Evolving Infinitely From An E-Class Hero-Chapter 57: Tech Armor

Step.

Step.

Step.

Aside from the sound of my feet crushing the gravel beneath me, the seaport was silent.

It wasn’t the peaceful kind of silence, but the thick, choking kind that settles after a brutal storm.

The creature stood over me, it’s chest heaving up and down like a deadly drumbeat. Blood — if one could even call the thick, purple liquid pumping through the veins visible around the reddened damaged areas of its body.

My gaze remained fixed on it as I approached.

The Calamity Creature had broken all expectations I had for it. Being not just strong, but fast and the crazy part of it all was its ability to pick out weak points like a skilled fighter — a brutal one.

But in that moment, I wasn’t thinking about any of that.

I exhaled slowly while raising my palm with just about the same speed.

Faint golden lines curled lazily into my outstretched from the Forever Core and then into my gauntlet. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"Alright, you’re finished..." I muttered under my breath, my voice calm and steady.

"Incinerate..."

"30%"

Tti-ring.

[Skill Activated: Incinerate]

[Output: 30%]

A blast of golden energy surged out, but it wasn’t a roar or an explosion. No, it pierced through the air like a whisper.

Just... Inevitability.

The Calamity Creature had been fast. So fast that it moved in blurs. But, in the light of my attack— its speed wasn’t just enough, it was insufficient.

It lunged forward towards the blast. Not sure what it was hoping to achieve there but nonetheless it disintegrated in mid air.

There was no no sound, no scream or earth shaking screech. No final attempt to fight back.

One moment it was there, claws outstretched and the next second, there was a gaping hole right through its head. Erasing every organ on it— Eyes, Nose, Mouth. Just a hollow head frame with nothing in-between.

Bam!

The rest of its lifeless body fell to the ground like a crumbling building.

On impact with the ground, wall of its body was now colored bright red with no space for the blue or purple pigment.

A clear indication that it no longer had life in it.

Behind me, a low and subtle mechanical wheeze caught my attention. I turned slightly to reveal Tech Armor still lying on the floor.

His body broken beyond recognition, limbs torn off, his cybernetics sparking weakly as synthetic fluids sprayed out.

He was rested upright against a shipping container. One human eye wide open with disbelief, the other one — a mechanical eye, flickered red optic scanning me in silence.

"... That thing..." He muttered, "You erased it... With a single attack..."

An involuntarily cough erupted from his chest.

Cough!

Cough!

Cough!

"What class... What rank... Are you? If I may ask young one... "

He said as thick, black synthetic fluid dripped down from the corner of his mouth.

I turned to face him fully. "E-Class. Rank 50."

*Kpim.

There was a long pause. The ocean wind blew through what remained of the scenery, whispering past melted steel and the smell of burnt iron.

Tech Armor’s mechanical eye sparked once again.

"... Bullshit!."

I tilted my head slightly.

"I get that a lot."

His eye twitched. For a moment, he said nothing. Then unexpectedly, he gave a dry chuckle that was obviously forced and ragged.

"You’re... Really something else."

He dragged his gaze to his ruined body. At the pieces of tech that had failed him.

In my opinion, I too would have lost to the creature if I was in his shoes. I gravely underestimated it’s abilities.

"Kid... I have a request..." He looked back at me with the little strength he had left.

"I have always been cursed with the never ending desire to get stronger... You look like you’re the advance, more complete and competent version of me..."

"Accept me as your disciple."

*Kpim.

I blinked in disbelief.

Orion Kael— The man before me was several times older than I was. Hell he was old enough to be my father.

A wat hardened veteran with scars from battles. A decorated commander. An A-Class Hero and yet—

"I may not be much now," he continued. "But I want to one day be able to do what you just did. That... That... Was power! Real power."

I stayed quiet, the wind kicked up again, swirling debris around us.

I watched Tech Armor closely, considering him with a slow , deliberate gaze. His cybernetics were already trying to heal, but the damage was far too much for his parts to regenerate.

"I have to say no, Mister," I blurted out.

His mechanical eye blinked. "What?".

"Because you wouldn’t keep up..."

There was a sudden beat of silence between us, so thick that you could probably cut a knife through it.

His brow furrowed, and for the first time since meeting him, there was something like frustration in his eyes.

But it wasn’t directed at me, not exactly.itbwas frustration with himself. His shattered body. The parts of him that couldn’t keep up anymore.

I saw it just then, he was struggling with something deeper than physical defeat. Almost like he desperately wanted to prove himself worthy of being a hero by taking down the Calamity Creature.

He reminded me of myself, the day Snake King the S-Class villain struck Sector D.

"You’re telling me..." Tech Armor started, his voice quiter now, "that a kid like you, who’s not even in the C-Class ranks could outpace me?"

I didn’t respond immediately. I didn’t need to. My presence. My very existence, was enough of an answer.

"I’ve been through a lot to get here," I said, my tone still and controlled. "I don’t make friends easily. And I don’t take on disciples."

He coughed again, but this time, there was a softer edge to his expression, as if he understood what I meant.

The pride he’d held so firmly in his chest crumbled. He wasn’t invincible. Not anymore. The armor, the years of combat experience, the honor — all of it had been stripped down to the bones of a man who had nowhere to go.

I wasn’t sure if I should feel pity for him. Maybe I did, a little.

But he wanted what he thought he needed, it wasn’t something I had the luxury to give.

The God honest truth was, even in his prime, he hadn’t been strong enough to deal with what was ahead. And now, after losing so much, what could he possibly offer?

Tech Armor’s head dropped slightly, his shoulders slumping. The pain, the defeat, and the reality of his situation weighed him down like a thousand tons of steel.

His gaze moved to the ground, then back to me. The fire had left his eyes, and all that remained was the quiet resignation of a man who had lost something he couldn’t regain.

"Well, I guess that’s that then."

I looked at him for a moment, noting the cracked edges of his exo armor, the deep lines of age and fatigue on his face. The sound of his labored breathing filled the space between us.

"Take care of yourself, Tech Armor," I said softly, turning away. "Maybe in another life, we’d make a good team."

The words were final.

Behind me, I could feel the weight of his eyes still on my back, but I didn’t stop. The wind picked up again, scattering the remains of the battle across the field as I walked away.

"Tch! Jake, come in. Did you get all that?" I muttered to myself.

Silence.

"Jake?"

Still silence.

"Boomerang Man, come in! Did you get all that?!"

"Jake can you hear me?"

[Ongoing Call...]

[Boomerang Man: Yes I’m here, I can hear you loud and clear!]

"Damn, did you just hear what happened?! That was crazy!!!"

[Ermm... What happened?]

"What?!"

"Dude where tf were you this whole time?!!"

[Ohh sorry... I got a... Lets call a toilet disaster... Hehe]

"You fool! So you heard nothing about what just happened right now?!"

[Unfortunately no.]

"So...!!"

"Argghhh! Nevermind!!"

"Nevermind!" I groaned, pinching the bridge of my nose as I kept walking. The seaport’s silence was finally starting to settle, this time without the tension. Just... quiet.

["Wait, wait, wait!"] Jake’s voice crackled through the comms again. ["Something did happen, right? You sound ticked off. Come on, tell me! Don’t leave me hanging, man."]

I sighed. "I took down the Calamity Creature."

["...Wait. You what?"]

"You heard me. It’s dead."

There was a pause. Then—

["You’re kidding."]

"Jake. Do I sound like I’m in the mood to kid?"

["...Holy crap."] I could practically hear the gears turning in his brain. ["Wait—wait—you? What about the hero that showed up?]

["I guess it was a walk in the park for you huh? Killing that Calamity Creature was likely to be easy considering how strong you’ve gotten"]

"Yeah."

["Nice..."]

["And Tech Armor? That guy’s a freakin’ tank! A walking war machine! What happened to him?"]

"Down for the count. He got wrecked—bad. Limbs torn off, armor shattered. He asked me to take him as my disciple."

I answered wrly.

Another long silence.

["...WHAT?!"] Jake shouted so loudly, my head jerked slightly in response to his loud voice

"Tch!"

["Okay, now you have to rewind and tell me everything. Like—everything. How the hell did you go from ’I’ll hang back and assist’ to melting the skull of a monster that even Tech Armor couldn’t beat?"]

"It’s a long story," I muttered, stopping briefly to glance back at the battlefield, now quiet and grim. "But I used Incinerate. 30% output."

["You used it?"] Jake’s voice went quiet, then serious. ["Damn... That must’ve looked insane."]

"It did. And it felt worse. Like... I wasn’t even attacking. Just erasing."

["Erasing..."] he repeated under his breath. ["Man... You’re changing, you know that? I don’t know what you’re evolving into, but it’s not just an E-Class anymore."]

I didn’t say anything.

Because deep down, I knew he was right.