I Am a Hero With A Hundred Abilities-Chapter 24: Ch 23. Beat down

Ethan had long since stopped relying solely on his eyes to track an opponent's movements.

He had died too many times, fought too many battles, and suffered through countless ambushes.

That His body had developed an instinct, an unnatural foresight—not of the future, but of intent.

He could feel where an attack was going to land before it even began.

That was why, when the Greater Gobkar surged forward with blinding speed, Ethan didn't flinch.

The black blade came down in a deadly arc, slicing through the air with a whistling sound.

A normal Level 1 hero wouldn't even be able to see the attack.

But Ethan?

He simply moved his hand.

With perfect precision, his palm met the descending blade—but there was no impact.

[Force Drain] activated.

The moment Ethan made contact, all the kinetic energy from the attack vanished.

The force behind the Gobkar's swing was simply erased, leaving it utterly harmless.

As Ethan caught the blade with his bare hand.

The Gobkar's crimson eyes widened in shock.

It had been toying with its prey before, but now—for the first time—it felt true fear.

Ethan let out a small sigh.

Guess I should end this quickly.

Before the Gobkar could react, Ethan's foot slammed into its solar plexus.

Thud!

But instead of sending the monster flying, it stayed in place.

Ethan controlled the force, compressing it into a single point.

He wasn't about to waste time chasing after his opponent after every attack.

If he wanted to demolish something, he would do it right here.

His hands became a blur, his legs a storm of motion.

Each strike was precise, every punch and kick landing with the power of a wrecking ball.

The den trembled with every impact.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sound of flesh breaking, bones snapping, and force colliding filled the air like a relentless drumbeat of destruction.

Dante and Elara could only watch in horror as Ethan systematically dismantled the Gobkar, its body jerking and convulsing under each attack.

The Gobkar couldn't move, couldn't escape.

It could only stand there as Ethan ripped it apart—strike after strike after strike.

Then, after the final blow, Ethan stopped.

As he turned around and walked away.

The Gobkar's body behind him stood frozen—its arms spread wide, its legs trembling. And then—

BOOM!

All at once, the force stored inside its body erupted.

The Gobkar's form twisted unnaturally, its limbs jerking as if being struck all over again.

The aftershock of each blow replayed itself in a brutal sequence, its body forced to relive the pain all at once.

Its blade slipped from its grasp.

A gurgling sound escaped its throat as green blood poured from its mouth.

Its organs had been pulverized beyond repair.

With one final shudder, its crimson eyes lost their light, and it collapsed backward—lifeless.

---

Ethan walked toward Dante, crouching down with his elbows resting on his knees.

He studied the man for a moment before speaking.

"You look beat up, big fella."

His tone was casual. Too casual.

Dante just stared at him, unable to process what had just happened.

The ease with which this young hero had obliterated the monster that nearly killed them was unreal.

For a moment, the words Ethan spoke didn't even register in Dante's mind.

His thoughts were spiraling elsewhere.

What kind of life had this boy lived? What had he gone through to become this strong at such a young age?

The shock was so overwhelming that Dante blurted out the first thing on his mind.

"...What hero rank are you?"

Ethan blinked, then let out a small chuckle.

"I'm a forsaken E-rank hero. Hope that answers your question."

Dante's mind short-circuited.

...What?

E-rank?

That was impossible. Even if Ethan had claimed to be C-rank, it would have been more believable. But E-rank?

His mind was still reeling when Ethan's voice cut through his thoughts again.

"Hey, big fella, I need you to watch over the unconscious ones. I assume they're your teammates?"

Dante nodded absentmindedly, still processing everything.

Ethan then stood up and turned to Elara, who was standing nearby, still shaken from what she had just witnessed.

"Hey, healer. Your teammates need healing."

Elara snapped out of her daze, quickly rushing over.

"O-Okay! I'll be on it!"

As she reached Dante to heal him, she stole a quick glance at Ethan, then quickly looked away, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks.

Ethan, meanwhile, was already walking deeper into the den.

Dante snapped out of his thoughts and called after him.

"Where are you going?"

Ethan didn't even look back.

"There's a black pit that needs closing. I plan to do just that."

With those words, he vanished into the shadows.

Elara watched him go, as she was healing Dante.

"Do you know who that was?" she asked. "He looked so young..."

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Dante, still staring at the spot where Ethan disappeared, shook his head.

"I don't know... But after what happened here, I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."

After that He looked at his remaing teamates Garrick and Reo.

Their injuries weren't to bad they were just unconcious and Elara could stabilize them before they could receive proper treatment after leaving here.

He was relieved that they all survived this calamity before he realized something.

"I didn't even thank him"

****

Through the cloud-covered sky, a figure streaked forward at high speed, the wind whipping against his body as he soared effortlessly.

This was Radiant Striker, a Level 3 C-Rank hero and the leader of the task force dispatched to handle the Duality Pit anomaly.

Behind him, an advanced combat aircraft—the Hawkstorm VTOL—roared through the air, its sleek black frame cutting through the sky like a predator.

Inside the VTOL were seven other Level 3 heroes, their Hero Ranks ranging from E to D.

They had been sent as an emergency response unit after the Association detected an increase in the pit's rank.

A Duality Pit always released Lesser Dreads when it first appeared. And released dreads with higher ranks when it reformed.

This one had surged two ranks higher—skipping Lower Dreads entirely and instead released Greater Dread beasts.

Only Level 3 heroes could be expected to handle such monsters.

As Radiant Striker and his team neared the den, the Hawkstorm VTOL began its descent, deploying the task force onto the rocky terrain outside.

Radiant Striker hovered in place, scanning the dark cave entrance below.

His brow furrowed.

Something's wrong.

At this point, Dread Beasts should have already started leaving the den, spreading their corrupting influence and expanding the pit's size.

But there was no movement, no monstrous roars, no signs of an advancing horde.

It was... silent.

Radiant Striker turned to his team.

"Stay sharp. This isn't normal. Either the Association miscalculated the rank increase... or something else happened here."

Without hesitation, the heroes moved in, their boots echoing through the cave's cold, damp corridors.

Then, they heard footsteps—but not from behind them.

It was from inside the den.

Everyone instinctively tensed, readying their weapons.

And then they saw him.

Emerging from the darkness, Dante walked forward, his massive frame burdened by three unconscious teammates—Garrick, Reo, and Alden—all slung over his shoulders.

Behind him, Elara followed, her face tired but determined.

Radiant Striker's eyes narrowed in surprise.

Dante was injured, but still standing. His teammates, however, were clearly in critical condition.

"Raptor, help him carry them."

One of the heroes immediately rushed forward, taking Garrick and Reo from Dante's grasp.

"Valkyrie, get back to the Hawkstorm VTOL and bring more advanced recovery pills. The ones we have won't be enough."

Another hero nodded and took off at high speed, heading back toward the aircraft.

As the heroes moved the wounded to a stable area for treatment, Elara quickly joined them, offering her healing abilities to stabilize their conditions.

Meanwhile, Radiant Striker stepped closer to Dante, his gaze firm.

"Tell me—what exactly did you and your team fight that left you in this state... and yet let you walk out alive?"

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A/N will release an extra Chapter if I get 50 power stones.

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