Operation Motor City (2)
"Bullshit."
Rapid Star ignored the warning from the S-rank hero rolling up behind him.
Krraaaack-!!!!
"......!!"
Rolling Stone's eyes widened as he rolled forward. With a sickening crunch, Rapid Star's hands plunged into Magnet Floyd's skull, yanking it clean off the neck along with the spine and nerves rooted deep into the floor.
Thud. A long trail of white vertebrae dangled from the severed head like a grotesque tail. The headless body, robbed of its support, crumpled to the ground in a heap.
Rolling Stone slammed to a halt just meters from Rapid Star, unable to brake in time. He dispelled his spherical barrier and stood, his face drained pale blue.
"You...... what the hell have you done?!"
Rolling Stone jabbed an accusing finger, screaming, while Rapid Star casually dangled the head and trailing spine in one hand.
"Oh, perfect timing. Sorry you had to rush over."
Rapid Star nodded toward the neck at his feet and the unsupported torso slumped nearby.
"Before you go, smash this corpse to bits."
"What......?"
"And."
Rapid Star flicked the white spine dangling from his grip.
"Look at that—nice and full of marrow. Package up whatever's left for a suck-down later. Gotta love your country, right?"
With that, he brutally wrenched the spine free from Magnet Floyd's head with a thud.
"You...... you fucking psycho!"
Rolling Stone's face flushed red.
"Magnet Floyd's corpse belongs to the U.S. federal government! You dare abuse your S-rank status to unilaterally execute him? Don't create a diplomatic incident between America and Korea, Rapid Star!"
Diplomatic incident. Political pressure. Rolling Stone ranted less like a hero and more like a bureaucrat zealously defending corporate and national interests.
But Rapid Star just snorted at the threats.
"Diplomatic incident? Shove it up your ass."
He sneered, then kicked Magnet Floyd's head, spine, and sprawled torso straight at Rolling Stone's feet.
Splat!
"Wha—hey!"
As the villain's remains—what could no longer be called a body—flew toward him, Rolling Stone leaped back in disgust.
Rapid Star spread his arms wide in brazen provocation.
"Don't you think you should clean up this trash fast? I noticed injection scars all over the back of his neck—like fucking medals."
"......!"
Rolling Stone froze at the words.
Injection scars. The top-secret national truth about Magnet Floyd's biological experiments—something that must never be exposed to outsiders, especially foreign heroes. America's ugliest underbelly had been laid bare.
"......Did he spill everything before he died?"
Rolling Stone's voice dropped low. No more excuses or diplomatic bluster.
Vrrr-! His ability activated. A transparent spherical barrier erupted fiercely around him, its mass manipulated to dozens of tons—an extreme gravitational pull.
Crunch! Crackle!
Like before, Rolling Stone rolled forward as a sphere, mercilessly pulverizing the remains Rapid Star had tossed his way. He crushed the skin and bones bearing those incriminating injection scars, obliterating all evidence beyond recognition.
Maintaining that acceleration, the transparent boulder of dozens of tons charged straight at Rapid Star.
"Even if I kill you here...... I can just report to HQ that you got torn apart by Magnet Floyd's magnetism, Rapid Star!"
Rolling Stone was a composite awakener. He freely controlled his own body weight and nearby objects'. He also generated an indestructible spherical barrier around himself for defense.
These abilities let him reign as America's S-rank: shielding civilians from infernos, transporting allies into inaccessible zones, or crushing foes under massive weight, ambushing with barrier on-off tricks. A tricky, deadly combat style.
"Die!!!"
The barrier, laden with dozens of tons, barreled toward Rapid Star's front.
Any normal hero or villain would dodge or retreat from that overwhelming mass.
But.
"Krahahahaha!"
Rapid Star didn't dodge. He laughed in ecstasy, planting his feet firm and thrusting both arms forward at the oncoming boulder.
KABOOOOOM-!!!!
The entire abandoned factory district shook.
"......?!"
Inside the barrier, Rolling Stone's eyes bulged in disbelief.
Rapid Star didn't budge. With pure physical strength alone, he seized the frontal assault of dozens of tons and halted it dead.
Grind! Groooan!
The ground beneath Rapid Star cracked and crumbled, but his waist and back muscles swelled rock-solid, unyielding.
"You're right."
Rapid Star gripped the barrier in both hands, casually flexing his muscles with each breath.
"That bastard Magnet Floyd threw up his shitty field right before croaking, tying up support forces outside. Magnetism's got this place as a dead zone—no news drones can even get in."
Rapid Star's lips split to his ears.
"Kill me, no record. I rip you apart here? No record either."
"Nngh......! You brute fuck......!"
Panicking, Rolling Stone maxed out the barrier's weight to crush him, thrashing futilely. But Rapid Star's grip overpowered it, fingers tightening harder.
"You Americans and the World Hero League idiots are dead wrong about one thing."
Crack! Fine fissures spiderwebbed across the "indestructible" barrier surface.
"Know what my ability is?"
"Shut up! Obvious! Body enhancement from stupid muscle gains!"
"Yeah. Publicly, it's just extreme physical and speed boosts. That's how I hit S-rank, they say. Some think I lucked into it when standards were low as the first S-rank."
Blood vessels burst in Rapid Star's eyes, glowing crimson.
"But that alone couldn't make me the pinnacle. My real power is......"
He drew a deep breath.
"Justice itself!!"
"Wh-what the fuck?! Some abstract bullshit as a power?!"
Rolling Stone shoved the barrier in desperation, but Rapid Star didn't flinch.
"My ability...... scales infinitely with how horrific and massive the 'evil' I perceive and face is. Body strength, destructive power—concept-type ability!"
The true reason Rapid Star reigned as an invincible S-rank myth. The viler the enemy's evil and treachery, the deeper his rage, the more explosively his body transcended limits.
As long as evil existed in his world, he wouldn't break. Even if it was his definition of evil.
Rapid Star's eyes flashed.
"You...... you're evil, huh?"
"What...."
"A slimy fuck trying to backstab and kill a fellow hero to cover up national crimes."
Rapid Star's muscles grotesquely swelled again with a rumble.
"Justice surges through me...... uncontrollably!"
"Y-you monster freak......!"
Krraaaaaack-!!!!
Gripping with evil-crushing force, Rapid Star tore the "indestructible" spherical barrier apart like paper.
Shatter! It exploded into shards.
Exposed inside, Rolling Stone's face appeared defenseless. Rapid Star snatched Magnet Floyd's spine from the floor and whipped it like a lash.
SMAAAAASH-!!!
The spine cracked across Rolling Stone's chest.
"Gaaaaahhh-!!!"
His chest split open, ribs shattering into fragments.
Rapid Star didn't stop, unleashing a barrage. Thud! Crack! Thud! Splatter! Spine whips and fists alternated, mangling limbs into ruin.
America's S-rank couldn't even resist properly, pulverized before Rapid Star's "justice" violence.
Crash! Rolling Stone hit the ground, already dead. His body was shredded beyond recognition.
Rapid Star grabbed a rusty rebar nearby. Mimicking Magnet Floyd's death, he rammed it mercilessly into Rolling Stone's torn chest.
Stab! Fixed to the floor by rebar, it looked unmistakably like Magnet Floyd's doing.
Blood- and dust-caked, Rapid Star shook off his hands indifferently and gazed skyward.
His mind held no trace of the slain U.S. S-rank or the ugly experiments. Only the sticky image of the new Korean prey he'd left behind.
Han Eunbyeol.
"Finally......"
A genuine smile crept across Rapid Star's lips.
"Time to head back to Korea."
Behind him, crumpled steel beams and a tattered American flag fluttered.
TERMINATED.
TARGET: S-rank villain, Magnet Floyd—KILL CONFIRMED.
INCIDENT: Abazen-affiliated U.S. S-rank hero Rolling Stone—KIA in combat during operation.
"Alright, everyone. Please sign these documents. They're liability waivers and identity guarantees."
Ayoung handed out the clipped papers to Ha Ohu, Nyaistringer, and Han Eunbyeol in turn, guiding them.
"Whoa......"
Eunbyeol gaped, clutching the papers while scanning the evaluation center interior.
KHC Hero Ability Evaluation Center No.2. Built on the site of the old Olympic stadium, once a global festival ground.
But the colossal beast-type villain Saurustyranno had razed the entire area. Rumor had it a pro baseball game was underway—canceled in the third inning with one team down 10 runs—and the losing fans cheered. Just a dark joke born of time, though; Saurustyranno remained Korea's deadliest incident, still drawing mourners.
The government rebuilt atop the ruins: a dome facility to fully withstand hero battles and power tests.
(The No.1 center was on Jeju Island, home to the hero academy training new blood.) All mainland active heroes' promotions and evaluations happened here at No.2.
Towering ceilings dozens of meters high, cutting-edge sensors everywhere, battle-hardened pros stalking corridors with edged weapons drawn. No villains in sight, yet the tense atmosphere had Eunbyeol walking on eggshells, shrunken.
The reason was clear: In this temporary crew Unmarked, her combat skills scraped the bottom.
Nyaistringer beside her? Ex-C-rank villain, but a cat beastkin with superhuman basics and freewielding electric powers.
And Mr. Ohu. Inherited acceleration from Shooting Star, saved hundreds at Bupyeong Station days ago—reevaluated to B-rank, even dealt a fatal blow to irregular-type villain Degi.
She alone? A powerless aspirant with just her sluggish, worm-like flight.