Charmant would not end the fight until victory. His sword glowed brighter, and he charged on horseback. His trusty steed ran at Mach 3 toward the enemy from afar. “Smite them, Cinderella!” He grinned and prepared to throw multiple swings.

Elon was now on the defensive. In fact, he could not counter. Fate told him every time to dodge by a hair. Any misstep would mean his body sliced to ribbons. Even turning into crows did not help much. Only a short breather stopped the onslaught. He bent over and caught his breath. “Seriously, mate… We gotta stop….” He stood and wiped the sweat off his forehead. “Shouldn’t we talk about this? Earthly Mytho to another?” He chuckled faintly.

He and his horse stood their ground. “Do you honestly believe our Aesop Core ties us together? You’re the asshole who gave weapons to terrorists!” His eyes narrowed. “I don’t care if you’re the Raven. Or the Big Bad Wolf. Or even Paul Bunyan.

“I only do my prince schtick because my Elena is more than a woman, wife, or princess. She is the light I wield every day. Cinderella!” He prepared his sword. The horse neighed and galloped at blinding speeds.

Once again, Elon could not do anything. He tried summoning a million crows; Charmant sliced them faster than before. He tried turning his hands into massive beaks; the sword chopped both with ease. All the way, he still had to dodge.

He grunted internally. “For Christ’s sake… This cheeky cunt has no opening.” He looked at the ceiling. “Unless….” As an idea popped within him, he flooded the area again with avians numbering in billions. He felt his magic draining to a drought.

The murder of crows became too much for even the “prince.” Surprisingly, none attacked him. His steed panicked and moved erratically, so he de-summoned it. He continued slashing away the birds. Then, all disappeared into thin air.

With the nuisance over, Charmant realized the enemy had escaped his eyes. He looked around and saw a flock forming into a human shape above.

Elon stretched and yawned on a higher floor. “Sorry, mate!” he looked below. “This bird’s gotta fly. But I’m not the Raven, your charmingness.”

He stored his sword via runes. “Then, what are you, asshole!” His eyes squinted.

He shrugged and slowly turned into crows again. “I’m the Witching Hour Santa. I give toys to ‘children’ of older age. Nevermore—forever I am….” He smiled as his face became ebony feathers. The birds flew higher, and their caws echoed throughout the destroyed area.

Charmant panted and sat with his legs crossed. The cyborg rebels stepped in from afar. They seized the opportunity by charging at him with arm cannons. Before they could react, an armored cavalry materialized. They ran for their lives as they could not even kill them. 90% perished.

He stood and stretched his back. “Damn… Gotta lay off the ramen and wagyu.” Moments later, he heard laughing from behind.

Garuda smiled and clapped his hands. “You could not have entertained the masses better, young prince! My heart goes out to the cowardly villain who tucked tail and ran.” He crossed his arms.

He turned to him with droopy eyes. “Yeah, yeah… Can you please stop talking like that? It’s annoying.”

“Hahahahahahahaha!” He walked closer. “Why not? It’s fun and poetic! If I were part of your kin, I’d love to be born as Arthur Pendragon.” He laughed louder.

He sighed with his eyes closed. “Should we tell the blood-crazed barbarian that we won? He might ask us to fight him again.” He cringed as he remembered the time when his limbs got twisted 720°. “I still feel it….”

The king shook his head. “We don’t need to even in good faith, young man. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll form an exit above—”

The two got startled by the thunderous noise behind them. The rubble turned coarse over a large area, and a man came out. Their eyes widened as they saw his stab wounds the size of dinner plates. He barely had a face. His arms dangled on small tendons.

He slowly walked toward the two, which terrified them. However, his body regenerated before their brains comprehended. In less than a nanosecond, the man’s body looked brand new. He cast blood runes for a new pair of clothes, albeit the same design.

Now fully healed, Hokori cracked his knuckles and neck. “Don’t none of y’all interfere,” he pointed. “Especially you, Prince Condom. You ain’t gonna like the monster comin’ down here.”

An irritated Charmant grunted and walked with heavy steps. “Speak for yourself, you prideful shitstain! You think just because you’re far stronger than any living thing means you can—”

Once more, another thunderous noise filled the room. The “prince” backed away as he saw a frightening humanoid from afar. Going by recent reports, it turned out to be an actual human.

It was none other than the newly appointed mage, Tokino. Her lavender crown stayed the same. Even the two long strands on her shoulders remained intact.

On the other hand, her skin looked like cracked glass. Sand flowed out of said fissures, and her eyes turned pitch black. Red ticking clock hands served as corneas. She moved slowly toward Hokori; her joints sounded like rusted gears and broken machinery.

For the first time in ages, Garuda’s smile disappeared. “Sweet merciful Lords…” he sweated bullets.

Hours ago in the city, two rebels rested on top of a skyscraper. Leader Wamdue always had men handle finance through illegal means. Every cent they stole went to funding their cause.

After eating instant ramen, the two men stood and picked up their briefcases. “You sure they won’t find us here. Private pods might fly by here.” One looked from afar.

“Don’t worry, man,” he assured. “We trained until our bones broke against mages. Surely, we can defeat the middle ranks.”

“I guess you’re right.” An idea popped into his head. “Hey, dude. Watch this!” He turned to him and transformed via an innate ability; he became three times taller. Seconds in, he resembled archmage Hokori to a T. His comrade clutched his belly and laughed while pointing. Tears flowed out.

“Hey, y’all! Got some bitches tonight?” he mocked in his mimic form. “Aight, Imma be bustin’ a nut on this shawty. It ain’t cap. She eighteen for real.” For nine minutes, he made fun of Hokori’s image. He even said slurs as if the man had another background.

The other continued laughing out loud and felt his sides ache. Then, his joy disappeared instantly. He sweated bullets and stood terrified by the one man behind his friend. Still, the latter played the act.

It took a shaking finger for him to turn around. He sweated bullets next as he looked behind. Before the impostor knew it, the real deal turned him into a twinkle in the sky. Hokori slowly walked toward the other rebel. “By the way, I never said that word in my life. Not even back on Earth.” He cracked every joint with a toothy grin.

He readied a plasma gun and repulsor arm. However, the next thing the goon saw was a briefcase nearing his head. He crossed the other side as his upper half splattered chrome and red.

Even after the deed, he still held the briefcase. “Damn… The handle feels great.” He pulled it up and down. Suddenly, he heard metallic noises from behind. More of the half-and-half rebels prepared their weapons. He turned around and chuckled. “Don’t threaten me with a good time, y’all….”

Below the surface, Novusian mages held off the incoming cyborgs. The former had one advantage the latter did not: they cast runic arrays thirty times quicker. Tokino took the lead and killed ninety mooks per minute. Kenkō evacuated and healed citizens who got injured. She joined the battle after and became crucial to their physical health.

As she ended her 389th enemy, Tokino’s foresight made her see a man jumping on top of buildings nearby. She sweated bullets with her eyes narrowed. She remembered him all too well at that point. She abandoned her post and went for the sky in a single bound.

“Hey! What are you doing, ma’am!? Come back here!” Her comrade looked up. She tried to follow but became preoccupied with the ongoing battle.

Fifteen minutes in, Hokori bludgeoned ten cyborgs with the briefcase every second. He spun his whole self and now killed twenty a second. Everyone used their rocket feet to get away from the spinning top of death. Eventually, no one was left.

He jumped into another building and chuckled. “That’s what ya get for usin’ blastproof metal, dipshits.” He dropped the undented briefcase. He yawned and stretched. “Welp… guess I’ll play some Olden Brace for now.” He pulled up The Every Hub and turned it into a holographic desktop.

He preferred greatswords more than others, even the heaviest ones. Other times, he chose battle axes and maces. He sat mesmerized seeing a larger-than-life boss thrust its sword. He chuckled. “Holy shit! The graphics are so good. It even looks like—” Before he could react, a rapier went through his stomach.

He flash-stepped backward and clutched his belly. “Oh, God… I hate it when I don’t numb the pain.” He healed instantly and mended his shirt with blood runes. He looked in front and saw the angriest face possible; it was blank and nothing else.

Tokino lowered her sword and slowly walked. “It seems I was wrong. I hated you but didn’t believe you were 100% scum. You helping Wamdue’s group was one thing. Killing your buddies for fun made me realize you’re beyond saving.” She pointed her weapon. “I won’t murder you… But I hope they’ll sentence you to life—under God Law.”

He interpreted her resolution as word salad. He face-palmed and shook his head. “Ayayay… To think misunderstandings were only dogshit writing in fiction.” He stood closer. “Listen, kid. If I told you my side of the story with Mom’s blessing, would your ears work then?”

“Not even for a second.” She prepared a stance. “You won’t change my mind.”

He flash-stepped again to dodge her thrust. He chuckled from behind. “Come on, kid. Mom told me never to lie. I despised utter bullshit ever since!”

She turned around. “Well, sorry. But I don’t see it that way right now. My mother told me two wrongs don’t make a right. I’ll make an exception.” Her eyes glared, and she released her magical pressure at him.

For anyone else, it would feel like being cooked alive. For Hokori, he chuckled once more. “It tickles….” He cracked his right knuckles.

Tokino foresaw the attack and moved to the left. However, his hand moved in the same direction before she knew it. She could feel every inch of his face grip. It would have crushed her skull to dust.

He dragged her and leaped far away from the city. He covered a hundred kilometers in under three seconds. He landed far outside into the vast plains; the ground rippled into barren dirt.

She got thrown into boulders nearby. Thanks to magic, she survived but with multiple gashes. She coughed and slowly got up. Her vision turned hazy, and the towering man walked closer.

He threw the rapier near her. “I don’t deal with tired clichés, kid. I hope you’ll apologize quickly instead of beating around the bush.”

She panted and picked up her sword. “And if I don’t?” She pointed again.

He grinned and cocked his head. “Well, then, you’re just fuelin’ my fun.” He released his non-magical pressure toward her.

She fell to her knees and vomited. Her heart matched a rabbit’s over what she saw; the opponent felt more like an apex predator than a human. Even then, she stood and strengthened her resolve. “Pray for me, Mama… I’m fighting my first villain.”