Shadow vs Ray Light

Everyone accompanying Milo opened their eyes, a glimmer of horror reflected in their pupils. Before them, Podbe—the giant wolf—lay split in two, his colossal body now transformed into a macabre spectacle. In the distance, an electric cloud pulsed with a life of its own, illuminating the dark sky with flashes of blue and silver. From its core emerged a malevolent laugh, deep and resonant, as if a thousand voices intertwined in a cosmic mockery.

Maria, Elena, and Billy appeared through the thick mist surrounding the battlefield. Their feet crunched over the wet grass as they moved toward the remains of Podbe, searching for any sign of Aiden. The three exchanged tense glances, their faces pale under the flickering light of the electric storm.

"Where did you all come from?" asked Melisa, turning toward them with a mix of disbelief and frustration. Her voice cut sharply through the chaos like a whip.

"When did you get here?" Ian added, barely recovering from the shock of his wound. His hand still trembled as he clutched his bloodied side, but his eyes never stopped scrutinizing the newcomers.

"Where did you even come from? You nearly gave me a heart attack, appearing out of nowhere!" Creg exclaimed, clenching his fists in a defensive gesture.

"What happened to the giant dog? Why is it like this?" Jake asked, his voice tinged with astonishment and confusion.

Melisa frowned, looking at Jake with a mix of curiosity and suspicion. "And who are you?"

"There's no time for introductions," Michele interrupted urgently, raising a hand to stop any further explanation. "What happened here?"

"That's right," Melisa responded quickly, pointing toward the electric cloud with a sharp motion of her arm. "That guy, Zeus, or Milo, or whatever you want to call him, tore it in half when he changed forms. Then those army guys over there showed up." Her tone was accusatory, as if blaming everyone for the disaster unfolding before them. "But it seems he's gotten even angrier, because now he's turned into that electric cloud you see over there."

The cloud laughed again, a chilling cackle that vibrated in the air like the echo of a distant thunderclap. It was a laugh that seemed to come from another world, laden with malice and power.

"An electric cloud that laughs," Choy muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. "That would sound strange in any other situation, but now I'm not even surprised anymore."

Suddenly, the voice boomed once more, thunderous and authoritative:

—"Prepare yourselves! Your judgment has arrived!"

The words spread like an implacable shadow, enveloping everyone present in a shroud of inevitability. The voice was so deep it seemed to vibrate in their bones, sending chills down each spine. The air crackled with electricity, almost tangible, as if on the verge of exploding.

The newcomers watched in awe as hands wreathed in dancing electric currents began to emerge from the cloud, glowing with blinding intensity. A foot clad in Greek sandals followed, then golden greaves that reached up to the knees, gleaming as though made of pure gold. Bracers of the same material and brilliance slid down, revealing muscular arms.

When the cloud finally dissipated, the man who emerged was imposing. His body was draped in a white robe that left part of his chest exposed and extended down to his thighs. A lightning-shaped belt cinched his waist, and his skin seemed to vibrate with pure electricity. His long, flowing beard and hair evoked classical depictions of Zeus, as if he had stepped out of the pages of a history book or an ancient painting. His eyes radiated energy, as though two electric currents were colliding ceaselessly within them, and a crown shaped like a lightning bolt encircled his head, completing his divine aura.

"Fire!" shouted General Bronjort to the soldiers, who were recovering from the shockwave that had knocked them down moments earlier.

Bullets shot toward Milo in a deafening barrage, but before they could reach him, they froze in midair, as if suspended by invisible threads. They spun slowly, dancing hypnotically around him. Milo simply smiled, his lips curling into a smirk of absolute superiority. With a snap of his fingers, the bullets reversed direction with devastating speed, piercing some soldiers and leaving others critically wounded, their cries of pain echoing through the night air.

"Damn you, Milo," spat General Bronjort, his voice heavy with restrained rage as he stared at the god-like figure before him. "General, don't go near him! He looks dangerous!" Major Mike exclaimed, quickly stepping between Bronjort and Milo, his body tense like a human shield.

With a blinding flash, Milo teleported in front of them, materializing as a beam of pure light. With a precise gesture—his index finger and thumb pressed together—he launched an invisible projectile toward Major Mike, who was hurled through the air as if a superhuman force had catapulted him. His body traced a violent arc before landing with a dull thud several meters away.

General Bronjort maintained an impassive expression, though inside, fear slithered up his spine like a cold serpent. His sharp, blade-like eyes locked onto Milo as he tried to mask his terror behind a facade of defiance.

"What do you want, boy? To fight?" Bronjort asked, his tone icy and taunting.

Milo sneered, his lips curling into a cruel grin. "You're the one who inflicted pain on me, just like that dog," he replied, gesturing contemptuously at the remains of Podbe. "And now I'll return it."

The general attempted to strike him with a powerful punch, but his arm froze in the air, unable to move even a millimeter. Milo advanced slowly, savoring the moment, and began delivering rapid, precise slaps. Each blow rang out like the crack of a whip, leaving bloody streaks across the general's face. Thin streams of crimson blood trickled down, staining his immaculate uniform.

"You're an old fool, but resilient," Milo said, pausing briefly to observe Bronjort's pitiful state. "The only problem is that you're just a mere mortal."

Despite the brutal blows, Bronjort remained standing, though each strike brought him teetering on the edge of unconsciousness. His breathing was labored, and his legs threatened to buckle under his weight, but his iron would keep him upright.

"Please, stop," Becky pleaded, her voice breaking with anguish as she witnessed the harrowing spectacle.

Milo ignored her plea, focusing solely on his victim. "Do you think you can defeat me, a god? You're nothing but an old, decrepit mortal of a hundred years."

Bronjort's words were barely audible, distorted by the physical punishment he had endured. However, Milo, with his superhuman hearing, caught them clearly: "You… think yourself a god… you're as mortal as I am."

A flash of fury crossed Milo's electric eyes. "I am no longer human, foolish general," he retorted with disdain. "I am a god! I am all-powerful! I am Zeus, and this is my final form, my perfect form! No one can stand against me!"

With a roar of frustration, Milo halted his blows and lifted the general into the air, holding him with one hand while extracting a radiant thunderbolt from his back with the other. The celestial weapon gleamed with searing energy, poised to pierce through Bronjort's stomach. But before he could execute his strike, something dark enveloped the general, making him vanish from the spot.

"Where did you go, damn you, Bronjort?" Zeus bellowed, his voice thundering like an angry storm.

A few meters away, Jake emerged from the shadows, carrying the general in his arms. "Good thing I acted quickly. If not, that thing would've killed him," Jake said, carefully laying Bronjort down beside Michele and the others.

"Is that you, Jake?" Drake asked, recognizing the agent.

"Yeah, boss, it's me," Jake replied with a weary smile.

"I see you're doing overtime working for the square," Drake remarked, pointing at the insignia on Jake's uniform.

"Looks like it," Jake responded with a shrug.

Before they could continue their conversation, the thunderous voice of Zeus interrupted the moment.

"You, damn fool! No one takes my prey from me! You will die! All of you will die!" The words echoed apocalyptically, shaking the air with such force that the ground trembled beneath their feet.

"I think I made him mad," Jake quipped with a mischievous grin, though his eyes betrayed his determination. "Oh well, guess I'll have to face him. Girls, take care of the general," he ordered Michele and the others before vanishing into the shadows, only to reappear directly in front of Zeus.

"Alright, so-called god, give me your best shot," Jake challenged enthusiastically, immersing his body in a dense darkness as he prepared his defense.

"Jake, don't be too reckless," Eduard warned from a distance, concerned about the confrontation. Though he knew Jake was strong, he wasn't sure if he could match someone like Zeus.

"Oh, you're here too, unit leader. Watch how I kick this guy's ass," Jake responded confidently, though the tension in his voice was unmistakable.

Zeus moved like lightning, appearing at Jake's side in the blink of an eye. The young agent tried to use his ability to manipulate Zeus's shadow but found it impossible. The intense electrical aura emanating from the god blocked any connection to his shadow, and he moved at superhuman speed.

Zeus nearly landed a devastating blow to Jake's face, but Jake managed to dive into his own shadow just in time.

"That was close," Jake muttered, catching his breath as he emerged from the shadows. "I see you're fast, but not invincible," he added with a taunting grin, trying to provoke Zeus.

The god responded with a piercing glare. "You haven't seen anything yet, brat," he declared before igniting his fingers and launching dazzling bolts of lightning directly at Jake.

The agent used his shadow as a protective cloak, absorbing the lightning strikes before reflecting them back at Zeus like a mirror. The attacks rebounded toward the god, striking him squarely in the chest. However, Zeus remained unfazed, without so much as a scratch.

"Fool," Zeus sneered. "Do you really think you can stand against me? My own attacks don't harm me—they simply return to me."

So be it," Jake declared with determination, his voice as steady as the echo of a war drum. He raised both hands toward the shadows surrounding him and shouted, "SHADOW WHIPPING!"

From the darkness emerged whips made of pure shadow, serpentine and dense like black smoke. With relentless precision, the whips lashed out toward Zeus, wrapping around his arms and legs in a desperate attempt to immobilize him. Jake grinned, believing he had gained the upper hand. "Got you!" he exclaimed as he pulled with all his might.

But Zeus remained motionless, like a statue carved from living stone. Not a single muscle twitched under the pressure of the shadow whips. Jake frowned, confused, and yanked harder, but to no avail. The god merely raised an eyebrow, yawning with disdain.

"You're done. You bore me," Zeus said, his tone dripping with arrogance as he regarded the young agent with a mix of boredom and amusement.

Jake clenched his teeth, enraged. "Then there's no other choice… SHADOW BOOM!"

The whips began to inflate like dark balloons, vibrating with contained energy before exploding in a series of deafening detonations. The blast sent up a cloud of smoke so thick and opaque that it completely obscured Zeus from view.

"That was incredible!" Choy exclaimed, his eyes gleaming with astonishment.

Akira, though outwardly impassive, was captivated by his friend's attack. "Yeah, I guess," he replied, trying to keep his tone neutral, though his gaze betrayed his admiration.

"Well, I think that he should take care of him," Jake said, satisfied with himself as he watched the smoke cloud slowly dissipate.

"I doubt that killed him," Drake interjected, crossing his arms skeptically.

Eduard nodded in agreement. "I agree. That guy doesn't seem like someone who can be defeated so easily."

As if Eduard's words had summoned him, an electric glow emerged from the smoke. It was Zeus, covered in soot but unscathed, his divine aura radiating power. "Is that all, shadow boy?" he said with a mocking smile, brushing dust off his arms indifferently. "You and your silly ability to control shadows are useless against me."

"I'm Agent Shadow, not shadow boy," Jake corrected, irritated.

Zeus twisted his lips into a cruel smirk. "So that's it, then? Very well. You'll die first. I was going to make it the foolish general, but you took my prey from me. Now you'll be the first victim."

Zeus's body became enveloped in blinding electric light, transforming him into a flash that moved faster than lightning. In an instant, he appeared before Jake, forming a sphere of energy in his hand. The orb crackled with high voltage, illuminating his face with an expression of absolute cruelty. "Die," he said before hurling the bolt directly at Agent Shadow.

The explosion thundered like a clap of lightning, illuminating the battlefield with a blinding white flash that momentarily blinded everyone present. When the smoke cleared, Zeus smirked smugly. "Who's next?" he asked, glancing around. "He was nothing but a loudmouth."

However, from one of the nearby walls, a shadow slid silently. It was Jake, emerging from the shadows with an expression of relief mixed with frustration. "Good thing I turned my shadow into a sort of armor, or you'd have finished me off," he muttered, adjusting his stance as he prepared his next move.

"You're like a cockroach, boy," Zeus said, his patience clearly wearing thin. "You're testing my limits. I have things to do, so don't get in my way."

With a quick gesture, Zeus hurled another energy sphere at Jake, this time more powerful than the last. But Jake, using his ability to travel through shadows, reappeared on one of the side walls, narrowly dodging the attack.

"Not bad," Jake murmured, watching as the sphere slammed into the wall, leaving behind a smoldering crater.

Zeus continued launching more and more spheres, each one deadlier than the previous, but Jake kept dodging them with swift, calculated movements, reappearing at different points across the battlefield. Sparks and explosions lit up the area, filling the air with the acrid smell of electricity and burnt dust.

Adia, seeing the chaos unfolding, quickly conjured a force field to protect the others while Jake danced with Zeus in a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Determined to take the offensive, Jake used his shadow as protective armor and transformed it into a giant fist the size of a refrigerator. With a roar of effort, he launched the fist toward Zeus, striking him with brutal force. The impact made the god stagger back a few steps, but before Jake could capitalize on his success, Zeus disappeared in a flash of superhuman speed.

"Those punches are useless. Even my idiot brother fights better than you," Zeus mocked from some unseen point.

Jake, refusing to give up, dove back into his shadow and reappeared directly above Zeus. He transformed his shadow into an even larger fist, similar to a safe, and hurled it with all his might toward Zeus's face. The impact resonated like thunder, and a drop of blood trickled down the god's cheek.

"Well, aren't you supposed to be a god? Look how I made you bleed," Jake said with a triumphant grin.

Zeus touched the wound indifferently, wiping away the blood with a single finger. To Jake's horror, the wound began to close instantly, as if it had never existed.

"That boy moves through the shadows. An annoying ability, but… what if…?" Zeus smiled maliciously, his eyes gleaming with a new idea.

Jake approached again, this time from below, launching another punch toward Zeus's stomach. But the god stopped the attack with his abdomen, looking at the young agent with a sinister smile.

"Let's see if this shuts you up," Zeus said before beginning to shout, charging energy within himself. His entire body started to glow with searing intensity, as if he were a living star. Small spheres of light shot out from his body, illuminating not only where he stood but the entire area like a massive spotlight.

Jake tried to attack again, but he noticed something alarming: his shadow began to fade under Zeus's relentless light. "Damn it!" he muttered, retreating as his connection to the shadows weakened.

"So light is your weakness," Zeus said, licking his lips with delight. "Luckily for me, I am pure light. Lightning light, like a god, like an almighty god."