Chapter 66 |
Just as Yeruashi returned to scrolling through the latest news, his phone suddenly began to vibrate.
He pulled out the device and smirked, as if he already knew exactly what the call was about, but he pressed the answer button nonetheless.
"Lord Thunder God!"
"We have a massive crisis on our hands!"
From the other end came the frantic and worried voice of Sitch, the head of the Hero Association. "Mr. Saman, one of the Association's major investors, has been attacked by monsters. The situation is dire..."
Yeruashi leisurely picked up a glass from the coffee table and took a sip of cool water before saying calmly, "Saman? Aren't the Association's investors protected by S-Class heroes? Ordinary monsters shouldn't be a problem."
Following Garou's raid on the Hero Association headquarters, and combined with the fact that the Thunder God had recently taken care of almost every Demon and Dragon-level threat, the S-Class heroes had mostly been relegated to protection missions for high-ranking Association officials.
Sitch, who was currently watching a live feed of the fierce battle in the monitoring room, cried out in distress, "That is correct! Mr. Saman was being escorted by Tanktop Master, but they were ambushed by an abnormal number of monsters. These creatures are not only powerful but also highly organized! Tanktop Master won't be able to hold them off for much longer!"
"I understand."
...
At that same moment, chaos reigned on one of the streets in City S.
The S-Class hero, Tanktop Master, was locked in a brutal struggle against two Demon-level monsters!
Aside from those two terrifying threats, a large swarm of weaker monsters was present, relentlessly pursuing a man dressed in an expensive suit.
"Get away! Get away from me! Move, quickly! How can someone of my status die in a place like this?!"
The man in the suit screamed at the crowd of people in front of him, but everyone was desperately fleeing for their lives, paying him no mind whatsoever.
In that moment, Saman caught sight of a monster closing in on him out of the corner of his eye. He sprinted forward with all his might, and in a fit of panic, he grabbed an ordinary person running right in front of him and threw them backward, straight into the path of the approaching beast.
"Aaaaah!"
The man let out a stunned and terrified cry, unable to believe that someone would actually commit such a heartless act.
He squeezed his eyes shut in terror, waiting for death to claim him, but the monsters continued to charge past, chasing Saman and ignoring him entirely.
One of the monsters overtook Saman after just a few rapid strides.
"Aaaaaah!"
The monster abruptly lunged forward with one of its appendages, wrapping a tentacle around the fleeing Saman and hoisting him up.
"You damned monster! Why are you ignoring all this useless trash?! Why me?!"
Saman tried to struggle with everything he had, screaming in fear and indignation as he realized the surrounding monsters were completely disregarding the common civilians.
Thud!
The monster struck Saman across the head, silencing his screams, and turned to the other creatures. "Target captured. We're leaving."
"Eh? Already? I didn't even get to play with these humans properly."
"Fall back! This is an order from leadership!"
The monster barked irritably and ran toward an open manhole nearby. Without hesitation, it dove inside, quickly vanishing into the depths of the sewers.
The remaining monsters hesitated for a moment, eyeing the numerous civilians who were scattering in panic.
A few of them smirked wickedly.
But.
A heartbeat later, they froze in their tracks.
Crack-boom!
A brilliant flash of lightning descended from the heavens and streaked down the street, coming to a halt behind the monsters.
The radiant light revealed the figure of Yeruashi, his body wreathed in countless interlacing arcs of electricity.
Whoosh!
First, perfectly straight crimson lines appeared on the bodies of the frozen monsters, and then they simply disintegrated into pieces, accompanied by a heavy spray of blood.
After obliterating the monsters, Yeruashi cast a glance at the open manhole cover nearby. He didn't immediately give chase, however; instead, he looked toward Tanktop Master, who was still engaged in a fierce battle further down the street.
"It's the Thunder God!"
"We're saved!"
"The strongest hero is here!"
The numerous civilians, who just a moment ago had been fleeing for their lives, sighed in relief. They slowed their pace as soon as they realized Yeruashi had arrived.
The man whom Saman had previously thrown to the monsters immediately calmed down and scrambled to his feet. He looked toward the broken manhole nearby. The people who were running away couldn't see exactly what had happened, but he had clearly seen the monster capture Saman and drag him into the sewers.
He hesitated for a moment, recalling what had transpired, but finally looked toward Yeruashi and opened his mouth, intending to report that the monsters had kidnapped someone just before the hero arrived.
But.
At that exact moment, Yeruashi's figure vanished, leaving behind nothing but crackling arcs of lightning.
A bolt of lightning flashed across the street, hurtling toward the location where Tanktop Master was fighting.
Yeruashi appeared directly in front of one of the Demon-level monsters that was savagely attacking Tanktop Master. With effortless grace, he delivered a punch enveloped in concentrated lightning.
Splat!
The Demon-level monster was instantly reduced to unrecognizable pulp.
"Thank you for the assist!"
Tanktop Master thanked Yeruashi and, with a grin, lunged at the remaining Demon-level monster. "You seemed pretty bold when it was two against one, but now..."
With one monster neutralized by Yeruashi, the second was quickly overwhelmed and pummeled into submission by Tanktop Master.
Yeruashi did not interfere further.
He calmly observed the battle between Tanktop Master and the monster from the sidelines until the worried voice of the Association's leader crackled through his headset. "Lord Thunder God! This is an emergency! Mr. Saman has been captured and abducted by the monsters!"
"Be specific."
Yeruashi pressed a hand to his ear and spoke calmly.
Sitch's voice was extremely tense. "The sewers! We don't know the exact location or direction... the Association is unable to track movements within the sewer system."
Yeruashi frowned. "I cannot turn the entire sewer system of a massive city upside down. For now, try to at least determine a rough area."
With those words, Yeruashi abruptly ended the call and tilted his head, looking down at the pavement beneath his feet with a faint, barely perceptible smile.
...
At roughly the same time, within the headquarters of the Monster Association beneath City Z.
Various monsters were seated around a large oval table in a spacious chamber.
If Child Emperor were to attempt to measure the life force of the assembled monsters with his equipment, he would be shocked to find that every single one of them could be classified as a Dragon-level threat!
At the head of the oval table sat Gyoro-Gyoro, who was under the direct control of Psykos. Behind him lay an unnatural, impenetrable darkness.
Two large images were projected onto the wall in front of the table. One showed Tanktop Master fighting a Demon-level monster, while the other depicted the monster sprinting into the depths of the sewers with an unconscious Saman in tow.
"And so..."
"The first stage of our plan has been successfully completed. With this hostage, we will tie the hands of the Hero Association. They will not dare to launch a massive artillery strike and will be forced into a direct confrontation to rescue the captive."
Gyoro-Gyoro spoke slowly, staring at the large projection. "The time has come... for a declaration of war!"