Welcome to the Innocent World-Chapter 276: I was just Resting

The air pulsed with tension, the ground still trembling faintly from the impact of my crash. I lay sprawled in a jagged crater of shattered concrete, my black coat dusted with rubble, its purple seams glinting faintly in the moonlight.

Alaric threw his head back, his laughter erupting like a storm. "Bwahahahaha!" he roared, his voice echoing across the island as he looked up at the sky, his red aura flaring brighter, crackling with energy. Lightning split the night, jagged bolts flashing in sync with his manic glee, the air shimmering with heat. He lowered his gaze to my unmoving body, his smirk widening.

"Is this it, Zero?" he taunted, his voice dripping with scorn. "The great hero, done already?"

The crowd on the beach below gasped, their faces pale, their earlier cheers replaced by panicked whispers. A woman in a sundress clutched her friend’s arm, her voice trembling. "Is this really over for Zero?" she asked, her eyes wide with fear. "He’s not moving!"

Her friend, a man clutching a beer, nodded grimly, his brow furrowed. "That alien’s too strong," he said, his voice low. "I’ve never seen Zero stay down like this."

A younger guy nearby, his phone shaking in his hands, swallowed hard. "He’s gotta get up, right?" he asked, his voice cracking. "Zero can’t lose... can he?"

The woman’s hands trembled, her voice rising with panic. "If Zero loses, what happens to us?" she asked, her eyes darting to Alaric’s glowing figure. "Who’s gonna stop him?"

Just then, my voice rang out, cutting through the chaos like a blade.

"You guys are so loud," I said, my tone casual but edged with irritation. The crowd froze, silence sweeping over the island as every eye turned to the crater.

I grunted, sitting up slowly, brushing dust off my black coat, my dark aura flickering back to life, tendrils curling around me. "Just let me rest a little, will you?" I said, exhaling loudly as I rubbed my chest, my smirk returning despite the pain.

"Huhh!?" Alaric’s eyes widened, his laughter dying in his throat as he stared down at me, his red aura faltering for a moment. His smirk vanished, replaced by a flicker of disbelief as he saw me sitting there like nothing had happened.

I leaned back on my hands, my voice loud and exasperated. "You see, I was at the club all day yesterday, fucking around," I said, holding my chest as I let out a dramatic sigh. "Then I got dragged into this mess with you, had to fuck in the cage endlessly and, well, let’s just say I’m tired as fuck!" I tilted my head back, looking up at the sky, my irritation clear but my smirk sharp as ever.

The crowd erupted, their silence shattering into a roar of screams and cheers. "He’s alive!" a man in a tank top shouted, raising his beer high, his face lit with relief.

The woman in the sundress let out a shaky "Phewww!" her hands clasped together. "I was seriously scared something happened to him," she said, her voice trembling with joy as she wiped her eyes.

The older man, grizzled and leaning on his cane, chuckled, his voice smug. "Well, I told you all he’d come back," he said, coughing proudly. "That hit wasn’t enough to take Zero down. Never is."

At the poolside villa, my friends—Mia, Tasha, Lisa, and John—lounged in the glowing water, their eyes fixed on the distant battle. Lisa, perched on the pool’s edge, sipped her drink, her blonde hair catching the moonlight as she tilted her head toward the noise.

"Damn, there’s some loud roars and cheers out there," she said, her voice tinged with excitement, a smile tugging at her lips. "Sounds like the whole island’s going wild."

John, floating in the pool, grinned and grabbed Mia from behind, pulling her close with a playful tug. "Zero must be doing something awesome, obviously," he said, his voice light as he splashed water. "Come here, baby girl."

Mia squealed, stumbling in the water as she laughed. "John, you fucker!" she said, splashing him back.

Back at the crater, Alaric’s red eyes narrowed, his voice cutting through the air, serious and cold.

"How are you still talking?" he asked, his tone edged with irritation as he cracked his knuckles, his red aura flaring brighter.

I shrugged, tilting my head down with a smirk, my black coat shifting as I leaned back casually. "Umm, well... your attacks don’t really hurt," I said, my voice light but taunting. "They’ve got a lot of pressure, sure, so I get knocked around easily. But, you know, I’m not overweight—got these lean muscles." I flexed my arm slightly, my dark aura pulsing faintly, my smirk widening as I baited him.

Alaric’s jaw tightened, his red eyes glinting with fury.

"Keep blabbering!" he growled, bending his knees as his red aura surged, tendrils of crimson energy curling around him like flames. "You’re dying here anyway!" With a *dash* of blinding speed, he launched himself toward me, his fist crackling with red energy, aimed straight for my chest.

*BOOM!* His fist smashed into the ground where I’d been standing, the impact shattering the concrete, sending debris flying in all directions. Dust exploded into the air, the ground trembling as the shockwave rippled outward, shaking palm trees and stirring the ocean’s waves.

"Huhh!?" Alaric’s eyes widened in shock, his fist buried in the broken ground, his red aura faltering for a moment. I was gone—vanished from the spot in a blur of motion, leaving nothing but dust in my wake.

The crowd on the beach gasped, their cheers cutting off into confused murmurs as they scanned the sky and ground. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Where’d Zero go?" a woman in a sundress asked, clutching her friend’s arm, her eyes darting around frantically.

Her friend, a man clutching a beer, squinted through the dust. "He was just there!" he said, his voice thick with shock. "Did he... disappear?"

A younger guy nearby, his phone raised to record, shook his head. "No way, Zero’s too fast for that alien," he said, his voice tinged with excitement. "He’s probably setting him up for something big!"