Invincible Tatsumaki

The eardrum-like membranes on both of Hunt's arms were severely engorged, fine blood vessels webbing across them.

The membranes vibrated at high frequency, pushing against the air and sending Hunt hurtling toward Mitarai Fubuki with unimaginable acceleration.

His blood-red scythe carved a blinding arc through the air.

At that terrifying speed, a direct hit would likely split Mitarai Fubuki in two!

Hunt knew this was no time to hold back. After seeing the destructive power of her Psychic Powers firsthand, he had no choice but to go all out.

His superiors had said that bringing her back to the base alive would be best, but if the situation turned against him, he could kill her on the spot.

As he closed in on Mitarai Fubuki, Hunt was startled to find his speed growing harder to maintain.

The air around him seemed to grow thicker and thicker.

By the time he reached her, he had slowed to a crawl, and the scythe in his hand had lost its dreadful force.

The dense air around Fubuki had formed an invisible barrier, streaming rapidly around her.

The scythe struggled through the thickened air toward her face.

Fubuki did not move.

She looked at the strange-looking Boy before her with a hint of contempt in her eyes.

Hunt's hands trembled. The immense wind pressure against the scythe's side nearly tore it from his grip.

The blade finally veered aside and swept past Fubuki.

With his attack spent, Hunt was flung away by the air swirling around her.

He fell toward the ground like a kite with its string cut.

Rubble flew as Hunt's body gouged a trail dozens of meters long before coming to a stop.

Only after a long while did Hunt plant his hands on the ground and lift his body out of the crater.

His face twisted into a savage grimace.

He could not allow himself to fail.

Hunt's place in Fear Nova had been built on countless acts of cruelty.

Perhaps only he knew how hard the path had been.

Among the many young candidates in the thirteenth intake of the Supervillain Project, Hunt had not been especially gifted.

What he lacked in talent, he could make up for through hard work.

Hunt had worked harder than most could imagine to close that gap. He had climbed over the bodies of several companions to claim a place among Fear Nova's twelve members.

He had fought too hard to get this far. If he failed his very first mission, he might well be expelled from Fear Nova.

He could not accept that.

Hunt's heart rate kept climbing.

Within seconds, it had reached an absurd six hundred beats per minute.

An ordinary person's heart would have burst long before reaching that rate.

Even for Hunt, whose body was far tougher than a normal person's, it was a strain he could not sustain for long.

His body temperature soared, his pores opened, and a bloody mist rose from his skin.

He could maintain this fighting state only by burning through his own life force. It would leave him permanently damaged.

Hunt did not care.

He would pay any price to win this fight.

Fubuki frowned. She, too, sensed the terrifying change in the Boy on the ground.

Her own power surged again. The rubble on the ground trembled, then slowly rose into the air.

Hunt vanished from where he stood.

Several times faster than before, he streaked across the sky like a Meteor, leaving a red trail behind him.

Fubuki's expression changed.

This time, the blood-red scythe did not veer aside. It tore straight through her defense.

Fubuki shot backward.

The scythe left Hunt's hand and swept past her ear.

It sliced off several locks of her dark hair.

Though she had dodged the strike, Fubuki had learned from her earlier mistake and did not let down her guard.

After flying dozens of meters, the scythe suddenly reversed course and shot toward her back.

At the same moment, Hunt flashed in front of Fubuki and threw a punch.

Fist and blade closed in from opposite sides.

Fubuki's brow furrowed. She could not defend against both threats at once.

She had to choose.

The scythe slashed through the hem of her long dress, while Hunt's fist struck her abdomen.

The dense barrier of air slowed the punch somewhat, but the direct hit still left Fubuki reeling, her blood churning inside her.

Her expression turned grave. She decided to end the fight with her finishing move, Hellstorm.

Just then, Fubuki seemed to sense something.

What she had least wanted to happen had happened after all.

Hunt was gathering his strength for another attack when he suddenly felt Fubuki's power vanish.

For no apparent reason, Mitarai Fubuki had dropped her fighting stance.

No longer held aloft by her Psychic Power, the rubble pattered down from the air.

"My sister came after all," Fubuki suddenly said.

There was a trace of resignation in her voice.

For some reason, a strange bond connected Fubuki and her sister. Whenever Fubuki was hurt, her sister could always sense it.

Whatever her sister was doing, she would set it aside and rush to Fubuki at once.

Fubuki could never escape her sister's protection.

Hunt sensed something too. He looked up into the distance.

A green point of light flew toward them from the far sky.

In the blink of an eye, it was before them.

A Girl who looked thirteen or fourteen hovered there in a long black dress with a slit, an eerie green glow surrounding her.

Suspended high above them, the Girl looked down at Fubuki without expression.

"Sister, I haven't lost yet..." Fubuki tried to protest.

"Go home, Fubuki," the Girl said coldly. "I'll take care of everything else."

"Tch. You're always causing trouble for me," the Girl muttered, too quietly for anyone else to hear.

Only then did the Girl turn her gaze to the other person on the battlefield.

Hunt felt an immense pressure from that single glance.

The Girl raised a small hand and gave it a gentle wave.

An unseen force seized Hunt and slammed him into the ground.

The impact blasted out a huge crater and sent dust billowing high into the air.

The force then plucked him from the ground and left him floating in midair.

Throughout it all, he had no control over his body.

An invisible power pinned him in place, leaving him unable to move a muscle.

Hunt coughed up mouthfuls of blood, his face contorted with horror.

He had never felt such despair. Hunt understood with terrible clarity that the gulf in strength between him and this Girl was insurmountable.

He looked at her, a trace of defiance still in his eyes.

The Girl slowly closed her fist.

In the instant before his death, Hunt's guiding belief began to waver.

Hard work? What good would working even harder do?

Some people were born at the top.

Hunt gave a wretched smile, and the light faded from his eyes.

Then his body burst apart in midair, dissolving into a cloud of blood.

Fear Nova's ninth member, Blood Bat Shou.

Killed in battle.

Tatsumaki, the fiercely protective older sister, had arrived!