Chapter 47 - The Promised Challenge

The Emperor Unagi had been obliterated by Hero, the strongest man in Etheria. With a singular punch, he ripped its entire body to shreds and attracted the attention of many heroes around him, but now, he has to find a way back to the shore.

"Oh shit, I'm gonna land right in the water, aren't I? AMBROSIA, GIMME SOMETHING TO GRAPPLE TO!"

"WHAT?" she yelled.

Back on the shore, neither of us could make out what Hero was saying. Plus, he was actively falling, so we had little time to react, no matter what he had requested. He would have to get out of this situation on his own.

"Oh, forget it! Hang on a sec!" yelled Hero, changing his eye color to light blue. He fixed his position so that he was upright, then bent his legs and propelled himself up back into the air with great force.

"I forgot he could fly...why the hell didn't he do that before? We could have ended this whole battle forever ago!"

"Ambrosia, he said the boat was too shaky, remember? He couldn't focus."

"Ah, Well, that does make sense, doesn't it. Either way, he's on his way back now. Are there any other monsters around?"

"I don't think so, the beach seems, eerily quiet now... but I think we got them all." I said, watching as Hero soared through the air, propelled by a mysterious force. I couldn't quite grasp how he was doing it...he was just levitating...

The beach was littered with fish guts and monster parts. Heroes were scattered about, cleaning them up and disposing of them in some familiar blue "MONSTER PARTS" bins that I recognized from back in Theta.

"Hey, I'm gonna go ask those heroes over there if there are any other monsters, wait here, okay?"

"Okay, just come back soon, Hero and I still have a duel to get to, before it gets too late. It's already nearly 6 PM, and we still have to eat."

"Alright, I'll be back soon. Oh, and by the way, where's your book? I don't see it with you."

Ambrosia turned to look at me. Then, she put her hand behind her back, and pulled out her black book, seemingly out of nowhere.

"What? Where the hell did you keep it? It couldn't have been behind you the whole time, right?"

"I keep it on me at all times...now go, before those heroes leave without speaking to you," she said, putting the book back. I quickly ran around behind her, but it was gone, vanishing into thin air. What the heck did she do to it?

"You wouldn't understand. The book is still with me, you just can't see it."

"You're so weird, but whatever crazy magic you're doing to make it vanish like that, it's insane," I said, walking the other way, towards the group of heroes. I left Ambrosia alone on the beach, where she waited for Hero to land.

When I left, Ambrosia sighed and brought her black book back out. She opened it and began reading the pages. She turned them with her mind, rather than with her fingers, leaving the pages in pristine condition.

"...I wish you could tell me what to do about this whole Zodiac situation..." she said, glancing at the scribbles on the paper. They were changing, making different shapes and characters as they glided across the pages, it was as if someone was...talking to her...

"Times are tough, tougher than before. I don't wanna pin the blame on anybody but it seems that after he showed up, everything changed..."

She quickly closed the book, and a tear fell from her eye. Whatever the book said, it affected her personally. She put the book away, making it disappear once again, and wiped her eyes, before turning to look back at Hero, who was making his descent.

"Yo! Ambrosia! Where'd Yukio run off to?" he asked, landing on the sands in front of her.

"He went to talk to those heroes over there, he'll be back soon..."

"Oh, I see. Hey, are you alright? You seem troubled."

"I'm fine, just got a bit of sand in my eyes, that's all."

"Alright, no worries. Hey, so about that duel, do you still wanna have it? We have some time left before sundown, I think we could squeeze it i-whoa, what are you doing?"

Hero's speech was cut off by Ambrosia, who turned towards him with a glow around her. It was a different color than usual though. Instead of a yellow glow, a red glow surrounded her. It seemed more powerful than before.

"Absolutely... I've been waiting impatiently for this moment. I have some new techniques I'd like to show you...maybe I can finally break into your mind for once..."

Ambrosia was smiling similarly to how she was during the raid on Camp Alpha, before she took control of the 30 monsters. She was glowing red that time as well, at least her eyes were... she was preparing to use 100% of her energy.

Meanwhile, I caught up with a few heroes on the shoreline. I met up with two of them, one was wearing a blue and yellow outfit, and the other, a silver and green outfit as well as goggles. They were both one-piece hero suits.

"Hey guys, are there any more monsters around?"

"Who's asking?" asked the hero in blue and yellow, turning around to glance at me. However, his expression quickly changed when he noticed who I was.

"Oh, you're that guy who tamed the Emperor Unagi..."

The man in green and silver's name was Joan, and the hero talking to me's name was Gen. It seemed they were both suspicious of me, considering I had demonstrated a never-before-seen superpower to them.

"Yeah, how did you do that? Are you some kind of freak monster enthusiast or something?" asked Joan, analyzing my features.

"No, I'm not. To be honest, I don't know how I do it, I just...do it. It seems to me that my superpower is taming monsters. I'm in the Hero Camp, you know? My name is Scarlet Antihero."

After mentioning my alias, the two recognized who I was. Joan was level 4 rank 13, and Gen was level 5 rank 21. Perhaps the information of my existence was beginning to spread throughout the entire camp, and not just the 7th level.

"Ohhh, you're THAT guy. Yeah, we heard about you from some other higher-ranked heroes. You're a pretty big name now in the Hero Camp, considering your unique ability. There are quite a few people wanting to duel you, you know."

"Oh? People wanna duel me? That's new, I thought I was barely known, considering I joined the Camp recently."

"Yeah, neither of us are on the docket though, we have other things to worry about. But, to answer your original question, there are no more monsters, we took care of them all."

"Ah, I see. Thank you. I was just making sure things were clear... thanks, you two!"

"You're welcome, be careful out there. You're still a new hero, you still have much to learn about how things operate in the Hero Camp..."

"Also, those two following you, Ms. Esper Witch, and Hero, correct?"

"Yeah, they're training me. They wanna work on building me up so that I can help fight against the Zodiac."

"I see...you're a lucky guy. I don't know much about Ms. Esper Witch, but Hero, he's strong. I heard he went missing for 5 months and recently returned. Seems the rumors were true."

"Yeah, he came back suddenly during a raid on Camp Alpha and saved the top ten heroes from death. He's pretty incredible..."

"I see... well, you should be going now, we need to transport these parts to the facility to be disposed of. Just remember this though, being a hero isn't just about killing monsters, it's also about competition and growth. Be safe." said Gen, turning back around and walking away with Joan.

Joan gave me a salute before walking away with Gen. It seemed that he was fascinated with my ability. Gen, on the other hand, gave me an uneasy feeling. He seemed slightly annoyed with my power, despite being ranked above me.

"I should probably get back to those two before they leave the beach," I said, turning around to find Hero and Ambrosia. But when I turned around, I saw something completely different...

"Bring it on then! Quit wasting time talking and initiate the duel!"

"Okay, but when I win, we're going to go to this cool restaurant I found while exploring the west gate, alright Ambie?"

"WHEN YOU WIN? You're so full of yourself! I'll show you just how much I've improved, just you sit there and watch!"

Ambrosia and Hero were going at it, bickering back and forth about the duel that was about to take place. She wasn't lying, she really had full intent to initiate the duel, regardless of place, time, or conditions.

"Alright, but just know this, I've improved some as well... I'll let you strike first, I feel it's most polite."

"Oh, don't be an ass, just hit me already, I can take it, come on!" yelled Ambrosia. She was letting her attitude get the best of her, in an attempt to intimidate Hero. But he was unfazed, simply standing there, taking it all in.

Though, Hero also had a subtle amount of cockiness. He seemed humble on the surface, but you could tell he had a deep drive to surpass everyone hidden beneath his skin. It's as if he's spent his entire life perfecting his craft, and he technically has, ever since he met Jatak.

"I, Ambrosia Heroux, enlisted in the Hero Camp, request a duel!"

"I, Hero, enlisted in the Hero Camp, humbly accept your challenge!"

...and so it was on. The duel was officially initiated, and the true clash of the titans was about to begin. The top two heroes in the camp were going to fight. Who knew how this would turn out? It seemed like Hero's skill was miles beyond Ambrosia's, but I could tell she was better than she appeared to be.

"Hehe, I'm glad this day finally came. Allow me to show you what I've learned in the past 5 months, Kaizo..."

Kaizo...Hero's "name". He had only ever mentioned it to me and Ambrosia, but she was throwing it out there like it was nothing. At this moment, Hero's demeanor changed. He narrowed his eyes and took his jacket off.

"Ah, referring to me by my given name...only you and Yukio know it, don't you think you should keep it to yourself?"

"I suppose I could, I just felt like I'd use it to remind you that I haven't forgotten about your story. You told it to Yukio as well, it seems."

"Well, if you're so interested in it, perhaps I can re-demonstrate to you the things Jatak taught me, nearly 17 years ago."

"I'd be happy to experience them in full effect, that is, if you can still overcome my esper abilities. Enough trash talk, let's get it rolling..."

Hero smiled, and changed his eye color to silver, before phasing out of existence. He vanished entirely. He was actively teleporting... he re-appeared in front of Ambrosia, fist in the air, and propelled it at her.

"Heh, this technique again. You've used it nearly 80 times on me now, I know how to handle it..." said Ambrosia, swiftly dodging out of the way, before becoming transparent, and floating into the air.

"I've changed, Kaizo... you're going to have to change your strategies..."