The fighting spirit, which allowed for no failure, surged to an incredible peak. Boros couldn't even remember the last time he felt this exhilarated.
To secure victory in this battle, he would not regret it, even if the price was his own life.
"I will release all my energy and destroy you along with this planet!"
Boros shouted this, half-warning, half-declaration.
Countless beams of light erupted from his body, and the entire sky was dyed pink by the radiance.
Cold sweat began to bead on Child Emperor's forehead.
Tatsumaki reached out directly toward Boros, who stood alone in the sky, only to find her psychic powers had a severely limited effect within that energy field—it was as if her efforts had vanished into a bottomless ocean.
Though she had managed to affect Boros, all she received in return was an angry glare from the alien.
Tatsumaki refused to allow herself to be useless or helpless in the face of the battle. Since an unprecedentedly powerful enemy stood before her, she would crush him with unprecedented power!
An even more intense light flared around Tatsumaki. As she pushed her psychic power to its absolute limit, blood began to seep from her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
Watching his energy constantly being dissipated, Boros was nearly infuriated to the point of death.
But his top priority right now was the fight against Alice!
Seeing Tatsumaki's efforts, Alice knew this was the final signal to decide the outcome. The Sword of Light transformed back into a Railgun.
She aimed the barrel at Boros in the sky, and as electric arcs crackled along the sword, Alice drew upon the nobility within her halo as fuel, pouring it into the weapon in an endless stream.
"Mr. King!? Why are you just standing there watching!? The situation is already critical!" Child Emperor shouted at King in a panic.
"Trust in Alice." King's expression remained unchanged, his tone incredibly steady. Without a hint of tension, he acted as if the outcome was already within his grasp.
Trust in Alice?
Everyone turned their eyes toward the black-haired girl standing on the ground.
At this point, was all they could do really just to trust her?
How could that be possible!?
Child Emperor gritted his teeth and immediately maneuvered the robotic limbs on his backpack to rush toward the battlefield.
This level of energy surpassed anything he could have imagined; the abilities Alice had shown before were simply not enough to compete with it.
Rather than standing here and watching from afar, it was better to try and help in any way possible!
Whether it meant directly attacking the alien himself or finding a way to dissipate the shockwave of the energy, anything was better than doing nothing!
Genos, standing nearby, didn't feel overly worried, thinking of Saitama being near the battlefield—after all, in his heart, his teacher was invincible.
However, he didn't want Alice to get hurt. Since even Child Emperor had moved, he decided he should contribute his own effort as well.
The two men's actions caused the other heroes to exchange glances.
The existence of S-Class heroes was vital; nobody wanted to see an S-Class hero fall, but now was the time when they had to step up.
Still... they needed a safety net. Since that alien claimed to be releasing all his energy, it made perfect sense to leave someone behind to deliver the finishing blow if necessary.
The only person present capable of facing that alien might just be King.
"We'll go and help. King, you stay here. Once this attack ends, finish off that alien leader."
After Bang left these words, he followed the other two toward the battlefield.
At this moment, everyone was essentially in the same boat; no one could afford to think only of self-preservation. Besides, not a single hero present lacked a sense of justice.
Even Flashy Flash, who always preferred to work alone, was no exception.
"Is there anything we can do to help!?"
Alice was concentrating on Boros, who was also gathering power in the sky. She hadn't expected to hear voices behind her; looking over, she saw that many other heroes had gathered there.
Genos opened the plating on his chest and pulled out his spherical core. "I can give you all of my energy."
"Tatsumaki seems to be holding that alien back. We can't do what she's doing, but if there's anything you need, just say the word." Bang took one look at Tatsumaki in the sky—she was practically bleeding from every orifice—and spoke with a serious expression.
Even a fool could see that Tatsumaki couldn't hold on much longer. Her distraction was brief, but it was enough for them to quickly coordinate a plan.
Yet, despite everyone's desperate, all-in attitude, the girl didn't show any solemnity. Instead, she smiled at them.
"Don't worry!"
Don't worry? How could they not worry?
"Your energy is incredible, but it still can't compare to that guy in the sky!" Child Emperor, assuming Alice couldn't gauge the disparity in energy, explained it bluntly: "If this continues, you will definitely lose to him!"
"Alice will not lose!"
The girl's simple, direct, and confident declaration cut his words short.
"Auntie Herta said that as Alice's sense of justice and determination grow, Alice's energy will continue to get stronger."
"Protecting everyone and protecting this planet is the responsibility of a Hero. Defeating the Demon King is the mission of Alice, the Hero! Alice will never lose!"
As if to validate the girl's words, the original two-meter-long Sword of Light seemed to receive a vast surge of energy.
It expanded and extended; as nanobots rearranged and shifted, an increasingly massive railgun formed in her hands.
Five meters long, the barrel crackled with lightning. Before Child Emperor could react, the equipment in his hands suddenly blared a loud warning.
Dazed, he looked at the device. The energy levels—which were previously lopsided—were now rapidly closing the gap. To his sheer astonishment, the energy reading surpassed that of the alien leader!
"Magic Power Saturation — 100%"
"Energy discharge threshold exceeded."
Arcs of electricity began to leak out; the Sword of Light seemed to have reached its absolute limit.
The surrounding heroes had to retreat slightly to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
"Infuse your will into this light... the strike of justice that shatters evil...!"
"Oh Light—!!"
The low-pressure air that had reached its breaking point was pierced by a blue-and-white radiance in that moment.
An unparalleled finishing blow, carrying unimaginable energy and force, surged toward the Demon King in the sky.
'Not at my peak... but—!'
In the deepest recesses of Boros's mind, there was not a shred of conflict or hesitation.
He was indeed deeply annoyed by the "green fly" that kept interfering, but at this very moment, that annoyance had become trivial.
No matter the circumstances or the situation, for him, as the 'Demon King,' this was only natural. Facing such adversity, all he could do was unleash everything he had without restraint.
"COLLAPSING STAR ROARING CANNON—!"
To be able to engage in a battle like this—he would have no regrets!
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL