How dare you tell your disciple to call me by that name! But now that I’m back with all my equipment, I take care of both Deep Sea King and your disciple. I ’t wait to see the look on your face when I return him to you in scraps.

  Sonic’s ‘Hail of age’ had forced Deep Sea King and Genos apart.

  Now, with his hand on the hilt of his ninjato, he smirked. “I’m surprised you’re still in one piece, well almost, cyb.”

  “A stalker always es back,” Genos said, eyes filled with disdain.

  Sonic gritted his teeth. Something about this mae irritated him. He couldn’t wait to cut him down.

  “The small fry returns. A grand fool who dares to oppose me twice,” Deep Sea King said, tilting his head at an odd angle.

  “Your demise begins now.” muttered Sonic.

  BOOM!

  He dashed forward, sonis erupting in his wake. Let’s see how you handle my ‘Full Frontal Attack.’

  In a blink, he on Deep Sea King. His bde fshed upward, slig across his target’s chest. A spray of blue blood followed. He swung again, aiming for another deep cut, but at the st moment, he had to dart away—as Deep Sea King’s massive fist was already barreling toward him.

  Soniarrowed his eyes as Deep Sea King’s wound vanished without a trace.

  “My, the small fry actually bite,” Deep Sea King mused, pressing a hand to his chest. “But in this rain, you ’t truly harm me.”

  An i smile stretched across Sonic’s face. “Let’s see yee when you’re in pieces.”

  Before he could make his move, Genos blitzed in, ung a relentless flurry of strikes.

  “‘Mae Gun Blows!’”

  Is this rob to steal my kill?

  Sonic’s grip on his on’s hilt increased. “This is my fight!”

  Pushing his speed to the limit, Sonic carved several sshes across Deep Sea King’s back. The monster’s blue blood surfaced for only a moment before the relentless rain washed it away.

  “Annoyis!” Deep Sea King roared, smming his fist downward, sending shockwaves rippling through the crete like a massive wave.

  Sonid Genos leaped back, avoiding the impact zone.

  “None of you will escape me!” Deep Sea King snarled, ung himself tenos with terrifying speed.

  In response, Genos threw back his arm, firing his iion on in order to propel himself forward to meet the charge head-on.

  Not oo be outdone, Sonic fshed into the air, his bde cutting toward Deep Sea King’s exposed neck.

  Deep Sea King twisted sideways, evading the bde, and hurled his arms in opposite dires—one fist rocketing toward the airborne Sonic, the other smashing toward the charging Genos.

  Sonic deflected the strike with his ninjato, leveraging the bde to redirect the ford spiral through the air, nding unharmed. Meanwhile, Genos wasn’t as fortunate. His fist collided with the fully hydrated Deep Sea King, sending him flying backward.

  Deep Sea King cracked his knuckles as the wounds on his beed themselves once again. “See? You pests only die, miserably.”

  WHOOM!

  At that moment, a shockwave rippled through J-City, scattering the torrential rain in its wake.

  Genos emerged from a gaping hole in a nearby building’s wall, staring into the distance. ‘Master…’”

  Sonic followed Genos’ gaze. Caspian’s here? Good! That means I take care of him and his disciple right away.

  Both Sonid Genos sheir focus to Deep Sea King as his hulking form shrunk, reverting to his earlier, smaller state.

  “This… I’m very annoyed now,” Deep Sea King uttered, his anger seething, visible iightening of his muscles and the fre of his nostrils.

  ¤ ¤ ¤

  The remnants of Lreat White’s shattered body crumpled to the ground.

  Caspian locked eyes with the stunned Mumen Rider for a moment before turning to the silent, awestruck crowd in the Evacuatioer.

  I don’t want to listen to that bowl cut shese heroes. Time to get this over with…

  “I got lucky!” Caspian raised his hands in mock humility, addressing the crowd. “If the heroes here hadn’t weakehe monster, I’d have been fttened.” He jabbed a thumb at his chest, grinning. “Perfect timing, though, right? Barely lifted a finger… and I walk away with all the credit.”

  His word riled up the crowd.

  “What does he mean?”

  “The monster was weakened?”

  A short-haired man in the crowd suddenly stepped forward. “Wait—is that Caspian? His appearaches the rumors. They say he travels from city to city, defeating monsters in a sirike before vanishing. That’s him, I’m certain. Though who knows if the rumors are true?”

  “I’ve heard it too,” another voice cut in. “Dude appeared out of nowhere and shot up the ranks like a rocket.”

  “Sounds fishy,” muttered a skeptiearby.

  Murmurs swelled as more joined in.

  “The A-Css Hero Sneck, the number one C-Css Hero Mumen Rider, and all the reat heroes worked so hard to get it to that point and…this guy gets the credit?”

  “What the hell? That’s so unfair!”

  Caspian stood unfazed, basking in the chaos. He turned baen Rider—just as the storm clouds parted, sunlight beaming down like a spotlight on his triumph.

  Mumen Rider wore a troubled look. “Why did you…?”

  Caspian shook his head and brought up his hand to rest on Mumen’s shoulder. “You all did well. Who could’ve predicted Lreat White would make his appearance here of all pces?” He stepped back. “I’ll be seeing you around.”

  Without another word, he walked away, the crowd’s angry shouts fading behind him.

  ¤ ¤ ¤

  Genos’s energy reserves flickered dangerously low. Across the street, Sonic’s breaths came ragged and uneveween them, sprawled on the rain-slicked road, y Deep Sea King’s bloodied, mutited form. Uheir relentless assault—and the sudden halt of the rain—they had overwhelmed him, ending his rampage before he could cause any more harm.

  Sonic leveled his ninjato at Genos, the bde glimmering uhe sunlight. “Your turn, cyb.” A smirk twisted his lips. “And when I deliver you to Caspian...heh.”

  Genos mirrored Sonic’s stance, his iion on whirring to life as he raised his arm. “Master warned me of your perverted battle tendencies.” His eyes smoldered with energy. “Even with one arm, I have more than enough power left to end this. You won’t waste another sed of my master’s time.”

  Befenos and Sonic could csh, a hand patted Genos on the shoulder. “Let’s go home.”

  “Master!” Genos turned, relief fshing in his eyes.

  Sonic grinned. “You saved me the trouble of hunting you down, Caspian. Now I’ll crush you both.”

  Ign him, Genos fell into step beside Caspian as they walked away.

  “You think…you both just walk away?!”

  Genos spun around at the sound of rushing wind—Sonic was already in the air, arm raised.

  “‘Hail of age!’” A storm of explosive shurikens raioward them.

  “B. Sonie back when you’ve learned some new moves.” Caspian exhaled sharply, a gust of wind hurling the shurikens backward.

  The explosion engulfed Sonic mid-air. “Damn your luck Caspiaa—!”