Evolving Infinitely From An E-Class Hero-Chapter 31: Sector D Has Fallen VII

Zrrrrrrrt!

The electricity-infused whip crackled as it wrapped around the hulking minion, yanking it toward him with crazy force. The momentum sent the creature soaring off its feet, its massive frame was utterly powerless against the pull.

Just as the minion reached the halfway mark, his electric surfboard came out of nowhere, cutting through the air with crackling speed.

In a blink of an eye, it sliced cleanly through the creature’s torso, cleaving it in half before it could even comprehend its fate.

I was stunned.

What precision and mastery. He looked young, but the way he used that electricity-powered gear suggested he had practiced a lot with it.

And then, there was that smirk. A wide, almost predatory grin that surfaced each time he ended a minion’s life.

He was enjoying this.

His official superhero name was Thunderlash. The last time I saw him was right after I defeated Ant Goliath, but since then, he had completely vanished from my radar.

Now, my system kicked in, flashing a detailed information of Thunderlash directly onto my HUD.

"Devon Drake..." I muttered.

Just then, another minion crept toward Thunderlash from his blind spot, its claws poised for a lethal strike.

I waited, expecting him to sense the danger and eliminate the creature before it got too close.

One second.

Two seconds.

Still, he didn’t notice.

The minion lunged.

He still didn’t notice.

My instinct took over. I fired my gauntlet, unleashing a concentrated blast of energy that incinerated the creature just before it could sink its claws into Thunderlash.

The sudden heatwave brushed against his neck, making him flinch violently.

"Jesus Christ!!!"

"What the hell was that?!"

His gaze darted to the smoldering corpse lying on the asphalt. Then to me. Then back to the minion. Then back to me.

He narrowed his eyes. "Clean edges..." he muttered.

Taking slow, cautious steps toward me, he examined me as if I were one of Gravehowl’s minions.

I instinctively raised my hands in a non-threatening gesture. Easy there. I’m not your enemy.

There was no point in hiding anymore. The ISA already had a clear profile on me and my abilities.

And if the ISA knew, then every hero under their command would, too.

The only advantage I had left was anonymity. My helmet had been on the entire time, so no one knew what I actually looked like beneath it.

"What are you?..." Thunderlash took another step forward, pursing his lips in wary contemplation.

Zrrrrrrrt!

His whip crackled as he snapped it at his side, wrist poised, ready to strike.

"Woah, woah, woah! I’m one of the good guys! Look, I just saved your life!" I said, holding my hands up in defense.

Not that I needed to. If I wanted to, I could take him down in a single attack.

But that wasn’t the point.

If we wanted to restore order to Sector D, we needed to be allies not enemies.

"You... You’re the one who took down Ant Goliath back then!"

"Ermm..."

"Right!!!" he barked, his eyes lighting up with recognition.

"The clean edges... I remember now. It’s almost like you erased that part of their body from existence with whatever you just did..."

I had to admit, his attention to detail and memory was impressive. Devon Drake, Thunderlash, was a B-Class hero. Brave, observant, and clearly experienced.

But bravery didn’t equate to power. I wasn’t sure what rank I would be classified under, but I knew one thing for certain, he wouldn’t survive a direct hit from ’Incinerate’.

"So what?" I said, lowering my arms to my sides.

His expression hardened. "You’re dangerous. An unregistered metahuman like you shouldn’t be running around Sector D, punching holes through villains. We have people for that. People like me!"

The smug smirk he had been wearing all this time had completely vanished. Now, he was serious.

I cast a quick glance to my right. Wasting time talking to him wasn’t helping. Even if I wanted to explain myself, there was no way I was going to tell him everything, especially not now.

The minions were beginning to regroup. Without hesitation, I turned my focus back to them and fired, this time amplifying my output by 30%.

Thunderlash’s jaw practically hit the floor.

"What the hell are you?" he muttered, eyes locked onto me.

I met his gaze. "I’m a hero... but I prefer not to rank myself within your puny class system... For now at least."

I was about to continue when I noticed his expression shift. His eyes darted past me, and suddenly, that smug grin of his was back.

He took a few slow steps backward, lips curling mischievously.

"Hehe..."

I tensed. "What?"

Tti-ring!

[Compass Needle Activated]

I barely had a second to react. My system’s alert rang in my ears as I followed Thunderlash’s gaze, only to realize I was already too late.

It was right in my face.

A massive iceberg, relentless in its expansion, tore through the minions before slamming into me with earth-shattering force. The impact sent me hurtling backward, my body smashing through the air like a ragdoll caught in an ice storm.

The sudden chill spread through the air, thickening the atmosphere with a deadly frost.

Ice crackled at the edges of my vision, and I raised my head just in time to see a figure emerging from the mist.

She was covered in a flowing, crystalline coat of frost, her skin seemingly encased in a thin layer of ice. Her eyes glowed an eerie, icy blue.

[Compass Needle Activated!]

[Target Estimated Class: B-Class Hero – Ice Blast]

[Real Name: Elena Frost]

[History: Former Olympic figure skater turned hero. After a near-fatal accident during a championship event, she woke up the next day with abilities, allowing her to create and manipulate cryogenic elements.]

[Trained by the ISA, she quickly gained a massive recognition upon assessment, earning a B-Class Rank 18 designation for her exceptional battlefield control and destructive ice constructs.]

[Weakness: Strong, Overwhelming Heat]

I barely had time to process the information before she struck another attack.

A massive iceberg of relentless proportion surged forward, wiping out the minions in its path before slamming into me with crushing force again.

My vision blurred as the impact sent me hurtling backward, encased in the freezing mass. Pain jolted through my limbs as frost began creeping up my skin, numbing my movements.

Thunderlash’s laughter echoed through the square.

"Hehe..."

I struggled against the ice, my muscles burning from the cold. Before I could break free, Thunderlash appeared beside me in a flash of lightning, his charged whips crackling with energy.

Ice Blast remained at a distance, sculpting razor-sharp shards in the air, ready to strike. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

They moved in unison, their attacks relentless with killing intent.

Thunderlash struck first, his electrified whip slashing into me with bone-rattling force. Before I could recover, Ice Blast sent a ton of frozen spikes, cutting through the air with deadly precision.

I twisted, barely avoiding them, but the attack continued without a pause. Every move I made was countered, every attack I launched was intercepted.

I tried not to use any lethal tactics so I don’t end their lives, with the system continuously flashing me a Compass Needle notification, I was required to exterminate them, but that would automatically make me a villain.

"I’m one of you!" I growled, dodging a whip of lightning.

Neither of them hesitated.

Thunderlash’s boot smashed into my side, sending me stumbling, and Ice Blast capitalized on the opening, summoning a massive frozen lance that shot toward me with lethal intent.

I gritted my teeth, my body screaming in protest as I deflected it just in time. The force of our clash sent shockwaves rippling through the square, ice shattering, lightning flashing.

Despite my growing frustration, I could see it in their eyes, determination, conviction. To them, I wasn’t a hero. I was a threat.

I had one defensive tactic in my arsenal, one that could keep me from becoming their punching bag. If I wanted to prove I wasn’t a threat, attacking them outright wasn’t an option.

[HP: 80/100]

[Status: Fairly Excellent]

[Damage Dealt: 20 HP]

"Skill: Kinetic Shockwave"

Tti-ring!

[Active Skill: Kinetic Shockwave]

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Thunderlash didn’t hold back. His blows rained down on me like I was a mere training dummy, each strike dispersing through my suit.

The assault gave Ice Blast the perfect opening, she swung a massive, ice-forged club straight into my ribs.

"She can do close combat!?" I barely had time to process my surprise before the impact sent me hurtling through the air.

Then, my momentum stopped.

Abruptly and violently.

Something yanked me back in the opposite direction.

I looked down, Thunderlash’s electric whip had coiled around my torso, wrapping around me like a serpent trying to its prey.

I snapped my gaze toward him. And there it was; that same damn smirk curling across his lips.

"10,000 Volts Ripple!" he declared, flicking his wrist.

CRACK!

A surge of raw electricity exploded from the handle of his whip, racing through the glowing blue coils and straight into my body.

Every nerve in my body ignited in white-hot pain. My muscles locked up. My suit’s interface blared with emergency alerts as my HP plummeted like a crashing stock market

My teeth clenched as electricity tore through my veins. The pain was unbearable, maybe because the Forever Armor had never been tested against an attack like this before. My HUD flickered violently, glitching as if the entire system was on the verge of failure.

But I couldn’t afford to stop.

I accelerated.

"Get over here!"

The whip reeled me in, dragging me toward Thunderlash.

Then.

BAM!, his knuckles met my helmet with the force of a speeding car hitting a boulder.

It should have rattled my brain.

But it didn’t.

Kinetic Shockwave was still active, and my Forever Armor absorbed the force of the impact. Thunderlash’s attack barely fazed me.

They didn’t realize it yet, but that was their mistake.

Both of them pounced, pinning me down like a cornered rat. But I wasn’t panicking, this was my chance.

Even though my Kinetic Shockwave gauge wasn’t full, I had absorbed enough energy to turn the tables.

"Release!" I roared.

A powerful shockwave erupted, ready to send them flying.

This was definitely not how I imagined my first official meeting with superheroes would go.