While Josh tended to the injured heroes, using a couple of health potions created with his philosopher's stone, his gaze kept drifting back to the spectacle unfolding before him.

  Blue Lock and Steel Titan were locked in a titanic struggle, their blows carrying the force of immense explosions so intense that the shockwaves rippled outwards, parting the clouds overhead and shaking the earth below. It was a battle on a scale that reminded Josh of when he saw Kunshu and the twelve chief men of his tribe clash on the Iron Storm Mountains. Each strike from those battles had shattered mountains, cleaved the heavens, and reshaped the very landscape.

  Josh had expected A-Rank metahumans to be powerful, but this… it was like looking at two forces of nature clashing against each other.

  As the battle raged, his keen eyes could discern a subtle shift in momentum. Blue Lock, for all his power, was slowly losing ground. It wasn't a dramatic collapse, but the Steel Titan's relentless assault was taking its toll. He felt a growing urge to intervene, to lend his strength to the fight. But Ebony Blade, recovered somewhat, placed a hand on his shoulder, her grip firm.

  "Don't worry," she said, her voice strained but steady. "He hasn't fully gone all out yet."

  Back at the epicenter of the conflict, Blue Lock was beginning to show the strain of the fight. A couple of angry, bleeding bruises marked his face, and a trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth. The Steel Titan, while not unscathed, bore only a few bruises and scratches, a testament to his incredible resilience.

  “Well, you have certainly gotten a bit stronger since our last bout," Steel Titan commented, his voice a low rumble that carried over the din of battle. Then, his brow furrowed, a hint of dark amusement in his eyes. "But surely, Blue Lock, you don’t think you can beat me with that alone, do you?"

  Blue Lock smirked, a flash of his usual cocky confidence returning. "Oh, don't worry…" he said, his voice laced with anticipation. He reached out with his left arm, extending his hand towards the Steel Titan. "I was just tenderizing you up for the main event!"

  Suddenly, a blue, transparent mechanical energy construct enveloped Blue Lock, coalescing around him with a hum of power. It then shifted, morphed, and transformed into a massive energy cannon, its form sleek and deadly. With a roar, Blue Lock unleashed a devastating wave of energy, a beam of pure force that slammed into Steel Titan and sent him crashing into a nearby mountainside.

  The impact caused a colossal explosion, the shockwave rippling outwards across the landscape like a tremor. For a moment, there was nothing but silence… until the Steel Titan emerged from the blast, seemingly unfazed. His lip was busted and bleeding, but he merely grinned, wiping the blood away with the back of his hand.

  "Well… you're off to a good start at least," he commented, his voice a chilling mix of pain and delight. The villain then launched himself at Blue Lock once more, a human battering ram of unstoppable force.

  Watching the display of power, Josh couldn't help but exclaim, "He has two Metagenes!" It was a revelation. He had sensed the raw strength and flight capabilities, but the energy construct was something new, unexpected.

  Ebony Blade, standing beside him, nodded. "Blue Lock often relies on his physical Metagene power, which, like his flight, comes from his father's side. His mother's Metagene grants him the ability to construct energy. It's the combination of both his intense training and his A-Rank that allowed him to become an A-Rank hero at such a young age. And with him using both of them at once… I am sure that he has this fight in the bag.”

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  Josh, however, held his breath as he looked back at the seemingly unfazed villain, who still didn't seem particularly worried, as if he held an unknown advantage. It gave him a sense of unease.

  As the battle raged on, the tide steadily turned in Blue Lock's favor. His energy constructs, deployed with increasing skill and ferocity, began to find their mark. Swords of pure energy slashed across Steel Titan's incredibly durable form, hammers of force dented his resistant flesh, and blasts of energy, both concussive and searing, left marks on his body. The villain, for the first time, was on the defensive, his movements growing sluggish under the relentless assault.

  “You should have stayed in whatever hole you crawled out from, you bastard!" Blue Lock roared, his voice filled with a savage fury. "Because if you thought I slacked off since our last brawl, then keep dreaming!" He punctuated his words with a devastating energy-enhanced punch, smashing Steel Titan into the ground of a nearby forest with enough force to crater the earth.

  Yet, with a chilling resilience, the villain quickly righted himself, a wide, unsettling grin spreading across his face. "Oh, I am afraid it is less of you being weaker…" he commented, his voice a low rumble, "...but rather if you still maintain that softness."

  Then, with a burst of speed that defied the eye, Steel Titan vanished. Yet instead of attacking Blue Lock, he targeted the wounded heroes.

  "No…." Blue Lock shouted in horror, his voice cracking with desperation. He surged forward, pushing his already strained body to its absolute limit.

  Meanwhile, Josh was helping Kaiju-Man to his feet (his body still reeling even after the healing potions), and he suddenly sensed a massive power source building. Looking up, he saw Steel Titan, his face twisted in a morbid grin, while his eyes glowed with an ominous red… and then he unleashed twin searing red laser beams right at the heroes.

  Fearing the worst, Josh immediately began to cast a spell, drawing mystical power from the very fabric of reality. As he wove the arcane forces, preparing to erect a protective barrier, Lue Lock threw himself into the path of the attack, clad in a full suit of shimmering blue energy armor that managed to withstand the attack, preventing it from reaching his comrades.

  However, the effort came at a terrible cost. His energy armor flickered and shattered, and his blue shirt was vaporized, exposing his muscular chest, now covered in second and third-degree burns. He lay on the ground, barely conscious, his body shuddering with pain.

  Kaiju-Man and Ebony Blade cried out Blue Lock's name in horror, their voices filled with anguish and disbelief.

  "How predictable…" Steel Titan said, his voice dripping with disdain. "He ended up risking his life to save worthless scum like you…" His eyes glowed again, the red light intensifying. "Only for all of you to die anyway." He unleashed another devastating blast of laser beams, intending to reduce his adversaries to dust.

  But then, to everyone's astonishment, Steel Titan's attack was reflected at him, sending the villain flying backward and crashing into another mountainside with earth-shattering force.

  After casting the spell, Josh looked at his right hand and noticed a thin layer of crystals begin to cover his skin. He cursed under his breath. "Damn… Guess I can't cast higher-tier spells without objects yet."

  He then looked over at Blue Lock, his expression a mix of regret and determination. Quickly, he grabbed another potion from his dimensional storage, this one a vibrant, swirling red and white, using a vial and his Philosopher's Stone to properly transmute it. He poured the potion onto Blue Lock's scorched chest. The liquid stung the injured hero, but gradually, miraculously, his wounds began to heal.

  Blue Lock, despite his injuries, pushed himself up, his face pale but resolute. "I will deal with the Steel Titan while you stay here," he gasped, his voice weak but firm.

  "Are you insane? You are going to get yourself killed fighting him! Didn't you even see what he did to you, idiot!" Josh exclaimed, his voice laced with concern and frustration .“I know…” Blue Lock said. "But I am the only one who can fight him… so just listen to me and-" but Josh appeared in front of him and shook his head.

  Blue Lock stood silent for a moment, then met his gaze. Josh sighed and said, "Look… you may not believe it, but I have fought and beaten guys on the same level as Ivon.” He then turned his back. “Just sit still for a moment until that elixir properly heals you, and then you can take another shot at him.” Josh then rolled and stretched his neck and shoulders. “And besides…It’s been a while since I had a proper warm-up.”

  And then, not a moment too soon, the Steel Titan arrived in front of them, smirking at taking his own laser blast.