The Bug Man

The Germans had planned to take Moscow lightning fast. However, resistance was fierce, and even just conquering Russian occupied Istanbul took longer than expected. By the time they reached Moscow proper, the temperature was already dropping. But Klaus had planned for this and thus equipped his troops with winter gear. But there was only so much a coat could do, they had to finish this before it got too cold to function. However…it seemed like they would be able to do just that…

Klaus dodged in the blink of an eye as Yuri’s fist shattered the concrete behind him. Before Yuri could even think about punching again, Klaus had already widened the distance in less than a second.

“Pretty quick.” Yuri removed his hand from the concrete and entered a battle stance. “Not bad, I suppose.”

Klaus had been separated from his battalion and Hana after a surprise attack, and now he was standing face-to-face with the Red Knight, Yuri Chekhov.

The Indigo Knight readied himself for combat. “This ends here and now.”

Klaus’s Ability was known as Blitz. It allowed him to move extremely fast.

“Haha!” Yuri couldn’t contain his laughter. “Speed doesn’t mean much in a real fight.” He punched his palm. “What really matters is vitality, toughness! Raw power is more important than gimmicks like speed!”

Yuri’s Ability was known as Power which granted him extreme strength.

The two sized each other up and prepared for their duel. Whoever triumphed here would change the fate of Kosma.

***

Enyu walked alone onto the battlefield. His men were retreating according to his orders, but the Japanese were to be met with something truly terrible.

He held up a syringe filled with an ominous dark red liquid. He put the needle into his neck and pressed down on the plunger.

At first, he didn’t feel anything, but after a few seconds, his heart started beating faster, pounding like a drum. He started gasping for air, barely able to breathe. Soon, he let out a bloodcurdling scream as he felt extreme pain all over as if he had been set on fire. It was as if his entire body was in revolt.

He keeled over as the pain overtook him, his mind beginning to fade. It wasn’t long until his body started transmuting into something else, something truly hellish.

***

When reports came from the frontline of a giant monster bug, Keitaro found himself confused. But once he actually saw it for himself, he could somehow tell exactly what it was.

It was the size of an elephant with a filthy brown hue, its hairy legs twitching, and its mandibles were razor sharp, oozing with saliva.

However, despite all that, somehow Keitaro could sense that what was before him now was Enyu Yang.

Of course, while he realized this on instinct, it was unfortunately confirmed as he saw the yellow glow of Enyu’s Core on its thorax.

This was all thanks to Project Hei, an experimental drug designed to increase the potency of Abilities. Greenlit by Enyu, it was originally intended to improve Yanmin’s Wall. Preliminary tests showed promise, but it was far from being ready. Case in point, it had caused Enyu to be completely consumed by his own Ability, turning him into a massive, powerful insect.

What was once Enyu let out a crackly roar. The beast scampered, barreling through the streets, trampling and devouring soldiers with its mandibles. Despite being hit with dozens of bullets, there wasn’t even a scratch on it. Not even grenades or rockets affected it.

“What the hell!? What are we supposed to do against that thing! It’s invincible!” Musashi yelled.

“Only a Knight or Maiden can harm another Knight or Maiden…” Keitaro steeled himself. “I need to get close.”

“You think you can fight that thing!?”

“Haven’t you realized it!? Only way we can kill it is to destroy that Core!” Keitaro pointed at it.

“Look at that thing!? You can’t treat it like just another opponent!”

“Damn it…” Keitaro didn’t like to admit it, but Musashi was right here. This was unlike anything they had ever fought before, and substantially more dangerous. He couldn’t just charge in blindly.

He wracked his brain, trying to think of something they could do.

“It’s like a giant cockroach…” Toko hated cockroaches, so she obviously wasn’t a fan of a massive one.

“Yes, I’m glad insects don’t get that big normally…” Tomoe added in.

But those comments made the gears in Keitaro’s head start to turn.

As another grenade exploded beneath it, Keitaro realized that while the beast remained unharmed, it actually was thrown off balance by the explosion.

And in that moment, he had an idea…

“Musashi! Order every troop to throw every grenade they’ve got left under Enyu at the exact same time!”

“What!?”

“Just trust me on this one!”

Musashi groaned but sent out the order.

In sync, every soldier with a grenade tossed it at the beast. Dozens landed beneath the monster, and together they erupted into a massive explosion, launching it off its legs and onto its back.

The monster that was just moments before tearing through the city, goring countless victims, was now completely helpless as it lay on its back, flailing its legs uselessly.

If put onto their back cockroaches are oftentimes unable to flip themselves over because of their weak legs, high center of gravity, and rounded body, making it difficult to gain traction and leverage. This is why you often see cockroaches dead on their backs, and it just so happened that this applied to Enyu’s new form as well.

All present were taken aback by this, by how the most horrific thing they had ever seen had been so easily neutered.

Keitaro breathed a sigh of relief, his crazy plan had actually worked.

But there wasn’t any time to waste. He ran as fast as he could to it. Seeing it up close and helpless, Keitaro couldn’t help but feel sad. Enyu Yang was a man, but not anymore. Keitaro wondered if the old Enyu was still in there, and he couldn’t decide if it would be better if he was.

With a heavy heart, he placed his hand against Enyu and activated Destruction. As Enyu slowly disintegrated, he kept fighting until the very end, desperately kicking his legs and letting out horrid screeches, but it was all for naught. Bit by bit, his body eroded into nothingness, and soon, even Enyu’s Core was overtaken by Destruction, turning into black dust and blowing into the wind.