[Sub-Quest Triggered: Eliminate the villain who invaded the Dogu Arena. Reward: One A-Rank Lucky Draw.]
Lock's heart sank as the cold, mechanical chime of the system echoed in his mind.
So it really was him—the Iron Shark.
There were too many unknowns surfacing in this world now—changes that shouldn't exist.
Ever since his arrival, the timeline itself had begun to warp.
The incident with Kyoka Jiro…
The mysterious Quirk-enhancing drug…
None of this had ever been part of the story.
This wasn't a manga anymore.
This was a real world—unpredictable and alive.
And now, another disaster.
A reckless examinee, standing too close to the massive shark-headed villain, charged forward with a yell.
"Oh? Looking for death?" Iron Shark sneered, his voice low and guttural.
His jaws opened wide, revealing two rows of teeth that gleamed like forged metal.
Compressed air hissed from his throat.
Click!
Splat.
It happened faster than anyone could react.
The boy's body was sliced cleanly in half.
A spray of crimson hit the broken concrete.
"AAAAAAH!"
Screams erupted all at once.
Panic spread like wildfire as examinees stumbled backward, some tripping over each other in terror.
The simulation had become chaos—
because this time, it wasn't acting.
"Damn it!" Muliang slammed his fist onto the console, his voice shaking with fury as he spoke into his headset.
"Emergency! That shark-like man is the real villain! Codename: Iron Shark!"
He switched to the public channel, shouting over the loudspeakers.
"Attention all examinees! The assessment is now suspended!
Candidates with combat-type Quirks are to engage the villain immediately!
Everyone else—assist staff in evacuating the HUCs through the emergency exits!"
Shock rippled through the field, but the order was clear.
For a moment, the candidates froze—then, trained instinct took over.
They were here to become Heroes, after all.
They had already operated under provisional licenses.
Even with fear clawing at their hearts, they moved.
Muliang continued coordinating through his earpiece.
"Emergency broadcast to all nearby districts—requesting reinforcement! This villain is highly dangerous. Pro Heroes watching the exam feed, respond immediately!"
He turned toward the one Pro still standing inside the arena.
"Gang Orca," he called, voice steady despite the chaos, "please—hold him off."
"Understood," the orca-headed Hero replied, his tone grim. "I'll stop him."
Gang Orca, Japan's current No. 10 Pro Hero, stepped forward.
A moment ago, he had been acting the part of a villain.
Now, he was forced to face a real one.
The emergency channel in Muliang's ear crackled again:
"Confirmed—Iron Shark is the same criminal responsible for the Seaside Park massacre.
Nearly every Pro Hero dispatched to intercept him was killed on sight."
Muliang's expression hardened. "Then this isn't a drill anymore."
At that same moment, far from the arena, Ryūko Tatsuma—the Dragon Hero—was watching the live broadcast from her office.
The moment Iron Shark's face appeared on-screen, she shot to her feet.
"Lock…!"
She slammed her hands on the desk, eyes blazing.
"He'd better not get hurt!"
Without hesitation, she ran to the window, leapt into the air, and transformed—her body expanding into a majestic dragon that sliced through the clouds toward Dogu Arena.
Back in the office, Sir Nighteye and Fat Gum exchanged silent, uneasy looks.
Meanwhile, on the ground—
"Lock, what should we do?" Kamui Woods asked, his wooden arms trembling slightly.
Mt. Lady and Death Arms stood beside him, pale but ready.
Sirius was already leading the HUC actors to safety through the side exits.
Lock exhaled slowly. "What else? We fight."
He clenched his fists. His system quest burned bright in the corner of his mind—an A-Rank reward for victory.
"But listen carefully," he warned. "Don't get close. This guy is strong—very strong."
The three nodded, fear still etched in their faces. The corpse of the fallen examinee lay fresh in their memory, seared into their nerves.
Lock, however, was thinking of something else.
He had intentionally lured Iron Shark toward Dogu Seaside Park earlier that day, and even called the authorities.
So why was the villain here, now, at the arena?
He shook his head. There was no time for answers.
All that mattered was stopping him—because the system never offered A-Rank rewards for weak enemies.
At the center of the chaos, Gang Orca squared off against Iron Shark.
Two ocean predators—one lawful, one monstrous—facing each other on land.
"Pro Hero, huh?" Iron Shark sneered, his voice a metallic growl. "You're all the same. Weak. Prey."
His muscles rippled as patches of his body hardened into gray steel plates.
"You're all going to die here."
Gang Orca's eyes narrowed. "We'll see."
"Ultrasonic Blast!"
He opened his jaws wide.
The air shimmered. No sound—only a rippling wave that warped the air itself.
Debris exploded outward as the inaudible shockwave hit.
The pressure was intense enough to pulverize concrete.
But Iron Shark didn't even flinch.
The ultrasonic wave tore through the air around him—yet his steel-hardened body didn't move an inch.
Only his tattered cloak fluttered.
"What?!" Gang Orca's eyes widened. "He took that head-on—without damage?!"
Iron Shark grinned, teeth glinting like blades.
"That's it? That's your power? How pathetic."
Then he crouched low.
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
"Now it's my turn."
BOOM!
He launched himself forward like a cannonball, the impact leaving a crater behind.
The sheer speed blurred his outline—an armored shark rocketing across the battlefield.
Gang Orca braced himself, every instinct screaming danger.
The kind of danger that said:
You can't win this fight.
---
A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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