Chapter 231 – Floor 41: Part 4

  “There are 374 Class ‘A’ Heroes in the United States. We’re basically the safeguard for society; while the lower classes help against everyday crime, it needs to be pretty serious for one of us to get called in. We handle the big threats, the things that heroes like you can’t.” Lumina explained to Mathew, who was walking down the street beside her.

  He was doing his best to ignore her, but she didn’t make it easy.

  “Then we have the ‘S’ Class, they are the most elite. The best of the best. There are less than fifty ‘S’ Class Heroes. Basically, every city has one. Ours is Blaze, but good luck catching a glimpse of him. Every time he heads out, it’s a media circus.” Lumina continued.

  “Especially since he started dating Luminosity.” Elena added. Lumina scoffed and scowled.

  “Don’t remind me. Two-bit knock-off!” Lumina cursed, and Mathew turned to look at Elena for an explanation.

  “They’ve been rivals since middle school. Luminosity is Class ‘B’ and has similar abilities to Lumina.” Elena whispered. Lumina muttered and cursed for a few minutes, giving Mathew a blessed moment of peace before she returned to her explanation.

  “Anyway, you aren’t really in the big leagues until Class ‘B,’ which is why we need to get you in the spotlight. I’m thinking a photo shoot, followed by some media interviews. After we get you your costume, of course.”

  “Hey! Are you listening to me!?” Lumina suddenly asked Mathew.

  “I’m trying not to, but you aren’t making it easy.” Mathew muttered. Lumina crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at him.

  “Oh, come on! You can’t just ignore this. You have potential! You could make it to Class ‘B,’ or maybe even higher with the right exposure! You have to embrace it.” Lumina advised, and Mathew was about to respond when there was a sudden detonation from a building ahead of them.

  The explosion erupted with a deafening roar, shaking the ground and sending a shockwave through the air. Flames burst from the building’s windows, licking at the sky and casting a hellish glow over the street. Thick, black smoke billowed outward, twisting and roiling as it swallowed everything in its path.

  Screams pierced the chaos, rising from the crowd that was clustered on the sidewalks. People were running in panic while others were frozen in shock. The smoke choked their lungs, filled with the smell of burning building materials.

  Shattered glass littered the ground, and pieces of the building’s fa?ade crumbled to the ground with a loud crash.

  Amid the flames and chaos, a figure stood defiantly at the center of the destruction. It was a villain wearing armour, their face obscured by their closed helmet. Mechanical laughter echoed through the noise as the Villain raised their arms and spoke.

  “Let them run! Let them fear! All will know my name!” The villain's voice was electronic and strange, amplified by speakers that boomed from all directions.

  The scene was a nightmare come to life, and Lumina felt a surge of determination to stop this unknown Villain. She was about to run forward, calling upon her powers to aid her, when Mathew’s hand tightened around her wrist.

  It felt like being wrapped in iron, Lumina couldn’t budge him at all. When she turned her head to see what Mathew was stopping her, she found the young man staring at the Villain with a grim expression.

  “What is it?” She asked, suddenly feeling a chill run down her spine at the look on Mathew’s face. It didn’t seem to belong to the same person who had effortlessly saved her the day before from Shade.

  “Be careful. This one isn’t like Shade.” Mathew advised as he released her hand from his.

  The ‘Buzz’ was pounding away in his head, warning him of danger. He hadn’t felt it since he arrived in this world. From its intensity, this Villain was enough of a threat that he needed to treat it seriously.

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  They approached the Villain cautiously, Mathew on the right and Lumina on the left. The glow of her powers had already surrounded her, making a halo of light around her head. Her powers shimmered around her, creating a protective aura.

  The soft, golden light contrasted sharply with the flickering flames of destruction.

  “Lumina, Class ‘A,’ Rank 99.” The villain's voice sounded out, a higher pitch than it had been a moment before. Mathew could see the light flashing across the visor of its helmet as it focused on Lumina. It turned to look at him, the lights shifting and changing for a moment.

  “Unknown Hero, Low Rank. Insignificant.” The Villian stated, turning its attention back to Lumina.

  “You know who I am, so why don’t you just save yourself the trouble and surrender.” Lumina replied. The Villain responded by slowly lowering its right arm palm outright and pointing toward another building. There was a flash of bright, purple light that streaked toward the building.

  The light struck the building with a violent impact, burning its way through concrete and steel, creating a deafening explosion that echoed through the street. Dust and debris erupted outward, leaving a gaping hole that glowed ominously along the edges, radiating heat.

  “Ironclad, Class ‘A.’ Ranked 6th in our branch of the League of Villains.”

  Lumina stared at the burning hole in the building, stunned by the causal display of effortless destruction. Her shock turned to anger as she thought about the innocent people around them who just had their lives cut short.

  With a scream of rage, Lumina clasped her hands in front of her as the glow of light around her reached a blinding intensity. The halo around her head, created by her powers, began to spin and cast vibrant beams of light in all directions.

  “Radiant Beam!” She shouted, unleashing a concentrated blast of energy aimed directly at Ironclad. The beam shot forth like a laser, illuminating the debris on the street with its brilliance. Mathew shielded his eyes with his hand at the sudden eruption.

  Ironclad, rather than move out of the way or counter with an attack of his own, raised a hand in front of him. When the beam struck his hand, it splintered off in multiple directions, sending shards of radiant light through the air in every direction and gouging the street.

  “Pathetic.” Ironclad responded. Gaps appeared in his armour, releasing excess heat absorbed by the attack. The air shimmered around him, rippling with the intense energy that radiated from the exposed metal.

  The gaps closed after a moment, sealing the Villain within its suit once more.

  “I’m not done yet.” Lumina growled. The light that had begun to fade around her after her attack renewed in a moment. Straining to call upon her remaining strength, she raised her arms above her head.

  “Solar Surge!” Lumina shouted.

  A radiant sphere of energy began to form above her, glowing with intense heat and light. The ground beneath her shimmered, the air crackling with the power she was harnessing.

  With a visible effort, Lumina unleashed the Solar Surge. The golden wave of light rushed forward, a brilliant arc of light that illuminated everything in its path. It barreled toward Ironclad, threatening to overwhelm the Villain.

  As the attack closed in, Lumina felt a rush of adrenaline. She could already imagine the Villain falling, ready to be subdued. Or perhaps Ironclad would run away, terrified at what she could do.

  Instead, the reality was different.

  Ironclad allowed the golden energy to sweep past him, swallowing his dark figure in the light. Disappearing from sight, he emerged unharmed a moment later.

  “Pitiful. Worse than before.” Ironclad judged. The armoured figure pointed his hand at Lumina, palm outward as purple light gathered.

  Time seemed to slow from the Class ‘A’ Hero; she could see the purple light swirl within Ironclad’s pal before shooting toward her. She could imagine it burning its way through her, just as it had the building next to them.

  Again, the reality was different from her imagination.

  “Shield.”

  A barrier of white light sprang to life in front of Lumina, protecting her from harm. The air crackled as the purple beam of Ironclad's attack struck the shield with a terrifying impact, sending debris flying in all directions.

  Lumina felt a hand touch her shoulder, pulling her back slightly.

  “Let me handle this one.” Mathew said as he stepped in front of her. In his jacket and jeans, he looked completely out of place in the scene of hellish destruction that Ironclad had created. But oddly, Lumina was confident that Mathew belonged here.

  “I haven’t had a chance to try this one out completely yet. I’m hoping you don’t disappoint me; the last guy was a pushover.” Mathew called out to the armoured Villain.

  Grinning, he raised his hands slightly to start the Celestial Spell.

  “A Starless Nig-” Mathew had just begun the first verse of the spell when an object suddenly flew toward him from the side. It slammed into his body with a sickening thud, sending him hurtling across the street.

  “Mathew!” Lumina shouted, her heart racing as she watched him disappear from sight.

  The impact sent him crashing through the front of a nearby building, glass shattering in a dazzling explosion of fragments. Dust rose to obscure him from sight, and a large section of the building's fa?ade fell down onto him.

  A large, barely clothed and muscular woman stood where Mathew had been. The woman was bigger than Ironclad, looking like a barbaric warrior from myth. She was rubbing her forearm where she had struck Mathew, and Lumina could see a red mark on her skin from the impact.

  “Dead already? This one was fragile.” Titaness stated, frowning at the building where Mathew had been thrown.