The cheers hadn't even died down when Phantomblade pushed through the crowd of heroes. His cold aura silenced them instantly. He walked with Shadow at his side, heading straight toward Shijun.
"Oh great… I'm dead now, aren't I?" Shijun muttered in his head.
Shadow cracked his knuckles. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in—"
But Phantomblade raised a hand, stopping him.
He stared down at Shijun. His stone-cold gaze carried more weight than Devil Frosbeil's roar.
Shijun squinted, forcing the words out. "Are you just gonna… keep staring at me?" He braced himself, mentally preparing for the verbal execution.
Instead—
"Newbie. When we get back to HQ, I'll show you something."
The words were calm. Almost… kind. The first time Phantomblade's tone had shifted since they met.
Shadow leaned in, whispering. "You're gonna show him already? Isn't that a little rushed? He's… underprepared."
Phantomblade's eyes didn't leave Shijun. "The kid has potential… as much as I hate to admit it."
Shijun rubbed his hands nervously. "Uh… what are you gonna show me?"
"Stop being awkward, dumbass!" Minus barked inside his head. "You already ruined my image by losing while using MY body,don't make it worse!"
Cherl and the others watched from afar, certain Shijun was about to get dragged in front of the Manager for punishment.
But they were all wrong.
—Hero HQ —
Clink… clink…clink
Their footsteps echoed through a dim corridor as Phantomblade led Shijun deeper into the HQ. With every step, the lights grew brighter until they entered a colossal chamber.
The ceiling soared like skyscrapers. The floor was a vast projection grid, cyan holograms of data filling the air like endless constellations.
Shijun shielded his eyes. "Gah! It's blinding!"
Phantomblade grabbed his wrist and forced his arm down. "Quit whining."
"Wow…" Shijun muttered, eyes wide as he adjusted.
"If you're gonna face devils worse than today's, a little light shouldn't affect you," Phantomblade scolded, his tone back to its usual sternness.
"Geez… so what is all this, anyway?" Shijun rubbed the spot Phantomblade had grabbed on his arm.
The Elite turned back toward the holograms. "This… is the Battle Archive. Data of every hero across the world. Their combat history. Their victories… and their deaths."
Shijun blinked. "Seriously?"
"Say,how many heroes do you think are there in the world?"Phantomblade asked
"Uhh I don't know?Like a couple thousand?"
Shijun just threw out a random guess.
Phantomblade nodded. "One hundred thousand.There are over a hundred thousand heroes worldwide,and each and every one of them is recorded here."
"HUH?! That many?!" Shijun nearly tripped.
"Both the living… and the fallen. Once you're a hero, your battles are etched into this archive forever."
"I see..wait."Shijun paused for a second.
"So… why are you showing me all this?" Shijun asked, tilting his head.
Phantomblade didn't answer. Instead, he shoved Shijun into the holographic grid.
"WHAT THE—HEY!" Shijun flailed as he was pulled into the projections.
FLASH!
The world went white.
After a moment,
Shijun groaned, holding his head. "Ugh… what the hell…? Why's everything just white?"
A system voice echoed.
—Accessing Hero Memory Data—
Data accessed:Phantomblade
The first hologram materialized before him.
"Phantomblade's data…?" Shijun muttered, reaching out instinctively.
Shijun slowly moved his finger to swipe it.
The moment his fingers brushed it—
ZOOM!
He was inside Phantomblade's memory.
—Phantomblade's Data—
Shijun stood frozen. He watched a younger Phantomblade looming over a man on his knees.
The man's voice cracked. "P-please… don't do this…"While familiar black and Red energy emmited out of his body before all of it disappeared.
Phantomblade's expression was cold. Too cold. But behind that mask — Shijun saw it. A flicker of tears, buried under the stone.
Without warning, Phantomblade struck. His emerald blade tore through the man, obliterating him instantly.
Shijun's jaw clenched. He didn't move. Didn't speak.
Then — the aftermath. Phantomblade dropped his weapon and collapsed to his knees. His cold mask broke apart, his face twisted in anguish. He cried for over an hour, alone. No one came.
FLASH!
Shijun stumbled back into HQ. The memory dissolved around him.
He turned to Phantomblade, his voice shaking. "Who… was that man? Why show me this?"
Phantomblade's eyes narrowed. "Answer me first. I don't know how you got your powers — and I don't really care. Do you really want to be a hero? And why?"
"Of course! Who wouldn't—" Shijun began, but Phantomblade twitched. His voice sharpened."Go on. Why?"
Shijun hesitated. "Well… my life was boring. Deadbeat school, home, repeat. When I… uh merged—"
"AHEM!" Minus cleared his throat, reminding him not to expose the merge.
"—when I got my powers, it felt like I could finally do something. Fight devils. Save people. Actually matter."
Phantomblade cut him off without hesitation. "Then you're not worthy of being a hero."
"H-huh?!" Shijun slouched, stung.
Phantomblade grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to meet his eyes.
"You think being a hero is about saving people and looking cool? No. A true hero carries a weight you've never even imagined. Responsibility. Burden. Complexity. And above all—an ideal. Every hero fights for something beyond themselves,something they believe in,so if you think being a hero is just saving people and looking cool?Until you discover your reason… don't consider yourself a real hero.Think about it. And when you find your answer—don't say it. Show it."
He turned to leave.
"Wait!" Shijun shouted. "What about that man in your memory—who was he?"
Phantomblade paused.
"My brother."
"You just…"
But, without another word, he flew off in a streak of emerald light. But his voice echoed.
"Want to be a real hero right?Intepret it."
Shijun stood rooted, stunned.
Minus broke the silence. "Cat got your tongue, dumbass?"
Shijun's lips trembled. "His… his…" He couldn't finish.
"Let's just… go home," he shakingly let out, walking away with Phantomblade's words burned into his skull.
—Manager's Office —
The Corp Manager's voice shook the entire room.
"YOU LET THE NEWBIE OFF?! AFTER EVERYTHING HE'S DONE?!"
He ripped his tie off in frustration and slamming it onto his desk,he started pacing like a caged beast.
Phantomblade stood unflinching, Shadow beside him, arms folded in silence.
"Do you have ANY idea how serious this is?! What if others start thinking they can just—ugh, where do I even begin?!" the Manager raged.
Phantomblade finally raised a hand, calm as ever. "I know you're mad, sir. But you know I always have a reason for doing things my way."
The Manager's eyes narrowed. "Then explain.NOW!"
Phantomblade's voice was steady, but his words shook the room.
"Because… there's something in that kid.I don't know what it is — but when I look at him, my phantom energy reacts violently."
"He…he might be the key,to ending the Devil World once and for all."
The room froze. Shadow glanced at Phantomblade. Even the Manager stopped pacing.
"HAHA!"
"That newbie? The key? Our strongest weapon capable of ending the devil worlds continuous invasions??" The Manager barked out a humorless laugh. "Don't make me laugh."
Shadow finally spoke. "To be fair, sir — has Phantomblade's judgment ever been wrong before?"
The laughter died instantly. The Manager clenched his jaw, thinking.
Phantomblade continued. "I can't explain it fully at the moment. But my ghostly energy flares every time I'm near him. Call it instinct, call it resonance… whatever it is, it isn't nothing. You trusted my judgment before. Don't dismiss it now."
The Manager pressed a hand against his forehead, sighing heavily. "…I see."
Shadow placed a hand on Phantomblade's shoulder. "Then we have to keep a closer eye on the kid. If you're right… he may be our only chance."
Phantomblade gave the faintest nod. "Mhm."
—Devil World—
Far away, in the depths of the Devil World, a monolithic tower scraped into the black-red skies. Its walls pulsed with malice, a structure that seemed alive with hunger.
Inside,The Lord stirred upon his throne. His body was still cloaked in black-and-red energy, his true form still veiled.
He gazed into a projection of the Devil Realm. His voice dropped low after scanning the limitless realm. "Hm… the zone that contained HIS seal… has broken?The box is empty. Drained."
BOOM!
His staff — the Noctor Staff, forged from Reonic steel — struck the ground, shaking the entire tower. The handle was smooth, but the edges were jagged, unfinished, as if it was carved from hate itself.
"So… you've escaped, Minus. Even after a thousand years, you refuse to submit. And now you've fled to the outside dimension I intend to conquer? Tch…guess you forgot the punishment that was handed to you before your seal.Fine,be that way."
The Lord raised a hand. The ground outside the tower split open, dragging a dormant Devil from its slumber straight into the tower.
As the Devil was teleported into the zone through the red and black energy,the summoned beast rumbled in annoyance — brown, spiked skin, wings flapping violently, twin horns jutting like twisted branches, a massive tail slamming against the floor.
But,
It froze when its eyes met the Lord's. Instantly, it bowed.
"Deathdrago," the Lord's voice reverberated, cold and absolute. "You will go to the outside dimension."
A faint whisper was heard between the lord and Deathdrago
The Devil growled in response, low and obedient. Then, with a knowing nod from the Lord,it cloaked in a swirl of dark red energy, it dissipated into the skies, vanishing through the familiar devil rift.
Earth – School Rooftop
Back on Earth, life went on. Students rushed to class, chatting, laughing, living normal lives.
Shijun sat alone on the rooftop, staring at the sky. His words came out like a promise to himself.
"I swear… I'll get an answer someday."
"Seriously, dumbass? Still on that?" Minus grumbled. "For the past two days, it's all you've thought about. Over and over. You're like a broken record."
Shijun clenched his fists. "But he wasn't wrong. What is my purpose? What am I really fighting for? I thought just saving people was enough. But… it's not."
A familiar voice cut through his spiral.
"Talking to yourself again?"the voice teased.
He turned. "Cherl?"
She gave a small laugh. "Mhm."
"Haven't seen you these last few days. Where've you been?" he asked.
"Oh—just been sick. Nothing serious."
She mumbled.
"Well kind of."
"Huh what's that?"shijun looked at Cherl.
She brushed it off. "Nothing,anyways,what about you? Why're you up here alone?"
Shijun shrugged. "Nothing much. Just wanted to get away from the noise."
"Fair. Mind if I join you?"
"Yeah, sure!" he said a little too quickly, jolting upright.
Minus sighed inside his head. "And I'm going to sleep. Wake me when you're done flirting, dumbass."
Shijun smirked. "Better than you calling me dumbass all the time."
While the two were chatting….
Far from the city, the ground cracked open, black and red energy seeping out of the fissures, crawling like veins through the earth.
Except,This attack was targeted on not this dimension,but on someone.