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[Real Battle]
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…
Sitting around a round table in a dark, damp room, three people faced each other while one of them pointed at a screen on the wall. The screen displayed a map of what seemed to be a bank, and many notes regarding guards' movements and shifts, cameras, etc…
"...And that's pretty much the plan. Questions?" said the one presenting—a broad, tall bald man in a leather jacket and jeans—his glare sharp and commanding.
The person to his right, a woman with spiky, static-charged hair, lazily raised her hand. Dressed in a tank top and military pants, she spoke with a drawl. "Yeah, why this city? I had to endure a three-hour drive just to attend this little meeting of yours. Couldn't we just have done it in Tokyo?"
The man snorted. "We are here because the heroes in this city suck. A few might be trouble, but the rest are just fodder we'll crush easily if it comes to that. With such weak resistance, our little plan has a much better chance of working."
"Neat." The woman nodded, satisfied.
His gaze shifted to the third member—a man whose entire body seemed to be made of jagged stone, some pieces smooth, others sharp, like a golem come to life. "Any questions, rocky?"
"Yeah," the rocky man rumbled. "What do we do with the heroes that get in the way?"
"Why are you even asking that?" the leader scoffed. "We kill them, obviously."
The stone man grunted, accepting the answer.
"Phew~" The woman stretched with a crooked grin, cracking her neck. "Man, knowing the big-league heroes won't be around makes me feel way more at ease! We're finally in a pond where we're the big fish, huh?"
The man sneered, fishing a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it. "Now that you're mentioning it… Yeah, it's been a while since I've been on top of the food chain. Reminds me of my school days—no kid could match my Quirk, and they were all terrified. Teachers too. The whole school was practically my playground."
The golem man frowned—not angry, but clearly skeptical. "Still, are you sure the heroes here are that pathetic? From what I've heard, this place does have a few aces who could give us trouble. It might not be Tokyo, but it's still a big city."
"Ah, right." The leader smirked. "Forgot to include that in the presentation. There are a few, but I've already handled them. I sent some of our guys to act as diversions once we start. They'll stir up chaos near those heroes' patrol zones, keeping them busy while we get the job done."
"This'll be easy peasy." The woman smirked.
"Though," he added, narrowing his eyes, "there are a couple of pests I couldn't account for."
"Who?" the stone man asked.
"The first's supposed to be the strongest hero in the city. Calls himself Super Monkey. Ranked sixty-ninth in the charts."
The two others looked unimpressed.
"His patrol patterns are a mess—random, chaotic, he just seems to go wherever he pleases. Sometimes he doesn't even show up. Because of that, I couldn't pin down where he'll be, so he's a wild card. We might run into him, or we might never see him at all."
"He doesn't sound like much with that name," the woman said.
"Yeah, but you never know," the man shrugged, then his tone hardened. "The other one who might cause trouble… isn't a hero."
That got their attention. Both looked up, confused.
"It's some kind of local vigilante," the man continued, puffing some smoke from the cigarrete. "He's been gaining popularity lately. Apparently, he shows up during hero and villain fights, plays a song, and knocks out the villains if the heroes can't finish the job before the song ends."
"Again, doesn't sound like much," the woman said.
"And I'll say it again—you never know. An acquaintance of mine with a pretty decent Quirk got taken down by him."
"How decent are we talking?" asked the rocky man.
"Fairly good. Of course, nothing compared to ours," the leader replied with a smirk. "We are high-ranked villains, after all. It wouldn't be fair to judge him by our level."
The woman laughed. "Yeah, that'd be unfair."
The rocky man didn't laugh; instead, he squinted. "Any info on their Quirks?"
"Super Monkey's got a Mutant-type Quirk that gives him the characteristics of a monkey, like a tail, big hands, or a stupid face. As for the vigilante, I think it's something akin to telekinesis, but not exactly. He's a mystery to everyone these days. Couldn't dig up much."
The woman snorted. "Well, neither of them sounds like a problem. With the three of us on one team, even the heroes in Tokyo would have their hands full."
And it was no wonder she thought that.
The three were A-class villains, infamous ones at that.
The bald man was Reaper Sight. A villain charged with multiple assassinations of influential people and heroes, robbery at gunpoint, dozens of homicides, arson, etc…
His Quirk, Zapping, lets him teleport rapidly to places within his eyesight with a nonexistent cooldown, something that made him a target difficult to catch, and that the villain used along with guns to secure quick assassinations or hero murders.
The woman was Electraction. Known for multiple successful robberies at jewelry stores or similar places of luxury, and was also charged with multiple homicides left behind during her delictual activities. Her Quirk, Electro-Charge, lets her transform her entire body to electricity momentarily, and also charge her own body with electricity, so any kind of attack she launches can discharge up to 20,000 volts. (Is this correctly described, chat? I'm no electrician)
And finally, the man filled with stones was none other than Titaniphite. An ex-prisoner who had been charged with dozens of millions of yen in destruction of private property, multiple homicide, and the hospitalization of heroes and officers alike.
His Quirk, Stone Shell, gives him an outer armor of hard and sturdy rocks that he can mold, limitedly to his desire, sharpening them or thickening them slightly.
A trio of powerful villains—something not seen in a long time, since villains rarely worked together.
"With this team, even if both those guys show up, I doubt they'll be able to do much!" she laughed loudly, her confidence absolute.
"That Super Monkey guy isn't needed," said suddenly a calm voice from behind them. "I alone am enough to deal with the three of you."
Instantly, their eyes widened. They spun around, shocked to find someone had entered the room without them noticing—a lone figure leaning casually against the wall, staring at them with cold, indifferent eyes.
"Who are you?!" Electraction shouted, her spiky hair crackling as a small current of electricity surged through it.
Titaniphite scowled as the rocks covering his body expanded, making him larger and more imposing.
Reaper Sight narrowed his eyes, studying the intruder before a smirk spread across his face.
"I see… so it's you. Rockinesis, right?"
"Who?" the other two asked in unison.
"The vigilante," Reaper said. "I've believe that's his nickname."
Rockinesis closed his eyes, his voice calm and steady. "That's what I'm called these days."
"Why are you here?" Reaper frowned, his smirk fading. "I thought you only showed up during hero-villain fights. We haven't done anything yet, have we?"
Rockinesis uncrossed his arms, his stance tightening. Hands flexing, as if ready to fight.
"I was just passing by."
"I see…" Reaper nodded slowly.
Then—
"Kill him."
…
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| The street |
…
Pedestrians bustled along the sidewalks. People darted in and out of restaurants or stopped at food stalls to grab snacks for the road.
Traffic was awful—a line of cars stretched down the street, the blaring of horns filling the air like a chaotic symphony.
And yet, despite the noise and confusion, it was everyday life. Ordinary. Predictable.
What wasn't ordinary, however, was the massive explosion that suddenly tore through a nearby building.
—BOOOOM!—
A deafening blast rocked the street. Debris rained down, dust billowed into the air, and the screams came almost instantly—high-pitched, panicked, echoing through the chaos.
"What's happening?!"
"Is it a villain?!"
The crowd erupted in panic, scattering in every direction while staring wide-eyed at the rising cloud of smoke.
Then, as the dust began to settle and silence tried to return—
-Swoosh!-
The cloud exploded outward as a figure was launched through it, soaring high before crashing down onto the street near the retreating crowd.
He skidded backward for several meters before finally coming to a halt.
Black hoodie. Black joggers. Masked face.
Everyone knew who he was.
"Rockinesis?!"
"No way! The real one?!"
"He's here!"
Terror turned into excitement—
"AAAAARGH, DIEEE!"
—only to twist back into terror again.
An enormous figure burst from the smoke behind him—Titaniphite. A towering, rock-covered monster that looked more like a walking mountain than a man.
Despite his size, his speed was terrifying, each step shaking the ground. The sheer force of his charge made everyone nearby stumble back in fear.
"Urgh." A low grunt escaped Rockinesis as he steadied himself after being hurled away.
But there was no time to breathe.
Titaniphite was already upon him.
Rockinesis raised his hand, aiming it at the giant. For a moment, Titaniphite's momentum faltered—slowed—his massive body enveloped in a faint aura.
Yet it wasn't enough.
"You think you can stop me, runt?!"
"Ugh—!" Rockinesis grunted, unable to hold him completely.
Titaniphite's massive fist came swinging down.
With no other choice, Rockinesis released his grip and leapt back, dodging the strike by mere centimeters.
Before the giant could strike again, Rockinesis propelled himself upward, soaring into the air—out of reach.
He looked ready to attack again. But just as his aura began to gather around the giant—
—Bang!—
A distant explosion, sharp like a gunshot, rang out. Rockinesis barely had time to widen his eyes before a projectile struck his shoulder.
His hoodie sizzled, smoke curling from the hole burned through the fabric—but his skin only showed a bruise.
—Bang!—
Another shot.
This time, Rockinesis' aura flared around him like a shimmering force field before the bullet could reach. As a result, the bullet slowed enormously, and when it hit him, it barely bumped onto him lightly before falling powerlessly to the ground far below.
With the danger gone, Rockinesis scanned the surroundings until his eyes caught Reaper Sight perched atop a distant building.
He shot forward, intent on taking him down first. Aura already shooting in the villain's direction—
"...?!"
—but before he could reach him, the man vanished, like he had just become air.
—Bang!—
And then, another shot rang out from behind. The bullet slowed at the last second again, failing to deal any damage by the time it hit him.
"This guy…"
But before Rockinesis could locate the shooter again—
A giant shadow fell over him.
Titaniphite.
"WAAARGH!"
The massive villain came crashing down from above, fist swinging with brutal momentum. Rockinesis' hand shot out, moving his aura to block the impact.
The punch slowed midair—yes—but still landed.
—BAM!!!—
Instants later, Rockinesis slammed into the ground like a meteor, concrete shattering beneath him. Dust erupted, swallowing the street.
He staggered to his feet a moment later, unsteady but still standing.
Then, the giant began falling upon him.
But as the giant's shadow grew around him, a flicker of pleasedness passed by Rockinesis' eyes.
Now that the villain was in the air, he didn't have the ground anymore to exert any leverage and overpower his aura.
In the air, he was vulnerable.
He focused his aura on the monster, and soon, energy began to wrap around him—
—Bang!—
Another shot struck Rockinesis in the back, making him stumble and breaking his concentration.
"That fucker…!" Rockinesis muttered, eyes widening faintly before a frown took over.
He looked ready to turn around and look for Reaper again, but before he could recover, a flash of electricity crackled beside him.
"Hell yeah!"
Electraction appeared from a burst of lightning, her charged fist swinging straight at him.
Rockinesis reacted instantly, his aura flaring to immobilize her—
—Bang!—
—but another shot came.
This one hit his lower back, just enough to make his control falter. Titaniphite broke free, finally getting to touch the ground, and Electraction's punch connected.
—Bam!—
—Crackle!—
Electricity burst across Rockinesis' body, lighting him up in a violent flash. Smoke billowed from his clothes, parts of them charred and blackened.
But even then—
"Ah?!"
He moved—faster than she expected. His aura flared again, wrapping around Electraction as he prepared to slam her into the ground.
Yet before he could, Titaniphite came charging in once more, roaring as he swung.
Rockinesis switched tactics. He threw Electraction at the charging giant, forcing Titaniphite to halt to catch her.
Using that split-second distraction, Rockinesis leapt back, putting distance between them. His breathing was ragged now, and a bead of sweat rolled down his temple.
—Bang!—
Another bullet whizzed toward him, but his aura barrier was up again—it struck and bounced off harmlessly.
Rockinesis exhaled, eyes narrowing.
Then, he let out a nervous laugh amidst mutters.
"This might have been more than I could chew…"
…
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| Taka's POV: |
…
"This might have been more than I could chew…"
I hadn't thought much about fighting these three villains at once. After all, with how much aura I'd racked up these past months, I didn't think they'd be able to do much against my now greater aura projection. After all, no villain had been able to get out of my grasp once my aura enveloped them.
But in hindsight, I should have been more careful and considered the numerical advantage more.
Trouble Radar had warned me they meant trouble, after all.
Turns out, I was slightly wrong in my assessment. These guys were stronger than they looked.
And worse, they knew how to gang up on someone. These bastards were coordinated. I barely had time to focus on one before another popped up and hit me.
Not to mention that this fight wasn't seeming to be very favorable for me so far, judging from their abilities, at least.
First, there was the bald guy in the leather jacket. He had what seemed like a teleportation Quirk and used a sniper rifle with it—basically a pest that hit and ran. Or more like shot and ran.
It wasn't much of a problem since with my increased defense stat, bullets could barely bruise me, and even less the more aura I poured into the stat.
I could also use aura projection to form a shield around me that slowed the bullet down. Lessening the damage even further, and allowing me to not need to pour every single aura into defense.
Why slow the bullet down and not block it completely like a literal shield, you ask?
Because my aura worked like a hand, an omnidirectional, not physical, and multipresent hand, that I could manifest all around me to grab things, pull, or push.
But the aura wasn't solid. So I could only use it to push things away from me when using it as a shield, like just now.
So yeah, slowing down the bullets, no problem. Blocking them completely? I could, but that'd require me to actually see the bullet incoming, and use my aura to try and catch it instead of pushing away.
The main problem wasn't the bullets, though; the problem was that he stayed far away, and when I went after him, he went somewhere else.
I couldn't catch him, so he was a constant annoyance while I dealt with the other two.
Then there was the matter of the female villain. So far from what I'd seen, she could turn into electricity—or something close to it—and move at super high speed in that state, while also using the energy to charge her attacks like she had done with that earlier punch. Even with increased defense, electricity was great at bypassing protections, so yeah, it had hurt.
Not to mention that with how fast she was, it'd be hard to react on time if I got too distracted with the other two. If I were taken by surprise, it might be dangerous.
Besides that, I wasn't sure if I'd be able to grab her with my aura when she was in that electric state, but as far as concerned, when she looked like a person, it hadn't seemed like there was a problem, at least she didn't seem capable of escaping when I grabbed her earlier.
So, I just needed to find the time to catch her and take her down in one go.
And finally, there was the rock guy. At first, I thought he was just super durable with all those rocks around him, but no—he had insane strength, speed, and durability. So much that even with all my aura—around two tons of force—the bastard could still muscle through it, even when slowed.
My only chance at having aura work on him would be in the air, like earlier, where he wouldn't have anything to apply force to, and where he'd be at my complete mercy.
But it was a wonder if I'd be able to get him to jump again.
So, in summary, these guys were rather bad news for the way I've fought until now.
The woman was too fast for me to react properly, the mountain guy was too powerful and overpowered my current aura projection, and the sniper guy was too far away for me to do anything about him, making him a constant annoyance.
So, the question was: what the hell do I do now?
My eyes darted to my status, a nervous sweat drop running down my temple.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[STATUS PAGE]
▸ Strength: 119
▸ Defense: 238→1038
▸ Aura Projection: 3059
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Total Aura: 5309→3859 (73%)
1st Clone's aura: 350 (6,5%)
2nd Clone's aura: 300 (5,6%)
3rd Clone's aura: 300 (5,6%)
4th Clone's aura: 300 (5,6%)
5th Clone's aura: 200 (3,7%)
─────────────
Skills:
▸Clean
▸Trouble Radar
▸Connoisseur
▸Pain is Just a Feeling
▸Innamovible Object
▸True Speaking
▸True Breathing
▸True Walking
▸Good job beating me… But that was merely a clone!
▸Efficient Body
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
The first answer was clear: I had to dispel my clones. That'd give me back half of the aura I'd spent, and the rest would recover over time.
That would give me a decent power boost, from around 70% to 85%, while the rest of the aura recovered over time—but even then, I wasn't sure it'd be enough to take on all three of these jumpers.
I could deal with them one-on-one, sure. But together? Not a chance.
So… what else could I do?
I glared at the screen with a deadpan expression.
'What, no conveniently timed mission with a new skill this time, system?'
[There's no need. You already have what you need to beat them, host.]
If we're talking in more murderous terms, maybe I could take out the woman, but the other two? Too slippery or too damn tough, even if I went all out. Not to mention that I don't want to cross that line yet. Not when the police are already after me. That'd just be giving them more reasons to take me seriously.
[That's not what I meant.]
Then what?
[All I can say is… your thinking has been too uncreative until now.]
The hell's that supposed to mean?
I looked back at my status window.
Uncreative? In what way? My skills?
Most of them are just simple buffs or "look cool while doing it" types.
Maybe Inmovable Object? No—what use would taking more damage just for not being knocked back have?
Unless… maybe it's telling me to combine it with a defense boost—to catch them off guard? But that's too obvious, isn't it? It must be talking about something else.
"What's wrong? Getting tired?!"
Sadly, not the best time for deep thinking.
The woman and the rock guy were walking toward me now. Slowly. She wore that smug, arrogant grin, and he had that same scowl plastered across his face.
'I'll figure it out later…'
For now, though—first things first.
[You have dissolved your clones]
[Total aura used: 27%]
[You have recovered 13,5% of the used aura. (725)]
[The rest will recover naturally during the next hour.]
Instantly, I felt power usher back to me, along with the annoying memory influx.
I grit my teeth at the dizzy sensation.
But then, as it cleared up, my eyes shone with newfound determination.
Right away, I poured the aura I had recovered into aura projection.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
[STATUS PAGE]
▸ Strength: 119
▸ Defense: 1038
▸ Aura Projection: 3059 → 3784
─────────────
Total Aura: 3859 → 4584 (86,5%)
Recovering: 13,5% (59 minutes, 56 seconds left)
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
I took a deep breath and cracked my neck, humming in satisfaction as my bones creaked slightly.
"Alright, round two, bitches."
…
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-To be Continued…-
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(A/N: For those who had been expecting Gigantomachia's event with Mina and Kirishima, sorry for the disappointment. Honestly, I had not even considered it before.
But now that you've brought it to my mind, I think I can do something with that, so I look forward to it.)