Chapter 55: Ability Turned Off
The four remained in the large, spacious living room.
Tongue Man lounged lazily on one of the couches, his legs crossed comfortably. Goggle Boy fidgeted nervously, muttering under his breath. Of the three, he seemed the most anxious, probably still worried about the possibility of an attack.
The second C-rank hero paired with them, Frezia, sat calmly on a wooden chair by the wall, detached from the rest of the group.
Julie, on the other hand, remained glued to her phone, replying to comments from her followers, completely unbothered by everything happening around her.
> [Foxknight88: Hey Peach Fairy! I’m tired of seeing your face. When are we getting the action?]
> [Readable: For real. Can’t believe I skipped my basketball match for this. Get on with the action already.]
Julie felt a cold sweat run down her face as she read the comments.
’Why’d they have to ask now?! I don’t even know if the villains are still going to attack! What do I do?’
> [Peach Fairy: Relax guys! Trust me, you’ll get peak action soon. Sometimes suspense is good.]
> [Demiurge666: I hate suspense. Give it to me already! Ahhh!]
> [RKhitomi: Guess it’s time to ditch you again.]
Julie’s expression soured immediately.
’C’mon, y’all should just wait a bit,’ she thought with a sigh.
"Where’s Bolt? How long does it take him to use the bathroom?" Frezia suddenly asked, glancing toward the hallway. Several minutes had passed since he left, and she was beginning to feel uneasy.
"I don’t know. He’s probably gooning or something," Tongue Man replied lazily.
Goggle Boy turned toward him.
"T-that’s an inappropriate thing to say. But if we assume that’s true... Bolt is fast. He could finish in seconds."
"Oh... that’s right, nerd. Then we’d better go check what’s taking him so long."
Tongue Man pushed himself off the couch and started toward the hallway.
But before he could reach it, he spotted Bolt’s silhouette emerging from the bathroom.
"Guys, he’s already ou—"
BOOM!
A blast of blue lightning shot forward.
One second, Tongue Man was speaking.
The next, he was flying across the room.
His back slammed violently into the wall.
The others froze in shock, unable to understand what had just happened.
But they weren’t given time to react.
Another flash of lightning erupted.
Goggle Boy was launched in the opposite direction, his body tumbling across the floor. They only caught a glimpse of Bolt’s fist before it connected.
Bolt stood silently.
Blue sparks crackled around his body as he slowly turned toward Frezia and Julie, the only two left standing.
"What are you doing, Bolt?!" Frezia shouted.
The temperature around her dropped instantly.
With a wave of her hand, sharp ice spikes materialized from thin air and shot toward him.
Bolt vanished.
The ice shards chased after him, but his movements were too fast.
Frezia gritted her teeth.
She couldn’t even properly track him.
All she could see were flashes of blue lightning darting around the room.
Then suddenly—
He appeared right in front of her.
His fist shot upward.
BANG!
The uppercut connected cleanly.
The speed behind the attack multiplied its force.
Frezia was launched into the air before crashing backward onto the floor.
Julie had her camera up through the entire fight.
As Bolt’s gaze landed on her, she forced out an awkward smile.
"Gimme a second. I’ll set it to automatic with my abili—"
WHAM!
The punch drove the air straight out of her lungs.
Julie collapsed to the floor, clutching her stomach.
Pain exploded through her abdomen.
’Julie, you can’t die from one punch. You’re too strong for that!’ she thought to herself a bitter smile on her face as she gritted her teeth through the pain.
The livestream chat immediately exploded.
> [Storm_5599: Tf?! What are we witnessing? Hero betrayal?!]
> [Knightofroundtable: Sheesh. Seems someone pissed off the speedster.]
> [Demonbane99: Now that’s what I’m talking about! Absolute cinema!]
> [Masatoshi_K: Don’t tell me all the other heroes are just pushovers. C’mon, y’all can’t get folded after one hit.]
Even though Julie wasn’t holding the camera anymore, her ability continued recording from multiple cinematic angles.
The stream remained active.
"What’s wrong with you, Bolt? That punch hurt like hell."
Tongue Man slowly pushed himself off the ground, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Nearby, Goggle Boy also struggled to his feet, gritting his teeth through the pain.
Frezia adjusted her jaw with a wince.
"I don’t think he’s controlling himself right now," she muttered.
From the hallway, two figures stepped forward casually, their eyes sweeping across the room.
The moment the heroes saw them, the atmosphere changed.
The room suddenly felt colder.
Julie felt her stomach twist.
She didn’t know why.
The little girl looked harmless.
The boy looked strange.
Yet every instinct in her body screamed danger.
"Those are the kids..." Frezia whispered, her eyes narrowing.
Goggle Boy’s face immediately lost color.
"N-No..."
His voice trembled.
"T-Those are the people from the reports..."
Hexi stopped right next to Bolt, patting him on the shoulder, "Oh. He’s strong. He’s still fighting the Hex. So he didn’t kill them all..." Hexi said as he observed the battered heroes.
"You!" Frezia yelled furiously.
"What did you do to Bolt?!"
"Relax. I haven’t taken his brain yet. I want to know what fast thoughts taste like."
The silence stretched, Julie’s face turned pale.
Even Frezia’s expression stiffened.
"What...?" Goggle Boy muttered.
His breathing became uneven.
Hexi tilted his head.
"Though I’d love to taste yours too." He licked his lips.
Goggle Boy immediately stumbled backward. The fear he’d been holding in finally broke.
"T-This guy is insane!" His voice cracked.
"We need to leave! We need to get out of here right now!"
For the first time since the attack started, nobody mocked him.
Because every single person in the room was thinking the exact same thing.
"Hexi, let’s finish this. I’m tired. I want to go home," Shadow said with a yawn.
At that moment, a tongue shot toward her.
Before it could reach her, the giant shadow bear grabbed it.
YANK!
Tongue Man was violently pulled forward.
The shadow bear’s fist crashed into his face.
BANG!
His eyes rolled back instantly.
He dropped unconscious.
Hexi glanced at the fallen hero and burst into laughter.
"Shadow, don’t beat them so easily. Let’s have some fun first!"
"No. I want to go home."
Shadow yawned again.
Then suddenly stopped.
Her eyes widened.
"Hexi... there’s another shadow."
She stared toward the entrance.
"Another shadow?" Hexi frowned.
"There were only supposed to be five heroes here."
He quickly counted everyone in the room.
"Maybe we made too much noise. Who cares? One more person to kill—"
Hexi stopped.
A strange sensation spread through the room.
Everyone felt it instantly.
Like something had been ripped away.
The lightning around Bolt vanished.
The giant shadow bear disappeared.
The room fell eerily silent.
"Hexi..." Shadow whispered.
Her eyes widened in panic.
"I can’t talk to the shadows anymore."
She began scratching frantically at her arms.
"...."
For the first time since arriving—
Hexi had nothing to say, because he too... Had no idea what was happening.
The door slowly swung open.
A familiar figure stepped into the room, Selena standing behind him.
His gaze calmly scanning the field.
’It’s Phantom!’ Goggle boy thought, relief washing over him.
Nicholas looked at the two children and spoke calmly.
"Only two people will be dying here.. well except I get answers" His gaze sharpened, "And no... you won’t be going home."
"So tell me, who set you up to this?" Nicholas asked as he sat on the couch comfortably, crossing his legs.
