Good afternoon, my viewers, and the speed of uploading this chapter is sort of to make up for last year. It is my wish to publish the third part of the Raid Arc this month, but with studying I'm not really sure if I'll be able to follow through with it...
Anyway, hope you enjoy!
Back in Nagasaki's nuclear bunker, he watched in great delight as the Hero Association's forces swiftly dealt with the Monster Association's surface forces.
"This is going better than expected, even regarding casualties!" Nagasaki exclaimed as he continued to observe the course of the Raid, then held his tongue as he thought 'About casualties...since we are going to make sure our heroes are in top shape and getting stronger it wouldn't hurt to gather more heroes, especially out of the non-heroes who have participated as well...like that bodybuilder, perhaps able to enter S class with more combat training...if I'm holding an Hero Exam then I can throw in a duel with Metal Knight's robots for those that want to apply directly to S class...'
He shook his head and decided to plan another Hero Exam after the end of the Raid, instead deciding to focus on the next course of action.
"The heroes are already entering the monsters' base at their own volition, but it shouldn't be any trouble as long as they follow their roles. And about surface control..." Nagasaki pondered as he took a communicator and spoke "Commander? Tell the reserve teams to make their way to the designated areas and the stationed airforce to double their flights, especially now that the psychic-induced storm has ceased"
Nagasaki then put down the device and sighed as he said "Tatsumaki, why do you always have to show off like that? At least the property damage caused by that spectacle is completely negligible, but I hope you don't do something rash...like pulling the entire Monster Association's HQ out of the underground..."
X X X
As Darkshine walked in the dark, slightly humid caves along with his two teammates, he was looking forward to infiltrating the HQ of the Monster Association.
'Granted, with this kind of company, I don't think there'll be any fighting for me...' Darkshine thought sadly as he looked over to them. Flashy Flash was as stoic as ever and he was having trouble reading his emotions through his movements. Tornado on the other end, whose psychic aura served as a weak light source, was far easier to read.
"Ugh, where the hell are those vermin supposed to be!? For some reason I can't sense them!" the small espers suddenly exploded as she shook her head around, then said in a fit of exasperation "You know what? If something's dampening my sixth sense, I'll just blast the place apart! Brace yourselves, you behind me!"
A split second after her quick warning, Tornado fired off a blast of psychic energy which tore off and crumbled to dust many chunks of rocks for several meters.
After all subsided, the three went to look at the damage caused by Tornado's admittedly half-hearted attack. At first the makeshift hole seemed to have nothing out of the ordinary, but as the three S class heroes walked further in, they could see it connecting to another seemingly man-made tunnel.
"Blood stains are on the walls, seems like we found their nest" Tornado of Terror said in a satisfied tone, them she turned to her other two teammates and said in a serious tone "Alright, you two make sure to not get in my way. I don't care what that fool thinks, I don't need any help"
"Ok" Darkshine said simply while Flashy Flash merely nodded.
And thus the three walked into the bloody tunnel's entrance...and were immediately swallowed by the oppressive darkness that now invisibly permeated the Monster Association's HQ.
Darkshine panicked like never before as he was swallowed by the mysterious darkness and the oppressive feeling made him curl up in a ball and flex his muscles like he has only in the most dire of situations. He prepared himself to the best of his ability against what he thought was an attempt to compress him from all sides with some kind of magic...but he wasn't feeling any kind of pressure on his body, so he slowly stood up.
Before doing anything else, he checked his own body and found his muscles undamaged and, mostly importantly, shiny as ever. He sighed in relief as he said "Nothing seems to be wrong, though where did that send me?"
Now that he was looking around, Darkshine understood that he was somewhere else entirely, but still (perhaps) in the Monster Association's HQ. The environment around him was cavernous in nature with high temperatures as he could see pools and even rivers of lava in the distance, apparently the only sources of light in this place.
"Just like the Antlion Nest, the lair of the Monster Association extends very deeply...I better clear the whole area while I'm at it" Darkshine said to himself as he started walking around, but as soon as he stepped on a muddy patch of the cave floor an eyeless centipede rose up from the mud and, propelled forward by a pair of organic rockets on its sides, sailed through the air at high speed to attack Darkshine...only to die instantly as it crashed into his pectoral muscles, pincers snapping and cranium fracturing. The S class hero was expecting this, but the monster's detonation into a large ball of fire caught him off guard.
As the fiery explosion subsided, Darkshine was unharmed, save for a few embers lingering on his body, as he said "That was unexpected. Are they running experiments on monsters or something like that? I hope there's a really strong one, I could use a true warm-up before going against the Cadres" and not even a second later a whole bunch of explosive centipedes rose forth from all around him as they screeched loudly.
"Guess you'll have to do, but I still have to explore this place if there really is a powerful monster here" Darkshine said absent-mindedly, the Burst Centipedes crashing and subsequently detonating themselves into the S class hero's shiny muscles while he walked at a leisurely yet brisk pace.
X X X
Elsewhere, Atomic Samurai and Drive Knight were walking in the halls of the upper levels of the Monster Association's HQ, slashing at any monsters they came into contact.
As the samurai slashed into pieces a large, sword-wielding monster who claimed to have sold his for talents with the blade, he silently sheathed his prized weapon into the scabbard and frowned.
Drive Knight, who sensed the change of humor in his teammate, refrained from addressing it and instead surveyed the area, satisfied in finding no monsters alive. He liked to work alone, a characteristic of his that remained unchanged throughout his "life", especially after the series of disasters happened all those years ago.
"It stinks" Atomic Samurai suddenly said, stopping Drive Knight in his tracks "Not only our communicators are suddenly malfunctioning when it comes to displaying our current location on this place's map, but I feel like we're missing a lot of things"
Drive Knight was now slightly intrigued, but decided not to press on and start a conversation. They had a job to do, no matter what unforeseen events may happen or was on their minds.
Unfortunately for the android, things would go differently.
"Hey, I know you heard me. Since there are no monsters in our immediate vicinity, I think I can get some things out of the way" Atomic Samurai said as the android turned around, slightly more intrigued and forced to continue the conversation.
"What do you mean by that?" Drive Knight with genuine confusion, something that somewhat surprised him, and Atomic Samurai answered "I have a problem with you, acting so secretive all the time. You barely talk in meetings and have essentially no background history, not even where you live or what you were doing before joining the Hero Association"
Drive Knight tensed, knowing exactly where Atomic Samurai was going with this, but he wanted a certain confirmation and so he said "I don't see how not knowing such information would earn me your dislike. S class heroes do not normally share their secrets with one another, or are even that close together. I must ask for a clarification on how you exactly feel about me"
And Atomic Samurai was quick to answer "Of course, all of this is within the normal behavior of all other S class and I'm not one to suddenly start conflicts out of nowhere. This is where my suspicion of you cones from. Arguing and beefs are normal among us, Tornado and Flash argue with one another nearly every time they meet and you already know how Sweet Mask acts when he barges in meetings. So, seeing you tell Demon Cyborg that Metal Knight is his enemy during that time the Dark Matter Thieves attacked A City gives me a very strange feeling"
Drive Knight stood silent as Atomic Samurai continued "Normally I wouldn't think much of it, but my suspicion is fueled by the fact that I know very little about you. Now, almost every S class has a dark past with Puri Puri Prisoner being a rapist and Flashy Flash being an assassin in the past. And then there's you, who has seemingly no past and is looking to start infighting between a new S class hero and another very shady one. I want to make it clear to you that I also don't like Metal Knight, especially for what he did in Z City when the meteor was falling, but I'm not as suspicious about him because at the end of the day he's a human and, despite being very shady, at least he communicates with others. Unlike him, you were built by someone and are always on your own"
Drive Knight was still silent, but Atomic Samurai didn't seem to be finished yet and continued "If you were just some rogue AI or something like that having a beef with Metal Knight, that would be one thing. The situation however is not so simple. Back in my village in L City, where people trained with the blade since time immemorial, in very recent times the Council of Swordmasters had an interesting sub faction, to say the least. They called themselves the Cyber Duelists and used many different types of technological implants and other things like that to enhance their senses or physical abilities or even adding special effects to their slashes. Due to the traditional nature of the Council, their ways weren't liked at all, but one of their practices that were particularly despised was the use of mechanical limbs with an in-built AI...or something sounding like that"
THAT got Drive Knight's attention...and worry, so he spoke (or better yet mumbled) without thinking "Technology controlled by AI...fused with a biological being?"
Atomic Samurai was surprised by the sudden reaction of his teammate, but was content with it...in a good way.
So he continued "At first their way of getting these knickknacks was normal and especially legal, but as the years went by the members of the Cyber Duelists started becoming more...radical and sought those things on the black market, which led to disaster. A group of particularly enhanced Cyber Duelists, during a normal sparring session, were suddenly possessed by the AI in their implants and started attacking the more powerful and able swordsmen of the village, killing many people in the process. This got all of the Cyber Duelists' members, who by now were starting to act 'weird', exiled from the village and all records regarding them have been destroyed, so only a few select individuals are willing to talk about them. It doesn't end here thought. The very next day after their exile, near the village some hapless kinds found all of the members chopped into pieces with many bloody scripture, along with a particularly large one that said 'BEWARE OF THE ORGANIZATION'"
Drive Knight was speechless, even thought he perfectly knew about the event and even tracked them down in the night to kill them himself...only to find the augmented humans already dead.
Atomic Samurai, who was now visibly tired of talking, finished "The story doesn't end here, but I already made my point and I believe you know of this event. We already know from Hammerhead that the Organization has its hands deep in the black market, and one particular scripture stated that the Organization was everywhere...if it really is in the Hero Association, do you think an android without past would be the prime suspect?"
This was when Drive Knight decided to break his silence and speak up. He trusted no one enough to tell them the truth about himself, his mission and the hidden enemy of humanity, but now it was unavoidable. The only he had to figure out was how to begin.
"...Alright, I will come clean. The full picture is too complex to talk about it in this place, which may not even be secure from the Organization's gaze, but I will tell you this. I am not an enemy of humanity and I truly believe that I am a hero. I know of the Organization because I once belonged to it, but I managed to free myself from its clutches thanks to a...'friend' of mine. I have told Demon Cyborg that for two reasons, because I believe that Metal Knight is controlling the Organization and because Demon Cyborg is the way he is due to the rampage of a particularly powerful cyborg, who is held in one of Metal Knight's facilities. Lastly, the Organization itself doesn't have a human element, as AIs occupy all of the ranks" Drive Knight explained as exhaustively as he could without having the exposition be too complex. They still had a job to do, after all.
Saying that Atomic Samurai was stunned was putting it lightly. His approach was always direct and quick, so he wasn't one to delve in conspiracies all that much, if at all most of the time. So this revelations hit him hard, yet only strengthened his drive of avenging the fallen of that day, when he was only a child.
But the strongest feeling inside of him at the moment...was trust in this suspicious android before him. Atomic Samurai knew when someone was lying and Drive Knight's tone always sounded very human, so he was trusting his gut feeling.
"So that's what's going on all this time...it's much bigger than anyone thought..." the swordsman muttered as he unconsciously put his hand away from his katana's handle "At least I know now that you're a true hero...but I'm still not convinced by your theory on Metal Knight..."
"Ah, when I said that I will come clean I meant to tell you everything. The nature of the Organization, how it was born, it's full weaponry and its connections with Metal Knight...and president Nagasaki"
This line didn't hit Atomic Samurai as much as it should have, what with a lot of people being suspicious about the president. But now he wanted to form a connection with this enigmatic hero.
"Say, you're very good with that sword of yours, maybe I could impart you some of my skills with the blade, just so you'll have more of a fighting chance against this threat" Atomic Samurai started in an amicable tone, trying to being a bond with him by using his interests. It evidently worked as Drive Knight was looking for more ways to evolve and get stronger...but he also interested in swordsmanship, the only thing that could be called his hobby.
"Sure...after this Raid" Drive Knight tried, not too sure how to properly respond, but he evidently succeed as Atomic Samurai said "Ok then. You'll even get to spare with my disciples, GOD knows they need experience fighting opponents as flexible as you"
As the swordsman walked away with a pleased expression, a voice suddenly rang in his head 'My, Drive Knight, you're finally forming a friendship with someone. I'm so touched!'
Drive Knight was so surprised he would have fallen over if it wasn't for the fact that he could remotely control all of his joints. His heart would've stopped too, if he had one.
And so he answered in the only way he thought appropriate.
'Malathos, what the FUCK!?' he angrily and hastily typed the message, sending it the same way someone would throw a brick through their window.
Malware was taken aback by Drive Knight's uncharacteristic outburst and, going as far as ignoring that he called him the wrong name again, and tentatively said '...bad timing?'
'YES, fortunately with this body I can fully control my joints' Drive Knight typed, annoyance lingering in his mind, then typed again '...You heard everything, correct?'
'Yes, it's nice to see you making friends. The Organization isn't going to exist for long anyway, the Monster Association just bought it more time' Malware said and Drive Knight was confused, so he typed 'Why? I thought Operation Intelligence Defilement was supposed to still be a work in progress'
'Well, let's just say that the appearance of this strange quantum device just made me change my plans. Unfortunately my armies are not as strong as I hoped they'd be, but with the help of the Hero Association it should all go smoothly' Malware said and Drive Knight mentally sighed as he typed 'If that's so, then I'll tell Atomic Samurai that too, but I won't tell him your or Shinko's involvement with the Wastelanders. Just for you'
'Thanks, on my end we're about halfway through to get Gaia and all the signals of the S class are pretty far from us. Just as I predicted' Malware said with satisfaction and Drive Knight was about to type back a response when Atomic Samurai told him "Head's up, it seems we've got company!"
Not a second after he said that, the walls and floor a few ways away from the two heroes burst into showers of debris as a group of large monsters mindlessly droned towards them.
"Wait a minute, these are Antlion Brutes! And that tar on them..." Atomic Samurai said he glared daggers at the monsters and turned to Drive Knight as he said "Looks like Petrolic Wraith sent us a welcome party"
X X X
"Swimming" through the stone structure of the Monster Association's HQ, Puri Puri Prisoner had as his top priority finding his honnies and making sure they were fine.
At first he was grateful to Nagasaki for letting his honnies participating in the actual Raid, but after that mysterious blackness surrounded and whisked him away, Puri Puri Prisoner was now worried that his honnies would be lost without his guidance and fall to the monsters' traps.
When walking around the corridors and smashing into walls failed to bring him closer to them he decided to combine his recently acquired Vibrant Angel Style with those swimming lessons he took when he was just a kid.
This combination allowed Puri Puri Prisoner to dive into stone, a technique that made it extremely easy and fast to search around for monsters and his honnies, but Stone Diving was actually hunting his body in the long run. 'Stone Diving is great, I can find lovers more easily this way!' Puri Puri Prisoner thought, until he suddenly ran out of stone to pass through and dove into an hallway.
He landed squarely in the center and looked to his front, the sheer sight, horrifying him to the core. There in a bloody pile lay the slashed pieces of the inmates' corpses and those who still had some sort of face left showed utter horror before meeting their grisly demise.
And in front of it stood the culprit. A tall bipedal cap was inspecting his bloodied claws and then turned to Puri Puri Prisoner as he said "That was...slightly entertaining. I hope you'll last longer than them"
"YOU..." Puri Puri Prisoner said with utter hatred in his voice and charged Nyan with an outstretched fist...that the feline near-effortlessly dodged as he passed the S class hero.
At first nothing happened, but then Puri Puri Prisoner grunted in pain as a large slash appeared on his chest. The S class hero however seemed unperturbed and turned around to attack Nyan.
A similar result happened as a slash mark appeared on his left side, but this time Puri Puri Prisoner was able to track Nyan's movements and sent a punch his way. the feline Dragon level monster however turned his body in some sort of semi-liquid state and angled his body out of the punch's way, which created a large crater on the wall, then slashed at Puri Puri Prisoner's face, which made him recoil but not fall.
The fight dragged on in a similar fashion for 15 more minutes as the S class hero kept taking hits while Nyan had yet to receive any kind of damage.
'Damn it, I can't land a hit on him! Though perhaps Angel Hug could work against this monster...Even though I am the weakest S class, I will keep carrying on the hope of everyone and try this strategy out!' Puri thought as his will hardened, with the biology of his body seemingly worked to support it.
"This is getting annoying, he doesn't seem to be breaking any time soon..." Nyan mumbled, but as sonno as he slashed Puri Puri Prisoner for what seemed to be the 30th time, the S class hero's body swelled and not only his muscles became slightly larger, but out of his skin thick hair began to grow in the shape of natural armor.
"My angelic plume..." Puri Puri Prisoner said in bated breath as he stared at his new transformation, while Nyan recoiled, shuddering, and thought to himself 'How did he do that?!...Can all humans do this'
Nyan was too engrossed in his thoughts to notice the hero charging at him and when he did it was too late. "Angel Hug!" Puri Puri Prisoner bellowed as he trapped the feline monster in a deathly embrace. But as the vice grip became ever more painful he wasn't feeling absolute hatred for the toy that didn't know its place.
He felt primal fear, fueled by his memories of before he used to be a monster and was just a common, if not slightly chonky, house cat.
To Puri Puri Prisoner's surprise the Dragon level threat easily slipped out of his Angel Hug...and ran away like hell. The S class hero slowly turned to the fleeing monster, realization hitting him, and shouted "So you flee from love...then as a hero I, Puri Puri Prisoner, will show the positive side of LOVE!"
And thus the race for the ages started.
X X X
Speeding into the large yet claustrophobic rooms, filled with vats and tables of all kinds of sizes, Sweet Mask was on a rampage as he destroyed anything and anyone that entered his sight.
'So this is where the Monster Cells are processed...I can't allow such technology to be passed down in the future!' Sweet Mask thought as he jumped high in the air and dived into a large vat, causing it to blow up. As flames and smoke spread to the rest of the room, the hero ran out into a corridor and killed the three mutated scientists that were coming to see what was going on.
"Amazing, I didn't think humans could turn into such powerful monsters..." a voice spoke from below the hero, causing him to turn to the source with a look of pure disgust. The speaker was a severed head of one of the scientists, a blocky thing with a pristine bolt sticking from the left side of his head and and his upper right grey-colored portion stitched together.
"What are you talking about? I am completely human" Sweet Mask said calmly, then walked out of the corridor and raised the severed head to match his eye-level "Now tell me, was that all the Monster Association had as equipment?"
"You destroyed all fifteen of the vats that we used to harvest and process Monster Cells, including the containment room with all those we made beforehand. All of the Mad Science Division has also been wiped out..." the scientists said with a monotone voice, then his tone became uncertain "...except for the head researcher"
Sweet Mask became slightly annoyed at the prospect of playing hide and seek with an intelligent psychopathic monster and ordered "Tell me where to find this head researcher"
The scientist was about to speak but his head got obliterated by a thin black projectile, prompting Sweet Mask to turn with the attacker with an unamused expression, then he was slightly surprised to see who actually fired the shot. In front of him stood none other than what was appeared to be Petrolic Wraith.
"Oh, you're here. Prepare to receive a justice overdue for far too long!" Sweet Mask bellowed with gusto as he ran at the monster, only for it to scoot away at unbelievable speed. This did not deter the idol hero as he made chase, his speed enough to be hot on Petrolic Wraith's heels yet not enough to actually catch up to him.
The two went in a long corridor, but at the point where a turn had to be made in order to proceed, Petrolic Wraith jumped into the wall and seeped through it almost instantaneously. Sweet Mask, in order not to lose it, tore through the thick wall and when he exited from the other side he saw that Petrolic Wraith was just a tad farther away.
The chase continued for a few more dozens of minutes and at every intersection the monster kept going farther away. Until Sweet Mask was unable to keep it in his line of sight.
This greatly angered the idol hero, who then stopped running and saw that the path Petrolic Wraith forced him to take lead to a dead end. Sweet Mask was even angrier, until he heard a faint beeping noise. Then he realized what that meant.
He turned around to run away, but the corridor was already ablaze with dozens of explosions, which injured but most importantly greatly disoriented Sweet Mask as he fell into the chasm along with the surviving debris.
Despite his dazed state, the hero was able to destroy any debris that were close to bumping into him and managed to land on his feet. He looked above, ready to make his way back up, but he noticed that the way was mysteriously blocked. Scoffing, Sweet Mask decided to proceed forward as he thought 'Fine then, monster, I'll go along with your show. No matter what you throw at me, I'll gracefully dispose of it'
He began walking around to examine where he ended up, a seemingly infinite half-lit hallway, with many dust clouds shuffling about. Sweet Mask thought nothing of it, but he noticed that the daze his mind was in didn't seem to go away. If anything, a small part of him thought, it was slowly increasing.
Sweet Mask kept walking, then turned to his right as he thought he heard something, and was surprised to see that there was a mirror there. Strangely enough, Sweet Mask wasn't as surprised as he should have been that a mirror randomly materialized at his side without him noticing, and chose to admire his looks instead.
But then he shook his head, remembering why he ended up there in the first place. The sense of trance increased but he couldn't back down now.
The noise of a pebble hitting the floor rang out in the hallway and Sweet Mask turned to his left, finding another mysterious mirror. He looked into it and saw his familiar looks, but something was wrong about what he was seeing. At first his reflection looked completely normal, but as he focused on certain parts he could notice irregularities such as fabric being slightly stretched or poking outward.
And of course, the soft wrinkles on his face...or at least what looked to be that.
Sweet Mask kept walking, but now he definitely noticed that it was harder for him to breathe and his vision was getting cloudy. However the worst was happening in his mind, as the idol hero found it harder and harder to reign in his feelings of bloodlust.
'Shit, what is happening to me? Normally it's not this hard to control myself!' Sweet Mask angrily thought and proceeded into the hallway at full speed, his only goal in mind being escape.
As he ran, his body unconsciously stopped at the low sound of a drawn out screech, but Sweet Mask closed his eyes and refused to turn around, already knowing what was about to happen. But he couldn't run away from this. He had his pride as a hero and, no matter what, he had to see this through.
He opened his eyes, turned around and he found a mirror which horrified him with the reflection it was showing. It was Sweet Mask, that for sure, but his body was disfigured and grotesque.
His skin was stony, of a dark purple color sporting small knife-shaped spikes and his hair were greasy and unkept. His body was now bloated and inconsistent with its proportion...and his face was asymmetrical with a drawn out, double chin.
Sweet Mask recoiled in horror at the sight, but his heightening aggression allowed him to break through his mental block and strike the mirror, soundlessly shattering and gradually fading into nothingness.
"Turn around, I want to see how you truly look" a rough nasal voice addressed him and Sweet Mask turned around, but as he did so his mental block returned in full force and with a deep vengeance.
Looming over him was none other than Fuher Ugly, but he wasn't smiling as he instead wore an uncharacteristically stoic expression.
"Look at you, breaking apart in all senses of the word. I can't believe that I used to be envious of you" Fuher Ugly said with what seemed to be disgust, but his tone was getting increasingly hollow as he continued "When Milotanus proclaimed that you were an Ugmon like us I thought it was a load of bullshit. We all hated you for many different reasons, so I chalked it up to him theorycrafting. Guess I was the one wrong after all"
Fuher Ugly laughed, something which sounded at least genuine, and continued on "Listen, since I'm actually feeling somewhat bad for you and your mind is probably going to cease to function as you want it to, I'll tell you this. The clouds of dust around the hallway are actually clumps of a neurotoxin that make human-turned monsters reveal their true identity and succumb to their base instincts. I'll go since there are many other S class heroes that need a beating in this place, but at least it'll be fun to watch tear apart your former teammates"
Fuher Ugly was about to turn away when Sweet Mask produced an inhuman roar and his body began mutating rapidly, turning in a monstrosity not too dissimilar from what the last mirror showed. 'What? Petrolic Wraith didn't tell me the neurotoxin would make him transform this quickly!' Fuher Ugly thought in panic as he tried to run away, but the monsterized Sweet Mask didn't let him and gave the Ugmon a hail of punches, making him stop thinking altogether.
He then roared and jumped to the ceiling, breaking through it as he started to make his way upwards. His mind was devoid of pretty much anything that described him as a human, replaced with blinding white rage and deep red bloodlust.
X X X
Maiko and Catfish Man were running through the dark damp caves. They found themselves together when they were separated by that oppressive darkness, but their second attempt at escape was somehow successful.
"Still, honey, shouldn't we wait for Flake Mage, Manako and Raptora?" Maiko said with worry in her voice as she kept running. Catfish Man stopped at that, and turned to her with a sad but otherwise stoic expression and said "I know they are our friends had helped out with the plan, but it's far too dangerous to head back and search for them. Besides this is what Flake Mage would have wanted anyway"
Maiko nodded sadly, then made a small smile at her lover "So, to E City?"
"To E City" Catfish Man repeated, then added "but travelling there will take a few days"
And so the two monsters escaped the Monster Association's HQ through sheer luck.
X X X
"You know, right now I'm feeling a little bit better" Flake Mage said suddenly from Shinko's back, who then said "Oh really? Good! If we meet up with the Wastelanders, I'll drop you to them by the way"
"Oh really? That's great!" the ice mage said enthusiastically, but then became confused as he asked "But then how are you going to get around this place?"
Shinko stopped and turned to him, taking out his communicator and pressed a small button on its left side. Immediately a detailed hologram erupted from the device's backside, which made Flake Mage gasp and then confused again.
"Wait, if you have a map why did you ask for my help as a guide?" the small monster asked, to which Shinko replied "Taking it in and out every time I need to see where should I go would be annoying"
Flake Mage nodded, slightly dumbfounded at the answer Shinko gave him, then the hero changed the subject "So, where's the vault? Are we close to it?"
"We passed it a minute ago" Flake Mage replied as he got back on Shinko and the hero ran back to the way they came. A few seconds later and the two were now in front of the vault large steel door.
Shinko easily tore through it and created an opening large enough for the two to easily pass through. The hero was focused on his mission yet he couldn't help but gawk at the size and riches of the vault.
"Just how did the Monster Association acquire so much wealth!?" Shinko shouted as he stood dumbfounded in front of golden statues and large cubes of cash neatly lined in sections dedicated to them. Flake Mage, who was behind him, shrugged and said "Beats me, I don't really know how the Monster Association, but I DO know that there are large mining operations deep in the base. Apparently there are many rich veins of gold there or something. I've never really been there"
As the ice mage shuddered at the memories in the bowels of the HQ, Shinko turned to a particularly large and fortified steel door at the end of the vault. He easily tore it off its hinges and threw its halves in opposite directions.
The room of Evil Natural Water was now open.
Shinko strode right with Flake Mage outside, peeking at the ensuing confrontation. Shinko put himself in a position as he slowly threw back his fist, putting all of his back into it, then he immediately punched.
The speed of the attack was so that Flake Mage saw the two staring off each other and in the next second Shinko's body stretched and Evil Natural Water a large unmoving puddle of water, its eyes nowhere to be seen and its tank replaced by a gaping hole in the wall.
"Damn it, it didn't work" Shinko said with a frustrated tone and Flake Mage, very confused by that, exclaimed with an incredulous tone "Wait what? You just obliterated it!"
Shinko turned to Flake Mage and clarified the source of his discontent "...I have to fight Garou at the end of the Raid, and I think that the Inner Storm isn't enough to combat him. I need a technique that is absolutely devastating offensively and aside from the Cyclone Punch I thought that maybe, if I moved my fist fast enough, I could create some sort of heat blast. But I think it's much harder than I thought..."
Flake Mage was positively terrified at the prospect of such a move, so he stood there silent and frozen in terror. Shinko caught on his drastic change in humor and decided to change the subject as he said "Well, at least the Cadre's defeated for good, so let's go to the next one"
Flake Mage calmed down but remained silent anyway as he once more climbed on Shinko's back.
The two exited the vault and resumed their marathon across the underground complex.
"So, where do you think the next Cadre would be?" Shinko asked to his guide, who answered unsure "Well...I was going to say Gums since his lair is nearby, but we already killed him. Food Tub suddenly disappeared a few days ago and Fuher Ugly is too deep. Maybe DO-S is around here-" but something stopped him.
It was a faint digging sound, slowly getting louder and louder, but it was not that which caused Flake Mage to freeze. The sound only heralded the pure aura of murder that seemed to encompass everything. Shinko's running also came to a stop, to Flake Mage's steadily growing horror.
In the hero's mind, he had met so many different types of monsters, from the simple beasts and random misfits to the great masterminds and sadist torturers. But this was something else entirely. Something so primal and deep that in turn awakened murderous instincts that Shinko didn't know he had.
As the sound got louder and the auras stronger, it was too much for Flake Mage and so he jumped from the hero's back and ran for his life.
And the timing couldn't have been better, as a second later the wall to their left burst into clouds of dust and the monster came forth. In that moment Shinko saw the ugliest, most horrifying monster he had ever seen, the aura that accompanied him filling the young hero with dread he felt very few times...however Shinko reached the heights of power he currently stands on through many hardship, all of which broke his body and mind, only for them to come back stronger each time.
Shinko would not yield to such a monstrosity and the effort he meda to restart his body and mind, blocked by oppressive aura, fully awakened something within the hero.
His body's biology, already evolved beyond most human limits, began to evolve once more.
Flake Mage watched the ensuing fight and even though it actually lasted a split second, it seemed much longer than that.
The monster raised his huge clawed hands to deal a powerful blow, exposing his stony chest covered in bloated muscles.
Shinko, whose entire body was pulsating with each and every one of its veins and fibers bulging, brought back his fist in a wide swing, putting all of his back...no, seemingly all of his muscles into the attack.
As the monster began bringing down his hands in a crushing blow, Shinko swung.
The fist didn't connect with the monster's body, but it didn't need to. The heat blast released by the attack vaporized most of the monster's body, with his lower half glowing white and quickly melting in a puddle. The beam of hellish energy carried on, vaporizing flesh, stone and metal as it diagonally drilled upward at a speed greater than sound.
Due to the pressure from the fist, the heat didn't melt the rest of the nearby surfaces of the corridor, but Shinko's form was emitting steam...though by the fact his boxers were perfectly intact, the heat didn't seem to be the cause.
Flake Mage was stunned at the display of power, but he was even more stunned now that he could see Shinko more clearly.
His muscles were definitely more toned than before and most of all noticeably bigger, while his eyes became sharper and his hair fluffier.
As the Hero stood there, looking at his attack's aftermath with eyes seemingly lost in the void, Flake Mage tentatively said "Shinko...are you alright?" which snapped the hero from his trance.
Shinko turned to look at him with worried eyes as he asked "Are you alright!?" and when the monster nodded the hero moved closer to him, but Flake Mage stopped him as he said with clear panic in his voice "Oh no, you're not coming near me looking like THAT"
Shinko was confused, then looked at his body and was very surprised to see these changes. 'What...happened to me?' Shinko thought as he passed a hand on his body, feeling it warmer and stronger, but then shook his head.
He still had many things to do.
Shinko then quickly spun around for a few seconds, creating a localized tornado, and after stopping his body wasn't emitting clouds of steam anymore.
This made Flake Mage slowly get closer to the hero and, glad that he wasn't melting (and because Shinko was starting to lose his patience), climbed back on his back, feeling that the hero's skin had indeed become warmer thicker but also softer at the same time.
And so the two continued on, to the next opponent.
X X X
Darkshine was navigating yet another shallow lava river as the extremely hot liquid was slightly past ankles, failing to even dent his skin or making the S class hero feel any pain. 'So this is extent of my body's durability...' Darkshine thought to himself. He very well knew that there was next to no being that could come close to harm him, but he still marveled at this discovery.
Then Darkshine stepped on something soft and crunchy, prompting a large bright orange spider to rise to the river's surface. The Lava Spider breathed a cone of fire at the S class hero, who tanked the attack with no damage and slapped the monster into oblivion.
He sighed as he walked until he reached the other side of the river. He was sort of looking forward to fight the monsters of this unknown place, but they were all fire-themed monsters which couldn't have been above Tiger level threat. Worse still, there was no powerful monster lording over them, so he wasted time that could've been used to search the Cadres.
Darkshine was now out of the lava river and climbed up several stone pillars, occasionally jumping to crawl onto walls and rising towards what he thought was a way out of that underground area. He was proved right as he reached into a moderately-lit corridor where the rough cave environment gave way to stone bricks.
Darkshine now walked at a brisk pace, running through walls and monsters alike as he explored the new place for any strong or important targets, when he suddenly heard a cry of help.
Being a hero, Darkshine immediately went after the feminine voice with the intent of saving her as he thought 'So other people aside from Waganma have been taken hostage by the Monster Association!...Though it could also be a trap...but my muscles are impenetrable, so there isn't any to worry about!'
As he went closer and closer to the voice, he clearly heard the girl shout "Please, stop! I just want to go back to my friends!" and then a deeper rougher voice say "Stop running! He said that you should remain in your cell!"
Upon hearing this, Darkshine knew he had to act quickly and so he charged forward, piercing several walls at high speed and creating shockwaves which destroyed more. He was now in the center of a large ruined hallway and noticed splatters of blood in front of him. Darkshine panicked but then calmed when he was the chitinous flesh and bug-like arms it was coming from.
"Thanks, I really thought I would be done for..." a small feminine voice addressed Darkshine, who turned to find that the speaker was a small monster, one he somewhat knew. She had green fur, floppy ears and eyes of different colors, the left one red and the right one blue.
"You're Darkshine...right?" Gaia said almost breathlessly and the S class hero partly shared her surprise. Out of all the monsters in here, she was the last one he thought that he would encounter, but something that Darkshine was sure of was that the possibility of her working with the Monster Association was out of the question.
"So they've captured you too?" Darkshine asked and Gaia nodded gravely, then she said "Yes, the one that kidnapped me was a cat-like monster named Nyan, while my captor was a human calling himself Homeless Emperor"
Darkshine was familiar with the Dragon level monsters and their abilities, so he said "Well, then I've got my next opponents!" which prompted Gaia to panic as she said "Are you sure? Homeless Emperor is much more nimble than he looks and his energy attacks are impossible to resist against!"
Darkshine then looked at her and said "It's been some time since we last saw each other and you were just a child, so I won't hold your judgment error against you. Know however that my muscles are impenetrable and that no opponent has ever broke through my defenses!"
He put himself in a pose as he flexed his muscles, something he did that always seemed to calm people down, and Gaia's mind went blank for a few seconds. Then she shook her head and said "In that case I'll come with you. If I concentrate enough I can locate the life force of living beings, and Dragon levels are very easy to track down for me"
It was Darkshine's turn to be worried about her, but Gaia quickly said "Don't worry about me, Homeless Emperor won't harm me. Apparently he needs me for something..."
The S class hero's gaze hardened as he said "If he plans to use you for some nefarious plan, it's up to me to put a stop to it" and at that Gaia climbed on his shoulder as she said confidently "Then let me lead the way!"
Thus the two set off to find and defeat Homeless Emperor.
X X X
"We're halfway through, just a little more and we'll be on our way out of here!" Monoculor shouted to the rest of the team as, far away from the group, Ariol sped through a horde of raving mercenaries and a dominatrix seemingly controlling them. They were all torn apart by the rough wind blades that always followed his path.
At Monoculor's declaration the Wastelanders cheered, all but one that is. Sharp Stripe was angry as she said "Wait, what about Flake Mage, Catfish Man and Maiko?! We were supposed to save them!"
Monoculor tried to reason with the new members as he said "That was our initial plan, but the explosions and crashing sounds have only gotten louder. I fear that by the time we go and search for your friends, we'll have a S class hero on our backs. None of us can deal with that"
Sandscale Dragon looked he wanted to say something, but he decided to keep quiet for the time being, then Malware addressed the group's leader as he said "Monoculor, I checked the heroes' locations once more, then compared then to Gaia's position. It seems they still are far enough from us, but Gaia is currently with the S class hero Superalloy Darkshine. The only one skilled enough to rescue her would be Hulkaber with his new teletransportation technique, then we must quickly evacuate to avoid the human's rampage"
Monoculor and everyone else, apart from Ariol who was long gone, stared at the physical artificial intelligence in disbelief.
Then a secret steel door a few ways ahead of them suddenly revealed itself as two monsters ran past it and then closed it, using their bodies as added weight to keep the door that way.
"I...think...we lost it" Raptora said with heavy breathing as bloody wounds adorned her toned and tired body, while Manako below her screamed "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT THING!?"
Then the two she-monsters heard a series of searing explosions coming from behind the door and, as their eyes widened, Raptora shouted "Run for it!" as she grabbed Manako and ran away from the door, in the direction of the Wastelanders the two monsters noticed just now.
The Wastelanders, Sharp Stripe especially, braced for what they thought were hostiles, until the secret steel door along with the surrounding concrete wall was torn by two large black clawed hands.
The monster that was now in front of the group was huge, towering even over Sandscale Dragon, with a bulky body encased in black armor similar to a carapace and a gas mask covering its face.
"Shit, I'll handle this! You all run for it!" Sandscale Dragon bellowed as he charged the hulking monstrosity with blades at the ready while the others, both Wastelanders and the other two, escaped far away.
Now that they were at the start of the large hallway, with the sounds of fighting echoing from far away, the two parties were staring each other down suspiciously. Raptora and Manako were trying to look as unthreatening as possible while the Wastelanders, and Sharp Stripe especially, were ready for a confrontation.
"Wait, we're not your enemies!" Manako managed to squeak out and this gave Raptora the drive to say "Yeah! We're not Monster Association goons anymore! We just want to get to E City!"
This intrigued the other Wastelanders and utterly surprised Sharp Stripe, who thought that Raptora seriously couldn't ally herself with monsters she considered "weak"
"W-well, I don't trust you, you'll have to give me some proof!" Sharp Stripe still managed to say as she jabbed a finger at the larger monster. If Raptora was hurt by such a statement, then she didn't show it as she said "I stopped Flake Mage from going around the place like crazy and piss off the wrong monsters and offered my help in his escape plan"
This seemed to get Sharp Stripe to think, even she didn't trust her former friend fully, and at this point Monoculor intervened "It's clear that you too are not hostile, so you can come along. But don't get too far from us or start unnecessary fights"
The two monsters nodded and then they all saw Sandscale Dragon come back covered in blood, his shell cracked and tail severed. "That monster was tough. One of the hardest fights I ever fought, it's now cut into pieces. Though I've also got bad news, in the fight I had to bury the thing with the ceiling so I could hit the face without having to constantly dodge its hands" the Demon-level monster explained, then Belphomet said in a fit of panic "B-but Sandscale! You look really hurt!"
Sandscale Dragon laughed at that and said "Oh don't worry about it, I can still fight! Besides, these injuries will heal up in about a week"
"So we have to search another way to get to Gaia..." Monoculor mused and Hulkaber added "Not to mention that Ariol is now separated from us" to which the cyclop grunted in agreement.
"Oh, don't worry about him, almost no monster has the speed and resilience to get near the guy without him noticing" Sandscale Dragon reassured them, to which Monoculor said "except Dragon-level monsters and S class heroes..." but Malware reassured the cyclop as he said "This happened in many of my simulations and I can surely say that he will not encounter any of them"
While Monoculor kept talking with Malware, Sandscale Dragon turned to look at the two she-monsters and said "Well, looks like we've got some new travelling companions"
Manako and Raptora nodded, the former doing so stiffly, but the latter thought 'I didn't think the Wastelanders would show up, maybe if the rumors about them not accepting human-turned monsters aren't true after all...I can join them and be with Sharp Stripe together!'
As the group assembled once more, they set off looking for an alternative path.
X X X
Black Sperm was bored out of his mind as he walked down the hallway with the Necroanter at his side and Crystal Ripper behind. Black Sperm' s mood was rather sour, not only because he wasn't sure just what the hell was going on with the only being he could reasonably call a friend, but also because he hadn't found any S class heroes to fight since the start of their descent into the HQ.
"So, can you pick up the locations of the heroes with those powers of yours?" Black Sperm tentatively asked the Necroanter, hoping he wouldn't have an episode like last time. The antlion was unusually silent as his eyes seemed to be brimming with unknown energy, then the sound of his friend's voice snapped him out of his trance.
"I...don't know. I think I can see with them, but my mind start to feel like jelly after a few seconds. However I can feel their presence...and I believe that two of them are coming towards our position" the Necroanter said quietly. His breathing was low and raspy, his posture hunched and his chitinous skin cracked and slightly disintegrating with each movement of his body, but the crystals in it seemed to emit a bright fuchsia light. His companion decided that staring at them too long was somehow bad for his sanity, so he wordlessly turned his back to him.
Black Sperm was getting worried now as he thought 'Damn it, at this rate he's going to be dead weight in a fight!...More than he already was beforehand anyway. He looks like he's ready to drop dead any moment, so I should stuff him somewhere so he doesn't get in the way'
With a plan formed in his mind Black Sperm said "Say, maybe it's for the best for you to go and regroup with someone else? You don't look like you're ready to fight the S class"
The Necroanter was saddened by this, but nodded anyway as he said "Alright then, I'll return to my lab and see if I can come up with any more breakthroughs-" but was interrupted by a rumbling sound, which got closer and closer to them.
Not a second too late, two S class heroes burst out of the wall a few ways away from them. The heroes in question were none other than Atomic Samurai and Drive Knight.
The two parties looked at each other for a second and immediately sprung into action, but the heroes were faster. The samurai dashed and slashed at Black Sperm, but to the surprise of the two monsters, his body wasn't cut into pieces.
It was utterly obliterated, the remaining pieces too small to grow into new bodies.
"Ah! My new technique is perfect to take of care of these splitting bastards" Atomic Samurai said proudly, but then slightly grimaced as he briefly looked at his wrist and thought 'Still, I haven't perfected the Focused Atomic Slash yet...'
Meanwhile Drive Knight closed in on the Necroanter, who in panic sent Crystal Ripper up front and hid behind him, so he could concentrate long enough to cast a spell...if only his mind didn't feel so heavy nowadays.
But to the monster's shock Drive Knight's box disassembled itself and reassembled around the android, changing his right arm in a futuristic handle that generated a long energy blade. The weapon slashed apart both Crystal Ripper and the Necroanter, the latter's body disintegrating into dust and the former's body exploding in a shower of pink energy and crystal shards, all swiftly avoided by Drive Knight.
X X X
A split second after Necroanter died, he thought death by a dozen slashes would feel painful, but the feeling of having his physical body destroyed was somehow liberating. Gone were the ever-present pains and head-splitting headaches, replaced instead with a welcomed feeling of numbness and tranquility.
Physical tranquility, ironically, because now the Necroanter's consciousness was worried about Black Sperm's fate. 'Now that I don't feel like vomiting every time I move my head, I got to help Black Sperm!' the ethereal monster thought as his usual speech pattern returned in full force 'But how? Perhaps I can try to gather power...but from where?' he then asked himself.
As a test, the Necroanter tried gathering power from his own soul, something he was able to do with great ease, which made him suspicious. Now he tried to see what was going on with his soul, and as he tap into it his surprise only grew.
What was supposed to be his soul, instead of an orb the size of an average adult human, was actually much, much larger in size than it should normally be. A gigantic mass of swirling pink and fuchsia energy, melding together as it moved like an ocean.
It was the brightest light in the place around him, an endless void of still darkness traversed by many tendrils of blue energy, all protruding from a source far in the distance.
'...What? This is just impossible, how did I amass so much power in such little time!?' the Necroanter thought to himself as he still couldn't believe at what he was seeing, then tried to think about this rationally 'Wait, was this what my research was leading up to?...It may actually make sense. The mages of ancient times were said to be able to move mountains and even create whole islands with their power. Around that same time, jamming magically-charged things in your body was a standard practice among mages...which certainly explains why they were so weak physically...but then it got banned due to the will of GOD, if the legends are to be believed'
The Necroanter then tried to make sense out of his findings 'So the reason I became so powerful is because the gems kept reacting to each other and my soul at the same time, creating a chain reaction that destabilized my body and mind...if what Black Sperm told me about my episode yesterday was anything to go by. I also went a bit crazy with putting gems into my body, which explains why my rise of power is as great as it is'
The Necroanter nodded to himself and then began the second order of business, figuring out where he was. After looking around for a bit he concluded rather hurriedly that this way the Realm Beyond.
'Didn't think this place would be made of eternal darkness, I thought it would be more colorful...' the Necroanter thought, then shook his head 'Here my power manifests in its entirety, but the moment I return to the Physical Realm my strength will only be a fraction. I should try to take as much of my power as possible, so I don't end up being dead weight and sent here again'
'OK! Here goes nothing!' the Necroanter thought as he began concentrating his energy and tearing his way back into the Physical Realm, guided only by his desire to aid his friend more than actual guidelines on how to achieve such a goal.
X X X
Back in the Monster Association's HQ, only thirty seconds had passed after the S class heroes eliminated the monsters.
Atomic Samurai sighed as he said "Not gonna lie, I thought that Black Sperm would have some sort of back-up" and Drive Knight replied "He has one, it's right below us"
The android used his metallic box to change form once more, becoming bulkier and clad in golden armor. As he completed his transformation, he pointed both of his upper limbs to the floor and folded his forearms to reveal two large energy cannons, getting ready to roast the monster alive as their roaring steadily became louder.
But a sudden energy reading made him immediately turn around and redirect his attack on the new foe.
It looked like a swirling mass of pink and fuchsia mist with an orb seemingly at its center, where all the ethereal tendrils started. Not the strangest being he had witnessed, but its energy readings were the highest Drive Knight (and even Malathos) had ever seen. 'What the hell is that thing? I studied all of the monsters of this place, in any place they might have hidden themselves! Could this be their secret weapon!?' Drive Knight thought in panic as his sensors flared into action.
Both heroes were briefly stunned at the sudden appearance of the mysterious being, but they were quick in getting their bearings back and counterattacking. Unfortunately the monsters were even faster.
It all happened in a split second.
The full body of Black Sperm broke through the floor and smashed a large fist into Atomic Samurai, who couldn't retaliate with his Focused Atomic Slash and instead settled with a normal one, cutting the monster into many pieces.
Meanwhile Drive Knight flared his armor to enhance his defenses against the energy attack he knew the being was preparing, but when a twinkle signaled that it was about to fire the potency of the attack completely caught him off guard. The diagonal beam enveloped both Drive Knight and Black Sperm in a blinding radiance.
Atomic Samurai couldn't believe what just happened, but as the beam dissipated the feeling got worse.
Drive Knight was nowhere to be seen, vaporized by the magical laser beam, but all of the Black Sperm bodies were completely unharmed and sitting in the smoldering wreckage that was once the floor, very confused as well by the turn of events.
As they looked first at the ethereal being and then at Atomic Samurai, that confusion turned into cruel bloodlust.
But that didn't deter the hero in the slightest as he gripped his blade, his desire to avenge Drive Knight and his pride as an S class hero not letting him.
But as he charged at the monstrous crowd with the intent of using his Focused Atomic Slash until he physically couldn't anymore, something else happened.
A great quake shook the Monster Association's HQ, tremors that could be felt anywhere in the Ghost Town.
Atomic Samurai and Black Sperm were undeterred by this, but the ethereal being was apparently alarmed by whatever caused it. Thus it enveloped the group of monsters with its mass and seemingly teleported away.
Dissapointed and angry, Atomic Samurai began tracking the two down, wherever they were.
X X X
All of the Black Sperm were salty. It was going so well when the Necroanter (or at least what they believed was the Necroanter) seemingly came back from the dead and blasted that robot to oblivion. They even got to punch that annoying samurai in the face, the action so satisfying that the combined consciousness of Black Sperm thought of a new name for that hero.
Atomic Sandbag.
'Perfect' he thought, then they all looked at the ethereal being as he said "Hey! Why did you take us away from that Atomic Sandbag!? We were literally seconds away from winning that fight!"
The Necroanter turned in swirls of sparkling mist and put his thoughts into sound "A being of unimaginable power has revealed itself in the base, its affiliation seemingly with the Hero Association. I have to conserve my power, for I do not know how long I can remain in this realm" then he continued "You must merge all of your cells into Platinum Sperm at once if we'll have any chances of defeating it"
The consciousness of Black Sperm was dumbfounded at how was the Necroanter able to find out about that ability of his, but he recollected himself fairly quickly at the tone of his undead friend.
Thus he began the process of merging.
X X X
Saitama now stood in a huge, destroyed hallway covered in debris and rubble, his fist smoking and the unconscious body of a huge black dog with six eyes a few meters away from him.
'Well, now that dog's taken care of, I can go look for whoever's in charge here. Whoever they are, they're getting a stern complaining from me' Saitama thought as he looked at the end of the hallway, then suddenly felt two claws impact against the back of his head, followed by a yelp and a swooshing sound.
Saitama, annoyed by the sneak attack, turned around and punched the ground, creating a huge crater. Sure that whatever hit by his fist was now dead and with a smoking head, Saitama continued on, but threw a glance at the unconscious dog.
Although it was still very well alive after Saitama's normal punch (something he noted with a certain anticipation), he didn't attack him as soon as he showed up. This, in the hero's head, meant that this one wasn't a monster.
Saitama then continued on to find the leader of the Monster Association.
X X X
In the deep, damp caves of the Monster Association, Petrolic Wraith was overlooking various black creatures arrange in a straight line, large things with many small bug-like limbs walking as their bloated backs carried many sacks which contained precious biological data. He then briefly shifted his vision to look at the Realm Beyond, right at the point where the cavernous exit was supposed to be. A thin blue film of particles covered the entire surface like a cocoon, except for the gaping hole right where his caravans were going through.
'Perfect' Petrolic Wraith thought as he looked at the spot for a few more seconds, just to check that it wasn't in the process of being patched. He then deactivate his vision and sat down to reminisce about his experience at the Monster Association.
Overall, it was pleasant and rich as he got to see (and study) many different types of monsters. His run-in with Garou was especially entertaining and he held great interest in seeing how this side project of his will turn out.
Though, if Petrolic Wraith really had to be honest, interacting with the leadership was troublesome and annoying. 'If I ever plan to work with someone else, I have to make sure that they know their place. Beneath me' Petrolic Wraith thought bitterly as he recalled his conversations with Psykos through that hideous flesh puppet. But the worst thing about his experience was the Raid, which he found rather disappointing.
Most Dragon level monsters didn't have much time to truly show off their strengths and skills, like Rover who was defeated by this 'Saitama' individual or the Antlion King who was crushed by the esper Tornado of Terror.
'At least he lasted more than she thought' Petrolic Wraith mentally consoled himself 'and I got to see a Perfect Monster for the second time in my life. My theory of their aura of danger being able to biologically change certain beings seems to have some basis after all...just like the limiter theory, if those two individuals are anything to go by'
His eye narrowed as the memory of briefly seeing that gargantuan presence in the Realm Beyond returned to his mind as he thought '...I'll ignore that for now. The workings of magic and that dimension don't interest me as much as biology, though I have plans for them in the following years...'
Petrolic Wraith pondered on something, then gave a mental command which turned off all of his probes still present in the Monster Association. All but those near and around the area where Garou was detained.
'I have no more need for them anymore, but I'd still like to see whether or not Garou will turn into a Perfect Monster...and how he will fare against those who have broken their limiter' Petrolic Wraith thought as the last one of his caravans exited the Monster Association's HQ.
He exited the range of the Quantum Device and activated his mind link to the still active probes.
X X X
Gyoro Gyoro sat on its cushion and looked at the Space Distorter, its central piece slowly spinning in the center of the room, with a sour expression. The alien device was dark blue in color, with two wide thin plates seemingly holding the central part of the structure without touching it, a large stylized rhombus with at its center an orb glowing with black light.
"Calling its performance lackluster would be an understatement, admit it" Gyoro Gyoro said with bile as it looked at the device, while Hidden Seeker defended herself as she said "That's completely erroneous! This device is the product of decades of study of the arcane arts in my tribe of origin, but it wasn't supposed to work with such a range of field multiple times!"
"Then why didn't you say so from the beginning!? The tests we had done with it days ago were all successful with none of these holes appearing!" Gyoro Gyoro screamed in frustration and Hidden Seeker went quiet with shame. She could very well believe how grave was this oversight of hers, because she willfully hid the device's limitations just have a chance to get closer to Psykos, now that Fubuki was finally (and permanently) out of the picture.
There was an uncomfortable silence in the room with none of its occupants looking at each other, then suddenly the door and wall of the room exploded outwardly, tearing apart the cultist and peppering the device, which looked to be unharmed.
"About time I deal with you" Tornado of Terror said as she walked out of the dust cloud as psychic energy covered her entire being, then continued "But first I'll take out your weird-looking toy"
She extended an arm outward and, to Gyoro Gyoro's surprise, the device was easily torn apart and beams bent and the orb cracked. Then it was Tatsumaki's time to be surprised as the black orb exploded into oppressive darkness, engulfing the room and Gyoro Gyoro.
The esper exited as soon as possible, then the blackness suddenly stopped advancing and quickly retreated into where it originated, disappearing altogether and taking away all it had engulfed.
The S class hero was, for the first time in a long while, stunned by this turn of events, but she quickly recovered as she smugly said "Eh, that works as well...but something tells me that Psykos is still around here"
Her look became inquisitive as she began to look around, then her gaze fell downwards.
And that's it for the chapter, but before I leave there are some things I want to clarify.
Sweet Mask's death was needed in this story to set up even further the threat that Petrolic Wraith can pose whenever he bothers to put effort into something...besides I didn't have much use of Sweet Mask in this story to being with.
Before any says anything, I want to clarify that Shinko has neither fully broke his limiter nor become a monster (in fact my first decision for the mutation was to make his ears elf-like and his teeth sharper, but since I then thought that this leans too much in monster territory I decided not to do that...at least for now); what DID happen however is that Shinko has got a significant power boost, but does that mean that the upcoming battles are going to be easier? Hell no, he'll need all the strength and techniques he can get.
Also, about magic and Perfect Monsters...that will be expanded upon in the next Arc.
With that I wish you a good day. See you in the next chapter!