CH. 513: Deal

Fubuki was stunned to find herself on top of a skyscraper. A small glimpse at her feet nearly froze her blood. She could levitate with her psychokinesis. It didn't make her immune to the fear of standing at the edge of a skyscraper.

Fubuki took a deep breath and took in the busy but marvelous view of City-A. "Why did you bring me to the terrace of the Hero's Headquarters? Does your teleportation ability have no limits?"

Her curiosity grew the more she witnessed Asahi's abilities. He had Esper powers superior to her, could create barriers that could stop a group of A-Class and B-Class Heroes, and teleport across cities. Didn't he fear heaven's wrath for being too talented?

"To show you this." Asahi tapped her shoulders and pointed at a building in the distance. His figure suddenly burst into flames. With red skin and glowing eyes, he embodied the picture-perfect image of a demon from hell. "Israel Judgment."

Phenex's avatar rose behind him. The mythical winged creature screeched at the sky as flame gathered at the tip of its wing, growing with each passing moment. Fubuki felt her spine shiver in the face of those flames, her mind buzzing. The flames were dangerous!

"Stop whatever you are doing!"

Asahi smirked and snapped his finger. Deafening laser beams shot out from Phenex's wings like the artillery of a sci-fi cannon. His fire elemental form enhanced the destructive power of Phenex's spell to a new level. The destruction was as one would expect; the laser beams tore through the skyscrapers across the city, the industrial area, and the residential area. Sirens immediately blared across. The unforeseen devastation created chaos, as if the world was about to end. People desperately moved out of buildings and clogged the streets like sheep in a pen. The condensed beams of extreme fire would fall and end lives by masses.

Fire and smoke filled the landscape.

"W-What…?"

Towns were threatened nearly every day in the world, thanks to the ever-growing list of mysterious beings. It didn't mean Fubuki ever saw a city being extinguished before her eyes. She couldn't bear the sight but couldn't close her eyes.

The professional heroes quickly came out to rescue, only to be disintegrated. The laser beams slaughtered people without discrimination. This city was the headquarters of the Hero Association, yet there seemed to be no hope.

Asahi dispelled his fire elemental form. "I could have destroyed the city with a punch, but this spectacle is more satisfying."

While people fell like autumn leaves, he idly commented like a bystander. He felt nothing for the innocent since their death would be temporary. Not that he'd feel much, even if it was permanent.

Fubuki grabbed his collar with both hands. "Stop this madness! Why are you doing this?"

"Madness?" Asahi tilted his head, unbothered by her anger. "Didn't you ask me to show how much of a monster I am? I am doing just that."

Fubuki froze, her lips shaking as though she'd cry any moment. She never thought Asahi would destroy a city just to prove one thing.

He was a madman among madmen.

"I didn't ask you to destroy the city…" Fubuki strengthened her grip on his collar, nearly lifting him with her psychokinesis. "You are… a psychopath. A villain."

Asahi raised his hands with a smile that seemed innocent rather than evil. "We're all heroes and villains of our own lives. I'll give you a chance to be the hero."

"Hero?"

An ornate dagger with a shining blue blade appeared in his hand. The Dagger of Time that could bend laws of time with ease. "This dagger can reverse time. You can prevent this disaster from ever happening. Are you willing to be the hero?"

Fubuki's eyes widened in disbelief. "Reversing the time… How can such a weapon exist?"

She was skeptical about the authenticity of his claim. After seeing his evil actions, she had every right to doubt every word coming out of his mouth.

Asahi maintained his smile. "It can reverse time to a few minutes at most. Even that will cost whoever uses it."

"Cost what?"

"Life. One minute reversed equals seven years of lifespan."

He cooked up a bullshit reason to force Fubuki into a moral dilemma. She had two choices — willingly choose the sacrifice or preserve her life.

"You're a devil."

After kindling hope inside her chest, he slammed her down with the cost of the said hope. She felt like she was dealing with a devil who played with her life for his amusement.

Asahi just laughed and peeled her hands off of his shirt. "I'm not a devil. I'm the Emperor of devils. Will you accept my deal?"

Fubuki hesitated, rightfully so. Five minutes or more had passed since the first laser strike. She'd be in her sixties if she used the dagger to save the city. Esper or not, her body structure was the same as ordinary people. She would age.

'I'll be a hag.'

Fubuki clenched her fist. Her dream of surpassing Tatsumaki would be a pipedream by then. The price was too great. When she glanced at the city engulfed in flames and dark smoke, that price seemed too steep. Her own existence felt smaller compared to the tens and thousands of citizens.

"Clock is ticking, you know~."

Asahi reminded Fubuki as he idly chatted with Klyscha.

(My love, she will be angry after this.)

'I have to open her eyes. To make her crave the strength to beat Tatsumaki.'

Even if he gives Fubuki overwhelming power right now, she'd hesitate in front of her sister. She lacked the willpower to defy her sister.

Meanwhile, Fubuki continued staring into the surroundings engulfed in flames. She wanted to shut her eyes to reality, but something inside her chest stopped her.

'What will my sister do?'

The answer was plainly obvious. Tatsumaki, with her little empathy, would turn a blind eye to the disaster, dubbing it a natural occurrence.

She couldn't do it, no matter how hard she tried.

So, she stretched her hand towards the devil. "Give me the dagger."

Asahi smirked. The smirk pissed off Fubuki into punching him. Her fist contacted an invisible wall as soft as cotton, dampening the impact.

"You're too young to fight me."

"What are you? An old monster?"

His face was full of youth, like a university student. His faint facial expressed his age more than his eccentric mannerisms.

He chuckled and handed her the Dagger of Time. "Channel your energy into it and imagine reversing time. It's not that hard."

As Fubuki took the dagger, a shiver passed through her. A massive presence closed in on their location. The presence of her sister.

***

Cliff~. What do you think about Asahi destroying a city for fun like a villain?

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