"Keuk!" Muscle Lantern grunted in pain, slowly getting up as he was unable to move properly. His arms were busted from the attack; he was in pain now.
"Let me take a look at it." One of the faculties with a healing ability said as she inspected his arms, inserting her healing power in it to watch in shock as his arms healed in a matter of seconds, "What? What is happening? My powers aren't strong enough to do this!"
'Is this because of my recent upgrade in power?' Muscle Lantern thought. He now possessed all the information regarding the human body. And hence, the moment the healing energy seeped into his arms, his power activated and wriggled his muscles to forcibly hold them together like normal.
Thanks to that, all the healing energy had to do was mend the cuts before his hands were back to normal. This was why he healed so quickly.
"Thank you." Muscle Lantern said as he groaned, getting up as he watched the other faculties helping up old man Mida.
He looked around, noticing the nervous state of the students, 'Being attacked on the first day of opening isn't good news.'
At this moment, Compass Carburettor arrived at the place, teleporting without a single energy wave, silent like the vacuum. The moment he arrived, the gazes of the students brightened, for they had all seen the way he casually dealt with the Invader.
"T-Thank you, Mr Compass," Millie said while helping her grandpa.
"No mention," Compass Carburettor smiled casually and patted her head before addressing the students, "There was a minor hiccup but let's proceed with the orientation. You've come to learn of the existence of the Invaders, and it is our, the Nampur Hero Academy's duty to prepare you to face them and win just as we had done."
"No casualties, no injuries, just the way a Hero wins."
Thump! Thump!
The hearts of the students thumped upon hearing his words, confident in his claim thanks to the insane feat he displayed.
Muscle Lantern had once been pretty popular as a Hero. Even now, he was still a well-known figure in the city-state of Nampur. So, everyone was aware of his strength. And when the Invader sent him flying, their hearts lurched.
But it was precisely because of this that when they saw Compass Carburettor facing such an existence without breaking a sweat, they became confident in him, in his unsurmountable strength.
Following that, as the Director of the Nampur Hero Academy, Muscle Lantern gave a speech to the students before which everyone was dismissed to their respective classrooms.
All the faculty gathered in the faculty room, staring at Compass Carburettor. But, none dared to speak.
As he was aware of what they wished to ask, old man Mida took charge, staring at Compass Carburettor to ask, "Those freaks, what were they?"
"Invaders," Compass Carburettor replied, "You can call them that. The weakest among them is on par with a C-Class Hero. And they are simple creatures that wish to destroy this world."
"Isn't that your goal too?" One of the faculties shouted suddenly, surprised herself at the courage she had mustered, "How are they different from you?"
"The conflict I had with the Genesis Hero wasn't sparked by hatred you see. Whether it was me or her, we were targeted by the abilities of our enemies. The resultant of that is what led to this world's chaotic era." Compass Carburettor said, 'Well, it's pretty much the truth. The collective Consciousness in Stencil was thanks to the Regression System. And they were what created the monsters that wreaked havoc in this world.'
'Stencil had to clean them up while creating the Heroes to stabilise this world.'
"I can't make sense of that," Old man Mida said, gritting his teeth in response, "I've seen those blasted monsters when I was a kid. Your fragments too made a mess back then. Countless people died as a result. Are you telling me that wasn't a result of hatred?"
"I'll show you an example," Compass Carburettor said and pointed at old man Mida, suddenly causing the other party to scream in pain and collapse to the ground.
"What?" Muscle Lantern stepped back in alarm before jumping to the old man Mida's rescue. But suddenly, his figure stopped in the air, the same for everyone else. A formless force prevented them from moving, forcing them to stare at the writhing figure of old man Mida in the centre.
"Water…I need water!"
"Gimme blood!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Tiny bubbles sprouted out of old man Mida that began to grow in response, leeching some of his powers to transform into grotesque monsters that were strong enough to kill normal people.
"What the heck are these?" Old man Mida recovered after a couple of seconds only to stare in shock at the three grotesque sludge-like monsters before him. They emanated killing intent.
The first of the three monsters resembled a mix between a mosquito and a porcupine, coated with sludge as it leapt towards the closest faculty to pierce the mouth part into his stomach to suck in all water from his body.
The second monster, resembling a bat and a snake slammed into another faculty to bite into their neck before absorbing their blood. The final monster resembled a grasshopper that leapt and headed towards Muscle Lantern in an effort to sever his head.
But suddenly, all three monsters were pulled towards old man Mida before they became still, just like the faculty. A second later, the faculty could move.
"You see this? I created them from your power." Compass Carburettor stared at old man Mida, "You only need an instant to kill these three monsters. But against normal people, they are deadly. Similarly,"
His voice turned chilling, causing everyone to tremble as he spoke, "The Genesis Hero was hit with a power that is a billion times more terrifying. Every second of her being, she had to fight against millions of such monsters that were birthed in her mind as well as the monsters in the outside world that these creatures created using her powers."
"She was overwhelmed." Compass Carburettor pointed at old man Mida, "On one side, she had to give power to suitable candidates like you who could help stabilise the world. On the other hand, she had to fight a vicious battle against these monsters that were eating away at her internally."
"My fragments attacked her every time those monsters had gained an upper hand. Using that chance, the Genesis Hero was able to buy enough time to create more Heroes." The entire building trembled in response as suddenly, a formless killing shot out of the place, akin to a blade that pierced through a hole just opened by a group of Invaders and vaporised them.
"These fuckers parasitise your mind and use your own power to wreak havoc, enough to make you die from guilt alone."
