Solo Cultivating in Superhero Academy
Chapter 48: Sword down

Chapter 48: Sword down

The ground still crackled where the scissor blade struck Elius’s sword—sparks sizzling in the air like embers of a dying star. And yet, Elius hadn’t moved an inch.

His blade remained steady.

His arm didn’t shake.

But the expression on his face... it wasn’t surprise.

It was something deeper.

Something colder.

Ron’s velociraptor eyes widened as he stared at the figure that had just reemerged. "He’s... he’s alive?"

Lina hovered backward, translucent hands trembling. "No, no, no... I felt it. I felt him die. His aura vanished! There was nothing left!"

Shiro’s pupils narrowed. "I saw the body collapse. His core shattered. He should be dead."

"But he’s not!" Klee shouted, stepping behind Shiro. "Why is he still moving?! How?!"

Ron’s clawed feet scratched back across the rocky ground. "Elius—this guy—he’s cheating death now?! Was he faking it the whole time?"

Elius took one step back, slowly, eyes still locked with the sadistic villain. He motioned behind his back subtly, and the four took the cue, stepping back with him in tense silence.

Lava Scissor tilted his head as his jagged obsidian jaw opened.

"Hahahahahaha! What’s the matter? What’s with those expressions?! Don’t tell me you actually believed I died?!"

His laugh was wild, broken, like crushed glass in a blender.

"That’s right! That’s right! Go ahead and celebrate next time! Make it feel real! I love that moment... when their hope shatters and their faces twist! Oh, that face! That moment when victory turns to terror!"

His cracked arms raised high in the air, claws and blades dragging lines in the sky.

"I ask for death! I welcome it! Again and again! So I can ruin your triumph! Crush your courage! Break your goddamn hearts!!"

He howled into the sky.

Ron’s arms shook slightly. "He... enjoys pretending to die... just to watch us break?"

Lina was pale. Even for a ghost.

Klee looked like she might cry.

And Shiro, calm as ever, whispered, "Monster..."

Elius didn’t speak.

He didn’t flinch.

Because he had known.

Of course he had.

This was that villain—the sadist from the comic.

The one who mimicked defeat to erase the very spirit of his enemies.

The kind of villain that didn’t aim for your body, but your soul.

That’s why Elius hadn’t smiled.

That’s why he didn’t let down his guard.

Because Lava Scissor’s twisted game hadn’t ended.

It had just begun.

"Come on!" Lava Scissor cackled again, his grin jagged and cracked like fractured stone. "What’s wrong? Scared now? Where’s all that teamwork?! All that unity? What happened to that celebration!?"

He pointed both scissor blades outward.

"Come on then! Come at me again! Or are you too scared to fight someone who can’t stay dead?! HAHAHAHA!"

The four behind Elius froze.

But before they could move—

"I’ll handle this," Elius said.

His voice was low. Calm. But deadly serious.

Ron stepped forward. "No. No, man, this is different. This thing’s not normal. He’s messing with us—"

"Don’t interfere," Elius said again.

Lina looked at him. "But you might—"

"I said don’t."

His tone cut through the air like steel.

Even Klee stopped breathing for a second.

Lava Scissor raised a jagged brow. "You? Alone again? Ahahahaha! You’re adorable! You really think you can really ’handle’ me? Did you miss the part where your tricks don’t work anymore?"

He leaned down slightly, blades twitching.

"You’ve lost your edge, kid."

And then he moved.

Fast.

Too fast.

In an instant, his obsidian legs shattered the ground beneath him as he lunged forward, one scissor arm coming down in a furious arc.

Elius slid to the side.

Barely.

The edge of the scissor caught a chunk of his cultivation robe—slicing it clean off.

Another slash came from the left.

Elius ducked.

Another—he rolled.

The scissor crashed down behind him, tearing up the earth.

Again.

And again.

And again.

"FIGHT BACK!" Lava Scissor roared. "COME ON! I KNOW YOU HAVE MORE TRICKS! I KNOW YOU HAVE MORE STRATEGIES! SHOW ME, DAMN YOU!!"

But Elius didn’t strike.

He evaded. Fluidly. Like water flowing through chaos.

He stepped back from the right.

Slipped under a vertical strike.

Twisted his torso between a spinning cleave.

Sweat glistened on his brow.

But not fear.

Not yet.

"WHAT’S WRONG?!" Lava Scissor howled. "Did your game tactics run out? Your ’perfect read’ fall apart?"

CLANG! CLANG!

Blades slammed into stone and sparks flew. Lava Scissor was relentless now—slashing, spinning, hammering down with savage fury. His entire body was like a wheel of destruction, scissor-arms whipping and striking with wild, explosive momentum.

And Elius?

Still evading.

Barely.

One cut grazed his side.

Another scraped his arm.

Still no counterattack.

"WHERE’S THAT BRAIN OF YOURS, HUH?!"

"You going to run forever, little strategist?!"

He swung down again.

Elius caught the blade with his sword this time—but slid backward from the sheer force, boots digging a groove in the dirt.

"HA! So you can block! Then why aren’t you fighting!?"

He slashed again.

Elius parried.

Another strike—Elius dodged, but barely.

"I see it now!" Lava Scissor cackled. "Your tricks are useless! Your weakness-reading, your perfect timing, your whole damn acting! None of it matters now!"

His mouth twisted.

"You failed! Your little cheat code doesn’t work anymore!"

Elius’s shoulders rose and fell with his breath.

The others watched in horror, unable to help.

He was getting pushed.

Cornered.

Sweat dripped down his neck.

But his eyes... were calm.

Focused.

And then—

With one final CLASH—

Sword and Scissor met in a deadlock that shook the battlefield with a ripple of force.

The stone beneath their feet cracked.

Dust exploded outward.

The two froze in that clash—blades pressed, faces inches apart.

Lava Scissor grinned with madness. "What now, sword boy? Nothing left? Game over?"

Elius breathed in.

Then stood tall.

He slowly pushed Lava Scissor back with both arms, then... relaxed.

His shoulders dropped.

His chest rose in one final breath.

Then he spoke.

"...This is enough."

Lava Scissor blinked. "Huh?"

Everyone else gasped.

"What...?"

And then—

Elius raised his arms.

And in a move that made even Lava Scissor freeze—

He threw both swords aside.

CLANG—CLANK!

They landed with a heavy metallic echo, sliding across the rocky ground.

Ron’s jaw dropped.

Shiro’s eyes widened.

Lina froze mid-air, breath caught.

Klee covered her mouth.

And Lava Scissor?

He stared.

Silent for the first time.

Elius stood tall.

Unarmed.

And still... unafraid.

—

Somewhere, deep within the heart of the Hero Authority’s HQ, where monitors pulsed with arcane light and divine satellite signals filtered through interdimensional grids, Radiant Man stood.

The golden hues of the orb reflected across his flawless, ageless face.

The room was silent, filled only with the hum of ancient machinery and the whispers of dozens of analysts holding their breath. But none dared interrupt him.

The orb projected an image—distorted by distance and dimensional turbulence—but clear enough.

Elius stood on the battlefield.

Unarmed.

Facing a monster.

And Radiant Man... watched with burning eyes.

"...So," he murmured to himself, arms behind his back, fingers trembling ever so slightly, "my son... Are young finally going to show your Solarion bloodline power?"

There was a smile and tension.

As if he didn’t even know what was about to come next.

—

Back on the dungeon underground battlefield, the air was unnaturally silent.

Lava Scissor tilted his head, cracked jaw twitching.

"Boring..." he muttered. "Is this your answer? Throwing away your weapons? How poetic. Are you surrendering? That’s pathetic. Disappointing. I expected a better finale."

The monster raised one of his heavy, obsidian scissor arms and pointed it lazily at Elius. "What now, boy? No tricks? No blades? Just going to stand there looking dramatic until I cut you down?"

Even Ron, breath ragged, was frozen. "Elius... what are you doing?"

Shiro clenched a kunai. "What’s he planning?"

Lina hovered, flickering with uncertainty. "He’s not... giving up, is he?"

Klee whispered, "He wouldn’t..."

Elius didn’t speak.

Not yet.

He exhaled slowly.

Then, wordlessly, he reached up—

And ripped the sleeves off his cultivation robe.

The tearing echoed unnaturally loud in the battlefield’s eerie silence, as if even the sky itself was holding its breath.

Elius lowered his arms, revealing his lean, muscular frame beneath.

He took the torn sleeves and began wrapping them around his forearms with slow, precise movements. Like a monk preparing for a sacred duel. Or a warrior performing an ancient rite.

And as he wrapped, he spoke.

His voice was calm.

But deep.

"I’ve always admired a certain man."

Lava Scissor blinked. But said nothing.

Ron, Lina, Shiro, and Klee remained frozen, captivated.

"Everyone admired him," Elius continued, binding the cloth tighter around his left arm. "He could fly. Save cities. Split mountains. The kind of man who shows up just before you die and says, ’Everything will be okay.’"

He paused, looking down at the fabric in his hands, fingers trembling slightly.

"I used to watch videos of him. Interviews. News clips. Even cartoons made about him. I wanted to be like him, you know? As a kid. I thought, maybe... maybe I could grow up to be someone who could do good things too."

The wind picked up around him. But his hands moved steadily, binding the other arm now.

"But then... yesterday...just yesterday before I came here in this Superhero Academy..." he continued, his voice quieter, almost cracking, "I found out something... Something I hoped I would never ever know..."

He stopped.

His eyes darkened.

"The one that I looked up to all this time... was actually my father."