"Holy fuck…"
Magnum muttered, completely awed, his silver hair scattering in every direction as the shark's scorching breath fanned across the shore.
This was a worst-case scenario. His power—magnetism—worked only on metal. Against anything else, he was forced into his last resort: hand-to-hand combat. And that option would prove utterly futile against a bloodthirsty mutant shark of this magnitude.
"Slwhwkwk!"
The shark unleashed a piercing, unnatural roar—too sharp to be a mere growl. With every passing second, it surged closer, ready to erase them in a single devastating swoop.
"Move, damn it… move!"
Kairo commanded his body the way he had when Accex sprayed him with gas—but this time, it wasn't intoxication that held him still.
It was fear.
Fear that froze him like a mannequin in a storefront display.
"Sorry, kid. Looks like our road ends here," Magnum muttered, like a thief calmly awaiting execution, drawing Kairo's full attention.
"We can't give up now—not yet. There has to be something we can do!"
"Look at that shark, Kairo. There's no way we can outrun that thing. If being an Oxide has taught me anything, it's knowing when to stop."
The shark's teeth were only meters away now, its eyes locked onto them with predatory certainty.
"You are a sorry excuse for an Oxide!" Kairo snapped. "But when it comes to me, I have my sister to find."
He stepped back with his right leg and extended his left forward, assuming a punching stance against a monster that dwarfed him.
"So I'm not giving up until I do!"
The shark's gaping mouth expanded, large enough to swallow both of them whole. Even if he struck it, it would surely be meaningless.
Then—
A thought slipped into his mind. Words that didn't feel entirely his.
Well… if I were the spirit of your mother that's been hunting you all this while, I wouldn't want you dead. Who else would I hunt if I got you killed?
"Wait… why am I thinking of tha—"
The Catholic pendant around his neck began to glow, lifting out of his shirt and floating in midair.
BOOOOM!!!
A violent surge of red energy erupted around Kairo, blasting sand and seawater outward in a shockwave.
Behind him, a colossal humanoid figure materialized—formed entirely of the same crimson energy. It was bald and chubby man, with a half-rotten face and a distorted expression. It wore torn swim shorts, its appearance radiating the unsettling aura of something dragged back from the grave.
The shark's eyes flinched.
One moment there had been two helpless prey. The next—an overwhelming predator.
Its wings beat frantically, redirecting its charge with increased force.
But before it could strike—
The giant chubby specter seized the shark midair by its wings as if grabbing a burger… and began swallowing it whole.
ROOOAR!!
The shark screamed in agony, blood spraying across the shore as the hunter became prey.
It flapped desperately, trying to escape, but the swallowing had already crushed and disfigured its wings. In seconds, it was crippled.
"Yeah, kid! That's what I was talking about!" Magnum cheered like a fan watching his team reclaim victory in the final seconds of a match.
"Did I… do that?" Kairo whispered, staring at the horrifying sight of the giant devouring the shark whole.
"Yeah. That's your power. You use soul energy. You reanimate the souls of the dead."
"So I made that too that when I killed Accex and Armslaw?"
"Yeah—but he was much smaller then. Thin. Looked like an assassin."
Buurrrp!
The giant burped with grotesque satisfaction, wiping its mouth as if it were still human.
"He really swallowed that Shark,,,what happens now?" Kairo asked, staring at the entity with amazement.
"He returns to the afterlife."
The giant began disintegrating—molecule by molecule—fading into nothing until not even a spark of red energy remained.
Kairo's legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the sand, overwhelmed. Fear was no longer the only emotion—confusion consumed him. He didn't understand what he had just unleashed.
"I've never seen someone with your exact ability," Magnum said carefully. "But I know someone similar—one of the friends I told you about."
Kairo stared at his empty hands in disbelief. One moment they were about to be devoured. The next, the monster was gone.
Just like life outside the Veil.
"But how did a shark even get that big? And with wings too?"
It didn't make sense. His mother had taught him about animals from the old world—but she had never mentioned winged sharks.
"They're called Hunger Beasts."
Magnum explained.
"Hunger Beasts?"
"Yes. After humans finally started killing the Nulls, animals—birds, lions, all kinds—began feeding on their corpses. Over time, they mutated too."
"Hunger Beasts…"
Kairo's world expanded again—terrifyingly so.
As if Nulls weren't enough, now nature itself had evolved into something monstrous.
His imagination spiraled: snakes with lion bodies, chickens fused with wolves, creatures beyond reason mightve been created.
"Don't overwhelm yourself,kid" Magnum said. "We'll train you to control your power. Once you do, they'll be easy kills."
"Wait—if you knew all this, why didn't you step in earlier?"
"I wanted to see you use your powers."
"Are you insane? I thought we were going to die!"
"But we didn't. So I was right."
Kairo couldn't argue with that. Magnum was reckless—but without that pressure, he would never have used his ability or even get a grasp of how it worked.
"Go, Sisters of the Sea!!!"
A fierce female war cry echoed from the jungle.
"Yaaahhh!"
Another followed—louder, fiercer—multiplied by many voices.
Suddenly, twenty women burst from the treeline on horseback, parting the foliage as they rode onto the beach.
They were of different races, all bald, all wearing intense, disciplined expressions. Their attire was unconventional—skirts woven from seaweed, surprisingly elegant despite the era. A few in front wore polished clams as chest armor.
"Don't freak out. I know them. Just follow my lead," Magnum whispered before stepping forward.
"You're late, ladies!" he called.
"We were in prayer ceremony. We do not interrupt sacred rites because an Oxide from the Hydrogens enters our territory," replied a royal-looking woman in her late thirties as she dismounted.
"Leave it to the Sisters of the Sea to kill the vibe," Magnum muttered. "My friend and I are heading out. Enjoy your new toys."
He gestured toward the abandoned ship and scattered confidential crates.
"You may leave. We will transfer your payment," she replied, signaling her warriors to secure the cargo.
Relieved, the masked duo turned and headed toward the jungle.
"Wait."
The leader's voice stopped them.
They turned back.
"Yes?"
"What was that giant chubby man who swallowed the hungerbeast whole?"
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Shit. She saw it.
Magnum subtly elbowed Kairo signaling him to remain silent.
"Ah… it's a new technique Rasmouse is helping me develop," Magnum lied smoothly.
"A new technique…" she repeated, skepticism deepening.
"Yeah.. Can we go now? I want to get raid."
"You may go."
She waved them off.
In a matter of seconds,they disappeared into the jungle toward their car.
......
After the Sisters of the Sea finished unloading the ship, some prepared to sail it back to their base while others mounted their horses.
"Your Highness, do you require anything before we set sail?" a strong warrior asked, bowing respectfully.
The queen stood on the shore, scanning the area like a detective examining a crime scene.
"Yes. There is something."
She turned slowly.
"I want you to summon our finest assassins in the empire. Send them to bring that boy with magnum to me."
"Consider it done, Your Highness," the soldier replied, bowing deeply.
The queen nodded, eyes fixed on the horizon.
"If what I sense in my spirit is true… he is the Promised One."