Alarms blared along the entire coastline.
City sirens wailed without pause.
Cosmic rifts in the sky sent millions of people fleeing into the streets. Buildings trembled. Windows shattered. Lights went out. In the distance, the shadows of the Void Generals descended like black meteors, striking different locations across the planet.
The war was no longer confined to the ocean.
It had reached humanity.
The team had split up to help evacuate civilians as the Void Generals began attacking multiple locations across Earth.
One of the dark meteors crashed into a coastal city near the harbor.
BOOOOOOOM!
A twelve-story apartment building collapsed halfway, its upper floors hanging at a dangerous angle. Dust billowed into the sky. Cars overturned. People screamed as they ran for safety.
Amid the chaos—
a man leaped from a moving evacuation truck.
"COMING THROUGH! MAKE WAY! HANDSOME HERO COMING THROUGH!"
Bimo landed awkwardly, nearly falling flat on his face. He quickly straightened up and struck a heroic pose.
"I meant to do that."
Nobody cared.
Everyone was too busy panicking.
Sinta, still aboard the truck, shouted at him.
"BIMO! FOCUS!"
"I AM focused!"
Bimo pointed at himself.
"Look at my face. This is what focus looks like."
Dika jumped down behind him, carrying a large piece of broken steel as an improvised weapon.
"That looks more like stupidity."
"Sometimes there's barely any difference."
The ground shook again.
From the ruins of the building came the sound of a child crying.
Everyone turned.
A small child stood on a fifth-floor balcony that was barely holding together. Half the building was hanging dangerously over the street, its support beams already cracked.
Below, the child's mother screamed in desperation.
"SOMEBODY! PLEASE SAVE MY CHILD!"
Bimo immediately stopped joking.
His expression changed.
Without a second thought, he sprinted toward the building.
Sinta shouted after him.
"Bimo, wait for the others!"
But Bimo was already leaping onto the first pile of rubble.
"I AM the others!"
The building tilted.
Every step sent concrete shifting beneath his feet.
Dust filled the air.
Small flames began flickering from severed electrical cables.
Bimo climbed, coughing as he struggled through the debris.
"Okay…"
He kicked open a damaged door.
"…I hate cardio."
The third floor collapsed behind him.
CRASH!
"And this building definitely hates me."
He leaped toward a broken section of the staircase, caught the edge with one hand, and hauled himself upward.
Outside, people watched with bated breath.
Farhan's voice crackled through the radio.
"Structural stability is down to eighteen percent!"
Bimo pressed his earpiece.
"TRANSLATE THAT INTO HUMAN LANGUAGE, HAN!"
"IT'S ABOUT TO COLLAPSE!"
"NOW THAT I UNDERSTAND!"
On the fifth-floor balcony, the little child was crying while clutching a stuffed rabbit.
At last, Bimo emerged through the smoke.
"Hey there, little boss."
The child looked up at him, eyes filled with tears.
"Mister… I'm scared."
Bimo crouched in front of the child.
"Me too."
The child blinked in confusion.
"You're scared?"
"Terrified."
Bimo pointed at the building, which was cracking and groaning all around them.
"This is officially the worst place for a meeting."
The child let out a tiny laugh through the tears.
That was enough.
Bimo held out his hand.
"Come on. Let's get you home."
The child took it.
And then—
the entire side of the building groaned.
KRRRRAAAAK!
Farhan screamed through the radio.
"NOW! RUN! RIGHT NOW!"
Bimo looked down.
The drop was too far.
The staircase was gone.
The route back down was blocked by flames.
"Great. Just great."
Then he spotted a half-collapsed construction crane on the neighboring building.
A steel cable dangled from it, stretching close to the balcony.
A crazy idea came to mind.
Which, naturally, meant it was a Bimo idea.
He lifted the child onto his back.
"Hold on tight."
"What are we going to do, mister?"
Bimo flashed a grin.
"Something your mom is definitely going to forbid you from doing again."
He took a running start.
Then leaped from the balcony.
The child's mother screamed from below.
People covered their eyes.
Bimo caught the steel cable midair.
"AAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The child screamed along with him.
They swung across the street like two passengers on a deadly ride, while the building behind them collapsed completely.
BOOOOOOOOOM!
A massive cloud of dust exploded into the sky.
Bimo slammed against the side of an evacuation truck, twisted his body to shield the child, and crashed onto the asphalt, rolling several times while keeping the little one protected beneath him.
For half a second, everything went silent.
Then the child slowly lifted their head.
"Are… are we alive?"
Bimo lay flat on his back, wincing in pain.
"Unfortunately, yes."
The crowd erupted into cheers.
The child's mother rushed forward and wrapped her arms around the little one, sobbing with relief.
Bimo tried to get up with a heroic flourish—
only to collapse again.
"Legs first… legs first…"
Dika approached and pulled him upright with one hand.
"You're completely insane."
Bimo flashed a wide grin.
"Thank you."
"That wasn't a compliment."
"I'll take it anyway."
But the cheering stopped when a massive shadow fell over the street.
Everyone looked up.
Standing atop the ruins of the collapsed building—
was one of the Void Generals.
Its body was covered in black, bone-like armor.
Its wings spread wide.
A glowing violet spear rested in its hand.
Its gaze swept across the crowd.
Then stopped on Bimo.
Bimo wiped the dust from his face.
"Okay."
He rolled his aching shoulder and stepped forward.
"This one… looks a little too big."
The General raised its spear.
Void energy gathered around its tip.
Sinta moved to Bimo's side.
Dika took his place on the other.
Behind them, the civilians trembled in fear.
Bimo swallowed hard.
Then he flashed a crooked smile.
"Great."
He clenched his fists.
"I just went viral, and now I'm getting a boss fight."
The Void General tilted its head.
As though it couldn't understand why such a small human still dared to stand before it.
Bimo raised his chin.
"What? Never seen a handsome man before?"
The violet spear began to blaze.