Chapter 109 Overkill

When Tatsuki entered the portal, he could already feel that something is wrong with the atmosphere, not because of the chilling cold, but because of the intense energy that he felt amidst the swirling blizzard.

"Something's not righ."

Click!

With his plundered superpower, 'Telescope', he scanned the area, looking for possible lifeforms so he could pinpoint where the monsters were. Aside from the pillars that seemed to surround him, there was nothing else he saw. Of course, he could till feel the energy surrounding him, almost choking him.

But aside from that, there was nothing he could see. His borrowed superpower 'Telescope' could only do so much. It's not like it could detect heat signature or anything of the sort, the most it could do was see a few meters forward.

"What a useless superpower... well, it's not like I expected to be in the middle of a snowstorm." Tatsuki clicked his tongue.

Whoooosh~~~

SLAM!

'Superspeed', just one thought made Tatsuki accelerate from where he was to a couple of hundred meters in a span of a split second. He couldn't tell where the attack came from but he knew that it was a large-scale one. All he could do was get out of harm's way even though he doesn't know the coverage of the attack. As soon as he stopped though, he felt an intense gust of wind and snow hit him right on the face. 'Strengthen', he thought to himself, planting himself from where he was so he won't get blown away.

Fwoooooo~~~

The attack apparently came from the sky and it's as if one of the pillars fell on top of him. That's what caused the sheer force that he felt which caused him to move away. Had he not reacted in time, he would've been flattened to death without even knowing what hit him. "What's going on?" He couldn't help but ask. There was no space in his mind for cowardice or fear. Right now, his sole focus was to assess the situation and act accordingly.

"Right, we can do this."

'Gust'

'Strengthen'

'Superspeed'

Combining the three superpowers together, Tatsuki's eyes lit up before he grinned at himself. He always enjoyed the execution part when it comes to mixing things up. Every experience was a new one so he never really got bored combining superpowers together. He does it in moderation though since straining himself too much would result in an injury— and an injury shouldn't be underestimated when it comes to a fight.

After taking a step forward, Tatsuki extended his right hand as far as it could, applying the three superpowers on it. He decided to activate it for a split second first to see if it would break his arms. Fortunately, nothing happened.

"Here we go,"

With a swish, Tatsuki swung his hand with great force, causing a huge whirlwind that interrupted the snowstorm, thus canceling it. The whirlwind didn't abate for a few seconds then it disappeared in an instant since no winds maintained its speed. But it did the job, the scene cleared up, giving everyone a clear view of what they were expecting.

Then there was silence... two things were evident as soon as the storm cleared up. Indeed, another storm was brewing while the snowstorm was transpiring, and that storm hit them squarely on the face in the most unexpected manner.

.....

Meanwhile,

While the reporters and experts eagerly awaited the news from the Portuls, Crank Tank and his team were currently resting under Clerica's buff, wondering why they still couldn't get out of the Gate. According to rumors, if they already defeated all the monsters in the room, then the Gate will open again and they could exit as if nothing happened. But right now, the only thing they did was stare at the Gate with utter bewilderment. Five times, they tried to exit the Gate five times but to no avail. It just wouldn't budge. In fact, it's as if it still pushed them in whenever they tried to get out.

"Let me ouuut! LET ME OOUUUUT!" Black Bullet screamed as if to tease the Gate but nothing happened. He was only met with quietness.

"Stop it Black Bullet." Crank Tank said. "Maybe there's a time limit for the Gate. Maybe it will open after a certain time has passed."

"What if the time limit was for a different reason? What if the Gate closes when it hit that supposed time limit?" Knifetongue brought up as he bit on the bread that Clerica handed to them. "Right now, we should scout the area to see if there are still any monsters."

Everyone then stared at Crank Tank... there was no other choice.

"Are you sure about this? Once I do this I'll be out of commission for a few minutes. Aggro—Singularity can only be used once as well." Crank Tank scratched his head. Although he confirmed it with everyone, they've already decided.

"We'll cover for you," Resonance said, clearing her throat for the umpteenth time. She was finally getting warmed up.

"Yeah, and it's not like you'll die if they hit you once or twice, right?" Clerica said with a light smile. "Besides, I still have a couple of energy potions left. I can certainly bring you back as soon as you hit your limit."

Aggro—Singularity. As the name suggests, it's one of Crank Tank's signature moves that allowed him to taunt every single monster in a wide area. As expected of someone on the thirty-eighth rank, he may be useless in damage output or buffs, but when it comes to aggro and tanking, he's on par with the higher-ranked superheroes. Not only does Aggro—Singularity boosts his overall range, it also provides him with impenetrable defense as long as he's out of commission. The perfect shield, the perfect aggro superhero— that is Crank Tank.

"Well, then. Be prepared. If you think you can't defeat everyone, then leave me alone and regroup. They wouldn't be able to pierce through my impenetrable defense." Crank Tank said with a reassuring grin.

"No, you saw how powerful those desert worms were, what if you attract an even more powerful one? It's sure to pierce through your defense. I'll bring you back as soon as you fall into unconsciousness."

"That's right, we need all hands on deck here," Knifetongue said. "Besides, I haven't done anything yet,"

Knifetongue, quirk— knifetongue! He can extend his tongue indefinitely and turn it into a knife, shaping it as he wills like a ban-kai! (A certain narrator too familiar to be mentioned is the one who said this in the background.)

With everyone's approval, Crank Tank let out a chuckle. "You guys, if we die here, then we should at least stop everyone before they get out of that damned Gate! YOU HEAR ME!"

"YES, LEADER!" They all shouted in unison.

"You idiots, calling me a leader at such a crucial time. I don't dislike it." With a click of his tongue, Crank Tank stomped his foot and posed like a sumo wrestler waiting for his opponent to strike. He was totally in a defensive position, getting in the gear before he fired off his special move.

Aggro-Singularity.

It's as if the ground cracked beneath them when Crank Tank's foot was buried an inch underground. An intense energy spread through the surface of the desert, reaching its farther reach and causing the monsters therein to respond to the beckoning.

"BRACE YOURSELVES!" Crank Tank said before his eyes rolled backward and he fainted.

"I'll take care of Crank Tank! You guys prepare! I'll remove the sun protection from you temporarily, please bear with it for a little while. I need all the energy I have to wake Crank Tank up."

No one complained as they nodded.

Knifetongue opened his mouth and his tongue immediately transformed into a knife. He remembered cutting his lips when he first manifested it, that's why he wears a metallic brace so his teeth, gums, and lips won't get cut in the heat of battle. The knife extended to a hundred meters and wrapped around Knifetongue's body. It was a literal floating armor made out of a single malleable blade.

Screeeeeeech!

Kiyaahhhhhhhkkk~~~

Skreeeeeee~~~

The screeches and the screams of the monsters far and wide began to come at them by the droves. Resonance screamed a couple of 'die's towards a certain direction but after using her superpower a couple of times, she was already exhausted.

"Save your power for the strong ones, Resonance, we'll take care of these small fries'" Knifetongue said, using his tongue as a spring and launching himself towards the group of desert worms and a couple of unrecognizable monsters. In no time at all, he had already cut them into pieces.

As for Black Bullet, his two arms were already firing nonstop, pushing the horde and giving Knifetongue a breather. Their teamwork was impeccable, and they were able to use their superpowers while being mindful of their teammates. It was like watching the cogs of a machine fit and work perfectly on each other.

"Crank Tank is awake!"

"I'm firing another Aggro-Singularity. I felt something in my mind before I lost consciousness. There's a boss! I repeat, there's a boss!" Crank Tank said as soon as he woke up.

"Right! We should probably defeat that boss so we can get out of here! Crank Tank! Whenever you're ready!" Knifetongue was getting desperate. He lost count of how many monsters he had already killed.

Aggro—Singularity

"..."

Once again, the air in the desert seemed to change at the same time when Knifetongue and Black Bullet were done dealing with the desert worms and the other monsters.

"HERE IT COMES!" Knifetongue screamed. "Clerica, I want you to heal Resonance's vocal cords. And she'll need all the buffs she could get!"

Everyone was on the same page.

This time, Clerica disregarded Crank Tank who fainted while he was still standing up. She immediately rushed towards Resonance's side and healed her vocal forms. She then drank the remaining energy potions she has to give Resonance regeneration, muscle strengthening, and advance healing.

"Die," Resonance said as blood escaped her lips.

Because the boss— an even larger desert worm ten times the size of the normal huge desert worm— was more powerful than she had expected, she immediately damaged her vocal cords. But as soon as she did so, she felt it recovering, thanks to Clerica's buff.

Meanwhile, Clerica already fainted from exhaustion.

"Die!" Resonance screamed a second time.

Kiyaahhhhkkk~~~

"Die!"

Kyieeeeeeeeee~~~

"Die!"

Frwuuooooohh~~~

"Die."

"Die."

"Die."