"Alarm! Alarm!"
In the Hero Association's data monitoring room, the drowsy staff on duty suddenly woke up with a start. After seeing the data displayed on the screen, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat. He immediately dialed the internal line of the person in charge.
"Boss, it's bad—Dragon-level. At least Dragon-level."
The person in charge frowned. "Don't panic. Explain clearly."
"Meteorite. Due to the damage to those five satellites, there's a deviation in the external detection data. In ten minutes, a meteorite the size of a city, along with countless smaller meteorites, will impact the ground. The main impact zone directly covers two cities."
"According to the projected data, once the impact occurs, the planet's axis of rotation will deviate by two degrees, and a thermal shockwave will sweep across the entire planet. The planet may face its fifth mass extinction."
The staff member looked at the analysis on the screen and quickly organized his words. But seeing the data further down, he couldn't help but swallow hard.
"What else?"
The person in charge asked with a frown.
"According to the computer's estimated time, humanity only has ten minutes left."
Hearing this, the person in charge did not hesitate and immediately pressed the emergency button on his desk.
Beep beep beep~!
The phones of the Fubuki Group members, who were drowning their sorrows in an izakaya, rang again with a communication. Upon seeing it, Fubuki immediately thought of her sister, Tatsumaki.
And Tatsumaki was currently in the far north. On that frozen tundra, Tatsumaki had already summoned a meteorite, which had smashed a large crater into the ground. Inside the crater, a giant dragon's flesh had all evaporated, leaving only its skeleton embedded in the meteorite pit—looking at first glance like a giant archaeological site.
At this moment, Tatsumaki noticed bright flames appearing in the atmosphere.
"Tatsumaki-sama, a Dragon-level disaster has occurred in the city. Headquarters has issued an emergency evacuation order to all heroes."
Yes—emergency evacuation.
With only ten minutes, ordinary people had no way to escape the meteorite's coverage area. But some heroes could. Aside from S-Class Heroes, all other heroes and personnel were emergency evacuating, and even the Hero Association headquarters was undergoing emergency evacuation. These people were crucial for reconstruction after the disaster, and their strength had to be preserved.
As for those above S-Class, the person in charge was already doing his best to request assistance.
"Ranked Sixth in S-Class, Flashy Flash has no intention of providing aid."
"S-Class Hero Tanktop Master is leaving the meteorite's covered area."
"S-Class Hero Atomic Samurai stated he is powerless—his slashes cannot strike at long distances."
"S-Class Hero Metal Knight requested to conduct an explosion experiment with his latest weapon."
"The meteorite has entered the atmosphere… 3 minutes remaining until impact."
Message after message reached the ears of the person in charge. His expression grew increasingly grim.
"Ranked Sixth in S-Class, Mr. Akira—any news?"
"No response."
Tatsumaki was currently dispatched to the Arctic. Among the S-Class Heroes at headquarters, the person in charge had the highest hopes for Akira. But Akira had also said he wouldn't participate in hero activities at night. However, the situation was urgent now, and he couldn't afford to care about that. The person in charge personally dialed Akira's phone and sent people to Akira's registered address.
Buzz buzz buzz!
Akira's phone vibrated on the sofa, but he himself was in the bathroom.
The radish had been pulled out. But now it was planted in another hole. Busujima Saeko had her back to Akira, her black stockings still on. The warm water flowed over him, giving Akira an experience he had never had before.
Sure enough, black silk is a divine artifact.
Grabbing Busujima Saeko's shoulders, Akira went all out.
The anomaly in the night sky gradually attracted the attention of passersby. They looked at the huge fireball covering the sky and the sun, all taking out their phones and stopping to watch.
"Is this a meteor? Hurry and make a wish."
"I've never seen such a large meteor before."
"The Hero Association hasn't issued a disaster warning, so we must be fine, right?"
At this moment, the robot controlled by Metal Knight had already flown to the top of a tall building, carrying the latest developed weapon. Drive Knight arrived shortly after. Genos, who had received new equipment, also chose this rooftop.
"Indeed, heroes will not give up on saving. You two, if we cooperate, we might be able to shatter that giant meteor a bit."
Genos pleaded eagerly.
But Metal Knight just said indifferently, "I'm just here to collect data on the latest weapon. I don't intend to blow up the meteor above."
Drive Knight glanced at Metal Knight's robot. "Even if it explodes, it will only make the affected area larger."
"Oh my, oh my~! I didn't expect you young people to have the same idea as an old man like me—also enjoying watching fireworks from the rooftop."
Countdown: 2 minutes 30 seconds.
"Bang-gu Senior!"
Genos bowed respectfully. "Are you also here to prevent the impact?"
The S-Class Rank 2, Silver Fang Bang-gu, was now an old man. Hearing Genos's words, he couldn't help but look up at the sky.
"I'm just a rotten old man. Facing such a natural disaster, I'm willing but powerless."
At that moment—
Metal Knight had already deployed his newly developed weapon. A huge energy shockwave directly rushed toward the giant meteor.
Bang!
The huge commotion instantly caused panic among the crowd. They then realized that this thing was not a meteor at all.
The notification of a Dragon-level disaster arriving instantly reached the phones of all citizens nationwide at this moment. This filled everyone—especially those in the direct impact zone of the meteor—with despair, cursing the Hero Association for its inaction.
In less than ten seconds, social order collapsed, and the evil thoughts hidden in people's hearts erupted completely before death. Fighting, killing, looting, burning, and even holding women at gunpoint in the street.
Bang-gu just stood on the building, glanced at the chaotic world below, and expressed no thoughts.
Genos had already taken out his core furnace and installed it into his body. No matter what, he decided to try.
A second energy cannon shot up into the sky.
Drive Knight saw that the energy cannons of the two had indeed created a large crater on the meteor's surface, even slightly slowing down the meteor's descent. He also released a third attack, on the premise of ensuring no damage to himself.
However, the moment these three energy beams intertwined, a huge explosion instantly terminated the convergence of the three energies.
Incompatible natures.
Countdown: 1 minute 40 seconds.
"Do S-Class Heroes really live in a place like this?"
"A convenience store?"
"Don't worry about it so much—let's go in and see first."
At the same time, some staff members of the Hero Association also arrived at Skyscraper X. But Akira's figure was not found there. A helicopter stopped above Akira's villa. They found no signs of activity.
Countdown: 60 seconds.
The S-Class Heroes on the rooftop could already feel the intense heat of the giant meteor. That scorching heat made the hair of Bang-gu, Genos, and others curl.
"Retreat. Don't make unnecessary sacrifices."
Metal Knight left a cold remark and directly controlled his robot to fly into the distance. Drive Knight also directly transformed into a fighter jet and left without a word.
"You leave too."
Bang-gu, with a calm expression, put his hands behind his back and told Genos to evacuate.
"Bang-gu Senior."
"You are still young. Don't be like an old man like me."
Saying that, Bang-gu looked up at the meteor and assumed the stance of his Flowing Water Rock Smashing Fist.
Countdown: 50 seconds.
Clap… clap… clap!
The water in the bathtub hit the edges, overflowing and falling to the ground.
"Dear… Dear…"
Busujima Saeko turned and sat in the bathtub, the slime wrapped in black silk soaking underwater. That refreshing feeling made Akira feast on ice cream.
At this moment, Busujima Saeko noticed confused sounds suddenly coming from outside. When she looked out from the bathroom's transom window, she saw that the entire sky was like a scorching hot iron plate, burning red.
"Dear, what's happening outside?"
Akira turned his head, glanced, and smiled. "It's nothing—just small matters. You bathe for a bit. I'll go check my phone."
However, the moment he closed the bathroom door, Akira instantly disappeared from the dojo.
Akira had not included his real residential address in the internal documents. But for the Hero Association to find Akira was not a difficult task. As for why the two had not been disturbed until now, it was because he had long ago set up a protective shield around the dojo. The people outside simply had no way to enter the shield.
In the emergency shelters of other cities, huge screens were broadcasting satellite images of the meteor captured from various angles. That apocalyptic scene made everyone nervous.
Kitagawa Marin held her best friend's hand, somewhat unable to bear watching the impact footage.
Sitting at home watching TV—completely outside the meteor's affected area—the Izumi mother and daughter also clasped their hands, praying for the affected people.
Kasumigaoka Utaha was also at home, within the meteor's coverage area. However, she wasn't panicking at all at this moment. After all, she had already enjoyed everything she could. Her only regret was that Akira wasn't by her side at this time.
But at this moment, on the screens of various communication devices, a figure suddenly appeared beside the small old man and the robot. It was a young man with messy hair and very ordinary clothing, but his handsome appearance instantly attracted the eyes of everyone in front of the television.
"That's Ranked Sixth in S-Class—why did he go there at this time?"
"Does he have a way?"
"Three S-Class Heroes have teamed up and tried. He doesn't even look as strong as me—how could he have a way?"
"If he can find a way, I'll stand on my head and have diarrhea."
People across the screens discussed animatedly.
The Izumi mother and daughter were instantly excited, but then immediately became very worried.
"Mom, Big Brother will have a way, right? He will, right?"
"Your Big Brother must have a way—that's why he went. He must."
In the shelter, Kitagawa Marin clenched her fists. Although she didn't particularly like Akira, if he could save those people, she decided to let bygones be bygones.
On the other side, Fubuki's mood was somewhat complicated upon seeing this scene. Of course, she hoped Akira could create a miracle. But judging by the destructive power Akira had caused in the video, he was powerless in front of such a huge meteor.
However, in the screen, Akira simply moved his body. He pulled out the lightning rod from the top of the building.
"You shouldn't be here."
Although Bang-gu had not attended that day's meeting, he had seen the video. He understood that this newly promoted S-Class had extraordinary talent in swordsmanship. But his view was similar to Fubuki's—in the face of this overwhelming natural disaster, he was also powerless to reverse the situation. It would be better to wait for the disaster to pass and properly deal with the many problems caused by it.
"Your life is more meaningful than your death."
Countdown: 40 seconds.
The wind pressure caused by the meteor had already reached the ground. The street, which had just been in chaos, was now deadly silent. Fear of death is a biological instinct—even knowing they couldn't escape, they still hid in buildings.
"...Head, can't you say something auspicious? Like, 'I'll swat this meteor back with one swing'?"
Bang-gu smiled. In Akira, he seemed to see a reflection of his younger self—rebellious and fearless.
Genos, beside him, seriously considered the possibility of Akira's words. But the result of his calculation was 0%. This was impossible.
"Hahaha—good advice jars on the ear. You'll learn from your mistakes…"
Bang's words were not yet finished.
Akira had already completed several slashes instantly with the lightning rod. All those slashes transformed into sword qi, meeting the giant meteorite like a peacock fanning its tail. Immediately, he vertically sliced the meteorite—which Genos and two others had only managed to blast a pit into.
"Pfft!"
Atomic Samurai, sitting in front of his TV, spat out a mouthful of water.
Several old men from the Sword Saint Association also widened their eyes in disbelief.
"Divine skill—truly divine skill! Where did this sword art genius come from, to be able to develop the Way of the Sword to such an extent?"
"Cough cough!"
Atomic Samurai wiped his mouth. "This is the S-Class Hero I wanted to recruit into the Sword Saint Association—Akira."
The satellite's resolution was very clear, and the distance was great, allowing for more complete data recording. The personnel left to maintain the Hero Association headquarters were all stunned. This sword qi was much stronger than what they had seen in videos. One slash actually produced tens of kilometers of sword qi, and its cutting ability was terrifyingly powerful.
"Boss, there's a chance."
The chief director, however, did not blindly fall into excitement, because cutting it was only the first step. A meteorite of such mass, even if it fell in small pieces, would be enough to bury two cities. Moreover, the remaining kinetic energy would have destructive power equivalent to a missile.
However, this was already a considerably good outcome.
On the rooftop, Bang had lost his earlier nonchalance, looking up at the sky in surprise. Genos's eyes were filled with disbelief.
But Akira's movements did not stop. He unleashed another net of sword qi. Then his entire being shot into the sky—he was actually closely following behind his own sword qi.
This scene deeply shocked Flashy Flash. Such terrifying jumping power. No—he's using the wind pressure. That's the tailwind pressure swirling from the sword qi. Could he actually achieve such a feat?
Flashy Flash frowned. If Akira became his enemy, he would surely die—so it was better not to provoke him casually.
"Look—those sword qi are like a net, catching the meteorite fragments. What is he going to do?"
Everyone watching the screen went blank, unable to comprehend.
At this moment, Akira spun around and struck this giant net, and the falling meteorites were immediately drawn by his lightning rod, flying back out of the atmosphere. Countless meteorites shot away, leaving the solar system—incidentally taking a large number of Hero Association artificial satellites with them.
However, his actions were still transmitted to various screens by other unaffected satellites.
Roar!
No matter where they were, everyone let out an exhilarating cheer.
"So cool—is this the newly promoted S-Class? So strong."
"By the way, if he's so strong, why is he only ranked sixth?"
"We're saved—hahahaha—we're saved."
Although there were doubts, everyone was cheering.
But not everyone wished to be saved. For those who had just let themselves go, normal order was their hell.
"Damn it—if he had this power, why didn't he come out sooner?"
"Yeah—why wait until the last moment to appear? Does he think it's cool?"
"We committed these crimes all because of him—it's all his fault."
Akira heard neither praise nor curses. He only knew that he was terrifyingly strong right now. And Saeko was still waiting for him in the bathroom.
"Alright, I'm not going to bother with what happens next. Why don't these things happen during the day—wasting my rest time."
After grumbling a couple of sentences, Akira disappeared from the rooftop as abruptly as he arrived.
"Little bunny, let's continue pulling up carrots."
Busujima Saeko's face flushed slightly as she went to meet him.
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