E-Rank or SSS-Rank: I Awakened a Skill That Shouldn't Exist
Chapter 158: True Hero

Chapter 158: True Hero

Chapter 158

Clara stood frozen, her eyes wide with shock and horror as she stared at Kalen’s headless body lying motionless on the cracked earth. For a few agonizing seconds, her mind refused to process what had happened—until it finally clicked.

Kalen had sacrificed herself.

The realization struck Clara like a dagger to the chest. If that attack had hit her instead, she would have been the one lying there lifeless. Kalen had saved her... and paid the ultimate price.

Clara’s knees trembled, and rage swelled in her chest like a storm ready to break. Her tear-filled eyes shot up toward the airship now hovering in the distance. The Third Eye bastard had vanished from sight, but his ship still lingered, mocking her. Every fiber of her being screamed for vengeance. Her feet moved instinctively—she was ready to charge at the ship with no plan, no thought, only fury.

But a hand grasped her wrist, firm yet gentle.

She turned to see Aiden, his expression grave, without a hint of his usual cheerfulness. He silently shook his head, wordlessly pleading with her not to throw her life away.

Clara clenched her jaw. She knew he was right. Chasing after that ship now would be suicide. And yet... she wanted to tear that monster apart with her bare hands.

Breathing heavily, she forced herself to calm down. Her gaze fell once again to Kalen’s lifeless form. She had wanted to protect her. To save her. And yet... she had caused her death instead.

It hurt—more than anything ever had.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them quaked violently. Cracks began to spiderweb across the streets. Water gushed up through the fractures, seeping and pooling with alarming speed. Marinua City was collapsing. Its destruction was no longer a possibility—it was a certainty.

Clara looked toward the horizon, her thoughts spinning. Han and Ronan were still out there. But if they waited too long, none of them would get out in time. The civilians aboard the ship—hundreds of them—would be doomed.

She made her choice.

"Everyone, on board!" she commanded, stepping into the ship.

One by one, the others followed her, boarding in silence. Only Aiden remained behind, staring at the decaying cityscape.

The sparkle that usually danced in his eyes was gone. In its place was a shadowed, pained look. Just days ago, Marinua had been a city of peace, a marvel of unity and life. Now, it was a sinking graveyard. And all because of those cursed people.

Han and Ronan were still within the city’s borders. But Aiden believed in them. They had to survive.

They would survive.

With clenched fists and gritted teeth, Aiden turned and boarded the ship. The engines of the vessel—Zom—hummed to life, drawing in energy. Slowly, the ship lifted into the air and began its flight away from the crumbling ruins of Marinua.

---

High above the city, Han hovered in the air, surveying the devastation below. The last of the portals had been closed. The monstrous beasts and chaos-spawned creatures had been eliminated.

But over three thousand civilians still remained.

If the city fell now, they would all perish.

Han could save maybe couple hundred. A bit more if he pushed beyond his limits. But even with everything he had, he couldn’t save them all in time.

But maybe... he wouldn’t have to.

Not far from his position, Light Runner stood beside two engineers. One of them—an older man with a heavy expression—responded grimly to Light Runner’s question.

"How long until the city completely collapses?" Light Runner asked, urgency etched into every word.

The engineer swallowed hard, then spoke in a low, somber tone. "Two minutes... maybe four, at best."

Light Runner’s expression tightened. "And the nearest city? How far?"

The engineer hesitated, then answered, pale-faced. "Fifty kilometers... It’s too far. We won’t make it in time."

The words hung in the air like a death sentence.

Time was running out.

And Marinua had less than four minutes to live.

Light Runner made thousands of calculations in an instant—distances, terrain, wind resistance, mass displacement, energy consumption. Then, with a confident nod, he gave the stunned engineers a thumbs-up.

"Get out of here. I’ll handle the rest," he said calmly.

Before they could even process his words, the very air around them distorted. A flash of blinding gold and white light surged past with such speed it left heat in its wake—only for that heat to vanish just as quickly.

When the engineers opened their eyes again, they gasped.

They were no longer in Marinua.

They stood in the heart of the nearest city—the one they’d mentioned earlier. All around them, more civilians were appearing, one after another, materializing seemingly out of thin air.

The old engineer’s mind raced to keep up with what was happening. And then, realization struck.

Light Runner was actually doing it.

He was saving everyone.

At speeds too fast for the human eye to register, only brilliant trails of golden and white lightning remained in his wake. In seconds, hundreds were rescued. In a minute, thousands.

The engineer watched, overwhelmed with awe.

"I really like that guy," he muttered to himself with a wide, teary smile. "He’s my true hero."

---

Meanwhile, Light Runner was pushing his body to the absolute brink. His cells burned with energy, his perception of time stretched thin. Every second counted. Every heartbeat could mean another life lost—or saved.

He moved faster than he ever had before.

He had to.

He was down to the last hundred civilians when it happened.

The city’s unstable energy generator—damaged during the battle—finally detonated.

Marinua was torn apart in a thunderous explosion of light and sound. Entire buildings crumbled. Landmasses sank. A violent shockwave ripped through the city, reducing it to fragments and flame.

Light Runner froze in mid-air, heart thundering in his chest.

He had failed.

He hadn’t saved them all.

But just as despair began to settle in, he noticed figures hovering in the sky.

He focused—eyes sharpening—and saw them clearly.

Several silhouettes floated above the destruction. Each one had distinct, perfectly split white-and-black hair. Han and his clones. Each clone carried two civilians in their arms.

Han raised his hand and gave Light Runner a thumbs-up.

Relief surged through him like a tidal wave. A slow smile formed on Light Runner’s face as he returned the gesture.

They did it.

Everyone made it out alive.

His mission was complete.

"No longer needed here," he whispered to himself.

And with a final flicker of golden lightning, he vanished—his next destination clear.

The others needed to know what had happened.

---

One Hour Later

At the heart of a hidden underground base, chaos reigned.

Drake stood in the center of the war room, surrounded by shattered furniture, broken monitors, and terrified subordinates. His crimson eyes burned with unfiltered rage as he tore the room apart like a man possessed.

His plan had been perfect.

The Class S hero at the tournament—neutralized.

The portal opened.

The Red Vanguard deployed.

Everything was in place.

Yet... everything collapsed.

All members of the Red Vanguard were dead.

All except Ferris—and he was clinging to life, barely breathing, his body mangled and in need of immediate healing. Magus had burned through all his power just opening and holding the portal. Drake couldn’t bring himself to blame him... but deep down, he knew: if Magus had joined the battle, things might have ended differently.

Striker had held off Han as ordered, but the effort left him gravely wounded.

And Freak Eye? He was supposed to destroy the generator. That should’ve ended it all.

Drake’s fists clenched until blood dripped from his palms.

He should’ve won.

But no—those cursed fools from the Tryst Guild had interfered.

Again.

They had always been a thorn in his side, but this time... this time, they had crossed the line.

His lips curled into a snarl, and a murderous glint sparked in his eyes.

"No matter what it takes," he growled, each word dripping with venom, "the Tryst Guild must cease to exist."

His voice echoed across the room like a death sentence.

"I swear it. I’ll burn them to ashes... every last one."

_ _ _ _ _

Back in Marinua City...

Amid the ruins of the fallen city, the ground was littered with rubble—some small, others as large as buildings. Smoke rose from the fractures, and the scent of scorched metal filled the air.

Suddenly, several figures leapt down from a hovering aircraft, landing near one of the larger debris piles. They were all clad in dark, tactical uniforms bearing no insignias. Their presence was silent, calculated.

At the front stood their leader—a man who appeared to be in his thirties, though appearances meant little among Awakeners, whose aging slowed significantly after transformation.

"Are you certain there was an energy spike detected here?" the black-haired leader asked, his voice low but commanding.

One of his subordinates, typing on a holographic display, nodded. "Confirmed. A powerful reading appeared right after the city’s collapse. Right beneath this rubble."

Without hesitation, the leader raised his hand. A condensed beam of energy surged from his palm, blasting apart the debris with a controlled explosion.

The rubble scattered in all directions.

Silence followed—until a hand slowly reached out from beneath a broken slab.

The leader’s eyes narrowed. He stepped forward and condensed more energy into his palm, using it to clear the rest of the rubble in one swift motion.

What they saw made everyone freeze.

Two figures lay beneath the shattered remnants of the city.

One of them was unmistakable: a class S hero. Dead. It was Buster.

Beside him, barely breathing, was a young teenager with short black hair. Dirt and blood clung to his body, but his chest still rose and fell.

"He’s alive," one of the men confirmed.

The leader stepped closer, staring down at the unconscious teen. Something about him felt... familiar.

His expression darkened as a troubling thought crept into his mind.

To confirm it, he tapped into ARC’s encrypted database, pulling up identity records and facial recognition data.

The results appeared almost instantly.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

He stared at the boy again, heart pounding.

"It’s him..." he muttered, voice tight. "This is the Exterminator."

To be continued...