Chapter 90 – masked hero
A remote district of a certain city.
In a deserted, silent alley.
"Bu-gaa—!"
The frog Monster with thick lips and chicken-clawed feet screamed.
Energy coiled around its body, crushing the creature—larger than an average man—so completely it couldn't resist.
"So weak. You're not worth Training."
A husky, sultry voice drifted from the far end of the alley, dripping with unmasked arrogance.
The speaker stepped into view.
Wavy blue-violet hair spilled loosely; black-framed glasses half-hid sharp eyes, lending an intellectual edge to her cold beauty.
A white, form-fitting robe outlined her voluptuous curves, while a strip of black cloth patterned with twin serpents cinched her supple waist.
Psykos studied the trapped Monster with an appraising gaze.
"You have intelligence enough to hide among humans, yet your strength and potential are pitiful."
"Quality material really is hard to find. That's it for today."
With that, she turned to leave.
The Monster, still pinned by Psychic Power, thought it had been spared and rejoiced at surviving.
The next instant the power snapped shut like a fist!
"Aaaah—!! Hk… hk…"
A scream became a wheeze, then silence.
The compressed lump of Monster floated into an oversized suitcase.
Inside lay several similar lumps.
"These should barely suffice as offerings for Orochi."
Psykos murmured.
The suitcase rolled after her, propelled by Psychic Power.
"Haa~" Psykos sighed in irritation.
"I need to set up an organization. If I have to gather every scrap of fodder myself, nothing will ever get done."
Suddenly her brows drew together.
Her proud, frosty face turned predatory.
This feeling… something's about to happen?!
Ever since she'd developed the future-sight ability she called Third Eye, vague premonitions sometimes surfaced.
She could never see the exact event, only sense whether it would be good or bad.
In the past, when Training Monsters, she would know a failure before the results showed.
This time a powerful sense of dread tightened every muscle.
Damn it…!
What's coming?!
Has the brainwashing on Orochi failed?
But that conditioning was implanted during Training—how could it be broken?!
Psykos's gaze turned grave.
She hurried toward her temporary base.
Meanwhile—
High above, a colossal Azure Dragon soared through the sky, flame clouds streaming behind.
"Oh? She's moving. Finally noticed something?"
A wisp of Flame Cloud carried a display device.
On the map the target's red dot raced across the screen.
"Too late. You're already locked on."
Tech taken from the Moon,
upgraded by Child Emperor,
given wavelength data from Fubuki,
and fitted with Hero Association gear—
without any one of those, Aokiji couldn't have tracked Psykos so fast.
But every piece had fallen into place.
Among the sea of clouds the Dragon flashed, vanishing across the sky!
——————
——————
"Tek—kai—!!"
Masked Hero raised a defensive stance,
blocking the path of a sprinting, hulking humanoid Monster.
Seeing a hero stand motionless in his way, the Monster barked a mocking laugh.
"Can't wait to die? I'll oblige!"
Thick arms spread wide.
The two-meter-plus Monster lowered his stance and drove straight into Masked Hero's gut.
The brutal charge was only the opener.
He wrapped his arms around the hero's waist,
lifted him with judo technique, and slammed him onto the concrete!
Boom—!!
The pavement cratered like soft sofa cushions,
cracks spidering a dozen meters in every direction.
"You just stood there and let me throw you? Are all heroes brain-dead?"
The Monster brushed dust from his judo gi and stepped disdainfully from the pit.
Judo Monster, disaster level: Tiger.
"Aaaaah!!"
A crowd of civilians shrieked.
"Mysterious Mask is down—he protected us!"
"Oh right, almost forgot you lot." The Monster grinned cruelly at them.
Those ordinary people had always been his real targets; the hero had almost made him forget.
"Who wants to pop first? I love the sight of blood on the pavement—hahaha!"
"Hey, Monster—"
An armored hand shot from the crater, seizing the Monster's ankle.
Masked Hero exuded a terrifying pressure.
Each word fell like lead:
"Evil—should just die."
"What?!" The Monster looked down, stunned. "You survived my throw?!"
Masked Hero said nothing.
He attacked without hesitation.
One finger shot upright, piercing the Monster's Achilles tendon in a single thrust!
These past days
he had done nothing but Train or hunt Monsters for practice.
Following Aokiji's advice, his obsession had multiplied his training speed several times over.
Now he had mastered all Rokushiki—at least their basics.
"Bastard—!!"
Judo Monster howled, his already inhuman features twisting further.
He jerked his wounded leg back,
blood seeping from the punctured tendon.
"He's still up! Mysterious Mask isn't finished!!" the crowd cheered.
People who had started to flee now stopped to watch.
Judo Monster's face contorted.
"Think that little poke stops me? I'll show you the true way of judo!"
"It's simple," he sneered.
"Fold the clothes—while the person's still wearing them!"
Talkative, isn't he.
Once you turn Monster, just go die already.
Masked Hero adjusted his helmet—reforged from tougher steel, it wouldn't break against this foe.
He dropped into a half-crouch,
gathering power while sensing every shift in his body—exactly as Aokiji had taught.
"Viewers, we bring you live coverage of Hero Association B-Class Hero Mysterious Mask battling a Monster!"
"This hero enjoys impressive popularity for his enigmatic style, and as you can see, the crowd is cheering him on…"
A reporter's voice drifted from a prison cell.
Garou lounged with boots on the table, hands behind his head, eyes closed.
The inmates around him rejoiced.
"Ever since the boss became a hero he's always out. We can finally sneak into his cell to watch TV."
"That pervert in drag ran off to hunt some cult leader and still calls himself boss? Only Garou's the boss now!"
"Yeah, yeah—Boss Garou."
Garou opened his eyes irritably. "Shut it."
Their yapping was drowning out the broadcast.