Kryptonians: Man of Steel

Chapter 1521 For the Family
The flames of awakening burned even more fiercely, but they also carried a hint of forced submission and a cold, metallic scent.

The chilling declaration spread like a palpable killing intent, and the crack in the floor pointed at by the sword was the absolute boundary between life and death.

However, to the two parasitic beasts in the living room who were readjusting their postures, this boundary was nothing more than a thin piece of paper to be torn apart.

“Hiss—!”

The parasitic beast that Hachiman had flung away was the first to spring up from the rubble. Its twisted neck (the fleshy stem connecting the bone blade to the torso) twitched slightly from the injury, but this only fueled its even more ferocious rage.

Its massive bone blade, gleaming with a cold metallic light, vibrated rapidly as if it were alive, emitting a teeth-grinding buzzing sound—this was a characteristic of the parasitic beast: its ability to instantly transform, stretch like rubber, and harden like steel, a deadly trait.

The other parasite, which had been cutting up the dining table, also abandoned its pointless destruction. Its faceless "face" turned towards Hachiman, and its invisible "gaze" locked onto the prey that exuded a strong threat.

They instantly coordinated their tactics using their unique alternating current radio waves.

"You're the one who killed our comrades..."

One of the parasites spoke human language.

"companion?"

Hachiman Hikigaya recalled the monster that "he" had killed before. Was there only one of them?

But what did he do wrong? If he hadn't killed that parasite, he would have been the one to die.

Now, being confronted by someone of the same kind, and with his family also implicated, Hachiman Hikigaya is furious.

“Hiss—!!!”

The parasite that Hachiman flung away had its head—the core organ composed of countless pink tendon-like cells—vibrating wildly at a high frequency.

The "neck" tissue supporting the scythe-like bone blade writhes and stretches like an enraged swarm of snakes, the blade rubbing against the air and producing a sickening metallic buzzing sound.

This sound was a roar of pure killing instinct, a furious declaration of the fact that "the prey dared to resist"!

In its simple consciousness built on the instinct for survival, Hachiman's resistance has escalated from "food" to a "threat" that must be crushed!
The pale moonlight filtered through the broken window frames, intertwining with the flickering green light of the emergency lights in the distance, casting eerie shadows on the restaurant ruins.

At this moment, the deadly scythe-like bone blade was being raised to its maximum height—it was not a simple skeleton, but a biological crystal weapon formed by the parasitic beast dissolving and reconstructing the host's forearm ulna and radius, mixed with its own high-density cells!

The blade gleamed with a cold, hard luster like quenched steel in the darkness. As the muscle bundles contracted and tightened instantly, it tore through the air with a sharp "whoosh"!
The trajectory was as precise as a scalpel, slicing straight through Hachiman's exposed neck!

The target of this attack was clear: to cut the guardian and the "little hope" huddled in fear in the corner behind him in two!
call out!
Almost at the same instant the leader parasite swung its blade, another parasite, which was playfully flicking away pieces of wood from the dining table with the tip of its blade, suddenly stopped.

Its inhuman compound eye structure detected the trajectory of its companion's attack and the strong human scent of Hachiman in the air. A short, high-frequency "squeak!" sounded, like the vibration of a metal reed, and it instantly abandoned its tedious destruction.

Its attack method is completely different—there is no exaggerated charging and slashing. The bone blade, which is also made of bones and high-density cells, is like the stinger of a lurking scorpion. It stabs out silently and fast as lightning at a tricky angle that is almost touching the ground!

Only when the blade tip broke the sound barrier did the ear-piercing shriek suddenly explode, its target aimed directly at Hachiman's unsuspecting left lower back kidney area!

The insidiousness of this attack lies in its timing: it is precisely timed to strike at the moment when Hachiman is fully engaged in a frontal slash, and his center of gravity and defense are bound to be vulnerable. The intention is to force him to be distracted and block, causing him to lose his frontal defense, or to directly dismantle his fighting ability with a penetrating wound!
Death Cross!

Two cold lights, emanating from different dimensions and imbued with pure killing intent, wove together in the dim light and shadow to form a deadly net, completely enveloping Hachiman!
Hachiman's pupils suddenly contracted to pinpoints!

A chilling sense of despair, like a tangible liquid, instantly overwhelmed all his senses.

He was not a born warrior, but an ordinary boy who was pushed into the abyss by disaster and whose body had just been implanted with an unstable seed called "power".

Faced with this monstrous attack from aliens that defied logic and was coordinated with mechanical precision, every cell in his body was screaming madly at the end!

Thinking? Strategy? They're meaningless in a fraction of a second between life and death!
What drives his body is the primal instinct for survival, the tiny figure behind him that needs protection, and the fragments of combat memories that Luther forcibly instilled into his nerve endings that have not yet been fully integrated!

This is the savage burning of will and potential when forced to the edge of a cliff!

"Uhhh-!!!"

A battle cry exploded from the ripped chest!
Facing the scythe of death descending with the force of wind and thunder, Hachiman made a counter-instinctive move—instead of retreating, he violently lowered his center of gravity forward!
His left foot stomped hard into the cracked floor like a pile driver, the sole of his shoe sinking deep into the wood chips and tiles.

The muscles in his right arm bulged like rocks under extreme pressure, and the bluish-purple blood vessels under his skin throbbed wildly.

The ancient longsword was no longer being tested. He used all his strength as a bowstring and swung it upwards from below, like a meteor shooting against the sky, fiercely and incomparably upwards!
The target is precise and deadly: not the indestructible body made of muscles and deformable cells, but the absolute core of its attack—the relatively slender "neck" tendon bundle that connects the scythe-like bone blade to the head and torso and carries all the power!

That place is the hub where cells maintain their attack form through high density, and also a fragile node for the transmission of power!

Clang—!!
The next instant, a deafening explosion, exceeding the limits of metal impact and sounding more like a high-voltage current shattering the air, erupted! Dust throughout the space was propelled into the air by the sound waves!

The cold, sharp blade of the longsword slashed with absolute precision at the "neck" connection point of the parasitic beast's scythe, which was formed by countless pinkish-white tendon fibers twisting wildly below the base of the bone blade!
A blinding blue-white spark erupted at the point of impact—not a real electric current, but the energy released by the violent collision of high-density biological crystals and special alloys under ultra-high-speed friction!

The instantaneous light illuminated Hachiman's face, which was twisted and contorted with extreme force, as well as the cold, inorganic reflection in the Parasite's compound eyes!
A terrifying force, like a landslide or a tsunami, ruthlessly pierced Hachiman's right arm along the sword!

He felt as if his arm bones were being crushed by an invisible hydraulic press, instantly losing all sensation, leaving only a devastating, numbing shock!

(End of this chapter)