The reckless truck roared down the cracked asphalt road that curved along the edge of the Green Lake industrial district. Its engine snarled like a caged beast, exhaust coughing black smoke into the evening air. Rust ate at its sides, and the long container behind it rattled violently as though something inside wanted out.
The driver leaned forward over the steering wheel, one tattooed arm hanging out the window. He spat onto the road and laughed crudely to himself.
"Almost there, you ugly things," he muttered. "Boss'll be happy. Real happy."
A dull thud echoed from the container.
Then another.
The metal walls bulged outward for a split second before snapping back into place.
The driver's grin widened.
"Yeah, yeah. I know. Hungry, ain't you?"
The lake shimmered under the late afternoon light, deceptively peaceful. Trees swayed gently. A breeze rolled across the surface of the water. It was hard to believe anything unnatural lurked nearby.
The truck screeched into the abandoned warehouse lot beside the lake. Tires burned rubber. He parked near the entrance, killed the engine, and stepped out, stretching his broad shoulders. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"It's here," he said gruffly. "Delivery on schedule. Just like you wanted. You'll get your chaos."
He listened, nodded, and hung up.
Behind him, the container trembled.
The shaking intensified.
Metal creaked.
The driver didn't turn around. He simply leaned against the truck and lit a cigarette.
Juno walked along the lakeside path, hands in his pockets. The blue-haired girl skipped a few steps behind him, then ahead of him, then behind again. Her bare feet barely made a sound against the pavement.
"You walk too stiffly," she said, tilting her head. "Like someone is always about to stab you."
"They usually are," Juno replied calmly.
She smiled, though there was something ancient behind her eyes that didn't match her youthful face.
The lake water rippled unnaturally for a moment before settling.
Juno's senses were sharp despite his current weakened state.
And then....
A violent metallic crack split the air.
Juno stopped walking.
The blue-haired girl stopped too.
From behind the warehouse, a guttural roar erupted.
Another.
Then many.
The sound was not animal. It was deeper. Thicker. Wrong.
Juno's eyes narrowed.
The truck container doors exploded outward with a deafening blast of torn metal.
"KRAHHHH!"
Monstrous figures burst from the darkness inside.
They were massive twisted humanoid shapes with elongated limbs, jagged bone protrusions, and skin that looked stitched together from multiple creatures. Their eyes glowed a dull red. Black saliva dripped from razor-lined jaws.
The truck driver flicked his cigarette aside.
"Go on," he murmured. "Hunt."
The creatures charged.
They spotted the nearest living beings immediately.
Juno.
And the girl.
The ground cracked under their weight as they rushed forward.
The girl blinked.
"Oh," she said quietly.
Juno stepped in front of her without hesitation.
"Stay behind me."
The first monster leapt, claws extended.
Slash!
A flash of silver cut through the air.
Juno's blade appeared in his hand in a blur. The creature split cleanly from shoulder to waist. Black blood sprayed across the pavement.
The corpse collapsed with a heavy thud.
But in that split second..
Another monster's claw raked across Juno's right arm.
Tear.
His sleeve shredded. Flesh split open. Blood flowed.
Juno stepped back, jaw tightening.
He glanced at his arm, the wound was deep.
Annoyance flickered in his eyes. "Disgusting."
The remaining monsters circled him, snarling.
There were nine left.
The driver leaned against the truck, arms crossed, watching with interest.
"Let's see how long you last."
The blue-haired girl stood calmly behind Juno, observing. She made no move to help.
The monsters lunged together.
Juno exhaled.
His weakened body protested, but something beneath his skin stirred a faint echo of the overwhelming aura that had once shaken the world.
He moved..
The world seemed to slow..
A claw swiped toward his face..
He ducked.
Another lunged at his legs.
He stepped onto its back and launched upward.
Mid-air, he spun.
Slash!
Slash!
Slash!
Three heads fell.
Black blood splattered across the warehouse wall.
He landed, knees bending to absorb impact.
A monster tackled him from the side, slamming him into the ground. Concrete cracked beneath them.
Juno grunted.
Its jaw opened wide, descending toward his throat.
He shoved his injured arm upward, blocking the bite with his forearm.
Teeth pierced flesh.
Pain shot through him.
His eyes darkened.
"You dare."
The air shifted.
A pulse of invisible force erupted from his body.
The monster was blown backward violently, crashing into the truck with bone-shattering force.
The remaining creatures hesitated.
The driver's smile faded slightly. "What the hell…"
Juno stood slowly.
Blood dripped from his arm, but the flow began slowing unnaturally.
His breathing steadied.
He looked at the monsters with cold detachment.
"You were sent," he said softly.
One of the creatures roared and charged.
Juno stepped forward instead of back.
He swung once.
The blade hummed with faint blue light.
The monster split in two.
Another leapt from behind.
Without turning, Juno thrust backward. The formed sword pierced through its chest and out its spine.
He kicked the corpse off the blade.
Four left.
They attacked simultaneously from all sides.
Juno closed his eyes.
For a fraction of a second, he let go of restraint.
A faint aura shimmered around him thin, unstable, but unmistakably divine.
The monsters froze mid-charge.
Their bodies trembled violently.
Their red eyes flickered with something new.
Fear!
Juno opened his eyes.
They glowed faintly blue.
He vanished.
In less than a heartbeat...
Slash!
Crack!
Thud!
All four monsters collapsed.
Silence fell over the warehouse lot.
Only the wind and the distant lapping of lake water remained.
The truck driver stared, cigarette slipping from his lips.
"No way…"
Juno turned toward him.
Each step forward was measured.
The divine shimmer faded quickly, as if his body could not sustain it long.
The blue-haired girl watched intently.
The driver stumbled backward.
"You.... you're not supposed to be that strong!"
Juno stopped a few feet away.
"Who sent you."
The driver tried to regain composure.
"You think I'd tell you?"
Juno raised his blade slightly.
The driver suddenly lunged for a pistol tucked in his waistband.
Too slow.
Juno flicked his wrist.
The blade sliced through the gun cleanly before it cleared the holster.
The driver froze.
Juno's sword rested against his throat.
"Who."
The driver's bravado shattered.
"I don't know names! Just a handler! They said cause chaos near the lake! Said something big was stirring here!"
Juno's eyes narrowed.
"Who is 'they'."
"I swear I don't know! Some church symbol on their clothes! Ancient-looking thing! Three triangles forming a circle!"
Juno's gaze sharpened.
Ancient Gods Church.
So they were already moving.
The blue-haired girl tilted her head slightly, as if amused.
Juno knocked the driver unconscious with a swift strike to the neck.
He sheathed his blade.
The injury on his arm throbbed, but it was already closing faster than normal.
The girl stepped forward, examining the fallen monsters.
"They weren't natural," she said lightly. "Artificially enhanced. Fed with something divine."
Juno looked at her.
"You know a lot."
She smiled.
"I swim a lot."
He didn't respond.
Instead, he looked toward the lake.
For just a moment...
He felt it again.
Deep beneath the water.
Watching. Not hostile.
Simply aware.
The girl followed his gaze.
"You felt it too."
"Yes."
She clasped her hands behind her back.
"You're attracting attention. Gods, churches, monsters… even things beneath the water."
Juno remained silent.
His thoughts churned.
If the Church had already narrowed down his location, this was only the beginning. And if they believed a god was choosing an agent—
They weren't entirely wrong.
But they misunderstood something crucial.
He was not chosen.
He had once stood above.
And he would again.
The wind picked up.
The lake rippled violently for a split second before calming.
The girl looked at him sideways.
"You're irritated."
"They damaged my clothes."
She burst into laughter.
"You're strange."
Juno began walking toward the city again.
She followed.
Behind them, the unconscious driver lay among shattered metal and monster corpses.
But far above....
Clouds shifted unnaturally.
In an unseen place, forces had taken note.
The aura that had once shaken the world flickered faintly again inside Juno.
Small.
But growing.
And somewhere in the shadows....
Someone smiled.