Supervillain Idol System: My Sidekick Is A Yandere-Chapter 528: Show Of Force (Part 10)

Don didn't slow when he turned back.

He hit the slope hard, boots carving loose soil as he cut downhill, crossed the broken road in three long strides, and tore straight through the trees beyond it.

Trunks cracked where his shoulders clipped them. Roots tore free as the ground failed under his steps.

Starboy saw it and went still in the air for half a second.

His brow dropped. His mouth pulled tight.

"What the hell does he think he's doing…?"

Then Don vanished between the trees—and Starboy's teeth ground together.

"Idiot."

The air cracked as he accelerated, flying low now, skimming just above the treeline as branches whipped past his shoulders. He didn't bother going around obstacles. He smashed through gaps, clipped trunks, kicked off broken stone when the forest thinned.

Behind them, Pyro slowed.

He hovered in place, turning once to look at the newly risen sprout—its bulk shifting, vines tightening against the earth like muscles under skin. Another step. Another quake rolling outward.

Pyro dragged a hand down his face.

"…What's with these kids, man."

Fire climbed his arms as he exhaled, heat rippling around him. Then he leaned forward and took off after them, flames roaring as he dropped altitude to follow.

They reached the edge of Havenridge in seconds.

The forest didn't end so much as give up. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Trees lay snapped and half-buried where the eruption had rolled through, their splintered cores exposed like bone. Roads buckled upward, slabs of asphalt peeled back and folded over themselves.

Cars sat abandoned at wrong angles, some crushed flat, others nose-down in open fissures that breathed damp heat.

Past that—town.

What remained of it.

Buildings had been gutted from below, lower floors collapsed inward, upper stories leaning into empty space before dropping in chunks. Windows were gone. Not shattered—gone.

Walls were peeled open, interiors exposed: classrooms without fronts, kitchens without sides, beds hanging halfway out of nothing.

Bodies were everywhere.

Some lay where they'd fallen, limbs bent wrong, eyes open and glassy. Others were half-eaten—torsos torn open, ribcages gnawed bare.

Hounds lingered around those, crouched low, tearing at meat with wet, ugly sounds. A few gnawed on each other instead, fighting over scraps.

The moment the three figures of Don, Starboy and Pyro broke into view—

Roars rose across the town.

Not one. Dozens. Echoing off broken stone, crawling out of cracks, from alleys and collapsed storefronts.

They didn't get time to process it.

The ground under Pyro split open without warning.

The crack widened, then burst apart as a thick vine erupted upward—its surface slick with torn earth. It whipped toward him with obscene speed.

Pyro reacted on instinct.

He twisted midair, fire flaring hard—but not fast enough.

The vine grazed his hand.

The reinforced material there shredded instantly, fabric tearing away as pain detonated up his arm.

"Argh!" Pyro shouted, lost control for half a second, and slammed backward into the remains of a collapsed block—brick and metal collapsing around him as he crashed through what used to be a wall.

He hit hard.

Air blasted out of his lungs as he skidded across broken tile, shoulder slamming into a bent support beam. He groaned, teeth clenched, flames guttering unevenly as he tried to pull himself up.

"—ghh—shit…"

Don and Starboy both snapped their heads back.

"Pyro—!" Starboy started—

Too late.

Another vine was already moving.

One that had been on the surface surged forward, ripping through what remained of several buildings as it gathered momentum—walls collapsing outright, floors pancaking as it carved a path straight toward them.

"MOVE!" Don yelled.

He veered left, boots pounding over overturned asphalt as the vine slammed down where he'd been—BOOOOM~—the impact blasting debris skyward. Starboy jerked upward at the same time, narrowly clearing the first strike.

Don landed behind a torn-up section of road—and the system flashed.

———

Side Quest: Last Man Standing

Time Remaining: 3:00

———

He barely registered it.

Because something snapped out of the dark at his face.

A deformed hound burst from beneath a collapsed car, jaws opening wide, teeth uneven and yellowed as it lunged.

Don didn't dodge.

He punched.

His fist connected with the side of its skull—CRACK~—and drove the creature straight into the ground. Asphalt split under the impact as its body went limp.

Above him, Starboy twisted away from the vine's first strike—

And it came again.

The tendril snapped back like it had been yanked, reversing direction mid-motion and slamming into Starboy before he could reset.

It caught the backs of his arms as he raised them, impact ripping the air apart—WHAM~—and sent him flying across the street and through the shell of another building. He disappeared in a cloud of dust and collapsing concrete.

The vine didn't stop.

It whipped down again toward Don.

Don jumped—clearing a heap of broken masonry, body folding tight midair—

And met them.

Three hounds launched upward at once.

They moved like they knew where he'd be.

Jaws wide. Claws out. Bodies already angled to intercept him in the air.

Don's eyes widened as he twisted, trying to adjust—

But he had crested the debris at the worst possible moment.

Broken concrete and twisted rebar slid under his boots as the vine behind him tore upward again—WHRRRAAASH~—the sound tearing through his head hard enough to rattle his teeth.

His ears rang, balance faltering just as three hounds leapt to meet him midair.

There was no room to think.

No room to retreat.

So he kept going.

Don drove straight into them.

His foot snapped out and caught the middle hound square in the chest—the force folding its warped ribcage inward as it was blasted backward into the wreckage below. But the other two were already on him.

Jaws clamped down.

One bit high, teeth digging near his shoulder. The other latched just below it, weight dragging at his arm as its claws raked uselessly against his back.

Don let out a rough, strangled groan as pain flared hot and immediate.

"—ghh—!"

He didn't pull away.

He punched in.

Both fists drove forward at point-blank range, sinking into deformed stomachs that gave far too easily. His muscles tightened and he released the blast—

BOOOOM~.

The explosion tore both creatures apart in a spray of ruined flesh and shattered bone, the shockwave slamming Don backward through the air. He crashed through the remains of a building façade and hit what used to be a street—now nothing but broken slabs and exposed dirt—rolling hard before coming to a stop against a pile of rubble.

His breath hitched.

His arms shook as he pushed himself up on one knee.

'These ones…'

He sucked in a breath through clenched teeth.

'They're definitely stronger than before.'

The thought barely settled before another sound cut through the ringing.

"—Don—!"

Starboy's voice.

Followed by the whip of something massive tearing air apart.

Don's head snapped toward it.

Starboy came flying through the gap between two collapsed buildings, body spinning sideways as a beam he'd fired a second too late slammed into the ground behind him—SKRRRSH~—dragging a glowing line across debris before dying out.

He hit hard, shoulder-first, and tumbled across churned earth and broken asphalt.

He skidded to a stop on his back.

Starboy tried to get up.

His arm buckled. He dropped back to one knee, breath coming in harsh pulls. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto the dirt below as his vision swam.

"Fuck…" he muttered.

Don's jaw tightened—

Then the vine was back.

It came from the side this time, moving fast and low.

Don didn't dodge.

He turned into it.

Both arms came up as it struck—BOOOOM~—the impact hammering him off his feet and slamming him into another pile of debris. Stone and metal exploded outward as he crashed through, the vine following through a second later.

It smashed down again—crushing the rubble where he'd landed, grinding it into the earth like it meant to bury him there.

Across the street, Starboy forced himself upright again.

Shapes moved.

Hounds crawled out from everywhere—out of shattered storefronts, from beneath overturned cars, dropping from second-story windows that no longer had walls.

Some dragged pieces of meat with them. Others left gnawed bodies behind without a second glance.

They closed in.

Starboy turned toward the nearest one, face tightening as he raised an unsteady hand. Blood blurred part of his vision, spots flashing at the edges as the world tilted.

'Why did I fucking stay…'

"Starboy!"

The voice reached him dull and distant, like it had to punch through water to get there.

"Starboy—!"

He blinked hard, head turning slightly.

Then—

"STARBOY, MOVE!!"

Pyro's voice finally cut through clean and loud.

Starboy's eyes snapped wide.

He didn't think.

He flew.

His body shot straight up just as two hounds crashed into the spot he'd been in, claws tearing into dirt and broken stone where his head had been a second earlier—CRASH~.

Starboy hovered above them, chest heaving as he looked down.

-----

A/N: Had a really bad writers block recently as I tried settling on how to direct and pace the story going forward. There's a lot of big events to cover but I'm trying my best not to rush and ensure the build up is right. Trickiest part so far has been evolving the relationships of those around MC based on maybe shared events or things his done.