But before he could even scoff—
a brutal barrage of strikes crashed into him—
every single one aimed straight at his face.
Zeros crossed his arms,
covered his face,
dug his heels into the ground—
and the ground immediately started sinking under him,
like it wasn’t an android holding position—
but a small moon resisting impact.
The drone, hovering off to the side,
was desperately trying to capture anything besides flashes.
It switched to auto:
- aperture f/0.2,
- shutter 1/32000,
- stabilizer set to “pray, you bastard”.
And finally—
the outline of the “hero” emerged.
Exponent moved like a rabid mathematical function:
jumping back,
launching off the ground,
returning in curved attack paths,
striking so fast
it looked like he was graphing e^x across Zeros’s face.
Zeros stood in a defensive stance,
not moving an inch—
like what was hitting him
weren’t superpowered kicks,
but deeply inconvenient ideas.
The “hero”, meanwhile—
noticing he was being filmed—
kept pausing mid-assault,
freezing into heroic poses,
flicking his cape,
raising his hand to the sky…
and shouting like he was opening a new anime season,
tearing through space with his idiot rhythm:
“LIMIT!”—STRIKE!
“OF THE EXPONENT!”—STRIKE!-STRIKE!
“BREAKTHROUGH!”—STRIKE!-STRIKE!-STRIKE!-STRIKE!-STRIKE!
…and then going right back to beating the hell out of Zeros,
never getting tired of starring in his personal show:
“I AM THE ONLY HERO OF THE GALAXY”
Every time he did that—
the drone nailed the perfect shot.
Every time—
CosmoNet™ exploded with likes.
From a distance, Blindy could only see blue flashes
cutting through the air,
mixed with impacts strong enough
to shake the entire island.
But he also saw Zeros—
standing still,
hands over his face,
taking it like a rainstorm of fists.
And Blindy…
decided to help.
He took two steps—
and Phoenix’s scream blasted into his ears:
“CAPTAIN! DON’T YOU DARE!
THE FIRST OFFICER DOESN’T CARE ABOUT THOSE HITS!
BUT YOU WILL BE ERASED!
THE 2718TH WILL TEAR YOU INTO ATOMS!
JUST… TRUST ZEROS!”
Blindy stopped.
Snorted.
Kicked a piece of junk out of frustration—
which turned out to be metal.
“AH—FUCK—THAT HURT!
WHY AM I SO USELESS?!”
On the bridge, Airi—watching the stream—placed her hands on her chest and cooed:
“Buraindi-kun… he’s so cute when he’s being dumb. he-he~ [೭੧[❛▿❛✿]੭೨]”
She turned to Shiori:
“Shiori-sensei!
Can I go down there?
I’ll help Zerosu-onī-chan! Onegai shimasu! [▀̿Ĺ̯̿̿▀̿ ̿]”
Shiori shook her head without even blinking.
“No, Airi-chan.
You stay here.
We don’t know who else is down there.
Watashitachi no shigoto wa jōkyaku o mamoru koto desu.”
Dick grunted like an old, pessimistic bastard:
“Airi-chan… out of everything I’ve ever told the audience,
one thing’s clear—
Zeros ain’t getting fucked up by some costumed dumbass.So yeah. Stay here.”
He nodded toward Jackie.
“You gotta… y’know… protect your little friend Jackie-chan…”
The Author had been silent the whole time,
staring down through the curved canopy.
Finally, he spoke:
“Dick and Shiori are right.”
He looked at Airi.
“My dear… I have a feeling 2718th isn’t the only one showing up down there.
Save your strength.
This is just the beginning.And… besides… Zeroth does have Reaper Number Two on his team… doesn’t he?..”
Dick narrowed his eyes.
“What the fuck are you talking about, Sage?”
Jackie gently placed a hand on Dick’s shoulder.
“Dick, he means Phoenix.
If Airi is Reaper Model One,
then Phoenix would be Two…
Right, Airi-chan?”
Airi lit up, swaying to the side like a flirtatious moe-chan:
“Oh, Jakkīi-nyan… [˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵]
You’re right… he-he~!
Fenikkusu-chan is our little brother—mine and Zerosu-onī-chan’s.
Just like… ni-nana-ichi-hachi no ko.
But this Ekusponenta… he’s mean—
showed up and immediately started fighting!
We should teach him a lesson…”
She stepped forward, raised her hand, and cheerfully declared:
“We’re all one Reaper-type AI family…
kazoku da yo… [◕‿◕]
Just like our very first—Onī-chan!”
Dick’s jaw dropped, and something cold ran down his spine.