How the hell was he supposed to fight both the Man of Steel and the World's Mightiest Mortal at his current level and hope to come out on top?
Kenji Takahashi really didn't see himself winning this one. He had just hit Tier 5, a milestone that should have made him a king in his own world, but here? he was still a small fish in a very shark-infested pond. The power gap was wide. These two were some of the most powerful people in this universe, and now both had decided to come for him.
'hehehehe' he chuckled madly in his mind, 'fuck'.
Some People think that if you go to DC, you can just grab a handful of Kryptonite and bam, Superman is down. But that's amateur hour. That's "outside Reader Logic," that kinda shit won't work, the man of steel has shown dozens of times to shrug off both kryptonite and magic, even sometimes, so who said he couldn't do it now that this was no longer a comic page but real life.
Truly, for Kenji, Plot was the only reason the Justice League ever lost. A lot of the members were people who should be no villains that would be able to touch them, at least normal villains. Take the Flash, a man who can think and move in a picosecond, losing to a guy with a cold gun or a well-placed tripwire? It was absurd. But it happened because the story demanded it.
But this was no longer a story, and Kenji had to admit that he was quite happy that Nightwing at least had the brains to kill all the speedsters when he started all this shit. A vampire flash was something nobody wanted.
Now, He was staring at two vampires wearing the faces of gods. Clark Kent and Billy Batson are both gods in their own right. Both were glowing with a predatory, red-tinted hunger, their capes snapping in the unnatural wind of their own power. Their presence was like standing between two active suns, both of them here and now demanding his total annihilation.
"Who are you?" Superman demanded. Clark had never seen this man before, and in his world, anyone with this kind of presence and power should have at least been known. Then again, it could be a recently awakened meta human, still, it didn't matter who he was, he was interrupting the king's plans that alone called for death.
Kenji raised a hand weakly, a wry, desperate smile tugging at his lips. He could feel the sweat beading on his forehead despite the cold Gotham air. "Just a passerby, Big Blue, didn't mean to get in your way. Don't suppose you could just look the other way and let me go? I'm really more of a Marvel fan anyway. I hear they have great shawarma."
Shazam, or the vampire-thing that used to be Billy Batson, burst out laughing, a sound like cracking thunder. "Not a chance, man! The King wants your head for killing Hawkgirl, and I want to see what your blood tastes like!" he shouted.
The magic-gifted mortal launched forward. He blurted as he moved, it was like he erased the distance between them and appeared in front of Kenji.
Kenji's Danger Sense screamed a warning before he was hit with a fist. He twisted his body mid-air, the displacement of Shazam's fist alone shattering his ribs as he was sent flying.
Kenji stretched his palm out, pouring every ounce of mana into a Gravity Pulse. The shockwave caught Billy in the chest, knocking the Captain sideways, but Kenji didn't even have a second to breathe.
Clark blurred. To the human eye, he simply vanished. To Kenji, he was a streak of red and blue, still too fast to properly react, that hit with the force of an asteroid. Though he managed to jump out of the way, he still failed to escape.
Superman grabbed Kenji's right leg as he was in the air, his grip like a hydraulic press that made Kenji's Tier 5 durability feel like wet cardboard, and slammed him into the earth.
Hulk style.
CRUNCH. The sound of Kenji's spine meeting the pavement was sickening. He was slammed down again. And again. The ground beneath the courtyard turned into a series of jagged impact craters.
Dirt and stone exploded into fine dust. Finally, Clark spun him like a discus, the centrifugal force alone threatening to tear Kenji's limbs off, and hurled him into the ash-choked sky. Kenji only managed to right himself a heartbeat before a jagged bolt of magical lightning, Billy's smite, hit him from above.
The world turned white. Kenji hit the ground so hard he felt his Mana Shield around his body shatter into a million glass-like shards. He dug himself out of the smoking crater, coughing up blood that tasted of copper and ozone. His clothes were charred, and his skin was covered in weeping lightning burns.
'Damn these bastards,' he cursed, his vision swimming with dark spots. They were ragdolling him. They were too fast, too strong, and too synchronized.
He was playing a game of speed with beings who seemed to ignore the laws of physics. He needed to level the playing field, or he was going to die without putting up a proper fight.
He roared, detonating a massive Gravity Wave outward, a 360-degree shockwave of high-pressure air to force them back. In the brief pocket of space he created, he summoned the Yamato in a flash of silver light and drove the blade deep into the cracked earth.
"LAW — Mach 1 Limit!" he whispered.
A golden dome erupted from the sword tip on the ground, expanding as it formed a sort of golden dome around the entire area. It was wider than ever before, a side effect of reaching level 2.
He watched the two vampires closely. Superman seemed not to notice the barrier, but he already expected that. Billy seemed to pause for a fraction of a second, sensing something, but still charged forward.
The Rule took hold. Within the dome, the universal constant of speed was rewritten. No matter how much power they poured into their muscles or how much lightning Billy called upon, nothing could exceed the speed of sound. Well, that wasn't true, they were powerful enough that if they really pushed with everything, they could break his law.
Kenji couldn't strip their powers entirely, their power sources were too disparate. One was from biological, one was magical, and his [Law] skill was only Level 2.
He could issue two commands now, but then the power of the first command would drop, and they'd have an easier time breaking his law. He decided not to push for a second command. He focused everything on the speed cap. If he couldn't be as strong as they were, he would make sure they weren't faster than him.
Finally, he could see them. They were no longer blurs, they were just men. Very strong, very angry men.
Billy charged again, but this time, he wasn't a blur. He was just a fast man in a red suit. Kenji met him with a Spirit-Boosted Fire Burst, his elemental fairies manifesting on his shoulders to amplify the heat. The explosion caught Shazam mid-flight, punching the Captain back and singing his cape.
Clark lunged next, his fist cocked back with enough power to level a skyscraper. But Kenji didn't dodge this time. He reached into his inventory, prying the Nth-Metal mace he'd taken from Hawkgirl and swinging it in a wide arc.
CLANG.
The mace connected with Clark's skull with the sound of a massive church bell ringing in a void. The Kryptonian skidded back, his eyes wide with genuine surprise as a trickle of red blood ran down his forehead.
"Not so good when you're on the receiving end, huh?" Kenji quipped, his stance shifting into a low, predatory crouch. His golden eyes were glowing now, reflecting the shimmering light of the golden dome.
The two attacked again, but the dynamic had shifted. Without their overwhelming speed, they were just brawlers, and Kenji was sure as hell more skilled than them.
He shifted his weight, tilting his body to let Billy's punch graze his shoulder before grabbing the Captain's arm. He used Billy's own momentum against him, lifting the man and slamming him into the ground while his spirits unleashed a coordinated storm of fire and lightning.
As Clark rushed back in, Kenji hurled the mace into the air. He engaged the Man of Steel in hand-to-hand combat, being careful because of the gap in strength, using a gravity-assisted martial twist to flip the larger man. As Clark hit the dirt, Kenji caught the falling mace and brought it down with his full strength.
CRACK.
The ground cratered. Clark groaned, the Nth-Metal successfully bypassing his standard invulnerability.
Still, he may look like he was winning, but he was not. Kenji could feel his Nen reserves draining fast. He was holding them off, but the dome would not hold forever. He needed to end this.
He raised the mace again, but two lasers burst out from under him, forcing him to dodge as he flipped back, letting Clark stand back up.
Billy came in charging hot as he speared Kenji back. Kenji dug his heels into the ground and used gravity to increase his weight, allowing him to stop. He raised both hands as he slammed the captain's back and grabbed his cap before spinning him and sending him flying into the incoming Superman.
The two crashed into each other. Kenji glanced at his back, it may seem like nothing was there, but Kenji could see it, the edge of his barrier. He needed to keep them in for as long as he could.
Clark and Billy stood up before they both froze, their predatory instincts finally catching up to their minds.
Kenji started having a sinking feeling as they stood there, eyes roaming around.
Superman's eyes drifted to the center of the battlefield, where the Yamato stood anchored in the stone. Kenji's heart seized. They weren't stupid after all, he should have expected it.
Clark roared, his eyes glowing a hellish red, and he began to move toward the blade. Kenji surged forward, appearing and blasting the Kryptonian back with Gravity Crush.
"Don't even think about it," Kenji hissed.
Kenji exhaled slowly, his hands beginning to glow with a mix of purple gravity. They had figured out why their speed had reduced, and now they have set their eyes on the sword.
He had to make sure they didn't get it out, he had to finish this fast.
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