Chapter 116: The Perfect Show
Ben Harris was also beginning to realize there was a problem. He heard George's melodramatic, impassioned voice and looked back at Kaito Shirogane, sneering.
"Is this your plan? To set me up? To win sympathy online?" He shook his head, and the jowls on his face flapped.
But his physique wasn't entirely the result of laziness. His ability, [Super-Regeneration], was a hyper-accelerated metabolism. The moment he was injured, his body would rapidly metabolize and heal the wound with cellular division. His body was in a constant state of embryonic-like regeneration.
This abnormal metabolism also meant his consumption of energy, protein, and nutrients was several times that of a normal person. After taking damage, he would have to fight off nausea and force himself to eat massive amounts of food. Over the long term, it was impossible for him to maintain a slim figure.
But this disgusting and ugly body had earned him the name [Regenerator]. Even if he was riddled with machine-gun fire, he would get back up. "The hero who can't be killed." Seven or eight years ago, he'd been quite popular.
Kaito tilted his head back, his smile unrestrained. He was getting used to looking down on people this way. It wasn't an intentional act. It was just that he would look at an opponent and, in a single glance, confirm that they were not his equal. Not even close. That disdain, born from the very depths of his soul, made it difficult to see them as peers.
Like this idiot, who thought he was a big shot just because he had a little regeneration. Heh.
Kaito rolled his neck, his joints and muscles letting out a series of sharp cracks. He began to walk, step by step, toward [Regenerator]. His malice no longer needed to be hidden.
Ben Harris sensed his intent. Unsure of the man's power, he instinctively pulled an extendable baton from his back. With a flick of his wrist, it snapped to its full length. The tip was made of a hardened alloy; anyone hit with it would, at best, end up with shattered bones. He was used to hurting people. He had crippled dozens, if not hundreds, of men.
He looked at the approaching "yellow" man, a cruel smile on his own face.
Kaito, in his [Transparent World], watched the man's muscles tense. He didn't bother using [Raging Fire] to dash, nor did he use [Thunderclap and Flash] for an instant kill. He just walked, slowly, one step at a time, right up to Ben Harris.
Ben, seeing this arrogant man walk right into his range, immediately raised the baton and brought it crashing down. His full-power swing could exceed one ton of force—a basic ability granted to him by his hyper-active cells.
This was the main difference between Supes in this world and normal people. It wasn't just that they had flashy powers; they had the superhuman physique required to support them. Almost every Supe was far stronger than a normal human, and the more powerful their ability, the stronger their body. The top-tier Supes could all ignore gunfire. In The Seven, [Queen Maeve] could be shot by a machine gun and just feel a "sting." [Starlight] could be hit by a sniper rifle and just be knocked back. And [Homelander]... he was completely immune. This monstrous physical durability was the foundation of their overwhelming superiority.
Thwack!
Harris had been expecting to hear the sound of shattering bone. Instead, his baton just made a dull thud. His pupils contracted. His full-power, alloy-baton strike had been caught, mid-swing, by the man's bare hand.
Harris tried to yank it free, but it wouldn't budge. The man's strength was terrifying.
"You…"
Kaito, his head still tilted back, his eyelids low, held the baton with his left hand. His right hand blurred, seeming to disappear.
THWACK!
Three distinct impacts, so fast they sounded like one.
Harris's eyes instantly ruptured, and his neck snapped.
He had been chosen by Vought to be a hero because of his powerful regeneration. But to prevent him from screaming in pain on camera and ruining his image, Vought had him undergo a special surgery to sever most of his pain-receptors. Therefore, these injuries, which would have killed a normal man, only made Harris stumble back a few steps. His eyes were already rapidly regenerating, and the cartilage in his throat was knitting back together.
He let go of the baton and sneered, "A speed and strength type, huh? You think that's enough to win? I am Regenerator! I'm immortal!"
As he boasted, his other hand was already reaching behind his back for his gun.
But all of his movements were meaningless in Kaito's [Transparent World].
Kaito spread his arms and took a deep breath. He deactivated his Hamon, and a massive amount of air rushed into his lungs. His muscles began to vibrate, and an aura of crackling lightning began to spread. His body blurred, and he raised his hands, one in front of the other, and then vanished.
CRACKLE!
The air smelled of ozone, like a thunderclap exploding in the small alley.
With his 17 points of Strength and 17 points of Agility, Kaito's explosive speed was so great that Ben Harris's eyes were still stuck on his afterimage when his body was already being struck by hundreds of fists, vibrating like a tuning fork.
Thump-thump-thump-thump…
As Kaito unleashed the flurry of blows, a wild, ecstatic smile was on his face. This guy, who called himself "undying," was even more fun than the training dummies in the Nexus!
FZZT!
In the middle of the violent assault, a spark of black light suddenly appeared. Kaito thought for a second that his Cursed Energy had, without his control, triggered a [Black Flash]. But the flash was gone in an instant. It hadn't pierced the target, but had... disappeared inside Ben Harris.
Kaito's flurry of blows instantly stopped. He remained in his stance, then slowly stood up straight, patted his clothes, and turned to walk back to Bobby and the others.
Little John, who was still on the ground, looked at Ben Harris, who was still standing, and cried out, "Boss! Are we just letting him go?!" He had thought that even if they couldn't kill him, this terrifying new boss would at least cut off his arm and put it on display in the gang's hideout. He had just... punched him a few times?
Kaito was unconcerned.
[You have killed Regenerator - Ben Harris. You have gained 100 Dimensional Points.]
The Nexus notification explained everything. In the face of [Death-Taint of the Myriad Gods], there was no such thing as an "undying" regenerator. At least, not one with a will to live as weak as his. The instant-death check had passed.
[You have killed a Hero. Milestone: Super-Villain, updated. Current: 1/10]
[Milestone: Slaughterer, updated. Current: 35/1000]
George, who had become "Boss Tao's" most loyal follower, was the first to approach the motionless [Regenerator]. He saw the fat Supe, his body completely intact, his eyes and throat already fully healed. But he was just… standing there.
George tentatively put a finger under his nose. There was no breath.
"He's dead!" George's heart pounded, even more excited than before. "He's dead! The boss killed Regenerator!" he shouted. Everyone in the gang had been extorted by Ben Harris, and they had all feared his power. But now, he was just a corpse.
George kicked the body over, and Little John, in a fit of rage, began to beat on the corpse. Only the little girl, who had just regained consciousness, was crying.
Kaito returned to his crew. By now, everyone was looking at their new boss with expressions of pure, unadulterated awe. His power, his methods… this "Mercenary Tao" was on another level. They didn't know how he had killed the "immortal" Ben Harris, and no one dared to ask.
"Ance. You know what to do next."
Ance, who wasn't a fighter like George, was the brains of the two. He nodded repeatedly, walked over to George, and, after George had braced himself, punched him in the face, swelling his cheek.
Bobby and the others quickly followed his lead. Those who were too afraid to hurt themselves just smeared some of Regenerator's blood on their clothes. Many of them simply lay down on the ground, and in a few minutes, the alley was a perfectly staged scene: the local gang, after a brutal, tragic battle, had sacrificed everything to finally kill the corrupt hero, [Regenerator].
Ance, holding the camera, filmed from every conceivable angle.
The two little girls, crying and clinging to the "wounded" Little John, were the perfect centerpiece.
Ance looked at the footage he was capturing and thought that maybe, just maybe, he could win a Pulitzer for this.
One day later, a new story, compiled from short videos and live-stream replays, began to ferment on social media and video platforms.
[HERO "REGENERATOR" BRUTALLY ASSAULTS THE POOR, CALLS CHILDREN "PIGS"]
[LOCAL GANG B45 DEFENDS COMMUNITY, KILLS CORRUPT HERO IN TRAGIC, SELF-DEFENSE BATTLE]
A series of sensational headlines, accompanied by the video evidence, was furiously forwarded by the enraged public. The story went viral.
At first, Vought-America didn't even know what was happening, assuming it was just a crude fake. But when they checked, they found that [Regenerator] was, in fact, completely unreachable. Vought immediately released a statement saying they would "cooperate with the police in their investigation."
The idea that the hero whose entire brand was "protecting the public" had gone missing and needed the police to find him was already ridiculous. But what pushed the event to the point of no return was that, on the same day, over a hundred members of the B45 gang, led by Bobby, carried the "wounded" Little John and his two sisters to the police station to turn themselves in.
This event caused an even bigger media explosion. Reporters swarmed the precinct. The story could no longer be buried.
In front of the cameras for the New York Times, the little girl who had been slapped, her voice choked with tears, said that she had just been trying to protect her brother, and that the "scary hero" had hit her and sent her flying. That image immediately became the headline on every news channel.
Dozens of independent media outlets began to weigh in. It was as if everyone had suddenly remembered that they cared about the rights of the poor; they all rushed to condemn Vought. Some "rival" heroes even came out to state that B45 was innocent, and that they had done a heroic thing.
The recording of George's final, tragic speech—"I'm going to kill that hero!"—became the number one trending phrase of the day.
Inside Vought Tower, Madelyn Stillwell had a massive headache. What should have been a minor incident—the death of an B-list Supe—had now spiraled into a PR catastrophe where the public was beginning to question whether any of the heroes were actually protecting them. In those unseen corners of the world, how many other poor people were being bullied by Supes?
This was a question that could be very, very bad for Vought's stock price.
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Guys We cross the 800 power stone goal and as promise here the bonus chapter
Next goal 900 power stone,come on guys you'll can do it, good luck.
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