"Boom—!!!"
A deafening roar suddenly came from above the research institute.
The entire laboratory began to shake violently, lights on the ceiling flickered madly, and debris and dust fell rustling.
Piercing alarms instantly blared throughout the building, and red warning lights cast a tense glow on everyone's faces.
"Alarm! Alarm! Outer wall of Sector Y breached! Unknown monster invasion! Repeat, unknown monster invasion! Disaster level being assessed…"
The voice on the broadcast was urgent and panicked.
"What?" Child Emperor's expression changed. He immediately rushed to the control panel and quickly pulled up the surveillance footage.
On the central large screen, the image stabilized after a violent burst of static.
The scene on the screen made all the heroes gasp.
A huge breach had appeared in the research institute's special alloy outer wall, which was several meters thick. The metal at the edges of the breach was sizzling with white smoke, as if corroded by some terrifying strong acid.
Accompanied by a grating friction sound, a massive monster was slowly squeezing its slimy, disgusting body through the breach.
It was an extremely hideous creature, its body covered in dark green viscous liquid, as if countless rotting tissues had been stitched together.
Countless arthropod limbs and wriggling tentacles grew haphazardly on its body, and most nauseating was the giant mouth on its abdomen, constantly opening and closing, filled with layers of sharp teeth.
"It's it! The Foul Glutton!"
Great Philosopher put down the book in his hand, a hint of horror flashing in his eyes behind his glasses. He recognized this notorious monster from the Hero Association's wanted list at a glance.
"It's a Demon-level disaster monster recorded by the Hero Association, possessing terrifying abilities that can devour and corrode all matter! But its activity area has always been in the uninhabited zone of Z-City, so why would it suddenly appear here?"
"Its target is the research institute's energy core!"
Child Emperor's small hand quickly drew a red trajectory line on the map. The monster's movement path clearly pointed to the research institute's power core. He shouted anxiously:
"If the energy stored there is devoured and detonated by it, its power is enough to wipe all of Y-City off the map!"
"Leave it to us!"
A-Class Hero Snake roared, his hero blood instantly boiling.
Without the slightest hesitation, he adopted the unique stance of "Snake Bite Fist," pushed off with his feet, and was the first to charge towards the monster's direction.
"We A-Class Heroes aren't here for sightseeing!"
"Just as I intended! Let me bring purification to this filthy world!"
Dark Flame Dragon Swordsman followed closely. His chuunibyou lines seemed out of place in the tense atmosphere, but his actions were incredibly swift.
Before he finished speaking, accompanied by a clear metallic scraping sound, the sharp sword at his waist was already drawn.
"Hmph!"
Great Philosopher also acted immediately. He didn't use any weapons, but made an unexpected move—
He grabbed the collar of his top with both hands and tore it open, revealing his incredibly muscular physique underneath!
At this moment, the sense of duty and mission as a hero overwhelmed all the confusion and shock caused by KING's test results earlier.
The battle erupted instantly.
"Snake Bite Fist: Wild Fangs!"
Snake was extremely fast. Using the complex terrain of the walls and ceiling, he moved like a phantom to the side of the Foul Glutton.
The Snake-shaped blades attached to his arms, accompanied by sharp whooshing sounds, stabbed towards the monster's seemingly soft body like a violent storm.
However, "splish" sounds were incessant. Although Snake's attacks all hit, most of the force was absorbed by the disgusting mucus.
Even more terrifying, his alloy blades emitted bursts of white smoke the moment they touched the mucus, corroding at a visible rate.
Great Philosopher, who had been about to charge in for close combat, immediately stopped in his tracks upon seeing this, a layer of cold sweat seeping from his forehead.
He had been hot-headed earlier, wanting to engage in close combat with the monster using his perfectly trained body, but this terrifying corrosive ability instantly sobered him up, forcing him to abandon that idea.
"Damn it! What the hell is this thing!" Snake was greatly alarmed and quickly retreated.
"Step aside, mortal! Let my 'Netherflame Slash' end it!"
Dark Flame Dragon Swordsman descended from above, his long blade tracing a dark trajectory, precisely slashing towards the monster's head.
"Clang!"
A piercing clang of metal striking stone rang out. Dark Flame Dragon Swordsman felt an unparalleled immense force transmit from the blade, his tiger's mouth instantly split open, blood flowing freely.
Although his treasured blade temporarily resisted the corrosion, it only left a shallow white mark on the monster's outer skin, failing to even break its defense.
The Foul Glutton seemed to be enraged by their harassment. It let out a dull, angry roar, its giant mouth on its abdomen suddenly opened, and a stream of dark green acidic liquid sprayed out like a high-pressure water gun.
"Watch out!"
Great Philosopher was quick-witted. He grabbed a heavy laboratory equipment table nearby and, with all his might, used it as a shield to block in front of Snake and Dark Flame Dragon Swordsman.
"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!"
A piercing sound erupted the moment the acid touched the alloy long table.
This table, strong enough to withstand the impact of a small explosion, lasted less than three seconds before a huge hole was corroded through it, rendering it completely useless.
Although Snake and Dark Flame Dragon Swordsman narrowly avoided the direct impact, the splashing droplets landed on them, immediately corroding large holes in their battle suits, and a burning pain spread across their skin.
The situation deteriorated rapidly in just one minute.
Even A-Class Heroes seemed so powerless against this Demon-level monster.
Their attacks couldn't break its defense, while a casual blow from the monster was enough to be fatal.
"No… physical attacks and conventional energy attacks are almost ineffective against it! Its body structure is too special, capable of absorbing and decomposing most forms of impact!"
Child Emperor said calmly from the control panel, his brain working at high speed. He finally decided to deploy his secret weapon.
"You despicable fellow, since conventional methods are useless, now let me show you my true strength as an S-Class Hero!"
He stomped his foot, and the seemingly ordinary backpack on his back clicked open, extending several mechanical arms, looking like a large spider.
Just then.
"Thump… thump… thump… thump…"
That steady and powerful heartbeat once again resounded throughout the entire space.
In this noisy environment, the roar of the Emperor Engine seemed so clear.
It seemed to possess a magical power, making everyone who heard it involuntarily turn their gaze towards the source of the sound.
KING.
He still stood there, not moving an inch from the start of the battle until now.