The Aftermath and the Re-Emergence
A meteor shower was raining from the sky.
Such a beautiful description often appears in romantic poems or films, but when a meteor shower occurs nearby, the picture is quite different.
The area where Luke and Carol lived was not far from the city center, so many people noticed when the meteor shower appeared overhead.
A destructive aura assaulted them as the fire-rain descended from the heavens, provoking inescapable fear.
Two seconds later, the meteor shower struck the ground!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Continuous tremors came from the distance. The earth heaved like ocean waves. Dust rose, creating a vast, sky-covering fog.
Shockwaves, mixed with fire and dust, spread outwards like halos. Everything in their path was incinerated: trees burned, rivers evaporated, hills became flat plains, and peaks shattered into fragments.
Luke and Carol put up a dozen energy shields around themselves. Even so, they were still violently thrown backward by the shockwave, rolling hundreds of meters before finally stopping.
Phantom-1 was pressed beneath tree trunks and rocks, its surface covered in dust, looking quite battered.
"Luke, are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine."
Luke coughed. Blue flames jetted from his back, blasting away the broken logs, and he landed beside Carol.
The two found a hill with a clear view. After surveying the surrounding devastation, neither could speak.
Coast City, located on the U.S. West Coast, had a classic Mediterranean climate—mild all year, dry with little rain, and abundant with plants. It was known for its distinct natural beauty.
The scenery in the Coast City suburbs ranked first among major U.S. cities. Now, it was utterly transformed.
All trees and flowers had vanished. The land was bare and covered with craters of all sizes. Black smoke rose, blanketing the sky like a battlefield.
Carol parted her lips. After a while, she whispered, "I won't use meteorites again."
"Don't worry about that right now. The key is the mysterious woman; we absolutely cannot let her escape."
"She must be dead, right?"
Carol spoke with uncertainty. Villian was at the center of the impact zone. Even if she had used her giant cannon to shatter the meteorite, she would have received the strongest impact. Few people could survive that level of force.
Luke shook his head. "We haven't seen a body. Everything is still unknown."
The two began searching for any sign of Villian, starting from the edges of the destruction. They stopped upon reaching the central area, where a purple light was flickering amidst the broken rocks.
Luke raised his hand, and an energy blast shattered the rocks.
The purple light was revealed to be a spherical barrier, roughly three meters in diameter.
Carol gasped in surprise. "It's her! She actually survived."
Villian also saw them. She braced her left hand on the ground and slowly climbed to her feet. Blue blood flowed down her skin, collecting in a small puddle on the ground. She looked utterly wretched: her left leg was broken, her right arm was bent backward at a ninety-degree angle, and her armor was in tatters. It couldn't even cover her chest. A pair of generous, bluish-green 'headlights' were fully exposed. When the breeze blew, they looked quite turbulent.
Carol's face flushed. She growled,
"Close your eyes! Don't look!"
Luke: ...
What's that supposed to mean? Undermining me, are we? I am Luke Shaw, the young master of Coast City, a man with an IQ over 180 and an EQ over 150. How could I be interested in a blue-skinned alien? Even if her chest is large and firm, her waist is slender and soft, and her butt is round and perky, I, Luke Shaw, would not entertain a single thought.
Seriously. If you don't believe me, feel my chest—it's cold as iron.
Carol didn't bother engaging him. Having been with Luke for over three years, she knew his true nature. To put it nicely, he was a horndog who couldn't control his lower half. His eyes couldn't help but light up when he saw a woman with a good figure. The only thing he had over a common horndog was his self-control.
She walked towards Villian, stopping twenty meters away. She said gravely,
"Take off the ring. I won't kill you."
Villian slowly raised her right hand and chuckled hoarsely.
"Your Majesty, I must apologize. I shouldn't have underestimated you. You truly have the qualifications to be Queen. Unfortunately, it's too late. I must have the Original Lantern Ring, and you must die."
She clenched her right hand.
A humming sound came from above. Sensing danger, Carol was about to attack when she was suddenly thrown backward, crashing heavily onto the ground.
The air shifted, and a silvery-gray metallic sphere appeared. The sphere was as large as a two-story building. It looked sleek but reflected no light. It hovered in mid-air, emitting a loud hum.
A spaceship?
Zamaron technology?
Luke's mind raced. He quickly commanded, "Ava, I need that sphere."
"I apologize, Young Master. The metallic sphere has a very strong interfering magnetic field on its surface. Signals cannot penetrate from the outside."
"What about the inside?"
"Data is unknown, still unclear."
Villian wiped the bruised blood from her mouth and said proudly,
"Your Majesty, the Zamarons do not just have the Violet Lantern Corps; they also possess scientific technology far surpassing Earth's. You may have defeated me with the power of the Original Ring, but you cannot kill me. The Defender will protect me."
"I beg to differ."
Luke didn't hesitate for a second. He immediately attacked, rushing up to the metal sphere at top speed. He clenched his right hand, blue light surging around it, and struck with full force.
Buzz!
The sound emitted by the metal sphere suddenly rose sharply. The sphere vibrated violently, and a layer of undulating spatial ripples appeared on its surface. Luke's fist hit the ripples and felt as if it had sunk into mud. His power was being broken down layer by layer. Not only that, but the ripples, rubbing against his gauntlet, began to penetrate inward.
"What strange technology."
Luke pulled back and retreated. Cannons emerged from his shoulders, and two energy blasts struck the metal sphere. In the next second, amidst intense vibrations, the blue energy was broken down and consumed, dissolving into specks of starlight.
"?"
Luke was stunned. He had never seen such a defensive technology before.
Villian didn't hesitate to mock him. "You Earth-dwelling savage! Compared to Zamaron technology, your weapons are like javelins in the hands of a caveman."
While insulting Luke, she didn't forget to include Carol. As she spoke, she began to float toward the sphere. The Defender had a comprehensive medical system; no matter how badly she was wounded, as long as she wasn't dead, she could recover completely within three hours.
Unfortunately, her idea was nice, but reality was harsh. Luke wouldn't let her get what she wanted. Eight spider-leg-like cannons emerged from his back, unleashing a barrage of blue energy blasts like a rain of light onto Villian.
At the same time, Carol flew out of the crater. She raised her hand, and a barrier appeared in front of Villian, blocking her path.
Luke shouted, "I'll handle her; you focus entirely on containing that sphere. Don't let it get away."
The girl nodded. She waved her hands, and countless purple barriers appeared around the metal sphere, wrapping it tightly like a mummy.
The metal sphere struggled violently. The spatial ripples on its surface expanded outward, destroying layer after layer of energy barriers. But no matter how many it destroyed, a new one immediately appeared.
Seeing this, Villian's face became incredibly grim.
🗒️NOTE:
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
Explore up to 20 chapters in advance!