"Oh no, oh no... I can't hold on any longer!"
Mecha-Esper's words squeezed through gritted teeth. His psychic output suddenly stopped.
The swaying boulder paused for a heartbeat—then crashed down with a deafening roar.
Amid the little girl's screams, the young mother, who'd climbed halfway up, felt dizzy. She closed her eyes in despair.
A gust swept by.
The expected pain never came.
The young mother instinctively opened her eyes.
A burly, powerful man knelt at the exit, supporting a broken rock weighing more than half a ton with one hand. Sunlight streamed down from behind him, illuminating a figure more radiant than gold.
"Y-you are... you're Super Cop!"
The heavy psychic feedback vanished instantly. Mecha-Esper lowered his trembling hands, drenched in sweat, and let out a long sigh of relief.
Though his body was exhausted from overextending his powers, his voice filled with surprise.
"Thank god! You've finally arrived! K-City is saved!"
"Thanks for your hard work."
Jordan nodded at the C-Class hero he didn't recognize. With a click, his finger easily pierced the stone slab. He casually flicked it backward.
The broken boulder flew from his hand like weightless foam, landing with a muffled bang in the distance.
Sunlight suddenly flooded the cave. The young mother with her ponytail, still reeling from death's shadow, stood frozen.
Jordan extended his hand.
She instinctively grabbed it.
Using arm strength alone, Jordan pulled the terrified woman from the cave.
The little girl ran over shouting "Mommy!" and nestled into her arms like a fledgling returning to its nest.
Mother and daughter reunited. Jordan handed them to Mecha-Esper, then crouched down.
"Little one, it's dangerous here. Why don't you go with your mom and leave with this big brother?"
"Thank you, Super Cop-niisan! I know you! I have lots of your plushies at home!"
The pigtailed girl, no more than ten years old, grabbed Jordan's clothes. Her dirty face beamed with excitement, eyes sparkling.
"Really? Then I must thank you for your support."
After patting her head, Jordan addressed the equally starstruck Mecha-Esper. "Time is of the essence. I'll leave this to you."
"Yes, yes! I'll definitely complete the mission!"
Strong wind swept through. Jordan's figure had already turned into a black dot and disappeared into the sky.
Mecha-Esper wiped his sweat, feeling somewhat gloomy.
"This is what a superhero should be like. I wonder when I'll be as strong as Super Cop..."
The little girl tugged at his finger.
"The masked big brother whose name I don't know—you saved me and Mommy. You're a great hero too!"
"Thank you! But you can call me Mecha-Esper. I'm so sorry you didn't remember my name!"
"Then you have to do your best, big brother with the mask!"
Jordan looked down at the devastated city center, frowning slightly.
The giant monster's destructive power was so great that the steel jungle built by humans had been almost completely destroyed before it could even react.
But complaining wouldn't eliminate monsters. That was the meaning of a hero's existence.
Saving lives was the priority.
As Mind Network expanded, Jordan's voice rang in the ears of many heroes struggling on the ground.
"Everyone, I'm now sending you the nearest survivors' locations and escape routes. Please evacuate civilians as soon as possible."
The people on the ground froze—then were startled by the tactical map appearing in their vision.
Mecha-Esper, also a psychic hero, was first to discover the correct use of the map and volunteered to explain.
"Hey, hey, hey... can you hear me? This is S-Class Rank 2 Super Cop! Everyone, do as he says. Don't delay Super Cop from eliminating the monster!"
"Oh! So it's Super Cop's ability!"
"That startled me, but the real-time map and voice sharing are so convenient!"
"Exactly! Mecha-Esper—why didn't you use that psychic power better suited for teamwork? That was lame!"
While searching for survivors, the heroes complained in the Mind Network. Mecha-Esper, who'd just rallied spirits, became decadent again.
"I want to use it too! But... but I don't have such advanced psychic powers!"
Blocking out the silly hero chat group, Jordan's eyes turned deep blue. Mental power poured forth.
In city ruins beyond ordinary heroes' reach, a series of blue force field shields floated upward.
Each light shield contained a critically injured human, barely alive. Any later and they'd be completely buried in rubble.
As the shields flew, streams of warm green energy flowed within. Healing chakra refined from Mystical Palm Technique was injected into each injured person's body, quickly stabilizing their conditions. Several civilians with better physiques even regained consciousness.
"Medical Ninjutsu: Mystical Palm Mass Healing!"
This was a new technique Jordan had developed after fusing and unifying all his energy. In the past, he would've had to use teleportation hundreds of times to heal each patient individually.
"Look! Super Cop saved us!"
"Waaaaah... Long live Super Cop! I'll never bash you online again!"
Damn it. There's a hater showing himself.
Should've just left you in there.
The heroes who'd come to assist weren't very strong, but they were well-trained and followed orders.
Thanks to this, civilian rescue was completed in very short time.
The rescued civilians and heroes evacuated to city streets not yet affected. Jordan's figure descended with them.
A group of professional heroes gathered at a distance, watching together as Jordan landed in the ruins.
B-Class Wild Siren wore horned armor similar to Kamen Rider. His body, encased in heavy metal, looked robust and powerful. At this moment, he let out a muffled sigh.
"I originally thought S-Class were just lucky ones selected by the Association. That their strength was at most a little stronger than mine. I didn't expect... I was arrogant."
"Then you should watch more TV and surf the internet."
Red Ribbon Guardian beside him pulled out his phone, showing a collection of videos like old friends meeting.
"Lord Jordan is the true pinnacle of heroic strength. There are tons of his battle videos circulating online."
"Ugh, why even bother searching for videos?"
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