Cling… Cling…
The Devil's body radiated a deathly cold — not just lowering the temperature, but tearing the heat out of reality itself. The air froze on a molecular level, frost snaking across the ground in jagged patterns.
Its screech ripped through the sky — an unholy sound like metal grinding against glass, echoing for miles and rattling every bone that heard it.
Then—
Two elite heroes descended from above, auras blazing, bodies cutting through the air like meteors. They moved into position for a rear ambush, grins stretching across their faces.
"SURPRISE, BITCH!" they shouted in unison, fists arcing toward the creature's neck.
The Devil didn't even blink.
It slowly turned its head, tilting ever so slightly… and exhaled.
Huuuuuu…
From its jagged mouth poured an eerie mist, swirling with unnatural density.
The heroes' eyes went wide.
"Huh—?!"
Too late.
The mist coiled around them like the embrace of some ancient ghost, creeping into their lungs, their armor, their bones. Their bodies locked mid-air, muscles freezing.
Within a moment,their frozen solid.
Then came the sound.
Shhhrrkkk… KRSHHH!!!
Both shattered into thousands of glittering shards, raining down like macabre snow.
The Devil raised its head and let out a low, rumbling roar — not of rage, but of triumph.
A few more elite heroes attempted to intervene.
They lasted seconds.
One breath, and they too joined the glittering pile of the dead.
—Corp CSX Headquarters—
Blaring red sirens painted the HQ in a pulsating crimson glow.
Heroes sprinted through the corridors, snatching weapons from racks, checking comms, barking orders as deployment protocols came online.
Inside the Manager's Office, the air was tight enough to choke on.
Manager: "Report. Now."
The assistant's pallid complexion said everything before his words even landed.
Assistant: "S-sir… a colossal Devil emerged from one of the larger frost crystals. It… it killed several elite heroes in just… in just a single breath."
The manager's fists clenched, knuckles whitening.
"Send the Elite Five to that location. Now."
He slammed his hand against the desk, the wood groaning under the force.
"Y-yes, sir!"
Hero Data Log:
Target: Devil Frosbeil
The comm line crackled.
"Shadow! We've got a major situation at City Central — new Devil, insane energy signature! We need you there now!"
"Got it," Shadow replied, his voice sharp and cold.
He turned to Phantomblade
"Phantomblade — clear the other sectors. The higher-ups want me to handle this devil."
"Tch. Of course they call you… fine."
They exchanged a quick nod before vanishing in opposite directions, moving so fast they left afterimages in their wake.
—City Central—
Inside a small café, Shijun's mum peeked out from behind the curtain.
The glass was not just fogged — it was frozen solid, thick frost spiderwebbing across every inch. She could barely see through it, but she didn't need to.
The icy breath seeping through the walls told her everything she needed to know — something terribly wrong was out there.
And it was getting closer.
Outside, Devil Frosbeil prowled the streets and skies, everything in its presence crystallizing into lifeless frost.
Its jagged head turned toward the café.
It locked on.
The frost crystal embedded in its shoulder began to glow with an ominous light—
Until—
"I WON'T LET YOU!"
Four energy blades tore through the air, slamming into the Devil's hide. Ice shattered, shards clattering to the ground. The force staggered the beast, knocking it slightly off balance.
CRASH!
A shockwave erupted as Shijun landed, crouched in a perfect three-point stance. One hand pressed against the frozen street, the other drawn back for a strike. The impact shattered the ice in a small radius around him.
From the safety of basements and barricaded shops, civilians murmured in confusion.
Who was this? Most had never seen this hero before.
Shijun straightened, golden eyes locked on the towering monster.
"I'm Beyond."
Two words. Nothing more.
The manager's jaw nearly hit the floor.
"Is that… the newbie?! WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK IS HE DOING THERE?! This mission isn't for heroes of his caliber— is he trying to get himself killed?!"
He slammed both palms on the desk, rattling everything on it.
"Is Shadow there yet?! He better get there before this rookie gets his ass handed to him… if the kid even makes it out alive."
Assistant: "Uh… sir… we have a small issue with Shadow."
"What do you mean—"
—Unknown Zone—
Shards of frost crystal sliced through the air toward Shadow, faster than light and laced with a deadly chill that could freeze bone from the inside out.
He met them with a storm of shadow-forged blades, each swing cracking through their crystallized cores.
"What the hell are these things?" he muttered with irritation, cutting another one down.
It didn't matter how many fell. More kept coming.
"CHRONO BURST!"
A violet inferno detonated from his body, burning through dozens in a single pulse.
But before he could even catch his breath, the remaining crystals in the sky froze in place… then began to twist, splinter, and fuse together.
In seconds, three Frost Devils hovered before him — each with a silver horn jutting from its head, a body of pure white ice streaked with jagged lines, crystalline shoulders, and bladed tails made entirely of condensed crystal.
"Tch… more pests."
Shadow tapped his wrist, bringing up a holo-call.
"Tell the manager I'll be a little late."
The comm cut before they could reply.
He cracked his neck, twin shadow blades materializing in his hands.
Then he dashed straight at the trio.
—Call footage ends—
"DAMN IT!" the manager barked, slamming a fist into the table.
—City Central—
The air between Shijun and Devil Frosbeil felt like it could shatter.
Horned eyes locked with sharp golden ones, neither side moving, their stares slicing into each other.
The tension snapped.
"COME HERE, BASTARD!"Shijun screamed out.
He launched forward, legs cracking the ice beneath him.
Frosbeil didn't budge.
It simply parted its jagged jaws and unleashed that same cursed mist as before, rolling toward him like a living death cloud.
"What the—!"
"DODGE IT, DUMBASS!" Minus barked in his head.
"R-right!"
Shijun kicked off the ground, blasting into the air just before the mist could swallow him. The speed of it sent a chill through his spine.
"I swear, that stuff moves faster than it looks."
"How about you focus instead of narrating like a clown dumbass?" Minus sneered.
"My bad."
Shijun tucked midair, diving straight down toward the Devil. His right leg cocked back, glowing with a fierce lavender blaze.
"Minus Soura Kick!"
The fiery mauve energy erupted from his leg as he descended.
"AHHH! Take this!"
But Frosbeil just slammed a foot into the ground. Frost detonated upward, forming a jagged crystal wall between them.
"A barrier?! Fine — let's see if it survives this!"
He poured more energy into the kick. The impact ripped through the barrier with a thunderous crack, shards exploding outward. His heel connected solidly with the Devil's chest, forcing it back several paces.
Shijun landed with a smirk.
"Heh. Not so tough,are you?"
Frosbeil just growled..in response was a roar that split the clouds.
"WHAT THE!"
The shockwave slammed into Shijun, hurling him back and sending him tumbling across the frozen ground.
"Tch…" He groaned, pushing himself up and brushing off the frost that clung to him and shaking his senses back.
Then the Devil's form shifted.
Massive wings burst from its back in an explosion of ice, the temperature dropping to a level that made the air feel like broken glass in the lungs. The frost crystals on the streets multiplied, jagged towers rising around them.
Without hesitation, Frosbeil took to the sky.
"Hey! You're not escaping!"
Shijun bolted after it—
But the ground itself betrayed him.
The frost crystals quaked violently, tearing free from the earth. They twisted together into a monstrous kaiju, bulkier than the last. Its horns were shaped like thunderbolts, its eyes burning yellow against a fully white, textured body, a massive tail dragging behind it.
Shijun glared.
"Coward can't fight me on its own, so it sends backup? Fine. I'll deal with you first."
He slid into a fighting stance, fists glowing, and sprinted toward the new Devil.
Shijun went on the offensive immediately, refusing to give the creature a chance to breathe. His consecutively slammed his fist into its massive frame in a relentless barrage — each punch rippling the air with bursts of mauve energy.
The Devil bellowed in frustration, swinging one colossal arm toward him.
Shijun caught the blow, boots digging into the cracked ice beneath.
"HOLY— this guy's heavy…" he grunted, muscles straining.
Spotting an opening, Shijun ducked under its other hand and spun low. His leg flared with purple flames as he sprang upward, the kick crashing into the Devil's face and snapping its head back.
"Chunky."Minus blurted out in Shijun's head.
The Devil's crystal horns suddenly lit with a strange, alien glow. Its jaw opened, releasing a shrill hiss as icy energy built in its throat.
CHHHHHHH…
The blast fired — a stream of deathly frost screaming straight for Shijun.
"Minus Containment Field!"
In an instant, the swirling vortex of violet energy erupted before him, devouring the freezing breath. Even so, the sheer force made him stagger back a step.
The Devil didn't let up. It lunged forward with claws like jagged spears, but Shijun met it head-on.
They clashed in the middle of the street,then into the skies, fist against claw, mauve energy colliding with cyan frost in violent bursts. Each impact sent shockwaves tearing through nearby buildings, ice and concrete exploding in equal measure.
The skies split overhead, the sheer force of their battle carving cracks into the storm clouds.
"This can't go on much longer — it's destroying too much!" Shijun muttered, slamming an elbow into the Devil's chest and vaulting away from another frost blast while countering the incoming frost crystals with burst of his energy blasts , the explosion shaking the crater they'd made in the street.
"This is enough!" he growled.
Four mauve energy blades shimmered into existence at his sides. With a sharp flick of his hands, they shot forward in rapid succession, carving deep gashes across the Devil's body.
Shijun then reached up, hand crossing over his neck in a swift motion. The central gem on his forehead — the largest of the three — began to glow, its ethereal blue light casting a deadly halo around his forehead.
"Enthean Foreblast!"
A beam of condensed blue energy ripped from the gem, piercing through the Devil's left hand and obliterating the crystal embedded in its left shoulder.
The Devil howled in pain, a high-pitched screech that rattled the air.
It dropped to one knee, ice shards falling from its wounds.
"It's over now!" Shijun declared, stepping back into position. His lifted his right hand up,and face it towards the devil.
"Gravon field!"
A violet and yellow light emmited from his palm , the light swallowed the Devil before it could react and..
"X 100!"
The field of light pressure multiples by a 100 crushing the Devil inside it and causing it to implode.
AHHHHHHHHHHH!
Its roar echoed across the entire sector as its body fractured, splintered, and finally exploded into glittering fragments that rained down like deadly snow.
The frost choking the streets began to slowly dissolve i, the air returning to its bitter but survivable chill.
Shijun dropped to the ground, panting, sweat steaming off his skin.
"Gah… the other Devil escaped… but what was that thing? It didn't come through the Devil World rift, so how the hell—"
His thoughts derailed in an instant.
"Wait… mum… MUM!"
He shot upright, ready to sprint toward the café—
Before Shijun could even take a step, a pink energy streaked across the sky.
"BEYOND!"
Cherl dropped from above l, cape flaring as she landed hard enough to crack the ice underfoot. Her voice was sharp — a mix of worry and pure fury.
"Ah… I'm in trouble, huh." Shijun muttered under his breath. He could tell from her tone that this was not going to be a friendly chat.
"Over here, Cupid!" he called out, raising a hand.Bracing for what's to come.
Cherl's eyes locked on him, and she crossed the space in a burst of speed, landing directly in front of him. Her palm slapped against his chest, hard.
"YOU! I swear — I told you not to run off, and yet you still did! Now the Manager AND I are pissed at you!"
"Well, I said before — I can't just let my mum be in danger!" Shijun shot back without hesitation.
"I understand, Beyond, but still… Ugh, the Manager's going to kill you after this."
Shijun waved a hand like he was brushing her off.
"Ah ah! Enough about whether I'm dead later. Right now, the most important thing is making sure everyone's safe — and going after that Devil that flew off!"
Cherl sighed hard. "Yeah, whatever… you're still dead anyway."
"Also—" Shijun stopped her, expression shifting.
"What's the situation around the planet?"
Cherl turned, scanning the frost free streets.
"The globe's still covered in those mysterious frost crystals. Everything's still frozen solid. Whatever's going on is connected to that Devil that escaped."
"Has Hero Corp identified what it is or how it even got here?"
"No, not yet — but we did give it a name. Devil Frosbeil."
Shijun repeated it under his breath, the name echoing like a challenge.
"Devil Frosbeil…"
Then he snapped his head up. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go after it! B-but I need to find my mum first!"
Cherl nodded. "I'll handle the rest of the civilians—wait." She cut herself off, turning to him.
"Remember — you can't reveal your identity to anyone."
"I know."
With that, Shijun launched into the air, streaking toward the office building where his mum worked.
—City Central, Streets—
Cherl's voice rang out repeatedly. "Everybody! It's safe to come out now!"
Slowly, doors creaked open and civilians began pouring out from buildings, their faces etched with relief. Cheers erupted across the sector.
Shijun's mum stepped carefully out of the café, eyes scanning desperately. The first thought in her head was her son.
"Shijun… SHIJUN!"
She was about to take off running when—
"MUM!"
Shijun came sprinting toward her, already untransformed.
"SHIJUN?!" She rushed forward, pulling him into a tight embrace.
"Mum, are you hurt anywhere? Any—"
"N-no, I'm fine, son. YOU? What about you?"
"I'm fine too, Mum. I'm fine."
She pulled back, looking him in the eye with suspicion.
"Wait — why were you even out here? Weren't you going home after school?"
"Oh, uhh, that? I-I was just… hanging out with a friend. Yeah! That's it."
She frowned. "Well, don't stay out too long. You never know when the next Devil attack will happen."
"I know, Mum… I know. But we should get you home first, right?"
"You're not coming with me?" she asked, brow raised.
"W-well…"
Minus let out an audible sigh in Shijun's head.
"Tch… just when I thought you'd finally learned to make a believable excuse, you start fumbling again. Of course… dumbass."
"Well, Minus, maybe you can help me out right now. That'd be real nice, you know? Because we're kinda in a hurry," Shijun muttered through gritted teeth.