Chapter 135: The Dangerous-Class, Kalpa
Slice, slice, slice…
Black Noir's blade moved with incredible speed. In a flash, he had cut down several of the dazed, blonde-haired women, their heads tumbling to the floor.
[Heartless] stood nearby, invisible, frowning. This was every target that Vought's operations department had been able to find who was suspected of having been assaulted or "eroded" by Kalpa. They had even included a few women who weren't suspected but whose mental state matched the same profile.
Homelander and "Mercenary Tao" were not merciful men, and Black Noir had no compassion. The moment the civil unrest was confirmed, Noir had been dispatched to execute all the potential targets, to cut off any possibility of Kalpa transferring his consciousness.
[Heartless] frowned. He felt that a notorious monster like Kalpa wouldn't be cut off so easily. He had to have another escape route, a trump card that they hadn't considered.
And… based on what he knew, of all the Reincarnators who had been hunting him, [Kalpa] had the biggest and most vicious reputation. But based on his performance so far, both "Mercenary Tao" and [Bad Kid] seemed far more threatening. This didn't add up.
[Providence], his team leader, had learned from info-brokers that several dangerous individuals below the [Strong]-tier would be coming for them, and she had gathered intel on them. Among them, [Kalpa] was the most prominent. It was said that the Japanese government had officially designated him a [Dangerous-Class] observation target—an individual who was to be strictly monitored and, if possible, expelled the moment he set foot in the country.
But a man with just regeneration, mind-transfer, and some ranged abilities? That level of power was far from the official definition of [Dangerous-Class].
The so-called [Dangerous-Class] was a special classification that the world's five superpowers had created for the increasing number of "Supes"—that is, Reincarnators.
A Reincarnator who could be controlled, killed, or contained by ordinary law enforcement, with casualties under 50 and damage contained to a single city block, was considered a "Normal" target, to be internally flagged and monitored.
Above that, a target who could not be controlled or killed by police or military units without heavy weapons or missile support, a target whose battles would cause damage exceeding a single city block, was designated [Dangerous-Class]. The moment a [Dangerous-Class] individual was detected, national agencies would respond immediately.
As for the level above that, [Disaster-Class], it was currently a theoretical designation. No target had yet been found who fit the criteria: an entity that transcended any conventional means of control, could not be killed by conventional weapons, and could only be deterred by the threat of nuclear annihilation.
Although the Nexus's own vague attitude about its secrecy had led the world's nations to suspect that a "special place" existed where ordinary people could gain great power, they still had no clear concept of what the Infinite Space truly was. Therefore, this simple classification system was the most effective way for low-tier Reincarnators and non-Reincarnators to understand the destructive potential of these dangerous individuals.
So what, [Heartless] wondered, is Kalpa's real trump card…?
Golden ripples of Hamon flowed over Kaito's shattered hand bones and muscles, which were already beginning to heal. Queen Maeve's physical durability was terrifying. Even with his Lv7 Hamon, his [Devil Lance] had still resulted in a mutual injury.
And yet, at this moment, Queen Maeve seemed to feel no pain. Her hands were clamped on Kaito's shoulders, and he couldn't break free.
A sharp pain pricked at Kaito's forehead. He turned his head. Fifty or sixty meters away, in the window of a black SUV, he saw the blonde-haired Starlight. Her skin was slowly beginning to molt and peel, like a snake shedding its skin.
Kalpa's face was emerging from hers.
A black sniper rifle appeared in the window.
Kaito sneered. He looked back at Queen Maeve. "Is this your trump card?" he mocked. "How comical."
BANG!
The moment the trigger was pulled, Kaito's head snapped to the side. The bullet slammed into Queen Maeve's skull. She was sent staggering back, and in the brief moment she was stunned by the impact, Kaito dropped low, broke her grip, and twisted his right hand.
Koei Style - Rakshasa's Palm!
SPLAT!
He slammed his palm into Maeve's abdomen. But the woman's flesh was tougher than any leather. The terrifying twisting force didn't tear her muscles or rupture her organs. It only managed to tie her intestines into a knot and send her flying.
Inside the car, Hughie's pupils trembled as he watched his girlfriend's skin melt away like wax, and that hateful man's face emerge from hers.
"You… what the hell are you… You're not Annie… Where did you hide Annie?!"
Kalpa pulled the trigger of the sniper rifle. The recoil had no effect on his steady hands. He saw "Mercenary Tao" twist his body in an unnatural way.
Reincarnators could buy extremely cheap [Bulletproof Amulets] in the Nexus. If it weren't for the fact that they required a small amount of spiritual energy and needed to be periodically recharged, they would have likely flooded the real world long ago. Even so, these special talismans had, to a large extent, nerfed the early-game dominance of shooter-type Reincarnators. They couldn't just get a one-shot headshot on an unsuspecting target anymore. Because of this, almost every Reincarnator bought one. Kalpa was no exception.
But just as Kalpa himself only ever bought the lowest-tier version and didn't really value it, he knew that anyone who didn't need a Bulletproof Amulet must have a special ability of their own. For example, himself. For example, Bad Kid. And for example, the Mercenary Tao in front of him now.
He fired the shot. He saw that, by a strange twist of fate, it had allowed Kaito to escape Maeve's grip. He wasn't annoyed. A "tank" type hero like Queen Maeve wasn't much of an advantage against a close-combat master like Tao anyway. To kill Tao and Homelander, she was mostly useless.
He watched Kaito send Maeve flying, and then have the leisure to turn and look back at the weak, white-skinned man.
"Annie? Why, I'm right here… Hughie." By the end of the sentence, his voice and tone were a perfect imitation of Starlight's.
WHOOSH!
A powerful gust of wind. Hughie belatedly turned his head and saw a massive man charging toward them. He threw a punch, and the air shrieked.
BOOM!
The door of the SUV caved in. The terrifying force of the blow sent the vehicle rolling. The door, completely deformed, was crushed against Kalpa's body.
CRASH!
The car exploded.