Villain's Rising

Eying the superhero in front of him, Sam enforced his body with otherworldly energy by activating [Neither Manipulation].

From Sam's estimation, the distance between him and Starsuper was around 6-7 meters.

Clenching his jaw, Sam mentally composed himself.

It was now painfully clear to him that the gap between their strength was too tremendous.

Even with everything he had in his disposal, Sam couldn't hope to face Starsuper head-on.

(Don't think too much, Sam. Do as I say. For now, do your best to avoid his attacks, and do not, I repeat, do not try to tank his attacks)

With a look of resolution on his face, Sam nodded.

Seeing him behaving this way, Starsuper felt uneasy.

That last punch must've made the gap between their powers clear to Sam, so why was he still so committed?

Why was he not abandoning hope?

Did he have a hidden ace up his sleeve that he has yet to reveal?

Shaking his head, Starsuper cleared his mind of such needless suspicions.

Whatever hidden card Sam has left up his sleeve, it would mean nothing against the ace Starsuper was going to play now.

'Initiate Overdrive!' Starsuper screamed in his mind.

As soon as he did so, a golden translucent screen appeared in his vision— it was something only he could see.

[Initiating Overdrive….

Conformation required. Are you sure you want to use Overdrive?]

Without hesitation, Starsuper nodded his head. 'Yes!'

[Overdrive] was one of the many abilities exclusive to an extraterrestrial race that Starsuper belonged to.

Starsuper possessed immense strength. However, there's a limit to how much of his power his body can handle.

If he were to use 100% of his strength, his body wouldn't be able to handle the physical toll.

His muscles would rip apart, and his bones would shatter. Although they would be repaired instantly, the process would repeat in a cycle.

Even though Starsuper possessed [Adaptability], he never quite adapted to his own full strength since there were only so many instances when he needed to use his 100%.

Using [Overdrive] would help him surpass his physical limits and transcend his attack potential to greater heights for the next 5 minutes.

Now, although 5 minutes may sound like a very short time, it was going to be more than enough for Starsuper to dispose of this threat.

'Why isn't he moving?' Sam frowned his eyebrows as he watched Starsuper standing still with his head down. 'Is he not going to attack?'

Some of him expected Starsuper to have exhausted all his strength after traveling to the moon from earth at such high speed, but he knew he would be asking too much.

Right then, the voice in Sam's head yelled at him.

(Sam! Move! Quick! Move and create a distance from him!)

Without even questioning the voice in his head, Sam used [Neither Manipulation].

He didn't use the black bat-like wings on his back to fly since he needed speed, and flapping massive wings won't exactly give him that.

An invisible force pulled Sam up, and the black-haired boy shot into the sky like a fired bullet.

After creating a safe amount of distance between himself and the golden-haired superhero, Sam stopped.

It's not like he could outrun a man who flew from earth to the moon in mere minutes anyway. He created enough distance so that he would be able to react if Starsuper were to attack suddenly.

However, even then, he could only see Starsuper standing there on the moon's surface. His body so still that one could mistake it for a statue.

After a second or two passed, Sam finally asked, 'What's he doing?'

(He-)

Before the voice in his head could even start speaking properly, a golden aura started shrouding Starsuper's body.

(Sam! He's going to unleash all his strength! Do whatever you can to keep yourself out of his striking range!)

Confused and terrified, Sam questioned. 'What do you mean full strength? Earlier, when he punched me to the moon, that ought to be his full strength, right?'

(No! In fact, that was merely forty percent of his actual power!)

At that moment, for a second, Sam widened his eyes, and his facial expression distorted.

That blow that almost killed him wasn't even used at its full potential? He was holding THAT much power back?!

Of course, the shockwave that'd created from the blow that Sam received ought to have destroyed the majority of the North Pole.

So it was understandable why Starsuper was holding himself back while fighting on Earth since if he'd used his full strength, billions of people would've lost their lives.

But now, in space, where there is no one for him to worry about and no trace of life that Sam could use to his advantage, the odds were against the boy Progenitor.

Although the shock and the dreadful look on Sam's face were soon replaced by anger and motivation.

He had already decided to win. He would do whatever it took to win and survive this battle.

If Starsuper falls here, the earth will lose, and the villain will win!

With that thought in mind, Sam activated godspeed.

Because electricity can't exist in space and the moon has no atmosphere, his body didn't envelop in lightning.

However, Sam felt as if the world had gotten slower.

In reality, Sam's brain functions were increased by several times, and hence he was experiencing something akin to a time dilation.

Almost simultaneously, Starsuper, who had his face down and eyes closed all this, shot a glance up and glared at Sam.

His eyes shone in a bright golden hue while his whole body emanated a golden aura.

Right then, cracks opened up under Starsuper's feet, and his figure instantly disappeared.

-Swoosh!

-Baam!

As soon as that happened, a massive crater formed around where Starsuper stood earlier.

In confusion, Sam eyed the scene. But in the next moment, to his sheer surprise, Starsuper's figure appeared right in front of him!

Even with godspeed— an application of [Bio-electricity Manipulation] that greatly enhanced his reaction and movement speed— Sam wasn't able to react until Starsuper had already closed in on him.

With his right hand pulled back and palm folded into a fist, Starsuper guided his strength into his punch.

At inhumane speed, Starsuper threw a straight at Sam.

(Sam! Move!)

Right at that moment, before Starsuper's punch could connect, Sam cocked his head to the left.

Thankfully, there's only vacuum in space. So there were no destructive shockwaves following the punch.

Still, now that Sam was this close to Starsuper, he immediately activated [Neither Manipulation] and decided to distance himself from him.

Before he could do that, however, Starsuper opened the fist hand that he threw and grabbed Sam from behind his neck.

(Sam!)

Without any delay, in one single moment, Starsuper twisted his body and used the momentum to throw Sam back on the moon's surface.

-Thwaaam!

-Thud!

Crevices formed around where Sam had fallen. Fortunately, he had already turned off the pain receptors, but he wasn't in a very good position.

He was laying dead flat on the ground. He was a sitting duck.

Mustering what little strength had left in his body after taking that fall, Sam moved his body.

From his peripheral vision, he saw Starsuper descending down on him at full speed like a meteor!

Tensing his calf muscles, Sam managed to jump out of Starsuper's trajectory by a hair's breadth.

-Thrwaaaash!

Debris and dust flew as Starsuper dug, yet countless of many other craters on the moon's surface.

Standing in the epicenter of that huge crater, Starsuper eyed Sam like a predator watching its prey.

However, right then, something unexpected happened.

A faint smirk formed on Sam's face.