The taste of blood lingered in Ethan's mouth.
He stared.
He couldn't breathe. Couldn't blink. Couldn't move.
The mask lay shattered on the cracked concrete, and the woman who had tried to kill him now stood before him, her face exposed by firelight.
It was her.
"…Serena?"
"No… No no no…" he muttered. "You… it's you?"
Blood dripped from his lips. His arm hung limp, broken. Ribs screamed in agony. His body was torn. But none of it hurt more than the sight in front of him.
His voice came out hoarse, barely a whisper. But it echoed louder than any gunshot in his ears.
His thoughts spiraled.
She's the one I've been searching for. The one who told Sasha and that old couple she was trying to protect me…
So why?
Why the hell was she the one trying to kill me tonight?
He looked up, gasping. "Why… Serena?"
Serena didn't respond. Her expression didn't change.
But one of the five men behind her did.
"We don't have time for this," the man barked. "The boss said not to make a scene. We already failed that. Let's end this now."
Ethan's body tensed.
His left leg was drenched in blood. His right arm hung useless at his side. His vision swam from the smoke and pain, but his resolve sharpened like broken glass.
If this was the end, he wouldn't go down easy.
He forced himself to his feet, wobbling but upright. He grabbed a twisted pipe from the wreckage and gritted his teeth. "I'm not dying like a dog."
Serena turned slightly toward the man who had spoken.
And smiled.
A slow, cold, terrifying smile.
"Sure," she said. "Let's do it smoothly."
The five men nodded, stepping forward with grim purpose, drawing their weapons again.
But in the next breath—something unimaginable happened.
Serena moved.
In a blur of black, she was gone from Ethan's view and standing behind one of her own men.
SHINK!
A blade slid across his throat. Blood sprayed like ink in the firelight.
"What the—?!"
Before the others could react, Serena spun, her nunchuck-blade extending mid-motion, slicing the next one across the gut.
He fell, choking on blood, eyes wide with disbelief.
Ethan could only gape.
His thoughts screamed.
What. The. Actual. Hell.
Is this woman psychotic? She tried to kill me—
Now she's killing her own teammates?!
"Serena!! What the hell are you doing?!" one of the remaining guards screamed, reaching for his gun.
Too slow.
CRACK!
She threw the nunchuck with precision, the blunt end smashing into his temple. His head jerked violently to the side as he collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.
She twirled her nunchaku-blade, and within seconds, the second man's throat was slashed open. Blood sprayed. Another man shouted, raising his pistol—but she disarmed him mid-spin, twisted his wrist, and stabbed his own knife into his chest.
Ethan's jaw hung open.
Is this girl… is she suffering from multiple personalities?
The last two men tried to run. Serena dashed forward, swept one's leg, slit his throat mid-air, and slammed the final one down with a spinning kick that shattered his jaw.
Silence returned.
The flames behind her crackled, casting flickers across her blood-smeared face.
Ethan's heart sank deeper. "WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!"
His mind reeled. "Confirmed!!This girl has multiple personalities or something?!"
His thoughts spun wildly. "She's insane. She's crazy. She's absolutely—"
"No one hurts Ethan," Serena whispered to herself.
He stared. "You hurt me though?!"
She didn't respond.
She turned to Ethan.
Walked toward him.
Ethan wanted to back away, but his body refused to move.
She knelt before him, her shadow long and terrible under the ruined moonlight.
No. Nonono. Don't come closer. I've had enough plot twists for one night!.
Then… she leaned in and pressed her forehead softly against his.
He froze.
"I'm sorry, Ethan," she whispered, her voice trembling. "Please forgive me. Sorry for hurting you. If I didn't do that… you would've already been dead."
Ethan blinked, stunned.
"What…? What are you saying?" he muttered. "You tried to kill me… so that I wouldn't die?"
Serena's voice broke. "You're being hunted. If I didn't join the hunters… I wouldn't be able to protect you from within."
Ethan's brain short-circuited.
His thoughts spun like broken code.
She tried to kill me to protect me…?
What the fuck am I even saying right now?
He coughed, chest heaving. "Crazy girl— I mean Serena—what the hell are you talking about?"
But she didn't respond to that.
Instead, she wrapped her arms around him. Gently. Tenderly.
Ethan stiffened.
"Don't move," she said. "You're hurt. You'll bleed more."
He wanted to push her away.
But her embrace was warm. Familiar.
"I'm sorry," she murmured again. "I can't tell you everything yet. But please know this…"
She lifted his face gently. Tears lined the corners of her lashes.
"I really love you, Ethan."
And then without giving him time to react she kissed him.
It was soft. Slow. But smeared in blood both hers and his.
When she pulled away, Ethan stared at her like a man lost in a dream.
"…My first kiss," he muttered. "Why is it covered in blood?"
She laughed under her breath. "Sorry."
He was silent for a moment. Then finally mumbled, "I… I'll charge you for emotional damage."
She smiled, brushed his hair gently, then stood.
"I have to go."
"Wait!" Ethan tried to grab her wrist, but his fingers slipped.
"I'll come back," she said softly. "When it's safe. Just stay alive, Ethan."
"Serena—!"
But she turned.
And vanished into the flames.
Seconds later, the sound of sirens echoed in the distance.
People began gathering near the wreckage.
Someone screamed. "There's a survivor here!
And everything faded for Ethan
— — —
When Ethan opened his eyes, he wasn't on fire.
He was surrounded by luxury.
"What the…"
The air smelled like lavender. A king-size bed cradled him like clouds. A massive TV screen hung on the wall, currently playing footage of his bus fight.
Ethan stared. His own bloodied body twisted across the screen. Flames. Blades. Gunshots.
He sat up, wincing in pain. "Am I in heaven? Or… did I transmigrate again?!"
Just then
Click.
The door opened.
And a woman walked in.
She wore the same assassin bodysuit Serena had worn—but this version hugged her curves like it had been designed by sin itself. Sleeker, bolder, with the triangle-skull emblem glowing faintly.
Ethan's eyes widened.
No way.
She smiled.
"Welcome, my reader," the woman said.
Ethan groaned.
"Of course… It's you. The author"
The goddess.The so-called author.
She winked.
"No. Call me what I am now…"
She stepped closer, eyes glowing.
"…Your goddess."