He had been knocked back?
Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask lowered his gaze to his hands, which were recovering from their injuries in a way unlike any normal human's.
Even though the Mascot Costume looked quite similar, the monster in front of him did not seem like the same one Garou had brutally beaten earlier.
No, this really was Phoenix Man. He had simply become stronger.
Donkan Bird was the name of the character whose costume trapped Phoenix Man. It had been the mascot of a children's program.
The show had already gone off the air before Yimi arrived in this world, so even Yimi, who often watched children's programming, did not recognize him.
The reason it had been canceled was that there were far too many dark jokes for a children's show. Donkan Bird, the mascot, often blundered into power lines because of his dullness and got roasted into a cooked bird—only to reappear in the next episode as if nothing had happened.
Hard as it was to believe, after Garou punched his head apart, Phoenix Man had actually revived exactly like the character in the show. Dying and coming back to life had even raised his strength by another level!
At this point, he should possess Dragon-level strength, right?
"Phoenix Prominence Hawk Mode!"
Scorching flames ignited across the Mascot Costume. The underground area, which had been fairly cool, became as hot as a furnace, forcing Garou, who had not yet gotten close, several steps backward.
Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask, standing much nearer, took the blast head-on.
Yet in that same instant, the space before Yimi suddenly changed. She appeared in another scene with blue sky and green grass.
She had not activated the System to cross worlds, had she?
Phoenix Man lowered his head and looked at the little girl before him. "Phoenix Space. Only our consciousness should have entered this place. I'm surprised. This move should only work on people wearing Mascot Costumes."
"Mascot Costume?"
Yimi had gone with Tomohisa to buy little dinosaur pajamas before, so she knew what that was. She looked down at herself. All she was wearing was the Beginner Battle Suit that appeared by default when she transformed from a cat into human form.
Because she had directly eaten the Beginner Battle Suit and absorbed its function, Yimi truly transformed entirely through her own power, and her human form was genuinely and completely human. The Beginner Battle Suit, which had originally been the main component, had instead become nothing more than a supporting accessory that kept her from being naked after transforming. So there was no sense in which her human form itself was some kind of Mascot Costume.
"A Mascot Costume means hiding your true self, then throwing your body and mind into playing another role. That's how I see it. It appears you're the same."
Phoenix Man shifted his gaze behind Yimi. There was another person here besides Yimi herself who met the requirement—and that person was even more interesting than the little girl.
He caught the hand that suddenly struck toward his face. Naturally, it belonged to Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask.
Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask looked at his own arm in confusion. This wasn't like before, when he'd simply been overpowered. With only his consciousness here, he naturally could not harm the other party.
"Playing a role?" Yimi's ears twitched.
This person was saying she was pretending to be human!
The kitten planted her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest. "I'm growing up. I'm not pretending."
Kaname Junko had said so too. Yimi was becoming more sensible.
"No, no. Think carefully. Haven't you already gone against your own nature?" As he spoke, Phoenix Man's gaze rested on Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask.
"Did you bring us here just to say this?" Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask suppressed the urge to tear him apart and tried to delay as long as possible for the S-Class Heroes to arrive.
He hated admitting it, but in this state he could not do anything at all.
Phoenix Man spread his hands. "In this space, you can't hide what's in your heart. To be honest, I'm surprised too. The Hero Association's public face is actually a monster in his true form."
He deliberately continued in a friendly tone.
"Keeping it hidden all the time must be exhausting, right? Returning to your true nature would make things easier. You've already seen that the Monster Association exists. Doesn't that mean monsters can be friends with one another too?"
"Think about the expressions humans would make if they learned you were a monster. Would they talk to you as calmly and amicably as I am? They'd start wondering how many people you'd harmed while pretending to be human. Of course, we wouldn't care how many monsters you've already killed."
Seeing Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask's eyes flicker slightly, Phoenix Man smiled, then crouched down in front of Yimi. "My Phoenix Space doesn't lie..."
The moment he lowered his head to her level of his own accord, Yimi walked forward without the slightest hesitation and slapped him across the face.
Phoenix Man stared at her, baffled.
The kitty was not stupid.
Yimi pointed at him disdainfully. "You already said only consciousness can... enter here. Outside, I look like this. So why am I... still like this inside?"
"Looks like the two of us can't become the same kind, at least." Phoenix Man covered his face, irritation appearing in his expression.
Come to think of it, what this brat had said earlier had hit one of his sore spots too. Growing up, was it? It was exactly because of you brats and your incomprehensible ideas about child development that the show got canceled and made me lose my job!
But before he could do anything, Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask beside him suddenly twisted his handsome face and shouted furiously, "Like hell I'm going to keep stalling!"
His wavering gaze had not come from being shaken by Phoenix Man's words. He had been calculating how much time had passed.
Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask vaguely remembered seeing the flames outside beginning to fuse the sand into glassy crystals. It would not take more than a few seconds... No, perhaps the fire had already reached them, and they simply could not feel it because their consciousness was trapped here.
But the flames were so obvious that the S-Class Heroes should be able to reach them in less than twenty seconds, right?
Twenty seconds again. Even he did not know why he had calculated such a precise number...
How could he possibly wait twenty seconds?
Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask's face darkened. His consciousness might be trapped here, but his power did not come from the 'Mascot Costume.' Rather, his power was being restricted by the 'Mascot Costume.'
Perhaps there was something special about a monster's body. In any case, ever since entering this place, he had felt that if he wanted, he could return to his original form and leave Phoenix Space.
Phoenix Man's strength had only barely crossed the threshold for Dragon-level. Someone like this was no match for Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask at all. But because he could not confirm the situation outside, he could not know whether those S-Class Heroes had already arrived behind them.
No, whether they had arrived or not made no difference. That sharp-headed Good Samaritan had followed them down too. He should be somewhere behind them right now, watching...
With Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask's regenerative ability, being engulfed in flames might not kill him. But the little girl whose only strong ability was psychokinesis might not be so fortunate.
Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask's resolve was being tested—
He held firm!
His swelling body tore his clothes apart. The change in his body structure instantly pulled Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask's consciousness out of Phoenix Space. He raised a hand and tore a path through the oncoming flames, then seized Phoenix Man's head with a hideous giant hand.
"Oh?" Garou grinned excitedly in the distance.
So this guy really was a monster after all!
"Phoenix Fire Falcon Mode..."
"You think your Mascot Costume is that impressive?!" Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask pressed down on Phoenix Man's face and forcibly dragged him out of the costume.
"Wait!"
There were differences in strength even among monsters. Threat levels were only evaluations. Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask might not rank among the strongest Dragon-level monsters, but he would absolutely fall somewhere around the middle.
"Monsters... are fighting?"
And of all times, it had to be now. Like police arriving late in a movie, Child Emperor, who had made faster progress through the area, finally showed up with the other S-Class Heroes.