A pillar of blue-white light suddenly tore through the underbelly of the massive warship, plunging toward the ground at a sharp angle.
The glare forced the heroes below to squint, and even the dust particles in the air were illuminated with piercing clarity.
As the beam tore through, a shrill, metallic screech erupted from the warship's hull, and sparks hissed from the jagged edges of the puncture wound.
Debris on the ground was sent swirling into the sky by the shockwaves of the light.
The heroes with the sharpest eyesight narrowed their gazes toward the heavens, spotting a slender silhouette plummeting from the hole in the ship, tracing the path of the beam.
Alice's clothes whipped violently in the high-altitude slipstream.
The Sword of Light in her hand hissed, venting a plume of searing gas as she descended like a falling star toward the battlefield where Bang and Tatsumaki stood.
"Little Alice! How are you holding up?" Puri-Puri Prisoner ran over, his heavy footsteps echoing.
"What on earth happened to you!?" Tatsumaki's voice and movements, however, were far faster than his.
She frowned deeply as she took in the girl's current state. Her expression was less one of anxiety and more of raw anger.
She had never seen Alice look this ragged or battered.
While she didn't understand the mechanics behind it, most attacks aimed at the girl were mitigated to an extreme degree; yet, mundane trifles like bumping into a table corner would often cause the girl to shed involuntary tears.
But now, her clothes were caked in dust. Her jacket was riddled with charred, gaping holes, and her hair, which appeared singed and curled by intense heat, was a chaotic mess.
Even her face was smeared with grime, making her look like she had just been dragged out of a house fire.
"Mmm—!"
Before Alice could speak, a surge of power swept over her, neatly pressing her hair back into place and brushing the dust away as if by invisible hands.
Though her clothes couldn't be replaced on the spot, she undoubtedly looked far cleaner than she had moments ago.
"Don't you dare let Fubuki see you in such a state!" Tatsumaki huffed, turning her head away. "She'd think I couldn't even protect someone like you."
"Thank you, Tatsumaki!"
Now refreshed, Alice beamed a smile at her.
Even without looking back, Tatsumaki knew the girl was likely sporting that same goofy grin. "Now that you're out, I can finally get serious. You meddlesome brat."
With that, she took flight, ascending into the sky.
"What happened on the ship…" Zombieman held a soft spot for Alice.
He had a fondness for children—especially those who took the heavy burden of protecting others upon their shoulders at such a young age.
Whether it was Child Emperor or Alice, he felt a natural urge to look after them.
Even knowing Alice was a robot, he still recognized her personhood, and he understood that mental exhaustion was just as valid a concern—not to mention that a robot's combat effectiveness relied on energy levels.
But this wasn't the time to fuss over whether she was a child or not. Even knowing she had just been fighting inside the enemy's warship and was likely drained, he needed to know the situation.
However, before he could finish his sentence, a lethal chill, coupled with a sudden, surging wave of heat, bore down upon them from afar.
It wasn't just Zombieman; everyone present felt the crushing weight of impending death.
A beam of white-violet light, a full two meters in radius, streaked from the distance. In the blink of an eye, it had punched through countless buildings and ruins, closing in on them.
It didn't even need direct contact; the unparalleled heat instantly liquefied the asphalt road within an eight-meter radius and everything else it brushed against.
I'm going to die!
The realization dawned on several of the heroes. Silver Fang and Atomic Samurai, even wishing to intervene, found themselves powerless.
The strike was too sudden; they had no time to mount a counter-effort, and barely dodging was the limit of their capability.
Just a second before the light was to consume them, a white silhouette intercepted them like a teleporting blur!
A massive blade of light crashed into the ground in front of her. As the spine of the blade collided with the light stream, a deafening ring of steel echoed out.
The white-violet current, which should have melted everything in its path, was split by an invisible force.
It flowed along the sides of the blade, transforming into two Y-shaped beams that soared past the heroes and tore through the building complex in the distance.
The sensation of brushing shoulders with the Reaper still lingered in the air, but more than the relief of survival, they were struck by a singular, overwhelming shock… They had actually blocked it?
Blocked by that girl who looked so incredibly petite?
"Blocked it!? They blocked Lord Boros's attack!?"
Yet, Melzargard was even more shocked than they were. "That was Lord Boros's attack! Small fry like you should have been reduced to nothing but ash by the mere shockwave! How is this even possible!?"
"Boros?"
It was the first time any of them had heard the name, but a heavy, oppressive atmosphere began to quietly permeate the scene.
Was that attack a one-time thing? Or was it merely a trivial strike from the opponent's perspective?
Just what kind of strength did this adversary possess? Even though this alien was clearly formidable in his own right, he displayed a near-fanatical faith in Boros's power.
"Blocked again, eh? I meant to return your strike, but it seems I failed." As everyone pondered this, they realized that a deep-blue-skinned, one-eyed alien had appeared before them.
Even Bang and Atomic Samurai felt a chill run down their spines.
As martial artists, they were hypersensitive to the suffocating pressure of such an abrupt arrival.
The entity had already closed in on them, appearing right before their eyes, yet they only realized the presence of his "energy" when he finally spoke.
Could he be a robot like Alice? That seemed impossible from every angle!
Then there was only one conclusion.
He was simply too strong.
"Is that the kind of enemy Little Alice was just fighting…?" Puri-Puri Prisoner felt his entire body seize up. He couldn't move, let alone breathe or speak.
What kind of monster is this!?
Zombieman racked his brain, desperate for a way to fight back.
Even with his high-speed regeneration, he would surely perish under an attack capable of vaporizing him entirely. And if he had to rely solely on his weapons…
In the sky, Tatsumaki also noted the situation below. Despite her abrasive personality, she held a strong sense of responsibility as one of the elite.
Since the strongest enemy on the battlefield had appeared, it was only natural that she be the one to face him first.
Yet, as if reading her intentions, a telekinetic force far surpassing the previous one surged toward her from all sides.
Her protective barrier, which always surrounded her, shrank significantly under the pressure, forcing her to divert her focus to contest the power.
What's going on? Its telekinesis suddenly strengthened this much? Does that ship have some kind of booster? No… it would be standard for it to have one. Tatsumaki's face tightened.
But this kind of device can't be used for long, or there's no reason it would have held back until now.
The image of the black-haired girl's goofy grin surfaced in her mind, and Tatsumaki gritted her teeth.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL