Phantomblade simply turned and walked away, silent as ever.
Shadow watched him leave with a quiet sigh.
"…See you later."
Then vanished in a swirl of violet flames.
Phantomblade didn't look back.
He just gave a slight nod and disappeared into the shadows.
— Downtown Café —
CHOM. CHOM. CHOM.
Shijun devoured the cake like a man possessed.
"Slow down, Beyond,"
Cherl teased, sipping her drink,
"You can't go choking on cake when you're out here trying to save the world."
"My bad,"
Shijun mumbled, mouth full, cheeks puffed out, chocolate smeared across his lips.
He grabbed his water and gulped it down before slapping his chest to get his breath back.
GULP.
"…Okay,"
he exhaled, wiping his mouth,
"So anyway—how long have you even been doing this? Like, being Cupid and all?"
"Hm… I think about three years now?"
"Three years?!"
Shijun blinked.
"Wait—so you started when you were… thirteen?!"
"Yeah, apparently."
She laughed casually.
"…Damn."
She leaned forward with curiosity.
"Oh yeah—what about you? How'd you get your powers? And that suit of yours? Oh, and that blade too?"
"Uh—well…"
Shijun froze.
Shit, what do I even say?
'Hey, I've got an alien living in my body' doesn't sound like first-date material.
"…I kinda just… woke up with it one day. Not really sure how. It just—happened."
Cherl narrowed her eyes.
"Hmm… that kinda pathetic,sounds a little sketchy too.You suuure you're not lying to me?"
"W-What?! Of course not! Why would I lie?!"
Shijun stammered, panicking.
"I seriously don't know how it happened—I just… got it, okay?!"
Cherl eyed him for another second before dropping it with a shrug.
"Alright."
Though she clearly didn't buy it.
They both went back to demolishing their desserts.
—One Hour Later — Evening
The café lights dimmed as closing hour hit.
Shijun and Cherl stepped out into the cool evening air.
"Thanks, Unc!"
"Awesome chocolate cake, by the way!"
They waved as they walked away, side by side.
Shijun's body was still tense. Her presence made his heart race in real time.
"It's been… a really fun day, Shijun. I'll see you at school next week, alright?"
"A-Alright! See you!"
She smiled and walked off, her figure fading into the distance.
Shijun raised his arms—
"YE—"
"NOPE."
Minus immediately cut in.
"Enough with the cheering. It's getting repetitive and annoying."
"Damn."
Shijun's face instantly dropped.
"Can't even let a man celebrate in peace anymore."
"Man? You're a boy."
"WHA—AGAIN—I'm sixteen!"
"Still a boy."
The two bickered the whole way home.
—Back Alley –
Meanwhile…
Roov… Roov…
A twisted energy hissed through the alleyway.
A Devil Rift tore open—jagged, unstable.
A figure stepped through.
His arms clasped behind his back.
His movements were slow. Deliberate.
"Hmm… so this is the dimension where The Lord mentioned about it,"
the figure muttered eerily.
"Well then—let's see what all the fuss is about."
SHIIIIIINK—!
A screeching sound echoed as a silver staff emerged—growing directly from the figure's hand.
He vanished in a flash of crimson and black.
—Next Morning — Shijun's House
Shijun groaned under his sheets, rolling around aimlessly.
"DUMBASS! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!"
Minus screamed in his head like a cursed alarm clock.
"Bro… it's the weekend. Let me sleep…"
Shijun mumbled, face buried in his pillow.
"Oh quit whining. I sense something off in the surrounding…The atmosphere is tensed."
"Huh?"
Shijun jolted upright, eyes wide.
"…What now? It's barely been a day since—"
He stopped himself.
"…You know what, never mind. What is it this time?"
"Massive devil energy surge."
"…Wouldn't Hero Corp have detected that by now?"
"You gonna trust your shitty Earth sensors over an actual alien from their dimension?"
"…Fair point."
Shijun rubbed his face and sighed.
"But still… why didn't the HQ alarms go off?"
—City Water Zone — North Sector
The peaceful surface of the city's water body began to twist.
A vortex formed—bubbling, boiling—
Until—
BURST!!
A kaiju-sized devil exploded from the depths.
Its body dripped with thick, black sludge.
Tentacles slithered around its mass, oozing toxic energy.
SCREEEEEEEEEEHHHHHH!!!
The creature's howl shook the ground.
Citizens screamed, covering their ears in terror.
—Eldorade—
The Cosmic Sludge Kaiju
It growled lowly.
The surrounding water darkened—blackening like ink—
Tentacles erupted from beneath, consuming parts of the city in sludge.
—Corp CSX HQ —
SYSTEM ALERT: DEVIL ENERGY DETECTED
INTERCEPTION REQUEST SENT
LOCATION: NORTH SECTOR – CITY REGION
Alarms screamed across HQ.
On the holographic screen, footage of Eldorade wreaking havoc played out in real-time.
Heroes scrambled into action.
"What's the situation?"
The manager asked firmly.
"Identity confirmed. Eldorade. Toxic sludge devil."
The assistant's face was pale.
"… The toxicity of its sludge can wipe out entire stars…"
The manager's eyes narrowed.
"Deploy elite heroes.
Keep Elite 5 on standby."
"Roger!"
Emergency messages were dispatched instantly.
—Above the City —
The mysterious figure from the alley now floated silently over the chaos, watching from the sky.
"This should draw him out."
"There's no way Minus doesn't sense this."
He looked down at the sludge, lips curling into a faint smile.
"Let's see what's so special about you today, Minus…
That The Lord himself spared your pathetic soul for this."
—Shijun's Home – Chaos Begins
Shijun finally left his room, rubbing his eyes—
only to see his mother in full panic mode.
"Shijun! Hurry! We have to evacuate! The devils are attacking again—get to a shelter!"
"Wait, what's happening—?"
He turned his head and saw it.
A shadowy, hulking figure standing across the water.
"…The hell is that?"
Before he could answer himself—
a wave of black sludge slithered toward their building like a tsunami.
"DUMBASS! THAT'S TOXIC!"
"FUCK!"
His mom grabbed his arm.
"Son! We need to GO!"
"Wait—what?!"
But she didn't give him time to argue. They were pulled into the hallway—
and immediately swallowed by a mass of panicking people trying to escape.
There was no way out.
CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!
TV screens in the hallway played the live feed.
RAHHHHH!!
The toxic behemoth Eldorade let out a gurgling screech as its body twisted, then slithered like black oil through the streets within it's own sludge.
It sensed something.
A presence like its own.
Suddenly, a golden shockwave erupted—
BOOOOOOM!!
The blast of energy forced Eldorade back into full kaiju form.
"GRRRRRRRRRR…"
It snarled.
From above, three feminine silhouettes descended from the sky.
"Eww. He stinks."
One of them gagged, covering her nose.
"Disgusting."
Another rolled her eyes.
The third one stepped forward, calm and in command.
"Focus, ladies. Let's handle this first."
The Velorant Sisters.
Three high-tier heroines.
Aurora – long flowing blue hair
Arurus – short silver hair, attitude to match
Velora – pink-haired leader, power behind her words
Each wore sleek combat suits, with half-masks that covered only their mouths.
"Let's show them how it's done."
Velora grinned.
Eldorade responded by launching a massive toxic sludge beam.
HUFFFFF—
Velora took a deep breath.
"VOCAL BURST."
VROOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!
Her voice alone created a wave of energy so dense, it not only shattered the sound barrier but exceeded light speed.
It collided with the sludge blast—
KRAK-BOOOOOOM!!!
The impact redirected it straight back at Eldorade, slamming into the kaiju's own face.
The beast screeched in frustration.
"ROYAL FAN!!"
Aurora flew down from behind, opening a massive glowing fan that released an ice wave, briefly freezing part of the kaiju's sludge-covered tentacles.
"SPIN STRIKE!!"
Arurus spiraled down from above with a roundhouse kick—
but her impact barely dented Eldorade's gooey body.
"Ugh, gross!"
She whined as she bounced off its sludge with a nasty splatter.
The sisters regrouped, floating in formation.
"This guy's way more annoying than we expected…"
"Focus up ladies."
Velora said.
—Evacuation Block – Shijun
Inside one of the nearby collapsing towers, chaos reigned.
CLASH! SCREAM! PANIC!
Citizens were stampeding toward the lower floors.
Shijun and his mom were caught in the rush, getting shoved and squeezed by the panicking crowd.
"Wait—those girls…"
Shijun squinted at the hallway TV through the chaos.
"…I've seen them on HeroCast before…"
"NOT THE TIME TO DAYDREAM, SON!"
His mom yanked him forward.
"AHHH—relax!"
They struggled down the staircase, but—
GRRRRRRMMMMM!!!
The entire building shook violently.
Sludge had already reached the foundation.
The lower floors collapsed inward.
Screams erupted.
Dust exploded through the hallways.
Shijun's fists clenched.
"I… I can't just STAND here!"
He yanked his arm free.
"Son?! Where are you going?!"
"Don't worry—I'll be back!"
He ran toward a back hallway, leaving his mom frozen in panic.
In an empty corridor—
"Minus!"
The Entheon motor appeared on his wrist.
He swiped the blue dot—
FWOOSH!!!
A surge of blue-violet energy engulfed his body as he transformed into Beyond.
—Outside the Building
KRRRRRRRACK!!!
The building was mid-collapse, and civilians screamed in horror.
Suddenly—
"ORIYA!!!"
Beyond blasted into view, catching the building with one hand—
lifting the entire structure like a goddamn titan and flying it safely away from the sludge.
"W-Who the hell—?"
"Is that—?!"
"…BEYOND?!"
Gasps echoed through the crowd.
"Wait, wasn't he the one from the Devil Frosbeil battle?!"
"OH DAMN—YEAH, THAT BEYOND!!"
Shijun floated down with a smirk.
"…Guess we're kinda famous now."
"Enough flexing, dumbass. That kaiju sludge freak is still alive."
"Yeah, yeah. I'm on it."
He turned to the people, gave a quick thumbs up, and blasted off toward Eldorade.
"WHOOO!! BEYOND!!"
Among the crowd, Shijun's mom stood frozen.
"…Wait—where's my son?"
She glanced around—
and realized he was gone.
"…No… no way…"
SHOOOOOOM!!
Beyond flew at light speed, aiming directly for Eldorade's location.
But suddenly—
"SHINK!!!"
CRASH!!!
A dark figure kicked straight into him mid-air.
Shijun barely caught it with his arms, but the force still sent him spiraling down—
BOOM!!
He slammed into the ground face-first.
"GAH… ughh…"
He groaned, standing up slowly, wiping dirt from his mouth.
The figure descended gently, floating with eerie grace.
His voice was calm—
too calm.
"It's been a long time, Minus.
Minus's voice visibly shook.
"…M-Meibolas?!"
Shijun's eyes widened.
"You… know him?"
"He was the one…"
"The one who sealed me away… a thousand years ago."