"Yeah, well… I don't know…" Shijun grunted outwardly.
But on the inside…
"MINUS! Please—anything else you've got to help me here?!"
"Your a hero now, figure it out dumbass."
"C'mon, Minus!" Shijun whined.
"Uh, you know… now's really not a good time to be talking to yourself?" Cherl chimed in.
Awkwardly, Shijun cleared his throat.
"S-sorry," he mumbled.
But their awkward moment was cut short as the alien screeched and fired another energy blast straight at them.
"WATCH OUT!" Shijun shouted, shoving Cherl out of the way. He raised his hand, bracing for the hit.
Then—
POOF!
Shijun jolted. He felt the blast connect, but… where was the damage?
"Huh?" He slowly looked up. In front of him, his hand had formed a swirling purple energy barrier—warping itself and swallowing the blast entirely.
"W-what was that?" Cherl asked.
Shijun was just as stunned. "Minus… what the hell was that?"
"Minus Containment Field. I use it when I need to block a blast. Told you you'd figure more things out, dumbass."
"Tch…" Shijun smirked.
"Whoa—you didn't tell me you could do that!" Cherl said, impressed.
"Yeah, thanks… but we should probably finish this guy first."
Cherl nodded, and the two turned back to the rogue alien.
Baruzo, still out of control, rushed forward and unleash a massive shockwave. Cherl intercepted,
"Cupid blaster!"
She shouted before firing a familiair pink streak of energy that clashed against the alien's shockwave.
While she held the line, Shijun flew upward, extending his hands and launching energy blast straight at Baruzo, knocking the alien down.
"AHHHH!" the alien roared in frustration.
"Tch… let's see what else you've got up your sleeve, Minus," Shijun muttered, diving in for a kick.
As he descended, his leg suddenly ignited in a violent,lavender flame-like aura.
"Whoa! What's this now?!" Shijun exclaimed, grinning.
Baruzo barely had time to stand before—
BOOM!
The fiery kick smashed into his face, sending him sprawling.
"Now that was sick Minus!What was it?" Shijun demanded.
"Slow down, dumbass. That's my Soura Kick… though I prefer 'Minus Soura Kick.'" Minus said proudly.
"U can use it when u channel enough energy towards the leg when u jolt it."
Cherl landed beside him. "Nicework newbie… now let's finish this."
"Alright." Shijun steadied himself.
Cherl lifted her hand. "Cupid Heart Ring!"
A massive pink, spiked, heart-shaped energy ring formed and shot forward.
Baruzo snarled refusing to back down. He opened a red portal, summoning an energy sphere with the power of a star.
"ARGHHH!" he screamed, forcing the sphere forward.
The two attacks clashed in a blinding power struggle.
Taking the chance,
Shijun stepped forward. "Tch—my turn! Minus Soura Beam!"
He formed the familiar 'M' shape over his chest, purple and blue energy swirling before he thrust his hands forward, firing the collosal beam.
"Cupid Rain!" Cherl followed, summoning a storm of pink energy arrows that rained down from above.
The combined force shredded Baruzo's energy sphere. The Heart Ring pierced through the energy,then the alien's chest, while the Soura Beam tore through alongside it.
"AHHH!" Baruzo's final scream echoed before his body exploded into fragments.
Dust settled. Shijun and Cherl sighed, both panting.
"Phew… THAT was intense." Shijun sighed in relief.
"Yeah… that aside," Cherl smirked, "your abilities are insane! Energy blades from your head? That shield thing that ate his attack?!"
Shijun chuckled, folding his arms with pride.
But as Cherl checked the time.
"Oop!Well, I've gotta get back before people get suspicious. See ya!" Cherl took off.
"Oh—yeah, same. Bye!" Shijun waved.
The moment she was gone, Shijun broke into a happy dance.
"I JUST FOUGHT ALONGSIDE CUPID! THE CUPID! WOOHOO! SHE COMPLIMENTED MY SKILLS TOO—YES, SIR!"
"Ay, don't get too excited, dumbass. And for the record, those were my abilities."
"Geez, way to kill the mood."
"Mood or not, she's right—you should get your ass back to class before anyone notices."
"Oh—shit, right!Thanks for the reminder!"Shijun shot into the sky.
Back at school, Shijun slipped into the classroom, acting like nothing happened.
"Young man, would you mind EXPLAINING why you were in the toilet for so long?" the teacher asked, raising a brow.
"Uh… well… I had to go… number two?" Shijun stammered, praying the teacher would buy it.
"My god, dumbass, do you not know how to make a believable excuse?" Minus sighed.
Shijun gritted his teeth. "Shut it."
The teacher rolled his eyes. "Fine. Probably just wandering around playing a fool… I don't get paid enough to care."
—Destroyed Sector—
The remnants of devil energy from Baruzo's body lingered… and so did the power from the rifts he had stolen.
The two forces began to merge, their corruption intertwining.
Through the small, still-open gap in the devil rift, tendrils of Devil Essence were drawn toward this new energy source. Slowly, steadily, they crystallized…
A shard was born—its surface shimmering with frostbound clarity, as though carved from frozen light.
But deep inside that crystal… something was stirring.
RING! RING!
The final school bell rang, releasing the wave of students eager to rush home.
Shijun, however, was busy chatting with Minus.
"So anyway—"
"What, dumbass?"
"Are you ever gonna stop calling me that?" Shijun asked without hope.
"Nope." Minus chuckled.
Shijun sighed. "Thought so…"
"So, what now?"
"Well, my Mum's still at work, so… guess we could head down to Hero Corp, meet some of the others?You know,before another threat stirs up?"
"Eh, better than hanging out with someone as dry as you."
Shijun just smiled. For some reason… despite the constant roasting, he didn't mind Minus being around. Because at least with him in his life…Life wasn't so boring anymore.
—City Central—
Shijun's mum sat in the café below her office, still working through her lunch break. Fingers clacked across her keyboard as she stared at the glowing screen.
As a corporate manager, she rarely had time to rest.
But then…
The café TV flickered.
"Hm?" She glanced up.
It wasn't just the café—across the city,no,country.Every big screen switched to the same emergency broadcast. Murmurs swept through the streets.
"Attention all citizens, this is an emergency broadcast requested by the Hero Corporation. Mysterious frost crystals have appeared across the country, multiplying rapidly. All citizens are advised to evacuate to the nearest indoor shelter—"
Static. The broadcast cut off.
Panic erupted. People surged toward shelters, shoving each other aside. Doors slammed shut—cafés, offices, and shops sealing themselves in.
Shijun's mum immediately thought was about Shijun"Shijun..SHIJUN!" She reached for her phone.Dialing her son's number—
No signal.
"Does anyone have a working phone?!" she shouted. No one answered. Survival instincts had taken over; everyone was looking out for themselves.
A few oblivious pedestrians on the street laughed it off. No crystals in sight? Must be fake news.
Until—
SPIKE!
"AHHH!" A woman screamed as a frost crystal erupted from the ground, obliterating a man.blood spilling onto the surrounding people.
More crystals began to appear—some large, some small, some in clusters.
Now… they were everywhere.
Meanwhile, Shijun had just arrived at Hero Corporation HQ, shivering as the air turned colder. Frost crystals sprouted across the city.
"Something's wrong…" he muttered.
"Yeah, no shit." Minus replied.
Inside, heroes were scrambling, taking off before Shijun could even ask what was going on.
Then—
"Wait—Phantomblade?!" Shijun shouted, spotting the familiar green-streaked elite.
Phantomblade glanced over, cold as ever. "Oh… it's you again."
"Yeah! What's happening? Why are there crystals all over—"
"This isn't for regular heroes. Just know the crystals are global. Elite heroes only—and above. You're not one of us, newbie. Stick to evacuation."
"WAIT, BUT—"
Another voice cut in.
"No buts."
Shijun froze. He recognized that voice.
"S-Shadow?!"
The violet-flamed Elite 5 member stepped forward. "As Phantomblade said—stay out of the way."
"I can't just—"
Shadow's flames flared, slamming Shijun into a wall.
"Ow—dammit!"
"Stop being stubborn."
Phantomblade turned to go. "No time to waste here shadow.We need to find the cause.Much more important that dealing with..him."
Shadow nodded, disappearing in a flash of purple fire. Phantomblade followed suit, leaving a ghostly green streak in the air.
"Tch… damn it." Shijun clenched his fists.
Then he saw the live holo-screen feed. The camera focused on—
Central City.
His stomach dropped. "Mum…!"
—Central City—
One of the larger frost crystals cracked open, A massive devil emerged from the shards—three times the height of a man, its body a twisted hybrid of energies from multiple rifts fused with the devil world's.
Its head had two spinning windmill like horne,white body with black line textures,Its eyes were also just horns with spinning windmills,its shoulder posses two large clear frost crystal tail massive with a silver crystal on the tip of it's tail.
It roared. The sound was so cold it froze the air and skies itself—everything within a five-meter radius turned to ice.
In the shelters, people prayed.
Shijun's eyes widened. "Mum… MUM!"
Without thinking, he raised his hand. "MINUS!" The bracelet snapped into place as he immediately transformed.
He was about to take off—
"WAIT! DON'T ACT RASHLY, BEYOND!"
Shijun turned. "Cupid?!"
Surprised to see her.
"Beyond, this is elite business—"
"AND ELITE 5 AND I SHOUDN'T INTERFERE,I KNOW! But my mum's in that area! You think I'm just gonna sit here and do nothing?!"
He shoved her hand aside and blasted into the sky.
"Beyond—!" Cherl cursed, then took off after him.