Chapter 16: How Dare You?
A large 'S' emblem.
As a transmigrator, it would be impossible for anyone not to recognize this emblem. It was simply too famous; even people who hadn't seen the movies or didn't understand American comics would have some familiarity with it.
That was Superman's mark, the emblem he wore on his chest. It was also the family crest of the House of El on Krypton.
Thoughts flashed rapidly through Orin Vale's mind.
Could it be Superman's spaceship?
No, that should be impossible. Batman had already made his debut, which meant if Superman was going to arrive, he would have done so years ago. He might even be working at the Daily Planet by now.
As for other members of the House of El from Krypton, other than Superman...
Supergirl?
She was probably the most famous member of Superman's family, aside from Superman himself.
Orin Vale was about to inspect the surroundings, looking for any traces or clues.
A warning from the alarm device suddenly flashed on his internal display.
Enemy attack!
When he turned around, he saw that a strange, shadowy figure had appeared at some point in the woods behind him.
At first glance, it had a human-like body, but a closer look revealed it was not.
It stood about two meters tall with a slender, triangular body. The top of its head had two horn-like protrusions and a pair of glowing compound eyes between them. Its horrifying face had no mouth, but a pair of curved, tooth-like structures opened and closed, looking especially dreadful under the moonlight.
It had a unique lower limb structure, with well-proportioned green legs, its shins wrapped in complex muscle fibers. Its arms were like serrated scythes.
It looked like a humanoid mantis?
"Hah, to think I'd run into a local native?" the mantis-man sneered. "A backward planet with a civilization level of three, just a bunch of primitives. It's your bad luck to run into me, Ly-Baggu. My blades have been thirsty for far too long. Let's moisten them with your blood!"
He was speaking some kind of alien language.
Orin Vale had never heard this language before, but that didn't stop him from understanding the other's meaning.
As members of the Ultraman Race, who oversee the entire universe, telepathy was also a required course. Thus, no matter which universe or planet they visited, the Ultraman Race could communicate effortlessly with the local species.
From these few words, it was clear that, first, this mantis-man was obviously an alien—a fact Orin Vale couldn't have cared less about. He was long past the stage of getting paranoid at the mention of aliens from when he was human. In fact, from a human perspective, he was an alien now too.
But this classic villain monologue was definitely a problem.
The mantis-man pushed off with his feet, and his entire body shot out abruptly.
A transparent ring of displaced air erupted from behind his green feet as his figure lunged forward with a faint explosive sound, cracking the ground beneath him.
Jumping power was the mantis-man's specialty, allowing him to use his leg strength to instantly erupt with extreme speed. This was the aspect he was most proud of.
He especially enjoyed savoring his prey's reaction of shock and fear when they were bewildered by his elusive speed.
Can you keep up with my speed!?
Thud.
The muffled sound of steel hitting flesh.
The charging mantis-man became a green afterimage, skipping across the ground two or three times like a stone on water before crashing diagonally into the mountain peak behind it with a boom. The mountain itself seemed to fracture under the monstrous force, sending rocks rumbling down.
Struggling to climb out from the rubble, the bruised and battered mantis-man, his mouth twisted askew, lifted his head. His face was a mask of pure shock and fear as he looked at the distant red-and-silver armor, still in a punching pose.
Just like the expressions his own victims used to wear.
What happened? What was going on?
How did I get sent flying?
He hadn't seen his opponent make a move at all. From his perspective, it was as if the other figure had been standing there completely motionless.
Before he could register what had happened, his opponent vanished again.
That's right, as if he had simply disappeared.
Several thruster ports on Orin Vale's armor activated simultaneously. Combined with the super speed of his human host, he pushed off with his feet, leaving behind a ripple of energy as he vanished on the spot.
Behind me!
The mantis-man felt a wave of heat wash over him from behind. Without a second thought, he relied on combat instinct, whirling around and striking backward with his arm.
Clang.
The serrated green scythe landed firmly in Orin Vale's open palm. Sparks flew as the blade struck steel, but the iron-cast body of the Ultraman armor stood its ground, utterly unmoved.
"Arghhh!!!" the mantis-man shrieked in pain.
An electric current—or rather, a powerful energy that felt like one—surged through his entire body like an overwhelming torrent. The intense pain nearly paralyzed his every nerve, and black smoke began to rise from his body.
Amidst the searing pain, a giant question mark appeared in his mind.
This isn't right.
His superiors had clearly told him Earth was a primitive planet with a civilization level of three, hadn't they?
Weren't we supposed to be able to walk all over a planet of this civilization level?
And now, facing this red-and-silver armor that resembled an iron demon, he was suddenly overcome with the urge to point at his boss's nose and start screaming curses—
—You call this damn thing Level Three?!
This kind of speed, this kind of explosive power...
This is damn near the level of personal armor from a Level-Eleven civilization like Krypton, isn't it?
BAM!
That was the sound of Orin Vale's Rising Dragon Punch connecting with his chin.
The mantis-man felt his face shatter, and he could have sworn he heard the sound of his facial carapace cracking. He felt as if he were soaring through the clouds, his entire body ascending to the heavens... quite literally.
He couldn't imagine how many tons of force were behind that Rising Dragon Punch, but it launched his entire body straight up like a rocket.
But that mecha monster was even faster!
The thrusters on Orin Vale's feet and back fired simultaneously. Blasting at full power, they allowed him to instantly overtake the airborne mantis-man. He then adjusted his thrust angle, spinning his body a full 360 degrees—
Single-Leg Cyclone Kick!
Similar to a special technique from Taekwondo, the spin kick, enhanced by propulsion flames, slammed viciously into the mantis-man.
Before that kick landed, the mantis-man's eyes were already filled with despair and regret.
He regretted having nothing better to do. This had nothing to do with his mission, yet his meddlesome hands had to get involved, and now he'd picked a fight with this overlord.
Then again, why would casually picking a fight on a Level Three civilization planet reveal this kind of monster!?
This is so damn unscientific...
The mantis-man violently spat a mouthful of green blood, the carapace on his chest cracking open. His ascending body was sent hurtling back, shooting diagonally downward with a boom to smash a giant crater into the ground. The entire area seemed to sink.
Orin Vale accelerated his descent, executing a graceful somersault to land. By the time he touched down, his arms were already formed into a cross. With the positive and negative poles connected, the Specium energy began to build.
It was a pre-planned chain of attacks, executed with silky-smooth fluidity, like a combo ingrained in his muscle memory from a fighting game, ensuring maximum damage output.
However, this Specium Ray was ultimately never fired.
He discovered that after being knocked down by that mid-air cyclone kick, the mantis-man had already turned into a pile of mosaic. There seemed to be no need for a follow-up attack.
Orin Vale disappointedly lowered his arms, canceling the Specium energy.
That's it?
He talked such a big game, I thought he'd be tough. Turns out he could only withstand half a combo and croaked before I even got to my ultimate.
In a place as dangerous as the DC Universe, how can someone so weak be so arrogant? How dare you?
"Life signature detected."
The suit's sensors still detected a living creature nearby.
Orin Vale followed the indicated direction. After flying for a short while, he quickly found the location marked by the suit. The visual sensors zoomed in, and the target soon appeared on his display.
It was a girl.
A young girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, her pretty face still bearing a trace of childishness, was huddled in a patch of shrubs, trembling.
(end of chapter)