FLAW: SIXTY

**ALEX POV**

We successfully retrieved Justin and Calli's parents, but unfortunately got caught in battle on our way back to where their children were.

"Just stay in the car!" I shouted as an order to them while Sky and I stepped out to confront the two monsters blocking the road. The two seemed busy devouring their prey but stopped when they saw us. They growled in anger as their eyes locked onto us. Their mouths watered as if they had found a new meal. "You want to eat us? Come and get us!" I angrily invited them, further provoking them.

The two dashed toward us as I released a few psi balls. I unleashed them simultaneously, and Sky fired his gun. The bullets and orbs struck the monsters, causing them to wail in pain.

A scream caught my and Sky's ears, halting us in our tracks. When we looked to see where the scream came from, we realized that the two flying-type monsters were attacking the cars carrying our friends' parents.

"Help them! I'll handle this!" I commanded Sky, which he immediately agreed to. Sky ran toward the car and started shooting at the monsters attacking it. I returned to the two monsters, who had just stood up from their fall. "I hate to admit it, but this is two against one," I muttered as I summoned more psi balls.

They launched themselves at me for the second time, but they still couldn't get close as I exploded my psi balls on their bodies. Then, something caught my eye — the shards of glass windows from the nearby shops. With their number and sharpness, I was sure it would finally be enough to take down the two.

While the two struggled to stand, I levitated the pieces of glass around me using telekinesis. But then, an idea popped into my head, making me grin mischievously. I heated the shards using my pyrokinetic ability, melting them down and reshaping them into sharp, deadly glass spikes.

When I noticed the two monsters standing up again, I aimed my creations at them. For the third time, they launched at me, but this time, they were out of luck. The moment I released all the glass spikes toward them, they instantly fell to the ground, lifeless. Several pieces of glass pierced their bodies, creating openings for their blood flow. Once I was sure they were dead, I returned to Sky.

I learned that he successfully killed the monsters but also noticed his weakened state. He was leaning on the car, struggling to catch his breath.

"They made me use it," he defended, looking at me. I walked closer to him and planted a kiss on his cheek.

"I'll drive," I volunteered and headed to the driver's seat. "We're going!" I shouted to inform Calli's parents to prepare to leave. Once I saw in the rearview mirror that they were ready, I honked as a signal of our departure. Soon enough, we were on our way to Dao's house.

******

"Mom!" Calli greeted them as she saw them. Mr. and Mrs. Raph immediately embraced their daughter as if they hadn't seen her for years. It was the same with Trevor and Wernie; their parents hugged them tightly, too. Seeing them reunited made me feel envious.

But then, someone wrapped their arms around me. When I looked, it was Maica. I smiled and hugged her back.

"I know you're feeling jealous, so I just hugged you," she made an excuse even though we both knew she was the one feeling more jealous. It reminded me of Auntie.

After the hugs, we all sat down in the living room. The door was locked to prevent any monsters from getting in. We explained to the parents what had happened, except for the part where I was the initial reason for it. I was actually against keeping it from them because they deserved to know everything and the truth, but Sky said it wasn't necessary to tell them. Besides, they said recognizing Glias as their enemy would be more helpful.

"What's happening right now was somehow part of the Glias plan," Sky interjected, catching our attention. "Am I right, Dao?" Sky confirmed, and Dao nodded, indicating he was correct. "They called this plan Armageddon."

"Wait, do they have other plans besides taking over the world and going to the other side?" Trevor asked incredulously. Dao and Sky nodded in unison, disappointing all of us.

"So, what's the ultimate goal of this plan?" Trevor's dad asked. I learned that they were both business strategists, probably wise.

"This might sound cliche, but I think they want to cleanse the world with their own hands," Dao informed, which was somewhat hard for us to understand, except for Trevor's parents, who nodded, indicating they understood the point.

"So, they're the gods now?" Trevor's mom sarcastically asked. "Cleansing the world, stupid," she criticized, surprising their son.

"By the way, the government is conducting rescue operations. They'll probably be taking the refugees to their camp. Maybe it's better if we go there too?" Calli's dad suggested, silencing the whole room, seemingly pondering what to answer.

"We should," Trevor's dad replied. "We can't stay here. We'll only starve. It's better if we stay there. There's food there, and we'll be protected." Everyone nodded except for Sky and me, as if we didn't want to join them. Well, what we needed now was neither shelter nor food but training. But then I realized something.

"Mr. Galeo is right," I agreed, catching their attention.

"I thought you and Sky were going to train?" Trisha asked, smiling.

"The camp is the best place to train. And also, we can cooperate with the General to help you with your plan to overthrow Glias," Dao answered, which I agreed with. It seemed he knew what I was thinking.

"But are you sure there are no Glias spies there? For a well-known organization like them, I'm sure they have infiltrators, especially in the military," Justin pointed out.

"Justin is right. Your efforts might just go to waste," Wernie agreed.

"I can help you with that," Trevor's dad suddenly said, catching our attention.

"My husband and I are not just business strategists. We used to work in the military as strategists, too. So planning for an attack or invasion is our thing," his wife explained, surprising Trevor again. It seemed he didn't know this.

"It's settled then," Sky declared.

******

We're on our way towards the camp. We boarded a minibus that we luckily found just outside the subdivision's entrance. As expected, Enigma, Trisha, and Maica were surprised when they saw the situation outside. Buildings were set on fire, and some were damaged. Several corpses decorated the pavements, covered in both blood and dust.

Cars were also parked everywhere, seemingly pushed around by another large vehicle. Some of them were upside down, while others had dead bodies inside. Some were even burning from explosions. These are the kinds of scenes you only see in movies. But I never thought it would happen in the real world. It was like the film was just predicting a possibility, and one had already come true.

What’s next? Catastrophe? Alien invasion? Outbreak? Zombie apocalypse? I don't know. Most of them are possible, but I'm not certain when.

"The camp is a 12-hour drive from here. Maybe we should grab some food and fuel?" Calli's dad suggested, which we all agreed to.

"There's a market and a gas station at the second corner. We can stop there," Dao informed, to which Calli's dad nodded. He was driving the bus.

Sky and I sat in the back of the bus. I sat close to the window to torture myself with the events outside. I wanted to remind myself that I started this, so I should be the one to finish it. Sky was sitting quietly beside me, holding my hand. Ever since these incidents started, he had always been by my side, telling me he would be right here for me no matter what.

The mini-bus started running on the designated route. All of us were silent while watching how devastated the city was. It became an instant ghost city in just half an hour.

"This is weird," Calli remarked, also looking out the bus window. "I don't see any monsters." She's right. That's why I also felt that something was off. The monsters suddenly disappeared. There were so many of them earlier that I couldn't even count, but now, I can't see a single one. They couldn't just disappear.

"I've detected a really powerful energy shift," Dao informed, showing us the laptop he was holding.

Sky tightened his grip on my hand as if he was triggered. I looked at him and noticed his furrowed brow, not due to confusion but because of anger.

"That's Glias headquarters," he exclaimed, causing me to look at the laptop again. A vast plane of green was on it, along with the pulsating red dot. If I'm not mistaken, those greens could be grass or trees.

"Is it just me, or are the dots approaching the Glias?" Justin commented, causing us to look at the laptop again.

We all looked at it with furrowed brows, watching the red dots approach the red dot in the middle of the screen.

"The energy shifts are moving?" Wernie asked in amazement.

"Not the energy shift but the reason for the energy shifts. If my theory is right, those energy shifts are the monsters,” Dao speculated.

"But why are they heading towards Glias? To attack it?" Trisha asked.

"No," Dao and Sky answered in unison.

"It's a call," Sky corrected.

"What do you mean?" Maica asked in confusion.

"They were being summoned," Dao answered.

"Summoned? By whom?" Wernie inquired while furrowing her brows.

"Who else? Based on the location they're heading to, none other than Glias," Justin pointed out.

"But why?" Trevor wondered. "And how?"

"That's what we don't know," Dao responded, quieting everyone. It seems Glias still has something hidden. Something I really want to know.

"Maybe it wasn't Glias who called them?" Calli speculated, causing us to look at her. "What if something or someone is controlling these monsters."

"You mean like a queen?" Wernie asked.

"More like a king,” Justin corrected. "I know this might sound crazy, but if we're talking about the Queens and Kings of Monsters, there's only one creature that fits the criteria—"

"Godzilla," Trevor interjected.

"Godzilla?!" Trevor's dad asked in surprise. "Godzilla is just a fictional character," he defended, but Justin shrugged as if saying he was wrong.

"Godzilla belongs to Chinese myth," Justin corrected.

"Exactly! He's just a myth!" Trevor's dad insisted.

"And so are those monsters. We've seen goblins and dragons, Pa, and they were all myths but they existed!" Trevor argued. "If myths are true, then Godzilla is true too."

"This is too much, especially for Alex," Maica commented. "Knowing that she's not just fighting against Glias but also the King of Monsters."

All eyes were on me, so I just bowed my head. I didn't know what to say or how to respond to Maica's statement. The fear I felt earlier doubled now. But then I felt Sky tighten his grip on my hand, squeezing my poor fingers, telling me to stay calm and relax.

But that wasn't enough. Training is the only thing that could calm and relax me now. When I have enough confidence in myself to win this, I can relax.

But for now, let fear consume me. After all, it's the only thing that can justify my confidence in myself.

**END OF VOLUME 3: FLAW**
**UP NEXT**: VOLUME 4: VIGOR