Boss Appears
The fight with that executive ended more anticlimactically than expected. The bastard could harden his body like steel, so even full-force blows barely fazed him. Once he realized my attacks weren't landing, he got all cocky, yapping nonsense to provoke me. Pissed off, I just laid him out and pummeled him until he stopped moving. No matter how tough you are, constant werewolf strength will eventually kill you, right? After taking dozens of hits, bruises bloomed across his skin, and he started begging for his life—but I didn't let up. A villain with no grit like that? Pathetic.
But his ridiculous durability wasted way too much time. I was starting to worry if Spica had safely rescued Marie by now, so I needed to check the situation. Diana was with her, so it wouldn't go to total shit, but Diana revealing herself was bad enough in its own right.
After I took down the executive, no more villains came charging at me. They'd all probably fled in the meantime—wandering the hideout, I couldn't spot a single ant. Honestly, I'd come here ready to risk my life, but this was disappointingly easy. Was this all the firepower they had for terrorizing the Hero Association? Maybe the White Knights had already wiped out their elites, leaving only grunts.
I'd been meandering around for a while when I spotted a villain slowly walking toward me.
"Hoo... You're determined to interfere with us to the bitter end, aren't you, werewolf."
"Yeah, well, if you'd lived nicely, you wouldn't have run into me."
"Acting like you're on the side of justice, you man-eating monster—it's pretty disgusting."
"I'm not on the side of justice. I'm on the side of anti-villain."
"After all this interference, it wouldn't be polite to just let you go. Guess I'll have to kill you here."
"Big confidence there. You still wanna fight after I killed Stormbringer or whatever?"
"Killing Storm was honestly surprising even to me, but as the organization's boss, I should be stronger than some executive, right?"
This guy... I figured he was as strong as Stormbringer, maybe stronger, but the boss? This wasn't their main base, so I hadn't expected the top dog to be here. He was genuinely powerful—enough to convincingly lead a crime syndicate. The Villain Alliance was basically a clan of various villain groups, and the ones behind this terror attack were his outfit, Daidalos. Kill him, and no more terror bullshit.
The White Knights were already mobilizing, deflating their momentum, but leave him be, and who knows when they'd strike again. This one had to die right here, right now.
My body nicely warmed up from the earlier scraps, I didn't hesitate—claws out, I charged. Even as the distance shrank, he stood there smugly, not budging an inch. Something up his sleeve? Just as the gap closed to zero and my claws were about to shred him, only a blurry afterimage remained where he'd been, and suddenly a fist slammed into my face.
"Wha—?"
Crack.
The question came fast, the pain late. The insane power behind that speed sent me flying into the wall. Just one hit, and my hands were trembling.
"How's that, werewolf? Even your dynamic vision can't keep up with my movements, huh."
I'd imagined teleportation or something, but his words suggested otherwise. Can't track with dynamic vision... He sounded confident in his speed.
"Acceleration ability, huh."
"Bingo. Looks simple, but there's no power stronger. Kinetic energy scales with velocity squared, so double the speed, quadruple the energy. Plus, an accelerator's body is on another level from regular ability users. Not like some pup who can only bite and claw, kid."
That punch was no joke—felt like slamming into solid metal barehanded. And the speed was too much even for my eyes. Both power and speed reminded me of my fight with Hwang Yerang. On her level, even. Though she was holding back then. Made me realize anew just how strong she was. Partial transformation only, no acceleration, and still that devastating. After seeing her full form clashing with Midnight, no wonder she was an S-rank villain. She could even match Diana.
But this guy? Partial-Yerang level at best. Strong, but beatable.
I spat the blood pooling in my mouth and stood.
"Damn, kid packs a punch."
"Werewolf's tough, alright. That should've ended most."
"Gonna take more than that to kill me. Boss, right? Show some real power."
"Save the trash talk for when you've pushed me a bit."
Whoosh!!
His form vanished in an afterimage. I crouched into guard—but his fist slipped through first, smashing my gut.
Boom.
The wall behind me crumbled, and I flew through it.
Boom.
Before I could land mid-air, his foot stomped my torso down. The floor cracked with a creeeak, shock jarring my bones. Lungs emptied, spit flew from my open mouth. He mounted me on the ground, raining punches at my face. Endless barrage—no catching my breath. I reached to grab his fist, but the nonstop hits made it impossible. Skull about to shatter, I slammed my elbow into the floor with all my strength. The cracked ground collapsed, dropping me and the boss-mounted me into the basement.
I twisted mid-air for a landing, spat out the broken teeth rattling in my mouth. Fucking hurts. They'll regrow in days anyway, but I really thought I was done.
"So, how's the taste of my fists?"
"Fucking hurt, you bastard."
No room for bluster. Teeth shattered, body creaking—pain hit hard. Werewolf regen or not, pain's pain. Keep eating these, and I won't last. This might be dangerous for real.
But the strategy's the same. Acceleration or whatever, he moves with legs—target lower body, neuter that annoying speed. Problem is, he's so fast I can't even grab, let alone hit, and even if I do, the combos keep coming. Death by a thousand cuts, basically.
"Round one's over. Take a breather?"
"Your attitude flipped awfully quick."
"Tasted your hits, changed my mind."
"That coming from you?"
"Try it yourself. Hurts like hell."
Talking to buy recovery time, but he didn't play along. Already charging, afterimage in my face. Getting used to his speed bit by bit, but still too fast for my reactions. Guard up too late—fist already past, incoming.
Boom.
"Ah."
Consciousness flickered for a split second. On the ground now, I braced on all fours, forepaws digging in. No more exposing vitals. Those monstrous punches in sequence would fell even a werewolf.
"Finally looking like a proper mutt."
"Shut up. I'm serious now."
He sneered at my quadrupedal stance. Embarrassing, but desperate times. Can't match speed, but this protects jaw and gut. Easier to bite too. To neutralize his mobility, I needed clear teeth marks on those legs.
"That's your ace, huh? Let me show you it's worthless."