Supervillain Idol System: My Sidekick Is A Yandere-Chapter 525: Show Of Force (Part 7)

Pyro hesitated to act.

It wasn’t fear. It was calculation.

He could flood the street with fire and end it in seconds—but Don was right there, and though he could likely bare it, the child in his arms wouldn’t.

Pyro’s jaw tightened as flames moved higher around his shoulders, his body already primed to burn everything in that direction if it came down to it.

He was ready to make that choice.

Luckily, Don moved first.

The hound still had his fist in its mouth, teeth locked down hard enough to grind bone. Don opened his hand inside the creature’s throat and clamped down on its tongue.

The thing shrieked.

Don twisted left with his full weight behind it, yanking the creature off the ground and swinging it like a blunt weapon. Its body slammed into another hound—CRASH~—both tumbling across broken pavement.

From that same motion, Don lashed out to the right. His fist drove into the limb of the next attacker just as it struck, snapping it sideways. He followed immediately with a second blow to the face, sending the creature rolling end over end.

More closed in—

And then something tore through them.

Starboy hit the street like a human missile, blasting in from a road leading out of town—BOOM~. He plowed straight through the pack, bodies exploding away from him as he didn’t slow, didn’t stop, just hit. Bones broke. Bodies flew. The street shook under the impact of his charge.

Don shook the stringy saliva from his freed hand and moved.

He leapt to the bus as Starboy finished the last few creatures nearby, smashing one into a storefront and driving another into the pavement hard enough to leave a crater.

All around them, the sound of more movement carried—scraping, clawing, howls building from every direction.

Don crouched beside the bus and lowered the child to the ground. The door was already opening from the inside.

"Go," Don said, guiding her forward. "Inside. Hurry. That bus will take you to m—"

"Sarah!!"

A cry called out.

The girl froze, then turned.

Inside the bus, a woman forced her way forward—same dark hair, same wide eyes as the little girl—her clothes smeared with blood and dirt, one sleeve torn open to the shoulder.

"Mommy!!" Sarah screamed.

She ran.

The woman dropped to her knees at the door and caught her, lifting the girl into her arms with a broken sob. "Oh sweetie—I thought I lost you—"

Don stepped closer. "You need to leave. Now."

The driver looked back, hands tight on the wheel.

The woman’s head snapped up, joy draining from her face. "No," she said. "No, you can’t. My husband is still out there. You have to find him."

"I’m sorry," Don said, voice firm. "There’s no time."

She shook her head, clutching the child tighter. "No. I’m not leaving without him!"

Don raised his hand.

The woman gasped as an invisible grip wrapped around her, gentle but absolute, forcing her back inside the bus. The door slammed shut—BANG~.

"If you don’t leave now," Don said through the glass, "we won’t be able to protect you."

The driver didn’t need to hear more and the engine roared to life.

The bus started moving, slow and careful as the driver steered around debris and the burned remains of creatures scattered across the road.

Pyro hovered down beside Don, breathing hard now, shoulders rising and falling. "Nice work," he muttered.

Starboy was already lifting off. "I’ll escort them to a safe distance and come back," he said, rising fast. "Start getting rid of these damn—"

Don stiffened.

His eyes snapped toward the bus.

"No—!"

The ground split open beneath it.

A massive vine erupted from the road—KRRRAAASH~—launching the bus into the air like a toy. Metal screamed as the vehicle tilted sideways, passengers thrown violently against windows and seats.

Before it could land, the vine whipped around and struck the bus dead center.

CRUUUNCH~.

The frame folded inward. Windows burst. Bodies were forced out through shattered glass, flung screaming into the air before slamming into the road or vanishing into the trees.

Inside, seats tore loose, crushing people against twisted metal as the bus was hurled sideways into the forest.

It plowed through trees—SNAP SNAP SNAP~—branches and trunks exploding apart before the wreck finally came to rest in a tangled heap of steel, blood, and broken limbs.

Smoke poured from the ruin.

Nothing moved.

Don stood frozen, staring. But he wasn’t alone.

Pyro hung midair, flames guttering without direction. Starboy hovered just off the ground, fists clenched, eyes locked on the smoking ruin where the bus had vanished.

None of them spoke. None of them moved.

The ground reacted for them.

A massive shadow appeared across the street as the vine whipped down toward Don—fast, violent, intent clear in the way it tore through air.

Don snapped his head up and raised both arms without hesitation.

The impact hit like a collapsing building—BOOOOM~.

His feet dug into the asphalt as the road beneath him fractured outward in jagged rings, concrete buckling and exploding under the force. He absorbed the blow with his forearms braced overhead, muscles screaming as the vine pressed down with crushing weight.

Then he shoved back.

Don tore his arms outward and released a concussive burst point-blank—the shockwave ripping through the underside of the vine, blasting chunks of fibrous matter loose and forcing it to recoil upward.

He bent his knees, ready to jump—

"Ahhh!! Fuck!!"

But before he could, an angry Pyro streaked through the air like a comet, flames roaring as he slammed into the vine’s length.

He flew along it with one hand pressed flat against its surface, dragging fire behind him in a continuous torrent—WHOOOOOSH~. The vine thrashed harder in response, slamming into buildings and ripping free chunks of road as it tried to shake him off.

Starboy shot past Pyro a second later and came down hard near the point where the vine had erupted—BOOM~—both hands driving into it. The impact cratered the street further as he forced the massive structure downward, teeth bared as he strained against it.

Don changed course instantly.

Instead of leaping upward, he broke into a sprint—dodging slabs of concrete, sliding under chunks of debris hurled loose by the vine’s wild movements. Dust and fragments hammered around him as he closed the distance.

Starboy was still holding it down when Don reached him.

"Move!" Don shouted.

Starboy launched upward without argument.

Don jumped.

He came down with everything he had, fist slamming into the vine’s surface with a thunderous crack—KRRAAAM~—the force ripping through it and sending a violent tremor up its length.

Pyro had already peeled away, flames still clinging to the scorched surface as the vine recoiled like a struck serpent.

It lashed around wildly now, burning sections slamming into nearby buildings and trees, tearing them apart and carving new trenches into the street.

Without a word, Pyro and Starboy landed beside Don—dust erupting around them. Both raised their hands in unison.

Fire poured out. Starboy’s beams followed.

They tore into the vine at its base, burning and blasting through it faster than it could react as Don held it in place.

But then the ground shifted.

Not a tremor.

A movement.

The rumbling deepened, heavy and rhythmic, rolling through the town as the sprout in the distance began to move.

Its massive leg-like structures lifted and came down again—DOOOM~—each step sending vibrations through the earth, through bone, through breath.

All three turned.

The sprout rotated slowly, grotesque mass realigning with awful purpose.

Another step.

Closer.

Toward the town.

Toward them.

But as they watched, the distraction cost them.

The vine they were attacking jerked backward, trying to retreat, roots tearing free as it began to slip back into the earth with renewed strength.

They all stepped back on instinct.

Too far.

"Shit!" Don cursed under his breath and surged forward, grabbing the vine’s side and locking his fingers in it. The force dragged him several feet, boots carving grooves into the broken asphalt as it tried to pull him under.

He planted his feet and roared, muscles straining as he fought it head-on.

Pyro and Starboy snapped out of it at the same time.

They rushed in, fire and beams ripping into the vine at the already charred section Pyro had burned earlier—THRRRRSH~—cutting through it just before the rest could disappear underground. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The severed portion collapsed, smoldering.

The rest was gone.

They stood there afterward, breathing hard.

No relief. No triumph.

Just the sound of the sprout’s next step—DOOOM~—closer still.

All three looked up.

It was coming.

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A/N: Thoughts on the clash so far?