The steel-hard skull of Elder Centipede slammed down toward Helen.
She calmly raised her right hand, fingers spread.
BOOM!
Her palm met its head, halting the gargantuan monster in place. Shockwaves rippled outward, flattening everything within a hundred meters.
Elder Centipede pushed with all its might, but Helen stood unshaken, like a reef in the crashing sea.
"She... stopped it? With one hand?" Metal Bat gaped.
He had felt that monstrous force himself—his arms nearly broken under its weight. Yet this slender woman suppressed it effortlessly with a single palm.
Helen smiled lightly. "A little stronger than I thought. But self-hypnosis is enough."
The Mind Stone wasn't only for controlling others. It could also control her own mind—unlocking her body's theoretical limits through sheer conviction.
With her inherited Vision body's attributes, Helen's raw strength was already formidable. Add in her mind's absolute override, and Elder Centipede's brute force meant nothing.
"Impossible! I'm dragon-class! How could a mere woman overpower me?!" Elder Centipede roared inwardly, panic rising.
Among all the heroes it had battled, none had ever struck such fear. There was no record of this woman in the Association—where had she come from?
"You're shocked?" Helen's voice rang gently. "In the end, monsters are still human. Just altered forms twisted by their hearts."
Her white-robed figure lifted into the air. She clenched her fist and hammered it down upon the monster's iron carapace.
BOOM!
The skyscraper-sized beast was slammed into the ground, stone and steel exploding around them.
Metal Bat stared blankly. "..."
This wasn't a woman. This was a humanoid tyrannosaurus!
Cracks spread across Elder Centipede's armored skull, green blood seeping. Its eyes locked on Helen with horror.
"You... you're stronger than even Blast...!"
It remembered being beaten by Blast before. But this—this woman's raw power felt even greater.
"Blast? Rank 1 S-Class?" Helen smiled faintly. "Too bad he's absent. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind taking his seat—for my master."
"Master...?" Elder Centipede's pupils shrank. This terrifying woman served someone else?
Its tone shifted. "You're not with the Association. Join us instead. In the Monster Association, you'd stand equal to me! Even higher!"
"Don't be fooled, lady!" Metal Bat shouted. "Monsters and humans are sworn enemies!"
Helen's gaze softened. "You're half right. I'm not purely human anymore."
Her Vision body and Ultron's databanks made her something beyond human—beautiful, yes, but a monster all the same.
Elder Centipede grinned wide. "Then join us! With you, we could crush the Association. You'd stand among multiple dragon-levels, perhaps even higher beings!"
But Helen shook her head. "You'll be disappointed. I'm no hero of the Association. But my master is—and that makes me your enemy."
Elder Centipede's smile froze. Rage twisted its face.
"Then die!! Hundred-Foot Rampage!!"
Thousands of razor legs stormed down, covering Helen from every angle.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!
She vanished under the tide of limbs.
Metal Bat's face twisted. He tried to rush in but couldn't even reach her.
"She was strong... but arrogant! Foolish woman!" Elder Centipede sneered. Its relentless assault left nothing behind—surely not even dust remained.
"Stupid woman! I'll smash you next, bug freak!!" Metal Bat roared, leaping with his bat raised.
"Trash!" Elder Centipede whipped him aside midair, hurling him into a collapsing building.
The monster turned its many eyes toward the city. It relished burrowing through buildings, spreading fear, drawing more monsters to its banner.
"What a vile thought. Best stay put."
The voice slithered inside its mind. Feminine.
Elder Centipede froze.
That voice...
It was her!
(End of Chapter)
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