Solo Cultivating in Superhero Academy
Chapter 45: No other option

Chapter 45: No other option

Elius’s boots scraped the jagged stone as he came to a halt near the far wall of the cavernous dungeon, his mind a whirlwind of calculations and dread.

The others remained still for a moment, panting and catching their breath after their desperate retreat.

The stench of molten rock and scorched air still lingered like a curse.

It was him. It had to be him.

Elius clenched his fists. His thoughts sharpened like the edge of his sword.

My father... Radiant Man.

He grit his teeth as memories flashed in his head like bolts of lightning—panels from the comic world he now lived in.

In the original timeline, Radiant Man had been cold, distant, a hero too obsessed with dreaming of having a golden haired descendant to waste time on raising his own dark haired son.

Back then, he never bothered to control that strange spatial artifact—an artifact that could also open portals to these dimensional rifts and bring forth horrors sealed away beyond time.

But now... now that Radiant Man had chosen a favorite, a "real" heir, a son with golden hair, who was supposed to inherit the Solarion bloodline in this world...

He used it.

He activated that thing.

Elius cursed. ’He really thought of me as his favorite!’

That’s what he wanted to avoid at all cost!

That dimensional artifact used to control that ’thing’, his father seemed really adamant on training him.

Elius is sure now that his father even killed Old Man Kepler for it—one of the few who could recognize distortions in dimensional frequency and space-lock.

But before he could dwell too deep, he turned to the others. His face was grim.

"Don’t waste your thoughts on whoever sent him," he said, voice low and firm. "Focus. We deal with the villain first."

Suddenly—

BOOM.

A rumble echoed from the other side of the chamber. It was faint at first... like the growl of something ancient. Then—

A laugh.

A laugh so vast, so soul-tearing, that it made the stone walls tremble.

HAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!

It came like a rising flood, building in volume until the cavern itself seemed to quake. A sound so large it didn’t just echo—it carved itself into the rock.

HAH—HAHA—HAHAHA—HA—HA—HA!

It went on and on and on, shuddering through their bones, making the walls sweat magma from the vibrations alone.

It was a laugh filled with amusement, agony, and ancient hunger.

A laugh that didn’t stop, didn’t pause, didn’t waver. It stretched through long, endless seconds, thickening the very air with molten pressure.

The torches lining the cave blew out.

Then, a boulder—an enormous dark stone at the edge of the chamber—began to glow.

CRACK.

A thin, red line snaked down its side. Then another. Then another. Until it shattered—

KRA-KOOOM!

Flames gushed out of it like a geyser of hellfire.

From within the molten shell, something rose.

Something alive.

A man-shaped silhouette wreathed in orange and black, made not of flesh, but of living, boiling lava. His eyes were burning coals, his grin a jagged split of fire. Steam hissed from his shoulders, and his arms...

His arms ended in giant, serrated shears, glowing with the kind of heat that could slice through tank armor like butter.

"I like the sound of that," he said with a rasp, molten spittle dripping from his mouth. "Yes... deal with me first."

He stepped forward, each footfall melting the ground beneath him.

"Because I," he growled, "will deal with the one who put me here."

He raised both of his massive lava-scissor hands, spreading them wide like a demon embracing the end of the world.

"COME ON!"

His voice was fire incarnate.

"Give it all you’ve got!"

Lava splattered from his feet as he stomped forward.

"This is what I LOVE!"

He shrieked, ecstatic.

"I’m going to cook you alive before I devour your very essence!"

Without waiting, Ron snarled and launched forward, the velociraptor speed bursting in a zig-zag dash, claws aiming for Lava Scissor’s midsection. His eyes glowed primal yellow.

Lina’s ghostly forms surrounded her as she raised both hands and directed them toward the villain, each apparition letting out a silent scream as they phased in and out of existence.

Shiro formed a hand seal mid-run.

POOF!

A shadow clone appeared, then two more—flanking the sides, one high, one low—kunai in each hand, smoke bombs strapped to their chests.

Klee stood at the rear, holding her glowing green staff with both hands, her eyes locked on her allies, ready to heal, reinforce, or shield them at a moment’s notice.

And Elius?

He looked upward.

His jaw clenched.

He couldn’t see the heavens through this stone ceiling—but he felt him.

Watching.

Like a god observing ants in a maze.

Radiant Man.

The fear inside Elius coiled, tightening around his ribs like an iron serpent. Not because of Lava Scissor. Not even because of death.

But because his identity—his very lie—was in danger.

If Radiant Man figured out Elius wasn’t a true Solarion descendant... everything would end.

But—

He stepped forward.

His five swords levitated behind him, pulsing with qi-infused might, glowing with crimson script.

He joined the others.

The fight began.

CLANG!

Ron’s claws scraped uselessly against Lava Scissor’s body.

WHAM!

Lava Scissor backhanded him, sending the velociraptor tumbling across the cavern like a kicked toy.

ZING!

Shiro’s clones struck from above, but the scissor hands moved with blinding speed—

SNIP! SNIP!

One clone burst in smoke. Another lost its leg. The third had its head cleaved in half before vanishing.

Lina’s ghosts rushed him, phasing through the molten body—

Only to sizzle and dissolve, evaporating in waves of screeching steam.

Elius’s swords slashed in from above, five flashes of sharp light—

CLANG! CRACK! SKRRRRRNNNNNK!

Each blow met hard resistance. Sparks flew. Lava Scissor didn’t even react. His body was like solid iron wrapped in magma.

He swiped, laughed, stomped.

SWIPE—SWIPE—SWIPE—

Again. And again.

Each swing sent tremors through the earth.

Each movement was wild, reckless, unpredictable—yet still faster than anything that size should’ve been able to manage.

The team scattered, barely evading death. Klee had to throw three healing bursts in less than a minute just to keep Ron from collapsing. Lina’s energy was fading, her illusions growing thin. Shiro bled from a cut above his eye. Even Elius’s sword was ringing like it was trembling in pain.

And nothing they did worked.

Lava Scissor couldn’t be hurt.

Elius landed hard, breathing fast, sweat trailing down his neck.

His mind raced.

There has to be something. Some way.

His hand hovered above his sword’s hilt, fingers twitching. Then he thought back—to the system. To the techniques he had yet to test.

What if... what if I try that?

He hesitated.

That technique—Heavenly Earthquake Invincible Slam—was something he had acquired earlier when he killed the massive goblin and the wizard-like goblin.

It was a hidden move in his system panel.

He hadn’t dared to try it because he wasn’t sure if it could leave him paralyzed for hours.

After all, they were in a goblin dungeon. If he became paralyzed for hours, it would be a problem. After all, goblins.

He was supposed to try it once his Mortal Body Cultivation reached the tenth stage of the Mortal Condensation Realm, but they had been interrupted.

And worst of all—

Lava Scissor had a weapon.

Elius is not sure if that scissor was just for show or if it was a living, spiritual item connected to him.

He tried to recall in the comics but he couldn’t remember everything.

If Lava Scissor had it as a weapon extension that is not a part of him, his Heavenly Earthquake Invincible Slam passive effect would lose its potency.

After all, there was a note stating in his technique that weapons disrupt the technique.

To add more...

Mortal Body Condensation.

Is Lava Scissor really still an F-ranked villain right now?

If he is, the note in the technique states: "Invincible against bare-handed opponents within the same tier."

That would be perfect.

But he’s not sure if Lava Scissor is still in Mortal Body Condensation or Qi Condensation; after all, he couldn’t see through his abilities because he didn’t have any information on Lava Scissor.

Worst of all, Lava Scissor is a villain in a Superhero Society, not a cultivator like him.

Elius grit his teeth.

Could he risk it?

Then—

DING!

A screen materialized in front of him, glowing gold.

Would you like to use:

Heavenly Earthquake Invincible Slam?

Elius stared.

His breath caught.

No other choice.

...This might be the only way.