Kryptonians: Man of Steel

Chapter 1519 Craving Power

"elder brother!"

A vibrant voice rang out as Komachi Hikigaya ran out of her room. The girl's face wore her usual bright smile, which seemed to dispel the gloom around her.

She keenly sensed that her brother was in very poor condition, but sensibly she didn't ask any questions. Instead, she snuggled closer like a little animal, her voice slightly pleading, "Brother, you look so tired today! Komachi saved some pudding for you! It was so hard to find!"

Looking into his younger sister's innocent, trusting, and dependent eyes, Hachiman's stagnant heart finally stirred with a tiny ripple. It was a feeling that was a mixture of warmth and sharp pain.

He reached out and, with an extremely stiff yet extremely gentle touch, ruffled Komachi's soft hair, his movements as rigid as if he were operating an unfamiliar machine.

"...Okay. Thanks, Komachi. Go to sleep early."

He withdrew his hand, the soft touch still lingering on his fingertips, a touch that burned like a branding iron, making his heart clench.

He dared not linger for even a second longer, fearing that Komachi would see through the weariness, fear, and the damned countdown of the "system" hidden deep in his eyes.

He practically fled, quickly walking into his room and slamming the door shut, isolating himself from the world he was desperately trying to protect.

Inside the door, there was a deathly silence and a mountain of "tomorrow's task list" looming over you.

Outside the door, Komachi's smile faded slightly as she looked at her brother's closed door, her clear eyes filled with worry. Her parents exchanged a glance, a silent sigh echoing heavily in the air.

Luther's will, like a cold tide, quietly swept over this residential area.

He didn't create monsters directly, as that would be too crude and boring, and would easily leave obvious traces of "miracle," which didn't fit his perverse taste for "natural development."

What he did was a more covert operation, one that better aligned with the "chaotic rules of the integrated world."

For example, let some of the parasites come knocking on your door, since Hachiman Hikigaya killed their companions.

Hachiman Hikigaya lay on the narrow bed, staring blankly at the familiar ceiling.

His body ached and stiff from the day's battles and the immense pressure of anticipating tomorrow's tasks, but his mind was unusually clear, as if he were being simmered over a low flame.

The cold, blue light of the system interface seemed to be imprinted on his retina, and the icy task entries played automatically in his mind, like a death knell.

He forced himself not to think about Komachi's worried eyes, not to think about his parents' silent sighs, shutting down all his senses, trying to sink into a void of darkness.

at this time--

“Squeak——!!!”

"Roar--!!!"

The ear-piercing, inhuman screams and roars, mixed with the sharp crack of glass shattering violently, cleaved the silence of the night like thunder, and instantly tore apart the mental defenses that Hachiman had forcibly built!

The sound was coming from downstairs! From the direction of the living room!
The moment the sound rang out, Hachiman's body jolted upright as if struck by a high-voltage current! "Ugh!"

The muscles tensed up like steel in extreme terror!

All weariness, all emptiness, all "energy-saving" beliefs were utterly crushed in a fraction of a second by a more primal, more violent, instinctive emotion imprinted deep in the genes—a "rage that burns everything" that was instantly ignited, catalyzed, and sublimated from the "fear" that penetrated to the bone marrow and froze the blood!
Thoughts stagnate, time stands still.

The sole thought, like a crimson lightning bolt cleaving through the chaotic darkness:
"Komachi!!!"

A hoarse, completely broken roar, almost tearing his throat apart, exploded from the deepest part of his chest!
This is no longer the decadent and lifeless Hachiman Hikigaya, but an ancient ferocious beast whose lair has been completely invaded, whose cubs are under deadly threat, and whose ferocity and destructive desires have been ignited in an instant!
Fear was swallowed up by a stronger protective instinct, leaving only the purest killing intent.

He didn't even have a millisecond to think about logical questions like "Why here?" or "How can the monster be located precisely?"

At the heart of Luther's cold calculations—his almost obsessive protectiveness of his sister, Komachi Hikigaya—became the fuse that ignited all his potential, completely taking over his body!
"boom--!!!"

A deafening roar, far more muffled and explosive than the sound of a monster smashing through a window!
The not-so-sturdy wooden door of his room was struck head-on by a battering ram as he charged forward with all his might!
The door hinge twisted and snapped instantly, and the entire door panel, along with fragments of the door frame, exploded and scattered inwards as if torn apart by an invisible giant hand! Wood chips, dust, and fragments shot out in the narrow corridor space!
In the instant wood chips flew and dust filled the air, his figure transformed into a blurry black afterimage, rushing towards the staircase leading to hell with a whooshing sound that tore through the air, at a speed far exceeding the limits of human visual perception!

The stairs seemed to disappear beneath his feet; almost instinctively, he plunged downwards in a manner that was both a near fall and a frenzied forward charge!

A scroll depicting hell suddenly unfolds before your eyes.

The scene in the living room was like the most insane nightmare forcibly crammed into reality, instantly filling Hachiman's bloodshot vision due to his rage.

The entire floor-to-ceiling window facing the courtyard in the living room, along with part of the wall, has disappeared, leaving a huge, menacing gap with twisted metal frames and jagged pieces of broken bricks and wood at the edges.

A fierce wind, carrying night rain and the stench of blood, rushed in. The expensive sofa was torn apart by an invisible force, its filling scattering like dirty snowflakes.

The TV screen shattered, and fragments of the LCD screen were scattered all over the floor like black ice crystals.

The exquisite chandelier was reduced to a few broken wires, swaying precariously in mid-air. The walls were riddled with deep, terrifying grooves, as if slashed by a giant razor, and the wallpaper hung like rags.

At the gap, there wasn't just one, but two of those terrifying parasitic beasts that had attacked him before!

Their twisted, inhuman bodies cast even more grotesque shadows under the dim emergency lights (the main living room light had been damaged).

The enormous, scythe-shaped bone blades that gleam with a cold metallic light and are attached to their heads are the culprits that caused the devastating cuts to the walls and windows!

One of them was sweeping its eyeless "head" around, seemingly searching for prey; the other was easily slicing through a heavy solid wood dining table with its sharp forelimbs (or the tip of its bony blade), as if cutting through tofu.

The Hikigaya couple were huddled behind the huge, half-cut, and precariously balanced dining table.

The father's face was ashen, veins bulging on his forehead, as he futilely tried to protect his wife with his trembling arms.

(End of this chapter)