[Third-Person POV]
The city burned around them—crimson smoke curling through shattered windows, the wail of distant screams echoing like ghosts. A strange kind of calm lingered between the disciplined formation of armed soldiers and scattered clusters of rescued civilians. A temporary reprieve carved by brutal efficiency.
Rhodes Island operators walked side by side with Hogun's troops. The uniforms were different. The language, the tech, the tactics—even their weapons were out of place. But what they shared was unmistakable.
War. Experience. The weight of survival.
[Ace]: You weren't trained in Victoria. Your grip is too tight, your stance is too… unorthodox.
[James]: That obvious?
He smirked beneath the red gas mask, rifle held low, his armor scorched but whole.
[Ace]: Only to another soldier.
They walked in step, occasionally glancing around corners or shielding civilians behind makeshift barricades.
[James]: Never went to any academy. I was raised by the General. Found me during the siege of Whiteveil. I was a starving kid aiming a rusted pipe at a tank. Thought it'd scare someone.
[Ace]: Did it?
[James]: Nope. He got out, slapped the pipe outta my hands, and gave me half a sandwich… and a rifle.
Ace looked at him, surprised.
[James]: Said if I wanted to live, I had to learn to protect. Been following him ever since.
They stopped near a collapsed skybridge. The group halted as Mastiff's squad worked to clear the rubble, the giant dragging concrete slabs like toys.
Nearby, some of Rhodes Island's medics tended to wounded civilians. One of Hogun's lieutenants—barely older than 17—sat beside them, softly reading a name list from a bloodstained notebook.
[Rhodes Medic]: He remembers every name?
[Soldier]: Every. Single. One. Even the ones we lose on the first day. General says names keep people from vanishing.
In the middle of it all, Hogun stood atop a flipped troop carrier, giving hand signals to Logan's runners in the distance. His voice was lost to the wind, but the conviction was written in every precise gesture. Rhodes Island watched him work like a conductor commanding chaos.
[Amiya]: He really believes in protecting them, doesn't he?
[Dobermann]: He might be unhinged. But people like that… sometimes, they're the ones who survive longest.
Shadowy13 flickered into visibility beside them, his camo cloak shimmering between forms.
[Shadowy13]: Told him this was suicide. He smiled and told me, 'Good. We'll be remembered, then.'
A beat passed. Then Shadowy13 faded again, back into the mist.
Back in step, James and Ace exchanged a glance. A nod of respect passed between them.
[James]: The General's a lunatic, sure. But he never stops moving forward. Never leaves a man behind.
[Ace]: Reminds me of someone I once followed. Until the world changed.
[James]: Maybe it'll change again. For the better, this time.
The soldiers and Rhodes Island operators walked through the burning alleys of Chernobog—some guiding wounded civilians, others watching rooftops and side streets. But amidst the chaos and gun smoke, laughter suddenly broke through like sunlight through thick clouds.
[Hogun]: WHO. STOLE. MY. SECRET. PUDDING. STASH.
His cape flared, bloodstained but regal. A plastic spoon was clenched in one gloved fist like a weapon of divine judgment.
[Hogun]: You will pay, not in blood, but in kitchen duty—and may the Void forgive you when James finds out!
All soldiers in hearing range immediately snapped straighter—some even subtly shifted behind cover.
[James]: I can already hear the cries of tomorrow's regret.
Even Mastiff, who had been carrying a section of debris on his shoulder like a backpack, visibly winced. Logan, dashing by with intel, muttered a "Not again…" before vanishing into smoke.
The Rhodes Island group just stared.
[Amiya]: …He's serious?
[Dobermann]: I can't tell if we're following a commander or a madman.
[James]: It's both. You'll get used to it. He bakes ten cakes daily.
[James]: At minimum. He says 'Sugar is the fuel of vengeance.' None of us argues anymore. Once tried to cut him off... Shadowy13 had to put out three kitchen fires.
As they advanced, some of the Rhodes Island operators exchanged quiet words with Hogun's troops. Stories of the captains began to circulate, like folk tales told around campfires.
[Infantryman]: They say Mastiff once held up a collapsing building with his back long enough for thirty civilians to crawl free.
[Sniper]: Shadowy13 tracked a Reunion commander across an entire region, picking off his lieutenants one by one. When he finally caught him, he gave him a note that said: 'Tag. You're it.' Then he disappeared again.
[Runner]: Logan once ran through three squads and vanished with their entire food supply. Came back laughing and juggling apples.
Each story was delivered with a kind of reverence, not just awe, but deep-seated loyalty. These weren't just war heroes. These were people forged by one man's insane determination.
And somewhere at the center of it all, Hogun muttered darkly while licking frosting from his gauntlet fingers.
[Hogun]: I swear… if I find sprinkles in my boots again, I will air-drop cake on the next squad.
[James]: That's what happened to 3rd Company.
[Ace]: Wait… there was a 3rd Company?
[James]: My first team.
[Ace]: ...What happened to them?
James paused, the firelight from a nearby burning car flickering across the scarred side of his face. His voice lowered.
[James]: The General saved many children, but only four of us stood by him when the world turned to ash.
He glanced ahead, where Hogun led the way, cape billowing, bloodstained and unbothered.
[James]: The first was a boy in a fighting pit. Shackled, beaten, and made to act like a dog. The General broke his chains and said, 'A good dog shouldn't be collared.' Since that day, the kid's been his shield. His name is Mastiff.
[Ace]: That explains the way he throws himself in front of everyone without hesitation.
[James]: The second was a slum runner—fast, starving, wild. The General chased him down, outran him, and said, 'If you're gonna run, run with me.' That kid's been running ever since. That's Logan.
[Ace]: The speed… I saw it earlier. He was everywhere.
[James]: The third was a shadow. A boy who lost everything. The General told him, 'Lead with the weight of your loss, not despite it.' From that day, the boy walked in the General's shadow—and became Shadowy13.
Ace was silent for a moment, watching the faint shimmer of Shadowy13 flicker across a rooftop like smoke on the wind.
[Ace]: And the fourth… let me guess. You.
A quiet beat passed between them, the sounds of distant gunfire and the crackle of collapsing buildings echoing in the distance.
[James]: ...So believe me when I say this, Doctor, Ace—every one of us owes our lives to that lunatic in the mask. We don't question him. We follow him. Because the moment you try anything funny...
He looked straight at the Doctor, voice dropping into something cold and absolute.
[James]: ...you'll find the four of us at your doorstep. And we won't knock.
Just then, a comm crackled in James's earpiece. He turned, expression tightening.
[James]: We'll finish this story later. We've got movement—Reunion's inbound. Squad, prepare for contact!
As James took aim at the advancing Reunion squad, his finger hovered over the trigger—until a sudden blur interrupted him.
Hogun appeared beside him in a gust of coat tails and hissing mask valves, calmly standing with arms crossed as if the battlefield were a quiet market square.
[Hogun]: James… really? I raised you better than this.
James blinked in surprise, lowering his weapon slightly.
[Hogun]: Shadowy13's already earned favorite status today. You? You're slipping. Fast.
Before James could protest, Hogun pointed skyward with the severed end of his broken blade. The clouds above churned violently—sickly green flashes flickering inside a rolling black mass.
[Hogun]: You see that? That's not just a storm. That's a Catastrophe rolling in—rain laced with cancer stones. Do you know why I ordered Mastiff to clear that building back there?
He didn't wait for an answer.
[Hogun]: Because I don't feel like being turned into a glowing soup can today. So unless you're fond of dying screaming while your organs mutate, get your ass inside.
At that moment, Logan skidded up beside them, panting slightly, catching just the tail end of the conversation.
[Logan]: Wait—if Shadowy13's the favorite now, then what about me?
Hogun turned his masked face slowly toward him.
[Hogun]: You used to steal my desserts.
Logan flinched like he'd been shot.
[Logan]: ...That was years ago—
[Hogun]: Chocolate pudding. 0245 hours. I remember.
A few of the Rhodes Island Operators blinked, clearly unsure whether to laugh or duck for cover.
[Hogun]: Now stop whining and get into that building. Everyone, move! This isn't weather—this is the sky declaring war!
He turned sharply, cape billowing as he strode through the ash-covered street, barking out orders with military precision. Behind him, lightning crackled.
[James]:...
[Doctor]: Are you… alright?
James sighed as he lowered his rifle and jogged toward cover
[James]: Let's just get inside. And yes, we just lost another month's bonus to Shadowy13.
[Doctor]: Is that… a regular thing?
[James]: You get used to it. Every time he earns a "favorite" stamp, we all suffer. He doesn't even ask for extra pay—he asks for "favors." Do you know what it's like running rooftop drills with a man who phases through walls?
[Ace]: Sounds like a great motivator.
[James]: Yeah. Motivating me to fake a twisted ankle next time.
Inside the hollowed-out building, soldiers and operators flooded through the shattered entrance, quickly setting up a forward field post. Mastiff braced the ruined doorframe with two slabs of concrete as if reinforcing a toy fort, while medics unfolded portable beds for the wounded. Rain began to slam against the roof above, hissing where it touched metal.
Lightning pulsed outside—black sand and rocks, accompanied by low, thunderous groans.
[Logan]: Catastrophe's bleeding through the ley fractures in the crust. Hogun says it's 'the sky vomiting its regrets.'
[Amiya]: That… is surprisingly poetic.
[James]: Don't encourage him. He'll write another war ballad and sing it at morning assembly.
[Mastiff]: The last one had 84 verses. I counted.
Meanwhile, near a cracked window, Shadowy13 reappeared like a bad dream—half-formed, as though the Catastrophe didn't quite believe in his presence.
[Shadowy13]: I marked four sniper positions on the eastern ridge. They're watching. Not firing yet.
[Dobermann]: Recon squads?
[Shadowy13]: Or bait.
He handed over a soaked Recon Log written in perfect calligraphy, then vanished again.
[James]: That's the other thing about being "not the favorite"—he keeps doing that. It's like living with a ghost that judges your breakfast choices.
Hogun, now leaning over the battlefield table, jabbed a knife into the map and began issuing orders with crisp clarity.
[Hogun]: We're not dying here. We're not losing ground. That storm wants to kill us, and I don't like sharing a goal with the weather. Logan, map the rooftops. Shadowy13, sniff out their rear guard. Mastiff, prep the second floor—I want firing lines drawn before Reunion decides to crash the party.
Then, turning toward Rhodes Island
[Hogun]: And you, Doctor, Amiya, Dobermann. When my squad engages, you run. Your evac point is three blocks north—Logan's men and your friends are waiting. Catastrophe ends in five minutes.
He paused, scanning the flickering sky, then muttered:
[Hogun]: Also… either the enemy really hates me, or my map mod's pinging a threat signal again. Hard to tell.
[Dobermann]: …Map mod?
[Amiya]: Downloaded… what?
[Doctor]: Is he—?
[James]: Don't ask. You'll lose ten IQ points trying to follow.
[Hogun]: Doesn't matter. Point is—they're coming, and I'm bait. You get out, you survive. That's the mission.
[Amiya]: We're not just abandoning you here!
[Hogun]: I'm not dying. I've got 37 confirmed near-deaths, and I'm saving the 38th for a holiday. Just go.
[Shadowy13]: Eastern rearline's shifting. They're occupying abandoned buildings—turning them into makeshift forts. Drones are filling the sky. They're flanking from the shadows.
[Logan]: He's right. And they brought the big guns this time. Heavy armor, signal jammers, elite squads... leadership's on the field. I tried to get closer, but some ice-blooded lady intercepted me. Real frosty attitude.
[Hogun]: Excellent. That means they'll all be in range. And we get to shoot everything that moves.
He unsheathed his black-edged katana, the steel catching flickers of flame above. It didn't hum with power. Raising the blade toward the swirling storm,
[Hogun]: Five minutes of hell. That's all I ask. Then the skies clear... and so do the bodies.
He turned once more to the Rhodes Island squad, his voice hardening, quieter now—but no less commanding.
[Hogun]: Make it count. If you survive, I want a postcard. If not, I'll find your bones and give 'em medals.
He spun on his heel.
[Hogun]: Soldiers! To hell with me and back again!
The soldiers around him slammed their boots and gave a crisp salute, weapons raised in perfect sync. Thunder cracked. Drones buzzed overhead like a plague. The storm wasn't coming—it had arrived.
Amiya looked back, wide-eyed.
[Amiya]: He's really going to fight them all…
[James]: That man's been fighting death so long, death probably files complaints about him.
[Doctor]: Then we'd better not waste his five minutes.
And with that, the Rhodes Island group disappeared into the ash and rain, while behind them, Hogun and his squad advanced into the eye of chaos, where blades, bullets, and madness met the end of the world with a grin.
Here is where a man's Legend will be known to the world as he faces the enemy; here is where he will make sure that he becomes a dame spoiler.
[Chapter end]