Everything was quiet, too quiet to be true; the atmosphere was very natural. From another perspective, it was starting to rain, and those working would be staying late doing their work.
At Worh Hospital, he was removing his bandages to see how his recovery was going. His skin was still a little burned, but it was barely noticeable now.
—Worh: "Hmm, I still have a ways to go before I fully recover," he said in a calm voice.
Elsewhere, Sone was gazing at the horizon. The place was full of vegetation and animals.
—Sone: "Everything seems calm, but I can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen again," he said in a quiet voice with a hint of intrigue.
Sone looked at the sky, realized it was going to rain, turned, and ran.
But from a nearby mountain, something had been broken.
In an unknown location, someone could be seen, their body hidden by a shadow.
—Unknown Voice: "I think I'll activate the next one to fight," a very serene and firm voice announced.
Then, they pressed a button. From inside the mountain, something was breaking.
A captured subject could be seen; his body was made of stone.
Suddenly, his body broke apart, revealing a human with yellow eyes and orange pupils. He wore a long-sleeved shirt, blue pants with a touch of diamond, and technologically advanced shoes that allowed him to fly.
The human opened his eyes and received a warning from one of his shoes.
—Warning: "It is recommended that you first spy on the 'heroes' to learn and copy their abilities."
—Human: "Ah, I have no other choice but to do it," he said calmly, with a touch of frustration.
The human left, and the sky became cloudy (location: Pollino National Park, Italy).
He left the area and headed to Venice, Italy, but upon arrival, he was surprised to find the protagonists' house split in half.
—Human: "Wait, why is the house split in half?" he wondered aloud in a low voice.
He turned and started walking aimlessly.
—Human: "Where could the 'heroes' be right now?" he thought to himself.
Then, a weapon suddenly fired at him, but he dodged the attack.
—Human: "Now you attack me? How ironic," he thought.
Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a technological weapon, but it had some strange material inside.
—Human: "A technological weapon with a strange material inside? Interesting," he said with interest.
The weapon fired again, but this time he didn't dodge the shot, and that was a grave error. The shot hit him, but he didn't move. A millisecond later, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He clutched his chest, his breathing heavy.
—Human: "What the hell!! My chest is hurting so much from one damn shot!!? That's illogical," he said with growing frustration.
He leaped upward and activated his shoes to float. He charged a red attack in his hand and launched it at the weapon. The attack hit the weapon, but it was mysteriously intact.
—Human: "What? How is that thing intact? Is logic a thing of the past or something?" he said with irony and frustration.
He looked at the ground and realized the weapon was padlocked and surrounded by cement. He found it strange that no one was using the weapon, as he knew someone should have it in their hand and be pulling the trigger. Underground, the weapon was connected to a computer, and an intelligent robot sat watching.
—Robot: "According to my calculations, that human is Boss 15. Bosses 1 through 14 were eliminated, but the most recent was Boss 14. This new boss looks like a stone, but with the weapon's technology and the matter that the government gave me, I was able to combine the weapon with the matter and direct it towards the nervous system."
The computer sent the information to the government, and the President of Italy was informed of the new information the robot had sent.
—Sergio Mattarella: "Interesting... but I want the destruction caused by Boss 15 to be minimal," he said in an authoritative tone.
In Venice, Italy, a fight had begun. Boss 15 was attacking the weapon with energy attacks, and the weapon was responding with shots. The boss was getting more and more frustrated as he couldn't find a reason for the weapon's resistance; the waters of the canals were churning with each explosion.
—Human: "Damn it, you're an illogical plague."
The boss was losing his patience; he couldn't find a weakness. He gave up and left the area, but the robot controlling the weapon wasn't going to let him escape so easily. A kind of rope grabbed the boss's foot. The boss noticed and tried to move, but his foot was now tied. He raised a fist to break the rope, but the robot reacted quickly and pressed another button that pulled him in. The boss was reeled in and crashed against the ground. When he looked up, he saw military airplanes above him.
—Human: "First the weapon, then the rope, and now military planes? You have to be kidding me," he said, at the limit of his patience.
He wondered what to do in his thoughts but found nothing; he was too frustrated to think of a strategy. At that moment, he heard a calm and firm voice, as if it were a game.
—Unknown Voice: "It seems you're in trouble, aren't you? You're weak on the inside but resistant on the outside, but it seems you're not using your two destructive abilities."
—Human: "You think I don't want to use them? The illogical nature of the weapon makes no sense."
—Unknown Voice: "Use your stone abilities to make rock spikes."
—Human: "That's a good idea, but how do you know?"
—Unknown Voice: "I know you were in a mountain because I kept you locked up there for over 1,000,000,000 years. Besides, I am your creator."
—Human: "So I've been locked up for so many years, and you're only releasing me now!!! Do you think I'm someone you can control?"
—Unknown Voice: "I can control you. Besides, you're just a puppet like the others; you have no choice.
What you must do is kill the 'heroes'."
Then, with a furious scream, the voice was silenced, and he slammed his fists into the ground, causing giant spikes to grow and destroy the airplanes. From the bottom of the sea, spikes shot out and pierced through the clouds; a gigantic number of spikes destroyed the place. The boss sighed and left, but he stopped and looked back. The weapon was intact. The spikes that had tried to destroy it were broken.
—Human: "This can't be true. Damn it!!! I'm getting out of here!" he yelled.
The boss left the area, leaving the city of Venice destroyed by the spikes. The citizens who lived in the city could be seen, dead and pierced by the spikes; blood flowed throughout the city. The city was devastated, in complete destruction; some of the fish in the sea had died. In the hospital, which was 30 km away from the destruction, Worh was lying down. Suddenly, a red attack headed towards the hospital. Worh noticed it and broke the window before jumping out. When he was as close as possible to the attack, he punched it with all his might. The attack exploded, leaving Worh a little hurt. Worh fell to the ground and brushed off his clothes before looking up. He saw a stone human flying in the sky. The boss looked at him with contempt and descended. Upon landing, he approached Worh.
—Human: "You're Worh, right?"
—Worh: "Yes, why?"
—Human: "I've come to face you and your allies."
—Worh: "You're another boss, huh? It seems you now attack those who are injured," he said with sarcasm.
The boss heard the sarcastic tone, and his patience reached its limit; he lunged at Worh at very high speed. Worh couldn't react and took the hit right in the stomach. Worh spat up blood and was sent flying for many kilometers. Some buildings were nearby, and people were calm, but suddenly Worh flew through the buildings at a great speed. Worh crashed into a bigger building and fell to the ground, bleeding from his back. His arms were wounded, and looking ahead, he realized he had gone through 20 buildings, which were now rubble. He saw blood in the rubble, so he sighed and walked toward it.
—Worh: "I caused so many people to die because of me. I'm so weak that I couldn't help but accidentally destroy the buildings, and there were probably people with families," he said in a tone of anguish and guilt.
At that moment, Boss 15 arrived calmly and looked at the bodies with disgust. Worh looked at him and approached. Inside, he felt guilty for the deaths of the people. As he got closer, he just stared at him, and a wave of rage came over him. Worh clenched his fists, causing the entire area to shake. Boss 15 lost his balance for a second. Worh took advantage of that second to land a punch with all his might. The boss was pushed backward; his expression was one of surprise but changed to coldness.
—Human: "I will use my second destructive ability," he whispered.
He jumped up and moved his hands in a circle. A large mountain formed in his hands, and he threw it. The mountain completely crushed the city (city of Padua, Italy).
Worh managed to react and get out of the area. Peeking through a piece of glass, he saw the city crushed by the mountain and felt a sharp pain in his chest. He couldn't believe what he was seeing; his expression hardened.
Boss 15 descended and sat on the mountain, looking around. He saw Worh in a half-built house; Worh was watching him.
Worh clenched his fists and took a deep breath before leaving the house. He looked at the boss and started running toward him.
Boss 15 noticed and slowly stood up. He sighed and stretched his arms before yawning.
Worh ran faster and was in front of the boss before throwing a punch. The punch hit the boss but barely moved him.
—Human: "How pathetic, you have no chance against me," he said with contempt.
The boss grabbed Worh's arm and broke it. Worh screamed. His eyes squeezed shut, but the pain quickly disappeared, and a cold expression and a furrowed brow appeared on Worh's face. Worh punched him with his other hand; the blow went directly to the boss's face.
—Worh: "Facial Punch."
The punch made the boss stagger slightly, but Worh didn't stop. Worh gave him a punch; the boss's head slightly cracked, surprised by the power. But a smile appeared on Boss 15's face.
—Human: "Hahaha hahaha, how fun," he said mockingly. "You're a bit weak for me; I'll defeat you once and for all to go after your allies."
Boss 15 gave Worh a powerful blow to the neck. Worh fell unconscious, his forehead bleeding slightly. Boss 15 turned and left; he was now going to look for the other protagonists. But the voice appeared in his head again.
—Unknown Voice: "Why didn't you kill Worh?"
—Human: "I'm not your puppet to be controlled. I
have enough willpower to do whatever I want with my opponents."
—Unknown Voice: "You should have killed him, as he would be a problem in the future."
—Human: "Well, I won't follow orders, and I'm going to face the other 'heroes' right now."
He shook his head to stop hearing the voice but suddenly felt his body become heavy.
—Human: "Can that damn guy really kill me? No way," he thought.
He explored Italy but found nothing, so he decided to look in hotels. He searched and searched but found nothing again. But looking down an alley, he saw a large hotel. He realized it was a very clean hotel, and if it was big, a certain number of people could stay there. A smile appeared on his face, and without wasting time, he went to the hotel quickly. Upon arrival, he entered and looked at the receptionist. The receptionist looked at him and smiled a warm smile.
—Receptionist: "What can I do for you, sir?" she asked in a soft voice.
—Human: "I'd like to know if some acquaintances known as 'heroes' are here."
—Receptionist: "Of course. The heroes everyone knows here are Kiro, Worh, Sone, and Sebastian. The three of them are in room 20."
—Human: "Thank you very much, I appreciate it."
The receptionist told him which floor it was, but she lightly touched Boss 15's arm. Boss 15 said nothing and went directly to room 20. Upon arriving, he knocked on the door. After a few seconds, Kiro opened the door.
—Kiro: "What do you want?"
—Human: "Nothing personal, but I want to defeat you."
—Kiro: "Hmm, alright, but you're going to lose."
Boss 15 was about to throw a punch, but Kiro stopped him and pointed to a less crowded area. Boss 15 sighed and agreed. When they arrived at the spot, Kiro clenched his fists. Boss 15 took a breath and got into a fighting stance. The battle began with Kiro throwing a punch. Boss 15 dodged the attack. He slammed his hands into the ground and created a stone spike, but Kiro reacted immediately. Kiro threw another punch, but faster. The punch hit the boss's head; his chest cracked a little, but he remained standing. Kiro began to run around the boss and then started punching him from all sides. Boss 15 could barely react, but at one point, he realized that a weak point like the ears could work. So when Kiro was about to punch him again, he raised his arms and quickly placed them on Kiro's ears. He punched Kiro in the ears with his two fists. Kiro was stunned, and Boss 15 took advantage, elbowing him in the face. Kiro was pushed backward and grabbed his nose, which began to bleed.
—Kiro: "Damn it, that hurts like hell," he thought to himself.
—Human: "Are you in pain, my little girl?" he said in a mocking tone.
—Kiro: "Just a little, but if you want, I can help you shut that dirty mouth of yours."
What Kiro said last made the air grow heavy.
—Human: "You have..."
Boss 15 couldn't finish the sentence. He received a serious punch from Kiro. Boss 15 spat blood and crashed into a building. He got up and dusted himself off. Kiro just looked at him coldly before leaping upward and then crashing into the ground, creating a landslide of earth that shook the area.
Boss 15 used his stone power to cover himself, but what he didn't know was Kiro's initial plan. Kiro had tricked him.
Kiro appeared behind him and gave him a facial punch combined with consecutive serious blows. Boss 15 took the attacks on his back, but when he turned, he received another serious punch.
Boss 15 was sent flying and fell to the ground. He tried to get up, but his chest suddenly began to hurt.
—Human: "How... my chest is starting to hurt, ah," he said in a low voice.
Suddenly, a fireball attacked him. When he turned, he came face to face with Sebastian in Fury Mode Level 5.
—Sebastian (Fury Mode Level 5): "Another bastard boss coming to bother us? Damn plague."
With one movement, Sebastian appeared in front of him. Without being able to react, he gave him a fire punch. Boss 15 flew into the sky, but Sebastian quickly jumped to his side and gave him a punch to the stomach with both fists together. The boss crashed, creating a 15 km crater in Bologna, Italy.
—Sebastian (Fury Mode Level 5): "You should never talk for more than 15 seconds."
Sebastian approached the boss and grabbed him by the neck.
—Human: "You damn idiot."
Sebastian's eyes widened; a large stone spike made him let go. Boss 15 grew more spikes but was quickly punched by Kiro.
—Kiro: "2 vs 1, remember?"
Boss 15 staggered, and Sebastian took advantage, giving him a punch to the stomach, but this time, it was stronger. Boss 15 spat blood and fell to the ground, powerless.
—Sebastian (Fury Mode Level 5): "I don't have enough power to kill you completely, but I can with punches."
Kiro and Sebastian started punching Boss 15 nonstop; the boss's body was breaking more and more. But suddenly, something pushed Kiro and Sebastian with ease.
It was a silhouette in a hood with an aura beyond logic. The multiverse tensed; the universe stopped expanding infinitely. With a blink from the silhouette, Kiro fell unconscious. Sebastian's mode was paralyzed.
The boss looked up to see the silhouette. The silhouette also saw him and then spoke.
—Unknown Voice: "You were defeated too easily. I will give you more power to see how long you last in a 2 vs 1," it said in an authoritative voice.
The silhouette gave him a red-yellow seed. Boss 15's eyes widened, feeling a power surge through his veins. The silhouette disappeared; the multiverse and the universe returned to normal.
Sebastian's mode returned to normal, and he looked at Boss 15 again, but this time, Boss 15 had a different appearance. His face was completely stone, his hands were diamonds, his shoes had turned to stone, his eyes were brilliant white, and his pants were fire. Boss 15 looked at Sebastian and, in a millisecond, sent Sebastian crashing. Sebastian quickly recovered and got into a fighting stance.
The battle began with punches, kicks, and strategies. Sebastian took a hit from the boss but blocked it with his elbow, then gave him a ninja kick to the head and sent him crashing to the ground. Boss 15 recovered quickly and then punched the ground, creating a giant stone spike that reached the planet's atmosphere. Part of the city was destroyed, the air became heavier, and the animals began to hide. Sebastian and Boss 15 continued fighting, throwing punches and blocking. Boss 15 gave Sebastian a punch to the stomach, then grabbed his leg and slammed him against the ground. Sebastian was stuck to the ground. Boss 15 took advantage, jumped, and then put his legs together firmly, heading toward Sebastian. He kicked him in the stomach, and the kick became stronger from the power of gaining more momentum.
The air was knocked out of Sebastian's lungs, but Boss 15 grabbed him and lifted him, then started slamming him against the ground repeatedly. But Sebastian didn't waste time and punched the ground, causing a fire explosion to occur. Boss 15 saw better, seeing Sebastian breathing heavily. The air filled with smoke, and half of the city was vaporized; the people who were nearby died.Sebastian closed his eyes and went into his head. Sebastian was seeing how the city was vaporized, but when he turned around, he found Fury Level 5, who was very exhausted. Sebastian felt a small tremor in his body but quickly shook his head. He went directly to the sadness levels and chose Sadness Level 3, which was unlocked by the battle.
Sebastian opened his eyes again, and now Sadness Level 3 was in control of his body. The boss was a little surprised but remained silent.
Sebastian looked at him and went straight for him. Boss 15 was on alert, but Sebastian was faster than him. Sebastian threw a punch that sent Boss 15 flying. The punch was so strong that it sent him to Germany. Sebastian, without wasting time, ran at the speed of light. The boss fell in Berlin; the waters moved slightly. Sebastian arrived and gave him a punch to the face, then grabbed him by the neck and threw him into the sea. The boss fell into the sea. Sebastian jumped and followed him. They began to fight underwater. The tide began to rise because of the battle happening below.
The boss gave Sebastian a punch to the neck, which pushed Sebastian back a few centimeters. Boss 15 put his hands together and threw a diamond spike at Sebastian, but Sebastian stopped the spike with his two hands and then broke it. Sebastian drank water and threw it at his face. The boss rubbed his eyes as if he had been burned. With a quick movement, Sebastian gave him an elbow to the neck. Boss 15 was pushed further down into the sea. On the surface, the tide rose and almost flooded the city. A helicopter flew over the city with a reporter.
—Reporter: "In breaking news, something is causing the sea to rise, and people are evacuating the area," he said in front of the camera.
In the sea, the battle continued. Sebastian and the boss were very evenly matched, each throwing a different 'hax' attack. Sebastian was slowly destroying the boss's stone body. For his part, Boss 15 was blocking the punches and kicks with his stone powers.
Boss 15 turned around and began to create a mountain from his hands, but Sebastian reacted and gave him a punch that made his head spin. Boss 15 grew a spike in time to stop a punch from Sebastian. He looked around and started swimming away. Sebastian saw this and began to follow him, then caught up, grabbed his foot, and gave him a punch.
Boss 15 gave Sebastian a kick. Sebastian touched his nose. Then Sebastian took water and created a water fist. He threw it in the direction of Boss 15, who took a direct hit, causing part of his stone chest to fall off. Boss 15 sighed and extended his arms, causing diamond chains to grab Sebastian's legs and hands. Sebastian was immobilized, and Boss 15 began to punch him, but Sebastian opened his mouth and bit the boss's fist. Boss 15 tried to break free but couldn't, as Sebastian held him firmly in place. Boss 15 head-butted Sebastian but couldn't make him let go. Then, he made the diamond chains disappear. This was used by Sebastian, who gave him a punch to the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Boss 15 was sent flying out of the sea; a large amount of water shot to the surface. Sebastian, with a boost, came out of the sea and reached the boss's height, then grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the middle of the city.
—Sebastian (Sadness Mode Level 3): "How is it possible that you have so much resistance!!?" he said in a loud voice.
—Human: "Well, I'm made of stone."
Sebastian gave him a punch to the ears, which stunned Boss 15, and then punched him in the jaw. The boss's jaw broke instantly. Sebastian grabbed the boss's head and gave him a knee kick to the stomach. Boss 15 was sent flying into the sky. Sebastian jumped, grabbed him again, and slammed him against the ground, over and over without stopping.
Boss 15's body began to break. He realized it and, in a desperate act, grew a mountain with his hands, but the mountain was held by Sebastian with a single hand.
—Human: "You're very strong, huh? Awesome," he said with a smile.
Sebastian stared at him and then destroyed the mountain. Sebastian descended to the ground and spat out blood he had been holding in. Boss 15 took advantage of that moment of vulnerability to give him a punch with all his might.
—Human: "Maximum diamond punchhhhh!!!!" he said with a ferocious scream.
Sebastian took the hit and fell to the ground, unconscious from the blow and exhaustion.
—Human: "We've been fighting for 30 minutes in total, but you got tired. That's part of human nature. You need to rest to have energy and not get tired quickly."
With that said, he turned around, but some thorns stuck into his back. When he looked around, he found Sone.
—Human: "I've had enough. This is repeating itself like a cycle," he thought.
Sone curled up into a ball and went directly for Boss 15. Boss 15 used his speed and then threw a punch, but Sone was cunning and deflected the punch. He punched the boss's fist; the boss's own punch hit himself. Boss 15's own face was slightly broken, but Sone was on his back and drove an iron spike into him, then used his ball form to make the spike dig in quickly. The boss's back broke by 50%.
—Human: "You damn, cunning hedgehog," he said with annoyance.
But before he could continue speaking, Sone gave him a punch that made him retreat a few centimeters. Boss 15 put his arms together to create the biggest mountain. Sone reacted immediately.
—Sone: "Super sonic kick!!!" he yelled.
The kick made Boss 15 crash to the ground; his arms were no longer together. Sone started punching him in his ball form.
—Sone: "Ball Punch."
The boss's chest completely broke. He was surprised but quickly gave Sone a punch to the stomach. Sone was sent flying by the force but quickly regained control and ran toward Boss 15. Boss 15 punched the ground, destroying the city but without any deaths, as the people had evacuated. Then he took a breath, but looking up, he saw Sone spinning in his ball form. Before he could react, Sone was spinning toward him at maximum power.
—Human: "Noooooooo," he said, but didn't finish the sentence.
Sone completely pierced through the boss's body. Sone left his ball form to look at the boss's body below him. The boss's body was split in half, and Sone was in the middle.
Sone let out a sigh and ran toward Sebastian and lifted him in his arms, then went to the nearest hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital, he handed Sebastian over to the doctors.
After a few minutes, Sebastian woke up without knowing how he got there, but at that moment, Sone entered.
—Sone: "You were unconscious," he said simply.
—Sebastian: "I see. Thanks for bringing me here," he said with a small smile.
—Sone: "Of course, you're welcome."
Sone and Sebastian high-fived, but then Sebastian fell silent. He sighed and took a nearby glass of water.
—Sebastian: "And Kiro? Is he okay?" he asked, looking at him.
—Sone: "He's fine. He went to the apartment after he woke up and told me about the boss. He also told me about a silhouette that made him unconscious with a blink."
—Sebastian: "Oh, I see. I'm glad to hear that," he said with relief.
Sebastian and Sone left the hospital and headed to the apartment. Upon arriving, they were greeted by Kiro, who asked them what happened with the boss. Sone explained how he defeated him. Sebastian entered the room and saw that Worh was in the apartment, sleeping and also a little hurt. Sebastian lay down and slept deeply. Night fell. The air was calm. For now, they were at peace....
Through a camera, the silhouette was watching the protagonists with interest.
—Unknown Voice: It seems you're more interesting from what I've seen. I'll send the next puppet.
The silhouette pressed the button and caused a human who was with his family to become infected with a virus. The man screamed in pain, his family watched him with concern.
—Man: ¡Get out of here now!
His family complied and quickly left. After a few seconds, the man opened his eyes. He had purple eyes, a red vein on his neck, a sun symbol on his cheek, and his skin turned slightly yellow. The man looked around and charged a yellow attack on his arm. He fired the attack, and the house was completely burned. Now the house was just ashes. A force caused it to go in the direction of Italy.
—Unknown Voice: Let's see how they compare against someone who can burn them," he said calmly and serenely.
The man continued walking, then from his feet, created a fire board, then hopped on and began riding the board at top speed.
The man arrived at the protagonists' apartment and took out his hand from a gun, approaching the window. Kiro was quietly cooking.
"Kiro: My dinner is coming out well, although I'm no expert."
The man had the gun record Kiro and then saved the recording. The gun dealt him a serious blow and Kiro's consecutive blows. With that in hand, he walked away to make a plan and defeat the protagonists.
—Unknown Voice: The "heroes" are going to have trouble. The serious blow and the consecutive blows will be a challenge for them. Let's see how the new boss, Boss 16, handles it.
The man arrived at an abandoned laboratory and took out some manuals to then begin organizing all his movements and attack patterns.
The protagonists now had a boss more dangerous than Boss 15. They're going to need to be strategic and not repeat the same attacks...
Worh opened his eyes and clenched his fists, his gaze determined and serious.
—Worh: I'll defeat the next boss, he said, in his thoughts.
End of chapter