In a dimly lit, blood-stained banquet hall hidden in an undisclosed subterranean sanctuary, a lavish dining table was set.
But instead of fine dining, the silver platters were filled with raw, gruesome human flesh.
Seated around the table were four formidable entities enjoying their sickening feast:
[NAME: CYBORG]
[TITLE: THE INFINITE ENGINE]
[POWER: COUNTER-MECHANICS / ABSOLUTE WEIGHT ABSORPTION]
Ability: Possesses incredible physical strength and is capable of countering and absorbing infinite physical weight and kinetic pressure.
[NAME: DARK]
[TITLE: THE VOID CONSUMER]
[POWER: SHADOW ABSORPTION / LIGHT ERADICATION]
Ability: Controls pure dark energy to swallow all surrounding light, converting human terror into raw power.
[NAME: LIKA]
[TITLE: THE ACID OVERLORD]
[POWER: CORROSIVE FLUID MANIPULATION]
Ability: Mika’s ruthless brother who controls hyper-acidic fluids capable of dissolving steel, flesh, and magical barriers.
[NAME: MIKA]
[TITLE: THE RESURRECTED BRUTE]
[POWER: SUPER HYPER BEAMS / MONSTROUS PHYSICAL STRENGTH]
Status: Patched together through dark magic, burning with absolute vengeance against the Legends.
Suddenly, the air in the massive banquet hall shifted violently.
The shadows on the walls writhed as a suffocating, terrifying pressure descended upon the room.
The four elite warriors immediately pushed back their chairs, stood up straight, and bowed deeply as a tall, imposing figure materialized at the head of the table out of thin air.
[NAME: TRACE FALGER]
[TITLE: OVERLORD OF SITE DOMINION]
[POWER: SPATIAL TELEPORTATION / BLOOD MANIPULATION]
[DANGER LEVEL: EXTREME THREAT TO POWERLAND]
Ability: Can instantaneously manipulate space to teleport anywhere and gains total physical control over any living body whose blood he drinks.
Trace Falger smoothed out his pristine formal coat and smiled sadistically, his crimson eyes gleaming like burning embers in the dim lighting.
“A good, bloody day to you all, my dear friends!” Trace purred smoothly, his voice echoing across the stone hall.
“Report to me. What is the current status of our territorial holdings across the region?”
“Site 3 is fully secured and under my total mechanical rule, My Lord,” Cyborg reported stoically, his metallic jaw whirring.
“Site 4 is thoroughly dominated,” Dark chuckled softly, leaning back into his seat.
“I have squeezed far more money and resources out of those foolish citizens than ever before while feeding on their darkness.”
Lika licked his lips greedily, green acid dripping from his fingertips and burning holes through the floorboards.
“Site 2 is under my complete jurisdiction. My friends and beasts are having a magnificent time enjoying themselves by eating fresh, soft humans.”
Mika stepped forward slowly, hanging his massive head in shame.
Trace chuckled softly, walking over and placing a gentle, reassuring hand on Mika’s massive shoulder.
“Oh, my dear Mika… I have already forgiven you. In fact, you did the right thing by coming straight here with your brother Lika. But hear this—both of you must learn to tolerate these people longer. Do not immediately kill them. Make them suffer slowly!”
“Understood, My Lord,” Mika bowed deeply.
“However… what about Site 1? The Legends were summoned there…”
Trace Falger smirked, his eyes flashing dangerous scarlet.
“Do not worry, Mika. They will definitely come to Site 2 instead. When they arrive, you two are going to tolerate them and play with them as much as you want. But remember… before you kill them, rip out their beating hearts and give them directly to me.”
“Don’t worry, Lord Trace,” Lika cackled evilly, his acid bubbling with anticipation.
“We can play with those little pests as much as we want!”
Meanwhile, back at the Lockout Base’s underground multi-floor garage, the Legends were packing their gear to head out.
They stood in front of a long row of sleek, futuristic sports cars.
“WOAH! Look at this one!” Sha cheered, throwing his arms up as he hopped straight into the passenger seat of a pitch-black, floating vehicle.
“It’s totally automatic! We don’t even have to drive it!”
“Man, I’ve literally dreamed of sitting in a car like this my whole life!” Rihasa grinned, rolling up to the trunk while dragging two massive, hard-shell suitcases behind him.
Tez walked over, stopping in his tracks and staring at the giant luggage in utter disbelief.
“Hey! You two idiots! I explicitly said only ONE small handbag each! Why are you taking two full-sized suitcases?!”
What happens if we can’t find any decent food over there?!” Rihasa argued loudly, clutching his bags defensively.
“And what happens if we get completely bored on the road?!” Sha added, leaning out the window.
“I packed all my video games!”
Without saying another word, Tez grabbed both heavy suitcases by their handles and chucked them straight into the nearby base water reservoir.
SPLASH!
Sha and Rihasa froze in place, staring at the bubbles rising from the water.
Instantly, a terrifying, furious surge of pure Mythic Aura flared up from both of their bodies, shaking the entire garage floor!
“TEZ!” they roared in unison, stepping up to him with veins popping on their foreheads.
“We respect you as our leader, but this is NOT what you do! Do you want to get killed by us right here?!”
Tez hopped into the driver’s seat and slammed the door, completely ignoring their terrifying glares.
“Heeey! Stop complaining! We’re getting late!”
As the high-tech automatic car sped out of the base and onto the open highway, Tez glanced at his two sulking cousins through the rearview mirror, shaking his head: These fools are using their full potential Mythic Aura just over some lost luggage…
unbelievable.
Hours later, the automatic car smoothly crossed the border checkpoint into Site 2.
Tez slowed the vehicle down to a crawl, staring out the tinted windows in complete bewilderment.
Site 2 didn’t look like a ruined, monster-infested warzone at all.
The sky was crystal clear, the streets were immaculately clean, lively music played from open storefronts, and dozens of citizens were strolling around, enjoying food, laughing, and shopping.
They parked the car in a public lot and sat down at an outdoor table near a bustling cafe.
“I don’t get it…” Sha said, scratching his head as he looked around.
“If the environment is so clear, why on earth did anyone send 126 frantic letters to our base?” Tez wondered, his instincts on high alert.
Maybe someone was just trying to fool us and make us look like idiots,” Rihasa grumbled, looking through a food menu.
Suddenly, Rihasa paused.
At a small table across from them, a young girl was eating an ice cream cone.
She was laughing and smiling out loud, but tears were continuously streaming down her cheeks, and her small hands were trembling uncontrollably.
Rihasa leaned over, his brow furrowing.
“Hey, little kid… what’s happening?”
The little girl smiled brightly, but her voice shook violently with terror.
“N-Nothing happened! Everything is fine!”
Tez and Sha immediately stood up, their eyes widening.
The laughter, the music, the smiles across the entire plaza—it was all fake.
The citizens were acting happy out of sheer, unadulterated fear.
WHOOSH!
Suddenly, a tense voice came from the shadowy alley directly behind Tez.
A young boy lunged out, swinging a concealed iron pipe toward Tez’s back!
Tez effortlessly caught the pipe in his palm without even turning around.
“You came so fast…” the boy panted, his eyes filled with raw desperation.
[NAME: WEZA]
[IDENTITY: INFORMANT / CITIZEN REBEL OF SITE 2]
[STATUS: RESISTING OPPRESSION]
Role: The brave civilian who secretly dispatched all 126 distress letters to the Legends’ Help Box.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to do,” Tez said calmly, releasing the pipe.
“I am Weza,” the boy explained rapidly, wiping sweat from his forehead.
“I am the one who has been secretly sending you those letters since last week!”
“We are sorry for being late,” Tez said, stepping closer.
“What is really going on here?”
Weza pointed with a shaking finger to the smiling crowd in the plaza.
“You see those people who are smiling? It is completely fake! If they don’t smile and behave as if everything is good, those monsters will come out of the shadows and kill them on the spot! We are forced to pretend!”
Weza quickly told Tez, Sha, and Rihasa everything about the living nightmare of Site 2.
Tez’s gaze darkened as he realized the truth.
“Mika is here too… with his brother.”
Suddenly, before Weza could say another word, the air temperature plummeted into absolute freezing cold.
A chilling, sinister voice echoed from the shadows right behind the cafe…
“Long time no see, Tez…”
TO BE CONTINUED…
Now ,, the game is gonna begin !