Villain's Rising

"Come down and find out!"

-Swoosh!

Like a bull rushing at the red cloth, Arthur descended down from the sky at breakneck speed.

Sam had stepped a few steps away from Marcel. That distance was enough for Arthur to activate his ability suppression on Marcel.

Pulling back his arm, Starsuper appeared before Sam. However, the black-haired boy was prepared for this.

Sam crossed his arms and braced for the impact while activating his [Neither Manipulation] to the fullest.

-Baam!

As Starsuper's fists collided with Sam's defense, a huge shockwave erupted, and debris flew everywhere.

In the midst of all that destruction, Sam stood with a smirk still plastered on his face while Arthur pulled back another arm.

However, Sam had no intention of playing around anymore. He hopped back a few steps to Marcel before Arthur could throw another punch at him.

"Nope! Can't take another hit from you!" Playfully raising his hands, Sam spoke while gripping Micheal's head.

"You bastard!" Starsuper yelled. He was again in the same situation.

He can't rush him, or they'll run. He can't use ability negation since Sam was too close to Marcel.

No matter how he may look at the situation, this was a checkmate for them.

"Vile words coming out from a hero's mouth don't suit them, Starsuper. You are an inspiration for so many kids! Haha!"

"Dad!" Landing beside Starsuper, Anthony suggested. "We have no choice! You will have to unleash your full strength right now!"

Yes, in truth, Starsuper was holding back.

Not because he was going easy on Sam but because if he were to unleash the full scale of his ability, there would remain no Earth to save.

At his full potential, Starsuper was a planetary-level threat.

So if he uses his powers at full potential, there's a chance that he will destroy Earth in the process.

"Dad! Don't think too much! If he gets away from us now, this planet will be done either way! At least with your full strength, we will have a fighting chance to save humanity!" Anthony begged.

Starsuper was gritting his teeth while beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. He knew his son was right.

If Sam gets away from them now, there's no telling if they'll get another chance to stop him.

He was too dangerous to give another chance.

Unfortunately for Starsuper, he took too long to come to any kind of conclusion about his predicament.

Sam, who was gripping Micheal's head, activated his ability. His eyes glowed in the deepest shade of violet while Micheal tried to speak something but failed to choke out his words.

"No!" Starsuper yelled and tried to rush at Sam, who was just a few feet away from him.

…However, when he tried to move his body, it seemed like he couldn't.

"Huh?" Visibly confused, Starsuper looked down. And when he did, his eyes widened in shock.

"I-I can't move, dad!" Anthony was also rendered immobile. He turned to his father and saw him looking down at his feet.

Following his gaze, Anthony also looked down. "What?! What is this?!"

The reason for Anthony's surprise was that he saw his and his father's feet stuck in their own shadows on the ground.

It looked as if they were stuck in black-colored quicksand!

Arthur immediately moved his gaze to Marcel. Yes, it was him who had rendered the father-son duo immobile.

‹Shadow Bind› is one of Marcel's many tricks. He uses his opponent's shadows to trap them in the shadow realm— rendering them unable to move.

The only way to escape Shadow Bind is to decapitate the limb that's been stuck in the shadow realm.

Normally Arthur would've sensed something like this from a mile away and dodged it. However, the battle tension made him hazy for a second.

And a second was all Marcel needed to cast his ability.

"Anthony! Use your heat vision on my legs and cut them off now!" Arthur barked an order to his son in a hurried tone.

"B-But dad-"

"We don't have time to argue! Please do it! Do it, and I'll stop them!"

"Tsk!" Clicking his tongue, Anthony prepared his Heat Vision.

In the next moment, Anthony shot two pairs of laser beams at his father's legs and tried to cut them off cleanly.

However, Arthur's defense was too strong for his own good. Even with Anthony's heat vision, it would take him about a few seconds to pierce his father's skin.

Unfortunately, they didn't have that kind of time.

Sam had already completed using his ability. Now, Micheal's mind was under Sam's control.

"The reason I wanted you to bring Micheal here was that I needed him to teleport the dragon and me away." Flashing one last smirk, Sam announced.

"Now then, sayonara!" Haughtily winking, Sam released Michael's head from his grip and allowed him to stand.

"Anthony! Hurry!" Arthur barked, urging his son to hurry, but it was already too late.

"Michael now!" At the same time, Sam ordered his brother to cast his ability and teleport them and the dragon's carcass away.

Like a puppet with no mind of his own, Micheal nodded and activated his ability.

"Anthony! Hurry!"

"I'm trying!"

Seeing that it was taking too long, Arthur shot his own Heat Vision at his legs. But he didn't have the right angle required to cut them off completely.

"Anthony, I can't help you more than this!" Arthur yelled while gaping a hole in his lower calves.

"Almost done!" Anthony reported back.

But as it's already been said, their fate was sealed. They had already lost this battle and the upcoming final war.

Michael finished the needed calculations required to teleport the carcass and themselves away and finally cast his ability.

A blue hue enveloped Sam, Marcel, and Micheal at that moment. The dragon's corpse, which was buried underground, also started glowing in a blue hue.

"Nooo!" Arthur yelled. His legs were almost severed.

With a victorious smile, Sam waved his hands.

In the very next second, Anthony managed to completely cut off his father's legs.

Starsuper, without wasting another moment, broke the sound barrier and shot at Sam like a bullet.

-Swoosh!

But as if waiting for that cue, everyone on whom Micheal cast his ability vanished into thin air—leaving only blue light particles behind.

Even the dragon carcass which was buried underground vanished as if it was never there. The small part of it, which was visible above the ground, also disappeared.

And Arthur managed to catch nothing but light particles that were left behind.

They had lost the battle of Academy City. Their last remaining hope now was to not let the Progenitor get his hands on the Branch of The Tree Of Life.

Or else… their world was doomed.