Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Residential buildings collapsed one after another as unknown attacks struck them, kicking up clouds of dust and debris that swept in all directions.
In the blink of an eye, several prosperous city blocks were reduced to a living hell.
Through the thick smoke, a massive silhouette emerged, standing almost as tall as the city’s overpasses.
With thick, sturdy arthropod limbs, sharp mouthparts, a carapace as tough as alloy, and a bizarre, ugly human face growing on its head, it looked like a giant, over-nourished insect.
Monster: 170,000-Year Magic Cicada Nymph.
Disaster Level: Demon!
The professional heroes operating nearby had rushed to the scene immediately to engage in combat.
They were Class C Rank 299 Student, Class C Rank 140 Red Muffler Fighter, and the promising rookie, Class B Rank 64 Darkness Blade.
The three young heroes joined forces, and after a fierce and bitter struggle, they finally succeeded…
In being defeated by the monster.
Fortunately, they did not lose their lives.
Covered in dirt and looking thoroughly defeated, they followed the fleeing crowd into the shelter.
Seeing the heroes, who were usually advertised as powerful protectors, looking so pathetic, many of the Hero Association’s passionate supporters instantly had their illusions shattered.
“Hey, hey, hey!
What kind of heroes are you idiots supposed to be?!” “Are you kidding me?
Why did you guys come inside too?
What if you lead the monster right to us?!” “Useless!
Absolutely useless!
And to think I donated so much money to the Hero Association just a few days ago!” Faced with this, the defeated heroes had nothing to say in their defense.
This was the absolute limit of their personal strength.
Escorting a large group of civilians safely into the shelter was already fulfilling their duty to the utmost.
Because of this, there were also quite a few voices expressing gratitude.
There were still many rational citizens present.
Any normal person knew that a monster attack was no laughing matter.
Watching the heavy doors of the shelter seal completely shut, they knew that at least those who made it inside were safe.
As for the freakish monster outside, whose shell couldn’t even be scratched by a blade, it simply wasn’t something these ordinary Class B and Class C heroes could handle.
Defeating an enemy of that caliber was impossible.
They wouldn’t be able to beat it in a lifetime.
“Our only option is to hide in the shelter and wait for the monster to die of old age.” Hearing Red Muffler Fighter make such a defeatist statement, the trapped crowd erupted into even more chaotic panic.
“…Bastard!
What kind of nonsense is that?” “Are you joking?
Waiting for that monster to die of old age?
How many years would that take?” …
“This is troublesome…” Amidst the crowd, an ordinary-looking youth with black hair listened to the discussions, his forehead gradually breaking out in sweat.
“Where did they say this place was again?” “This is a shelter,” a young office lady with long, straight black hair said, her face full of the relief of surviving a disaster.
She smiled to comfort him, “Once we are inside the shelter, we are safe.
We are finally saved!” “Actually, this makes things even more troublesome…” The black-haired youth scratched his head in frustration, ignoring the lady’s confused look.
“I thought if I followed those guys who call themselves heroes, I could find the monster.
But I ended up following them right into a shelter.
By the way, can that door be opened?” “Uh…” The young lady couldn’t quite follow his train of thought for a moment and hesitated.
“Once other heroes arrive and deal with the monster destroying the city, they should open it, right?” “Oh, as long as it can be opened, that’s fine!” Hearing this, the black-haired youth’s face lit up with joy, and he immediately began pushing his way through the crowd toward the main door.
The young lady: “Eh?” “Excuse me, coming through…
please let me pass…
could the people in front make some room~” “Hmm,” a middle-aged corporate worker who was pushed aside by the black-haired youth asked in confusion, “Young man, that is the direction of the exit.
Are you going the wrong way?” Without even turning his head, the man persistently continued moving forward.
“I am trying to get out.” !!!
As soon as those words were spoken, the entire hall fell dead silent.
“Don’t do anything rash, young man!
You absolutely cannot go out there right now!!” Following the middle-aged man’s terrified shout, the surrounding young and able-bodied men all lunged forward.
“Exactly!
What on earth are you thinking?
Going out there now is pure suicide!” “Ah, ah, what’s going on?
Let me go!” Suddenly pinned down by a bunch of burly men, the youth was startled and hurriedly tried to explain, “Because the monster is outside, I can’t stay in here!
I have to go out!” “…Everyone, come help hold this young man down!
He has lost his mind!” In an instant, the number of large men dogpiling him doubled.
The youth finally experienced what it felt like to drown in an ocean of a people’s struggle.
They choked his neck, pulled his cheeks, yanked his arms, and hugged his thighs…
Everyone used every ounce of their strength to stop this crazy guy, while others on the sidelines tried to earnestly persuade him.
“Heroes will be here soon to defeat that monster, and then everyone will be able to leave!” Poking his head out from the sea of arms, the youth tried to defend himself.
“That is exactly why I want to go out…” “Shut up!
The monster hasn’t left yet.
It is way too dangerous outside!
If you open that door now, you will get us all killed!” “We understand that you are feeling anxious, but you absolutely cannot leave this place!” “You brat, just stay here quietly and stop causing trouble for everyone!” “Where is the management?
Where are the Hero Association staff members?
Come control this kid!” …
After a chaotic struggle of pushing and pulling, the youth was successfully suppressed by the passionate, trapped crowd.
At this moment, there were at least a dozen people piled on top of him.
They were all broad-shouldered, thick-waisted adult men, since those with less physical strength couldn’t even push their way through the tightly packed crowd to help.
The strange thing was, even though he was being choked so hard it was difficult to breathe and his face had turned red, he never once fell over.
In fact, he remained standing perfectly stable the entire time.
“Alright, alright, I get it…
I give up.
I won’t go out, okay?” “Hey, hey, hey, who is pulling my hair?
I’ve already been noticing signs of hair loss lately, so could you please let go first, buddy?!” As he gave up his resistance, the situation gradually came under control.
A group of staff members wearing Association uniforms arrived to educate the crowd about the shelter’s defensive functions and absolute safety.
They explained that once the defense system was activated, the main doors could not be opened from the inside, and a back door didn’t even exist.
It was so secure that not even half a fly could get in.
The black-haired youth raised his hand to ask a question.
“Then could you tell me where the toilet is?
I drank too much barley tea at noon, and my stomach is feeling a bit upset.” The staff member who was presenting paused for a moment.
“To prevent the drainage pipes from being used as a breach point, there are no toilets.” “…Huh?” The youth opened his mouth in shock.
Seeing everyone’s eyes turn to him, he lowered his voice and muttered a complaint.
“…Isn’t that a massive design flaw?” Regardless, after the staff’s reassurances, the anxious atmosphere inside the shelter eased slightly.
The black-haired youth, not wanting to become public enemy number one again, also settled down.
“Since my bladder can still hold it, I guess I’ll just endure it for now,” the black-haired youth squatted in a corner, his eyes darting around.
“If I really can’t hold it anymore, I’ll figure out a way to break out…” “By the way, if I punch a hole in the exit, they won’t make me pay for the damages, right?” …
“Looks like it is a big one this time!” There was no air traffic control above the city.
In just a few moments, Kenji flew across most of Z-City and arrived at the location where the monster was rampaging.
A giant 170,000-year magic cicada with a human face was roaming through the city.
Due to its massive size, every step it took caused tremendous destruction to the surrounding buildings.
When its front limbs struck the ground, they pierced straight through a street.
The underground pipes were crushed, triggering violent gas explosions that sent flames shooting into the sky.
Yet, the colossal insect remained completely unaffected.
With a swing of its mouthparts, another apartment building was snapped in half and sent crashing to the ground.
The surrounding streets were already damaged beyond recognition, and directly in the giant insect’s path was a recently constructed shelter.
Likely due to timely evacuations, there were hardly any casualties in the vicinity; the citizens had probably already hidden inside the shelter.
“Then I can’t let you take another step forward.” Kenji spread his hands, locked his gaze on the area around the giant insect’s feet, and activated his telekinesis.
Bang!
The rampaging monster suddenly crashed into an invisible forcefield barrier.
Manifested mental particles rippled outward in colorful waves, instantly neutralizing the kinetic impact caused by the monster’s movement.
Stumbling from the collision, the giant insect shook its buzzing head and looked forward in confusion, but saw no obstacles.
Refusing to accept this, it wondered why it couldn’t move forward.
Screech!
Screech!
Disbelieving, the monster pushed forward with all its might.
The massive impact kicked up a blinding sandstorm, but the storm was bizarrely confined within a perfect hexagonal cubic space.
Blinded by the sand blowing into its compound eyes, the giant insect smashed itself dizzy, yet it still couldn’t break through the invisible barrier in front of it.
“This forehead is really hard…” Feeling the impact force feeding back from his AT Field, Kenji gained a deeper understanding of the destructive power of such colossal creatures.
Relying purely on its massive size, its own weight was its greatest weapon.
The steel jungles built by humanity were incredibly fragile before it.
The nearby Hero Association shelter, touted as the Absolute Defense, would probably only withstand a few extra hits before crumbling.
Kenji looked down at the monster trapped in the center of the forcefield, and suddenly clenched his hands tight.
Guided by his will, a massive wave of telekinetic energy crashed down toward the ground like a terrifying tsunami.
Trapped beneath the peak of the wave, the giant insect instinctively sensed a trace of terror.
But enclosed by the forcefield on all sides, it could only spin around in a frantic panic.
The next moment, the originally stable cubic forcefield was injected with overflowing energy.
Its structure suddenly morphed into a black-hole-like gravity field, ignoring all resistance as it slowly but firmly collapsed inward!
With overwhelming pressure bearing down on it, the imprisoned insect only had time to let out one final shriek.
Its carapace, which couldn’t even be damaged by explosions, was crushed like a fragile cookie by the contracting space.
Thick green fluids sprayed out, but before they could even spread, they were mixed with flesh and blood into an unwatchable paste, which was then continuously compressed and squeezed as the space shrank further.
It was like a massive hydraulic press working at maximum capacity.
The scene was so gruesome it was hard to look at.
This move to deal with giant insect monsters was not Kenji’s original creation.
Back in A-City, Tatsumaki had used it before.
Copying it now proved that it was indeed highly effective.
The best part was that it didn’t take up much space when disposing of the corpse.
The resulting small cube could just be buried anywhere to solve the problem.
In an instant, the monster cube was formed.
170,000-Year Magic Cicada Nymph, exterminated.
Unable to rise again.
His Stand ability captured the monster’s dissipating soul, and a purple card engraved with the roaring monster fell into Kenji’s hand.
[Fantasy Card: 170,000-Year Magic Cicada Nymph ] [Card Type: Character Card (Monster) ] [Rarity: SR ] [Description: A member of the Magic Cicada family.
A giant insect-type monster.
Disaster Level: Demon.
] [Effect 1: Super Suction ] [Prey struck by its mouthparts will be instantly broken down and sucked dry.
] [Effect 2: Overgrowth ] [Any food it consumes will be converted into nutrients, allowing its size to grow continuously without limits.
] “To think a bug this huge is only a nymph.
The way insects in this world mutate into monsters is truly ridiculous.” Thinking about Elder Centipede and Sage Centipede who would appear later, each possessing a size more exaggerated than the last, Kenji felt a heavy burden on his shoulders.
He casually dismantled the purple card of the 170,000-Year Magic Cicada Nymph to add to his stats.
[Constitution +10, +10, +10…
] “Hmm?” The thrill of upgrading his stats this time felt somewhat short-lived, vanishing after just a few breaths.
Kenji recalled that after acquiring the complete set of Spider superpowers, his physique had stepped into a whole new realm.
Adding points with ordinary N-tier attribute cards was already ineffective.
Now it seemed that even using Demon-level monsters as enhancement materials provided only limited boosts.
Good grief, the grinding requirement has increased again.