"This is so fucking degrading!"
Carn’s pigtails were ruffling violently in the wind as she soared through the air. She must’ve cursed a million tis already, so of her saliva showering on Adam.
Adam... who was just flailing around below Carn as she gripped him under his arms, carrying him like an oversized toddler.
"Fuck!" Her crimson wings rippled furiously with each of her colorful words.
"This is so fucking embarrassing! You’re an S-tier Hero, you shouldn’t be seen like this! Have so fucking pride, you puto!"
"Hm." Adam just hung there, arms dangling uselessly at his sides, his expression blank as he seed not to care about their awkward position at all.
"Isn’t your Strength fucking listed as S-tier?! Just jump off the ground like the rest of you muscle freaks!" Carn scread even louder, her voice cracking with frustration.
Adam glanced up at her, sighing deeply. "This is faster."
Carn’s grip tightened on his shoulders. "So what?! At least you wouldn’t look like a—like a little fucking chiquito! Bitch, please. We look ridiculous!"
"Calm down. No one could even see us this high up."
"Fuck you! You little miserable fucking—you think just because you’re higher in the tier list..."
Adam ignored Carn’s continued complaints, pulling out his phone to check the coordinates. The screen showed them approaching the red zone rapidly.
"I think... It’s right there," he pointed toward a cluster of buildings in the distance where smoke was beginning to rise.
"Yeah, no fucking shit! You think I’m blind?!" Carn groaned loudly but adjusted their trajectory, her wings cutting through the air more efficiently now.
Surprisingly, after that, a few minutes passed in silence, broken only by Carn’s occasional muttered curses. And then... they heard it—screaming. Terrified voices piercing the harsh wind blowing at their faces.
Below them, people looked like ants running in every direction.
"Let do—" Before Adam could finish his words, she released him—no. She threw him down, launching him with considerable force.
"Wha—" Adam was stunned for a mont, his eyes squinting as he plumted. Then he sighed, resigned to his fate. He hit the asphalt hard, the impact creating cracks that crawled outward from where he landed. Without even pausing, he leaped to the side, onto the wall of a nearby building, his boots digging into it.
Carn, hovering above and watching his movents, scread down at him.
"See what I fucking an?!" Her voice echoed off the buildings as Adam avoided the fleeing crowd, leaping swiftly from wall to wall like so kind of monkey before launching himself down toward a massive, writhing creature that had cornered a group of civilians.
The four-legged creature with the face of a squid instantly collapsed as Adam’s foot slamd on its head.
Carn scanned the chaos below before her head snapped to a particularly loud scream. It was a child, being advanced upon by another monster, this one smaller but no less nacing.
Adam saw it too, and he quickly ran toward the child.
"Heh. Let’s see who reaches the girl first!" Carn smirked at this and dove down like a teor, forming spiraling skirts of wind around her body that made her almost disappear. She reached the child first, delivering the exact sa dropkick attack Adam had used monts before.
Her attack, however, was devastatingly more effective—the monster’s skull didn’t just crack, it completely shattered into fragnts that scattered along with the pavent.
Adam arrived a second later, landing gracefully beside the obliterated creature. Carn straightened up, brushed dust and blood off her skirt, and raised her middle finger directly at him.
"See? I’m stronger than you, bitch. How about you call senorita and—"
But Adam had already turned away before she could finish her words, moving toward the next monster.
"Did you just fucking ignore ?!" Carn scread, her voice cracking.
But then Adam suddenly paused, causing her to pause as well.
"What?! Wanna fight?!"
"Let’s see who kills more monsters."
"Huh...?" Carn was confused at first, but her confusion quickly turned into a smile. She grinned wide, showing all her teeth, and then simply vanished—followed by a boom.
Adam watched the empty space where she’d been standing for a mont, then turned his attention to the frightened child who was still cowering beside the wall.
He approached carefully, crouching down to make sure his eyes were at the sa level as the child’s.
"Hello. My na’s Adam." Adam whispered. "What’s your na?"
"G-g-g-g-race," the little girl trembled, her blonde hair matted with dust and her blue dress torn at the hem.
"Grace...?" Adam’s eyes widened at the na.
...Again? How many Graces are there in this country?
"Okay, Grace." Adam lightly cleared his throat, making his voice even softer. "Who are you here with?"
"W-w-we went to get ice cream. M-m-mommy is—" The child burst into tears before she could finish her words.
"Hey..." Adam smiled warmly at the little girl. "It’s okay, Grace. It’s okay."
Adam showed his palms.
"Do you want to carry you so we can go to mommy?" He looked around quickly and spotted an ice cream parlor with its windows intact. And through the glass, he could see a woman pressed against the window, staring at them in horror.
"Is that your mommy? What’s her na?" Adam asked, pointing gently toward the shop.
The little girl nodded vigorously. "Y-yes, that’s mommy. Her... her na is A-Alyssa."
"Okay. Let’s get you to mommy." Adam opened his arms, allowing the little girl to approach him instead. Grace was a little hesitant at first, but nodded as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
Adam lifted the child with infinite care, cradling her against his chest.
"Hold tight..." Adam’s lips trembled as Samantha’s face suddenly flashed in his mind.
"...I’ll save you this ti, okay?"
And she wasn’t the last person Adam brought to safety. With Carn practically flying amok through the air, killing monsters at impossible speeds, Adam was able to focus entirely on rescuing people. He pulled people from collapsed cars, guided groups of civilians to secure buildings, and created safe places through the chaos.
After several intense minutes, the streets beca peaceful. Destroyed and littered with debris, but peaceful nonetheless.
Adam patted his hands together, brushing off dust and nodding to himself as he finished escorting the last group of survivors.
And finally... the IBAA vehicles arrived, their personnel quick to establish a periter and begin damage assessnt. Several agents approached Adam with grateful expressions.
"Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Endless. We’ll handle the cleanup from here."
"Huwhaat?!" Carn landed violently next to him, "What the—why is this puto getting all the credit?!"
Her wings folded against her back as she glared at the IBAA personnel, and of course, the agents quickly jogged away to avoid her wrath.
"Where the fuck are you guys going?!" She watched them scatter like startled pigeons, then turned back to Adam with a satisfied smirk.
"Heh, who’s the fucking loser now?"
"." Adam shrugged. "Thank you for killing the monsters."
"Good thing you—What the fuck you an thank you?! I killed more than you!" Carn protested, counting on her fingers as if to prove her point.
"I know," Adam shrugged again.
"What the fuck...?" Carn stared at him for a while, her expression shifting as she finally realized what had happened.
"Aaah! You tricked !" She pointed right at his face.
"?" Adam shook his head slowly. "I don’t know what you an."
He then turned toward the Leak and started walking toward the swirling portal that had brought the monsters.
"I’m still talking to you!" Carn called after him. "Where you going?! Where—Oh...?"
She noticed his destination and her wings flared again.
"Not so fast!" Carn smirked and launched herself into the air, flying directly into the Leak’s crimson maw.
"Oh..." Adam just sighed and shook his head again. "Great."
He was about to enter the portal when suddenly—he heard it. No, everyone heard it. Everyone.
[Good day, inhabitants, participants, and champions of Planet SS4E!]
"Huh...?"
"Are you guys hearing that...?"
"Isn’t that the voice?"
[Due to so irregularities, instances, and anomalies, the Administrators have decided to speed things up a little for you and your neighbors!]
"The... what?" The IBAA personnel stopped what they were doing, looking around in confusion.
"What the hell is happening?"
"The Administrators? But the Ga just happened?"
"Why are they—"
[Rejoice! The Administrators have given you all a gift!] The voice almost sounded excited.
[From now on...
...your connection to the other planets will beco stronger!]
"What...? What does that an?"
"A gift? Wait... are they turning us all into Heroes?!"
Most people looked puzzled, and half were excited. However, so went pale, their eyes widening in recognition as they turned to stare at the Leak with growing alarm.
Adam noticed their reactions imdiately. His eyes also widened, and he quickly refocused on the Leak.
He looked at it for just a single second, and then suddenly—an explosion erupted from the Leak.
"Shi—!" Adam, who was only feet away from the Leak, was thrown back, his body tumbling across the broken asphalt. Everything and everyone near the portal was blasted away by the shockwave.
And even Carn, who was supposed to be inside the Leak, was spat out violently, crashing into the side of a building.
"What’s happening...?" Adam managed to collect himself quickly, rolling to his feet and keeping his focus locked on what the Leak had beco. "What... is that?"
It looked completely different now. The first thing he noticed were the cracks in space around its edges—it was as if space itself looked like a shattered mirror. The second thing was that the Leak’s color was gone entirely. In fact, it had no color at all anymore, just a yawning void of absolute darkness.
[Congratulations, SS4E! Alongside the massive, exciting battles, you are now part of the Scrimmage! From now on, you are connected to other Combatant planets like yours.]
"Scrimmage...?"
[Scrimmage has two modes. Hunt, as you have already done many tis. And Surv...]
"Adam!"
Adam quickly turned to Carn as she scread his na, only to see her pointing at him. No, not at him exactly, but at sothing above his head.
Adam glanced up slowly, and there it was—a Black Crystal.
Huh?
The Crystal seed darker than the void itself, hovering just inches above his head like so kind of... crown.
And without even any warning, this crown suddenly shot toward his head... and disappeared.
"What..." Adam whispered as he clutched his head. "...What the fuck?"
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