Chaos Giant (2)
Just before Steel Armor unleashed his thunder punch on Siren.
"Ugh...! Damn it..."
Having endured the humiliation of being thoroughly chewed and swallowed by Siren, White Knight was currently inside her stomach. Perhaps due to her massive size, Siren's stomach felt as vast as his own mansion.
"I'll kill you... Steel Armor..."
Though it was Siren who had humiliated him, White Knight directed his rage at Steel Armor. If Steel Armor hadn't shown up, he never would have suffered this disgrace in the first place. In fact, up until Steel Armor appeared, he'd been dominating Siren without taking a single hit, showcasing his overwhelming power.
If only Steel Armor hadn't appeared!
He would have successfully slain Siren and been hailed as the hero who vanquished the monster, restoring his shattered pride and self-esteem!
...Or so White Knight believed.
"I'll kill you... I swear... I'll kill you..."
Engraving his thirst for revenge against Steel Armor deep in his heart, he rose to his feet and checked his body. His signature pure-white suit was cracked in places here and there. A suit that could withstand attacks from most S-rank villains unscathed had been damaged by Siren's chewing. Humans and monsters truly weren't on the same level.
Though the suit was damaged, his body itself was fine. In terms of physical prowess alone, he was a 10-level body enhancer.
To kill Steel Armor—or at least before that—he had to escape this foul-smelling stomach first.
Bzzzzzz—!
White Knight's eyes began to glow. He planned to fire lasers from the inside, carve through Siren's body, and break out.
"Crunch!"
And the moment he got out, he'd attack Steel Armor—no, kill him outright.
Just as he was about to unleash his laser at the stomach wall—
Crackle—!
"Huh?"
A chilling sound from above made White Knight look up. And there, he saw it.
"...Thunder?"
The lightning bearing down on him.
"Ggggrrrk?!"
Unaware of the outside events since being swallowed by Siren, White Knight was caught completely defenseless and electrocuted.
"Ggggrrrkkk!!!"
It was thunder infused with the power of Jenaraider, the strongest among electric-type ability users, and the supreme Steel Armor himself. No matter how much they called White Knight the greatest hero, surviving a lightning attack like this was impossible.
"Guh!"
In the end, White Knight lost consciousness.
*****
The first round against Siren could be called a draw, practically speaking. Sure, I showed an embarrassing side, but no one saw it except Siren, so it might as well not have happened.
Neither she nor I inflicted major damage on each other, so draw.
The second round was my overwhelming victory. Sure, Jenaraider, Wind Line, and Ice Queen helped, but they just supported me—the actual damage to Siren came from me, so I basically carried solo.
Plus, she couldn't lay a finger on me, so total domination. A complete shutout win.
Now, the grand finale: round three.
This would decide Siren's fate.
Or not.
If she doesn't die, we'll go to round four. But she'll probably drop here.
Why? 'Cause I've got solid backup.
Don't tell me she's into me? God, I hope so.
I wanna hear my backup say she's fallen for me and wants to serve her master. That'd be sweet as hell.
[.....]
Siren, her face charred black, glared at me with murderous eyes.
Her condition was pathetic. The area below her neck, protected by feathers, was merely scorched black, but her unprotected face was a different story. Pus oozed from her right eye. Skin melted by lightning clung hideously.
Rage, hatred, killing intent... and.
"...Heh."
I smirked, reading a completely different emotion in Siren's remaining eye.
"You."
[.....]
I spoke to Siren.
"You're scared."
[.....]
I could read it. The common emotion in the eyes of all those I'd crushed before—fear. It was unmistakably there in Siren's eye too.
"This time, I'll kill you for sure."
Putting away my smile, I pronounced her death sentence like a judge.
[....!]
Did she understand? Siren's lone eye wavered for a moment.
No need for backup after all.
From the moment her eye shook, our positions flipped completely. From predator and prey to prey and predator.
Siren as the prey. Me as the predator.
Sucks, doesn't it?
That's how I felt when I was begging you for my life earlier.
Thanks, Batman bro.
If it weren't for the real Batman, I wouldn't have snapped out of it. Back then, I was a total super simp.
"Steel Armor!"
"Got it."
Ice Queen, who had fallen back, created an ice slide leading toward Siren.
Time to end this.
I leaped forward, sliding across the ice.
Then—
[Kyaarrk—]
"...Huh?"
—Siren flashed a sinister grin.
What the—?
[Kyaaaaak—!]
"Crazy bitch?!"
Siren, grinning wickedly, suddenly spread her limp wings wide.
That fucker couldn't use her wings, right?!
"She's moving her wings?! Impossible! White Knight and Piero definitely wrecked them!"
Wind Line's shocked voice came from above.
Fuck, of course. My mistake for trusting hero trash.
And then I remembered. Gumiho, unscathed despite being crushed and beaten under me.
"Ah..."
Monsters—
"—have incredible regeneration too."
Only then did I realize it was all a trap Siren had prepared.
Of course, taking my surprise blow wasn't in her calculations.
But she'd successfully fooled me and the heroes.
When she crashed to the ground, Siren attacked using only her talons, lunging, and massive body—never her wings.
I saw it myself, so I assumed she couldn't use them.
Wrong. Her wings had regenerated long ago.
She'd just pretended otherwise.
To fool who?
Me.
Her top target wasn't the heroes—it was me.
Gumiho smelled me amid Siren's stench. Think Siren couldn't?
She knew I hadn't left the battlefield. She anticipated I'd rejoin anytime and set this cunning trap.
Not content, she even faked fear of me.
I fell perfectly for Siren's trap.
[Kyaaaaak—!]
"You damn—!"
Shhhrrrrrr—!
Feathers protruded sharply from Siren's fully spread wings, then shot everywhere.
"Aaaagh! Gah?!"
Wind Line, slicing winds at Siren from the sky, got his side slashed by a sudden feather and splash—plunged into the sea.
He could've dodged with wind control, but the feathers were countless, filling every escape route. Even Wind Line couldn't evade.
"...Ah."
Siren's feathers didn't target just me and Wind Line. They flew at Ice Queen too.
"Igloo!"
Ice Queen hastily erected an ice wall around herself.
"That won't hold! Dodge!"
I knew the power of her wide-area feather barrage. Ice Queen's strength couldn't block it.
Crack—!
A massive feather embedded in the ice fortress.
Rumble—
The fortress crumbled in an instant.
"Ah..."
Ice Queen stood there, intuiting her fate.
Feathers flew straight at her.
"Nooooooo!"
Slash—!
Blood sprayed.
*****
Thud—!
The ice slide carrying Steel Armor to Siren vanished.
"Ah... Aah... Aaaah..."
Steel Armor collapsed on the sand, trembling.
Flying feathers, spraying blood, Ice Queen falling.
The scene unfolded in slow motion before his eyes.
"Aah... Aaaah..."
Memories of time with Ice Queen flashed through Steel Armor's mind like a panorama.
The first encounter at Sanctuary Corp, the day Steel Armor first revealed himself to the world.
Meeting at the Francesco Hotel, awkwardness when a lovey-dovey old couple crashed their fight.
Facing her during the battle with Shadow Killer's gang; she questioned him about justice, and he awkwardly explained it.
Ice Queen violated by Steel Armor, screaming her love for him.
Ice Queen, Ice Queen, Ice Queen!
"Ice Queen... dead?"
Bullshit! Who the hell is Ice Queen?! An A-rank hero on the cusp of S-rank! She can't die!
Steel Armor denied her death.
"Siren...!"
He raged at Siren for daring to touch his woman.
"She'll be fine. Ice Queen didn't die. No—even if she did, I'll bring her back. I can create infinite superpowers! One of them has to revive people."
Steel Armor chanted to himself like a mantra, hypnotizing himself that he could revive her with a superpower even if she was dead.
"No... Aaaagh! No way!!!!!!"
Tears streamed from Steel Armor's eyes.
"....."
Steel Armor rose.
No matter how he spun it, surviving that attack was impossible.
[....!]
Siren flinched at Steel Armor slowly rising.
A tiny human, so much smaller than her.
Just a small human standing—
[!!!!!!!]
Why did it look like a giant—a colossal giant larger than her—was rising?
"....."
The small human looked up at her.
Why did it feel like a giant was looking down at her?
[Kk, kkieeek...]
Siren instinctively stepped back.
Before her stood the small human who killed her child—no, a colossal giant.
A being where good and evil intertwined inseparably, an unstoppable force.
Siren's instincts screamed: Chaos Giant.
She didn't know who the Chaos Giant was. But it was etched into her genes, an entity she'd never seen.
The absolute destroyer of monsters. Ancestral genes warned: Flee!
[Kkieeeek—!]
Following genes and instinct, Siren tried to flee, flapping her wings.
[Kkiek?!]
Gone. The Chaos Giant before her had vanished.
Where?
"Where do you think you're going?"
[.....!]
Siren freaked at the voice in her ear.
The Chaos Giant was beside her! On her body! He'd climbed on!
[Kkiek! Kkiek! Kkiiiieeeeek—!]
To shake off the Chaos Giant, Siren thrashed wildly.
But the Chaos Giant didn't fall.
Crunch—!
[Kkiiieeeeek!!!!!]
Instead, he tore off her ear. The lightning-charred ear ripped free.
"You killed my queen, huh. Then..."
Grin—
"You die too."
Steel Armor—no, the Chaos Giant—smiled.
*****
"Ngh..."
Gumiho grimaced, clutching her arm. It was torn open, blood pouring.
Siren was a true monster, not some half-breed like her.
"....."
Gumiho glanced back. There lay the unconscious Ice Queen.
Steel Armor thought she was dead. Blood spraying right before his eyes as she fell—fair assumption.
But no.
Gumiho had sensed danger and intervened, snatching Ice Queen's nape and sacrificing her own arm to block the feather. Ice Queen survived.
One arm for Ice Queen. A bargain.
"...Worth it."
Definitely. Her arm would heal in days anyway. Half-breed or not, her regen was insane.
"Ah! Wind Line-nim! Gotta save Wind Line-ni—huh?"
Remembering Wind Line pierced and plunged into the sea, Gumiho turned to rescue him.
And saw Steel Armor unilaterally dominating Siren.
The Chaos Giant! Run!
"Eek?!"
The moment she saw Steel Armor, Gumiho trembled.
She needed to save Wind Line, but her legs shook uncontrollably.
What was this? For the first time, primal terror gripped her, leaving Gumiho quivering.