S-Class Villain Eternox (3)
“Ahahaha! Yes, until now I’ve only had trash to deal with. Someone of your caliber is finally worth the effort of killing. But don’t forget this, girl. Even so, you’re nothing more than a slightly better amusement for me to savor before I face the ‘monster’ who locked me away here.”
“…Ha! How stupid. If you wanted to meet Smile that badly, you should’ve just run off to Seoul before I got here.”
“Keheheh. Wherever that bastard is right now, if I keep slaughtering trash, he’ll definitely show up here. So why bother going out of my way to find him?”
“…Ha. Never crossed your mind that you might fall to me first, did it?”
Fwoooosh—!
…His condition is the worst, but thankfully he’s still breathing. If I get him to a hospital as fast as possible, we can still save him somehow.
Facing Eternox head-on, Lavy bought a moment of time. She checked on the dying Electric lying beside her, then shouted toward Piercing, who looked ready to fight at her back.
“…Piercing! Take Electric and retreat right now! I’ll handle this!”
“What…?! Ha, but that villain is a monster even Smile-sunbae struggled against back then! No matter how strong you are, alone you—”
“Shut up! You said it yourself—he’s that dangerous. You think an A-class like you is going to help?! Grab Electric and run this second! You’re fast on your feet, so if you hurry you can still save him!”
But her deliberately harsh words, meant to send Piercing away, proved pointless.
Piercing had teamed with Lavy for a few months back when she was still A-class. He knew she was far softer than she appeared. He saw right through her intention at once.
…And with a face full of worry, he looked back and forth between Lavy and Eternox.
“…Alright. I’ll leave Electric at the hospital at full speed and come right back to join you. You’re way stronger than me, but stay safe until then, Lavy.”
“Hmph. Buying time for the surviving guards to evacuate outside was already more than enough. Don’t even think about fighting with that tattered body of yours. Once you reach the hospital, just lie down quietly.”
“Heh. My horns may be broken, but I’m still a hero, Lavy. I can’t just dump a comrade into a death trap and rest easy alone.”
And even though only moments ago the absurdly strong enemy’s grotesque antics had filled him with fear—
Piercing was a justice-driven professional hero who had reached upper A-class at a young age. Seeing Lavy, a year his junior, bravely stand in front of him, he snapped free of his panic.
He stroked the broken horns that would never grow back, grabbed his legs that still shook from fear and injury, and forced himself upright.
“…If we hold out just a little longer, other A-class heroes will start arriving one by one. I’ll join in soon too, so just hang on until then, Lavy.”
Fwoooosh—!!
“Hmph, stop worrying and go. I’ll finish this cleanly on my own before any backup even gets here.”
Step, step.
“Oho, finished chatting, have you? Keheheh. I never said I’d let that scrap of trash leave, you know. …But fine. I don’t want some mongrel interfering with my amusement anyway. I’ll make a special exception and spare the garbage behind you.”
“…Ha. If you like spouting nonsense so much, go ahead and get it all out now. In a little while you’ll be begging me to spare your life.”
“Ohhh, I sincerely hope so. After waiting a full ten years for the main banquet, I’d love for my body to be nice and heated up first.”
KRA-KOOM—!
“…Khht! Crank muscle assist to max and cooling performance up two stages!”
Fwoooosh!
Barely one minute had passed since Piercing and Electric left and the battle with Eternox began.
“Oho, what’s wrong? You looked so full of confidence earlier. Now I can feel the fear in your eyes.”
In that short span, Lavy finally understood why the first- and second-generation senior heroes of the old days had treated the villain before her as a terrible “monster” that no one but Smile should ever face alone.
“…Don’t talk crap. I’ve faced plenty of bastards like you before. Enough to get sick of it.”
“Keheheh. What a funny joke. Ten years may be long enough to change mountains and rivers, but there’s no way another ability user of my level could have appeared in this tiny country in that time.”
…Strong. Overwhelmingly strong.
She had single-handedly arrested three S-class villains before, yet this monster was something completely different from those guys.
Even though she wasn’t a physical-enhancement type like Smile or Piercing, her body was still incomparably superior to a normal person’s, and she had the support of her power suit on top of that.
Yet in pure strength and speed, she couldn’t even compete.
…I’ve burned him to ash several times already, and he still regenerates like it’s nothing. Even regeneration has to have a limit, but if this turns into a long fight, I’ll definitely tire out before he does.
Proof of that was how the monster still treated their fight like a light game. He still hadn’t even used Flight, one of his four abilities, while casually smirking the whole time.
If he forced an aerial battle, she—who didn’t possess true flight and only soared by delicately controlling her flames—would be pushed into an even worse position than she already was.
…Huu. It’s frustrating, but I can’t even gauge how huge the wall between us really is. At this rate, I’m going to lose for sure.
But a hero was someone who—even in such an overwhelmingly disadvantageous situation—never gave up and stood proudly against the threat before them.
No matter how many times stronger the enemy in front of you was, you could never yield to evil. That was what it meant to be a symbol of hope.
…Right. Smile taught me that long ago. Even while tanking every attack from dozens of high-rank villains with his body, Smile kept smiling right until the end as he looked at the students.
And after that, he casually ruffled my hair like it was nothing…
So I can never give up.
Seven years ago when villains attacked the school, I learned that a hero never falls as long as evil that must be struck down still stands before them.
That if you remember the people’s cheers, you can stand up and fight again any number of times.
…And far earlier than that, when fifteen-year-old Smile pulled ten-year-old me out of the flames—
I decided that someday I absolutely had to become a hero just like him.
“…That’s why I’m going to take you down no matter what. I will never watch other heroes get sacrificed to you.”
“Keheheh. You’re already spouting nonsense like your mind’s gone foggy. I still want to play with you a whole lot longer, you know.”
Fwoosh—!
…While he’s still underestimating me. I have to end this in a single strike as fast as possible.
So she focused every scrap of her mind and unleashed her rage at the enemy before her.
…Of course, cranking her power this high risked serious damage to herself as well.
But if she worried about that now, she would never be able to properly burn this monster.
“Safety locks released. Cooling to maximum.”
Fwooooosh—!
“Oho? This flame feels far more chilling than the ones before. It looks like your own ability is hurting you. Planning to self-destruct or something?”
“…Hmph. The opposite. I’ve chosen the surest way to kill you. I have no intention of keeping my face in front of a disgusting bastard like you any longer.”
So the next attack poured out every last bit of firepower she could produce.
Huu…! For just a brief moment, I can put out firepower as strong as Smile’s attacks…!
Yes. No matter how much the hero profession had changed and how many heroes there were now—
Then and now, the only true “hero” for her had always been just one person.
She had always wanted to become like that hero, and in the end she had surpassed every hero of her generation.
She had earned the grand nameplate of S-class hero, and now, at least in name, she could stand on the same stage as her hero.
…So the her of this moment, for just a single instant—
Could imitate that hero who had always shone like the sun, and prepare a single blow that would finish the enemy before her in one go.
Fwoooooosh—!!
“…Oho. This… might actually be a little dangerous. Looks like playtime ends here.”
“Hmph. Too late. Starting now, I’m going to do what I do best.”
Fwoosh! KRA-KOOM—!!
“…From this moment, at my maximum output, I’ll roast you nice and hot until that regeneration of yours is completely used up.”
Fwoooosh—!
Boom, KRA-KOOM! KRAAAAA-KOOM—!
“…Huff! I can’t stop yet! I have to keep pouring on the firepower until that monster burns away without a single trace left!”
The surroundings glowed a vivid scarlet as if a solar sunspot had erupted, generating endless vibration and thunderous noise.
Fwooooosh—!!
And from the gigantic pillar of flame that was the source of that roar, the inside of the prison walls lit up bright as midday, drawing a clear boundary against the dark outside—so bright one could almost doubt this was even reality.
…And considering that the flames produced by an ability user’s power inflicted far greater pain and damage on other ability users than real fire ever could—
Eternox, right here and now—
Had essentially taken the equivalent of a small nuclear bomb detonating inside his own body.
“Haa, haa…. Still not enough. Now that a kill order has been issued, I have to finish this for certain without leaving the slightest opening…!”
But if the enemy before her somehow survived those flames, there was no way to even estimate how many more people this monster would sacrifice. Determined to shut down even that remote possibility, Lavy ignored the warning alarms from her power suit screaming that the cooling system had failed—
And poured out flames to the absolute limit, right up to the instant before her own body would suffer burns.
“Huu…! Burns can be treated after the fight ends…! Right now I just have to focus on burning that bastard…!”
Fwooooosh!
But—
“…Ahh, this. I never expected the firepower to reach this level. Looks like I really do have to end the game here. If a nuisance like you stays beside that monster, even I would be a little troubled.”
“Hhk! What…! You walked out of that explosion…!?”
Her fearlessness of her own injuries, her drive to push the enemy until her pale skin was on the verge of turning red and swollen—all of it meant nothing.
The chilling monster before her—
Walked out of flames that should have left him unable to move, let alone maintain a proper form, due to the heat and pressure of the blast…
…As if he were simply taking a light stroll, regenerating his pitch-black charred body in an instant.
“Hahaha! But I truly am moved. I never expected to encounter such a fine meal as you before meeting that monster!”
Step, step.
“Ahh…! Yes, good, I’ve decided! Originally I was only going to sample a little above the neck, but as a special treat I’ll devour every last bit of that pale skin of yours, not even leaving a single hair!”
“…You disgusting piece of shit. All you’ve done is spew crazy garbage from the start!”
And toward the repulsive monster whose clothes had long since burned away, who licked his lips while approaching naked with his lower half swelling as he stared at her—
…Just as Lavy resolved that this time she would burn everything around her no matter what happened to her own body—
“Yes, Minister. There’s no need to worry. The moment I locate Eternox, I will execute him on sight.”
…Alongside a silhouette holding an old-fashioned rectangular smartphone to his ear—the kind even elderly people these days called outdated—
“Ah, I’ll hang up here. I’ve just found the escapee.”
A voice that, the moment it reached anyone’s ears—
Would fill citizens and fellow heroes with the absolute relief that there was nothing left to fear, while planting pure despair in every villain that everything was already over—
“This is Hero Smile. From this moment, I am joining the incident site.”
The voice of a true hero rang out.