Chapter 431 Sideswiped



Light Wing and Dark Matter assumed their positions by the far-end dilapidated structure. Just like other professional superheroes out there, they have a significant amount of experience when it comes to heroes versus villains exercise like this. That's why they weren't the least bit fazed when they heard what the scenario was all about.

And as an added bonus, they were given the villain role. For a superhero, this was one of those times when they could go all-out without thinking about the damage they could unleash. Usually, they'd need to hold back or withhold some of their strength while dealing with villains in order to portray themselves as good people.

Even their public actions are all under scrutiny, and they had to act like the samaritans they are in order to continue their image as a hero. While this wasn't rooted in their personality, they had no choice but to do it. After all, people's expectations can only go so far when you act like an asshole in the streets.

This was one of the reasons why Light Wing and Dark Matter decided to act as undercover superheroes. Only those who were die-hard fans of them would be able to recognize them. And those people don't have to explain themselves whenever they did something questionable.

While superheroes do everything they can to uphold an image, undercover superheroes give villains their due payback. For someone who could do damaging and fatal crimes, their punishment should be given to them before they go behind bars.

"His name is Satoshi, right? Midoriyama Satoshi. I've heard about him. If any, he's probably the strongest first-year here." Arcane Bishop (Dark Matter) commented as his lips curved upward. Based on what he read from the readily available student information, Satoshi's records were pretty weird.

Not only was most of his information withheld by the school, his superpower was also not listed with the Superheroes Association Organization. This meant that his superpower was so formidable that he wanted to keep it a secret. Also, this meant that a relative of his is pretty high up in the SAO Rankings.

After all, SAO would generally not brush it off when a person tried to hide his or her superpower. In hindsight, it is absolutely completely legal for someone to not disclose their superpower to the government. However, there were repercussions for such a decision. These repercussions were usually given by other agencies or superheroes, not the government.

"Yeah, I've read his achievements. Also, I've seen him on television a couple of times. Remember the Official Beast Tournament? He won the title this year, and he's still a first-year at that. Watching him fight didn't solidify what his superpower is. If any, it just left me confused." Alliya Lufine (Light Wing) responded with additional information. They certainly should keep their guard up during this exercise,

"It's some sort of summoning superpower, right? Beastmaster superpower? He's pretty good. I've seen how he moved, and he's definitely trained by someone awesome." Dark Matter couldn't help but feel in awe while talking about Satoshi. He could tell just how much hard work and diligence Satoshi had in order to achieve peak human performance.

"For someone who's got a world-class superpower, he certainly didn't overlook his physical prowess and physical training. What a living cheat code." Light Wing heaved a sigh. It was obvious that she was nervous about the upcoming heroes versus villains exercise.

Once they got to the building where they were instructed to go to, they saw a young child eating a lollipop there. She had red hair, and she looked like she was four or five years old. Dark Matter and Light Wing looked at her and their eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

"What the— how could anyone look so cute?!" Light Wing squealed, reaching out for the little girl's cheeks. Before she could pinch her though, the girl stepped to the side to avoid her hands.

"I know right? Whose child is this?" Dark Matter asked. Rarely does Dark Matter agree with Light Wing's opinion, but this time, he was in total acquiescence.

"I'm Aira." The little girl simply introduced herself.

"Aira, huh," Dark Matter wore a creepy smile as he reached out his hand to pat the little girl's head. In a split second, he was already way into character as a villain.

But Aira knew what Dark Matter was supposed to do, that's why she dodged him way before he reached out his hand. Dark Matter flinched, and then his eyes fluttered as he tried to figure out what was going on. Somehow, Aira was able to read into his movements before he did it. As an undercover superhero, it was a huge blow to his pride.

"HEROES VERSUS VILLAINS, START!" Knighthawk announced from afar.

Claps from the entire class could be heard from afar before it died down into complete silence. The atmosphere turned heavy as the exercise commenced.

"Little girl, you're coming with us." Dark Matter ordered, gesturing for the little girl to follow them. For all he knew, the little girl didn't want to be touched, and he didn't want to risk another blow to his pride when she dodges him again.

To their relief, Aira followed suit, no questions asked.

...

Meanwhile, Fuuka and Satoshi were still by the edge of the arena. While they felt a modicum of nervousness in them, they knew that they'd nail the exercise. Their superpowers were destructive, that's for sure, but that wouldn't impede their rescue since their control was top-notch.

"You ready, Fuuka?" Satoshi asked under his breath. Up until now, he still wondered why Fuuka picked him when there were a dozen students in their class.

Nodding his head, Fuuka signaled that they enter the arena. As soon as they did so, camera drones started flying all over the place, recording the entire exercise so Knighthawk would be able to properly grade it in the near future.

"I've located them. They're by the destroyed building over there." Fuuka said a second later without hesitation. Thanks to her space and sound manipulation, she was able to detect sound waves with minimal effort. Just from taking in all that information, she was able to pinpoint the exact location of the villains and the hostage.

"It's a small child. A little girl. She's the hostage." Fuuka whispered after she had gathered more information just by listening in. "What's the plan, Satoshi?"

Somehow, Satoshi was amazed that Fuuka was able to gather all that in less than a minute. Also, he felt like her assessment was accurate since there was no hesitation in her voice.

"You're... you're pretty good. Where did you learn to control your superpower like that? Seriously, your information will help us a lot." Satoshi said. He was already well aware of how easy the exercise would be, but he didn't expect it to be this easy.

"You could pinpoint their location in real-time, right?" Satoshi confirmed.

"Yes," Fuuka bashfully replied.

"Then this would be fairly easy. Just follow my plan, we're going to clear this exercise without breaking a sweat." Satoshi said with utter confidence in his voice.

...

Back at the destroyed building.

"You think they're going to charge at us, guns blazing? Or are they going to sneak past us?" Dark Matter asked. He was bored to death since all they needed to do was defend the building while looking after the little girl.

With his superpower, it would be easy to get all the information he needed in a specified location. As for Light Wing, she was near invincible as long as there was light. And there's always light, so she's always overpowered.

"I don't know. Satoshi seems like a pretty good tactician. They might attempt to sneak up on us. However, they won't be able to sneak up on us." Light Wing said with utter confidence.

Before Dark Matter could say anything, however, a horn resounded all over the Concrete Arena. And in that situation, this could only mean two things: One, that Fuuka and Satoshi had surrendered, or two, they were able to clear the exercise and Dark Matter and Light Wing had no idea about it.

The little girl was clearly still in front of them, so there was no way that Fuuka and Satoshi cleared the exercise. Dark Matter and Light Wing let out a chuckle which turned into wild laughter.

"Hah~! We were overthinking things!"

"They gave up before the challenge even started. What cowardice!"

"They are a disgrace as heroes. Seriously, how could they give up without trying."

"Either way, it's a win for us. Let's head back and prepare for the next round."

As Dark Matter and Light Wing were preparing their funny faces at Satoshi and Fuuka, they turned towards Aira and beckoned for her to go with them."Come on, the round's over. We're heading back." They called out.

Before Aira could say anything, however, an announcement was heard all throughout the arena.

"FUUKA AND SATOSHI SUCCEEDED IN RESCUING AIRA WITHOUT CAUSING A SCENE NOR ALERTING THE HOSTAGES! PERFECT POINTS!" Knighthawk screamed his lungs out. He couldn't believe what had just transpired no matter how many times he replayed the recording of the exercise.