Hero For Lust

Iaian stood amidst A-City's rubble, panting, his hand gripping the hilt of his blade.

Before him loomed a giant, multi-headed alien with pale gray skin and blood-red eyes.

No matter how many times he slashed the creature, its wounds regenerated instantly. He knew this was the strongest foe he had ever faced.

The alien straightened, the fresh katana slashes healing as quickly as the others. "A militant creature. Also cautious. Hurry! Let us hurry and kill. That is good." The alien's multiple head spoke to each other.

Can it be killed?

The alien's left arm morphed rapidly into a giant mallet. As it pulled its arm back, a voice pierced through the instance.

"'Incinerate!'"

Iaian glanced to his side before leaping back. A colossal beam of fiery energy engulfed the alien. As the beam faded, it left behind a scorched trail. The rubble melted into magma. Even from a distance, the searing heat slammed into him.

Who?!

"Another militant creature. This one is fleeing. Very cautious. A lifeform composed of artificial parts. Kill."

To Iaian's horror, the alien's voice echoed from above. It now flew using wings that had appeared out of nowhere.

The alien descended, its wings vanishing as it split into multiple forms—one for each head. "I will dispose of this. You handle the rest."

It split up… Argh… I can't die like this…

"Understood," one of the new forms replied.

Another form said, "I will go kill the fleeing one."

The other forms in the back also spoke one after the next.

"That is good."

"I—"

In unison, the aliens were bisected by an attack that shattered the sound barrier, a bright light generated from the strike illuminated Iaian.

Thud

The aliens crumbled into pieces, collapsing to the ground and revealing their attacker.

"Master!"

Atomic Samurai stood with his katana in hand, the other resting on his sheath. "Iaian, are you okay?"

"Master! Swords don't work on this thing. Forget about me! Retreat!"

The alien rapidly reformed into a single entity, its fist pulled back.

"You're in my way!" Atomic Samurai slashed downward, obliterating the alien once more. "Iai! The path of the sword never ends! Keep pushing forward! Do not let self-doubt consume you!"

"Yes, Master!"

Again, the alien's shattered pieces rose and reformed. This time, however, it had a single head with ten blood-red eyes, its size now even greater.

"So there is a life-form on this planet that can fight. Excellent! Try to withstand our invasion!"

Atomic Samurai stared up at the alien. "Planet, eh? You from outer space? And you got friends up in that floaty toy? Yeah, that's it. I doubt you alone have the power to do all this to the city."

Iaian's attention shifted to the two individuals who had just arrived — Silver Fang and Metal Bat. Considering their fighting styles, he felt puzzled.

Who fired that massive energy beam earlier?

¤ ¤ ¤

Emergency alarms blared through the hallways of the Hero Association Headquarters. Staff members rushed to their stations in droves.

Two of them, Busho and Jinzuren, sprinted through a door that slid open automatically from bottom to top.

Busho entered first, shouting to the staff filling the room. "Issue an evacuation warning to A-City and all neighboring cities. Right now! Expand the System M vitals monitor to cover all of A-City. We need an accurate survivor count."

A staff member in the back called out, "What's the threat level?"

Jinzuren's voice came from behind Busho. "Dragon," he said without hesitation.

Surprised exclamations erupted throughout the room.

"No…" Busho gazed up at the wide screen that displayed the gargantuan alien ship. "This might be a God-level Threat."

The staff in the room sprang into action, working at full throttle.

Jinzuren dove in as well, assisting anyone he could, leaving Busho standing deep in thought.

Earlier, when Busho spotted Caspian at the far end of the table, his suspicions stirred. But to his surprise, Caspian had vanished, leaving a hole in the reinforced ceiling. Disappearing sometime after him were not only Genos—which made sense, given Busho's discovery that Genos was Caspian's disciple—but also Bang and even Tatsumaki.

Caspian, you appeared out of nowhere, an anomaly. Your actions so far are like someone who doesn't fit in. Almost like an outsider… Yet others seem drawn to you. What kind of man are you...? Could you be the one from Lady Shibabawa's prophecy?

¤ ¤ ¤

Master, I reached Iaian before he sustained permanent injuries, but I fear the plan may be diverging…

Genos had followed Caspian immediately after he punched through the ceiling. Without a word, he descended from the Hero Association Headquarters roof at full speed, using propulsion from his cannons to land safely before rushing forward. He knew time was short.

When he hurried toward Iaian's position, he detected someone following him. Whoever it was kept hidden, avoiding detection. Genos hoped it was another S-Class Hero. But if he had stopped to find whoever it was who had been following him, he would've certainly failed his task.

After returning to the emergency meeting room, which earned him odd looks from the staff present, he moved through the room until he stood beneath the ceiling hole. With a quick leap, he launched himself upward. As he ascended, he spotted a figure clinging to the edge of the opening.

"Look out!" Genos called out.

The figure panicked and scrambled onto the roof. Once Genos reached the top, he discovered it was King who had been blocking the way.

Ahead, he spotted two more S-Class heroes: Child Emperor and Superalloy Darkshine.

A sinking feeling gripped Genos. A crucial part of the plan was missing.

"Do any of you know where the 'Tornado of Terror' is?"

Superalloy Darkshine turned and shook his head. "No. She disappeared."

Child Emperor ignored the question. "Four S-Class heroes can handle the enemy on the ground. The problem is that." His lollypop rested against his mouth. "We can't reach it. Any aircraft would be shot down instantly."

Genos looked up at the ship. Its scale was absurd, but that wasn't why he wore a worried expression.

"King, you're one of the top S-Class fighters. Give us your take," said Superalloy Darkshine.

Genos turned back, only to find King crawling back into the hole in the roof.

King, S-Class Rank 7. Said to be the strongest man on Earth, and clearly respected by the others… Master said he's a man worth of befriending.

"There's nothing I can do. It's too high in the sky. There's no way to attack it. But the mysterious craft is currently dormant. We should use this opportunity to call in Metal Knight."

"If even you can't bring it down…" Superalloy Darkshine sighed.

Genos gazed at the sky. Master has already boarded the enemy ship. Whether this is the prophecy or not, there's not a single evil he cannot defeat. If such an evil existed, then I assume humanity would have perished long ago.

He stepped forward, peering at the area beneath the ship.

Without Tatsumaki, the attack you warned me about might be unstoppable.