Chapter 160 Extinguished Hope

Swoosh!

The calm waves by the Yokohama Port washed into the shore, creating an almost enchanting rhythm to those who were to hear it. From time to time, however, these gentle waves turn to something erratic, almost rhythmless, causing the calm to transition into chaos. A metallic object almost surfaced from the ocean, but it was sucked back before it could even break the water's surface.

Fifteen minutes, that's how long Splatoon had been keeping the submarines underwater. He had long since reached his limit and his body was running on pure adrenaline alone. His heart raced, and buckets of sweat freely flowed from his forehead, trickling on his back.

"Ghast!" Satoshi screamed before the villain with extended claws swiped at him mercilessly. There was no room for him to breathe, no, there was never a room in the first place. The villains had calculated the power level of their enemy and were fully prepared for it. It wouldn't be a surprise if they had a contingency plan on top of a contingency plan.

It was a drawn-out fight, and Crow intended for the fight to remain that way. Right now, no matter how much Plume called for help, she wouldn't be able to do anything. After all, someone from the villains' group has the ability to put up illusions, and currently, that villain is working with someone who could jam the signals. To Plume, it may seem like her messages are getting sent, or her calls were getting through but no one was picking up... but sadly, such wasn't the case. No messages and calls were going through due to the jammed signal, and the illusion made it seem like the opposite was happening.

Merman and Flexor were nearing their limits as well. Satoshi had no choice but to summon Sera, so they could at least hold out for a little longer. It wouldn't be long before they all run out of energy though, and Satoshi wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

"You should give up, Gerik! This fight has gone far longer than you can handle. Oh, how about this. Why don't you join our side, and then we can call it quits?" Crow said with a grin.

"Never," Gerik gritted his teeth in frustration.

A blade whizzed past Gerik's face, almost making him flinch, but he held his ground. That blade was a mere illusion, he was aware of it. In a span of fifteen minutes, he already trusted that Satoshi would be able to shield him from all attacks while he kept the submarine underwater.

"Plume, you have to leave, go directly to Heimdall Agency and request for backup!" Gerik growled.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Plume had been trying to leave ever since the fight has started. She knew it would only take a few minutes to get to Heimdall Agency and that's why her initial response was to go there and give Eye-Goddess the details of the situation. However, something seemed to block her off, like an invisible dome that trapped everyone in it. No matter how much she pushed through, she couldn't get past the invisible dome.

"I'm on it," Satoshi called out. "On my signal, fly straight ahead! Don't stop!" Satoshi said.

The reason why he couldn't put up a portal for long was that he was dealing with a lot of villains at once. Every single time he tried to command his summons, the villains' attacks would just get more intense, and there would be no room for him to think straight. They were greatly outnumbered and overpowered, it was quite a miracle that they could still hold out despite their absolute disadvantage.

At this point, Satoshi had already integrated with Ghast so he doesn't have to worry about giving him orders, he could just do it himself with Ghast's help. As soon as he gave the plan to Plume, the villains' all converged on him, attacking him with their full power. Satoshi was being pushed back, but he didn't care. Right now, the priority was for Plume to report back to Heimdall Agency. Satoshi also had to keep in mind that no attack should get through to him because that would cause their only hope, Splatoon, to lose his grip on the three submarines. But then again, Satoshi had already come up with a backup plan, just in case all else fails.

Plume took a deep breath, dodging the barrage of attacks that flew towards her and yet disregarding them at the same time. With a twist of her core, she accelerated forward, totally giving Satoshi a hundred percent of her trust. 'I hope I don't crush into the invisible dome... Satoshi, don't let me crash into that dome and injure myself.' She silently prayed.

Upon saying that in her mind, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale. She didn't stop accelerating... "Wait, I didn't stop accelerating?!" Plume muttered under her breath as she opened her eyes, only to find out that she was about to crash into a building.

She brought her legs downward, causing her momentum to sling her vertically as she flew parallel to the building, a few glass windows were shattered, but no real damage was done, or at least, not that Plume was aware of.

"I'll be back, Satoshi, please don't die." Plume said to herself, flapping her wings in one big motion to properly herself even faster. The Heimdall Agency was on sight!

The sliver of hope that stayed in Plume's heart seemed to shine as she breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, she can tell Eye-Goddess about the situation, and then they can contact as many superheroes as they could for backup. The incident will end today and it won't result in the sequel of the Boosting Incident.

And then...

... she noticed it. The billowing smoke rose from the building of Heimdall Agency. The smoke wasn't the only thing noteworthy about the place, but the raging fire that seemed to devour everything around the vicinity. Down below, a famous villain was going on a rampage, he was swinging his arms around as flames continued to shoot off of them, melting and burning everything in its wake.

"Pyromaniac?!" Plume was in disbelief at the sight of the supervillain.