The explosion was enormous.
Flames billowed through the sky as if they wanted to burn away the very air itself, sending waves of scorching heat rolling outward. The shockwave swept across the skies above Z-City like a violent storm.
On the ground, people beneath the blast instinctively covered their ears as cries rang out all around them. Even the city itself seemed to tremble, and countless windows shattered from the force. If an explosion like that had happened at street level, it would have become a disaster all on its own.
"So Metal Knight has weapons this powerful..." Genos, who had nearly failed to react when Fang Li suddenly attacked Metal Knight, frowned deeply as his expression turned serious. "Why are they fighting?"
Even Bang, who was hurrying toward them, paused for a moment at the sight before picking up his pace.
"...He didn't detonate the missiles. He sliced them apart..." Meanwhile, Metal Knight's voice grew noticeably heavier as he watched every missile he had launched get cut cleanly in half.
That meant he couldn't collect accurate performance data. Behind the scenes, the real Metal Knight's face darkened.
Then, the explosion ahead split apart.
'Whoosh, !'
Like a blade cutting through the sky, countless afterimages merged back into one. Holding his deadly knife, Fang Li shot straight toward Metal Knight.
His speed was so great that the sound couldn't even keep up. By the time the tearing noise reached Metal Knight's ears, Fang Li was already right in front of him.
Metal Knight's heart skipped a beat.
'Clang, !'
A cold flash of steel swept past.
'Boom!'
The thrusters on Metal Knight's back roared to maximum output. He shot into the sky like a rocket, leaving a blazing trail behind him. Powered by his high-performance engines, the robot covered several hundred meters in the blink of an eye.
Even so, he still couldn't completely avoid that slash.
'Crackle...'
Sparks burst from the robot's lower body.
'Boom!'
'Boom!'
Two heavy mechanical legs crashed to the ground below. Both had been severed with a single clean cut. Electric sparks sprayed from the exposed wiring inside.
Only when the robot's internal warning alarms started blaring did Metal Knight realize what had happened.
"Too fast...!"
Fang Li's speed was simply unbelievable.
Metal Knight had already seen it while observing Fang Li's battles against the mechanized Savage Men. Combined with the Hero Association's reports that Fang Li had nearly killed Sweet Mask in a single strike, everyone knew he was a speed-type hero.
According to Metal Knight's calculations, among all the S-Class heroes, only one person could rival Fang Li in speed. And that hero also specialized in speed.
But now, Metal Knight realized he had still underestimated Fang Li.
"This robot's engines don't have enough power to shake him off...!"
The next second proved that conclusion correct.
"Where do you think you're flying?"
The instant that voice came from behind him, Metal Knight had no time to react.
'Boom, !'
A tremendous impact exploded against his back. The terrifying force sent the robot flying. His thrusters might as well not have existed as the massive machine spun through the air like a bowling ball, producing a shrill metallic screech.
Then, another figure dove down from above.
'Boom!'
Fang Li kicked off the air itself, accelerating even faster than before as he shot straight toward Metal Knight. His speed was even greater than it had been just moments ago.
"Damn it!"
Metal Knight didn't have time to launch another missile. Even if he did, he couldn't possibly lock onto Fang Li. Left with no other choice, he swung his massive metal fist straight ahead.
But just before the punch could connect, the figure diving from above suddenly came to a complete stop. It was as though every bit of momentum had vanished in an instant.
'Whoosh!'
The heavy metal fist cut through empty air, dragging a violent gust behind it. Or rather, it stopped just inches in front of Fang Li.
All Metal Knight could see was the mocking curve at the corner of Fang Li's lips and the icy blue gleam flashing through his eyes.
'Clang, !'
A flash of steel. Metal Knight's punching arm was cleanly severed. Fang Li caught the detached metal arm in one hand.
"Bastard!" For the first time, Metal Knight truly lost his temper. "Fire the missiles!"
The launchers on his back lit up one after another.
At that exact moment, Fang Li moved again. Like a phantom, he vanished from sight, tracing a nearly perfect arc around Metal Knight before appearing behind him.
"Here. You can have it back."
With those words, Fang Li drove the freshly severed mechanical arm straight into one of the missile launch tubes on Metal Knight's back.
'Clang!'
The metal arm jammed firmly inside the launcher. At that exact moment, a missile had already been loaded into the tube.
"This is bad, ?!" Hearing the damage alarm from the system, Metal Knight cried out in alarm.
A glow began building inside the launcher. Then,
'BOOM, !'
A deafening explosion erupted from inside Metal Knight's body. Chunks of metal blasted apart with the flames, trailing black smoke as they rained toward the ground.
Only then did Fang Li reappear in the sky. He glanced at the exploding robot as though it were nothing worth mentioning. Without another look, he turned around and flew back toward Genos.
---
'Rustle... crackle...'
Inside a dimly lit laboratory, the screen of a massive supercomputer flickered with static like an old television that had lost its signal.
The scientist sitting before it stared at the screen with a grim expression.
"You really went that far, One-Way Rakshasa..."
Not only had all of his previous experiments been rendered useless, but even this field test of his newly developed missile system had been ruined by Fang Li. On top of that, the robot itself had been completely destroyed.
The losses far outweighed any gains. If converted into money, the damage would amount to an astronomical sum.
"I'll remember this..." Having muttered those words, Metal Knight had no choice but to swallow this bitter defeat. "Let's see how you plan to deal with that meteor..."
(End Of This Chapter)
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