The group waited for nightfall. It came.
Julian's voice broke the silence. "Will I get the chance to see my parents again?"
Kaide hugged him. "Yes. Just sit tight, the night will be long."
The children huddled close to Yuhan, Alane, Kaide, Kirin, and Father Albert, who murmured soft reassurances.
Shin and Sen were preparing.
"Did you bring it?" Shin asked.
"The Holy acid? Yeah." Sen handed it over.
"So, I shove it in its mouth and make sure it breaks?" Shin tucked it into his pants.
"Pretty much. It's the only way to kill them. Ascendance can damage, but they regenerate."
"With this, we stop the regeneration and finish them off."
Suddenly, the doors and windows began to bang. A woman's cry filled the air, a voice like the mother of one of the kids.
"Honny? I missed you. Come to mommy... Open the door."
The banging grew louder.
"How many do you think it is?" Shin said.
"We've got five kids here, and that's all that's left in town. Probably three or five."
Sen pulled out more Holy acid. "Think you can take them on?"
"Yeah, as long as they don't jump me and hit me all at once."
Shin stepped out. The darkness swallowed him.
"The town and church are far enough that the light won't reach them," Father Albert said, lighting a candle. "Out there, they'll have to rely on instinct... their eyes must adjust to the dark. The only light they'll have is the moonlight."
Sen chuckled. "We've got light sources. My sword, Shin's flames."
"I know," Father Albert sighed. "But Shin... he doesn't use his flames unless he has to. He relies too much on brute strength."
Sen smiled faintly. "Come on. You know how we brothers are. We always do things our own way."
With that, he powered up his heavenly sword, its glow cutting through the dark like a promise.
Suddenly it went silent...
"It's cold..." Alane whispered.
"Don't worry, sis... I'll protect you and the children," Yuhan said.
"Shh!" Sen placed his hand over Yuhan's mouth. "Don't let them hear you say you'll protect the kids. You'll become their prime target."
He then slowly backed away from Yuhan. "Got it?"
Yuhan nodded apologetically. "Thank you... I'm sorry, I almost made a mistake that could cost lives..."
"Learning from mistakes is human behavior. Remember that, Yuhan," Kirin said.
"Yuhan, you should be more mindful. It's alright for now, but there will be no second chances in a life-and-death situation," Kaide added.
Yuhan nodded.
"I'M HERE TO PROTECT THE KIDS!" Shin yelled from outside.
Everyone froze
Shin heard slithering. He looked up at the church… it was dark.
He squinted his eyes… but couldn't see it. So he opened his palm and burst out purple flames.
And there it was—above the church, on the Cross of Christ. The eldritch entity.
Shin frowned, veins appearing on his forehead. "You heard me... Come here. Kill me if you can."
Then he noticed. "You're on the cross. That's just disrespect—"
Suddenly, something grabbed him and dragged him under the dirt.
Everyone panicked.
"Why did he do that?!" Kirin said in a panic.
"Sen! Help him!" Kaide added.
Sen sighed. "Well… he's dead."
"Sen?! What the fuck?!" Kirin yelled.
"Kidding, kidding. He won't die from that," Sen said.
Suddenly, a loud bang. Another eldritch entity dropped into the hole where Shin had been dragged. A two-on-one.
"I'M HERE TO PROTECT THE KIDS AS WELL. COME KILL ME!" Sen yelled from inside the church.
"Me and Shin will be their prime targets," he said, turning back.
"Got it—" Before Sen could finish, a bunch of tentacles broke through the window and yanked him out.
Everyone tried their best to calm themselves. The two who were probably the strongest people they knew had just been yanked out of their sights in seconds.
A few minutes of silence passed.
Then suddenly, another window shattered. One of the eldritch entities flew in—followed by Shin, covered in dirt. The creature crawled away, heading toward the children.
Shin grabbed the entity, broke its jaw, and slammed it into a sharp corner of the concrete.
He then began stomping on its head with his foot. "WHAT DID YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN?! ATTACKING KIDS? TAKING THEM AWAY FROM THEIR PARENTS?! I WILL KILL YOU—AND YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T DO A THING!"
Father Albert, Alane, Yuhan—heck, even Kaide, Kirin, and the kids—feared Shin for a moment.
The female creature, for the first time in her life, begged. "Let me go... please... I won't go near any humans again... just let me leave... I don't want to die..."
Shin's breathing grew heavier. Veins bulged from his forehead. His teeth were clenched tightly.
"I hate pedophiles."
He stomped on her head one more time, watching her regenerate.
They all feared Shin in that moment. Thankfully, he was on their side.
Shin pulled the holy acid from his pocket. He broke her jaw again. She screamed in agony—a horrible, gut-wrenching cry.
"Swallow..." Shin forced his fist into her mouth and dropped the acid in.
Then he punched her throat, shattering the vial and burning her from the inside. The acid tore through her nervous system, stopping her regeneration. She would die—slowly and painfully.
After a moment, Shin's breathing slowed. He turned back to look at them. "Where... is... Sen?"
Alane stuttered. "He... uhm... he got grabbed as well..."
Shin sighed. "There's one more..." He turned toward the front door.
Suddenly, another eldritch entity burst through. She was massive.
"You killed the weakest," she laughed. "She was... too weak, too fragile."
Shin rushed at her—only for the roof to collapse between them.
Sen had arrived, already engaged in combat with another eldritch being. He wielded his heavenly sword with skill and precision. Every swing was smooth—yet behind each, there was crushing power.
Without hesitation, Sen decapitated the eldritch woman. Before she could regenerate, he slashed the vial of holy acid across her open wound.
Sen's face showed nothing but rage.
"I will purge every single one of you..." he said coldly.
And once again, everyone was reminded—these two are killers.
"Hey, Sen. Where's the other one? There's only 4 right?"
Sen nodded. "I impaled the other into a tree and cut her throat to stuff the holy acid."
Sen turned to the last one. "I'm guessing..."
Shin nodded. "This one have the power of wrath... Let's jump her."
Sen prepared with a angry expression on his face yet tamed compared to what Shin's anger.
"Go ahead brother. Go first let me just take the other stuff out." Sen stood back.
The female eldritch laughed maniacally. "Fools... I've killed over a hundred men. Some of them have powers like you two. And yet they never stood a chance against my power!" She arrogantly said.
"I hate girls like her. Too corny or i don't know... Crazy?" Shin said.
"Yeah. Me too." Sen kept looking for more holy acid.
Shin rushed upon the eldritch of lust. "You're a common anomaly in the eldritch world. Having the powers that isn't fit your category is very hard huh?"
The eldritch woman scoffed. "With my beauty and power... I'll be unstoppable." she blocked Shin's punch.
And returned a heavy hit. Sending Shin flying at high speed.
Sen finally found the last vile of holy acid in their arsenal. He then proceed to take the fight after Shin got knocked clean.
"Shin!" Kirin rushed towards him. "You alright?"
Shin slowly stood up. "Ahh... My shoulder is dislocated." Shin breath out the pain.
"Do me a favor and help me relocate my shoulder will you?" Shin softly said.
The once scary Shin they saw and feared earlier just died instantly. So as the scary Sen as well.
They maybe are killers. But they're also heroes as well who saved countless lives.
"I'm not strong enough to even hurt you. How am I gonna push the shoulder back?"
Kirin said worriedly.
"That's not how it works. My durability doesn't work that way... Besides ascendance has an off and on... My powers are down for now. C'mon now help me relocate my shoulder." Shin's breathing became heavier as the pain continues.
"Okay... you ready?" Kirin placed her hand on Shin's shoulder.
"Do it..." Shin nodded.
Pop.
Shin grunted as the shoulder snapped back into place. "Thanks... Now get back over there."
"SEN!" Shin called out. "Take that bitch down for me. I'm injured. In pain." He plopped down on the ground.
"WHAT?! DIDN'T KIRIN JUST FIX YOUR SHOULDER?! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE AND HELP ME!" Sen shouted back.
Shin took a bite from an apple. "...You have a heavenly sword. You'll manage."
"Besides, I lost my contacts. I can't see, see?" He kept munching, unbothered.
"ASSHOLE—!"
Sen got launched into the air and slammed hard into the ground.
"Shin, help him!" Father Albert shouted. "What kind of brother are you?! He's going to die!"
Shin swallowed his bite, then grabbed another shiny red apple.
"A brother that trusts his brother, of course."
"And I have bad eye sights. You know father. That I Shin rely on Vermis magic to see. And since it's been a month. That magic expired, and Vermis is on something so he isn't in the settlement. I have to rely on my contacts to see but now I lost them." Shin then began eating.
The siblings look at each other. Yuhan and Alane. Yeah bet you didn't know that do you readers?
Anyway back to the story.
"Wait a minute... Shin is blind?" Yuhan said.
"Technically. No, disabled is the right word. I was born with very very bad eye sights."
Shin kept yapping while Sen is fighting for God's sake.
"Oh... So I got humbled by a disabled guy earlier..." Yuhan looked away.
"Yeah. You did." Shin laughed.
Sen was still fighting for his life. He slashed the eldritch open across the stomach—but she grabbed him and slammed him through the Church's chairs.
"Oh, fuck…" Shin felt it. Everyone did.
"GODDAMNIT, SEN! DON'T DO THAT! I CAN'T SEE YOU, BUT I CAN FEEL IT!" Shin shouted.
Sen—usually kind, playful, soft...
Yet beneath all that calmness, something stirred.
Sen was a walking disaster.
His heavenly sword ignited, bursting with energy—bright enough to light the sky for miles.
"YUHAN! KIRIN! KAIDE! FIND MY CONTACTS—NOW!" Shin roared.
Without question, they scattered.
"Shin! What's going on with Sen's power?!" Father Albert demanded.
"Fuck… of all the times…" Shin muttered.
"SHIN!" Albert repeated, louder.
"It's his sword—it's a defense mechanism! It'll protect him at all costs!"
"This eldritch… it's way stronger than we thought. And it's forcing the sword to become deadlier than normal."
Shin clenched his teeth. "If Sen loses control… the sword will detonate."
"Vermis estimated… the explosion radius is two cities wide."
Silence. Like the world froze.
"Where the hell are my contacts!?" Shin yelled.
And just like that, every soul in the room dropped—crushed by the weight of what was coming.
And then Yuhan handed him the contacts. And Shin finally put them on and his vision began to clear.
He rushed upon the eldritch entity and with the adrenaline boosting him even more. He grabbed the vile of the last holy acid.
He jumped and he forced it into the Eldritch mouth and broke it. Suddenly the creature cried in pain as it slowly burn from the inside.
But that's now what concerned them. Shin yelled. "SEN OPEN A PORTAL AND GIVE ME YOUR SWORD!"
Sen panicking as well opened a portal far far away from the town. But near their place yet far enough to be out of the blast.
Shin grabbed the sword. And goes to the portal alone.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Sen yelled.
They look so worried and just shock.
Shin entered the portal and suddenly. A massive explosion occured far far from them but see the blast. It's Shin...
"No..." Sen looked horrified. "No... No... It's my fault..."
It happened so fast. Too fast for them to process.
Is Shin dead? They ask themselves.
Sen dropped down on his knees.
So as everyone. "Is he..." Alane said softly.
Sen rushed to the door and run towards the explosion.
He's hoping... Praying... Mumbling...
"Shin..." with tears in his eyes. Sen ran towards the explosion. Towards the night, the dark.
To be continued...