BOOM!!!!!
A deafening explosion. The entire ocean churned and roared. Sora stood in the air, a demonic, bloodthirsty, and cold smile on his face.
He had gotten carried away in the heat of battle. Had he accidentally killed her? Under an attack like that, any powerful cosmic warrior would have been blown to bits…
Splash…
He waited patiently. After a long while, something finally broke through the surface of the water and shot into the sky. It was Rhea Aslan Deviluke.
Her once-striking silver battle dress was covered in cracks and looked like it could fall apart at any moment. She was panting heavily, looking utterly battered. The Strongest Valkyrie, who had struck fear into the hearts of countless enemies across the universe, was showing such a weak and defeated state for the first time.
"So you're still alive. Rhea Aslan Deviluke, to have survived such a desperate situation, you have earned my praise," Sora said with a smirk.
"Hah… hah… It was you! The one who destroyed the Alpha System!" she panted, her sharp, beast-like silver eyes fixed on him, her tone certain.
"Mmm, I did destroy a star system once. I don't know if it was the 'Alpha System' you're talking about," Sora shrugged noncommittally.
"It was you! It was you!!!"
Her aura flared up wildly, her beautiful face twisted with excitement.
"Kusanagi Sora, let us fight for the title of the strongest in the universe!"
As the so-called Strongest Valkyrie, it had always been her wish to fight a battle to the death against the ultimate opponent. The former Devilukean King was the one she had sought to surpass, but that short-lived man had died early, leaving her wish unfulfilled.
But now, she finally had another chance!
"I have no interest in the title of the strongest, but sure."
"You're almost out of energy. Let's settle this with one move. I will now use the ultimate attack that destroyed a star system. If you can take it, you win. If you can't—"
"You might actually die…"
The light sword in his hand dissipated. A demonic smirk touched Sora's lips.
"Bring it on!"
Decisive and without hesitation, she held her greatsword before her, her expression grim yet filled with anticipation and excitement.
Sora couldn't help but chuckle. She really was a battle-crazy woman. He said no more.
His battle aura surged. He took a wide stance, his hands cupped together at his waist—
"Ka… me… ha… me… HAAAA!!!!!"
A blinding light. An energy sphere was compressed between his palms and then, with a great shout, pushed forward. It was the ultimate move of that Saiyan madman, Son Goku—the Kamehameha!
Zzzzzzt…
With overwhelming, world-ending power, the Kamehameha shot towards Rhea. Her face was filled with a crazed excitement. She didn't dodge, but instead met the blast head-on with her sword.
"Hah!!!!!"
With a cry, her power exploded. The girl with the greatsword sliced the Kamehameha in half and continued to charge towards Sora, intending to cut him in two.
"Power times one!" Sora muttered. The Kamehameha suddenly swelled in size, and Rhea's advance was halted.
"Power times ten!"
The blast grew again. A pained expression appeared on her beautiful face, and her body was slowly pushed back.
"Power times one hundred!"
"Ah…"
Finally, she could hold on no longer. Her silver battle dress shattered, and a pained cry escaped her lips.
"Did I lose…?"
In that moment, time seemed to slow down to a crawl. The silver greatsword slipped from her grasp. Her expression was one of regret, but also of relief that her wish had finally been fulfilled.
She had finally fought a battle to the death against the strongest. And she had lost…
"You won… you… strongest… monster of a man…" she murmured, looking towards Sora as her body was engulfed by the Kamehameha…
BOOM!!!!!
With nothing left to stop it, the Kamehameha shot forward, broke through the atmosphere, and flew into space.
At the same time, on the other side of the planet where it was nighttime, people looked up in stunned disbelief as a beam of light struck the moon, and then—
A massive hole appeared on the moon, nearly two-thirds of it gone!
"Ah… The moon is broken," Lala commented from the ship, munching on snacks as she watched the screen.
It was a little sad that the moon was broken, but who cared? As long as Earth was still in one piece.
"Sora and Rhea are done fighting. They should be back soon."
"Zastin, you guys can take the ship and go now. We can't cause any more trouble for the people down there. I'm going home."
After saying this to Zastin and the others, who were still staring at the screen with their jaws dropped, Lala bounced out of the ship and headed home.
Meanwhile, over the ocean, Sora was still hovering, but now he was holding a small, naked, silver-haired loli.
"So this is my prize, is it? Well, I'll be happy to take it…"
Looking at the unbelievably cute, silver-haired loli with her eyes closed, the great demon king smiled wickedly, then shot off into the sky as a golden streak of light and disappeared…
…
Communication was restored all over the world. The alien spaceship that had been hovering over Sainan Town was gone. As the news spread, people everywhere cried tears of joy, a wave of post-disaster relief sweeping the globe.
Though they hadn't seen the end of the fight, it was clear that the aliens had been driven off. The Black Hero had won!
It still felt like a dream, but when people looked up at the sky and saw the shattered, permanently incomplete moon, they knew it was real…
"Hah… Thank goodness. The world isn't going to be destroyed after all," Rito said in his home, clutching his chest with a look of immense relief.
"As expected of Sora-san, the great hero who saved the Earth. It's a shame no one saw his face. Even if he told people, no one would probably believe him," Rito said, having finally figured out who the familiar figure was. He felt a little sad about it, but his admiration for Sora had grown even stronger.
The thought of being neighbors, classmates, and friends with the great hero who saved the world filled Rito with a sense of honor.
"Mikan, where are you going?" he asked, seeing his sister get up to leave.
"I'm tired. I'm going to my room to rest," Mikan replied, and then closed her door.
"Hah… I think I'll get some rest too. I can finally get a good night's sleep," Rito said. He had been on edge all day and hadn't gotten much rest. Now that he could relax, he felt exhausted. He yawned and headed to his own room.
…
Standing by the window in her room, the girl quietly looked at the closed window across from her.
"Sora-san…"
Though she knew Sora was strong and had absolute faith in him, until she saw him safe and sound with her own eyes, she couldn't feel at ease.
"My dear Mikan-chan, were you missing me?"
Sora's voice suddenly came from her window. He was perched on the sill, startling her.
"Ah!"
With a cry of surprise, she stumbled backward, but Sora jumped down and caught her.
"So-Sora-san…" she stammered, her face filled with excitement as she saw who it was.
"Yo, Mikan-chan. Long time no see. How was your vacation?" Sora asked with a smile, holding a sleeping, silver-haired loli in one arm.
"The world was almost destroyed, how do you think it was?"
"Sora-san, don't you know you can scare someone to death by popping up like that?!" she retorted, but her heart was filled with joy.
Thank goodness, Sora-san is okay…
"Hey, hey, Mikan-chan. I rushed back all the way from a planet tens of thousands of light-years away to save you, and you're not even a little bit moved? I'm so hurt," Sora said, clutching his chest with a wounded expression.
"You're always like this, Sora-san. As if I'd believe that," the girl pouted, a charming blush on her cheeks.
"Huh? Sora-san, who is she…?" she asked, noticing the sleeping, silver-haired little girl in his arms.
"Oh, her? She's that crazy woman who wanted to destroy the Earth, Rhea Aslan Deviluke."
"But don't worry, I've already defeated her. Don't be fooled by how fierce and cold she was before. This is her true form!"
"From now on, she's my little pet and cuddle bear. Take care of her for me, Mikan-chan," Sora said blissfully, nuzzling the loli Rhea's cheek.
It had been years since he'd had a cuddle bear. The great demon king was filled with nostalgia and emotion…
Staring at Sora and the sleeping loli in his arms, Mikan's eyes grew wider and wider—
"EHHHH?!!!!!"