As Raphael fought his way back across the ruined city, the main battlefield at Ice Cream Universe Land had descended into a scene of absolute, apocalyptic slaughter.
In the center of the devastated theme park stood Killian, the infamous Dragon. He was a whirlwind of black steel and lethal grace, his twin high-frequency katanas blurring through the air as he carved a bloody path through the ranks of the Superhero Organization. Dozens of heroes lunged at him simultaneously, but Killian moved like a phantom. He ducked under massive, earth-shaking punches, deflected tracking missiles with the flat of his blades, and bypassed complex magical barriers through raw martial arts precision and his own dark mastery of arcane combat.
Every time Killian's blades found their mark and sliced through an enemy, a maniacal, ecstatic smile stretched across his face. He didn't just strike to kill; he smiled at the sheer thrill of the cut, his eyes wide with a terrifying, primal joy as the crimson spray painted the air. Covered in the blood of his victims, Killian screamed into the smoke, his voice echoing with absolute malice.
"You false heroes! You false dispensers of justice! I am the strongest! Your righteousness is a lie, your organization is a farce, and your false justice ends today!
Tell me, who among you is actually willing to kill to stay in charge? Who among you has the stomach to do what is necessary to dictate the morality of this world? True justice isn't found in the spineless laws and edicts created by your pathetic Superhero Organization, nor is it found in the bureaucratic chains of the government! You all only listen to the rules and edicts of your governments because of their raw power over you—that is the only reason, and we all pretend like it isn't true! But true justice belongs only to the one with the power to enforce it. It belongs to me—the strongest!"
Killian abruptly slid to a halt, raising his darkened katana to lick a fresh streak of blood from the steel. Suddenly, his unique, highly refined sensory aura flared. The air pressure behind him warped violently as a high-ranking behemoth hero blitzed out of the dust with impossible speed, throwing a massive, telekinetically amplified punch the size of a city bus. Killian didn't even flinch. Sensing the sudden shift in wind pressure with his supernatural senses, he utilized his martial arts and magical abilities to spin and dodge the colossal fist gracefully, his blade flashing in a single, fluid arc. With a sickening slice, the giant hero's head was cleanly severed from his shoulders.
Killian caught the head by its hair, holding it high in the air like a bloody trophy as his booming laughter echoed across the shattered plaza.
Looking around the battlefield, he watched the remaining heroes paralyze with sheer terror. The surrounding ranks began backing away slowly, their boots scraping against the blood-slicked concrete. Fear rippled through their voices as they stared at the monster before them.
"It's... it's the Hero Killer..." one stammered, dropping his weapon.
In the skies above, several flying heroes deactivated their combat auras, turning their backs to flee the area entirely. "No way. They aren't paying me enough for this nightmare!" they yelled, retreating into the clouds.
Killian tossed the severed head aside, his eyes narrowing in disgust as he watched the cowards run. "A true hero fights to the death!" he roared. "True justice cannot be denied! Cowards will always die first!"
Suddenly, a trembling sound cut through the crackle of burning debris, causing Killian to freeze.
"Please stop..."
Killian turned slowly, his cold eyes locking onto the figure stepping out from the smoke. It was his sister, Mystic Woman. Her hands were shaking, her eyes wide with a mixture of profound grief and horror as she stared at the carnage her own bloodline had wrought.
"Brother, please stop," Mystic Woman pleaded, her voice cracking. "Stop doing what you're doing and turn yourself in. Just... just come back home."
Killian's manic smile faded, replaced by a cold, hardened expression. "It is too late, sister. I have already killed too many people in our village. They don't want me back. And neither do I have any desire to go back to that prison."
"Our village is not a prison!" Mystic Woman shouted back, hot tears welling in her eyes. "The rules we have are meant to protect the world! We are given this incredible power to safeguard humanity, we're not supposed to abuse it!"
"It is a prison," Killian spat, his voice dropping to a terrifyingly quiet register. "Those walls are all prisons. The power we wield... it cannot be stopped. We are meant to be the ultimate judgment. But instead, they keep us locked away like a bird in a cage. The day I first took a life, my cage was finally opened."
Mystic Woman stared at him, her grief hardening into desperate resolve. "How far you have fallen, brother..."
As she spoke, her eyes began to ignite, glowing with an intense, ancient magical and sorcerous energy. The air around her crackled with mystical runes as she raised her hands. "I will stop you if I have to. And I will bring you back home."
Killian stared at her for a moment before throwing his head back, letting out a dark, mocking laugh that rattled the surrounding structures.
"Sister, we have similar magical abilities," Killian sneered, his eyes gleaming with condescension. "But you lack in every other category required to survive a real war. I am faster, I am stronger. My martial arts, my weaponry, and my fist entirely surpass yours, little sister. Don't make me kill you. You know I can do it whenever I want."
To emphasize his point, Killian channeled his spiritual energy directly into his twin katanas. The dark steel began to erupt with a violent, smoking energy, instantly disintegrating the blood that was dripping down the blades until the metal gleamed with a pristine, terrifying sharpness.
"Stand back!" a voice barked from above.
With a sharp hiss of thrusters, Rocket Boy dropped from the sky, landing heavily on the pavement right next to Mystic Woman. He raised his twin cosmic pistols, aiming them squarely at Killian's chest. "I will deal with this psycho."
Mystic Woman instantly reached out, grabbing Rocket Boy's hand and pulling his weapon down. "No! Stop! He's going to kill you! Let me deal with him. My magic can counter his. I know his techniques and skills!"
Rocket Boy looked at her, his jaw set. "I can't let you fight that monster by yourself. I know he's your brother, but he will still kill you."
"He talks a big game, but I know he's not going to kill me," Mystic Woman argued back, her eyes shining with desperate tears. "Deep down inside, the big brother I grew up with is still there. And I can't risk losing you again! You almost died back there against the Demon King, and our other teammates died. I had to use my holy blessings then, and I don't want to use my holy blessings unless I absolutely have to. Unlike my brother, his life force and his power of dark magic allows him to use his holy blessings much more before he dies. I don't have much life force left."
Rocket Boy shook his head fiercely. "Then stand back! We can't risk you doing that again. Your lifespan has already been reduced to less than 60 years! The rest of y'all get out of here! Only top heroes get ready to take him on!"
"No," Mystic Woman pleaded, stepping further into the line of fire. "Please, just leave! Let me talk to him!"
As they argued, Lady Titan arrived, her long, scratching limbs pulling her through the air as she landed right beside them. "Are you ready to take down this psycho?" she growled, her eyes fixed on Killian. "I'm going to rip his head off!"
From the sky, a streak of neon light descended as Plasma King slammed into the ground. He stood up, his body humming with volatile energy. "Has you thought of a plan yet?" he asked, looking toward Rocket Boy.
Rocket Boy gently but firmly pried Mystic Woman's hands off his arm. "Listen,. everything is going to be fine, I promise. He can't take all of us at once." He turned to Plasma King with a confident nod. "Yes, I have a plan. Plasma King, stay in the skies. Lady Titan and I will go at him head-on. You go first, I'll follow up."
Killian watched them arrange themselves into formation, a dark laugh bubbling in his throat. "I remember you, Rocket Boy," he called out, his voice dripping with condescension. "Back when you first started dating my little sister... I never liked you. I always wanted to kill you. You always thought you were so righteous, when the only power you really have is your Rank. Your strength shows no power of justice."
Killian's expression shifted into a terrifying mask of anticipation. "Let's have some fun." He sheathed his katanas, sliding into a focused, empty-handed fighting stance.
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" Lady Titan screamed, rushing forward. Her arm began to stretch and grow mid-swing, expanding until it was bigger than a bus.
Killian didn't back away. He sprinted directly at the massive limb, running along the top of her reaching arm with impossible balance. He reached her in a blur, delivering a brutal kick to her face that sent her flying backward. She recovered instantly, rushing back as the two engaged in a high-speed exchange of punches and kicks that rattled the plaza.
"Do you remember Wildcat?" Lady Titan roared as she anchored her feet. "The one you murdered? She was my teammate!"
"I don't remember her," Killian replied coldly, parrying a blow. "But she probably deserved it. You all do."
Screaming in pure rage, Lady Titan doubled her efforts, but Killian was a phantom. He dodged her heavy strikes and delivered a devastating knee to her face, dropping her to the ground. He moved to follow up with a finishing blow, but a barrage of cosmic lasers forced him back.
Rocket Boy charged forward, his pistols flaring as a massive rocket roared from his shoulder launcher. Killian shifted his weight, using his martial arts mastery to physically redirect the trajectory of the rocket with his bare hands.
However, the distraction worked. Lady Titan stretched her entire body, making herself larger as she appeared right beside him, throwing a massive, earth-shattering punch. The impact sent Killian deep into a crater in the pavement.
Killian caught the punch with one hand while standing in the center of the crater. He smiled. Switching his footing, he used her own momentum against her, lifting the giant woman up and hurling her high into the sky. He snatched his blade from its sheath and leapt after her, aiming to stab her directly through the heart.
Before he could land the strike, Plasma King intercepted him. The two collided in mid-air, flying further into the sky. Plasma King struck Killian multiple times, his hands leaving burning neon welts.
"Get ready to die!" Plasma King screamed, backing away to channel every ounce of his power. "Hypernova Gamma Ray Burst!"
A colossal surge of energy erupted from Plasma King, a beam so powerful it illuminated the entire horizon. The sky turned a blinding white as the blast engulfed Killian, radiating the cataclysmic heat of dozens of galaxies worth of exploding stars.
Plasma King hovered there, breathing heavily from the immense strain. "Yes... I did it. I killed him. There's no way he survived that. I put enough energy into that blast to destroy galaxies and beyond!" The sheer force of the energy burned past one trillion Kelvin. "The prize is mine... the money, the fame... the one who defeated the Hero Killer is ME!"
He began to laugh, but the sound died in his throat. He felt a cold, sharp sensation in his chest. Looking down, he saw a dark blade protruding through his torso. He turned his head in shock to see Killian standing directly behind him in the open air.
"How... how did you dodge?" Plasma King wheezed. "That attack traveled a light-year in less than a Planck instant..."
"I used a special technique," Killian explained calmly. "Dragon Splitting Between World Fist. My strike splits reality itself, allowing me to enter a realm between space where no one can see or touch me. I simply waited for your flash to pass before reappearing."
"Impossible..." Plasma King gasped. "Your blade shouldn't even affect me... I'm made of pure plasma!"
"This blade does the impossible," Killian whispered. "It can kill immortals. It can even kill a Thought. But before you die, I must admit that technique of your power, was quite impressive. I think I'll take it for myself."
Killian's free hand began to move in a blur of mystical signs. Dark magic swirled around his fingers as he stabbed his hand directly into Plasma King's back.
"Holy Blessing: Copying!"
As Killian forcibly copied the plasma ability, the sky flickered with a dark light. Killian winced, feeling a portion of his own life force drain away to pay the price for the theft. With the technique acquired, he withdrew his blade.
Plasma King's glow faded into nothingness. He plummeted from the sky, his eyes vacant, as he fell toward the earth, dead. Rocket Boy waited below, catching Plasma King's dead body and gently putting him down on the shattered pavement.
"We will avenge you," Rocket Boy said, his voice trembling with fury.
He looked up to see Killian staring right back at him. With a swift movement, Killian sliced through the open air, creating a jagged rip through reality itself before hopping inside and vanishing completely.
Rocket Boy looked around, entirely confused. "Where did he go?!"
Mystic Woman stepped right behind him, her hands crackling with sorcery. "He can pop up from anywhere! Killian is between space right now! Let me activate my magic so I can see his movements!"
Meanwhile, Killian was flying through another layer of existence, closing the distance toward Rocket Boy, who couldn't see him at all. With his blade drawn in that hidden realm, Killian rushed forward and sliced through the fabric of space, ripping his way back into reality. His blade was inches away from hitting Rocket Boy.
Suddenly, green magic erupted into the open air. "Sylvan Arts: Ancient Bramble of the World Tree!" Mystic Woman screamed, her voice echoing across the shattered plaza.
Thick, glowing plant vines materialized from the energy, wrapping tightly around the dark steel and halting its momentum just as Killian's body fully stabilized back into reality.
Killian glared at his sister through the glowing foliage. "You traitor."
"I can't allow you to kill anyone else!" Mystic Woman shouted back, her hands shaking as she poured her power into the restraint.
Taking the opportunity, Rocket Boy pulled out his own close-combat blade, aiming a lethal strike at Killian. Killian sliced through the restricting vines, dodging Rocket Boy's sudden attack. In an instant, the two went back and forth, clashing their blades in a flurry of sparks. Killian then activated the special ability of his katana; with a single, resonant strike, it sliced clean through Rocket Boy's blade, killing it entirely. Following through, Killian drove a heavy kick into Rocket Boy's chest, sending him crashing to the ground.
"Any last words?" Killian sneered, raising his weapon to deliver the final blow.
Before he could land the strike, Lady Titan's long, stretchy arm shot out from the wreckage, grabbing his wrist and stopping him. Her other arm whipped around, wrapping tightly around his torso. "You can't escape!" she yelled, anchoring him.
Rocket Boy scrambled up, wiping his face and reaching for his cosmic pistols to use the opening. Killian simply began to laugh. With his one free hand, he sliced straight through reality again, breaking through her constricting grip and vanishing back into the space between space.
The heroes looked around in a panic, their eyes scanning the smoking plaza for any sign of him.
"I can't see him even with my advanced scanners!" Rocket Boy yelled, his visor flashing with error messages.
"I see him!" Mystic Woman screamed, her eyes flashing with sorcerous light as she tracked the invisible distortion. "Watch out, Lady Titan!"
But her warning was a fraction of a second too late. Abruptly, Killian materialized right in front of Lady Titan. He drove a devastating knee straight into her face, then reached out and violently grabbed her by her hair, lifting her completely off her feet.
"If you miss your friend so bad, you should go visit her," Killian whispered with a cruel grin. "Back in heaven? The ultimate place of judgment, where power is the strongest."
Rocket Boy and Mystic Woman screamed in unison, "Let her go!"
"If that's what you'd like," Killian laughed. Seeing that a large group of reinforcement heroes was still surrounding him from behind, Killian tossed Lady Titan with immense force directly toward Rocket Boy and the crowd.
As she flew through the air, Killian's hand began to glow with a volatile, blinding light. The stolen neon plasma manifested, swirling violently as he infused his own dark magical powers directly into the energy.
"Hypernova Gamma Ray Dragon Breathing Burst!"
A cataclysmic torrent of energy surged forward. Rocket Boy braced himself to block, but Mystic Woman grabbed him by the shoulder, unleashing her magical powers to teleport both of them out of the blast zone in a flash of light.
The rest of the heroes behind them including Lady Titan weren't as fortunate. The colossal plasma beam engulfed them entirely, obliterating everything in its path. The energy rushed forward, destroying buildings for miles and shooting all the way into the sky. Nothing could stop it.
When the light finally died down, the city was left with a massive, smoking trench stretching into the horizon, completely saturated with lethal radiation. In the distance, the buildings of surviving citizens were hit by the fallout; people began coughing violently as the radiation poisoning took hold, collapsing in the ruins.
Killian looked down at his glowing hand, a satisfied smile crossing his face. "That's a good technique to keep... especially when mixed with my magic."
He turned his head to the right and spotted two survivors. "Impressive, sister. You're still fast enough with your teleportation."
Before they could recover from the shock, Killian rushed toward them in a blur. He slammed Rocket Boy face-first into the concrete with brutal force. Mystic Woman lunged forward to stop him, but Killian anticipated the move, planting a heavy punch into her midsection and slamming her onto the ground beside him.
Without missing a beat, Killian chanted a low, malicious incantation, striking forward with a precise thrust. "Fist Art: Soul Binding Sealing Fist!"
The moment his strike connected, a flash of pitch-black runes erupted across Mystic Woman's skin, completely locking down her physical form. It wasn't a matter of heavy weights crushing her down; her very muscles and movements were conceptually sealed away by the absolute paralysis of the strike, leaving her frozen like stone. Mystic Woman struggled desperately against the binding magic, completely unable to lift her torso.
"Please stop... stop..." she choked out.
"Watch me," Killian replied, his eyes wide with manic energy as he drew his blade. "Watch me kill him."
Suddenly, Killian felt a dangerous spike of energy hurtling toward his position. He reacted purely on instinct, twisting his body through the air as a projectile barely missed his face. Flying backward to gain distance, he landed on a pile of rubble and looked up.
Standing right next to the fallen forms of Rocket Boy and Mystic Woman were three familiar faces who had finally broken through from the lower levels.
Double Knuckle, K.O. Freak, and Death Metal stood in a defensive line, their weapons drawn and combat auras flaring, ready to stand against the Dragon.
Behind them, Mystic Woman gathered her remaining sorcery, shattering the binding spell holding her down. She rushed to Rocket Boy's side, her hands glowing with soothing green magic as she desperately tried to heal his wounds. She looked up at the three newcomers, her voice panicked. "Get out of here!"
"No," Rocket Boy gasped, coughing as the healing energy surged through him. He forced himself up slightly, looking at Death Metal. " No one leads until the mission is complete. Did you guys... gather the data? And stop the transfer of the drugs?"
Death Metal kept his weapon raised, his eyes locked on Killian. "We did the best we could. We didn't stop all of the drugs or get all of the data, but we secured most of it."
"Good," Rocket Boy said, a grim nod passing over his face. "Another team just patched through and told me they captured the Ogre Gang Boss. All we have to do now is capture the Hero Killer. We are not failing this mission."
K.O. Freak adjusted his heavy gauntlets boxing gloves, staring at the monster across the plaza. "So this is the Hero Killer..." He glanced over at his partner. "You ready, Double Knuckle?"
Double Knuckle smirked, her combat aura flaring brightly. "That's perfect. This is our chance to move up in rank. We won't be C-Class heroes after today. We can take this guy and finally look as tough as we really are!"
Without waiting for a command, both C-Class heroes rushed blindly toward the Dragon.
"Wait! Stop!" Rocket Boy screamed, pushing himself off the ground. "Get back! Y'all can't do it by yourself!"
But it was too late.
Killian smiled as they converged on him, his body shifting fluidly as he effortlessly dodged their opening strikes. Double Knuckle activated her meta-ability, creating a flawless clone of herself to double her offensive power. It was useless; she couldn't land a single hit, her fists striking nothing but empty air. Beside her, K.O. Freak swung with his specialized Gravity Knuckles, the air warping around his fists, but every heavy strike missed completely.
Finding his opening, Killian countered. He spun into a devastating heel kick, the impact cracking Double Knuckle's skull with a sickening crunch. The force instantly shattered her clone into nothingness, and the real version of her went flying across the pavement, collapsing in a heap, barely conscious.
"NO!" K.O. Freak screamed, his eyes bloodshot with rage. "You monster!"
He threw a frantic barrage of punches, but Killian casually slipped under the strikes, countering with a brutal combination of his own. His fists tore into K.O. Freak, leaving deep, bleeding marks across his torso. Before the hero could fall, Killian snapped his fingers into a quick hand sign, focusing his energy into a final, precise strike. "Fist Art: Soul Binding Sealing Fist!"
The moment the blow connected, K.O. Freak's movements were completely sealed away. It was as if his very body and actions were frozen in time itself, locking him rigidly in mid-air without a single muscle able to twitch.
Trapped in place, K.O. Freak could only watch as Killian wound up a final, terrifying blow. Killian unleashed a massive punch, cleanly taking K.O. Freak's head off. The severed head rolled across the blood-slicked concrete, stopping right in front of Double Knuckle's face.
Double Knuckle let out a horrified, piercing scream. Shaking, she looked up to see Killian walking slowly toward her, a sadistic smile stretching across his face. He sliced a jagged hole in reality, vanishing into the space between worlds, only to reappear a split second later right in front of her.
"It's your turn," Killian whispered, raising his blade.
Before the dark steel could fall, a blur of silver crossed the battlefield. Death Metal materialized out of nowhere, scooping up Double Knuckle's broken body into his arms and using his high-speed movement to fly away from the strike zone.
Killian's eyes narrowed. He lunged forward, launching himself into the air with his blade extended, determined to cut them both down.
Suddenly, a massive force intercepted him mid-air. Killian's refined senses flared a millisecond before his katana collided with an impossibly durable weapon a heavy, vibrating frying pan.
It was Angry Mother.
The sheer kinetic force of the collision created a massive shockwave, sending both Killian and Angry Mother flying backward. They hit the ground and slid apart through the debris, immediately locking eyes and staring each other down in the smoking ruins.
Killian looked up as the remaining heroes converged on the area. Deck Master flew forward, landing right next to Angry Mother while casually shifting through his glowing deck of cards. He glanced back at the others. "Stay back," he commanded calmly. "We will deal with him."
Mystic Woman descended right behind them, her hands crackling with defensive runes. "I'm here to help," she said, her resolve returning. "I'm not gonna let him get away with this. I don't care if he's my brother."
Rocket Boy appeared from the dust, limping heavily. "Killian, just give up!" he screamed out loud, coughing from the strain. "Your crimes end today! With all the heroes you have killed, and all the crimes you have committed, you are not leaving this place. We already captured your boss the leader of the Ogre Gang. It's over."
Killian threw his head back, a mocking laugh bubbling in his throat. "I don't care about any of that," he sneered. "I just want to fight. You talk about my crimes? What about your fake justice? What about the crimes the heroes have done, or the thousands of people they have killed? And you people just let it go! Your whole system is a farce."
Killian's eyes burned with absolute, dark conviction as he raised his blade. "I can leave whenever I choose but right now, I'm choosing to fight. I will be the justice that kills heroes and citizens alike. I will be the one who judges all of you equally with death. Now bring it!"
Without a word, Angry Mother charged. Her heavy steps cracked the reinforced concrete beneath her. Killian met her head-on. His dark katana collided with her cosmic frying pan, the weapons clashing back and forth in a blinding flurry of sparks and ringing steel.
"You're quite skilled, I'm impressed," Killian said, parrying a heavy swipe. "But your weapon is nothing compared to mine."
He instantly unleashed his katana's unique ability, executing a "Death Slice" to send a wave of resonant, lethal death magic straight into the frying pan to kill its power. But as the dark energy struck the metal, nothing happened. Killian's eyes widened in confusion. Why didn't it work?
Before he could process the failure, Angry Mother's strength surged. Her height doubled as her massive form expanded into a towering powerhouse.
"You're the same ex-hero. who killed all those children at the superhero orphanage," she roared, her voice shaking the ruins. "The same one I work at. You die today!"
Her fists rained down like meteors. Killian shifted his weight to dodge, but the sheer speed of the onslaught caught him off guard. A brutal punch slammed directly into his face, drawing blood and sending him stumbling backward. He quickly retaliated with his own punch, moving gracefully to regain his footing, and aimed a lethal thrust at her chest. Angry Mother blocked the blade cleanly with her frying pan, following through with a devastating counter-punch that dropped the Dragon to one knee.
What's going on? Killian thought to himself, wiping blood from his lip. She's too strong. My hits aren't doing enough damage to her body, and she's fast enough to prevent my sword from landing a death shot.
Deciding to bypass her raw durability, Killian flattened his hand like a blade, exchanging a lightning-fast chain of punches with her. As his fingers struck her arm, he chanted:
"Holy Blessing: Copying!"
Killian forcibly copied her immense physical strength. The sudden influx of power caused his spiritual aura to flare violently, though he winced as a portion of his remaining life force drained away to pay the steep price for the theft. Lacing his next strike with the stolen power, Killian threw a massive punch, the impact launching Angry Mother across the plaza.
Deck Master stepped forward immediately. "I'm here to help," he said, throwing down a handful of glowing cards. The energy erupted on the battlefield, summoning a horde of mystical warriors and monstrous beasts that rushed toward Killian.
Killian didn't hesitate. Slicing clean through reality, he entered the space between worlds. To the heroes, he became a terrifying phantom, appearing and disappearing in fractions of a second as his dark blade systematically sliced through the summoned warriors and monsters.
Angry Mother, Deck Master, and Mystic Woman grouped up tightly, their eyes scanning the chaotic perimeter.
"Where did he go?" Deck Master muttered, watching his summons get torn apart as they watched him flick in and out of existence.
"When he's using that technique, it's nearly impossible to touch him," Mystic Woman warned, her eyes tracking the dimensional distortions. "Unless you can somehow punch between worlds and fracture space itself, or catch him as he reappears. That's the only way he can hit you. I think the best option is to wait for the exact moment he's about to strike, because that's when he will become tangible."
Angry Mother's rage boiled over. "I don't care!" she roared, rushing toward the nearest spatial ripple. As Killian briefly reappeared to strike down a monster, she lunged and grabbed him squarely by the neck. "No more disappearing! No more tricks!"
Killian smirked, raising his dark steel blade and slicing right through the fabric of reality. He vanished into the tear in space, breaking free from her grip in an instant. A split second later, he ripped his way back into existence, unleashing a relentless barrage of punches and sword strikes. Angry Mother absorbed the blunt force of the punches and expertly used her cosmic frying pan to deflect the lethal edge of his blade.
"I wish I could use my magic to make y'all see him the way I can!" Mystic Woman shouted, desperately trying to call out his coordinates.
Hearing her cue, Angry Mother slammed her frying pan flat against her other hand with terrifying force. The resulting kinetic shockwave was so immense that it shattered the very fabric of space around them, creating a localized vacuum that violently ejected Killian from the space between worlds.
The concussive blast caught Killian completely off guard, knocking his dark katana clean out of his hand. The weapon clattered across the pavement.
Seeing the opening, Deck Master rushed forward. He threw down a specialized sealing card directly over the blade. A flash of light consumed the weapon, trapping it within the parchment. Deck Master caught the card out of the air, holding it high. "It's mine now," he stated.
Killian scrambled to his feet, his calm demeanor shattering into pure fury. "You give that back to me! My master gave that to me before I killed him!"
A torrent of volatile magical energy erupted from Killian's body, shaking the surrounding structures.
"It's over for you now, young one," Angry Mother declared, charging him head-on to finish the fight.
Killian moved in a blur, dodging her initial strike. He countered with a specialized palm strike, driving his hand directly into her ankle to unleash his sealing technique. "Fist Art: Soul Binding Sealing Fist!" The moment the blow connected, the ancient magic took hold, and her foot was completely sealed to the ground as if frozen in time itself.
Angry Mother roared, struggling against the sudden immobility, but Killian kept moving. He executed a brutal combination of successive strikes, sealing her joints one by one with every impact.
"Fist Art Series—Sealing Fist: Dragon's Absolute Resolve!" Killian screamed.
He wound up a final, massive onslaught, unleashing a rapid flurry of multiple kicks and punches that hit multiple sections of her body at once. The barrage combined absolute sealing power with devastating blunt force, completely locking down her movements before slamming her violently directly into the shattered concrete.
Despite the heavy seals binding her movements, Angry Mother's raw cosmic strength began to overflow. With a deafening screech of effort, she shattered the magical constraints through sheer force, reaching out her massive hands to crush him.
Killian desperately tried to pull back, but her overwhelming strength had increased so drastically that her mere aura pinned him down. He couldn't even move his hands to form the signs for his sealing techniques.
Sweat beaded on his forehead, but Killian's expression shifted back into a cold, arrogant smile. "I guess I have to use that technique," he muttered through gritted teeth. "It takes a massive amount of my energy... but you people leave me no choice."
"Dimensional Art: Instant Flick!"
His body flickered and vanished instantly, escaping her crushing grip by a hair's breadth.
Angry Mother paused, looking around in utter confusion. Where did he go? That wasn't the same technique he didn't punch or slice reality to open a portal. He just disappeared.
Before she could process the new ability, Killian materialized directly in front of her face. He delivered a swift, pinpoint strike to her wrist, sealing the nerves and forcing her to drop the cosmic frying pan.
With her weapon sidelined and her defenses down, Killian aimed both open palms squarely at her chest.
"Hypernova Gamma Ray Dragon Breathing Burst!"
The stolen neon plasma, heavily amplified by his own dark sorcery, erupted from his hands at point-blank range. The cataclysmic torrent of energy engulfed Angry Mother completely. The beam tore through multiple city blocks, leveling buildings for miles before tilting upward, tearing through the atmosphere, and shooting out into the deep vacuum of space.
When the blinding light finally receded, Angry Mother was sent flying back into the smoking rubble. She managed to stay upright, barely standing, her body bleeding heavily from dozens wounds.
"I need my weapon..." she wheezed, her voice weak. "Need to get stronger..."
She desperately extended her hand, attempting to call the cosmic frying pan back to her side. Killian noticed the weapon vibrating on the ground. Moving with supernatural speed, he arrived at the pan first, channeling his magic into a heavy stomp that sealed the weapon entirely, freezing it in place so it could no longer move or respond to her call.
Killian turned slowly, his eyes cold and devoid of empathy as he watched the remaining heroes tremble. Behind him, the smoke cleared to reveal the broken form of Angry Mother, now back to her human size and slowly dying from the inside out.
Mystic Woman didn't hesitate. She slammed her palms onto the shattered concrete, and the ground erupted in a violent surge of emerald energy. Thick, ancient vines surged from the fissures, lacing with glowing runes as they wrapped tightly around Killian's limbs.
"Brother, you need to stop!" she cried, her voice cracking with desperation. "You are causing too much death! You're using our Holy Blessings for things they were never meant for. Just... please, stop!"
Nearby, Deck Master pulled the card containing the Death Sword. With a flick of his wrist, he summoned the black blade into reality. He reached out to seize the hilt, but the moment his fingers brushed the steel, a searing, necrotic heat surged into his palm.
"AGH!" Deck Master recoiled, his skin blistering instantly. He dropped the weapon and frantically activated a sealing spell to pull the sword back into the card. "Damn it... I see the special seals around the hilt now. I can't even touch the thing without it trying to kill me."
He wiped sweat from his brow, his breathing ragged. "I just wasted a massive amount of energy summoning that. I'm running on empty... I can't keep summoning monsters. My next moves have to be perfect."
With a shaky hand, Deck Master played his trump card a Field Spell. "Field Activation: River of Life Waterfall!"
The reality of the ruined theme park began to bleed and merge with the card's art. A massive, towering waterfall erupted in the center of the battlefield, the water glowing with a soft, azure light. Simultaneously, Deck Master threw down three more cards, summoning a fresh battalion of armored warriors.
Killian struggled against the vines, his muscles bulging. "Damn it," he hissed. "The magic in these plants... it's disrupting my frequency. I can't teleport or phase through reality while they're draining my energy."
He was trapped. For the first time, his magical ability to flicker or teleport between worlds was completely sealed away. His feet were rooted, and his fists were bound.
"I can't escape," Killian muttered inwardly. But a dark gleam entered his eyes. 'Luckily, earlier, my holy blessing took that power away from that one hero. I can use his power now.'
Killian's eyes remained sharp. He focused his mind, activating that stolen ability instead of his own locked magic. With no magic cast at all, he channeled the raw superpower directly, causing a Spatial Portal to manifest right in front of his face.
The exit of the portal appeared inches away from Mystic Woman.
Killian lunged his head forward into the rift, delivering a brutal, magically-enhanced headbutt to his sister's face from across the battlefield. The impact was deafening. Mystic Woman's concentration shattered, and she collapsed to her knees, the green glow of the vines flickering and dying.
Free of the drain, Killian roared, ripping through the weakened plants like paper.
Deck Master's warriors charged, their energy rifles and beam-sabers leveled at Killian. They unleashed a barrage of concentrated energy. Killian didn't even move. He opened a series of small, precise portals in front of the incoming beams. The energy entered the rifts and exited through another set of portals he opened directly behind the warriors.
The warriors were struck by their own fire.
Killian moved like a blur, hopping between portals and using Instant Teleportation to systematically dismantle the battalion. But as he crushed a warrior's chest or severed a limb, he noticed something frustrating the wounds were sealing in seconds.
He glanced back at the glowing waterfall, watching the azure mist wash over the warriors and heal them.
"I see," Killian sneered, looking across the battlefield. He could see the mist spreading out, continuously stitching together wounds and restoring the stamina of every hero standing against him. "The field spell isn't just for show. It's a constant heal for your summons."
His eyes narrowed as he traced the flow of the azure energy, realizing that while it patched up the human heroes, the vast majority of the massive energy source was pumping directly into the cards themselves, keeping the endless swarm of creatures combat-ready.
Using his stolen teleportation superpower, Killian bypassed the warriors entirely and appeared instantly at the base of the waterfall. He didn't try to destroy it. Instead, he reached out his hand, opening a massive spatial portal that connected directly to his own personal pocket dimension.
The rift began to swallow the glowing water whole, pulling the vast reservoir of energy out of the battlefield and locking it away in his private realm.
"Vanish!" he commanded. "You took what was mine, so I'll take what's yours. This power belongs to me now."
With the source of the healing entirely swallowed by his void dimension, Killian turned back to the warriors. Without their continuous regeneration, they were nothing but fodder. He tore through them in seconds, their bodies dissolving.
Killian appeared directly in front of Deck Master. Before the hero could react, Killian seized him by the throat, lifting him off the ground with one hand.
"Give me my sword back," Killian whispered, his voice like grinding stones.
Deck Master gasped for air, a weak, defiant smile forming on his face. He didn't have the strength to stand, but he slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a single, glowing card.
"I couldn't give it back if I wanted to. I'm completely out of energy... and I can't unlock your sword's card," Deck Master wheezed, holding up the final card between his fingers. It dissolved into a small puff of smoke, manifesting a lit cigar right in his mouth. "But I have just enough energy to summon this. Let me get another puff before I die."
Killian's eyes flared with malice. He cocked his fist back, his knuckles glowing with the stolen plasma energy, ready to punch through Deck Master's chest.
"STOP IT!"
Killian paused. He looked over to see Mystic Woman standing again, bruised and trembling. Rocket Boy was leaning on Death Metal, who was desperately trying to provide field-medics to Double Knuckle.
"Stop... don't kill him, please," she begged. "No more."
Killian looked at her with pure disgust. "You're all next. Especially you, sister. You're a traitor to our blood."
He turned back to Deck Master and wound up the strike. But before his fist could move an inch, a blur of black, silver, and blazing crimson slammed into the side of his face.
The pressure was precision incarnate, hitting with an incredible, overwhelming force. It wasn't just a basic punch; it was a surge of pure telekinetic force a devastating, crackling crimson energy that vibrated violently through Killian's entire body, rattling his bones and completely disrupting his internal flow. Killian was sent hurtling backward, tumbling through three stone pillars before catching himself in a low crouch.
He wiped the blood from his jaw and looked up, his manic grin returning for a completely different reason. 'Who was that?' Killian thought, his mind racing. 'I didn't even feel the wind pressure, or any malicious intent. I should have known it was coming...'
Standing in front of the wounded heroes, his silver armor reflecting the flames and his white hair contrasting against the dark sky, was the man they had all been waiting for. Crackling with a massive, radiating aura of his Red Force energy and the overwhelming pressure of his Battle Spirit, Hero One had arrived: Raphael.