Hero Association Headquarters, underground shelter.
This was a vast underground facility used as a refuge whenever A-City suffered a large-scale disaster. Fang Li's group had moved here, entering the enormous space.
Ahead of them, Fang Li and Sweet Mask stood facing each other from a distance. One remained calm and expressionless. The other looked completely at ease.
"S-Sylvia-san..." Sitch, who had accompanied them, kept wiping the sweat off his face with a handkerchief. For what felt like the hundredth time, he turned to Sylvia for confirmation. "Do... do we really not need to stop them?"
The moment Fang Li and Sweet Mask suddenly decided to fight, Sitch had already reported it to the Hero Association executives. The entire upper management had immediately fallen into chaos. If possible, they absolutely wanted to stop this.
The reason was simple: neither side was someone they could afford to offend.
Behind Fang Li stood the world's greatest Diva. Sweet Mask himself was a famous idol. Both had been recruited by the Hero Association to improve its public image and attract support and donations.
Sweet Mask was even an Association advisor with considerable authority over Hero management and policy decisions. If anything happened to either of them, the Hero Association would suffer the consequences. How could the executives not panic?
Right now, the only thing they were thankful for was that Sylvia wasn't the one stepping into the arena. If Sylvia had been the challenger, they would have intervened no matter what, even if it meant offending Sweet Mask.
After all, while Sweet Mask's popularity within the country was nearly unmatched, Sylvia's fame was number one in the entire world. Now that Sylvia had decided to join the Hero Association, upsetting Sweet Mask would hardly matter in comparison.
Unfortunately, the one fighting wasn't Sylvia. It was Fang Li.
That left the executives unable to decide whether they should interfere. As a result, Sitch could only keep seeking reassurance from Sylvia.
"Fang Li-san may have been evaluated as an A-Class Hero, but Sweet Mask is Rank 1 in A-Class. The only reason he hasn't advanced to S-Class is because he chooses not to." Covered in cold sweat, Sitch desperately tried to persuade her. "What if Sweet Mask accidentally hurts Fang Li-san?"
In other words, Sitch didn't believe Fang Li could beat Sweet Mask. It wasn't because he looked down on Fang Li.
Rather, compared to someone he knew almost nothing about, Sitch was far more familiar with Sweet Mask's abilities. It was only natural for him to think that way.
But Sylvia offered no reply. She simply watched quietly.
Unlike the Hero Association, which was only concerned with the consequences and impact of the fight, Sylvia knew that a clash between these two was inevitable. The reason was simple: they were fundamentally incompatible.
Fang Li simply couldn't stand Sweet Mask. There was no helping it. Being obsessed wasn't necessarily a problem, but when someone aimed that obsession at him and tried to use it to lecture him, Fang Li had no reason to tolerate it.
Sweet Mask was simply too self-righteous. Anyone would find him unpleasant.
As for Sweet Mask, he found Fang Li's very existence unacceptable. In the idol's eyes, Fang Li was a man with tremendous power but no sense of justice whatsoever. To him, Fang Li was no different from an evil being, and evil had to be eliminated. That was all there was to it.
As these thoughts crossed his mind, Sweet Mask slipped his hands into his pockets. Looking completely unguarded, he smiled with his eyes closed.
"Fang Li-kun, you understand the meaning of this duel, don't you?"
The only response he received was Fang Li's indifferent reply.
"You just want to tell me that you don't approve of me and won't allow me to advance to S-Class. So if I insist on becoming an S-Class Hero, I'll have to defeat you first. Isn't that right?"
Exactly. That was the true meaning behind what outsiders would see as nothing more than a personal conflict settled through violence.
"Since you understand, that makes things easier." Sweet Mask opened his eyes and looked directly at Fang Li.
Spreading his arms, he smiled. "The reason I remain at Rank 1 in A-Class is to stop weak trash from climbing any higher. If the S-Class Heroes, the highest honor among those who protect this world, were nothing but self-proclaimed Heroes incapable of defeating evil, then they'd be a disgrace to the title. How could justice ever be upheld?"
"A true Hero should be both powerful and magnificent, someone who can destroy evil no matter what form it takes. Anyone defeated by evil has no right to call themselves a Hero." Sweet Mask pointed at Fang Li and declared, "You want to become a Hero, don't you? Then show me how much power you have to carry out justice!"
As he made that declaration, a chilling emotion surged in Sweet Mask's eyes. Coldness. Pure, icy coldness.
Whoosh!
The next second, Sweet Mask vanished.
Fwoom!
Like a gust of wind, he suddenly appeared in front of Fang Li. Then he threw a punch.
BOOM!
The air exploded. Sweet Mask's straight punch shot forward like a cannon shell, stopping right beside Fang Li's face.
The punch unleashed a tremendous shockwave. Violent air currents erupted outward from the two of them, sweeping across the entire underground chamber. Both the speed and power were worthy of a Third-Rank expert.
Fang Li could even feel the sharp pressure generated by the fist beside his cheek. Without the protection of his Battle Suit, the force alone might have sliced his skin open.
Yet Fang Li remained standing there as if nothing had happened. He merely looked calmly at Sweet Mask.
"Heh..." Holding his punching stance, Sweet Mask spoke with a mixture of surprise and mockery. "That was just a greeting, Fang Li-kun. Don't tell me you couldn't even see it?"
His faint ridicule and disappointment echoed through the massive chamber. Naturally, Fang Li heard it. Yet he remained unmoved.
No. Perhaps "unmoved" wasn't the right word. Because the way he looked at Sweet Mask had changed. His eyes now held nothing but pity.
Then Fang Li spoke.
"How stupid."
After delivering that evaluation, he turned around and started walking away.
"You...!" The smile on Sweet Mask's face immediately twisted. But then he suddenly noticed something wrong. "A sword?"
That's right. At some point, a pure white nodachi nearly two meters long had appeared in Fang Li's hand. The blade had never left its sheath. And yet, the sheathed sword carried the faint smell of blood.
The instant Sweet Mask realized it,
Pain exploded through his body.
Pshhhk…!
Only then did the sound of flesh being sliced apart echo through the underground chamber.
(End Of This Chapter)
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