The villain, Rocky Rock, wailed in disbelief. "What the hell is this?!"
The surrounding crowds were equally stunned. They didn't even notice the police shouting over megaphones, ordering everyone to evacuate the dangerous zone.
"I'm Hero King," I declared coolly, holding up my hand. "And these are my King Cards. This is my power."
"Nice power, but..." Rocky Rock sneered.
He spun around and rushed toward the massive building where Amber had been thrown, aiming to rip the entire structure right out of its foundations.
The crowd panicked, screaming, "No! There are still so many people inside that building!"
"Save us, Hero King!"
"You're the only hero left down there!"
Before the monster could even lay a hand on the structure, I flicked my wrist and unleashed my cards. They sliced through the air like lasers, cutting the rocky behemoth into a dozen pieces.
The crowd erupted in joyful applause. But the celebration was premature. This wasn't the end.
The severed rocky fragments began pulling toward one another, merging seamlessly. Rocky Rock turned even more gigantic, swelling to an incredible 55 feet tall—far larger than the building standing right beside him.
Panic set in again, and the crowd scrambled for safety. Temari's driver quickly hit the gas to pull our vehicle further back from the looming disaster.
'Oh man! How am I supposed to beat this guy?' I wondered, my mind racing as he grunted and charged toward me.
I began backing away, dodging the debris. I had to contain the fight; if he kept smashing everything blindly, every small building in the area would be reduced to rubble.
As I wondered how to overcome his endless regeneration, a massive torrent of water suddenly manifested in the sky above Rocky Rock. The giant sphere of water burst, completely drenching the villain from head to toe.
"Eh? Who the hell did that?!" Rocky Rock bellowed, shaking the water from his face.
A figure with deep marine-blue hair stepped forward. "I'm a Y-Class hero—Marine."
Beside him stood another powerful figure, his white hair contrasting with a matching sleek costume. "I am Jade, also a Y-Class hero," he announced, executing a fluid hand movement. "I can manipulate and lift anything with telekinesis. How does that sit with you, Mr. Rocky Rock?"
"I'll kill both of you!" the monster roared, opening his cavernous mouth. He raised a massive fist, preparing to crush the building where they stood.
Quick to react, Jade waved his hand, using his telekinesis to slam a massive piece of shattered concrete directly against the rocky monster's torso.
Simultaneously, I called out to my watch, summoning a barrage of 100 King Cards. I launched them in a constant, spinning cyclone around the rock monster, slicing his form down until he was nothing but a cloud of fine rock powder.
"Marine-sama! Spray water on him now!!" I shouted.
"On it! Right plan!" Marine replied instantly, unleashing a high-pressure jet of water onto the floating cloud of powder.
At the same time, Amber recovered, stepped forward, and sprayed a specialized body powder directly into the mixture. The water and powder combined with the pulverized rock, instantly hardening his core into a solid, unmoving block of concrete.
"Whew," Marine sighed, wiping his brow. "Let's go. The Rocky Villain won't be able to re-emerge until he completely dries out. The moisture and powder shut down his inner core entirely, so his main body is completely locked up."
Jade nodded in approval. "Good job," he praised Marine, before casting a sideways glance at me. A hint of jealousy crossed his face. "Though, a newbie couldn't possibly have pulled that off if we weren't here to back him up."
"Hey, I could have handled it," I replied with a grin.
"Whoa! Hero King, you're just a newbie?" Marine asked, visibly surprised. "I thought you were an veteran!"
"Nope, I'm just a Z-Class rank," I replied.
"Wow! A hero duel featuring the Hero King and Marine? That was awesome! So, did you two know each other beforehand, or did you just happen to run into each other?"
The questions started flying instantly. Jade and Marine were quickly surrounded by reporters and cameras. The Villain Crushing Alliance forces—clad in their sleek black uniforms—arrived on the scene with heavy-duty vacuum tankers to clean up and secure the hardened rock powder.
Taking advantage of the media distraction, Temari sneaked me away from the crowd and back to the car.
Once we were safely inside, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Great job, Aqua! So, what kind of reward or gift do you want from me for successfully completing your very first official mission?"
Without a single second of hesitation, I looked her dead in the eye and said, "I want to marry you."
"Wh-whaaat?!" Temari gasped, her face turning completely red.
"Eh? What did you just say?" she stammered.
"I said, I want to marry you," I repeated with a confident smile.
"Sorry, I... I can't give you an answer to that right now!" she squeaked, staring ahead in total shock.
The rest of the drive went by in total, stunned silence.
When we finally reached my neighborhood, the five of us got out of the car and walked up to my front door. Before I could turn the handle, a voice called out from the side.
"Aqua!"
We turned to see an old man standing on a nearby wooden veranda. It was one of the neighborhood property owners, Mr. Uchiha.
He peered at me, rubbing his chin. "I saw a new hero on the TV named Hero King. Is my hunch correct? Are you actually Hero King? You look just like him!"
"Heh, heh! Your neighbor has a sharp eye, Aqua. It's true, he is Hero King!" Amber boasted proudly, gesturing toward me.
"Yes, I'm a hero now, all thanks to Miss Temari!" I pointed toward her. Temari blushed furiously, but managed a polite smile and waved her hand to Mr. Uchiha.
With that, we finally unlocked the door and stepped inside my house.
Once inside, Temari handed me my very first month's advance payment. It was a staggering 10,000,000 Hirik—which converts to a massive 195,000,000 Yen!
'Wow,' I thought, staring at the check. 'The hero industry is incredibly wealthy.'
By the time we settled in, evening had fallen. The battle had taken a lot out of us, and time had flown by. Turning to my companions, I said, "Guys, let's get some dinner ready."
Instantly, their eyes sparked with excitement at the mention of food.
"Heh, wait up. I'm going to take a quick bath first," I said.
I tapped the reset button on my watch. In an instant, my hero uniform vanished into thin air. I muttered a quick prayer of thanks to God that I hadn't removed my normal t-shirt, pants, and hoodie underneath beforehand; otherwise, I would have been standing completely naked right in front of my girlpanions and her bodyguards! Phew!
After a relaxing bath, I whipped up a delicious dinner for everyone. I carried the plates over to the glass coffee table by the sofa, where all my girlpanion and her body gurds were happily sitting together, laughing and playing video games.
- To Be Continued...