Tenzing snapped her gaze up, eyes searching the shadows for the source of the voice. Her grip on her brush tightened until her knuckles turned white. "Pride," she uttered in barely concealed disgust, her muscles tensing with anticipation.

  Juniper stepped forward with her signature smirk, arms crossed as if this was a casual showdown rather than a deadly fight. "Hey there, Pridey~!"

  The shadows flickered, a figure emerging from the dark as if it was solidifying into existence.

  "You're late," Pride said simply, his eyes gleamed like burning coals.

  Pride stepped closer, the shadows around him swirling with a dark energy that made the air around them seem thicker, harder to breathe. He smirked down at the four of them, his face eerily beautiful in a way that made everyone's skin crawl.

  "A few measly mortals barging into a god's lair...how very brave of you~"

  He chuckled, a deep, unsettling sound that made the others shiver. "Or maybe foolish is a better term.”

  Alice swallowed hard, fighting the sudden urge to bolt back the way they'd came. This was not a good idea, and every instinct in her was screaming at her to run like hell.

  Tenzing, on the other hand, stared the god down like he was a particularly difficult sparring partner. "We're not here to play games with you, Pride," she said coolly, her voice only shaking slightly.

  Juniper, despite her own fear, managed to keep the smirk on her face. "We came to give you a lesson in humility, y'know~”

  Pride's smirk flickered, just for a fraction of a second, before his face twisted into something far more dangerous.

  "A lesson?" His voice dropped to a low, venomous growl as the air around him warped with oppressive power. "You think you can teach me? A god who has ruled over pride itself since before your pathetic little lives even began?"

  The shadows at his feet writhed like living things, reaching toward them in jagged tendrils, hungry and cruel.

  Alice instinctively stepped back (only to bump straight into Chie), her breath hitching at the sheer weight of Pride’s wrath now focused on them all.

  Juniper let out an uneasy chuckle: "Uhhh…maybe we should’ve thought this through first?"

  Tenzing gritted her teeth but didn't flinch: "We're not leaving without taking you down."

  Pride's smirk flickered, just for a fraction of a second, before his face twisted into something far more dangerous.

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  "A lesson?" His voice dropped to a low, venomous growl as the air around him warped with oppressive power. "You think you can teach me? A god who has ruled over pride itself since before your pathetic little lives even began? THE HEAD OF THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS?!"

  The shadows at his feet writhed like living things, reaching toward them in jagged tendrils, hungry and cruel.

  Alice instinctively stepped back (only to bump straight into Chie), her breath hitching at the sheer weight of Pride’s wrath now focused on them all.

  Juniper let out an uneasy chuckle: "Uhhh…maybe we should’ve thought this through first?"

  Tenzing gritted her teeth but didn't flinch: "We're not leaving without taking you down."

  Pride's burning eyes flickered with recognition, something dark and dangerous passing through his gaze.

  "Ah...Tenzing." His voice dripped with mocking familiarity, like a teacher spotting a particularly disappointing student. "The little runaway monk~! Still under the tutelage of that pathetic beaver, I presume? And here I thought you’d grown stronger since the last encounter with your little perverted rival."

  His smirk widened as he took another step forward, close enough for the oppressive heat of his aura to make Tenzing's skin prickle. "But no…you just got weaker. Running from your fate, clinging to insects instead of facing what you truly are..."

  Tenzing snapped her brush in front of her defensively: "Shut up. You don’t know anything about these people! And leave Kunzang out of this!"

  "Or what?" Pride taunted, his smirk never wavering. "You'll fight me?"

  "If that's what it takes," Tenzing hissed back, her voice a low growl as her grip tightened around her brush.

  "Tsk tsk." Pride tutted, his gaze roaming over the others: "Not just weaker, but foolish. Look at the company you keep..."

  His eyes landed on Juniper, a slow grin spreading across his face as he took in her appearance.

  "...And now you recruit pop idols? How cute.

  Juniper bristled, the smirk shifting into a defensive scowl: "Hey! Don't insult idols just because you can't hold a tune, Mr. Head of Pride!"

  Pride's eyes darkened, but the mocking grin stayed intact. "Oh I can sing perfectly fine, my dear. But I choose not to debase myself with such mortal trivialities…unlike some people."

  He took another step forward, closing the distance between them. "You're in over your head, little girl. You and your whole...pathetic little group of misfits."

  Juniper bristled further, not even trying to hide her irritation at being lumped in with "ordinary mortals." "Listen, buddy. I'm a damn good singer, so don't get it twisted—"

  Pride raised an eyebrow: "Oh I'm sure you're very talented, darling…for a mere mortal. But talent isn't the same as power. You're just some pop princess with delusions of grandeur."

  Chie unsheathed her twin katanas and finally spoke up: "And we're not just a 'group of misfits'! We're a team! A team who's gonna kick your butt~!”

  Pride's dark gaze flicked to Chie's defiant expression before he let out a booming laugh that made all of them flinch. "Kick my butt, you say? How adorable. A bunch of kids playing at being heroes, challenging a god who's ruled over pride and vanity since the dawn of mankind. It's almost pitiful really..."

  His eyes gleamed with disdain. "But go on then...attack me. Show me what your little 'team' can do.”

  Juniper's fingers curled into a fist, the other hand conjuring a golden microphone. "You're about to find out just how much ass we can kick, you pompous prick."

  A flicker of something—a mix of surprise and amusement?—passed through Pride's face at Juniper's bold response. But he quickly composed himself. "Oh ho! Feisty one, aren't we? But do you really think a microphone will save you from my wrath?"

  Pride's eyes darted between them all, sizing them up like a predator studying its prey. "Come then, children…let's see if you have what it takes to challenge a god."