With a roar, Vorgrash reared back, his massive form towering over the ruined remains of the building. Dark energy crackled around him, his tentacles thrashing wildly as he prepared to launch another attack.

But this time, I was done playing nice.

“Fine,” I muttered, rolling my shoulders and flexing my fingers. “You want to do this? Let’s do this.”

Vorgrash’s towering form loomed over me, dark energy crackling violently around his massive limbs. For a few tense moments, we simply stared at each other. I could almost see the gears turning in whatever passed for his mind as he tried to make sense of what had just happened. The destruction of the YMCA clearly wasn’t having the impact he’d expected. Instead of cowering, I was… what? Annoyed?

Vorgrash’s eyes blazed with a mixture of fury and uncertainty. “YOU… YOU DO NOT COWER IN FEAR,” he rumbled, his voice reverberating through the very ground beneath me. “WHY DO YOU NOT RUN? WHY DO YOU NOT TREMBLE BEFORE MY POWER?” His massive form seemed to hesitate for a moment, his eyes narrowing. “NO MATTER… EVEN IF YOU ARE DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHERS, YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY WITHSTAND THE FULL MIGHT OF MY LEGIONS!”

He reared back, his massive frame seeming to swell with dark energy, tendrils of malevolent power coiling around him like serpents. A low, guttural chant escaped his maw, each syllable dripping with venomous intent.

“TO ME, MY MINIONS!” Vorgrash bellowed, his voice cracking through the air like a whip. The ground beneath him split open with a deafening roar, jagged rifts of glowing crimson light tearing through the asphalt. From these rifts, shadowy shapes began to crawl, twisting and convulsing as they clawed their way free from the depths of whatever nightmarish dimension Vorgrash had called them from.

The shadows solidified into grotesque creatures—hulking brutes with gnarled limbs and twisted faces, their forms a nauseating blend of teeth, claws, and exposed muscle. Skittering insectoid monstrosities with serrated legs and mandibles dripping with venom swarmed forth, their eyes gleaming with malevolent hunger.

Vorgrash’s form loomed above them, casting a long shadow over his summoned horde. “SEE HOW THEY CRAWL FROM THE VOID ITSELF TO SERVE ME. WITNESS THEIR POWER AND DESPAIR, MORTAL. WATCH AS THEY TEAR YOU APART, PIECE BY PIECE!”

I glanced at the horde of creatures surging toward me, then back up at Vorgrash. He looked so smug, so sure of his impending victory. I couldn’t help it—I laughed. Not a polite chuckle or a forced snort, but a full-on, head-thrown-back kind of laugh.

“Minions?” I managed between breaths. “You’re really going with minions?”

Vorgrash’s eyes narrowed, his expression darkening. “YOU DARE MOCK ME?”

I wiped a tear from the corner of my eye. “I mean, come on. You really think these guys are gonna make a difference?” I motioned to the closest brute, which let out an ear-splitting roar and charged. Its claws gleamed under the harsh light of the rifts as it raised one massive arm, preparing to swipe me clean in half.

Before it could even finish the motion, I shifted my weight slightly and kicked out with the barest hint of effort. My foot connected with the brute’s head, and with a sickening crunch, its skull caved in like it was made of papier-mâché. The creature’s body crumpled to the ground, dissolving into a cloud of noxious purple smoke.

Silence fell over the street, the remaining minions pausing in their tracks. Vorgrash’s eyes widened, disbelief flashing across his face.

“YOU… YOU…!” he stammered, his voice trembling with uncertainty.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” I said, brushing a bit of imaginary dust off my sleeve. “You want to send in more, or are we just going to keep playing this little game?”

With a guttural snarl, Vorgrash gestured furiously, and the rest of the horde surged forward as one, their growls and screeches blending into a cacophony of fury. I sighed deeply, watching them close in from every direction.

“All right, then,” I muttered, rolling my shoulders as the nearest creatures lunged toward me. “Let’s get this over with.”

Time seemed to slow down as I moved. Each step, each motion felt almost leisurely as I slipped between grasping claws and snapping mandibles. My fist connected with the side of a brute’s head, and it crumpled like a house of cards. I swung my arm out, backhanding another minion with enough force to send it crashing through a nearby building. A spinning kick sent three insectoids hurtling through the air, their bodies disintegrating before they even hit the ground.

Vorgrash watched, his many eyes darting between the remnants of his minions, his expression twisting from rage to confusion… and then, slowly, to something that looked almost like fear.

“IMPOSSIBLE… THIS CANNOT BE…” he muttered, his voice softer now, almost uncertain. “THEY WERE SUMMONED FROM THE VOID, THEY ARE BEINGS OF PURE DESTRUCTION… HOW…?”

“Yeah, see, that’s the problem,” I said conversationally, stepping over a dissolving heap of minion remains. “You guys are all so focused on power and destruction that you forget the basics.” I gestured at the rapidly diminishing horde. “No matter how many of you there are, you’re all just… boring.”

Another brute lunged at me, its massive frame blotting out the light as it swung both arms down in a crushing overhead blow. I stepped to the side, flicked my finger against its temple, and the brute’s head caved in like a watermelon hit by a sledgehammer. It collapsed into a heap, the shockwave of its impact sending cracks racing through the pavement.

Vorgrash’s form shuddered, his many eyes wide with disbelief. “WHAT… WHAT ARE YOU…?”

I shrugged, dusting off my hands as the last of the minions dissolved into wisps of smoke. “I’m just a guy who wanted to eat his sandwich in peace,” I replied, my voice low and steady. “But you had to go and mess with my day.”

For the first time since the fight began, Vorgrash hesitated, his massive form shrinking back ever so slightly. His gaze flickered to the remains of his horde, then back to me. “NO… NO… THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE… MY LEGIONS… MY MINIONS… DESTROYED…!”

I took a step forward, and Vorgrash flinched, his entire body tensing. “You still want to keep going, or have you finally figured out what you’re dealing with?”

Vorgrash’s massive form shuddered as the last of his summoned minions dissipated into clouds of dark smoke. The silence that followed was almost suffocating, the street littered with the remains of shattered buildings and fractured asphalt. I stood calmly amidst the chaos, hands in my pockets, watching as Vorgrash struggled to comprehend what had just happened.

His many eyes flickered erratically between me and the empty space where his legion had once stood, disbelief etched into every monstrous feature. “NO… THIS IS… YOU CANNOT BE THIS POWERFUL… A MERE MORTAL…”

I shrugged, taking a casual step forward. “Told you, buddy. You picked the wrong day to mess with me.” I gestured at the crumbling remains of his horde. “Maybe next time, try sending something a little less… squishy.”

“ENOUGH!” Vorgrash roared, his voice filled with desperate fury. His entire body began to glow with an eerie, pulsating light, dark energy crackling across his skin like bolts of black lightning. The very air seemed to thrum with power, and the ground beneath him cracked and split apart, chunks of debris levitating into the air as the pressure around us spiked to unbearable levels.

“IF I CANNOT DESTROY YOU WITH FORCE, THEN I SHALL BURN YOU IN THE FIRES OF THE VOID!” Vorgrash reared back, his form swelling as he drew in more and more power. The sky above darkened, roiling clouds swirling violently around a massive vortex that seemed to tear open reality itself. The temperature dropped rapidly, the ground beneath us frosting over as a chilling wind whipped through the air.

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I raised an eyebrow, my curiosity piqued. “Oh? This looks new.”

The vortex above us expanded, crackling with arcs of dark energy that lashed out like the tendrils of some unseen beast. The clouds pulsed and churned, growing darker and more turbulent by the second. And then, with a deafening roar that split the heavens, the vortex exploded in a shower of black light.

“WITNESS MY TRUE POWER!” Vorgrash howled, his voice reverberating through the very fabric of reality. “BEHOLD THE WRATH OF THE VOID! PERISH, MORTAL, AND BE ERASED FROM EXISTENCE ITSELF!”

The vortex shattered, releasing a torrent of raw, unbridled energy that cascaded down like a waterfall of darkness. The world seemed to distort and twist as the torrent surged toward me, a roaring tidal wave of annihilation that threatened to consume everything in its path.

The force of the attack was immense, the very air crackling and hissing as the energy barreled down upon me. The ground beneath my feet disintegrated, chunks of concrete and asphalt evaporating into nothingness. The blinding light from the vortex swallowed the street, and for a moment, everything was lost in a sea of black and white.

And then… silence.

As the dust settled and the energy dissipated, there I stood, completely unharmed. I glanced around at the scorched ground and the charred remains of what had once been the surrounding buildings. A massive crater yawned beneath me, the center of the impact zone where the energy had been concentrated. But I was still there, untouched and unmoved.

Vorgrash’s eyes widened in disbelief, his entire body trembling with rage. “WHAT… WHAT ARE YOU…? NO MORTAL SHOULD BE ABLE TO—”

My gaze drifted downward, and a pang of frustration shot through me. At the edge of the crater, where my bench had once stood, there was nothing left. Just ash and rubble. My coffee, my sandwich… gone.

Something inside me snapped.

I took a slow, measured breath, my shoulders slumping ever so slightly. “You know, I was willing to let you off easy. We could have skipped the whole ‘big bad monster’ routine. I could’ve grabbed my lunch, gone home, and called it a day. But you…” I glanced up at Vorgrash, my eyes narrowing. “You had to go and destroy the only good thing about today.”

Vorgrash’s massive frame shuddered as he took a hesitant step back, his many eyes darting between me and the destruction he’d wrought. “I… I AM VORGRASH, DEVOURER OF WORLDS! I CANNOT BE—”

I moved.

One moment, I was standing at the edge of the crater. The next, I was right in front of Vorgrash’s massive chest. Everything seemed to freeze—no, time itself felt like it had been plunged into molasses. The roar of the wind and the crackle of residual energy faded into silence. Vorgrash’s eyes—each one blazing with fury—seemed to widen in slow motion.

“Here’s the thing, big guy,” I murmured, raising my finger to the center of his chest. “It’s not just about power. It’s also about control.”

I flicked him.

The impact was immediate, a soundless shockwave of force that rippled through the very fabric of reality. For a split second, everything hung suspended, as if the world itself had forgotten how to move. Vorgrash’s massive form shuddered violently, and then—time snapped back like a rubber band.

Everything accelerated.

Vorgrash was flung backward, his body hurtling through the air like a comet. He crashed through one building, then another, the structures crumbling like sandcastles beneath a tidal wave. The ground trembled as the shockwave from my flick spread outward, splintering the asphalt and sending cracks racing across the cityscape.

Vorgrash’s form convulsed, his massive limbs flailing as he struggled to comprehend what had just happened. His many eyes darted around wildly, his expression one of pure, unadulterated terror.

“WHAT… WHAT DID YOU DO…?” he gasped, his voice trembling with fear.

“What are you talking about? I barely even touched you.” I shook my head, watching as he continued to tumble and crash through the city. “I mean, come on. Did you really think this was gonna end any differently?”

Vorgrash’s body crumpled inward, dark energy leaking from the cracks that now covered his form like a shattered mirror. He let out a final, agonized roar, and then—his massive frame collapsed, disintegrating into a cloud of smoldering, inky smoke.

I glanced around at the remains of his legion, a faint smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. “Well, that was more dramatic than I expected.”

Taking a deep breath, I turned and looked back at the now-empty bench. The pang of loss hit me again, sharper this time. “And now I have to figure out what to eat for lunch.”

I let out a long breath, the adrenaline of the fight fading into the same dull apathy that usually followed these kinds of encounters. Vorgrash’s inky remains continued to dissolve, wisps of dark smoke curling up into the air and dissipating into the afternoon sky. Around me, the ground was littered with the residue of his shattered minions—charred husks and pools of viscous, black ichor slowly seeping into the cracks of the fractured pavement.

The eerie silence that followed was almost unnerving, especially in a city as chaotic as Zenith. People were starting to trickle back onto the street, cautiously peeking out from behind whatever cover they’d taken. Phones were whipped out, videos were being recorded, and the faint murmur of voices began to rise.

I kicked a small chunk of rubble idly, glancing around at the mess. So much for a quiet Tuesday.

My gaze drifted to a puddle of thick, black goo—a remnant of one of Vorgrash’s minions. The stuff bubbled and hissed faintly, but otherwise lay motionless. A sudden thought struck me, and I crouched down, squinting at the strange substance.

“You know,” I muttered to myself, reaching out and poking the goo with a finger, “I wonder if this stuff would work as an additive for soap.”

The ichor clung to my fingertip, its surface shimmering with an odd, otherworldly hue. I gave it an experimental sniff and cringed. Definitely not a pleasant scent. But with the right mixture, maybe…

“Yeah, I bet I could figure something out,” I mused, wiping the goo off on a nearby piece of debris. “Market it as ‘Otherworldly Ichor’ or ‘Void Essence.’ Might be a hit at those pop-up markets.”

A few of the bystanders had edged closer, their eyes wide with a mix of fear and curiosity. I glanced their way and offered a halfhearted wave. “Hey, don’t mind me. Just considering some new business ideas.”

One of them—an older man with a thick mustache—stepped forward hesitantly. “Um… are you… okay?” he asked, his voice trembling slightly.

“Yeah, I’m good,” I replied, giving the remains of Vorgrash one last look. “Just thinking about how to repurpose monster remains into something useful.”

The man blinked, clearly unsure if he’d heard me right. “Monster… remains?”

“Yup.” I gestured at the puddles of goo and crumpled heaps scattered around. “All of this stuff? It’s got potential. You know, a little soap, a few candles… maybe even an exfoliant.” I paused, squinting thoughtfully. “Could be a game changer.”

The man’s eyes darted nervously between me and the remnants of the battlefield. “R-Right. Well, uh… good luck with that.”

“Thanks.” I flashed him a quick smile. “Gotta make the best of what you’ve got, right?”

He nodded slowly and then, as if suddenly remembering he had legs, turned and hurried away, muttering something under his breath. I watched him go, then glanced around at the rest of the onlookers, who were now busily snapping photos of the smoldering remains.

They’d be sharing their selfies online before the hour was up, bragging about how they’d been there for the latest monster attack. Good for them, I supposed. Everyone needed a little excitement now and then. For me, though, it was just another inconvenience on an already messed-up day.

I took one last, lingering look at the crater where the bench—and my coffee and sandwich—had been, feeling a pang of loss that surprised me with its intensity. “All that carnage,” I muttered to myself, shaking my head, “and for what? A wasted sandwich and a spilled cup of Joe’s finest.”

With a resigned sigh, I turned away from the crater and started walking back down the street. My shoes crunched against the loose gravel and shattered glass as I moved, the distant sounds of sirens and shouts fading into background noise. I glanced at the few remaining bits of goo scattered across the pavement and made a mental note to come back later with some jars. There had to be a way to make something out of all this mess. Hell, maybe I’d even find a way to turn a profit from it.

As I strolled away, I noticed a few bystanders creeping closer to the crater, phones held high as they snapped pictures of the lingering smoke and debris. One girl, no older than her late teens, was already beaming at her phone, no doubt typing out a caption for her latest social media post: Right there when it happened! Monster attack in downtown Zenith! #Survivor #Epic #ScaryAF.

I shook my head, a wry smile tugging at my lips. People were always looking for something to talk about, something to turn into a story. Guess I couldn’t blame them, given how crazy things were around here.

But for now, my only concern was figuring out one thing—lunch.

I gave the still-smoking remnants of Vorgrash one last glance before turning my back on the wreckage. “Guess I’ll just settle for a bagel this time,” I muttered, shoving my hands into my pockets. “Joe’s probably closed up shop after all that.” I sighed. “Just my luck… gotta wait till next week for that sandwich now.”

With that, I set off down the street, ignoring the puzzled stares and hushed whispers that followed in my wake. People would talk. They always did. But for me, it was just another Tuesday.