In Q City Square, the atmosphere was incredibly tense.
Mountain Ape, Eyelashes, and Lily stood protectively in front of Fubuki, sweat dripping from their faces as they faced the imposing man before them.
Under normal circumstances, they might have displayed different reactions—perhaps Lily would have even swooned over the man's handsome appearance.
But right now, such thoughts were far from their minds.
This was no ordinary situation.
Not only had the man single-handedly defeated an S-class hero, but he had also marched straight up to them as if it were nothing.
To be honest, this was putting immense psychological pressure on the three B-class heroes.
Yet, despite knowing they stood no chance, they refused to flee. Instead, they stubbornly remained in front of Fubuki, unwilling to back down.
Even though they knew they were powerless.
"Hey! Put down Tatsumaki!!!"
Other heroes from the Hero Association had also gathered around Yami, surrounding him while nervously issuing their orders.
Some of them were familiar with Yami, but others had never encountered him before.
However, aside from Fubuki's group, no heroes ranked below A-class had made it to the square.
Yet to Yami, none of them made any difference.
His calm demeanor remained unchanged, though his expression subtly shifted when he saw the heroes attempting to encircle him and the three goddesses.
"You really don't know what you're doing, do you?"
"I was hoping to settle this peacefully, but since you insist... you should all take a nap."
Though his tone was flat, it carried a weight of menace that sent a chill through the air.
The heroes were gearing up to attack, but before anyone could make a move, an overwhelming force exploded from Yami.
The entire square was engulfed in an instant, and it felt like the spirits of everyone present were on the verge of collapse.
In the blink of an eye, all the heroes—except for Fubuki and her group—were knocked unconscious, their eyes rolling back as they collapsed to the ground, drooling slightly.
"Well, this cleaned things up nicely. It's much better now."
Yami sighed in relief, a faint smile of satisfaction playing at the corners of his mouth, as if he had just completed a trivial task.
Meanwhile, Fubuki and her three subordinates stood frozen in horror, their eyes wide.
They had no idea what had just happened.
All they knew for certain was that the man standing before them was unbelievably powerful.
So powerful that even King—the so-called "strongest man on Earth" and seventh-ranked S-class hero—might not be a match for him.
But for Fubuki and her team, this was hardly reassuring.
Were they going to die here?
That thought plagued the minds of Fubuki's top three executives, each more pessimistic than the last.
"Relax. I have no intention of harming you," Yami said calmly, "So there's no need to be so hostile toward me."
"If I really wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't have bothered with all this. After all, there are others much stronger than you who are already unconscious. You're the only ones left standing."
Turning to Fubuki, he continued, "You must be Fubuki. This is your sister."
"She took a bit of damage fighting me, but her life's not in danger. Since you're here, I'll leave her in your care."
With that, Yami casually tossed Tatsumaki, who had been draped over his shoulder, into Fubuki's arms.
"Don't try to fool me! There's no way my sister could lose to someone like you—"
Fubuki began to protest, but her voice faltered as she instinctively reached out to catch Tatsumaki. The words died in her throat.
Wide-eyed, she stared at her sister's unconscious face. Disbelief filled her expression.
"This... this really is my big sister," she muttered, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.
"How could she lose? And how could she lose so completely?"
Fubuki's emotions spiraled out of control as she stared at her fallen sister.
In her distress, waves of telekinetic energy surged from her body, whipping the air into a frenzy. Dust and debris swirled in the gusts of wind she summoned.
But to Yami, it was nothing.
Compared to Tatsumaki's power, Fubuki's telekinesis was child's play.
It was more like a mild breeze on a hot summer day—nothing of consequence.
"Your control of telekinesis is crude compared to your sister's," Yami remarked with a smile.
"Let me teach you something, Fubuki—something I learned when I was your age."
"Before you're strong enough, never show your claws to someone far stronger than you. It's dangerous."
"But... I won't hold it against you. After all, adults shouldn't pick on children."
Yami's tone remained light, even as he effortlessly unleashed his magic.
The storm that had been raging in the square was immediately dispersed by his power, and no matter how hard Fubuki tried, she couldn't reassert control.
Even the psychic energy within her seemed to be suppressed, to the point where it felt almost non-existent.
"What... what is this?"
The sheer difference in power made Fubuki's face twist with frustration and helplessness.
Facing Yami felt eerily similar to when she stood before her sister Tatsumaki.
No, it was worse.
The gap between them was so vast, she felt like she would never be able to close it in a lifetime.
"Don't be too discouraged. Just keep working hard," Yami advised, his tone almost encouraging.
"I hope that next time we meet, you'll have something more impressive to show me."
"Oh, and when your sister wakes up, give her a message for me. Tell her I won this time, but she fought well. I enjoyed our battle."
"Tell her to keep getting stronger, so we can have an even better fight the next time we meet."
With those parting words, Yami turned and began walking toward Goddess Hephaestus.
Though his manner was polite, it was clear he no longer considered Tatsumaki a serious threat.
For him, any opponent he had already defeated was no longer worth his attention.
"I'll give you time to catch up," he murmured, "But by the time you do, you'll find you can't even see me."
"Wait!" Fubuki suddenly called out, snapping out of her shock. "Who the hell are you?"
Yami didn't respond. He merely raised his hand in a casual wave before disappearing from sight, along with the other three figures.