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Black Mentis was already buried in the fight.
His silhouette cut through smoke and fire. Armor flashed between towering demon bodies. Every punch landed heavy. Bone cracked under his knuckles. Metal warped from the force. One demon caught a straight right to the jaw and folded sideways into a wrecked sedan. The hood caved in with a shriek of bending steel.
Another charged from behind. Mentis pivoted fast. His knee drove into its abdomen with a wet thud. He twisted and hurled the body through a storefront window. Glass exploded outward. Shards sliced across the street and embedded in nearby pavement.
A larger demon lunged. It swung a club the size of a lamppost.
Mentis met it head-on.
His fist slammed into its chest.
BOOM.
The shockwave rippled out. It flipped smaller demons off their feet. Bodies smashed into walls, bounced off streetlights, crashed through parked cars. One slammed into a traffic signal hard enough to snap the pole clean. The light crashed down in sparks.
The thirteen A-rank heroes held formation behind him.
They were young. Adrenaline pumped through them. Some grinned wide. Others stayed pale and sweating. All moved when the moment hit.
Mentis raised two fingers to his comm while he tore another demon apart by the throat. Wet crunch. He ripped the head free and tossed the corpse aside. Blood sprayed in an arc across the asphalt.
"Stick to your training. Do not fight them head-on. Leave that to me. Break their groups. Do not let them spill into nearby cities."
Affirmations crackled back through static. The formation shifted. Without hesitation.
Frostbite stepped forward. Her boots skidded on scorched pavement. She drew in a sharp breath. Cold mist burst from her mouth and frosted the air around her face.
She snapped both hands down.
CRACK.
Ice tore up through the street. Jagged spikes erupted beneath a cluster of demons scrambling over a crushed bus. Limbs snapped. Bodies skewered. One demon screamed as ice punched through its ribs and out its back. Blood steamed on the frozen ground.
Shards rained down and clattered around her boots.
"Booyaa. Babeh. What a strike."
She slid sideways. Planted her heel hard. Palms lifted again. She threw up another wall of ice between two collapsing buildings.
"C'mon, Inferno. Cover me dude. Melt these assholes and I'll freeze the ones on this side."
Inferno vaulted over her barricade. Heat rolled off his body in waves. Flames curled around his shoulders and licked up his arms as he grinned midair.
"You got it, sweet cheeks."
He came down hard on a demon's head. Palm slammed into its skull.
FWOOOSH.
Fire swallowed the creature. It screamed once before its body ignited from the inside. Flesh split as flames burst through its chest.
Inferno laughed as he rebounded off the corpse.
"Gotttchaaaaa."
He slammed forward again. Fists crashed into another pack. Molten heat exploded on impact. Bodies blistered and burst. Skin peeled back. One demon's arm blew apart at the elbow. Bone fragments and burning muscle scattered across the street.
"Looks like I got more than you. I'm not saying anything. I'm just saying."
Thunderstrike charged up behind them. Boots hammered the pavement. His warhammer crackled with electricity. Arcs snapped along its surface.
"Yeah, asshole, leave some for us. You think I'm letting you outshine me? Hell nah, dawg."
He brought the hammer down.
KRAAAACK.
The street split open. Concrete buckled upward. Demons launched into the air. Limbs flailed. Bodies tumbled like debris in an explosion.
Thunderstrike wiped sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. Then smacked his forehead with two fingers.
"Now that's a home run. Straight to the damn moon. Somebody keep score. I'm winning this shit. Drinks on all of you."
Black Mentis didn't slow.
He used the opening. One kick sent a demon spinning into a collapsed bus. Another punch crushed a skull flat against the asphalt. He moved straight through the gap. Every step drove him closer to Megalodon.
"Gravity. Crush down the ones blocking my route."
Gravity froze for half a second.
Her shoulders tensed. Hands shook as she raised her arms. She drew in air through clenched teeth.
The air warped.
The battlefield dipped. Asphalt groaned. Demons staggered as invisible force pressed them downward. Knees buckled. Spines bent at unnatural angles. Bones cracked under pressure.
She yanked one hand up, then dragged it down hard.
WHOOOMP.
Demons shot skyward, screaming. Then slammed back into the ground seconds later. Bodies burst on impact. Blood sprayed across the ruined street. Limbs tore free and skidded across the pavement.
Gravity's knees bent. Her breath stuttered.
"G-Got it. I can't hold this long."
Mentis didn't look back.
"Use your surroundings. Your stamina's the lowest. Fight smart."
Gravity nodded hard. Jaw clenched.
"R-Right."
Spectra descended beside her. Boots touched down softly despite the chaos. She placed a hand near Gravity's shoulder. Light pulsed gently from her palm.
Gravity's shaking eased. Breathing steadied.
"Hey. Slow it down. You got this."
From the smoke ahead, Nightstalkers emerged.
Long limbs. Bone masks. Movements silent and low.
Photon stepped forward. Shield flared bright as claws slammed into it. Sparks burst outward.
"They're adapting. Shit. They're learning our strategy."
Another claw hit. The shield buckled but held.
Photon twisted. Sliced his blade through a demon's torso. The body split in half. Guts spilled onto the street.
"They ain't stupid, y'all. Be careful."
Black Mentis swept his arm sideways.
Violet blasts ripped through the incoming wave. Demons cut apart mid-run. Torsos sheared clean. Heads spun away before bodies collapsed.
His gaze locked onto Megalodon in the distance.
"I'll get to you soon. You bastard."
Blink vanished mid-stride.
Violet static crackled across the battlefield as she reappeared inside demon ranks. She tapped one on the shoulder. Another on the knee. A third on the skull.
Each vanished with a sharp pop. Reappeared miles above the city.
Gravity did the rest.
Blink reappeared near a towering commander demon. Its armor thicker. Blade hummed with energy.
Blink grinned. Daggers slid into her hands.
"Eyes on their commander. Anyone wanna lend a hand."
She didn't wait.
One clean slice straight through the spine.
CRUNCH.
The commander collapsed forward. Armor crashed onto the street. Demons around it froze. Snarls turned uncertain.
Blink stepped around the body. Crouched. Drove a dagger into the back of its head.
"Sike. Now the back of your head is ridiculous."
The corpse hit the pavement face-first. Ass up.
She nudged it with her boot.
"Didn't need backup after all."
She giggled. Breath quick. Adrenaline high.
"Two outta ten. And that's only 'cause you fell like a damn ostrich."
She threw the team a thumbs-up.
Then she vanished.
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