"Bankai: Zanka no Tachi - East: Rising Sun Blade."
As Gaio's words echoed, the raging flames that had engulfed the Hero Association's headquarters seemed to heed his call. They swiftly converged, forming a massive pillar of fire.
Like a river rushing into the sea, the flames surged into the blade of Ryūjin Jakka in Gaio's hand.
This sudden shift halted the advance of the NEO heroes and the three S-Class heroes from the Hero Association who had been charging toward him.
They could feel an even more intense heat rising wildly. After the fire pillar was absorbed into Ryūjin Jakka, the air within a hundred-meter radius around Gaio warped under the terrifying heat.
The heroes attacking him hurriedly retreated, desperate to escape the relentlessly climbing temperature.
"What… what kind of power is this?" Superalloy Darkshine's eyes widened. He could feel the moisture in his body evaporating rapidly, and an unprecedented fear gripped him. This heat, far beyond anything he'd ever known, felt like it could melt even his supposedly invincible frame.
Vestige Venerable swallowed hard, his legs trembling uncontrollably. "This is insane. Is this guy some kind of demon god?" He knew his strength was nothing but an ant's in the face of such terrifying power.
Pig God's face twisted in discomfort. His massive frame wobbled under the onslaught of the heatwave, barely able to stand. "No way. This heat… if we get any closer, we'll be reduced to ash!"
The NEO heroes were equally horrified, exchanging glances filled with deep despair.
"This guy…" About three kilometers away, in the ruins of City A, Blue lowered his binoculars, his expression heavy. As the son of Blast, the top-ranked S-Class hero, he had never witnessed power like this.
Even from such a distance, he could feel the scorching heat.
Gaio hovered in midair, his cold gaze sweeping over the so-called "heroes" retreating in fear.
He slowly raised Ryūjin Jakka. After absorbing all the flames, the blade looked oddly unremarkable.
Only the edge, as if scorched by fire, bore crimson "rust" stains.
"It's over," Gaio said softly, his voice resonating through the heavens and earth.
With a powerful swing of his arm, he slashed Ryūjin Jakka through the air toward the Hero Association's headquarters below.
Inside the building, McCoy and the others watched Gaio's every move on a holographic projection, their eyes wide with terror. The moment he swung his blade, fear overwhelmed them like a tidal wave.
Before they could react, their vision went black, and they lost consciousness.
Outside, the heroes attempting to surround Gaio watched his seemingly ordinary swing.
At first, they clung to the hope that it was just a bluff.
But in the next moment, a horrifying scene unfolded.
The Hero Association's headquarters instantly carbonized. Its sturdy metal structure turned pitch-black in a flash, and then, under the disbelieving gazes of the onlookers, the entire building crumbled to ash.
The ashes fell like snowflakes, leaving a deafening silence in their wake.
Superalloy Darkshine, Vestige Venerable, Pig God, and the NEO heroes stood frozen, their minds blank.
Where the grand Hero Association headquarters once stood, there was now nothing but barren ground. The shock was beyond words.
The majestic symbol of the Hero Association had vanished entirely.
All that remained was scorched earth and the acrid smell of burning in the air.
The once-proud, authoritative building was gone, as if it had never existed.
Gaio floated calmly above the ruins, his gaze sweeping the scene below.
He sheathed Ryūjin Jakka, and the intense heat dissipated instantly.
With that single swing, he had destroyed the Hero Association's headquarters, achieving his goal. He was quite satisfied.
Normally, Gaio avoided using Ryūjin Jakka because its destructive power was too vast.
The heat from its Bankai alone could reduce ordinary people in this world to ash in an instant.
After all, Ryūjin Jakka's Bankai reached temperatures of 15 to 20 million degrees—akin to compressing the sun's core and dropping it onto the world's surface. The sheer terror of it was unimaginable.
This time, though, Gaio had used his demonic power to skillfully contain Ryūjin Jakka's heat within a limited range.
Thanks to that control, his devastating strike hadn't obliterated the entire island.
Without it, Ryūjin Jakka's terrifying power would have likely reduced the island to a smoldering wasteland in an instant.
Satisfied with his work, Gaio tilted his chin slightly, his piercing gaze sweeping over the NEO heroes and the three S-Class heroes who had tried to attack him.
"You're still here?" His voice was like a thunderclap, snapping everyone back to reality.
They didn't dare linger. Scrambling in a panic, they fled faster than they'd come, terrified that Gaio might change his mind and reduce them to ash next.
Gaio watched the "heroes" scatter in disarray.
With a flick of his wrist, Ryūjin Jakka vanished, replaced by the chilling Yama Blade.
He shook the scabbard lightly, and in an instant, countless glowing blue swords materialized around him.
The swords, dense as a sea of blue light, filled the sky, radiating an intimidating aura.
"Everyone pays for their choices," Gaio said, tapping the scabbard with his other hand.
The glowing swords in the sky trembled violently, buzzing as if eagerly awaiting their master's command.
"Pay the price—Phantom Blades." As his words fell, the swords vanished, as if they'd never been there.
When they reappeared, screams filled the air.
The fleeing "heroes" found glowing swords piercing their bodies, as if the blades had grown from within them.
Most of NEO's "heroes" were ordinary people enhanced by modified suits and altered bodies.
They used their suits to fly, but the glowing swords struck them down, sending them crashing from the sky.
Screaming in terror and pain, their bodies were pierced, blood splattering as they fell like broken kites, kicking up clouds of dust.
Even Superalloy Darkshine, with his supposedly unbreakable body, had several glowing swords protruding from him.
The blades tore through his skin, blood streaming down their edges.
Roaring in agony, the unbearable pain brought him to his knees.
His hands pressed against the ground, sweat and blood mixing as disbelief and fear etched across his face.
In an instant, countless "heroes" lay writhing on the ground, howling in pain.
Pig God's massive frame was riddled with swords, each one draining his vitality. He collapsed, his muffled roars echoing as his limbs twitched, the ground around him stained red with blood.
Vestige Venerable was luckier, pierced by only one sword, but the pain was still overwhelming.
Curled into a ball, tears and snot streamed down his face as he whimpered, his dignity shattered.
Gaio watched the scene with cold indifference, as if the carnage was insignificant.
The phantom swords would remain in their bodies for three hours before vanishing, giving them a slim chance at survival. Whether they could endure, Gaio figured only a few might.
It didn't matter. Most of NEO's "heroes" weren't exactly saints before joining—many were gangsters or murderers.
After scanning the group, Gaio turned, glancing slightly at Blue, who stood three kilometers away.
Blue felt Gaio's icy, merciless gaze and broke into a cold sweat.
Panicking, he dropped his binoculars, not even sparing a moment to tell Webigaza to flee. He turned to run from the terrifying place, but as he did, he froze.
Gaio was already standing in front of him.
Webigaza, who had just turned around, widened her eyes. Seeing Gaio, her ornate dress was soaked with sweat, and she stood rooted to the spot, her breathing rapid.
Blue's legs trembled, but he forced himself to steady his expression, trying to hide the fear in his eyes. His shaking hands betrayed him, though.
Gaio, one hand gripping the Yama Blade, the other in his coat pocket, stepped closer to Blue.
"Blue? Blast's son?" he asked.
Blue and Webigaza froze, as if under a spell, unable to respond.
Gaio tilted his head slightly, seeing their silence. "If I kill you, will your dad show up?"
Blue clenched his teeth, mustering his courage to keep his voice steady. "I don't know. He's always been elusive. No one knows if he'd show up just because I'm in danger."
Gaio nodded slightly. "Then why'd you get mixed up in this mess? Just to show off how strong your NEO Heroes are?"
Blue nodded at first, then shook his head. "That was part of it, yeah. But more than that, I wanted NEO to replace the corrupt Hero Association, to bring back what being a hero really means."
His gaze was firm, no longer filled with fear but with the passionate resolve of youth.
Gaio's lips curled into a faint smile.
Just a 16-year-old kid, full of idealism.
Thinking this, Gaio decided not to harm Blue. He turned, leaving one last comment: "Then hold onto that conviction and clean up your organization."
With that, he started to walk away.
But in that instant, without warning, a black hole appeared in midair.
From it, a black energy orb crackling with lightning shot out like an arrow, aimed straight at Gaio's head, too fast for anyone to react.
Gaio, unfazed, casually raised a hand and swatted the orb.
It veered off course, smashing into the ground nearby.
A deafening explosion followed, a blinding light flaring as smoke and debris erupted, leaving a massive crater.
Gaio's eyes locked onto the black hole. As expected, more black orbs shot out, their speed unrelenting.
He smirked. "Blast, resorting to sneaking around now?"
With that, he drew the Yama Blade and swung it at the orbs and the black hole.
The air screeched as space itself seemed to tear apart.
The black orbs shattered like bubbles upon contact with his blade's aura, and the black hole twisted, ripped apart by an invisible force, collapsing into nothing.
"Huh? You broke my dimensional orbs that easily? Who the heck are you, man? I've never seen someone like you in any other dimension," a playful voice called out from the void.
As the voice spoke, space rippled, and a figure began to materialize.
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