Supervillain Idol System: My Sidekick Is A Yandere-Chapter 526: Show Of Force (Part 8)

They stood there for a second too long.

The sprout loomed in the distance, no longer just there—it was closer now, close enough that its shape shifted against the skyline with every heavy step.

Each impact sent a low roll through the ground beneath their boots, deep enough to feel in the chest before it reached the ears—DOOOM~.

Starboy broke first.

He sucked in a breath and turned halfway toward them, hovering just above the cracked street. "So," he said quickly, words pushed out between breaths, "are we actually gonna take that thing on?"

There was no bravado in it. No grin. His eyes kept cutting back toward the structure even as he spoke, like he expected it to surge forward mid-sentence.

How couldn’t he?

They’d barely managed a single vine. The sprout carried several—thick, coiled masses wrapped into its body like limbs waiting to be thrown.

And beyond that, the town still had people calling out for help. Not loudly anymore. Just enough—along with distant howls, wet impacts and sounds of something being dragged.

Hounds. They were still hunting.

Don didn’t hesitate.

He shook his head once. "No," he said. "I think we’ve done all we can."

Another step from the sprout. The ground shifted underfoot—DOOOM~—loose gravel hopping across the asphalt.

"We can’t handle that thing like this," Don added, jaw tight. "Not this tired."

Pyro let out a long breath and dipped his head. The flames around his shoulders dimmed until they were little more than heat distortion.

He scrubbed a hand back through his hair, ash smearing along his knuckles. "Yeah," he muttered. "We’ve done all we can."

He glanced toward the town, then away. "Trying to fight that thing now is suicide, man."

Starboy nodded once. No argument. "Then let’s go."

He kicked upward into a hover and surged ahead, lifting into the air first without waiting for either of them.

Pyro followed, fire gathered just enough to carry him. Don broke into a sprint instead, boots pounding over broken road as he shouted, "Let’s head back—Pyro, comms still down?"

Pyro dropped lower, hovering just above street level to keep pace with Don more easily. Dust swirled around his legs as he moved. "Nah," he said. "They’ve been trippy since we came to town. Just keeps cutting in and out."

He glanced up toward Starboy. "You think that thing’s messing with interference?"

Starboy didn’t even slow. He snorted. "Do I look like a technomancer?"

Then he accelerated, the air snapping behind him—leaving the other two to follow.

Don ignored it and kept running.

They moved cleanly for half a minute. No vines. No sudden ruptures. Just the constant vibration underfoot and the distant noise of Havenridge dying behind them.

Then Pyro’s communicator clicked.

Static crackled—shhrrrk~—followed by a strained voice.

"Hello? Hello—Pyro? Starboy? Don? Does anyone read?"

All three slowed at once.

Starboy dipped slightly in the air. Pyro angled his head, listening hard. Don’s stride shortened, his attention splitting—half on the voice, half on the sprout. It was still moving. Still coming.

Don could feel each step before it landed.

Pyro brought his wrist closer to his mouth. "Uh—yeah. Yeah, we read you, Dr. Gadget."

He swallowed and kept moving as he spoke. "We’re heading back toward camp. Did what we could, but the town’s getting overrun and that... thing—whatever it is—it started moving."

There was a pause. Static breathed over the line.

"I’m aware," Dr. Gadget replied. His voice sounded rough but steady. "Don’t worry. Backup should arrive soon."

Another step—DOOOM~.

"Until then," Gadget continued, "I’ll attempt containment. Please ensure you get as far away from the area as possible."

That stopped Pyro from speaking for a second.

It stopped all of them, really. But no one argued. No one slowed further.

Pyro glanced between Don and Starboy, eyebrows raised like he was waiting for either of them to say something. Neither did.

"Okay," Pyro said finally. "Got it."

The line clicked dead.

Pyro lowered his arm and drifted a little closer to Don. "Wow," he said. "So... Dr. Gadget’s going in?"

He gave a quiet laugh that didn’t carry any humor. "That’s pretty radical. What do you think he’s gonna do? Some high-tech blast or—"

Starboy’s brow knit in irritation. He didn’t answer. Didn’t even look over.

Don tilted his head up, about to respond anyway. "I don’t know, but—"

He stopped short.

His pace slowed without him realizing it.

"What is that?" Don muttered.

High above them, something moved across the sky.

Don’s words barely left his mouth before Pyro and Starboy followed his gaze.

Starboy snapped his head up first, posture tightening as he searched the sky for whatever Don had picked up.

His hand twitched, ready out of habit, and for a split second he clearly expected another threat dropping straight on top of them.

Nothing.

He let out a short breath—then frowned.

High above the cloud layer, something was there. Not moving like debris. Not falling wild. Controlled.

His eyes narrowed. "...Yeah," he muttered. "I see it."

Pyro had to rise higher, flames flaring brighter as he climbed. His vision wasn’t built for distance, not like theirs, but once he adjusted—

"Oh—shit," he said. "Is that a missile?" He squinted harder. "A star-burst missile?!" 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Starboy clicked his tongue, irritated. "No," he said. "That’s a mechanoid."

Don didn’t say a word.

He just watched.

The object tore through the sky with brutal intent, its rear thrusters burning hot and steady—driving it downward at an angle that shifted constantly. It wasn’t falling. It was aiming.

As it dropped lower, its shape resolved.

An enormous metallic ovoid—roughly eighty meters tall, nearly fifty meters across at its widest point.

Its surface was smooth at a glance, but closer inspection revealed dense networks of recessed seams and geometric lines running along its shell, some faintly glowing, others dead and dark.

No windows. No markings. Just mass and purpose.

The rear end flared brighter as the thrusters pushed harder, flames bending back under their own force as the mechanoid corrected its trajectory again—this time unmistakably toward the sprout.

Starboy felt it too. The shift. The intent.

"...It’s adjusting," he said under his breath.

They broke into motion again, pace quickening as the sky burned brighter overhead.

Below them, the sprout reacted.

Not with panic. Not with retreat.

Its massive vine-like tendrils plunged deeper into the ground all at once, tearing through soil and stone as they anchored themselves. The thick leg-like structures at its base spread wider, compressing earth until it buckled and liquefied around them.

It had braced.

A few seconds later—

The mechanoid struck.

The impact was catastrophic.

The earth folded inward beneath it—BOOOOOM~—rock and soil collapsing into a massive crater as shockwaves tore outward in every direction.

Trees snapped in half mid-trunk. Vehicles were lifted and hurled end over end before slamming down in twisted wrecks. Loose debris became shrapnel, flying through the air before embedding into the ground or each other.

The sprout held.

Its body rocked under the force, massive frame swaying as if struck by a giant’s hammer, but the anchored tendrils and legs held firm.

Several vine-limbs split outright, fibers tearing apart as they were flung backward, but the core structure stayed upright—darkened where the blast had scorched it, but intact.

The shockwave hit the trio a second later.

Pyro was thrown sideways, flames flaring wildly as he fought for control—barely missing a stand of trees as he corrected midair.

Starboy was knocked off course as well, skidding through the air before stabilizing with a sharp burst.

Don stumbled mid-sprint as the road buckled beneath him, boots sliding on fractured asphalt. He caught himself on instinct, hands brushing the ground, then pushed forward again without slowing.

They ran uphill now, the road cutting between dense forest on either side.

Then Don veered.

He left the road abruptly, charging straight up the slope toward the treeline.

"What—?" Pyro started, slowing in confusion.

Starboy didn’t ask.

He followed instantly, surging after Don without breaking stride. Pyro hesitated a moment longer, then cursed under his breath and went after them.

Don took the hill fast, muscles burning as he climbed. At the summit, he leapt without slowing—grabbing onto the highest tree he could reach, fingers biting into bark as he hauled himself up and settled onto a thick upper branch.

He crouched there, eyes locked on the devastation in the distance.

Pyro and Starboy slowed as well, hovering a few meters above him to get a clear view.

The mechanoid lay partially embedded in the crater it had made, its massive shell scorched and dirt-smeared but intact. Around it, the ground still heaved and cracked as aftershocks rolled outward.

As the tremors eased, the sprout’s tendrils began to pull free from the ground one by one, earth sloughing off them in heavy sheets. A few snapped forward immediately, whipping toward the mechanoid with violent intent.

Then the mechanoid moved.

Sections of its surface popped outward with metallic clicks—CHK—CHK—CHK~—small panels separating along the recessed lines. Thick vapor blasted out from the openings in violent bursts—FOOOOSH~—rolling across the crater in dense white plumes.

Don’s eyes narrowed.

None of them moved.

They just watched.