"What's happening?"
"Is that… finally a Hero here to help?"
The terrified citizens hiding in the mall's ruins dared to peek out, hoping to see a rescuer.
"No… just a student."
"It's over. If even Fire Buster can't handle that villain, a student's got no chance…"
When they saw Lock's Clothes, their fragile hope collapsed. To them, expecting a student to defeat a pro-level villain was absurd—childish, even.
Flamingo, after all, had once been a Pro Hero himself, trained to fight by professionals.
But for those who had just been saved, Lock looked like a miracle.
"Th-thank you… cough… cough… kid."
Prosecutor Yanei Takefumi lay flat on the floor, pale and coughing violently, but each breath of air felt like a gift. He hadn't felt this alive in years.
"Young man, good work," Fire Buster said, shaking off his shock at Lock's speed. "Take the prosecutor and run. I'll hold him here."
Flamingo's revenge target was Yanei—he shouldn't attack the citizens if his prey was gone. Maybe, just maybe, if they fled, Flamingo would calm down. All Fire Buster had to do was stall for time until backup arrived.
He wasn't sure he could hold out that long. His only hope came from what Flamingo himself had revealed: the villain had used a Quirk-enhancing serum. That explained the unnaturally fierce flames—but such enhancers always came with limits and side effects. If he could just wait out the timer…
"Run? Impossible."
Flamingo's voice dripped with venom as he flapped his burning wings, lifting himself into the air. Firelight blazed with each beat, and twin blades of flame swept out—slashing toward the escalators and railings that led to the lower levels.
In seconds, he'd sealed off every escape route in a fiery barrier.
"Damn it! I'll suppress the flames—go, now!"
Fire Buster aimed his pumps toward the fire and unleashed a powerful jet of water.
"Zzzzzhh!"
The collision of steam and flame roared, but Lock quickly realized something was wrong. The water pressure was dropping fast, yet the fire hardly weakened. It was like throwing a bucket of water at a forest fire—utterly useless.
Most Quirks burned through stamina to function. The weaker your body, the weaker your Quirk. And Fire Buster's stamina was nearly gone—his face had gone ghost-white, and he could barely stand.
He'd overused his power. At this rate, even trying to buy time was a fantasy.
How do I handle this…?
"Fire Buster, stand down. Leave the rest to me."
Before the pro could react, Lock stepped forward. A confident smile flickered across his face as a glowing blue magic circle spread beneath his feet.
In an instant, the atmosphere shifted—the air howled, flames bending under the sudden gale.
Lock shot upward like a bullet, closing the distance in a heartbeat and delivering a blindingly fast kick.
The movement was so sudden that even Flamingo, a former pro, couldn't react. Startled, he expanded the flames on his wings into a fiery shield—
"Boom!"
—but still, he was sent hurtling to the ground, crashing hard.
It wasn't the kick that had struck him—it was the shockwave of wind pressure behind it.
Lock's goal hadn't been to hit him directly. It was to knock him out of the air.
"His Quirk doesn't actually let him fly," Fire Buster realized aloud. "He's using the flames from his arms and wings for lift!"
"Got it. Thanks for the tip," Lock replied with a sharp nod.
So that was it—his flight depended entirely on the enhanced flames. Once those were neutralized, Flamingo would lose his mobility advantage.
"You brat!" Flamingo roared, rising from the rubble, wings blazing anew. "You should be in school—not playing hero!"
"It's not about wanting to be a hero," Lock said, eyes hardening. "It's about having to be one."
A second blue magic circle shimmered to life before him.
"Water Lock!"
"Then let me teach you, kid," Flamingo sneered. "Let me show you the cruelty of being a Hero!"
Three roaring streams of flame burst toward Lock at once—but his response was faster. Three arcs of shining water burst from his circle, meeting each fireline head-on in midair.
Steam exploded as water met fire. For a moment, the two forces clashed evenly—then, to everyone's shock, Lock's magic began to overpower the flames.
"How—how is this possible? My Quirk was enhanced!" Flamingo shouted, disbelief twisting his features.
"What I'm using isn't 'ordinary' water," Lock said calmly, stepping forward. "And it's not even an 'ordinary' Water Lock."
He emphasized the words with a subtle grin. The pun made no sense to anyone else—but it made Flamingo flinch instinctively.
The streams expanded, swirling together into a single, massive sphere of water that enveloped Flamingo completely, snuffing out every trace of fire.
Extinguished in one blow.
But Lock didn't stop. The glowing circle beneath him pulsed again, feeding more magic into the sphere. The water surged inward, wrapping Flamingo in a liquid prison.
"Water Lock!"
"No—no, no!" Flamingo flailed wildly inside, his screams bubbling into silence. The flames around his body vanished; he was trapped, as though plunged into the depths of the ocean.
Seconds turned into minutes. He struggled less and less until finally, his movements stopped. Oxygen deprivation took him under, and Flamingo lost consciousness.
Lock flicked his hand, and the sphere collapsed into a harmless splash of water on the floor.
He hadn't meant to kill the man—heroes don't cross that line.
As the last droplets faded into steam, a familiar digital chime echoed in his head.
[Congratulations, host. Side mission complete. A-Rank reward unlocked.]
---
Support: patreon.com/Narrator_San