EPISODE TWO
GRIP OF SHADOWS

The air in the room thickened further as Kagaro brushed Yone's hand away, a testament to avoiding any sort of support, and pushed himself up to his feet. He dusted off his clothes, straightening his posture like someone forcing calm into their body. "Well then, I'll see you guys at the office later," he said, his tone clipped but steady, propelled by urgency and something darker underneath — determination. His eyes flicked toward Jenna. "I'll let Momo-nee know too."

Jenna's nod was silent but firm.

But before Kagaro could take even a single step towards the door, a violent shockwave ripped through the room. The sound was deafening — a low, brutal roar that sent dust, shards of glass, and chunks of plaster raining all around them. Instinct took over. The four of them dropped down low on their stomach, covering their heads, as the floor trembled beneath the force.

The rumble had barely faded when a figure came crashing through the doorway — Momoko.

She slammed into the wooden floor with a sickening thud that made Jenna's heart seize. For a heartbeat, all anyone could do was stare behind them. Momoko's body tumbled against the wall, hard enough to leave a faint dent. Debris hung in the air like smoke. And then came the sound — deep, guttural growls that seemed to crawl out of the living room itself.

"Nee!" Shimin bolted forward, eyes wide. "What happened? Who did this to you?" Her hands trembled as she reached for Momoko, who was barely upright, slumped against the cracked wall, her form drenched in crimson.

Momoko winced, one eye squeezed shut, the other glazed with pain. She spat blood and grit from her mouth. "Jenemes," she rasped, her breath ragged. "Of course."

Jenna froze. "What?" The word came out small, stunned. "Why would they attack here? How can they even be here? How did they find our house when it is concealed in star magic?"

Reality slammed into her. The barrier they had designed together with Hibiki and Leeney, their stars, had somehow crumbled down, taking away the invisibility cloak around the house with it. They were exposed — no cloaks, no gear, no masks. Nothing to protect their identities. To fight, they would have to risk it all. If anyone nearby saw their faces, it could unravel everything. The Jenemes were monsters disguised as humans, unpredictable and vile. Anyone, anywhere, could be the one waiting to strike.

"We can't fight like this," Shimin said shakily, looking between them. "No belts, no summoning tools — we can't even call our stars because I left my star equipment at home. Yone and Kagaro don't have their stars on them either."

Kagaro's eyes locked on Jenna as he moved up on his knees and palms, Yone following the same. "Jenna can."

Momoko's head tilted sharply toward him. "She can, yes — but if she does, we're both exposed. You know what that means. It's too risky. This is our home, Kagaro. Ours." Her voice cracked, anger laced with fear.

"I know," he exhaled, his shoulders tense. "I wasn't going to ask her to. Just a thought."

The words had barely settled between them before another explosion ripped through the house, stronger this time. The floor buckled, cracks running across the walls. Everyone dropped again, pressing their arms over their heads as the air filled with dust and the growls grew louder — closer.

Then came the screech. Metal tearing off its hinges. The door collapsed inward with a crash that swallowed the room in chaos.

And in the blinding haze, they appeared.

The Jenemes slithered into view, half-human in their greed, half-nightmare in their form and power. Slimy green skin stretched over twisted limbs, their forms pulsing under the harsh light. There were at least five of them stacked in that line, based on the shadow of their heads behind the first one, each one a different size, grotesque, abnormal, unnatural. Their bodies dripped as they shuffled forward, their hollow clouded eyes flickering like torches in fog.

The crowd was clear now.

Five Jenemes.

It was not a simple coincidence.

"We are the exact same numbers..." Kagaro muttered.

"We need to get out," Momoko hissed, her voice low but urgent. Her eyes darted toward the couple of wide windows in the room. "We can roll out through there."

Shimin caught her meaning instantly and nodded. The two women held the creatures' gaze like cornered prey.

Without a warning shout or a second thought, Momoko sprinted. A smaller Jeneme lunged at her — but she was faster. In one fluid move, she dived through the window, the remaining glass pieces stuck to the rails from the earlier tearing impact shattering around her, and rolled into the garden beyond. She hit the ground hard but got up almost instantly, chest heaving, back turned toward them.

"They won't climb outside," Kagaro muttered to himself, eyes steady on the monsters. Their stubby limbs stuck together too close to allow for such vast movement. "But they can still tear down the damn wall."

"Run! Nee! Move!" Jenna shouted, panic shredding her voice as she watched from inside, still sprawled on the floor.

Momoko waved once — a fleeting flash of yellow against the dark. Then she was gone, sprinting down the garden path until her figure blurred into the horizon.

"If she makes it back with her star, she can turn this around," Shimin whispered, hope flickering through the uncontained fear within her. One of the reasons why JEO was formed was because mere mortals couldn't battle Jenemes as their own equals. Jenemes are monsters. Humans can't stand against those monsters. And right now, they were all facing these monsters in their absolutely vulnerable state.

Jenna nodded faintly, scanning the room. Her eyes fell on a dumbbell — heavy, solid, close. She grabbed it before her brain could argue and hurled it at the nearest Jeneme. The weight cracked against the creature's head with a wet, nauseating sound, sending it staggering backward.

But it wasn't over. The others roared in unison — a sound that made the ground feel alive — and surged forward.

"Yone, help me out here!" Kagaro barked, moving fast toward the treadmill. Yone was already there, grabbing the handlebars. Together, with an adrenaline-fueled grunt, they heaved the heavy machine off the floor and flung it straight at the advancing mass.

The crash was thunderous. Two of the Jenemes toppled under it, limbs flailing. An advantage of their abnormal anatomy.

"This is insane!" Jenna shouted, desperate. "We'll be crushed meat before nee-chan even gets back!"

"You and Shimin leave while we distract them!" Kagaro yelled over the aggrandising impasse.

Jenna made her move without waiting for a second response. Her feet pounded across the floor as she vaulted through another window — the next second, she was rolling over grass, a sharp sting cutting into her palms, bolting away from the chaos as the focus shifted on Yone and Kagaro. Shimin followed close behind, a Jeneme's claws grazing the air just inches from her heel before she hit the ground.

Inside, Kagaro and Yone were still at it — pinned, cornered, and running out of objects to throw.

"Chivalry, huh? What a joke," Kagaro muttered, scoffing half-heartedly as he flung a chair across the room. "Do men not get to survive too?" He clicked his tongue, breath ragged, livid at his own declaration.

Yone didn't bother replying, his jaw tight as he ducked another swing from a monstrous arm. One of the creatures bivouacked enervated; two of them coursed the boys like horses in a race, one stayed by the window, hissing at the locale where Shimin and Jenna's presence had antiquated; and the hindmost imperceptibly by what remained of the door. They both knew it — they couldn't hold out much longer.

Kagaro's sharp eyes flicked across the creatures. The way they moved, the weight of their steps, the grotesque proportions — stubby legs crammed together, long dragging arms nearly scraping the ground. Fixed grins. Burning cloudy eyes.

"E-types," he breathed, almost to himself.

The confirmation didn't make things any better. E-type Jenemes were slow — heavy and clumsy. Easy to bait, hard to kill. One wrong move and those massive limbs could crush bone like thin ice. Jenna and the girls had escaped because of that slowness. But keeping these beasts contained was suicide without gear.

Shimin had made it halfway across the garden before realizing Jenna wasn't beside her. She turned sharply, her heart pounding. "Jenna! Come on! They'll get out — we'll only slow them down if we stay! Trust the Captain and our special officer!"

Jenna hesitated, still reeling, but she understood. She forced her legs to move, sprinting after Shimin. Every step was loaded with thought — she couldn't use her star. Not openly. Not here. If she summoned it in view of anyone, she'd risk everything: her identity, her team, their entire system of concealment. And what if someone was watching? What if this ambush wasn't random, but calculated? It certainly seemed that way. The Jenemes could be testing them — trying to expose who among JEO held what star.

Paranoia twisted within her like a knife, and Shimin could sense this blade as she shot another look at Jenna before fixing her gaze up front. They kept running, wind slapping against their faces. Running away seemed like the only best option until a flicker of memory hit Jenna — the quiet method. The way to summon her star without a whisper escaping her lips, without using her star item.

Her lips parted slightly. "Please," she prayed inwardly, her thoughts spiraling into focus. "Hibiki-san... go to my home. Help Kagaro-san and Yone-san. Please. You are our last hope."

At The Same Time
The Ornard Residence (Jenna & Momoko's House)

Things had gone from bad to brutal. Yone and Kagaro had already thrown everything, from the smaller equipment to the bigger ones, and now even the bench press seemed too risky. The beasts filled the room with their wet snarls, closing in by the second.

Their eyes met — a wordless understanding. The end coming close. If this was how their destiny wanted it, well then, so be it.

Then one of the Jenemes lunged. It wasn't slow this time. Not as slow as E-types were supposed to be anyway. The creature's slick arm shot forward, wrapping around Kagaro's torso with terrifying speed. Its slimy grip clamped down, cold and suffocating.

"Ah—gross! Get off!" Kagaro shouted, thrashing violently. The grip only grew stronger, every muscle in his body straining against the brutal pressure.

Yone turned fast — too fast — and that split second of distraction cost him. Another Jeneme's tentacle-like arm snaked out and wrapped around him, pulling tight until he collided with the floor, closing in on the creature stringing him. His breath came out in short gasps as he struggled to free himself from the vice-like grip.

"Yone!" Kagaro yelled, his own voice cracking under the pressure of blood flow being severed from his body.

Yone gritted his teeth, his face taut with pain, his lungs caving under the crushing hold. He tugged, twisted, every motion desperate — but it was like trying to break free from steel cables slicked in oil. The more he struggled, the more he tried to pull away, the tighter the grip bit down, slicing through his skin.

At the same time, Kagaro's chest burned. The air around him vanished and pain exploded across his ribs. "Damn it...! It's—gonna crush Yone!" he gasped between strangled breaths, kicking out frantically, worrying more about saving his friend than himself.

Both men were trapped, their strength bleeding away under the monstrous pressure. The creatures hissed like snakes as the seconds dragged by — and the room filled with the sound of bones creaking under the strain. They were pleased that they were currently at the top of the food chain. That fact alone was quite rewarding.

No gear. No stars. No way out.