the real beginning.