Chapter 9: Kill them all
Blaze steps foot inside the city. Countless hollow-faced monsters shamble on the streets.
Blaze isn't even sure how many are there.
Even though the news recommended minimum C-rank superheroes to combat this voidgate. Blaze thinks a lone C-rank wouldn't even stand a chance confronting this horde.
This will need a group of powerful C-rank heroes in order to clean them all.
B-rank heroes may even have a hard time dealing with the horde. Maybe A-rank or above can easily wipe out these monsters.
But Blaze isn't worried. On the contrary, he is extremely exciting.
The kid licks his lip, which shows as a red, bloody tongue sticking out of the shadowy face. It looks very grotesque in a way.
Luckily, he is in invisible mode. So even the monsters didn't have the pleasure to witness it.
All of them are my experience points now!
Blaze shoots the Grappling Hook onto the roof of a high building. It pulls him to it.
Even though the hook is only attached to Blaze's wrist. When he is pulled, there is some kind of invisible force carrying his whole body forward. Which prevents humiliating situations like his entire arm getting ripped off.
Blaze stands on the roof of a three story tall building. There aren't any monsters on the roof, and from here, Blaze can have a clear bird's eye view of all the creatures down there.
Blaze pulls out the Destruction Wand and starts blasting. Lightning calls and thunder roars. A monster is blasted to death by an incredible amount of electricity.
[You have gained 10 experience points!]
A minimal amount, but there are a lot of them for Blaze to kill. He flicks his wand again, and another lightning strike occurs.
[You have gained 25 experience points!]
This one brings more points. Its counterpart must also be an F-rank Awakened like Phuc.
And more lightning strikes appear.
[You have gained 10 experience points!]
[You have gained 10 experience points!]
[You have gained 25 experience points!]
[...]
Blaze shoots to his heart's content. And for the first time, he learns the limit of the Destruction Wand.
After exactly twelve Lightning Strikes, the Wand stops producing electricity and lets out a disappointing charging sound.
The monsters are provoked. They charge toward Blaze. They are mindless, but they know how to climb.
The horde of endless monsters ascends to the roof of the building. But when they reach there, Blaze is no longer to be seen.
Luckily, they don't know how to use a flashlight, so he can just fuse with the darkness and then use the Grappling Hook to reposition to another rooftop.
After exactly ten seconds, the Wand returns to normal and is ready to be fired again.
Hah! A twelve shots limit and a ten seconds cool-down. The wand is too similar to a handgun. Well… I did wish for a handgun in the beginning.
Blaze is once again manifested into existence, and lightning continues to roar.
[You have gained 25 experience points!]
[You have gained 25 experience points!]
[You have gained 10 experience points!]
[...]
With each strike, a monster drops down, burns as a coal and splits into pieces due to the giant force of lightning. They drop like ants, one after another, fueling Blaze's experience.
Whenever the wand needs to recharge, Blaze turns invisible and repositions himself to another safe rooftop.
He repeats this process again and again. Until all the visible monsters are disintegrated into ashes.
Lightning strikes the area so much that every superhero around can hear it. Their attention is drawn.
At a place not too far from here, Preston turns toward the area.
The sky at that place lights up after each lightning strike. Which makes people wonder what's going on over there.
Preston presses on his earpiece. "Are there any electrokinesis users registered in the area?"
"There aren't, Captain!" A voice answers him.
In the sky, a woman is floating. Wind blows over her white hair. She wears a tight spandex suit in black and white. On her eyes are white-colored goggles.
The unrelenting lightning strikes interest her. A power with this much stamina must be at least B-rank. Whoever that hero is, he can help her get rid of the Crises.
In the opposite area of Blaze's location, the part of town where his old school resides. A group of young men and women, who are in fabulous suits and dresses, also hear the lightning.
A girl, with two black lines of messed-up mascara on her face, speaks up: "It must be a hero! We should go to him!"
"We are all superheroes, Nancy."
"Why do you even know it's a guy? It may be a woman."
"Alright, everyone, shut up! Arguing won't solve anything."
A tall, handsome young man says. His name is Henry Colson, president of the student council of Akansa High School, Blaze's former school.
Tonight is prom night, and most of the students of the school wear their best outfits to go out with their prom dates.
That is why everyone looks so good right now.
In the corner of the hall, a red-haired girl leans her back onto the wall with her arms crossed, silently observing the classmates.
She's the only one who wears casual clothes.
"We need to find the void gate and get out of here. The Hollow can only be F-rank or lower.
But there are many. None of us stands a chance alone outside. Not to mention the Crises, which can be even stronger.
We need to stick together and go to voidgate."
Henry says.
"Speak for yourself, Henry. Only these poor low ranks have problems surviving.
I can just fly out of here right now."
A male student with long hair speaks out. His name is William D'Angelo.
Standing with William is a group of students who wear gothic-style clothes. They are famous in Akansa High and call themselves the Nocturnal Animals.
Their members have at least a C-rank or higher power.
"If you want to go, then go, William. It is my responsibility as the president to protect our students."
"Suit yourself."
William shrugs. He and his group left.
"Alright. Now, if there's no one else that wants to leave.
Here is what we are going to do…"
The red-haired girl in the corner has already left.
[Experience points: 2470]
Black, burnt corpses are lying in every corner of the streets. The smell of burnt flesh fills the air.
Blaze emptied a dozen or more 'magazines' to clean out this mess.
There actually weren't that many monsters as Blaze thought. The actual number is around 150 or more.
Blaze stops counting after the hundred one.
Also, there aren't any E-rank monsters at all.
The strongest only yield 25 experience points, which are equivalent to F-rank monsters.
Blaze thinks this is probably because of the characteristics of this void layer.
The Void has many layers, and each has its own traits. Blaze didn't study about it, though, so he doesn't know much about the layers.
Note to self: Learn more about the void when I come back.
His right hand shakes slightly and is extremely fatigued from handling all the recoil the lightning creates.
The Lightning Strike actually creates a repulsive force that resembles a gun. It roars loudly whenever shot, has a maximum capacity of twelve shots, and has recoil.
This wand really is a gun in disguise…
Blaze fuses with darkness again and finds a secluded building to hide in. He has had enough experience points to upgrade his power again.