CH 167

Ep.167 Surprise Attack

“Hah, wriggling around like a little rat and trying to escape!”

Metel, the S-class hero from the United States.

She was currently in a distant Oriental country from her homeland, catching villains.

On a wide, empty street.

In the background, collapsed buildings were spread out like scenery. She was trying hard to catch Egostic flying in the sky above.

Her ashen hair fluttered in the wind, and her hands moved in sync with it.

In the distant sky, several sharp rock fragments continued to appear.

They all rushed towards the sky whenever a man wearing a black hat, mask, and cloak appeared.

The rock fragments rushing towards him with a sonic boom caused by the wind.

They were generated exactly where he teleported to and were pressing him hard.

“Oh my god! Save me, villain!”

Even when he was just running away, he was furiously cursing and running away.

Watching him from a distance, Metel laughed bitterly.

Yeah. Even if he’s considered somewhat strong here, he’s no match for her, an S-class hero who rolled around in the United States, a sanctuary for Ability users.

Dealing with him was just a piece of cake.

“Eek!”

He screamed as he narrowly avoided her attack.

However, no matter how much he teleported, there was nowhere to run.

Countless rock fragments floating against the wide sky.

She put in a lot of effort to spread them out so that she could pursue him no matter where he teleported around here.

Although she used a lot of power, the income was sufficient, as evidenced by the fact that Egostic was desperately fleeing.

So Metel stood on the ground, shaking her hands like a conductor and constantly throwing rock fragments toward Egostic.

And she, without even realizing it, was laughing out loud with suppressed excitement.

“…Yeah. This is it.”

Metel, who had defeated the villain who had once caused trouble in Korea with just a few swipes like a mere nuisance, was feeling elated. Even though she couldn’t use her ultimate move, the giant rock drop, in the middle of the city. To be able to pressure her opponent like this was truly a testament to her true power.

How much she had struggled within the United States, feeling inferior to herself as just a meteor tool, always being told that she was only a supporting hero and never able to act alone… In this situation where she could stand alone, with the opportunity to take down a villain who had once controlled a whole country, Metel was unknowingly enjoying the sensation of taking control.

If she could capture the Egostic one here, her reputation would soar even higher.

With the determination to capture the Egostic one firmly in her mind, Metel was unknowingly pouring all her energy into him.

…And since she had sacrificed hostages, if she failed to capture him this time, she would probably face even more struggles. Although sacrificing others left a bad taste in her mouth, she had no choice if she wanted to capture the villain. She never thought it was okay to have the same trashy thoughts as those who weren’t her fellow countrymen.

Of course, she had her own calculations throughout the battle. The villain had provoked her right from the start, knowing that villains had a strong sense of pride. Then, she was pressured and attacked continuously so that she couldn’t escape due to her pride.

As with many small villain alliances, even though their supposed leader was in a state of crisis, his colleagues did not come to his aid. Well, betrayal and severance were common among villains, and Metel only smirked at how the so-called leader was just an unorganized and incompetent person.

With overflowing confidence, Metel focused on the battle.

And every time she teleported, the Egostic villain appeared to be barely escaping her attacks. This made Metell think that she could capture him if she just did a little better.

With her eyes fixed on the sky, Metel concentrated all her energy on throwing rocks at the Egostic one, and her vigilance for her surroundings became natural.

And then, as if he hadn’t noticed due to his recent move, Egostic stood still even as the rocks approached. Watching him, Metel laughed fiercely.

“I finally got you, you jerk!”

As she moved her arm to clap her hands together, at that moment, it appeared as if Egostic was about to foolishly be caught off guard.

But suddenly, a large black greatsword appeared and swiftly cut through the rocks that were approaching him.

Thunk.

As Metel stood there, still with her hands clasped together, she was surprised by what had just happened.

Ding. Ding.

“….Wait.”

After going through what seemed like a long battlefield, Metel’s survival instincts sounded the alarm.

In that short moment, Metel instinctively felt that something was wrong.

Boooooooom-

Kaboooom-

From one side of the crumbling building, a destructive energy beam with tremendous heat was suddenly shot toward her.

“Aaahhh!”

It was an unexpected, powerful attack that was launched suddenly without warning.

But thanks to her instincts, Metel managed to create a wall made of rocks in front of herself just before the beam was fired.

She put her hand on the rock wall and tried to summon all her strength to plant her feet firmly on the ground, gritting her teeth as she tried to block the beam.

Flash-

Boom-

At that moment, when Metel was holding her ground, a lightning bolt struck from the sky, aimed directly at her.

“Aaahhh!”

Overwhelmed by the attack, Metel finally lost her strength and, as a result, the rocks that were blocking the beam were torn apart like paper, and she was ultimately hit by the massive beam and sent flying.

Thump. Thump. Thump.-

Almost flying up to the sky, she spun a few times before crashing into the ground. With a loud thud, she finally came to a stop against the side of a building.

The wall was completely destroyed due to the rocks she had used to protect herself.

In the now partially ruined area, she lay covered in dust and spat out blood.

Her body ached as if it had been shattered, her head was dizzy, and she had tinnitus in her ears.

Amidst the beeping sound ringing in her ears, Metael struggled to regain her senses, but her head hurt too much.

What had happened?

She was sure she was about to catch him.

First things first, she had to protect her body.

Struggling to lift her barely functional hands, she managed to summon some rocks around her.

“Huff… Huff…”

She was too weak, and she had barely managed to surround herself with rocks.

“What the… hell…”

In the dark of the rocks, Metael muttered in a cracked voice.

Crunch.

A massive black sword pierced through the shield she had placed in front of her.

As the rocks surrounding her crumbled down, a bright light shone in.

She reflexively squinted her eyes as she opened them to see a knight in armor holding a giant black sword on her left, a girl in white nun attire on her right, and a man wearing a black hat with a veil and a smiling face looking down at her.

It was Egostic.

“This…this…”

He shook his head and clicked his tongue, looking down at her with a smile that seemed to say, “How pitiful you are.”

“Hey, you…”

Metel looked up at him with a raspy voice and bloodshot eyes, growling at him as she lay beaten and battered.

He smirked and chuckled under his breath as if finding it all amusing.

“Well, well. All that talk about being S-class and whatnot, and I thought you were some kind of super strong hero.”

He chuckled again and sneered, still smirking.

“But it turns out you’re just weaker than my hero, Stardus.”

Beside him, the camera floated in the air, broadcasting everything that was happening.