Check and Coco, Hero Rescue Operation (6)
Clang! Clash! Kakakakang! Kakakaang!
A heavy, razor-sharp blue gleam clashes against a rough, crimson glow. The two lights collide, ringing out with the sharp screech of metal.
The silvery-blue light—nearly pure silver—is the spear wielded by Check. This slender polearm, forged entirely from a single piece of steel from tip to base, now shimmered with an eerie, otherworldly glow as it drank in the mana Check poured into it. No mere metal could capture that uncanny radiance.
Their weapons cross paths. A deafening clamor erupts. Tempered steel meets a special alloy conjured from mana, sparking brilliant fireworks and sending shockwaves that make the very air tremble.
Swinging weapons infused with potent mana, each clash explodes like fireworks—bursts of dazzling sparks and effects.
…What the hell is this kid?
She’s keeping up.
Check swings her polearm in a wide arc, following instantly with a lethal thrust aimed straight at Spade’s vitals, leaving no room for hesitation. But Spade parries the high-speed strike with labored grace, dodging the fatal blow and batting it away with her short baton. Without missing a beat, she counters with a kick toward Check’s own weak spot.
Check deftly sweeps the incoming leg aside with her long pole, then swings again—this time targeting Spade’s arm. The gleaming silver spear, ablaze with mana, collides once more with the dark baton pulsing red, tracing arcs of mana light.
Zzzzziiing!! Kakaaaang! Kakakakakakang!!
What follows is a breathless flurry of attacks and counters. Check wields her long spear like an extension of her limbs, storming in like a tempest. Spade counters with her short baton and lithe, flexible body, matching her blow for blow. The ground craters around them from their superhuman clash, horrific noises echoing without end.
I thought she was fast and solid enough just a moment ago.
She’s faster now. Stronger. The mana in her weapon feels denser, too.
It wasn’t just because she’d consolidated her two weapons into one… No, that didn’t explain it. Check couldn’t pinpoint the reason, but everything about Spade had improved since moments ago. Vastly so.
As her master, Check knew Spade well. The girl was a talented Awakener, but green—short on experience, her abilities narrow in scope. She had much left to learn. Check had taken her as a disciple, trained her diligently, certain that with time and effort, Spade would surpass her current level.
Yet the Spade Check knew was still a fledgling who’d barely cracked her shell—far from her goals, a pitiful little chick.
She’s keeping up.
…She’s keeping up!
In any other situation, Check would’ve been overjoyed, moved to tears. Instead, she felt only regret at the irony, pressing her assault relentlessly.
“Ah, haha! Take this, Spade!!”
With Check’s gleeful shout, a thunderous krong! erupted from her arm the next instant. She unleashed a mana explosion, thrusting her spear at supersonic speeds.
“…Oh ho?!”
But Spade blocked it. She deflected with expert finesse and counterattacked. Check staggered back from the incoming baton thrust, a gash opening on her cheek. Her excitement had led to a big swing, exposing a fatal gap.
No time to stop. A scratch like that wasn’t worth noticing. Check surged forward again. As if that strike had flipped a switch, she cycled mana through her body even more fiercely, ramping up her speed.
The tempo accelerated. Her already relentless barrage now felt like it came from four arms—faster, more numerous.
But Spade kept pace. Matching Check, she pushed beyond her limits, her crimson mana flaring brighter, fiercer.
She keeps up. Keeps up. Keeps up.
Two hands, two feet, the short baton in her grip. Eyes pushed to the brink, sweat flying. In this mindless frenzy where even a blink could mean life or death, Spade still clung on with desperate effort.
Hero ranks span nine levels, from the lowest H-rank to the pinnacle S-rank. The two steps below F-rank are for ordinary civilians—non-Awakeners in desk jobs.
F- and E-rank heroes are little more than apprentices. Given time, they’ll advance somehow.
Then come D- to A-rank: the real workforce. They’re evaluated holistically on achievements, ability utility, and more to climb ranks.
Beyond that, the captain-level S-ranks. Most earned their status through massive contributions in the past Great Catastrophe. Post-Catastrophe S-ranks need endorsements from at least three existing S-rank heroes on top of achievements and power.
A- and S-rank may seem a single step apart—no intermediate rank between—but the gulf is vast. Jokes go that an A-rank can barely trigger a man-made disaster, while an S-rank could casually unleash a natural calamity.
Check was an A-rank hero on track for S-rank promotion. Not like Spade’s A-rank. She was already a monster, calamity-level. No matter Spade’s potential, the human-level gap between them should’ve been insurmountable.
Should’ve been.
Hahk, hahk, hahk…! Haa… Ah…!!
She’s… keeping up.
I’m… catching Check…!!
No breather in the endless exchange. Spears shoot from every angle, blue-glowing steel declaring its intent to crush her. Spade endures with her mana-reinforced body and baton pushed to the limit—blocking, parrying.
With just these two arms and legs—her limbs still intact—she holds on. The accumulating minor wounds stopped growing at some point.
—Her speed was climbing higher.
—Her screaming heart insists to Spade: you can endure.
Honestly, I don’t get it. Why am I even doing this?
Why I’m protecting that guy… I don’t know.
But she heard his plea for help. And heroes protect the weak.
She knew opposing Check was foolish. Yet Villain No. 13 had told her—stroking her back, infusing her with his strange mana.
Spade, let me give you some advice.
If you face an opponent you can’t possibly beat—if a storm or wave you can’t handle crashes down on you with your current power.
Remember the heart of the great tree. A massive tree, roots plunged deep into the earth, unshakeable.
No. 13 had said it: Spade brimmed with untapped potential, more than any Awakener he’d seen. Her power was unparalleled.
With time, you’ll grow stronger than anyone.
Right now, I can only help crack the door open a little.
Someday, surely…
Her swings quicken. The torrent of mana surging through her body intensifies. Squeezing out mana beyond limits, yet as time passes, Spade’s speed doesn’t flag—it accelerates. Power builds. Intensity and momentum swell.
“Ah, ah, ah…!”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
A beastly roar erupts. Countering Check’s killing blow with a fang-like barrage of her own, she responds, responds, responds. Heart pounding, blood boiling. She recalls the great tree’s resolve—roots sunk deep into this star.
No matter how mana-fortified the spear, no matter the storm of strikes. This tree won’t be felled. It won’t crumble. Its roots are the planet itself.
Unless it’s a blow to shatter the star, Spade won’t break. She won’t fall behind.
“Ah, ha, hahaha!!”
Weapons clash again. A fight that should’ve ended in two exchanges drags on. Spade doesn’t just block—she lunges like a beast, snapping at Check’s throat. Check forgets the situation, bursting into laughter.
What’s so funny? I’m fighting for my life here.
“――――――――!!”
Another roar. Her throat parches. Unfamiliar movements grind at her joints. Yet Spade presses on—swinging her baton, dodging the whipping legs aimed to unbalance her. Deflecting the spear seeking to end her in one hit. Ignoring her creaking body and heart’s protests, she fights.
Spade’s mind doesn’t waver. Her will and soul burn brighter than ever.
…But no matter her mind, her body’s limits loomed near.