Seven Heroes Redux

When Yuto opened his eyes, he loosened his grip and Zenith quickly grabbed the cards. But he quickly grabbed her hands and squeezed them so hard that they broke and dropped the cards. He also kicked her in the groin, sending her flying across the dark room. As she screamed and cried in pain, he calmly stood up and walked towards her.

— Y-You F-FUCKING BRAT! I'm gonna MURDER you and make you SUFFER a THOUSAND times more! I will KILL your WHOLE FAMILY and you WILL regret this!

Yuto grabbed her futuristic glasses and broke them, revealing her blind eyes. He poked them hard once more. She writhed in pain even more than before.

— Do you like this? You made Exwind suffer, so I'm giving it back. You deserved much more than this, by the way.

— W-Wait, P-PLEASE! Please, STOP, I BEG YOU!

— So now you're asking for my mercy.

— PLEASE! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG! I was just living my life my way! What's wrong with that? I want to LIVE! I don't want to DIE! I only have less than three days left! PLEASE LET ME LIVE AT LEAST FOR A WHILE!

— Is being a mass murderer and psychopath your way of life?

Zenith was crying from both pain and emotional speech. Her agony was real. She had never expressed herself so clearly before.

— I KNOW I did bad things, but EVERYBODY deserves a second chance!

— You surely deserved, after being born. Tell that to the thousands of innocent people you killed.

— B-But YOU KILLED people too!

— I know. I'm not a good person, that's a fact. Neither was my sister, now that I think about it. But I learned one thing after you killed her. There's always someone worse.

— So there's someone WORSE than ME, right?!

— I would say probably, but I'm not even sure about that chance. You know why? Because you're the worst scum I've ever had the displeasure of meeting.

— Wait, WAIT! PLEASE! DON'T KILL ME, I'LL DO ANYTHING! I WANT TO LIVE-

Yuto smashed her with his supreme gravity, until nothing was left of her. He didn't want to give her a second chance, so he deleted her from existence.

In a restaurant that remained intact after the confrontation, Tatsuya saw Yuto arriving with Unizard and Haji. Confused, he asked:

— Isn't she supposed to be in prison?

— She helped us... by pointing out a certain person.

— So you are the cause of that mass destruction, again?

— Unfortunately, yes...

— Come on, I'm not saying it's your fault.

— Huh? But you were upset with me a few days ago...

— Put an emphasis on that "a few days ago". We're friends, aren't we, Yuto?

— R-Really? I thought you hated me...

A waitress appeared out of nowhere, smiling.

— He's not very good at expressing his feelings.

Yuto looked at her. She had dark blue hair and wore futuristic glasses similar to the ones Zenith wore. He freaked out, moving away from her. Concerned, Tatsuya reassured:

— Yuto, she's just my wife, Koharu!

— Oh... I thought she looked familiar...

Koharu commented:

— Don't worry, dear, it's very common for people to confuse me with Zenith, my older sister.

Yuto was stunned by that revelation.

— Your... WHAT?!

Suddenly, a boy with golden hair and blue eyes appeared out of nowhere, curious.

— What's going on?

Tatsuya smiled and said:

— Yuto, this is my son, Akari.

— Oh, hi Akari.

— Hi, lad!

Yuto smiled at the boy, then turned his attention to Tatsuya's wife.

— Koharu... I'm sorry to say this, but I think you should know it. Zenith is...

She knew what he was trying to say. She reassuringly placed her hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eye. She took off her glasses, revealing her blind eyes.

— So those bangs were you two playing around... Don't worry about it, lad. I can't say she didn't deserve it.

— Are you sure? I don't know if you got along, but it's still my fault...

— It's okay, Yuto. She always wanted to be better than me because she was older. She even tried to steal Tatsuya from me several times.

Tatsuya confirmed:

— She was a total freak. You did right, Yuto.

He was now feeling better. Destroying a major part of the city was still his fault, but it couldn't end much better anyway. Tatsuya said to his family:

— Akari, Koharu, thank you for coming. But I'd like to speak with them alone for a moment, if you don't mind.

Koharu answered:

— Don't worry, dear. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me.

She left. The boy said:

— Okay, dad! Call us when you're ready!

They sat at the main table. Tatsuya was the first to speak:

— Yuto, Haji, was that letter true?

Haji answered:

— Unfortunately, yes. Genesis simply disappeared and left that to notify us of her departure.

Yuto commented:

— But why Russia, though? It's way too dangerous for someone like her.

Tatsuya replied:

— You're underestimating her. When we saved your ass from the twins...

He looked at Unizard disapprovingly. She frowned in irritation.

— ...Genesis was the MVP. If it weren't for her, we would never have known you were in another dimension.

— I know what she's physically capable of, but not mentally. She can't hurt a fly!

Clicking her tongue, Unizard retorted:

— Tell that to my brother. She was the one who took him down, right?

— Really...? Well, when she's around me, she's always the kindest soul I know, besides Kiseki.

— That's the key word, "when" she's around you. I've known her since she was just a maid. She was completely obedient, but now? She doesn't have her master's ropes binding her.

They couldn't believe that someone as innocent as her could get into unnecessary trouble. Haji said:

— About why Russia... her power lets her create any weapon she touches and understands, right? It's a dangerous place, that's why she went there.

Yuto was worried:

— Does she want to help in future battles...? But there are only three level 7s left, I can take care of them...

Unizard commented:

— Trust me, you would NOT want to refuse any help. I don't know about Stopwatch and Hakkiri, but Slade? She's a monster.

— What really happened to her? We haven't seen each other since the experiment, I know I can fix her.

— Eat your words, pretty boy. She was subjected to an experiment under Mifuyu's orders. If you know that woman, you're sure she never messes around.

— So the experiment was a success...? What would it be if it failed?

— I don't know, probably a massive explosion or the release of an eldritch being that not even level 7s could defeat?

— Jeez, has she turned that bad?

— That would happen if the experiment failed. But the eldritch being is inside her now.

— Seriously? That doesn't sound much better...

Suddenly, a girl approached them.

— Excuse me, are you Ishikawa-san?

— What if I am? Who can you possibly be?

— Did I arrive at a bad time? I'm sorry, I can come later.

— Actually, don't go. I'm sorry for my behavior. How can I help?

— I am Disruptor, a level 4 hero. Ria sent me here because she recommended you. My power can control electronic devices.

— I am Ishikawa Yuto, but you already know that. Why are you revealing your power?

— I'll go straight to the point. I want to help you in your mission of killing all the level 7s.

— Wait, what? How do you know that?

— My power can control electronic devices, remember? It's not hard to know everything I want after hacking some of the association's data centers.

— So you know my secrets?

— Yes, but I don't care about you being considered a war criminal. I want to be your ally.

— Why?

— Ria fought Zenith, so I tried talking to her. She wasn't interested, but said you'd be willing to do it.

— No, I mean... why do you want to kill the level 7s? What did they do to you?

— They didn't do anything bad to me directly, but if you keep fighting them, this city could disappear in a second.

— So you want to save everyone... that's a hero right there. Why don't you try stopping me? Wouldn't that be easier?

— Technically, it would be easier. But I know the association has more bad secrets than good ones. I'm betting on you to solve them.

Everyone looked at Yuto, placing all their trust in him. He wasn't used to being trusted, or having such great responsibilities as protecting a city from extinction. Unizard spoke up:

— Well, I guess it's inevitable that I'll fight alongside you. So I have to save some mana and magic residue.

Suddenly, a smoke cloud covered Unizard's body. After it dissipated into the air, she looked a bit smaller. They were all shocked.

— What is this, Unizard? You're too cute now!

— Are you saying I was not cute before, pervert?

She was actually much smaller than normal. She looked like a child.