The park was quiet. Sunlight filtered through the trees in lazy bands, dappling the stone-brick path beneath. Akio walked with his hands tucked into his pockets, steps unhurried, thoughts blissfully unburdened for once.

  That was when he saw him.

  A familiar figure stood further up the path, back turned, posture unmistakably rigid. Black hair. Black shirt. Off-white pants. Arms crossed like the world had personally offended him. Even from behind, there was a faint aura of drama clinging to him like static.

  Akio’s mouth twitched, faint amusement stirring. He hadn’t expected to run into Damien here of all places. He walked up without hesitation, casual on the surface, though there was a quiet spark of mischief beneath it.

  He stopped beside Damien and followed his line of sight.

  “Brooding in broad daylight?” Akio asked mildly. “That’s new.”

  Damien glanced at him from the corner of his eye, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.

  “I’m observing wildlife,” he replied coolly. “It’s enlightening.”

  Akio huffed softly, then looked ahead and froze.

  Standing squarely in the middle of the path was a familiar, over-sized bird. White feathers. Orange beak. Beady, soulless eyes.

  A goose.

  The earlier ease drained from Akio’s body all at once, replaced by a cold, sinking dread that settled somewhere deep in his chest. This was… not part of the plan. An unforeseen complication. One he had absolutely not accounted for.

  “…Why is there a goose here,” Akio said flatly.

  Damien’s eyes narrowed as he took in the same sight, his lip curling with open disdain.

  “As if I would know,” he scoffed. “It’s just… standing there. Menacingly.”

  The goose fluffed its feathers.

  Akio stared at it, mind racing. The path wasn’t wide. To continue forward, he would have to pass dangerously close to the goose. And the goose—this creature of pure chaos and malice—showed no signs of moving.

  Akio straightened, schooling his expression carefully. He would not let Damien see weakness.

  “So,” Akio said, voice even, “you’ve just been standing here?”

  “Geese are highly territorial,” Damien replied calmly, as though delivering a lecture. “They are known to exhibit aggressive behavior when provoked. I see no reason to involve myself in an unnecessary conflict.”

  Akio deadpanned. “Just walk around it.”

  Damien turned his head slightly, smirk sharpening. “Why don’t you demonstrate?”

  Akio glanced at the edge of the path, measuring the distance between stone and goose with a critical eye. Too narrow. Entirely too narrow.

  “The strike radius is disproportionate,” he said after a moment. “Geese can lunge up to several feet with little warning. High risk, minimal reward.”

  Damien let out a soft, smug huff. “Remarkable. Reduced to a standstill by an avian.”

  Akio shot him a look. “Are you not doing the exact same thing?”

  Before Damien could retaliate, the rhythmic tap of a walking stick echoed from behind them.

  Akio turned just in time to see an elderly woman approaching along the path. She walked at an unhurried pace, posture slightly stooped but steady, her cane striking the stone in a calm, metronomic rhythm. She looked perfectly at ease, completely unaware of the feathered menace stationed directly in her path.

  Akio instinctively stepped aside to give her room. Damien did the same without comment. The two of them watched in growing disbelief as the woman continued forward, showing no sign of slowing.

  “She’s insane,” Akio murmured under his breath.

  “Rash, even.” Damien replied grimly.

  The goose noticed her immediately.

  Its beady eyes locked onto the woman as she closed the distance. Feathers puffed outward, wings flaring just enough to look threatening. It let out a sharp, indignant honk and waddled forward, posture aggressive—every signal screaming imminent escalation.

  Akio’s chest tightened. This was exactly how it happened. Proximity breach. Threat display. Attack phase imminent. He braced himself, already cataloguing worst case outcomes and silently hoping the woman would turn back.

  Instead, the woman stopped, leaned slightly on her cane, and looked down at the goose with open delight.

  “Ooh, hello!” she cooed warmly, lifting one hand and giving a gentle wave. “Look at you.”

  This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

  The goose honked again, wings flapping in what looked disturbingly like a response.

  The woman chuckled, said something Akio couldn’t quite hear, and then simply… continued walking. The goose honked a few more times after her, feathers still ruffled, but made no move to chase. No pursuit. No secondary aggression.

  Akio stood frozen, watching her disappear down the path.

  “That… didn’t escalate,” he said slowly. “This is unprecedented.”

  Damien’s eyes followed the woman with the intensity of a battlefield commander witnessing an impossible maneuver.

  “Her technique was remarkable,” he said quietly. “Distract. Deflect. Disengage. No wasted movement.”

  Akio nodded, mind racing.

  “Statistically speaking, direct non hostile engagement has an abysmal success rate against territorial geese,” he added. “She must have decades of experiential calibration to execute that flawlessly.”

  Damien hummed in agreement.

  “That wasn’t confidence,” he said quietly. “That was high level psychological warfare. She presented no threat, disrupted the enemy’s aggression loop, and exited before it could recalibrate. Advanced tactics.”

  Akio shifted his gaze back to the goose.

  It stood near the edge of the path now, pecking viciously at the greenery with ruthless efficiency. Its beak snapped through stems and leaves like a blade, each motion precise, unhurried. Akio watched it closely, every muscle in his body held taut as he tracked the creature’s position.

  With the goose distracted, one side of the path had opened up—just barely. A narrow corridor of stone, wider than before. Not safe. But possible.

  Akio inhaled slowly.

  An opening.

  He didn’t announce it. He simply shifted his weight and began to move, angling his steps wide, careful, deliberate. His eyes never left the goose.

  From beside him, Damien stiffened.

  “What are you doing?” he asked under his breath, tension bleeding through the words.

  “I’m… seizing the opportunity,” Akio murmured back, his voice steady despite the way his pulse thundered in his ears.

  For a heartbeat, Damien hesitated. Then, with a quiet click of his tongue, he followed, staying close behind, movements controlled and measured. They hugged the far edge of the path, bodies angled away from the goose, every step calculated to avoid sudden sound or motion.

  The distance between them and the bird was still far too small.

  Almost there, Akio told himself, narrowing his focus. Just a few more steps.

  Suddenly, the goose honked.

  The sound cut through the air like a warning siren. Akio froze instantly. He felt Damien lock up behind him, fingers curling reflexively into his shoulders. Slowly, the goose lifted its head and turned, beady eyes fixing directly on them.

  They were in perfect striking range.

  For a moment, no one moved. The world narrowed to the space between them and the goose.

  “What now?” Damien hissed, panic slipping through his carefully controlled tone.

  “We can’t engage,” Akio said quietly, the words tasting like defeat even as he forced them out. “We need to shake it.”

  “And how exactly are we meant to do that?” Damien shot back, voice tight. “They’ve mastered traversal across land, wind, and sea. There isn’t anywhere to hide.”

  Akio swallowed. He knew Damien was right.

  There was no cover. No escape route. Behind them, trees crowded the path, dense and useless. Ahead of them stood an apex predator fueled by spite and territorial instinct.

  “There’s no choice,” Akio said grimly. “We have to run.”

  The goose took a single step forward.

  Its feathers fluffed outward, wings twitching as it drew itself up, every signal screaming imminent attack.

  Akio’s breath caught. He wanted—desperately—to vanish, to be anywhere else. But his feet felt rooted to the stone beneath him. He felt Damien’s grip tighten on his shoulders, the contact grounding and terrifying all at once.

  Then—

  “Oh my, what’s going on here?”

  Akio looked up and felt the tension drain out of him all at once. Relief hit first. Then something warmer, lighter. A sudden, almost embarrassing rush of joy that left his chest feeling hollowed out and full at the same time.

  Gabriel stood at the far end of the path like he belonged there, arms folded neatly behind his back, posture relaxed, serene smile firmly in place. His eyes were closed in that particular way of his. His head was tilted slightly as he regarded the goose, which had already shifted its attention to him with mild, curious interest.

  Akio knew, with absolute certainty, that he was saved.

  He didn’t hesitate. The moment Damien’s grip loosened, Akio slipped free and repositioned himself directly behind Gabriel, moving on instinct. He looked outwardly composed, but he stood closer than he normally would, peering cautiously over Gabriel’s shoulder at the feathered menace ahead.

  His voice dropped to a near whisper.

  “Gabriel,” Akio said, strained but controlled. “There’s… a goose.”

  Gabriel hummed thoughtfully before he stepped forward and gave a theatrical, elegant bow.

  “Good day, Sir Gary the Great,” he said warmly.

  The goose honked and flapped its wings back in what suspiciously resembled a salute.

  Gabriel bent down and, with infuriating ease, scooped the goose up into his arms like it weighed nothing at all.

  “And what have you been up to today, my loyal knight?” Gabriel asked cheerfully, adjusting his hold as the goose wriggled. “Patrolling the park? Keeping the peace? An admirable post, truly.”

  Akio stared.

  “…Gary?” he echoed faintly.

  Gabriel turned his head just enough to flash Akio a grin.

  “Yes. Gary,” he said easily, nodding as if this explained everything. “One of my loyal subjects. I may have, over time, befriended and recruited an entire army of geese across the city.”

  Akio looked at the goose in Gabriel’s arms and tensed immediately, every instinct screaming at him to put distance between himself and the creature. He hated this. He knew it was irrational. He knew, logically, that the goose was currently being cradled like a favored pet—but it didn’t matter.

  Gabriel noticed. Without comment, he shifted his grip and moved the goose a little farther away, careful and considerate.

  “He’s harmless,” Gabriel reassured gently, “He’s a good bird. Very friendly once you get to know him.”

  Akio exhaled, slow and shallow, forcing himself to relax.

  That was when movement caught his eye.

  He glanced to the side and realized Damien was still standing exactly where he’d been before—arms crossed, posture rigid, eyes fixed on Gabriel and the goose with an expression caught somewhere between disbelief and offense.

  “This is absurd,” Damien said flatly. “In what universe does a creature like that follow orders?”

  Gabriel paused. He looked up, met Damien’s gaze, and then smiled with unmistakable delight.

  “Why, you flatter me,” Gabriel replied lightly. “I wouldn’t say Gary is tamed. It’s more of an alignment of common interests.”

  Damien stared. “Right. I wasn’t aware these things were capable of intelligent thought.”

  Gabriel considered that.

  Then his expression shifted.

  Akio felt it immediately—the subtle but unmistakable change in demeanor that always preceded disaster. The mischievous glint. The theatrical flair.

  Gabriel adjusted his grip on the goose, cradling Gary with mock reverence.

  “My loyal subject,” he intoned grandly, voice ringing with dramatic gravity. “Our enemies approach and threaten to destroy us. Go forth, my warrior—BRING GLORY TO YOUR EMPIRE!”

  And with one, exaggerated motion—he threw the goose.

  Gary locked in instantly. Honking with purpose, wings flapping with terrifying enthusiasm as he hurtled toward Damien. Damien shrieked—a sharp, undignified sound—and bolted.

  What followed was chaos.

  Damien and Gary tore around the path in a frantic circle, one fleeing for his life, the other pursuing with righteous fury. Gabriel cackled from the sidelines, clapping and cheering like a proud commander witnessing a decisive victory.

  Akio stayed where he was, safely behind Gabriel, watching the scene unfold with a strange mix of horror and amusement. The entire time, only one thought remained on his mind:

  Thank god Gabriel is on my side.

  ─ ? NEXT CHAPTER POV ? ─

  Akio