398 Annihilation ?

Tokyo.

Matsuo entered a deserted alley.

He looked like crap. All the color had drained from his face, leaving him with a creepily waxy skin texture. The bags under his eyes were so heavy they touched the top of his cheeks. He looked like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

He set his pet carrier on the ground.

Momo was inside.

He considered unzipping it and letting the cat out, but thought better of it.

"Momo, be good and stay here, alright? I'm sure you'll be adopted in no time," he said to the bag.

Then, he left.

The following days felt like a reprieve. It was like the sun had finally peeked through the clouds that had darkened his life with despair.

Without Momo's eyes trained on him every night, he could finally sleep in peace. Even the spirits that hung out around his house had vanished. Their disappearance meant that his windfall had come to an end, but that was alright. He had won enough. All he wanted now was to lead an ordinary life.

Unfortunately, that was not what fate had in store for him.

One night, he was awakened by loud meowing. His first thought was that it must have been the stray cats in his neighborhood.

That was quickly dispelled because the meows grew steadily louder. In a matter of seconds, it sounded like they were coming from inside the bedroom.

Matsuo shot out of bed and switched on the lights. He circled his room, but there was no ginger cat in sight.

He shook his head. "My mind must be playing tricks on me."

He slumped onto the edge of his bed. The open drawer by his bedside caught his eye. He did not remember leaving it agape like this.

When he leaned in for a closer look, a pair of bright, green eyes appeared in the gap.

Matsuo screamed. He yanked open the drawer, but there was no cat inside.

His could hear his heart hammering in his ears.

He swallowed hard. "My eyes must be playing tricks on me."

He relaxed on the bed, stretching his arms across the quilt. He felt his fingers graze something.

It was cat litter.

He should have thrown away every cat-related item in his home.

*

The teenage girl was still on the roof, much like a puppet master controlling her little spirit marionettes. She could see everything that was happening in the office building vicariously through them.

First, she commanded Ishida to deal with the Headless Horseman. Then, she sent Ishida's spirit after Xiao Yu and friends.

Ishida's spirit was not as powerful as the real deal. However, it was enough to keep Xiao Yu under its thumb, especially when it was assisted by a legion of spirits.

This meant that she could focus all her energy and attention on the Headless Horseman. Ishida was currently leading an army of the undead to close in on him.

"This Headless Horseman has some kind of impenetrable protection around him. Physical attacks are of no use. Ishida's shadows, however, might be our way to reach him. There's no way his defences can grasp a shadow."

"I'll have to cover Ishida so that can reach any part of his body. His back, neck, chin, and even the shadow cast in his mouth are all prime spots for attack."

She wasted no time in putting this into action.

At first, the plan was executed smoothly. The flurry of spirits obscured Ishida from view. While the Horseman was busy waving them away, Ishida managed to sneak into a shadow latched onto the small of his body.

He wanted to get closer, but the absence of a head greatly reduced the possible surface area for shadows to grow.

"This looks like some kind of invisibility charm," the teenager said coldly, "Where you are is good enough. Do it now. Kill him."

A dozen spikes started to peel from the shadows on his back. They crawled along his skin, trying to climb their way up the Horseman's neck.

The spikes moved furtively, but there was no way they could escape Zhao Yao's notice. He had the power of perception of five supercats after all.

Before they could strike, he took a small step back and vanished.

Ishida and his shadows disappeared as well.

"Ishida? Ishida, where are you?" the girl called out in Japanese, using her spirit army as a communication medium.

There was no response.

"Damn it! What kind of power was that? How could they have disappeared together?"

The next moment, the Headless Horseman had crossed the threshold of his dimension doorway. To the girl, it looked like he materialized from thin air.

Ishida was still nowhere in sight.

*

In the extradimensional belly, Ishida had curled up into a ball in a corner.

He was doused in the shadows cast by the team of supercats that surrounded him.

There was a look of despair in his eyes.

He did not realize that he was trembling.

*

"Goddammit!" the girl cursed, brows knitted, "You are forcing me to do this!"

Another horde of the undead soared through the night sky, breaking the building's glass windows to get to the Headless Horseman.

A simple wave from his hand was enough to vaporize the spirits, revealing the bond that they had been carrying. They fell to the ground and exploded one by one, blowing up everything in the way.

As if the damage done was not enough, more droves of kamikaze spirits entered the landing, raining more bombs on the Horseman.

The teenager's spirit cackled at the sight.

"You are going to die!" she laughed, "This is the ultimate combination of technology and superpowers. There's no way you can escape me now!"

There was no way she could have foreseen what would happen next.

Columns of golden light rushed to the sky, like a bridge to heaven. Now that Zhao Yao had upgraded the deflective field, it could span an impressive 30-meter radius. By activating a power-up card on top of that, its reach extended to an astonishing 300-meter radius.

The building was bathed in a golden glow. The girl gawked as two giant palms of gold appeared. They closed in on her kamikaze squad, scooping the bombs into their palms. Then, they clenched into fists.

Loud rumbling emerged from the giant hands. It was clear that the bombs had started detonating inside them. Flashes of light would peek through the gaps between the huge fingers, but they would dissipate as quickly as they appeared. There was no sign that the hands would crack or dissolve. Not a single finger would budge.

The teenage girl's mouth hung wide open. "How...how can this be?"

She was not the only one in a state of shock.

Inspector Ho, Lin Chen, and the rest of the apostle officers and SWAT team stared up at the golden halo that enveloped the building.

The inspector's gaze traveled to the giant palms.

"This rascal...He's gotten stronger again," he muttered under his breath.

The Headless Horseman looked up. He was only halfway up the building. He estimated that there were at least 12 more stories to cover.

He cast Roly Poly's power, vanishing the floors, walls, and ceilings of each level one by one.

Within seconds, he had a clear view of everything that was happening within the building. He could see everything, from Xiao Yu's heated battle against the spirits, to the teenage girl's spirit hiding on the roof, and even Black Panther's unconscious buddies.

"Now this is much better," Zhao Yao nodded to himself.

The fact that every surface in the building had suddenly become invisible stopped everyone in their tracks.

Xiao Yu and Zhao Xue's arms fell to their sides, mouths wide open. They glanced around nervously and their eyes landed on the dazzling golden light that cloaked the building.

They then looked down in unison to see the Headless Horseman eight floors beneath them.

Zhao Xue's eyes widened. She thought, "This power...this outfit...is Guang Yu here?"

Xiao Yu let out a sigh. She thought, "Zhao Yao's here too? And kicking up quite the fuss too. He must have borrowed truckloads of money."

Zhao Yao spotted the wave of spirits that surrounded his sister and auntie. He flung his wrist in their direction, sending the eyevof the golden glow towards them. With the light fixed on them, the spirits disbanded and vanished.

Once that was settled, the teenage girl felt the Horseman's turn to her. He might be headless, but she had the unnerving feeling that he was locking eyes with her.

"This is your doing, isn't it?"

The Horseman raised both hands towards the girl, then pulled them apart, as if he wanted to rip something in two.

A flash of golden light appeared, followed by a tremendous explosion.

The Horseman had tunneled a hole that spanned 12 floors, creating a channel between him and the spirit of the teenage girl.