In the suburbs of A-City, a figure stepped out from a portal.
"Phew... Finally back."
Feeling the weakness coursing through his body, King still felt a lingering fear. He hadn't expected Blast's strength to be so great, especially his terrifying application of time and space power.
Blast had diverted most of the power of the Limit-Breaking Fist, but fortunately, he had managed to devour Blast's Darkness Power at the end.
After the system integrated the Darkness Power, it merged with the Light Power in his body. However, the amount of Darkness Power was too small, it was just enough to mask the aura of the Light Power.
But this gave King an opportunity. In the end, he had quietly followed Blast and managed to track down Earth's coordinates.
"I almost ended up drifting in space forever."
King couldn't help but complain.
Without absolute certainty in the future, he wouldn't dare enter outer space with someone else again. Otherwise, with one slip-up, he might wander the stars forever and never return.
—
"Chairman Blue, we've located the target at the site of the fluctuations." A man wearing a Battle Suit was hiding in the jungle, observing King from a distance.
Blue spoke with full confidence on the other end of the line, "Based on the photos you sent, it's confirmed to be the former hero of the Hero Association, Dark Mask. However, according to intelligence, his combat power is at least Dragon-level or higher. You only need to keep a close eye on him."
"I've already sent Raiden and Suiryu there. Their strength is at least S-Class, more than enough to deal with one Dark Mask. This capture operation is particularly important for us. We want all of humanity to see that we, Neo Heroes, are the true Hero Association."
His background was no secret within Neo. The current S-Class Rank 1 hero of the Hero Association, Blast, was his biological father.
However, Blue had lacked parental love since childhood.
He believed that the Hero Association where Blast belonged could not carry out true justice. So all along, he had been dedicated to surpassing his father and creating a Hero Association that truly belonged to humanity. Thus, Neo was born.
Unfortunately, under the manipulation of capital, Neo had long since deviated from its original intent and become even darker than the Hero Association.
"I understand."
Accel didn't say much more. After years of killing in the field, he had long understood the importance of following orders.
"Once those two arrive on the scene, your task is to live-stream the entire capture process. This is a perfect opportunity for Neo to increase its prestige among the people."
"Let the people see with their eyes wide open the incompetence of the Hero Association and what the real Hero Association looks like."
Blue spoke passionately, but Accel felt nothing. As the leader of a hunting team that had suppressed several monsters, their track record was outstanding.
The forty-seven team members led by Accel were all wearing Neo's specially-made Battle Suits, and their strength was exceptionally formidable. They had successfully handled Demon-level monsters many times and had extremely high prestige among the people, they had never acted as support for others before.
"Captain, when do we make our move?"
Sure enough, the vice-captain of the Neo Hunters was already getting restless. After all, the target was right in front of them, and this was a perfect opportunity for capture.
"Chairman Blue told us to wait for reinforcements. Two high-level executives are already on their way."
Accel's expression was calm, though at this moment he didn't know how to explain it to his team members.
"Reinforcements? Does Blue look down on us? There's only one of them."
"Yeah, Captain, I'm already prepared to turn on the camera."
"Didn't he say this concerns Neo's reputation? Why is he being so redundant, sending two newly joined losers to steal our credit?"
"Hmph! I knew it. Blue talks a good game, but in his heart, he doesn't treat us as part of Neo at all."
"Yeah, Captain. Now is the perfect time to strike. If we don't move now, he is going to leave."
The members of the Neo Hunters were worked up. They had never called for reinforcements before, and now was a good chance to prove their strength.
"This..."
Accel was also a bit hesitant, but the others were right. Dark Mask looked very weak right now, he had likely just been through a major battle. Even if he really had Dragon-level strength at his peak, they were currently in peak condition. With the combined strength of forty-eight powerful individuals, could they really not handle one monster?
"We can't wait any longer, Captain. Ari, turn on the camera for the live broadcast. Let all of humanity see with their own eyes how we suppress a monster."
With the vice-captain's command, the camera was turned on, and the feed was transmitted to the city.
"This... alright. I'll lead the main attack, you guys set up the ambush. Once the target enters the encirclement, capture him immediately. Try to keep him alive." Accel finally gave in.
He decisively drew two U-shaped axes and quietly crept toward King's direction.
"Friends in the audience, we are a private hunting team belonging to the Neo Heroes."
"Currently, under the leadership of Captain Accel, we are launching a capture operation against the Hero Association's renegade Monster, Dark Mask."
"Today, I will let everyone see clearly what a true Hero Association is."
On the large screens in the city, the situation on the scene was filmed clearly, and countless citizens stopped to watch.
Naturally, the situation here was also transmitted back to the Hero Association. Sitch and Jess received the news immediately and watched the live stream with faces full of worry.
"Accel! Who gave you permission to act on your own?"
"His strength is not as simple as you think. Stop the capture operation immediately and wait for support..."
Blue's dissatisfied voice came through, but Accel directly turned off his communicator. At this moment, he was less than ten meters away from King.
'A little closer, just a little closer...' Axel held his breath.
Although Dark Mask looked very weak now, he still understood the principle of a lion using its full strength to hunt a rabbit.
"That's close enough, isn't it? If you don't make a move, you're going to be riding on my neck."
Just then, King suddenly turned around and said with a helpless look.
'What? He actually noticed me long ago?'
Accel felt a chill in his heart, but since this was a live broadcast, he absolutely could not retreat.
"Monster! Die!"
The ever-successful U-shaped axes swung fiercely toward King.
Clang!
A crisp sound rang out. Accel discovered to his shock that his axes were firmly locked by two bone spurs, unable to move an inch further.
"Damn it!"
Accel realized that King's strength was not that simple and hurriedly pulled back to create distance.
"Who are you guys?" King was somewhat surprised.
The reason he hadn't rushed to attack was mainly because he saw that the other party was human. Perhaps they saw his wanted poster and wanted to kill him.
"Hmph! We are a private hunting team belonging to Neo Heroes."
"Monster, will you come back with us obediently, or will you fall here?"