A portal opened after sunrise.

  For a moment, no one moved.

  The sky was bright. Warm. Wrong.

  Portals did not open in daylight.

  That single fact settled like ice in Jack's chest.

  Does this mean the night is no longer the boundary?

  He arrived at the site minutes later.

  Someone was already there.

  A man knelt amidst shattered concrete, leaning on a massive axe as if it were the only thing keeping him upright. Blood soaked his armor and pooled beneath him.

  Bucket Man stopped in front of him.

  "What happened?"

  The man lifted his head with effort. His eyes were unfocused.

  "The creature..." he rasped. "It came after the sun rose."

  That was all he said. That was enough.

  "You're Hell's Last Soldier," Bucket Man said, offering him a hand.

  The man nodded weakly. "That's what they call me. Charles... is my real name."

  When Charles' hand touched his, he froze for a second, staring at Bucket Man's arm in disbelief.

  "...Looks like someone hasn't skipped gym a single time ." he muttered.

  Bucket Man ignored it.

  "No second portal?" he asked the operator nearby.

  "No, sir. Looks like a malfunction. A glitch in the world ."

  Jack almost laughed.

  The world doesn't glitch.

  Charles snorted. "As if reality makes mistakes."

  "You did well," Bucket Man said. "Go home."

  Charles' expression softened. "Thanks for the kind words sir ,My wife's waiting."

  From the rubble behind them, another figure emerged—golden armor cracked, helmet dented.

  "Damn thing knocked me out in a single punch," the man said, bumping fists with Charles.

  Bucket man's vision narrowed to the fist bump .

  And with a pained expression he looked at his own fists.

  Bucket Man noticed a strong gaze towards him, the man in golden was staring at him.

  All his exhaustion vanished.

  He ran forward, grabbed Bucket Man's hand, eyes shining.

  "Sir—! I'm a huge fan. I've seen everything. Every fight. Every report. Every fan theory .......

  Sir please sign on my forehead"

  Bucket man chuckled quietly.

  Both the heroes looked at him in surprise .

  " Sir ,you can smile too !" The golden armored man said in disbelief .

  "

  Bucket Man felt the weight of the stare.

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  "What's your name?" he asked flatly.

  "Arthur. King Arthur, they like to say."

  He continued

  "So Arthur , did you see anything different about the creature?"

  Arthur shook his head. "No. Same as the rest."

  Jack listened, nodded, then left to sleep .

  Night came.

  His eyes weren't even open yet and he could hear his daughter and Addy whispering something .

  With a yawn Jack rose from his bed .

  Addy stood before him, waiting.

  "No new portals," Addy said.

  " Good . " Jack continued " let me do my morning chores , we can train afterwards."

  " Night chores " Addy corrected .

  Showing his middle finger Jack opened the door to the bathroom .

  An hour passed and Jack was now ready .

  Meanwhile Addy was chatting with Jack's daughter the whole time.

  " So Cara , what is your favorite thing to do ? "

  " Oh, I like to cook and dance ."

  With spark in his eyes Addy said

  " Please dance, I would love to see your dance "

  Suddenly he heard knocking .

  Somebody was knocking on his bucket .

  " Come on Mr. Bucket man , if you are done can we start your training ? " Jack said while knocking.

  " AYE AYE Captain "

  Bucket man springe from the sofa .

  With a sigh Jack asked

  " How old are you kid ? "

  " 24 "

  " Really ? I thought you were 14 or 15"

  " Come on , I am mature . Don't lump me with Brain dead people "

  " Those brain dead people act more maturely ." Jack said staring at him .

  With a sigh bucket man lifted Jack and screamed

  " Let's train , old man "

  And through the broken roof he jumped outside again .

  After Jumping from one roof to another they finally reached the combat zone .

  Jack's old body couldn't handle all this and was unconscious this whole time.

  Addy searched for water to wake him up but couldn't find it .

  Slowly Jack stood up while vomiting .

  " Asshole " he said staring at bucket man .

  With tongue out, bucket man replied

  " Sorry "

  All these expressions didn't suit him one bit . Nobody had never seen bucket man smiling , let alone making funny faces .

  They trained until the air itself shifted.

  Jack felt it first.

  "It's here."

  Addy closed his wrists slowly and stared in the direction of distortion.

  " The portal is waiting " jack said in serious voice.

  Addy tilted his head and looked at Jack. He had a bit more respect for him now since Jack fought creatures Day and night without showing any fear.

  "Wish me luck" after saying this Addy sprinted to the location of the portal and finally he stopped .

  A man wielding two axes and a man in golden armor were fighting a creature .

  "What was I thinking ? obviously others will be here to assist ." while thinking this, Addy jumped in the combat.

  The moment armored man looked at Bucket man , his eyes lit up and he screamed in joy

  " Have fun hunting your pray alone . We will not interfere today since you asked for it in the morning."

  Even though Addy understood that Jack set him up, he couldn't get angry at him since there was no time for that.

  The creature's mace came down like a falling building.

  Addy barely had time to react.

  At the last instant, he forced every shred of energy he had into his head. The impact still sent him crashing into the ground, the world exploding into white noise as concrete shattered beneath him.

  He tasted blood.

  His vision swam, shapes smearing together, but he forced himself up anyway. His arms rose on instinct, crossing in front of his face just as the mace swung again.

  The blow crushed down on his forearms.

  Something cracked.

  Pain tore through him so violently that his scream ripped out before he could stop it.

  "Curses! It hurts."

  Another strike slammed into his left arm, then another into his right. Blood dripped onto the asphalt, his hands trembling as sensation faded in and out.

  The spectators watching from behind their screens fell silent.

  This was wrong.

  Bucket Man wasn't fighting like himself.

  Addy staggered back, chest heaving. His lungs burned. His arms barely responded anymore.

  This isn't training.

  For the first time since becoming Bucket Man, the thought landed with full weight.

  I can die here.

  The realization sharpened something inside him.

  With a hoarse breath, he lunged forward instead of retreating.

  Taking advantage of his long arm, Bucket man's punch hit creature's face and the second punch connected too.

  Before it could recover, Addy grabbed its head and drove his knee into it with everything he had.

  The creature reeled.

  "Oh," Addy muttered through clenched teeth, blood dripping from his mouth. "Did that hurt?"

  He swung again

  And the creature vanished.

  A fraction of a second later, something massive slammed into the back of his skull.

  The mace.

  Addy crashed to the ground, the impact knocking the air from his lungs. His vision flickered, cameras mounted on nearby buildings staring down at him like unblinking eyes.

  Thousands of people were watching him get beaten to death.

  The thought disgusted him.

  Not like this.

  He felt as if he is an animal fighting for his life so his trainer can get fatter.

  He dodged the downward swing of the mace by rolling.

  "Not today, not like this" saying this he stood up but his legs gave out at the end and he fell.

  While falling, the mace hits his head, making him loose consciousness for a second .

  His eyes opened and saw the streetlight getting further from him.

  The creature was dragging him to some place.

  Addy had no strength to resist, so after a few tries, he stopped trying.

  After a few minutes the creature finally stopped and smashed his head on a wall.

  Leaving him behind, creature walked away to some place.

  Suddenly a loud scream was heard.

  Too close.

  Addy's heart stuttered.

  A residential area.

  The sound ripped something open inside him.

  For a split second, it wasn't his body anymore.

  It was Jack's.

  It was the memory of standing too far away.

  Of arriving too late.

  Bucket man was reminded of his inability to save his daughter years ago.

  Even though it was not Addy who lost his daughter but still it was as if this body was carrying Jack's grief and his wish to save his daughter.

  Adrenaline rushed in him, His vision cleared and his legs were moving before he even commanded them.

  Bucket man saw his reflection in the eyes of the girl about to be eaten.

  He realized he was too slow but still wanted to save her.

  His body unconsciously shifted all his energy to the feet .

  She was still in creature's arm, but the creature's arm was no longer attached to him.

  Suddenly a loud thud was heard.

  Both Bucket man and creature were lying on the ground .

  While coughing blood Bucket man stood up . The creature's mace hit his right arm.

  Addy understood that this creature's ability is telekinesis because creature was still on ground.

  Ignoring the pain, Bucket man grabbed creature's neck and lifted him.

  The mace was hitting Bucket man repeatedly but now Addy had control over his energy and was shifting it to the most probable place he would get hit.

  Both of them could see their own reflections in the other's eyes.

  Bucket man's perfect black eyes were filled with emptiness, but creature's eyes showed emotions.

  The creature was scared.

  He was moving his hands and legs as if trying to gasp air but couldn't.

  " You are showing fear. You do have consciousness." Bucket man said with no emotions in his voice.

  The creature tried replying but the language he spoke couldn't be interpreted.

  "I see.......

  I don't understand"

  After saying this, Bucket man let go of his neck.

  "Can an agreement be made? Neither of the side will suffer casualties "

  After breathing for a few seconds, the creature stared up in bucket man's eyes and saw no joke in them.

  Bucket man actually meant what he said.

  The creature moved his head in refusal.

  "I see. "

  The creature summoned his mace and lunged at the bucket man .

  Before his mace could hit Bucket man, his throat was already ripped out .

  The blood gushed all over the blue Bucket, painting it in crimson.

  After a few seconds creature died staring Bucket man in

  his eyes.

  After a few more minutes, Hell's last soldier arrived and found himself looking at a naked man standing in a pool of blood.

  Blood dripped down his long eyelashes and fell in the same pool.

  The dark eyes rolled and looked at him.

  "Hey there"

  Hell's last soldier waved back.

  Bucket man finally collapsed on the ground.