"Never, midget!"
The petals of blood still spread everywhere, and with the wings of the Berserk Fairy both blazing under the bright moonlight, the eyes of everyone who witnessed the sight all sparkled. But unlike the chaos surrounding the fight in Vegas, each and every person there all backed away at breakneck speed.
And unlike the people of Vegas, most of them had smiles on their faces. Granted, some were terrified, but it wasn't because of the threat of death, but because none of them wanted to feel what they felt back in the briefing room again.
And they didn't.
Adam wasn't frowning at all. Instead, he even had a little hint of a smile on his face. Sylvie was the only one who didn't find the situation amusing.
"I see your little billionaire lap dog is finally within licking distance of you, midget!" She cackled, trying to drill through the shield of blood Sylvie summoned.
"You kiss your granddaughter with that mouth, madam?" Sylvie whispered, her eyebrows lowering as the petals spreading everywhere all froze in the air. And without even any warning, they all shot toward Carmen, slicing through the air faster than bullets.
Carmen disappeared before the petals could touch her, appearing right beside Sylvie with her heel ready to slice the Duelist of Rose's knee in half. But while she was excitedly looking at Sylvie's knee, Sylvie was also looking down at her.
The shield of blood above her head moved, twirling and crawling around her arm before shifting into a rapier. She quickly swung her crimson blade, threatening to slice the Berserk Fairy's entire leg off.
"Tch." Carmen immediately flew away, evading the rapier as it cleaved through the paved ground of the airstrip. No, it didn't only cleave through the ground; it created an entire crevasse meters deep underground.
Then, and only then, the booms of thunder from their movements drummed in the air. The wind swayed by their movements, violently blasting the faces of everyone there and making their hair dance wildly.
"Calmate… puta," Carmen smirked, landing on her feet. "Were you trying to slice my leg off?"
"No," Sylvie replied. "I was trying to kill you."
"Ho…?" The smirk on Carmen's face morphed into a smile—a smile so wide it reached from ear to ear. The wrinkles that had been hiding behind her deceivingly youthful face showed themselves in full. "If only I could wipe that beautiful face of yours, I would like you more."
"I don't think it would be good to be liked by someone like you."
"It is an honor to be liked by me." Carmen lifted her skirt, bowing slightly as the smile on her face calmed down. "You like throwing that word around, right? Honor. You watch too many telenovelas for your age."
"At least I'm taller than a sixth-grader."
"What the fuck did you say?!" The wings on Carmen's back grew wider, their edges blazing, burning the ground. Sylvie raised her crimson rapier and pointed it at her, but before Carmen could lunge at her again, a hand suddenly reached her shoulder from behind.
A hand that casually went through her blazing wings and perched on her shoulder. Carmen slowly looked back, only to see Adam looking at her, his eyes seemingly exhausted.
"I think that's enough, Carmen," he said, lightly pushing her. She stumbled forward, the wings on her back literally withering away with each step.
Carmen glared at him for a moment, clenching her fist before her expression finally calmed down. She let out a loud sigh, shaking her head as she smiled at him.
"You really are a freaking monster, midget," she whispered, her clenched fists shaking. As a speedster, she did notice Adam move—she saw him. She even felt him sneaking up on her from behind… but she couldn't react.
Not from his speed, but from the feeling that she wouldn't be able to escape no matter what she did. Like, there was a giant hand coming down from the sky to stop her. Like a mouse frozen in front of a cat.
"Midget monster," she pointed at him.
Adam only looked at her in response for a moment before shaking his head and approaching her.
"Don't you know how to say hello like a proper human being?" he asked. "You don't have to try to kill me every time we meet."
"But I thought you'd like that." Carmen placed her hands on her waist. "And why aren't you calling me madam? Is that a proper way to address your elders?"
"Ha…" Sylvie hummed, the crimson rapier on her hand melting into the crevasse she made. She walked past Carmen, looking down on her. "Your face is the only thing elderly about you, Berserk Fairy."
"The fuck?" Carmen raised an eyebrow. "I'm not even saying anything about you anymore!"
Sylvie shrugged, standing beside Adam as she crossed her arms.
"And I look fucking younger than you!"
"Your face is so filled with makeup I could probably paint Picasso's entire collection of works with it."
"The fuck?" Carmen gasped, pointing at Sylvie before glancing at Adam. "The audacity of this bitch. Control your dog, midget."
She approached the two, but none of them put up their guard anymore. And as their conversation became quieter, the other S-tier Heroes who were watching from the side couldn't help but be impressed with what they just witnessed. After all, the entire exchange between Sylvie and Carmen, from her appearance to her landing on her feet, lasted only three seconds—and most of that time was spent talking.
But then again, most of them could do that—what they were all impressed about was how casually Adam tamed the Berserk Fairy.
The Berserk Fairy, who was one of the only two people who managed to raise their Hero tier, the other being Adam. She was known to throw down with everyone stronger than her and win due to her sheer tenacity and speed.
Of course, the fact that she was the only flying speedster on the entire planet made her incredibly special and feared by even her fellow S-tier Heroes.
But she… was treated like a child by Adam.
Before any one of them could start talking about Adam again, however, the hangar silently resting at a distance finally moved—no. It didn't move, but it completely opened up.
Its walls collapsed, bringing down its large roof to the sides and causing all the dust and debris to blow toward them. None of them even moved or reacted, however, as the metals just bounced from their skin.
Their nonchalant expressions did not last long, however, as the thing hiding inside the hanger finally revealed itself.
"What… the fuck is that?"
"I'm getting chills just looking at it."
"It's like straight out of a movie, damn."
Finally, they all saw it—Earth's very first spaceship tailored for war. And it looked as they expected it.
Even from afar, it was clear how massive it was. It dwarfed any of the cruise ships Earth had by miles. It didn't have any visible windows, making it look like a fortress.
The crowd immediately started making their way to the ship, their jaws wide open like children.
It was a sight to behold, not only the ship, but the S-tier Heroes seemingly in awe of what was in front of them. Half of them were old and had white hair, so to see them all acting like children would make anyone wonder if they truly were Earth's strongest.
The ship moved, and the sound similar to a howling wolf echoed through the night as part of the ship opened up—the hatch, several feet thick and a full step of stairs behind it.
Everyone squinted from the harsh light coming from the inside, but they all instinctively put their guard up as soon as they sensed several unfamiliar figures stepping out of the ship.
Well, Sisa was the first to step down—wearing a thick set of armor, her eyes still as wide as ever. But it wasn't only her, the others who followed behind her had the same eyes and set of fur on their faces.
Sisa looked around at first. One of her kin tapped her from behind, then pointed toward Adam who was trying his best to stay inconspicuous in the crowd. Sadly for him, that wasn't going to happen this time.
"Adam," she called. The people behind her all looked at him, lowering their heads. "Please, lead your people inside—we have much to discuss about the ship and its… amenities."
"They're not—"
"Just fucking lead us inside and stop with the self-deprecating bullshit." Carmen slapped him on the back.
He glanced at her and then at all the S-tier Heroes looking at him. He could really only sigh at this before making his way to the front of the crowd.
"Let's… just get this over with," he said, motioning for everyone to follow him. None of them said a word. After all…
…who else were they going to follow?
"You heard the boss. Let's go! Go!"