Chapter 108 Into The Gate

While everyone was enjoying their day-to-day life around the world, a couple of superheroes were sent to literal hell to explore the Gates that spawned on the surface of the Earth out of the blue. Of course, this wasn't made public yet since it might cause worldwide panic. That's why everyone in the Inter-High wasn't yet aware of it, and so was a majority of everybody else.

Just like Crank Tank and the others, the japan exploration team of superheroes, led by the number one hero Plunder, also held their breaths as they entered the Gates. It was mentioned before that the Gates couldn't be scouted by technological means, that's why they didn't have any choice but to send superheroes in without prior knowledge of what to expect on the other side. Those thoughts brought more weight to an already seemingly arduous task at hand. And of course, each and every superhero weren't safe when it came to those thoughts.

"We don't know what to expect so keep your guard up! I've plundered about twenty superpowers and I've given you a list of them. If you need support, just tell me." Plunder continued.

"We also have the Fulfiller here, there's nothing to worry about." Counter, Midoriyama Ayumu, said with a smile.

The rest of the top ten superheroes nodded at the reassurance but they were all pretty unsure themselves. For all they know, they're diving straight into their deaths and there's nothing they could do about it but just be prepared for whatever comes.

Now in front of the gate, the group felt the intense energy seeping in and out of it as if it were a monster. They can feel the pressure, unease, and anxiety welling up within themselves. They couldn't let that get through them though since the fight hasn't even started yet.

"Let's go!"

Swooooooosh~~~

....

It was the polar opposite compared to the environment that Crank Tank and the others from the New York Harbor Gate experienced. Instead of a desert with intolerable heat that seemed to dry out the skin and muscles, what Plunder and the others experienced where the sheer cold that even the most resistant human cannot take. The moment they entered, they were already on the verge of getting frostbite, each and every one of them.

"I got this!" Light Angel was quick enough to act, as expected from the number fifth.

Sirius Strongs, also known far and wide with his popular hero name as the Light Angel, is Death Angel's brother, Archus Strongs. While the Death Angel can control dark matter and manipulate it, Light Angel can manipulate light. He can weave it around and cause it to focus on something, controlling both brilliance and heat at the same time. Although his superpower is strong enough to be in the top ten, it did come with disadvantages himself as well. As one may know, light is a very powerful superpower. It can be the greatest distraction or the most powerful unexpected attack since it travels faster than the majority of things in the known universe. But he had to control its intensity, otherwise, he could blind himself before he could blind the enemy.

Raising his hands up high, Light Angel directed the sunlight towards them, gathering every ray and pointing it to where they were, causing the snow to melt and the heat to disperse towards them. Gathering from a single light source is easy for Light Angel so the action wasn't that taxing on his body. "Sorry, I was a second too late, must've been the nerves."

"No worries, we didn't expect it at all. good job reacting in time." Plunder said, flashing a thumbs up towards him. "Let's move forward."

"No, we should stay here," Eye Goddess said, "Sorry for saying something after you've decided, Plunder-san, but we shouldn't move forward." She continued.

Plunder knew Eye Goddess's personality and he could tell that she wasn't trying to take over the group. It was a genuine warning coming from the superhero with incredible foresight. "Why? Are there enemies in front?"

"Yes and no, there's only one." Eye Goddess continued. "I've... I've seen the future and the moment we enter in... we're all dead."

"What do you mean we're all dead?" Death Angel interrupted. He also knew that Eye Goddess was acting out of character at the moment since she wasn't the type to speak up when someone had already taken the leader's role.

"Surrounding us right now, in this blizzard, are powerful monsters that could rival each of us. If we don't work together in bringing them down, then we'll be walking straight to our demise. Then we have to take into account the boss of these monsters. I assume that the entity right ahead of us is the boss, not because he's ten times our size... but because of the future I saw. I only saw a glimpse of the future, merely five seconds of it. And I already know how powerful he is."

"Right," Plunder agreed. "Thank you for the warning, Eye Goddess. With this, we can plan ahead of time. Does the boss have a certain superpower or skill that we should be wary of? How are we defeated?"

Eye Goddess nodded. "Yes, it has the power to control one person at a time. At first, it tried to control each of us to see who's the strongest... and then... "

"It controlled Plunder and finished all of us off, right?" Splatoon, ranked seventh, finished Eye Goddess's sentence.

"Yes, that's why we can't just charge towards it willy-nilly. For now, let's focus on the small fries first, and then we can deal with the boss later. Right now, it seems to be sleeping, hibernating. And as long as we don't produce unnecessary noise, then we're okay, I think."

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. If they didn't have the Eye Goddess in the team at the moment, they might've probably walked into their deaths the very second they entered the Gate. Of course, they still have to deal with the boss later but right now, prioritizing the small fries should be their priority since they'd be a nuisance if the boss fight were to commence.

"Warper, we're counting on you." Technomarine, ranked eighth, said to the ranked fourth Warper.

Warper nodded and produced eight portals. "I'll keep these open for now. This will take you to the enemies around us."

"All right, those who can fight, let's finish those small fries one by one, and then let's regroup here before we plan to take on the boss." Plunder commanded. "Remember, time is of the essence here. We don't know when the boss will wake up. It might even wake up as soon as we enter these portals. That's why we have to defeat every single enemy as fast as we can and as quietly as we can."

With a nod, everyone headed to each of their own portals, fully confident that they could take out the small fries. The Eye Goddess didn't say anything about the mobs that surrounded them so they assumed them to be weak— which is a good assumption.

"Warper, you stay here. If the boss happens to wake up, let out a shout so we can come right back." Plunder said, jumping into the portal in front of him before he could hear Warper's yes.

Had he waited a second later, they wouldn't have had to go through something problematic.

.....

The Top Ten Superheroes based on the Current Superheroes Association Organization Rankings.

1 Plunder— Midoriyama Tatsuki— Can plunder other people's superpower and use it for a definite amount of time.

2 Counter— Midoriyama Ayumu— Can counter any attack thrown at her.

3 Death Angel— Archus Strongs— Can control dark matter. He doesn't act around a lot so his rank isn't reflected as the strongest. He may very well be the strongest hero of Japan.

4 Warper—Eisus Harper— Space warp. Can produce portals that can transport anything within a short distance.

5 Life Angel— Sirius Strongs— Can control light, a support superhero specializing in buffs

6 Eye Goddess— Kitamura Ayano— She's number six due to her high hero score after warning the masses of multiple incidents before they even happened. Superpower— can see through the future.

7 Splatoon— Gerik Axor— Metal manipulation, he specializes in controlling a platoon of robots, earning him the title, one-man-army.

8 Technomarine— Xander Marino— A shapeshifter that could shapeshift into any animal but he prefers shapeshifting into aquatic beasts.

9 Clone X— Seo Arata— Cloning. He can send out twenty of himself which is on par with an above-average person. Aside from that, they have the power to shoot beams out of their mouths.

10 Fulfiller— Takenaka Miki— Has the power to connect two minds together, granting them the power to use both of their superpowers. She can also use that to herself and use the superpower of the person she's connected to. Psychic Link. She can only perform two links at a time.