DESERTED NEIGHBORHOOD – ONE FACING THE TRIBE
One was alone.
Around him, hundreds of Terra, their red eyes glowing in the darkness, their muscular bodies ready to pounce. They surrounded him, silent, patient.
One looked at them. Then he looked at his fists.
Like Kotobe showed me.
He took the stance. Fist pulled back. Arm extended.
One Terra charged. Then two. Then ten. Then all of them.
One threw his right straight punch.
Clumsy. Slow. Almost ridiculous.
The punch sent every Terra in front of him flying. They crashed into a shapeless mass against the wall of a building, thirty meters away.
But those behind him had already leaped. They were above him now, a rain of dark bodies falling toward his head.
One looked up.
The Terra stopped dead.
In mid-air. Motionless. As if suspended by an invisible thread.
On the rooftop, the watching silhouette recoiled.
What the…
One squinted. An invisible force compressed the Terra still in the air. Their bodies twisted, crushed against each other.
"Boom," said One.
They imploded.
Violet blood exploded in a thick spray, covering One from head to toe. His new black costume, his white gloves, his X on his chest – everything turned purple.
He stood still, covered in the Tribe's blood, eyes lost in the void.
———
TURF ARRIVED AT THE END OF THE STREET
He saw the scene.
The blood. The silence. And in the middle, the white and black silhouette, stained with purple.
His facial membrane retracted, hardened, changed color. A black helmet formed around his skull. Razor-sharp teeth sprouted from his jaw, gleaming in the pale light.
He charged.
A roar of rage tore through the air.
BAM.
Something hit him from the side. Turf flew across the street, crashed through a wall, landed in a pile of rubble.
He turned, ready to kill.
A Terra lay beside him, skull crushed.
Turf looked up.
Kotobe stood there, upright, face bloody, fists clenched, legs trembling but eyes steady.
"Finally… I managed to beat that monster."
He spat blood, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and turned to One.
"Ready to go?"
One looked at him, still covered in purple.
"…You're late."
Kotobe was about to answer when a hand gently landed on Turf's shoulder.
"Deflagration."
Turf's body began to waver. From within, a white light began to radiate. His skin cracked. His eyes widened.
Then he disintegrated. Like sand carried away by the wind. Until he disappeared.
Erasered withdrew her hand, impassive. Number 7 of Class S. A slender woman, cold gaze, dressed in a long coat that rippled without wind.
She answered her phone.
"Hello? Yes, it's done, I'm on site. All the Terra have been defeated. There was only one… I eliminated him."
She put away her phone, threw one last look at Kotobe and One.
"Clean work, kids."
She disappeared.
——
ON THE ROOFTOP
The man who had been watching from the beginning slowly stepped back.
Behind him, a deep voice.
"Mr. M, your limousine is ready."
The man turned. A bald colossus, an eyepatch over his left eye, stood straight as an arrow.
Mr. M looked one last time at the white and black silhouette below, covered in violet blood.
"…Interesting."
He turned on his heel and disappeared.
———
IN THE STREET
Kotobe approached One, trying to ignore the smell of blood.
"You're covered in…"
"I know."
"Will it come off?"
"I hope so."
They exchanged a look, then burst out laughing. A nervous, tired, but sincere laugh. The tension eased.
Kotobe pulled out his phone, checked the news.
"Captain Man is fighting a red monster. He's in trouble."
One looked at the notification.
"Let's go."
They started running.
———
THE RED DEMON – THE FRONT
The heat was at its peak. Asphalt melted underfoot. The air vibrated.
Titan, on the ground, watched the red giant get back up. His muscles twitched, his fists smoked.
The giant exploded.
BOOM.
A heatwave blew everything in its path. Titan was thrown backward, crashing against a building. He got up, face blackened, ears ringing.
"CAPTAIN MAN!" he shouted.
The T on his chest lit up. Red. Blazing.
His muscles swelled. His size increased. His eyes became two burning embers.
He was ready to charge, to avenge his teammate.
He raised his fist.
And saw Captain Man.
Standing. Facing the giant. Trading blows.
BAM. One fist from the giant. Captain Man took it.
BAM. A second. He stepped back, but remained standing.
BAM. A third. He didn't flinch.
Titan stood frozen, fist in the air.
I had forgotten… Captain Man's true power…
Captain Man took everything. The blows rained down, devastating, and he held. He had become literally indestructible. A living punching bag.
He threw a punch. Just one. Square in the chest.
The red giant staggered back.
"You thought you had me? You were wrong."
Captain Man raised his fist. A golden glow enveloped him, so intense it eclipsed the sun.
"I've got bad news for you. You're about to taste the Fist of Justice."
His voice carried across the entire city, amplified by Ether, by faith, by hope.
"No one has ever survived this punch. Because this punch carries all the hope of the people who believe in me. And I will remain standing… for them."
Kotobe, running through the streets, phone in hand, stopped dead.
Titan, behind him, lowered his fist.
The civilians, huddled in shelters, watched their screens.
And all of them, with one voice, whispered the phrase.
"A hero must be indestructible."
Captain Man struck.
"JUSTIIIIICE PUUUUUNCH!"
The impact was blinding. The red giant was pulverized, atom by atom. Not a remnant. Not a trace. Just a warm light that swept through the ruins, carrying away the smoke, soothing the heat.
When the light faded, Captain Man was still standing, fist still extended, a tired smile on his lips.
Titan joined him, placed a hand on his shoulder.
"…Not bad, old man."
Captain Man smiled.
"I learned from one of the best."
TO BE CONTINUED…