CHAPTER 64: DAVID AND GOLIATH

After the rift between the two worlds opened decades ago, the boundaries that once separated Earth from its parallel counterpart had blurred, at first temporarily, but now, almost irreversibly.

Not only had people gained access to new resources and strange abilities, but entire ecosystems had begun to seep through, as if the world on the other side had decided to migrate, piece by piece, into this one.

At first, it was chaos. Skies that once saw nothing but birds and clouds now had streaks of crimson winged serpents and glowing feathered reptiles gliding over mountaintops.

Forests became alive with sounds no biologist could recognize.

But as time passed, and as the world adapted, regulations and response units came into place.

The most dangerous creatures, those that breathed acid, warped reality, or hunted in organized packs, were swiftly exterminated or banished back through controlled rifts by specialized military divisions. But not all creatures were threats.

Some were simply strange. Unfamiliar. Exotic. And harmless.

So they stayed.

They integrated.

They bred.

Some of them, like the massive bird circling overhead now, had found new homes in this world, perched on mountain ledges, building nests in deep forest canopies, and occasionally swooping over man-made lakes like the one the in the estate.

With no real reason, or perhaps no ability, to return, they had become part of Earth’s modern natural order. There were whole documentaries about them now. Nature preserves. Even dishes inspired by their meat in underground culinary circles.

And the bird that Mika was eyeing, a sleek, scaled-winged avian the size of a glider, was one of those creatures. It didn’t screech like an eagle or caw like a crow.

Instead, it let out a high-pitched, flute-like trill as it lazily circled above, casting a shifting shadow across the garden’s pristine stone path.

To anyone else, it was a majestic anomaly, the sort of thing you’d stop to admire from a distance.

But to Mika...it was dinner.

Charlotte blinked, following his gaze. "Wait, that’s...that’s not a native species, is it?"

Kafka didn’t even look at her as he replied. "Nope. That one’s from Arven Delta. Native to high-altitude canyons. They call it a Glintfeather Falcon. Extremely territorial, quick, sharp as hell, but once roasted right, the meat’s supposed to be the most tender thing you’ll ever have in your life."

"...Wasn’t even thinking of eating bird today, but hey, looks like fate’s dropped roasted bird on my plate."

Charlotte crossed her arms and looked up at the bird with a scrunched nose and an indignant pout.

"Can’t we just grill some chicken? We’ve got plenty of that back in the fridge." She frowned harder, shading her eyes with one hand as she watched the strange creature circling above. "I mean, I don’t know if I can eat some random bird just flying out there like it owns the sky. It doesn’t even look tasty!"

"...Just, look at it, it’s probably all tough and stringy. Carnivores usually are. The meat’s always gamey and hard to chew."

But Mika just glanced at her with a faint shake of his head, the kind of amused look you’d give a clueless child.

"That’s true." He said, slipping one hand out of his pocket and gesturing lazily toward the sky. "But that’s usually the case with animals from this planet. The ones from other worlds...it’s different."

"Random, even. Sometimes the ones that look like they’ve got rock-hard skin? They’ve got the softest, juiciest meat you’ve ever tasted. You really can’t rely on this world’s experience."

Yelena nodded as she looked up, a small smile tugging at her lips, her voice light with recollection.

"He’s right. Back when I was travelling through the rifts searching for the Eternal Queen, we didn’t exactly have supplies on hand. We had to rely on whatever the world threw at us."

"I was hesitant at first too, believe me...but after a while, I realized, those other worlds? They’re a chef’s dream."

She tilted her head, eyes gleaming with fondness.

"Compared to here, where you’re stuck with the basics, chicken, beef, pork, fish, those places had flavors I couldn’t even begin to describe. Every meal was a surprise."

"Exactly..." Mika said with a grin. "Why stick around here hunting ducks and turkeys when I can walk through a rift and come out the other side chasing monster fish and man-eating squids?"

"Okay, okay, fine. We’ll eat it. But how are we gonna bring it down?"

Charlotte sighed. But then, her tone suddenly shifted. Her lips curved mischievously and her eyes flashed with excitement as she took a step forward.

"Wait, maybe I should do it. I could just...enter its mind." She said, voice low, eyes glowing a vivid pink. "Make it black out. And then...thump, falls straight down. No mess. No feathers everywhere. Boom. Fresh meat at our feet."

Just as the glow in her eyes brightened, Yelena stepped forward with a light laugh, flipping a strand of hair behind her shoulder, her tone teasing but just as eager.

"You don’t have to go messing with its brain, Charlotte. I can handle it with a bit more finesse."

She stretched out her fingers, a shimmer of steel flashing behind her as one of her swords snapped to attention with a soft hum.

"One slice. Clean cut. No need for dramatics. The head hits the floor before it even knows what happened."

Both of them were grinning now, fully locked into the excitement, eager to show off, one with glowing eyes, the other with humming blades.

But then Mika turned toward them sharply, his expression darkening in an instant. His hands slipped out of his pockets, arms crossing as he stared them both down with an almost offended look.

"No." He said, flatly. "Absolutely not."

Charlotte blinked, confused. Yelena tilted her head.

"You two still don’t get it, do you?" He said, sighing. "You’re not supposed to use your abilities for stuff like this."

He looked at both of them, almost disappointed.

"Blessing like that, they’re meant for combat. For survival and for essential activities. They’re tools for when the stakes are high, not when you’re hungry for a snack."

"You start using them for everything...and you forget what it means to earn something. You start depending on them. And when that happens, they stop being special. You also stop feeling human."

He then pointed up toward the bird as he continued saying,

"Hunting is also supposed to be about the chase. The patience. The kill. You take all that away with a sword or some mind trick, and what do you have left?"

"...A corpse that means nothing. A meal you didn’t fight for. That’s not a hunt. That’s just laziness wrapped in power."

His words lingered in the silence that followed, heavy and sharp. The pink in Charlotte’s eyes faded, the sword behind Yelena slowly dematerializing into the air. Neither said anything at first.

Then Yelena raised an eyebrow, arms crossing again.

"Alright then, philosopher. Fine. No powers. So what are we going to do, huh? We don’t exactly have rifles lying around in the house to shoot that bird. You planning to just chuck a rock at it?"

She’d meant it as a joke, but—

"A rock?" Mika blinked, then slowly turned to her with a grin spreading across his face. "That’s actually a great idea."

Yelena paused, frowning. "Wait. No. I wasn’t being serious—"

But he was already crouching down, scanning the ground until he found a smooth, palm-sized stone and picked it up delicately, like it was a precious artifact.

"Back in the day..." He said, standing up slowly. "Long before man had bows or spears, tools or traps...he had nothing. Just his bare hands and a brain slightly less useless than a chimpanzee’s...But you know what gave us the edge?"

He held the rock up between two fingers, as though presenting it to an invisible audience.

"This. The humble stone. Unlike other animals, we had hands that could throw. That’s the beauty of being human. Not claws. Not fangs. Just fingers and a powerful throwing arm."

Charlotte squinted. "...Are you actually?"

"And like David against Goliath..." He stepped back, one leg behind the other, angling his body. "...any prey, no matter how massive, could become dinner with just the right throw."

And before either of them could interrupt, his arm snapped forward.

Whoosh!

The moment Mika let go, a violent burst of compressed air exploded outward. Both Charlotte and Yelena flinched as their dresses flared up and fluttered around their legs, a sharp snap echoing in the garden like a gunshot.

The rock shot through the air and collided with a large boulder across the field with a deafening crack that sent up a cloud of dust and shattered leaves.

Boom!

Both women instinctively took a step back, shielding their eyes.

When the dust began to settle, Charlotte slowly lowered her arm, and stared, wide-eyed. There was a visible dent in the massive boulder. Deep. Ugly. Split down the middle with a thin crack running jaggedly across its surface.

"...What in the world?" Charlotte muttered.

Even Yelena was staring now, her usual cool expression flickering just slightly.

Mika turned around with the most casual expression imaginable, brushing off his hands. "See? Perfectly simple. We could hunt dinner like this every time."

There was a pause before Charlotte suddenly jumped and pointed an accusing finger at him.

"That is cheating, Mika! Absolutely cheating! You told us not to use our abilities because it would make the hunt boring, and then you go and chuck a rock like a damn railgun!"

"...What part of that is ’normal human struggle’?!"

Mika just raised his eyebrows innocently and shrugged. "I didn’t use any abilities. No mana. No spellcasting. No glowing eyes. No supernatural mind control. Unlike you two and your ’blessings’."

"That’s—! That’s not the point!" Charlotte’s mouth opened and closed, flustered.

"You might not have a blessing, Mika, but don’t pretend you’re normal." Yelena also sighed at his double standards. "Your body is an anomaly. You’ve been like this since you were a kid."

"That much strength? That much speed? You could kill a nine-headed hydra with a pebble if you wanted. Don’t go talking about ’the human experience’ when your definition of ’struggling’ involves breaking stones with pebbles."

"Exactly!" Charlotte huffed. "It’s literally cheating!"

Mika sighed, raising both hands in surrender.

"Fine, fine. Since you’re both being so dramatic about it..." He turned to look up at the bird still lazily circling above them. "...I’ll change it up. I’ll show you how anyone, even a normal man, or hell, even a child, could hunt something like that."

That made Charlotte pause. Her indignation faded just slightly into curiosity.

"Wait. A child? You mean hunt down that massive thing? That bird’s like half the size of a car."

"And that’s why...you’re going to want to pay attention and find out yourself."

Mika smirked as planned to show off in front of the two who doubted him...