Hellish Pandemonium
"And..."
Jenaraider eyed the hooded man with the corpse-like aura.
[Demon Baron] "I didn't expect you to try protecting Shadow Killer. Weren't you his enemy?"
"....."
He addressed the villain known as Demon Baron, but got no reply. Silently, the man raised his right hand. In response, armed figures popped up between alleys, on building rooftops, and along the roads—packing guns and bazookas.
Whoa, fuck. When the hell did they gather like that?
"....."
Jenaraider's face hardened at the suddenly swelling numbers. He looked fine on the outside, but his condition wasn't normal either. I'd beaten him one-sidedly, and then he'd had to fight Shadow Killer again in that state. Especially when I'd sliced Shadow Killer in half, he'd blocked the tentacle monsters with his own body to protect me. His electric webs had held some back, but not all the tentacles and monsters.
Me? I was different.
Hmm! Feeling pretty spry!
Unlike Jenaraider, I had stamina to spare. I was confident I could take out all the ones packing guns instead of superpowers. For the record, my No-Kill Rule was still on.
Demon Baron alternated glances between stone-faced Jenaraider and my relaxed self before speaking.
"We're leaving. Try stopping us if you can."
At his words, the villain known as Dark Lady—his female secretary—scooped up Shadow Killer and bolted.
"Freeze."
Like I was gonna let that slide.
"Who said you could move? Don't take a single step unless you wanna die."
"....."
Dark Lady halted and glared at me. Her face stiffened just like Jenaraider's. She'd witnessed exactly how I'd dealt with Shadow Killer.
Compared to the other villains, she stared at me longer than necessary, frozen stiff.
"If you wanna go, go without him. Shadow Killer? He's mine."
"What?"
"This crazy bastard...!"
My insane declaration pissed off a few villains. The only ones staying calm were Demon Baron, Dark Lady, and one middle-aged guy who subtly resembled a goat.
Demon Baron spoke up.
"Steel Armor. You're a villain, aren't you?"
"Yeah? So?"
"Then why team up with a hero?"
I shrugged.
"Who gives a shit if you're a hero or villain, as long as you hunt well?"
"....."
Jenaraider furrowed his brow at my words, but with villains right there, he held his tongue.
Hey! I said it like that, but you're not a hunting dog! You're a hunting spider! Have some confidence!
"I don't know how you're still alive... but Shadow Killer lost to me. From that moment, he had only two fates left. One is me dying. The other is..."
Left to right. I swept my gaze over the villains before declaring:
"Becoming my bug!"
"Grrr! Can't take it anymore! I'll kill you, Steel Armor!"
One pissed-off villain lunged forward. His skin writhed, transforming his face and both hands into dog heads.
Fuck, what the hell is that? Cerberus legs?
"Hup!"
I charged right back at him.
"Die!" "Grrr! Woof woof!"
The real head and transformed right-hand dog head barked in unison. Well, barked—or whatever you call it. I dodged his attack effortlessly and smashed my right fist into his side. The solid hit lifted his legs off the ground for a split second.
"Guhk?!" "Grrr?!" "Yelp!"
The villain's eyes bulged. I followed with a left hook to his face, grabbed his flying leg, spun him once, and slammed him down.
Crunch!
"Gaaahhh!" "Yip! Yap!" "Eek! Ngh! Eek!"
For the finisher, I snapped off the leg I'd grabbed. His knee went from whole to hollow in an instant.
"Shut up."
Splat!
I bashed his head with his own leg to knock him out. Then I turned to the villains staring blankly at me.
"Who's next? I'll turn you into a bug."
"....."
"....."
No one answered. No one stepped up.
"Hoo..."
Demon Baron sighed, flipping back the hood's hat. What emerged was a pretty-boy face that didn't suit his infamous villain rep at all. It really didn't fit—his shoulders were Pacific Ocean-wide, but his head was smaller than most women's. The tiny head clashed hard with his sturdy build.
"This ends here, Steel Armor."
"....?"
"If you don't interfere anymore, neither will we. No retaliation."
"Retaliation? Heh, heh heh heh heh! You guys? Against me? Can't wait to see that."
I crossed my arms and shot back at Demon Baron. Sorry, but empty threats don't work on me.
But Demon Baron hadn't said it lightly.
"You think hiding behind that mask fools anyone forever? If we hunt just you, uncovering your identity is only a matter of time. I admit you're strong, Steel Armor. But can you protect all your people from all of us?"
"....."
Hmm... That's a bit intimidating.
They had massive underworld pull. They could absolutely dig up my identity.
What now? Let Shadow Killer go?
It was a pointless question. If they really threw down to block me, they could easily extract him right here.
"Tch."
I clicked my tongue. No choice. As much as it sucked, I'd let Shadow Killer go. I turned to leave—
—when an unfamiliar voice came from behind me.
"Whoa~ What's all this?"
"We got the call-out, but... where're the monsters? Why're all these villains swarming?"
"Yawn~ Can we wrap this quick? Early nights are good for the skin."
"Demon Baron, Viper, and that guy being supported by Dark Lady... Shadow Killer."
"....."
I turned. Somehow, a bunch of heroes had appeared beside Jenaraider. The ones up front were the S-rank heroes who'd taken down White Knight after I beat him senseless.
Wow.
The sight, the lineup—it was perfect. Villains on one side, famed heroes on the other. And me in the middle!
Kuh! So damn cool...?
"Don't know what brought out the cockroaches... but I'll arrest you—no, kill you—right here."
"Wait, hold up."
The heroes started powering up their abilities.
"Hoo... Things got messy. No choice."
"Hey?"
The villains matched them, activating theirs.
"Attack!"
"Attack!"
The clash between heroes and villains erupted.
"...Ah, fuck."
With me right in the crossfire.
*****
"Brace yourselves, you villain scum! Evil of society!"
"Kill all the filthy hero bastards!"
It was pandemonium like no other. Heroes and villains collided smack in the city center, blasting superpowers left and right. Buildings crumbled in seconds.
If I'd watched from afar with popcorn and cola like when they took down White Knight, nothing could've been more entertaining.
Yeah. If I'd watched from afar.
"Dieee!"
"Ah, shut up."
"Guhk?!"
I chopped the neck of a charging villain. His power level wasn't high; his head popped off clean, floating midair.
Pop!
A stray bullet exploded it from somewhere.
"Steel Armor! You're under arrest!"
"Ugh, annoying."
"Guhk?!"
I gave the next hero rushing me the same chop. His power was stronger than the villain's—his head stayed attached. Tough bastard; he didn't die.
"...I wanna go home."
Being smack in the chaos made everything feel like a hassle. I just wanted to head home, smack Elis's ass, and crash.
Too loud. Too crazy.
"Still, it's flashy."
The standouts in the massive brawl were, predictably, the S-rank heroes and villains. Eight caught my eye specifically.
"Hahaha! Long time no see, Viper! I've missed you so muchhh!"
"Damn it! You're the last person on earth I wanna see! Get lost!"
"That's hurtful!"
"Quit adding that 's' to your sentences!"
Piero with his unpredictable moves, versus Viper spraying poison everywhere to keep him at bay.
"Where you goin'!"
"Grrr!"
Tough Guy dominating with raw power and wrestling, against Gargoyle turned to stone, matching him strength for strength.
"Whoa! Close call!"
"Watch out! Demon Baron's no joke!"
"Festival of flames."
And finally, Wind Line wielding wind, Ether with dimensional powers, Flame Witch with fire.
"Aura of the demon!"
Demon Baron faced all three S-rank heroes alone. True to his name, he transformed into a demon the second combat started. Nearly 3 meters tall, horns on his head, bat wings on his back, tail from his ass. Fur like a beast's, claws long and sharp—every swing unleashed dark-red energy that engulfed the heroes.
"Not bad."
I'd seen the S-rank heroes before, but this was my first time with S-rank villains. Might as well hang back, gather intel while they fought.
"Die... Agh?!"
"Haa..."
Of course, if I could slip out.
"Oh yeah, that fucker Shadow Killer... got away."
I remembered him late and scanned around, but Shadow Killer was gone. So was the secretary propping him up.
No Shadow Killer meant no reason for me to stick around. Time to play it casual and bail.
'Yuna... around?'
I scanned for Yuna. If she was here, I couldn't ditch the battlefield. What if she got hurt by stray powers? Gotta protect our fragile slave.
'Not here?'
I even climbed high to check—no sign of Yuna. Good. Now I could really clock out.
"Steel Armooor... Kyaa!"
"Gonna farm some XP—no, tattoos—before I go."
I slapped a charging hero's cheek to knock him out, stretched, and muttered.
Just kill half.
Thanos hyung whispered the suggestion in my ear. Man, this guy's obsessed with halves.