Evening settled over Darant City as Rumbler burst free from the Ancient fortress.
The city below glowed beneath the setting sun. Streets shimmered with lights. Buildings stood like rows of candles preparing for the coming night.
High above, furious winds howled across the mountainside.
Behind the giant, Levi and Kayo followed swiftly through the path of destruction he had carved.
As they neared the surface, both pulled their respiratory masks over their faces.
Kayo glanced ahead toward the monstrous silhouette.
"Levi... do you feel it?"
"His Stardust."
Levi didn't answer.
His eyes remained fixed ahead.
Rumbler descended the mountain like a wild beast unleashed from its cage. Every step shattered stone. Every leap sent avalanches crashing down the slopes.
Then he roared.
The sound rolled across the city.
A warning.
People heard it.
Men stopped in the middle of conversations.
Drivers lowered their windows.
Children looked away from their games.
Everyone turned toward the mountains.
Their eyes fixed on the horizon.
Then they saw him.
A massive figure descending from the heights.
And then—
He landed.
BOOOOM.
The impact struck like a meteor.
The earth ruptured beneath his feet.
A devastating shockwave exploded outward, tearing through the city.
Vehicles flipped through the air.
Storefront windows shattered instantly.
Street signs bent and snapped.
Entire sections of buildings collapsed beneath the force.
People were thrown from their feet before they even understood what had happened.
Dust and debris filled the streets.
"What is that?!"
A man pointed toward the giant in terror.
"It's a monster!"
Someone screamed.
"No..."
Another person stared through the dust.
"I see flesh..."
A pause.
"It's human."
Rumbler stood motionless.
Towering above everything around him.
A giant among insects.
For a brief moment, nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Then—
CLANK.
A small rock bounced off the side of Rumbler's head.
Everyone turned.
A frightened child stood there trembling.
Tears streamed down his face.
Yet he forced himself to scream.
"GO AWAY!"
Silence followed.
Then another rock flew.
Then another.
Fear became anger.
Anger became desperation.
People began throwing whatever they could find.
Bottles.
Bricks.
Metal scraps.
Anything.
The objects bounced harmlessly off the giant.
Then Rumbler moved.
A low growl escaped his throat.
He slowly pulled his right arm across his body.
His enormous fist clenched.
The air around him groaned.
Then he swung.
The force alone was catastrophic.
The street exploded.
People vanished beneath the shockwave.
Bodies were launched through buildings.
Concrete shattered.
Debris became lethal projectiles that ripped through everything in their path.
Screams filled the city.
But Rumbler wasn't finished.
He raised both arms toward the sky.
Higher.
Higher.
As if he were lifting the heavens themselves.
Then he brought them down.
The world shook.
For one horrifying moment it felt as though the weight of a planet had descended upon Darant City.
Buildings crumbled instantly.
Roads collapsed.
Vehicles flattened into twisted metal.
Thousands of tons of pressure crushed everything beneath him.
And standing above the destruction—
Rumbler roared once more.
While far above the city, Levi watched.
Smiling behind his mask.
"We better join him before he takes all the fun."
Levi grinned behind his mask.
Then he jumped.
Kayo followed without hesitation.
The two descended from the mountain like falling stars.
A crimson aura flowed from Levi's body, stretching outward behind him like the wings of a devil. The pressure radiating from him distorted the air itself.
They landed in the city.
BOOM.
The street cracked beneath their feet.
Then the slaughter began.
Kayo materialized two daggers and vanished into the crowd.
The blades flashed.
A man collapsed.
Then another.
Throats opened before screams could leave them. Arms and legs were severed so cleanly that some victims didn't even realize what had happened until they hit the ground.
Kayo leapt onto a rooftop.
With a flick of his hand, dozens of kunai and shuriken materialized above him.
Then he released them.
The weapons rained down upon the streets below like a storm of steel.
People ran.
They screamed.
They fell.
To the civilians, it felt as if hell itself had descended upon Darant City.
Levi walked through the destruction.
Calmly.
Almost casually.
Every step sent pressure waves through the ground.
The streets trembled beneath him.
People lost their footing as they desperately tried to flee.
Levi swung his arm.
A crimson shear wave erupted outward.
Buildings split apart.
Vehicles were torn in half.
Anyone caught in its path was thrown through the city like ragdolls.
Another swing.
Another wave.
More destruction followed.
Screams of agony spread throughout the district.
The city had become a battlefield.
Sirens echoed from every direction.
Nitchtronian militia flooded into the area alongside several Guardian-level Fighters.
Military vehicles blocked intersections.
Soldiers formed firing lines.
Above the city, helicopters circled from a safe distance, broadcasting the catastrophe live across the planet.
A reporter struggled to keep her voice steady.
"We are currently reporting live from the eastern district of Darant City."
Behind her, explosions illuminated the skyline.
"There appear to be three hostile individuals attacking the city. Two humanoids wearing black combat suits and a gigantic cybernetic being resembling a living mountain."
Another explosion erupted in the distance.
"We still don't know who they are, how they arrived here, or what their motives may be. However, one thing is clear..."
Her voice trembled.
"The scale of destruction unfolding behind me is unlike anything our city has ever witnessed."
Gunfire erupted.
Explosions lit the streets.
Fire spread from building to building.
Bodies and debris piled across the roads.
A soldier screamed into his communicator.
"WE NEED MORE BACKUP!"
Guardian-level Fighters launched themselves toward Rumbler.
One struck his abdomen.
Another drove a kick into his neck.
A third attacked from above.
Nothing happened.
Rumbler didn't even flinch.
Slowly, he turned his head.
His white eyes stared at them.
He moved.
One massive hand grabbed a Fighter by the leg.
The giant swung him through the air like a weapon, smashing him into the other two Fighters and launching all three through an entire city block.
Purple spires emerged around Rumbler.
Dozens of them.
Towering.
Pulsing.
The giant threw his head back and roared.
The world responded.
Everything around him was pulled inward.
Vehicles.
Tanks.
Soldiers.
Chunks of buildings.
Even the wounded.
Everything was dragged toward the center as though caught in a gravitational storm.
Panic spread through the battlefield.
People clawed at the ground.
Others grabbed onto wreckage.
None of it mattered.
Rumbler jumped.
The city shook.
As everything converged beneath him, a crushing purple force pinned them in place.
Then—
Rumbler drove his elbow downward.
BOOM!!
The impact annihilated everything beneath him.
The street collapsed.
Tanks crumpled like paper.
Soldiers disappeared beneath the force.
The shockwave tore through the district, leaving only destruction in its wake.
As the smoke and dust cleared, Rumbler rose from the crater.
His massive chest heaved as he stood among the ruins. Fires burned throughout the city. Sirens echoed in the distance. Yet the giant paid no attention to any of it.
He simply began walking forward.
Then he stopped.
Levi frowned.
There, among the rubble, lay a small Nitchtronian girl. Her body was covered in dirt and debris, a worn stuffed animal still clutched tightly against her chest.
Rumbler looked down at her.
He didn't speak.
He didn't react.
The reflection of the child lingered within his pale white eyes.
For a moment, the giant remained completely still.
Levi started walking toward him, careful to keep his distance.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
Kayo landed beside him.
"Why'd he stop?"
"I don't know."
Levi's eyes narrowed.
"Something's off."
Then Rumbler slowly turned.
The giant faced them.
Neither Levi nor Kayo moved.
A strange silence settled between them.
Rage slowly spread across Rumbler's face.
Not toward the city.
Not toward the people.
Toward them.
The giant's fists tightened.
Then he roared.
This time, the roar wasn't aimed at the innocent.
It was aimed at the ones who had set him wild.