*CLANG!*

The sharp ring of metal on claw echoed across the beach as Alpha’s sword slammed into the flying beast’s talons. Sparks flew in every direction, lighting up the salty air for a split second.

The beast hovered there, wings beating hard to stay steady. Its ugly face twisted into a snarl, yellow eyes glowing with hate.

"Let’s see how good you are," it growled, voice rough like gravel. "You filthy woma—"

He didn’t finish.

Alpha moved like lightning. Mid-air, she twisted her body and drove her boot straight into the beast’s gut with a powerful kick.

*THUP!*

The impact sounded wet and heavy. The flying beast’s eyes bulged wide. Its whole body folded forward like a broken toy, air whooshing out of its lungs in a choked gasp. It tilted sideways, wings flailing uselessly.

Then gravity took over. *THUD!*

It crashed hard into the sand, kicking up a huge cloud of dust and bits of seaweed. The ground shook a little from the force.

Alpha floated above it, long pink hair whipping in the wind like a banner. She held her sword casually at her side, looking down with that same calm, icy expression.

"Sorry," she said in a flat voice. "You were saying something?"

The crowd behind me went nuts.

A tall guy with messy hair pointed excitedly, almost jumping. "Oye, look at that pink-haired girl! Alpha is her name, right? She kicked that flying monster like a doll!"

His friend next to him—a shorter dude with a goofy grin—nodded fast, eyes wide.

"She looks so hot as well. I want to marry her."

The tall guy rolled his eyes and smacked his friend’s shoulder lightly.

"Yeah, you start thinking about marrying any woman just like that. Focus, man—she’s busy saving our asses."

Down on the sand, the flying beast coughed violently. Dark blood splattered from its mouth as it struggled to push itself up on shaky arms.

"You... bitch!" it spat, voice raspy and furious.

But before it could even get halfway to its feet—

*GUSH!*

Alpha was already there. In one smooth, blur-fast motion, she dropped down and drove her black sword straight through its chest. The blade went clean in, right where the heart would be. No hesitation. No warning.

The beast’s eyes went wide one last time. Its wings twitched once, then went limp.

*THUD.*

Its body slumped forward, lifeless, sword still buried deep. Alpha yanked the blade free with a quick pull, flicking the blood off in one sharp motion. It splattered dark across the sand.

She stood over the corpse, breathing steady, pink hair settling around her shoulders like nothing big just happened.

But the goblins saw everything.

A bunch of them—green-skinned, pointy-eared little monsters—froze for a second. Then rage hit them like a wave.

"That pink-haired bitch killed our brother!" one screamed, jabbing a crooked finger at her.

"Let’s kill her!" another howled.

"Rip her apart!"

"Swarm the pink one!"

They started charging from all sides, dozens of them rushing toward Alpha in a messy, screaming mob. Clubs, rusty knives, and sharp teeth flashed in the sunlight as they closed in.

Alpha slowly turned her head, scanning the incoming horde. Her expression didn’t change much—just a tiny narrowing of her eyes.

"Come here, you bitch! I’m gonna kill you!"

The goblin’s scream was high and furious. At least twenty of them—maybe more—leaped forward at the same time. Their crooked knives, rusty clubs, and sharp claws glinted in the sun as they jumped toward Alpha like a green wave of death.

*SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!*

It happened so fast it looked easy.

Alpha didn’t even step back. Her black sword moved in quick, clean arcs—left, right, up, down. Each swing was perfect. Goblin bodies split open mid-air. Green blood sprayed like rain. Arms, legs, heads—everything hit the sand in wet pieces before any of them could even get close enough to scratch her.

The last goblin tried to swing its club anyway. Alpha tilted her head just a little, and her blade flashed once more. The goblin dropped in two halves.

Silence fell for half a second. Then the rest of the horde hesitated, eyes wide.

Alpha lowered her sword slowly. A tiny sigh escaped her lips.

"Eta... I can take care of myself," she said in her usual calm voice. "You should go help Beta."

A soft whoosh of air came from behind her.

Eta landed lightly beside Alpha, knees bending to absorb the impact. Her short silver hair fluttered for a moment before settling. She carried twin short blades in her hands, both dripping with monster blood.

"Are you okay, Miss Alpha?" Eta asked right away, eyes scanning Alpha from head to toe like a worried little sister.

Alpha glanced at her and gave a small nod.

"Yeah, I’m fine. How about you?"

"Yep, I’m also good," Eta said with a quick smile. She turned to look at the battlefield stretching out across the beach. The other shadow mystics were still tearing through everything—flames flashing, claws ripping, arrows whistling.

"Any problems so far?" Alpha asked casually, like they were talking about the weather while standing in the middle of a war zone.

"Not at all," Eta replied, sounding almost cheerful. "We should be done with all this within the next ten minutes or so."

Alpha nodded once. "That’s good." Then she tilted her head toward the wildest part of the fight. "And how’s Beta holding up?"

Eta followed her gaze. A grin tugged at her lips.

"Seems like she’s enjoying herself."

Over there, Beta was bouncing around like a kid in a candy store—if the candy store was full of monsters that wanted to eat her.

She jumped high, twisted in the air, and came down claws-first on top of a big alien thing. Its body exploded into goo under her attack. She didn’t stop—spun, slashed left, slashed right, laughed the whole time.

"Arghh! Hahahaha! BRING IT ON!" Beta yelled, her voice loud and wild. She sounded like she was having the best day of her life. Claws flashed again, and three more small monsters went flying in pieces.

Alpha watched for a second. A small, quiet chuckle slipped out of her—rare for her.

"Yeah," she said softly. "I can see that."

Eta giggled a little too. "She’s unstoppable when she gets like this. Good thing the monsters keep coming—she’d probably get bored otherwise."

Alpha shook her head, still smiling just a tiny bit. "As long as she doesn’t break the whole beach. Master’s already tired enough without having to fix craters."