Raijin was drawing ragged breaths and struggling to maintain his focus amidst the overwhelming weariness. Not only did he have two more metal titans to take down, but now there was also a wave of humanoid bots that had joined the party. And no matter how many he was shooting down, more appeared, replacing the fallen ones.
Raising his hands slightly above his chest, he created another electric arrow, aiming the sharp weapon at the bots. With a single shot, he took down four at a time while running in zigzags to avoid the torrent of bullets that was raining down on him. He stretched out his arms, converting his energy into a ball of electricity that he launched forward, short-circuiting the robots in front of him.
The hero ducked down to avoid the recoil of energy, taking cover behind a building's debris. He took a moment to catch his breath before peeking over his barricade. Burnt metal bodies lay on the ground, the acrid scent of scorched metal burning his nostrils, whilst the smoke irritated his eyes.
"Hey, Akemi, I need some assistance," he coughed through the comms, requesting some backup from his sidekick.
"The SPF agents are securing the perimeters and evacuating the remaining civilians. No one is currently available. Give me a minute, I'll see what I can do."
Raijin cursed under his ragged breath, exhaustion catching up to him. Using this much electrical power in one day could kill him unless he took a proper rest and restored his body's condition. But without anyone covering his back, he could only rely on himself and continue to drain his energy until he reached his limits.
"Rai, hang in there! I see someone coming your way."
"Who-"
"Sir Raijin!" shouted a vibrant voice.
His gaze snapped right. A girl with long black hair and sharp blue eyes sprinted toward him, clad in a sleek combat outfit. He stared at her for a long minute before gasping in shock.
"Vigilante girl!" he exclaimed, overwhelmed with a sudden warm feeling.
"Ah, yes… That's me. I've come to assist you, sir. I heard your sidekick over the SPF's comms."
Raijin sighed in relief. The hero did not care that the girl was a villain. Such petty things could only bother people who had never set foot on the battlefield. Once you stood on the frontline, the only thing that mattered was to win. Anything else was just too annoying to deal with, or so were the thoughts of the young hero.
"Good! Lend me a hand. I need to recharge my energy. Can you take care of these bots?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Thanks, I'm counting on you."
Raijin then rested his back against the debris, injecting himself with the special booster made by his sidekick, letting the fluid regenerate his energy. The injection was a mixture of chemical compounds that fuelled him with energy for a few minutes. After which, his body would completely shut down. It was a double-edged sword, but one that he had to grab onto tightly if he did not want to die.
Saki stood in a daze, the last words of Raijin ringing in her mind. One of her idols was counting on her. Someone she would not even dare breathe the same air as him was relying on her. And just this thought was enough to pump up her energy.
She took a deep breath, stretching herself before jumping straight into action, adrenaline rushing through her veins. She darted along the street, her body moving before thoughts could catch up, with her instincts guiding her every move. She ducked, twisted, and spun, her limbs striking like a Gatling gun, tearing through machines with feral precision. Behind her, Raijin observed the scene in awe.
"It's a good thing that she is on our side," thought the hero, watching her behind his cover.
His eyes then fell on the second robot that was carving the city with lasers. The booster could only provide him a few more minutes of full-on activity.. So he had to act quickly. There were two more giants within the block; thus, he would have to take them both down in one go. He scrutinised the area, brewing a plan that would hopefully work.
"Hey, Vigilante girl!" he called out, waving his arms frantically.
Saki turned to him, the detached arm of a bot in her hand, her breath shaky. The hero pointed at the two metal titans. She acquiesced before dropping the arm and going back to him.
"Listen, I don't have much energy left. We'll have to destroy the two robots simultaneously. I need you to immobilise them together. Can you do it?"
The girl paused, taking another look at the robots. They towered over the remaining standing buildings, releasing a powerful blast of energy through the palms of their hands. Avoiding getting hit by the lasers was one thing, but immobilizing them was another.
I will have to get as close as possible to the two of them. But they are a few metres apart…
Then I'll just have to bring them together.
"I'll bring them to the centre, sir," said the girl before running off again.
Saki sprinted across the streets, feeling her nexus recharging energy throughout her body. She took down the remaining bots that were in her way, heading straight for the titanic machines. Behind her, Raijin was projecting an energy shield that protected her from the laser blast. As soon as the two robots were within the same radius, she crouched down, touching the concrete with her bare hands. Raw energy poured out onto the road, disintegrating it into tiny cubes before being reshaped into two giant hands. They moved forward, extending themselves to their target. The left hand grabbed the nearest giant mecha while the right one stretched to the other robot, ensnaring its prey like a python.
Sweat dripped off Saki's face as she let out a painful groan while pulling the two robots together. Using her bloodline ability consumed a lot of energy, but the hardest part was controlling her hands. She had to use all of her strength to manipulate them on the field. Moreover, the robots were cumbersome. It took everything in her to drag them to each other. She poured in more energy, feeling her arms going numb from energy overdrive. The girl let out another groan before binding the giant hands around the two mechas, putting them back to back so that the hero could destroy them in one shot.
"Sir!" she shouted.
"Yeah, I got them!"
Raijin aimed a gigantic electrical arrow at the robots. For a moment, the air froze, time slowing down, his entire focus shifting onto the cores of energy. All his fears and worries dissipated, with only one thing on his mind: destroying his targets. Inhaling sharply, he released the arrow, breaking through the still air with a thunderclap that tore the heavens.
"High Voltage: Thunder Heart Arrow"
With the intensity of a thousand lightning bolts, it pierced through the mechas' energy hearts, like God's divine punishment. The orbs cracked almost instantly, disintegrating in a massive explosion. Raijin clenched his teeth, using the last of his strength to propel himself forward and form a barrier to protect himself and Saki.
Flames and smoke engulfed the entire block, the irritating acrid scent burning their lungs. Bits and pieces of the robots rained like fire on the streets, destroying the remaining humanoid bots. At last, the machines had fallen.
Raijin and Saki both crumbled to the ground, completely exhausted.
"Thank you for your help," said Raijin as he looked at the young girl.
Saki nodded, her eyes glistening with joy. She had thought side by side with the great Raijin of Cometz, something that could only happen in her dreams. She grinned stupidly, her mind already on cloud nine.
However, her happiness was short-lived. All of a sudden, she felt her nexus wavering within her. Her eyes widened in shock, her hand immediately clutching at her shirt. She coiled in pain, her whole body shaking violently under the fearful feeling that overwhelmed her.
"Hey, what's wrong?" asked the young man as he leaned over to her side, pulling her towards him to check on her.
"He's… coming," she let out, pain writhing within her.
"Who?" thought the hero. Then he felt it, a bloodthirst so intense that time itself seemed to have stopped.
The villain aura of Steel Demon flooded the air, sending shivers down their spines. Raijin stayed still, unable to move. The pressure that the man with a steel helmet was exuding paralyzed his entire body. Never had the hero felt such an intoxicating aura.
"My children…" murmured the villain. A single tear streaked down his cheek as he surveyed the mangled wreckage of his creations.
His voice trembled with anger, pure fury nourishing his vengeful spirit. He scanned the area with one swift look before locking his gaze onto the pair that was on the ground, among the debris. His grey eyes darken. The air shifted drastically. A heavy pressure surged over the battlefield like a crashing wave. It was so strong that they could barely breathe.
All the metal pieces rose above the ground, coming back together to form two metal titans with sharp sword-like hands.
"Oh no…" let out Saki, witnessing the monstrous creatures coming back to life.
"You shall pay for your crimes just like those before you," snapped Steel Demon with a voice like thunder behind a funeral dirge.
Wait… where are the others?
Unsettling thoughts ran through Raijin's mind, an uneasy feeling overbearing his heart and clouding his mind.
"Shit–Shun! Ryu! Are you guys okay?" Raijin's voice cracked over the comms.
Silence.
"Ryu! Shun! Answer me, dammit!" He desperately called out his comrades' names again and again, each quiet second sinking his heart to the ground.
Death was common on the battlefield. This was one of the first things that they had learned at school. Heroes died more often than average humans. They never knew when it would hit them, but they had been briefed on the protocols to be followed in case this were to happen. He knew all that had to be done. Yet, he could not bring himself to believe this. He could not give up on his friends. They had to be alive. They could not die, not so soon, when they had not yet accomplished their dreams.
"GUYS!!" he cried, his clenched fists trembling.
Beside him, a whirlwind of emotions brewed within Saki as she watched one of her idols breaking down. She had admired Cometz ever since they first appeared on the hero scene. They were known as the strongest of their generation, overflowing with limitless potential. Yet, in that very moment, she felt the harsh truth of reality. Her idols were not invincible. They faced the same fate as all humans, and now she, too, would be going down.
"I'm… still alive," breathed out Ryu, his voice strained. "Shun, are you okay?"
"Ugh… I have blood in my mouth," coughed Dash. "My body's too wounded to move. Sorry guys… I can't do anything right now."
The blue-haired hero sighed in relief, wiping away a tear, upon hearing their voices. Saki turned to him, with wet eyes, noticing the relaxed expression of Raijin. Her heroes were still alive.
However, her attention shifted back to the supervillain. His energy kept increasing, fueled by his negative energy. With all three heroes in a weakened state, and the powerful being standing before them, still in one piece, all hope seemed lost.
How were they supposed to stop someone much stronger than all of them combined?
It was a lost battle.
Ryu, lying half-conscious beneath a pile of rubble, clenched his fists. As the leader, he knew that it was time to order everyone to retire. Giving up was not in his dictionary; however, the situation was too overwhelming for them to overcome. His entire team was down, with only a young vigilante as backup. No matter how much he racked his brain to think of a plan, he could not see a way out of this nightmare.
If only I were stronger…
Suddenly, a striking sound arose. The battlefield, once filled with screams and metal grinding against concrete, went eerily silent for a moment, as if the world itself had paused to witness something ancient and terrible awaken.
Saki's breath hitched. A strange pressure spread across her skin, like a storm warning. Her body tensed, her eyes scanning the sky.
What's that ominous feeling?
Then it came, descending like an angel of death.
A thunderous roar of rotors tore through the heavens. The sky split open with the sound of inbound force, something fast, heavy, and absolute. A shadowy figure fell across the ruins, its black silhouette crashing downward like a divine spear.
At first, it was just a blur. Then, clarity struck.
A man cloaked in black, his face obscured by a sleek, dog-like muzzle, plummeted from the sky. The sheer energy pulsing from his descent disturbed the air, cracking windows and instilling fear in his audience.
"That's-" Raijin's voice was barely audible, swallowed by the wind pressure.
The figure fell straight toward the titanic robots, blades drawn mid-air. And just before impact, his arms cut through the wind with surgical precision.
"MAX GRAVITY: BLADE SINGULARITY"
Two short swords flashed. And then-
Boom.
An explosion erased the cloudy sky. The two metal titans did not just fall; they vanished, obliterated without a scream, without resistance. The shockwave rippled outward, tearing through the streets, ripping apart everything in its path. Raijin instinctively shielded Saki as they were thrown back, rubble flying in a deafening blast, shattering what was left of the city block.
For a few seconds, nothing moved. Just the roar of the wind, the hiss of melting debris, and the echo of absolute silence.
Then the smoke cleared.
There, in the middle of the battlefield, he stood among the chaos, just like an unpredictable force of nature. A crater beneath his feet, as if the earth itself had cowered from his landing. His arms dangled loosely at his sides, blades still crackling with residual energy. The muzzle on his expression, but the sheer aura he emitted was unmistakable.
He was death itself.
Saki gaped, her heart beating violently against her ribcage.
His aura…it's even greater than Steel Demon's.
Even the supervillain himself stiffened, his steel-plated fingers twitching with unreadable tension. For the first time, the villain's confidence faltered.
And just like that, hope returned, riding on the back of HAL's mad dog.