Dust from the collapsed building still blanketed the streets.
Sirens wailed.
Flames flickered among the rubble.
And atop the shattered concrete—
A Void General stood like a punishment sent down from the heavens.
Its towering body loomed over the ruins. Massive black wings stretched wide behind it, while the violet spear in its hand crackled with energy that made the air tremble.
Behind the team—
Hundreds of civilians were still rushing toward the evacuation zone.
Children were crying.
Elderly people stumbled along the streets.
Several rescue workers were still trapped, struggling to carry the injured to safety.
Sinta looked toward the fleeing crowd.
"We need more time."
Farhan's voice crackled through the radio from the emergency command center.
"The eastern road is blocked! Not everyone has made it out!"
Lila added urgently,
"If that thing attacks now, the casualties will be massive!"
The Void General leaped down.
BOOOOOOOOM!
The asphalt shattered beneath its feet.
The shockwave sent several cars skidding sideways.
Bimo stumbled backward.
"Okay! I'm officially voting that we run!"
No one answered.
Because Dika had already stepped forward.
He stared at the monster without blinking.
"Get everyone out of here."
Sinta turned sharply.
"Dika—"
"I said go."
His voice was flat.
Calm.
But there was no room for argument.
Bimo stared at him.
"Don't go playing the lone hero."
Dika kept his eyes on the enemy.
"Just this once…"
He slowly rolled his shoulders.
"…let me do my job."
The monster attacked first.
Its violet spear shot forward like lightning.
WHOOM!
Dika grabbed a massive steel beam from the rubble and swung it into the spear's path.
CRAAAAASH!
The collision rang through the street.
The steel beam snapped in half.
Dika was thrown backward into a burning car.
His body rolled across the asphalt.
Blood trickled from his temple.
Yet he forced himself back to his feet.
The civilians who witnessed it froze.
The monster tilted its head, as if surprised that the human was still alive.
Dika spat blood onto the pavement.
"My turn."
He charged straight at it.
No shouting.
No dramatic gestures.
Just heavy footsteps driven by sheer determination.
He seized an uprooted streetlight pole, swung it like a war staff, and brought it crashing down against the monster's knee.
BOOOOM!
One of the creature's legs shifted half a step.
Only half a step.
But it was enough to make everyone realize—
The monster could be stopped.
Bimo threw a fist into the air.
"THAT'S IT!"
Sinta immediately began ushering the civilians farther back.
"Everyone move! Now!"
The Void General let out an enraged roar.
Its wings spread wide.
Dozens of violet energy shards shot in every direction.
SHRAAAK! SHRAAAK! SHRAAAK!
Dika raised chunks of concrete to shield himself from the incoming barrage.
Some of the shards struck him anyway.
His chest was torn open.
Blood ran down his arm.
One knee slammed against the ground.
But he still refused to fall.
Farhan shouted through the radio.
"Dika, fall back! Your condition is critical!"
Dika pressed a hand against his cracked earpiece.
"Are the civilians out?"
"Not all of them!"
"Then I'm not done."
The monster leaped high into the air.
Its shadow swallowed the street below.
The Void spear turned toward the evacuation zone.
Sinta looked up—and froze.
If that attack landed, everyone behind her would be wiped out.
Dika saw where the spear was aimed.
He saw the fleeing civilians.
He saw the little boy Bimo had rescued earlier, now clinging to his mother's arms.
Dika drew a breath.
Then he ran.
As fast as his battered body would allow.
"DIKA!" Bimo screamed.
The spear came crashing down.
WHOOMMMMM!
Dika threw himself directly into its path.
He planted his feet, braced his body against the broken asphalt, and raised both arms.
The spear's tip slammed into his hands.
CRAAAAAAAAACK!
The asphalt split open for dozens of meters.
Dika's feet sank into the fractured ground.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
His arms trembled violently as the impact threatened to tear him apart.
But the spear stopped.
Just short of the civilians.
Silence fell.
No one could believe what they were seeing.
A human stood before a monster.
And he had stopped its attack.
He hadn't won.
Not yet.
But he had refused to back down.
The Void General pushed harder.
A sickening crack came from Dika's shoulder.
His entire body shook.
His vision began to blur.
Only one thought remained in his mind.
Just a little longer.
Just a little longer until they're safe.
Bimo charged toward him with a roar.
Sinta moved to follow.
But Dika's voice rang out louder than either of them had ever heard it.
"STAY BACK!"
They stopped.
Not because they were afraid.
But because they understood—
They knew the price he was paying to hold that line.
The streetlights flickered.
Dust swirled around them.
Then Lila's voice came through the radio.
"All civilians are out!"
Farhan followed immediately.
"The civilian zone is clear! Repeat—the civilian zone is clear!"
A faint smile touched Dika's lips.
Finally.
He looked at the monster towering over him.
Then, with what little strength he had left, he began to push back.
"Now…"
The veins in his neck strained.
"…try fighting me."
With a roar torn from his battered lungs, Dika twisted the spear to one side.
The Void General lost its balance.
That was the opening the others needed.
Bimo leaped from the rubble and drove a kick into the creature's face.
At the same time, Sinta swung a steel cable around one of its wings and yanked hard.
BOOM!
A small explosion burst between them.
The monster staggered backward.
One step.
Two.
Three.
For the first time, the Void General had been forced to retreat.
Dika swayed.
His legs could no longer support him.
He dropped to one knee.
His body was covered in blood.
His breathing came in ragged bursts.
Bimo caught him by the shoulder before he could collapse completely.
"Bro…"
Dika's eyes remained fixed on the monster.
"The civilians?"
Sinta struggled to hold back her tears.
"They're safe. All of them."
Only then did Dika allow himself to fall.
But even as he collapsed into his friend's arms—
His eyes remained open.
Still facing the enemy.
Still ready to stand again.
The Void General roared in fury.
Cracks spread across its body as wild violet energy surged through its armor.
It raised its head toward the sky.
And from the cosmic rift hanging above the city—
Three new shadows slowly descended.
Bimo stared upward, his expression suddenly blank.
"…It called its friends."
Sinta tightened her grip on her broken weapon.
Farhan fell silent over the radio.
Lila whispered,
"This isn't over…"
On the ground, Dika—barely conscious—managed a faint smile.
"Good."
He coughed up blood.
"That means…"
His eyes remained fixed on the descending figures.
"…I'm still needed."