The rogue noodle stand over Evangeline's crib, its broth-dripping form casting a menacing shadow. The acidic liquid sizzled as it hit the floor, eating through the expensive carpet like it was nothing more than a stale cracker.
Evangeline blinked up at it, still half-asleep, her pacifier glowing faintly in the dim nursery light.
"Blargh?" she mumbled.
The noodle reared back, preparing to strike—
WHAM!
A meatball the size of a small wagon crashed through the nursery door, flattening the noodle against the wall.
Sir Loin rolled in, his spongy body now embedded with the shattered remains of a chandelier, three forks, and what looked like a terrified kitchen mouse.
Cedric burst in after him, sword drawn, hair wild.
"Sorry I'm late! Sir Loin got stuck in the grand hall again!"
Evangeline stared.
"Gah!" Translation: "You brought a meatball to a noodle fight?!"
Lord Whiskerton, having abandoned his spa day upon hearing the commotion, sauntered into the room with the air of a feline warlord.
"Pathetic," he sniffed, eyeing the flattened noodle. "You call that a threat?"
Then the ramyeon elemental exploded through the castle wall, its charred chili eyes locking onto Evangeline.
"DESTROY… PROPHECY CHILD…"
Whiskerton's fur stood on end.
"Okay. That's a threat."
He turned to Cedric. "You. Meatball boy. Distract it."
"Wait, me—?" Cedric asked.
"MOVE!" Whiskerton commanded.
Sir Loin, ever loyal, hurled himself at the elemental with surprising speed. The two monstrosities collided in a tangle of noodles and meat, rolling out into the hallway in a chaotic, broth-splattered brawl.
Evangeline's prophecy mark burned hotter than ever. The pacifier in her mouth pulsed like a tiny star, and suddenly—
Holographic EX' ACT members appeared again, but this time, they weren't just dancing.
They were armed.
Woohyun's hologram brandished a glowing spoon. Namyeol wielded a flaming chopstick. Jonghun backflipped over the elemental, landing with a dramatic spin.
"FOR EVANGELINE!" they shouted in unison.
The elemental hesitated, its chili-flake eyes narrowing.
"…WHY ARE THEY SPARKLING ?"
Evangeline grinned around her pacifier.
"Goo!" ("Eat this, broth-brain!")
The EX' ACT holograms attacked.
As the battle raged, Lucien burst into the nursery, dragging a bound-and-gagged Chef Marcel behind him.
"I found him in the crypt!" Lucien panted. "He was feeding the elemental prophecy-infused broth!"
Marcel spat out his gag. "I just wanted one perfect ramyeon! ONE! But nooo, the duke banned it, so I had to—"
Whiskerton silenced him with a paw to the face.
"Save it for the dungeon, culinary terrorist."
The elemental, now outnumbered by holographic idols, a vengeful cat, and a meatball with a vendetta, let out a final, bubbling roar.
"THIS ISN'T OVER! THE NOODLE REVOLUTION WILL—"
Evangeline bit down hard on her pacifier.
A beam of pure, concentrated baby rage shot out, vaporizing the elemental into a harmless cloud of steam.
Silence fell.
Then—
Sir Loin burped.
Marcel was sentenced to lifetime kitchen probation supervised by a paranoid Lucien.
Sir Loin was officially knighted "Sir Loin the Indigestible".
Whiskerton demanded a golden litter box as compensation for "emotional distress."
But as Evangeline drifted off to sleep, her prophecy mark flickered one last time—revealing a new vision.
A shadowy figure in the crypt, stirring a cauldron of black broth.
A voice whispered.
"The Dark Ramyeon rises…"