Seven Heroes Redux

The young man, trembling, walked towards Exwind, who pretended to notice him at that moment, so as not to intimidate him. The boy took a knife out of his pocket.

— I-If you care about your life… give me everything you have now!

Exwind bent down to listen more carefully:

— Ay, what did you say? Can you come closer and whisper in my ear?

He was trying to keep his voice low so that the other bandits wouldn't hear their conversation. He whispered to the young man:

— Be honest, you don't want to be here. Just tell me what you want me to do, and I'll beat the others into mist.

— B-But I can't betray them! I don't have enough money, and they protect me. Well, sort of…

— Then join the association and become a hero. Staying in their clutches will only sink you. Now tell me, what do you want me to do with them? Just order me to do it.

Supported by the hero, the young man began to convince himself of what had to be done. He gathered courage and shouted for all to hear:

— Beat those motherfuckers!

Exwind smiled, as if he had managed to change someone for the better. It was what he needed to hear, to release everything he had. He slowly approached the group. The one who had been giving the man orders before seemed to be the leader, and, feeling betrayed, he exclaimed:

— What have you done, rookie?! I'll catch you at the exit, this isn't over yet! Don't even think about coming near me, Exwall, or whatever your name is!

— Sorry, but I received a mission and I can't stop until I finish it.

— Y-You're a hero, right? Heroes don't hurt others!

— That's a common misconception, lad.

The leader ordered the others to protect him:

— What are you doing? I'm your boss, protect me! You owe me your life!

With the opposite effect, the group began to fragment as Exwind approached. They were too afraid to face that monster. They fled, leaving the leader alone.

— What do you think you're doing?! I'll give you whatever you want, just let me go!

— Sorry, but I can't accept two missions at the same time. I have to finish this one first, if you don't mind.

Exwind readied his punch. He hit the bandit in the stomach, sending him flying more than 50 meters away and crashing into a wall, crushing it. He instantly passed out.

The young man went to Exwind to thank him.

— Thank you very much, Exwind!

— Nah, it was easy. We're friends from now on, you can ask for my help whenever you need it.

— R-Really? What an honor!

— Now, if you don't mind, I have to get this guy to a hospital. I think I broke some of his bones.

— O-Okay! Goodbye!

— It's never a "goodbye"! There's always a next day!

Exwind took the bandit and jumped hundreds of meters high to view the city.

His power was Explosive Wind, a type of gas that could push anything with overwhelming force, and if it came into contact with fire, it would explode. He didn't rely much on physical strength, as his power had the ability to cushion his punches and only push his targets dozens of meters away.

If he used his brute strength, or his power in a destructive way, he could vaporize any hero from level 1 to 4, even without using the explosion, which was much more devastating than a normal one.

He could walk on water if he let a wind strong enough to support him through his feet. The same happened in the air. That was what he was doing now: floating above the city. He could also propel himself with the wind, creating a kind of flight. That was how he started heading towards Kiseki's clinic. He arrived with the bandit still in his arms.

— Kiseki-chan, can I ask you for a little help? I got carried away...

— Y-Yes! Thanks for bringing him to me!

Exwind placed the man on a stretcher.

— Thank you again, Kiseki-chan. I owe you once more.

— Y-You don't owe me anything, don't worry, please!

— Are you sure? Because I won't change my mind, you know that.

He patted her head, smiling. She blushed, as usual.

— I'll take him to the police station.

— A-Actually, could I… try to help this man instead?

Exwind chuckled and commented:

— You don't change, Kiseki-chan.

Exwind left the clinic and received an emergency mission. The person who requested it was someone he hadn't seen in a while. Worried, he quickly flew to the location.

Genesis was still split in half on the asphalt. Her head and body were bleeding so much that she didn't know if she would last more than five minutes. She was on the verge of death. Even androids saw their lives flash before their eyes as they slowly died. She had never felt this sensation before.

In fact, she never had to fight alone. Her power was more on par with that of a support. Since she avoided killing her opponents, using it destructively was impossible for her.

She hadn't earned Yuto's trust, much less become his friend. She hadn't collected enough data for her master, who trusted her. She had let everyone down. But she didn't regret her choice to help a child. She didn't regret anything.

The man with the disheveled beard approached Genesis.

— You put up all that show about how you were going to save the child, and this is all you can do? Come on, stand up. I know you've got more than that.

The man grabbed Genesis's hair and lifted her upper body close to his face, looking her straight in the eyes.

— Don't make me repeat myself. I know you're hiding something. If you don't do anything, I'll-

The man's speech was cut off by a punch that sent him flying to the side. He was thrown parallel to the river they were near, until he disappeared into the horizon.

The source of the impact was Exwind. He saw Genesis in that state and said:

— Thanks for calling me, Genesis.

Exwind had a different look in his eyes than he usually did. He almost always smiled, but this time he was serious. His gaze emanated killing intent.

The fat brute said to the pink-haired woman:

— Hey, isn't that guy level 6? We don't stand a chance, I think we better run away.

The woman gave a nervous, restless laugh.

— Run away? Level 6? You've got to be kidding! Don't think you're better than me!

The woman summoned her thorny whip and swung it at Exwind. He stood still, waiting for the whip to arrive. When it arrived, he grabbed it with his left hand and pulled it toward him. The woman flew along with the whip straight towards Exwind. He then punched her in the face. She bounced on the grass before landing again.

The brute, although frightened, ran to attack him.

— No matter how strong you are, you will crumble under my Iron Fist!

His power was to make his arms as strong as iron. The punch hit Exwind's chest, but he didn't move. He just stared at the man for a few seconds and said:

— I'll let you escape and take the other two to the hospital. I would normally do that, but you don't deserve it.

The brute, sweating with nervousness, refused the offer, delivering a series of punches much faster than the human eye can follow, and much stronger. Again, Exwind did not move. He simply commented:

— Well, you had your chance.

Exwind finished him with a punch to the chin, from bottom to top. The man was sent over a kilometer high and out of sight.

Exwind took Genesis's two halves and took her to Kiseki's clinic. Androids were in transition between life and object, and Kiseki's power acted on both. However, if an android's life was completely drained, they could not be revived. Genesis barely saw what happened, due to the excessive blood loss, but she was glad he had arrived in time.

What Genesis did to summon him was press the watch on her left wrist. It was a device Exwind had specially ordered for her, in case of emergencies.

They had known each other for a while. She was just an android maid in the association's main building. She would go to Exwind's room often, which Ria didn't like because she wanted to live in his room but couldn't. Then another girl who visited him every day made her jealous.

Genesis often went into battles she couldn't win to save people she couldn't save. She was just pursuing what her heart told her to do. Exwind knew this and approved of her heroic actions, but she could get seriously hurt one day, and that's what happened. The custom watch she had was made for just such a situation.