Alien Baruzo blasted himself forward, the strange, jagged lines etched across his body igniting with an eerie cyan luminescence.
FLASH!
A sudden detonation of energy erupted from his form—blinding, incandescent, utterly overwhelming.
"GAH!" Cherl flinched, instinctively shielding her eyes as the world around her was engulfed in brilliance.
But within seconds, she forced vision to recalibrate—just in time,just in time to see Baruzo materializing right in front of her, leg cocked back in a vicious arc.
WHAM—
…or at least, it should have been.
With swift precision, Cherl caught his leg mid-swing.
"Tch. Nice try."
Without missing a beat, she twisted the aliens's leg and started swinging him like a ragdoll, hurling him through the sky with laughable ease.
"BLUBBLUEBLU—" Baruzo spun uncontrollably, his voice warbling as he tumbled through the air like a drunk comet. "OH, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT!"
Cherl remained grounded, arms folded across her chest, a smug grin tugging at the corners of her lips.
"Having trouble?" she taunted.
"N-NO!" Baruzo barked back, clearly flustered, his panic betraying him.
"Okay then…" Cherl extended her arm, energy crackling around her body—vibrant streaks of pink lightning cascading down like divine snow. "Let's see how you handle this."
A massive surge of radiant power gathered in her palm, the sheer force trembling the air around her before she unleashed it—
"CUPID BLASTER!"
An onslaught of high-speed energy slashes, each tinted pink with luminous destruction tore through the sky at light-speed.
Baruzo's eyes widened. "AH SHIT!"
"BRRRRR—" He flailed through the air, zigzagging like a glitching pixel, narrowly dodging the relentless volley.
But inevitably—
BOOM!
One of the beams connected, slamming into his shoulder and blasting him out of the sky like a broken firework.
"BRRRRR—JUST HOW ARE GIRLS THIS STRONG?!" Baruzo howled, a mix of rage and agony.
Hovering above, Cherl crossed her arms again, brow raised in disbelief.
"Are you seriously being sexist right now? Didn't know aliens were this outdated. You sound more like a salty crybaby than an inter- dimensional threat." She chuckled, oozing confidence.
"AHHHHH—ENOUGH!"
Baruzo's voice suddenly twisted—deeper, darker, drenched in something almost…demonic.
Cherl's smile evaporated.
Her stance shifted. Muscles tightened. Senses honed.
"…Oh?"
The shift in his energy was undeniable. The air grew colder. He wasn't holding back anymore.
"Guess you finally stopped playing games," she murmured. "Good. I could use a real challenge."
—Meanwhile, Back at School—
"Hmm… where did she go?" Shijun muttered, wandering the halls with a mild frown.
Lunch break was nearly over. He'd been hoping to catch another glimpse of Cherl before returning to the monotony of class.
…Yeah, well. Someone should probably tell him.
He definitely wasn't going to see her on school grounds anytime soon.
—Back at the City Sector—
Streaks of pink and silver light tore through the atmosphere, colliding with thunderous force. The sheer intensity of their battle shook the clouds—and the planet itself.
High above, Cherl and Baruzo were locked in a storm of violence and fury.
"STUPID HEROES! WHY DO YOU KEEP RUINING MY PLANS?!" Baruzo bellowed.
Cherl scoffed, spinning mid-air to dodge another blast before elbowing the alien.
"Ruin? You and the rest of yall invaded our world uninvited—seventy-five years ago! I'm just here to take out the trash!"
Baruzo's fury boiled over.annoyance clear in his voice.
"ARGHH! THIS ISN'T WORTH IT!"
With a guttural scream that cracked the sky,it send tremors through the earth, he unleashed a shockwave.
"AHH!" Cherl shrieked, flung backward as the raw force smashed against her senses, her ears ringing, her balance shattered.
Baruzo didn't waste a moment.
Taking the chance,
he bolted—shooting through the air with a burst of speed.
"HEY—GET BACK HERE!" Cherl shouted, shaking off the impact and launching after him.
"Wait a minute.." cherl's eyes widened.
"This direction,his heading…"
Her heart sank.
"…He's heading toward my school!"
With a small power boost, BOOM,she surged forward, burning through the sky in pursuit.
"WILL YOU JUST GET OFF MY TAIL, CUPID?! YOU FUCKING BITCH!*" Baruzo screamed, spiraling through the clouds.
—School Grounds—
Students were just finishing lunch. Backpacks zipped, chairs scraped, chatter rising in the background—
BOOOOM!!!
A thunderous explosion rocked the campus. The earth trembled, windows rattled.
"WOAHHH!!"
Students bolted toward the windows, phones already out.
The attention of the crash also caught Shijun attention,after a short contemplation,he walked towards the window as well and shoving his way through the chaos.
"Sorry! Sorry! Let me through—OH!"
Someone collided with him in the rush. He stumbled, gripping a desk to steady himself, finally squeezing into a gap to peer outside.
His eyes went wide.
The crowd exploded with reactions—
"OMG IT'S A REAL ALIEN! AHHH!"
"YO BRO I NEED TO POST THIS NOW."
"YO IS THAT CUPID?! SHE LOOKS FINEEEE."
"OMG A HERO'S FIGHTING ONE OF THE DEVIL WORLD MONSTERS ON SCHOOL GROUNDS?!"
Outside…
"BARUZO! STAY AWAY FROM THIS SCHOOL!" Cherl roared, launching a barrage of punches. Baruzo barely managed to deflect them, each blow reverberating through his arms.
"NO—YOU STAY AWAY FROM ME, WOMAN!" he bellowed, stomping the ground—
CRACKKKKK—
The earth quaked. Buildings trembled. Cracks spiderwebbed across the foundations. The school groaned—then began to crumble.
"N-NO!!"
Cherl screamed, eyes wide in horror. Without hesitation, she blitzed forward, tearing through debris, grabbing students and faculty at breakneck speed, whisking anyone in danger to safety.
Inside the panic and ruin, Shijun was trying to escape as well but was pushed and he tripped over a fallen down cabinet and fell to the ground—barely missing a collapsing support beam.
He coughed violently, dust filling his lungs.
"God damn…"
Meanwhile, Baruzo smirked.
With chaos engulfing the campus, he took the opportunity to open a rift to the Devil World—its portal swirling with ominous and crimson red energy.
Baruzo turned around
"UNTIL NEXT TIME, CUPID—"
He paused, then snorted.
"WAIT NO, ACTUALLY, I HOPE I NEVER SEE YOUR ASS AGAIN. INSTEAD, DEAL WITH THESE—EHEHEHE!"
With a twisted giggle, he vanished into the portal—but not before spawning ten monstrous devils behind him.
The ten devil monsters stepped out of the black fog,Each one was a grotesque tower of muscle and corruption. Horned, armored, cloaked in blackened energy. Their glowing eyes burned with pure malice and their tail slamming into the ground."
"SHIT…" Cherl grunted, cracking her neck, fists glowing pink as she prepared for war.
But then—
"Wait… is that… Shijun?"
Her gaze snapped to the side—there he was, sprawled near the rubble.
"DAMN IT!"
She dashed forward,wanting to get to him as fast as possible… only to be cut off—
CLASH!
The Devils charged and colliding into her with their sharp horn on the head
"DAMN IT!WHY NOW YOU BASTARDS?!" Cherl growled, forced to intercept the beasts mid-sprint instead.
SLICE!
A violet aura slashed across the battlefield—viscous, crackling with dark purple energy.
Three devils dropped instantly, disintegrated by a single blow.
Cherl's eyes flared open.
"Wait… that energy… is that—"
From the settling dust, a cloaked figure emerged. Black and purple. Surrounded by dancing, malevolent purple flames that bent the air.
"Sorry for the wait, Cupid," he said coolly. "And thanks for softening them up."
Cherl's breath hitched.
"…Shadow…"
Elite 5 – Rank 3.
One of the most powerful heroes on Earth.
"Tch… long time no see, huh?" she muttered.
Shadow shrugged. "Ehh, not really. We were on a mission together last month."
She scratched her head, but before she could respond—
The remaining devils snarled and lunged.
"Guess we'll finish this convo after we wipe these things out."
"You read my mind."
With a fist bump, the two leapt into action.
The flame surrounding Shadow split—manifesting into twin auras of deep purple.
In an instance,
With a wave, two devils were reduced to ash. Two more he sliced through using his shadow blades, each explosion behind him painting the battlefield in chaos.
As he landed in a dramatic fashion.
—Cherl side—
Cherl followed up, firing a massive Cupid Blaster and vaporizing a sixth devil, then launched herself into the sky—
"LETS SEE HOW U HANDLE THESE,CUPID RAIN!"
A downpour of searing pink energy rained upon the battlefield causing 2 more devils to be obliterated in an instant.
—Meanwhile, in the Devil World—
Amidst its own collapsing ruins, Baruzo stumbled through the rift,he turned around, desperately working to seal the rift behind him.
"DAMN STUPID HEROES—CAN'T EVEN—"
His foot knocked against something.
A strange, ancient-looking box. Dusty. Glowing faintly.
"WHAT THE—WHO LEFT A RANDOM BOX HERE?!" Baruzo snarled, giving it a swift kick. "WHATEVER!"
He bolted off—
CRACK—SHHHHHH—
The box cracked open.
A mysterious blue light burst forth, spiraling into the sky—just before the portal closed.
—Back on Earth—
The blue light tore across the heavens, unnoticed amidst the chaos…
…until it pierced Shijun's chest, vanishing into him without a trace.
No one saw it.
Shijun coughed, slowly regaining his breath as the dust settled.
He blinked.
"…Huh?"
A strange calm washed over him.
"Wait… wasn't I just—wasn't I struggling to breathe and stuff just a second ago?"
His breath was steady. His limbs—no pain. His head—clear.
He stood up.
No dizziness.
No injuries.
Nothing.
He just… stood there.
Perfectly fine.