Three girls are sitting inside a restaurant with food in front of them, but their faces are buried in their phones.
"Girl, are you reading the latest post on the Diablo?" One ask.
"Yeah, I'm on DevilNDetaiils right now. It says he just kicked the Brave Brixsby's ass!" She responds
"Damn, the post says he took one of Brixsby's bricks, shoved it in his mouth, then curb-stomped him. That's not cool. The Brave Brixsby's smile was one of the best things about him." The other friend says.
"The article I'm reading says he made the Brave Brixsby eat every brick he threw at him. And made sure he swallowed too."
"This post says he dropped a whole building on top of him. I wonder which one really happened?"
"Probably all three of them." The friend says.
"Damn, the Diablo is terrifying. Fine as hell, too. Look at this pic that was taken at the scene." The girl sparks up, showing her friends the photo of Cordayl.
They all get excited and say how bad he can get it. One of the girls gets a little too animated and throws her arms out, accidentally punching someone who just walked into the restaurant.
"I'm so sorry." The girl's voice falls flat as she realizes who she just hit.
"It's fine," Cordayl responds, putting his hood back on as he walks behind Éclair.
Walking past them and to an open seat, the girls are all in awe seeing Cordayl in person.
Cordayl takes a seat where he can see the entrance, but he asks Éclair to switch seats with him after noticing the girls taking out their phones. Cordayl pulls his hood on a little tighter as he adjusts in his seat.
The waitress comes to the table and asks what they would like, and Éclair points hers out to the lady.
The lady smiles and writes it down, then after asking Cordayl, she leaves with a smile.
The two sit in silence, with Éclair drinking her shake and Cordayl writing in his journal after his meal. Éclair watches him before she decides to write on her whiteboard.
Handing it to Cordayl, he reads her question, asking what a diablo is.
"It means devil," Cordayl says, handing her back the board.
Éclair hears his response and writes her next question.
Cordayl reads it and hands her back the board. "Last year, I destroyed a kingdom. I was angry, and they deserved it, but the world didn't quite see it from my point of view." Cordayl responds.
Éclair hands Cordayl the board again. Cordayl reads, 'I don't think you are a devil' and smiles.
"If only you could shout it to the whole world." He says, reaching over and pinching her cheek.
Éclair smiles and writes something else on her board. Handing it to Cordayl, his heart warms when he reads, ' You're my hero' on the whiteboard, but that warmth is suddenly replaced with a chill when he hears a familiar voice.
"Trust me, kid. This guy isn't no hero. And if he were, that would make all the villains the good guys." Cordayl looks up to see Mr. Vase from the arena over his shoulder.
Cordayl doesn't take his eyes off him as he watches him move from the booth behind him to the empty seat right next to him. "Sup, Cordayl. I'm happy to see you again."
"Wish I could say the same." Cordayl blandly states.
"I get it. An old foe crashes your lunch, I can't say I'd be happy either if I were in your shoes. But put mine on. I was in hot water after our battle, with all of these old fucks telling me how pathetic I was.
"Lucky to still have my job, I'm going around killing all these easy targets when, on my off day, I get the call that I am the closest to the infamous Diablo!" Mr. Vase states.
"You say that like it's good news," Cordayl says in a threatening tone.
Mr. Vase ignores the threat. "It is good news! Because I get a chance to redeem myself! And I got a special upgrade just for you! I don't plan on using it, though. I'm ready for you now." Mr. Vase says with a smirk.
"Sure you are," Cordayl says, looking at the confused look on Éclair's face. "You still don't mind leaving innocents out of things, right?" Cordayl ask.
Mr. Vase looks over at Éclair. "Ohh, I would never involve children. I've killed plenty of people, but I would never involve a minor. That's below me. But not below you, huh?" he throws in.
Cordayl's jaw tightens upon hearing this, and his aura starts to leak. "Cool. Let's go."
Mr. Vase stands up from the booth, smiling as he walks out of the restaurant.
Cordayl looks Éclair dead in the eyes and tells her to come on.
With Éclair's hand in his, Cordayl stops at the table full of girls who can't take their eyes off his. "Excuse me, ladies, you know who I am, but what is your name?"
With hearts in their eyes, the girls state their names one by one.
Cordayl repeats the names back to them and says, "I want to ask you a favor. I'm about to do something I don't want her to see, and I need you three to watch my friend for me. Is that cool with y'all?" Cordayl ask.
Two girls agree, but the third says, "And what if it isn't? I ain't no babysitter."
Cordayl thinks for a minute but remembers that these girls are his fans. "Trust me, today isn't the day to be difficult," Cordayl whispers into her ear, saying her name at the end.
The girl bites her lips and stares into Cordayl's eyes as he returns the look before leaving Éclair in their care.
Éclair grabs Cordayl's hand before he can leave the restaurant and quickly writes a question on her whiteboard. Cordayl reads it and tells her that he has to deal with a problem before they can see the next city.
Éclair writes again and hands the board to Cordayl. Cordayl reads it and smiles. "I don't doubt you could be helpful, but I need you to stay here for me. I don't want you to get hurt. Understand?" Cordayl ask.
Éclair stares him in the eyes, and Cordayl returns the gaze until she nods her head. Pinching her cheek, Cordayl smiles and tells her he'll be back soon.
Leaving the restaurant, Cordayl steps out into the street, where he can see clouds starting to cover the sunny day. He knows Éclair is worried about him, but he needs to take care of this before they can move on.
"So, would you like to do this here or someplace else?" Mr. Vase asks.
"Still too many people in the area. Let's move to somewhere less populated." Cordayl says.
Mr. Vase laughs. "Still thinking of others. If you didn't have so much blood on your hands, you might've been a hero." He chuckles. "I like killing guys like you. You got a place in mind?"
"There's a decent sized field right outside of the city. We can let loose there." Cordayl says as he starts to walk in the direction.
Mr. Vase catches up to him and decides to try a conversation. "So they call you the Diablo, but I heard you had a fight with the real devil. Is that true?"
"Yup," Cordayl says.
"Damn, that's crazy! I heard he is usually calm. You must've done something to piss him off foreal!" Mr. Vase states.
"He was messing with a friend, so I intervened, " Cordayl says, just walking forward.
"Ohh, you intervened? And how did that end up for your friend?" Mr. Vase asks, chuckling because he knows the answer. His laughter makes Cordayl's jaw tighten as his aura leaks at the reminder of Prince's death.
Mr. Vase notices he's getting under Cordayl's skin but doesn't let up.
"Relax Cordayl. Doing what we do, death is inevitable for us and the people we roll with. It's just part of the career path. I had to watch my brother die right in front of me, just like you had to watch that Esquimo fella meet his end. Be happy you had enough to bury." Mr. Vase says as they near their location.
Cordayl is struggling to keep cool, hearing this man speak so casually about Esquimo's death.
"And who's going to be there to bury you?" Cordayl asks, stopping as Mr. Vase continues to walk.
"Probably the same one who will be there to pick you up. Nobody." Mr. Vase says as he turns around to square up with Cordayl.
Sensing the animosity already at a peak, Mr. Vase pulls out his weapon and squares up with Cordayl, unleashing his aura.
The two don't waste any time diving into mortal combat. They hold back nothing as they fight to the death. The healing factor seems to have increased, as after each brutal blow from Cordayl, his body quickly snaps back into place.
Cordayl doesn't mind as he mindlessly breaks the bones in Mr. Vase's body again and again. Cordayl is winning the fight, but Vase shows nothing but joy on his face as he continues to fight against Cordayl with all his might.
This fight is different, though, as Cordayl doesn't let Mr. Vase get the same opportunities for slicing him as before. As skilled and quick as he is, Cordayl shows the difference between them as he decimates Vase with no mercy.
Cordayl waits patiently for Mr. Vase to heal, and then they go into combat once again, with Cordayl breaking his body over and over again.
After breaking him down to a point where Vase's healing factor isn't healing fast enough, Cordayl kicks him over and stares down at him.
Mr. Vase is laughing as he is forced onto his back.
"Glad you are enjoying this," Cordayl states sarcastically.
"This pain is ridiculous," Vase says as he spits out blood. "But there is something about fighting you that just doesn't feel like a loss to me. You are truly one of the most formidable fighters in this world, and I wish I could witness the battles that are soon to come your way." Vase spits up more blood. "But more than that, I enjoy seeing that false heroism in you."
Cordayl's eyes squint upon hearing this remark.
"See! You question even that! You hate the thought that the world hates you, and you try to do everything you can to show them a different you. But they never will. Your plight is in vain. Even if you don't believe it.
"You're fighting good to protect yourself and fighting evil to protect them. But no matter what, you are still the bad guy. You beat up the hero causing you problems, and you're the villain. You beat up the villain and destroy half the city as a result, you're still the villain!" Mr. Vase laughs, coughing violently.
"There is no victory for you. You will forever be hated as the bad guy. How do you think I even found you? You think those three bimbos at the restaurant said, "OMG its Cordayl!" No! They said "OMG, the Diablo just sat across from me." Face it. You are as evil as they describe it. No amount of good deeds is gonna save you. You are just existing as you do until someone kills you and emerges as the real hero." Mr. Vase states.
Cordayl hears these words and can't find the falsity in them. His anger boiling, he decides to end things once and for all. Intensifying the gravity, Cordayl starts to slowly squish bones into paste as he slowly walks over to him.
Mr. Vase tries to smile through the pain as he watches Cordayl walk over to him. As Cordayl gets near him, Mr. Vase's eyes widen, and he struggles with all his might to try and point to someone behind Cordayl.
Cordayl doesn't care as he menacingly walks over and, with one stomp, crushes Vase's chest. Thinking his foe is dead, Cordayl looks down on Mr. Vase and notices his dead carcass pointing towards something.
Cordayl doesn't ease up on the pressure at all but turns around and, in horror, sees that Vase is pointing at Éclair, who had run away from her babysitters and managed to catch Cordayl in action all the way to the point he activated his gravity on the field.
Cordayl runs to her in complete fear. Scared that in his rage, he might have accidentally killed her as well.
Cordayl rolls Éclair over and gasps in happiness when he sees her take a deep breath, free from his manipulation of gravity.
Cordayl scoops her up and holds her close, apologizing as he rocks her back and forth. Hearing Vase groan, Cordayl remembers that he isn't finished yet and walks away, happy that he didn't have to see another friend die.
Walking over to Mr. Vase, Cordayl looks down on him as he sees his healing factor slowly but surely active again. "I'm ending this now." Cordayl coldly states.
Mr. Vase laughs, "I go out on my own terms," he grunts. "Remember that little upgrade I told you about? I didn't want to use it, but your stomp took that option away."
"It's not none of that steroid juice I keep seeing people drown is it?"
"That hulk piss? Doesn't work if you're already strong. No use to guys like us. But let's hope you're as fast as you are strong." Mr. Vase laughs. "See you in hell, Cordayl."
Then Mr. Vase's chest starts to glow, and Cordayl's eyes grow wide as he realizes what is about to happen.
Cordayl turns his head and takes a deep breath as he takes off at full speed to Éclair. With no time for grace, Cordayl scoops up even the earth as he races against the explosion chasing him.
Cordayl can feel the heat as he grits his teeth and closes his eyes. He pushes past his limits and keeps sprinting.
As the explosion ends, Cordayl still hasn't stopped running, but when he finally does, he is gassed as he collapses on the ground, dropping Éclair and the earth she was on in front of him.
Cordayl gasps for air as he looks over to see if Éclair is doing alright. He smiles when he sees Éclair write on her whiteboard. He closes his eyes for a second and then feels Éclair put the whiteboard on his chest.
Cordayl opens his eyes and sees the words 'My hero saved me again' on the cracked whiteboard.
Cordayl smiles, "With as hard I just ran, I'm pretty sure we're in the next town as well. Hungry yet?"
Eclair happily nods her head. "Me too. Just give me a few minutes." He says as he closes his eyes again.