Chapter 232 – Floor 41: Part 5

  Lumina’s heart raced; panic was threatening to overwhelm her. She might not have known who ‘Ironclad’ was, but the large woman in front of her was prominent on many of the wanted posters in the League of Heroes HQ.

  Titaness was a Class ‘A’ Villain, and if her presence here is any indication, she was also a member of this ‘League of Villains.’

  Lumina had personally seen the devastation Titaness had caused. She had once rampaged through half of Manhattan, destroying buildings, vehicles and hurting civilians until a team of Class ‘A’ heroes arrived to fight her.

  She put most in the hospital and several in the morgue. After declaring the League of Heroes to be ‘Weaklings,’ she had proceeded to assault League HQ. It would have been a bloodbath if Blaze hadn’t intervened, but even the ‘S’ Class hadn’t been able to capture her.

  Blaze had been forced to let her go as the confrontation between them would have levelled half the city.

  Memories of the destruction Titaness had wrought flooded Lumina's mind. The screams of civilians echoed in her ears. She could still see the news footage of the aftermath: buildings reduced to rubble, smoke billowing into the sky, and emergency responders struggling to help the injured.

  All caused by this monstrous person in front of her. And now, she had killed Mathew.

  With a scream, Lumina shot another beam of energy that erupted from her hands, a blinding streak of light aimed directly at Titaness. As the beam hurtled forward, the air crackled with power, illuminating the debris-strewn street like a comet streaking through the night.

  Lumina wasn’t surprised when the muscular woman raised her arms and crossed them in front of her body to shield herself. The beam struck her with a thunderous impact, sending her back a single step before she regained her footing.

  “You have courage.” Titaness declared as she lowered her arms. There was only a faint singe mark on her forearm where Lumina’s attack had impacted.

  “That’s impossible. I’m Class ‘A’!” Lumina whispered, not believing that both of these villains were able to shrug off her best attacks like they were nothing.

  Titaness chuckled, a deep, rumbling sound that sent chills down Lumina’s spine, while it was Ironclad that responded.

  “The League of Heroes ranks its members based on trivial things: popularity, social media presence, public perception,” Ironclad said, his voice steady as Titaness finished his statement.

  “Power is the only true measure. Your League is weak, filled with the undeserving.” Titaness declared, a smirk playing on her lips.

  Before Lumina could respond, Titaness dashed forward. Her powerful frame propelled her across the distance in an instant with a speed that belied her size. The round trembled beneath her.

  Drawing back her arm, Titaness unleashed a punch aimed directly at Lumina. The force behind it was enough to ensure the Class ‘A’ Hero would be obliterated. Lumina, exhausted from using her abilities and lacking the agility to dodge, closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

  Just as Lumina braced for the impact, a deafening clang rang out in front of her, followed by a grunt of effort. Cracking open her eyelid slightly to see, she was stunned to find Mathew standing in front of her. He was holding a large weapon, a sword that was nearly as large as him with a flat end.

  As shocked as she was by his appearance, Titaness was even more taken aback. The muscular woman’s fist pressed up against the flat side of the blade. Despite her efforts to push it away, the young man in front of her matched her strength, refusing to budge.

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  “Mathew?” Lumina said tentatively, almost fearing that saying his name would make him disappear like an illusion.

  “It’s been a long time since I had someone punch me. I almost forgot how strong I was.” Mathew replied. Gritting his teeth, he pushed against Titaness’ fist. Shoving her away, the large woman stepped back and sneered at him.

  “Is that supposed to impress me? You think you can actually stand against me?” Titaness taunted, her skin flushing red in anger at the humiliation.

  “Physically? No, absolutely not.” Mathew responded as he lowered the sword and placed it back in his inventory. Titaness was surprised by his actions, not only his disarming himself but how he made such a large weapon disappear.

  “I’m a Speaker now. If I was still an Arcane Alterist, I might be able to take you down. But I don’t have access to those Disciplines anymore.” Mathew explained, confusing both Titaness and Ironclad.

  Disciplines? A Speaker?

  Titaness turned to look at Ironclad for an explanation but focused on Mathew again when it was apparent her fellow Villain lacked an answer. Her rage building at being disregarded by this arrogant young man, Titaness leapt forward once again.

  “I’ll tear you apart!” She roared, her fists clenched together and raised above her head to strike down at Mathew.

  Mathew responded by speaking a single word.

  “Bind.”

  As he spoke, a surge of energy rippled through the air. Tendrils of light snaked out from the street beneath them toward Titaness. They wrapped around her limbs, constricting her tightly and pulling her to the ground.

  Titaness’s eyes widened in shock as she struggled against the binding force. But it held firm, anchoring her in place.

  “What is this!? You think you can trap me with a single word!?” She roared, her anger and frustration boiling over.

  Mathew shrugged in response, angering her further. Ignoring the bound Villain, he turned his attention to Ironclad.

  “You should surrender.”

  “Overconfidence. You underestimate the League of Villains. We have earned our Classes.” Ironclad said, pointing a finger at Titaness, who was straining against the binding energy. Her skin flushed a deep red, almost purple, and the veins in her muscles stood out like cables, throbbing with exertion.

  “Berserker’s Fury. You should have finished her off when you had the chance, Hero.” Ironclad explained. Mathew felt the ‘Buzz’ throb in his head in response to the statement.

  As the ability took hold, Titaness underwent a dramatic transformation. Her muscles swelled, rippling with newfound power. Her frame expanded, making her appear even more formidable than she had before.

  The air around her crackled with energy, her muscles bulged, and her skin darkened to a deep purplish-red. Her figure grew, towering over her previous height until she was nearly ten feet tall. Her features sharpened, and her face was a mask of rage and insanity.

  She struggled against the bindings; the ground beneath her feet trembled as she growled. Each movement pulled ropes of energy from the earth and broke them until only a few threads remained.

  With a scream of primal rage, she charged toward Mathew. Lashing out, her fist hit the concrete below as Mathew Shifted to a new location, leaving a piece of debris in his place to be crushed by Titaness. The enraged Villain spun around and chased him.

  “Wow, I’m impressed!” Mathew praised Titaness, shifting away again as she left a crater where he had been standing.

  Reappearing next to Lumina, Mathew pointed at the transformed Titaness.

  “Let’s try something a little stronger. Constrain!” Thicker chains of golden energy appeared all around Titaness, coiling around her with serpentine grace. The chains bound her limbs, their radiant glow contrasting sharply with the Villain's monstrous form.

  Despite using a strong Celestial Word of Power, with two syllables instead of one, the effects were worse than ‘Bind.’ The chains let out a sharp crack and shattered, freeing Titaness in only a moment. His eyes opened wide in surprise.

  Mathew grabbed onto Lumina and shifted them just in time as the Villain lashed out.

  Reappearing at the end of the street, a few dozen meters from where they had been standing, Lumina let out a sigh of relief before shouting.

  “Do something!”

  “I am. Don’t ruin this for me! I haven’t had much of a chance to actually use these Words in combat. It was all training and practice before.” Mathew replied cryptically, frowning at the Villain who was searching for the pair frantically.

  His time with the Celestials had been spent practicing the Celestial Language, learning to combine words for new effects and controlling them. Actually using them in combat was completely different, and he wasn’t about to waste this opportunity.

  “Someone is going to get hurt! We’re Heroes; we’re supposed to stop them before things get out of control!” Lumina argued, and Mathew turned to look at her. Meeting her eyes, she saw a flash of shame there for a moment before it was buried.

  “You’re right. I’m sorry I got carried away.” Mathew apologized, letting out a huff of air. Titaness, having found her prey, began to charge at them once again. Her speed was increasing, along with the size of her body, as she became increasingly frustrated.

  Strangely, Ironclad was watching without interfering. Flashes of light could be seen across his visor as he assessed the battle.

  Taking a step in front of Lumina, Mathew raised his arms. Taking a deep, calming breath as if he had all the time in the world, he spoke the words of the Celestial Spell.