Raiden rushes towards the place before multiple concretes and walls crush the people.
The entire area ahead of him was collapsing.
Cracks spread across buildings, pillars snapped, and huge slabs of concrete began falling all at once.
There were at least fifteen people in that area.
Too many.
Even if Raiden was fast… even if he pushed himself to his absolute limit…
He was only fast enough to save two or three.
The distance was too long.
His eyes moved rapidly, calculating, judging, panicking—
But he doesn't think.
There was no time to think.
A wall started falling towards a group of people.
They screamed.
Loud. Desperate. Helpless.
Raiden was close.
So close that he could almost reach them—
His body leaned forward, lightning beginning to spark—
Then suddenly—
A big flame came spinning like a beam.
It cut through the air violently, rotating at high speed, roaring like a storm of fire. The heat it carried was beyond anything normal—it wasn't just burning…
It erased.
The moment it passed through—
Every falling wall…
Every chunk of concrete…
Turned into ash instantly.
Not broken.
Not scattered.
Gone.
Reduced to nothing.
Raiden held two people in his hands, frozen mid-motion.
It all happened within a second.
One second.
Raiden didn't even understand what had just happened at that moment.
His mind lagged behind reality.
His breathing slowed.
"…What…?"
Then suddenly he turned back.
All the falling walls and concretes—
Were gone.
The entire destruction that was about to crush everyone—
Had disappeared.
Only faint ash floated in the air like dust.
He didn't understand what just happened.
Then—
Slowly—
He looked at the sky.
A man was levitating there.
Flames surrounded his entire body.
A young man with brown skin. His hair burned like fire, moving like it was alive. His eyes glowed orange-red, shining like heated metal. His costume was orange and red—the orange parts weren't just design…
They were burning.
His hands burned.
His shoulders burned.
His long boots burned.
Even the logo on his chest—
A flamingo with its wings spread wide—
Was made of fire.
Raiden was shocked.
"Guess I made it in time," the man muttered.
Suddenly—
A voice from the crowd shouted loudly—
"IT'S FLAME-INGO!!!"
The crowd instantly burst into cheers.
"Yay Flame-Ingo!" Someone shouted.
"Now we are going to be safe!" Another voice added
Relief spread across their faces. Fear turned into excitement in seconds.
Raiden watched them.
Everyone was cheering him.
But Raiden didn't care about that.
His focus remained on the people.
He scanned each face, each body, checking—
Making sure they were safe.
Making sure no one was hurt.
Only after confirming that—
He finally relaxed a little
.
He exhaled deeply.
"Haaa… Thank God…" he muttered in a low voice.
Raiden looked up again.
"Thank you!" he yelled, a genuine smile on his face.
"I couldn't have saved them all… so thank you very much."
Flame-Ingo's gaze slowly shifted towards him.
Their eyes met.
For a brief second—
Raiden's expression was full of gratitude.
But Flame-Ingo's expression changed.
It became uninterested.
Cold.
Like looking at Raiden didn't matter at all.
Like he wasn't worth acknowledging.
Without saying anything—
He ignored him completely.
He turned back towards the crowd, a confident smile returning instantly.
"Don't worry everyone, I have got things under control," Flame-Ingo ensured the people.
Then—
A laugh cut through the atmosphere.
Sharp.
Mocking.
"I don't think so."
The armored man shouted as he approached towards them.
Raiden clicked his teeth in anger.
A sharp sound escaped him as frustration rose again.
He immediately took his fighting stance.
Lightning emitted from his fists, flickering weakly but still dangerous.
He was tired.
After running at full speed… after pushing himself to save people…
He had already used his maximum energy.
His body felt heavy.
But still—
He stood ready to fight.
"Yes it is. Hand yourself to the N.M.D.A," Flame-Ingo responded calmly.
The armored man laughed again.
"Like hell I will!"
The armored man raised his hand to fire—
But Raiden moved instantly.
In a snap—
He appeared in front of him.
Without hesitation—
He kicked him straight in the chest.
The impact sent the armored man flying far across the ground.
Before he could even recover—
Flame-Ingo rushed at him like a bullet.
A streak of fire shot forward—
He grabbed him instantly—
And flew off into the sky at high speed.
Raiden didn't wait.
He followed them.
High above—
Flame-Ingo held the armored man by his neck, lifting him with ease.
"You're face is so ugly I can't stand it," Flame-Ingo said in a cold, angry tone.
The armored man smirked, even while being choked.
"Hm… too bad to know."
Flame-Ingo stopped mid-air. Still grabbing him by his neck with one hand.
His grip tightened slightly.
"You think I am joking?" he asked coldly.
"I don't give a fuck," the armored man replied, laughing.
"Hey, Mr. Flaming-Guy!" Raiden shouted from behind, catching up."Take off his power core! He can't do anything without them!"
Flame-Ingo ignored him again.
Completely.
No reaction.
No glance.
Nothing.
He stared straight into the armored man's eyes.
"Fine then." Flame-Ingo responded coldly.
He grabbed his right arm—
And broke it.
CRACK.
The sound echoed.
"AAGHHHHHH!!!" the armored man screamed in pain, his voice tearing through the air.
Flame-Ingo immediately started flying again, still holding him.
Raiden stopped for a moment.
Confused.
Trying to process what just happened.
"Uhhh… did he not hear me?" he muttered to himself.
Then he shook his head—
And followed them again.
"You thought that was funny?" Flame-Ingo said, still holding him by his neck—this time even tighter.
The armored man struggled, trying to remove his hand—
But he couldn't.
"Let me fix that face of yours."
Flame-Ingo raised his right hand.
Made a fist.
Then—
SMACK!
The punch landed directly on his face.
The impact was brutal.
His jaw shattered instantly.
A few teeth flew out from the force.
His body dropped—
And slammed into the ground violently.
Much harder than before.
Harder than any hit Raiden had given him.
Harder than the fight with the scythe wielder.
The road cracked deeply from the impact.
Raiden reached the area shortly after.
His eyes widened as he saw the condition of the armored man.
Blood flowed from his head.
His jaw was completely broken.
Some teeth were missing.
Some were broken but still attached.
One arm twisted completely in an unnatural way.
"The hell…" Raiden muttered softly.
Flame-Ingo came down slowly, landing calmly like nothing serious had happened.
He tapped his ear.
"Yes, he is down. Come take him," he said.
Raiden stepped forward, still looking at the injured man.
"Hey… don't you think this was too much?" he asked.
"He was hurting the civilians. I had to do it," Flame-Ingo replied.
"Yeah but—"
"Shut up already!"
His voice remained calm—
But arrogant.
Like he didn't want to hear anything.
"You don't have to tell me what is right and what is wrong."
He continued—
"Maybe if you had taken him down quickly then none of this mess would have happened."
Those words hit harder than expected.
He started to walk forward, passing Raiden without even looking at him.
The people quickly gathered around Flame-Ingo, chanting his name.
"Flame-Ingo! Flame-Ingo!"
Some girls rushed closer.
"OMG! You are so hot." A girl said.
"Your jawline is like it can slice anyone with beauty." Another girl said.
"Can I have a selfie with you please?!" Another added.
"Woah woah woah—calm down, calm down ladies," Flame-Ingo said, raising his hands slightly.
"You're the best superhero ever Flame-Ingo!!" A man shouted from the crowd.
"Yeah!!" The crowd responded.
"Everyone—everyone, thank you… thank you very, very much. But please calm yourself. I want to say something."
People started recording him on their phones.
Raiden stood at a distance.
Watching.
Silent.
"I want to thank everyone," Flame-Ingo began.
"It is you who actually save this place."
"I mean… even in hard time when monsters and criminals with superpowers attack this city…"
"It is always you who have faith in us."
"If your faith and support wasn't there… we would be nothing."
"I always say—it's the people who believe in us with these special powers are the real hero."
"Because no one knows what a man can do with such dangerous powers."
"I thank you… for believing in me."
His tears started to fall slightly after finishing his speech.
"We will always believe in you!!" the crowd shouted.
"You guys—ha! ha!" He let out a sotf laugh.
"thank you very much." He wiped his tears.
Then turned.
Walking back.
Passing by Raiden again.
This time—
He looked at him.
Placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry. You tried your best.
A small pause.
"But you still have a long way to go now. Cause you are, still a rookie."
His voice was low.
Mocking.
He removed his hand.
Then walked forward again.
"The flame of hope will never burned out." he shouted towards the people.
Then he flew off into the sky.
The crowd cheered loudly as he disappeared.
Raiden stayed there.
Frozen.
Trying to process everything Flame-Ingo had said.
"…Oh boy…"
Pause.
"That was rude." He muttered softly.