Tokusatsu Academy: From Apprentice to God - Heroic Tales

Hirofumi staggers forward, his transformed torso completely shattered, although only cracks remain beneath the suit.

"Ow... this is gonna hurt like hell tomorrow. Damn biology," Naobito mutters.

---

Explanation 1 About Heroes

When the Transmuter activates through the sequence created by the user, it's not simply armor or technology appearing out of nowhere. It's far more complex.

The individual's organic matter is manipulated at the atomic level and converted into technology. To be precise, this matter is directly connected to the user because it was created from a small part of their body, making it an extension of their own skin transformed into another material.

Because of this, when the armor is cut, exploded, or damaged, the user feels all the pain as if their skin had suffered the same injury since every part retains its sense of touch.

Why was his torso unharmed? Simple: this "second skin" also provides excellent protection. After all, it remains armor.

---

Hirofumi watches the boy who appears, trying to help.

Sirius begins stretching out of nowhere. After a few hops, he assumes an awkward fighting stance.

"Wait, you're gonna fight? Seriously? I thought you were the kind of guy who just jumps in for the show and watches," Augusto says, taking a relaxed stance.

What he didn't expect was Sirius kicking the ground, raising dust, and throwing it into his eyes.

"ARGH!" - Immediately after, Renovas jabs two fingers directly into Augusto's almost-destroyed eyes.

"AAAAAAAH!!!" - He falls backward, clutching his face in pain.

("What a dirty move!") Naobito thinks, impressed by the boy's shamelessness.

"My name is Sirius Renovas. My age? None of your business. My mantra is laziness, and inertia is my bed. Mess with me, and you're going straight to hell! You know why?" - He points to himself and then at his opponent - "BECAUSE I'M GONNA GIVE YOU A BEATING!"

...

Naobito stands silently, stunned by the ridiculously bad catchphrase after Sirius's embarrassingly theatrical monologue.

"Kid, just leave already. This is too embarrassing…"

Sirius turns away, annoyed, but Hirofumi is somewhat impressed by his expression.

"There are people in danger. No way." - Sirius declares and returns to his fighting pose as Zariani begins to rise.

"Why are you fighting? This doesn't make sense; you're totally normal!" Naobito struggles to understand where this strange determination comes from.

"Man, are you even a hero?" Sirius asks, more irritated - "Besides, I'm too lazy to let this clown… I dunno, do clown things?-" Before he can finish, Augusto punches him squarely in the face, sending him to the ground.

"HEY! Don't call my mom a clown!!" - The man with metallic skin shouts.

Sirius gets up, his nose broken.

"YOUR MOM WHO YOU OBVIOUSLY DON'T HAVE!!!" - His incredibly nasal voice retorts. He then strikes a combat pose again. "You're not killing me here, no matter how hard you try... because I'm too lazy to die!"

"Of course not; she's been with the big guy upstairs for 500 years. Amen," Zariani shouts, making a mock prayer gesture.

Meanwhile, the hero stares at Sirius's back, wide-eyed, as something clicks. He recalls a man in flamboyant, feathered clothing whose face remains unseen, telling him something.

("True heroes choose exactly where they'll die.") - The phrase echoes in Hirofumi's mind. - (I can't let him die here!) - Determined, he kicks Zariani by surprise, sending him flying.

"Huh?!" Sirius is surprised and looks at Hirofumi. "Uh… thanks, Cereal."

"Listen, I don't know if this is a good idea, but I'll do it anyway," Hirofumi says, pulling a belt with a gray buckle out of his suit. It's square with a diamond in the center, entirely plain except for some ridges in the metal.

"What is that-?!" - Before Sirius can ask, Naobito quickly places it around his waist.

"No time to explain! It only activates with the word 'transmute!'" - Sirius quickly understands.

Without delay, Sirius closes his eyes, breathing deeply. The day he had always dreamed of had arrived.

"TRANSMUTE!" - Sirius yells. The device lights up as glowing veins emerge across his body. From within them, a substance begins to flow, starting as an extra layer of skin and then becoming a type of chainmail.

From the chainmail, several patches of skin turn into metal, assembling on his chest as protective armor. Gray leather straps extend to his arms, gradually transforming into a shiny metal, ending as glowing metallic gloves.

More plates appear on his thighs, with metallic liquid pouring onto his feet, forming bright metallic boots. Finally, a helmet covering his entire face forms, with two glowing white slits for eyes and a circular respirator over the mouth.

Sirius looks at himself, overwhelmed by the sensation and amazed by his suit.

"T-this… is incredible!" - He exclaims, thrilled, feeling as though he could break mountains. The transition from being an ordinary person to a super-soldier in seconds felt magical.

The buckle now has a more vivid tone, with faint red and white stripes and a symbol of three horizontal bars: two cyan, one white.

(What!?) - Hirofumi notices the vibrant buckle while struggling with Augusto. - (You've gotta be kidding me! How is he already on the verge of awakening!?)

While Hirofumi holds Zariani back, Sirius charges in, delivering a spinning kick, instinctively transferring all his weight into the strike.

The man absorbs the hit, showing only an expression of anger.

"HEY! Is kicking all you can do?!" - Before he can say more, he feels a sharp pain below his waist. Looking down, he sees Sirius's foot buried in his crotch.

"Yes!!" - Renovas answers gleefully.

Sirius then follows up with a vertical spinning kick, lifting Zariani into the air before landing unsteadily.

(This... feels so strange, moving so fluidly!) - Sirius thinks to himself.

"(Annoying brat! I guess it's that simple: get rid of what distracts you from defeating the boss!)" - Zariani thinks for a moment - "(I need to stay calm. Stay calm. I must beat him without letting him distra—)"

"You're taking too long, and I'm getting bored. Want another kick to the groin? You're really testing my patience," Sirius says lazily, yawning as he finishes.

At that exact moment, Augusto appears in front of Sirius, growling and foaming at the mouth.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME, YOU LITTLE BRAT?!" - He swiftly throws a punch, sending Sirius flying, bouncing off the ground and spinning in the air.

(Nice, kid. Got into his head!) - Hirofumi thinks with a smirk, quickly grabbing Zariani by the hair.

"What the—?!" - A jolt of electricity courses through the bodybuilder's brain. - "Aibqnauanayagzaiaaj gauaanhauajJU!" - Augusto begins to foam and tremble. - "Bjaiauaajaiaiiaaauauauaaaaaa!" - He reflexively punches Hirofumi in the pancreas, sending him to the ground.

For a moment, Zariani collapses, supporting himself on one knee and both arms, as his mind struggles to recover from the disruption caused by the foreign electricity.

Sirius seizes the opportunity to kick him in the face again, and this time, it works.

Augusto is hurled straight toward Hirofumi, who catches him by the neck and slams his face into the ground.

Then Hirofumi lifts Zariani, landing a cross to the jaw, a straight to the eye, and a headbutt to the chest.

The headbutt sends Zariani staggering toward Sirius, who decides to try something.

"Okay..." - Sirius rummages through his suit and quickly finds something. - "What does this do?!" - He points his arm at Augusto and fires a concussion shot that hits Augusto's head, breaking all his teeth once again and leaving him deaf in one ear, with a cranial trauma and blood gushing from his nose like a fountain. - "... AWESOME!"

Sirius pauses for a moment, trying to figure out if they've already won.

"What are you doing?! Don't stop!" - Hirofumi yells, aware that prolonging the fight is a bad idea.

"Please, just stop!" - Augusto begs desperately.

"Ah!" - Sirius punches Zariani in the throat.

And again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Finally, he points the concussion cannon at him.

"So… will this kill him or not?" - Sirius.

"Are you serious?!" - Hirofumi.

"I'm a man of science! Not a brawler!" - Sirius.

"IT'S COMMON SENSE THAT THIS WILL DEFINITELY TAKE HIS HEAD OFF!" - Hirofumi.

"OH, REALLY?! THEN WHY DON'T YOU DO YOUR JOB INSTEAD OF LEAVING IT TO A CIVILIAN?!" - Sirius.

"I WOULDN'T HAVE LEFT IT TO YOU IF YOU HADN'T WALKED IN HERE LOOKING TO DIE!" - Hirofumi.

"TOO LAZY TO DIE! DIDN'T YOU GET THAT?!" - Sirius.

Zariani, no longer able to endure the high-pitched voice of the young man above him, simply slaps the boy's head while scratching his only functional ear.

"YOU TWO ARE INSUFFERABLE! I'm already deaf in one ear, and this was pure torture! YOU'LL BOTH PAY!" - He yells, as the railgun on his chest hums with increasing electricity.

"Ah, shut up, fossil!" - The hybrid retorts. - "Know this: science isn't annoying. It's the eternal battle against barbaric, fly-brained fools like you that has persisted for millennia, since the Carboniferous period—"

Hirofumi has to sprint toward Sirius, pulling the boy down to narrowly dodge one of the electric projectiles.

"WEREN'T YOU TOO LAZY TO DIE, YOU IDIOT?!" - Hirofumi shouts, then continues. - "Why didn't you activate the shield?!"

"I have a shield?" - Sirius questions.

"..." - The Japanese man stays silent, dumbfounded, then smacks Sirius's right wrist, activating an energy shield. - "Now use that brain you love to predict the shots!"

It was tough having a conversation like cavemen while dodging projectiles, all while Naobito used Sirius's arm to defend himself.

"Damn it… If only some Deus Ex Machina would happen right no—" - Sirius's sentence is interrupted by a pocket watch used as a yo-yo, hitting Zariani in the head and sending him flying 15 meters, smashing through several walls. - "Heh… Plot armor."

[N/A: He knows too much...]

[N/A2: Tch… Damn anomaly. It was already hard enough keeping everything on track!]

[N/A: So now what?]

[N/A2: We carry on and stall as long as we can. But… I don't think it'll work, especially with that little pest involved.]

[N/A: Were you the one who made Hirofumi give him the Transmuter?]

[N/A2: I… I thought it was you.]

Now the trio regroups and heads toward Zariani's crash site.

Merkana takes a good look at Sirius and, after a long moment admiring him, thinks:

(Aaaah~, he even looks cute in standard armor!) - Merkana blushes while fawning over the protagonist. But she quickly returns to the seriousness demanded by the situation and asks: "What can he do?"

Hirofumi steps forward and answers, "He's a natural projection user. Can create shock-inducing posts—"

"Tesla coils." - Do I even need to say who interrupted?

"Whatever! He can also adapt, which gives him enemy intel. But APPARENTLY, he needs time and weightlifting exercises to reactivate the adaptation."

"...What?" - Sirius looks baffled. - "That… That doesn't make any sense. How does lifting weights grant someone adaptation?!"

"...!" - The other two fall silent for different reasons.

"Kid, do you know ANYTHING about the world of heroism?" - Hirofumi looks both bewildered and exasperated, as projections and pacts aren't exactly secrets.

"I just want to be a hero, honestly. Personal reasons," Sirius replies, resting his head on his arms.

Hirofumi glances at Merkana, who, with a quick display on her eyes, blinks slowly (0 0 -> - -). The discussion no longer matters as they take a few steps toward the bodybuilder's body, unsure if he's truly unconscious.

"Wait... he's definitely dead," Sirius declares.

"No?" - Hirofumi counters, unconvinced.

"LOOK AT THE HOLE IN THIS GUY'S HEAD!" - Sirius exclaims, pointing with both arms at Zariani.

"It's not just because there's a hole that he's dead," Merkana replies. "Do you even know how a nose works?"

"Exactly," Hirofumi adds, crossing his arms.

"Oh, yeah?! Then how should I know?!" - Renovas questions comically.

"Check the pulse," Merkana says, casually inspecting her nails.

"What?!" - He looks at Merkana, then at Hirofumi, then finally at Zariani, staring at the hole that goes through his cheek and skull from one side to the other. - "IS THAT NECESSARY?!"

"Yes! That's not a vital spot, you idiot!" - Hirofumi retorts.

Sirius looks at Zariani's entire body, focusing on the large hole in his chest.

"And that one?!" – He points with his finger, then continues – "Now you're going to tell me that's not a vital point?!"

Before Hirofumi can even respond, Merkana interjects:

"He has a point" – (-_-)

"Merkana... He doesn't! He saw it working in battle! It's a railgun his adaptation granted him!"

"Oh… now you have a point" – (^_^)

"No, he doesn't! That still makes no anatomical sense! And it's not even a railgun, there are no rails! It's a coilgun!" – Renovas argues.

"Ah… 2-1 for Sirius." – Merkana replies. (0 -)

"WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?!" – Hirofumi and Sirius shout.

At that moment, a burst of electricity sends all three flying. They roll on the ground and then get back up.

"I COULDN'T HANDLE TWO!! NOW THERE'S THREE?!" – Zariani rises, visibly angry – "I HATE THIS FUTURE!! ENÉAS!" – The bodybuilder raises his hand, just like Thor summoning Mjolnir.

A robot flies swiftly toward his hand, and its "spine" detaches, revealing itself to be a whip that quickly energizes upon contact with Augusto.

"Put your circus acrobat skills to the test, my bodybuilding friend! I don't believe you can defeat three heroes without any extra weapons, but effort and ambition are what matter in life!" – The head of Dr. Enéas shouts energetically – "But remember, don't hurt them too much!" – This proves the robot doesn't condone violence, perhaps a future ally?

"…Is that our former world leader?" – Sirius points at the robot.

"No, kid, I'm an AI replica of the honorable Enéas, created approximately 130 years ago. But I don't remember why I was made." – The robot explains.

"…550 million."

"What?" – The AI looks puzzled.

"I'm suing you for 550 million for unauthorized use of someone's likeness, especially that of a deceased man!" – Sirius shouts, pointing his finger further.

"…KILL HIM!!" – The robot yells angrily… screw you, Sirius.

With those "final" words, the machine floats upwards and away from the battlefield, while Zariani warms up, swinging the whip to "shake off the rust," as he puts it.

"Come at me, BRO!!" – He nods, inviting them to attack.

"...." – Merkana watches him with a blank stare (-_-) – "Haaaaaaaah…" – She crouches and touches the ground, disguising it as a running stance – "Sirius… ever heard of Usain Bolt?"

The boy immediately catches on and starts running at full speed.

The problem? He moves much faster than Zariani expected, landing a knee directly to his face again.

The bodybuilder doesn't let it faze him. He notices that not only is the boy physically faster, but he also falls to the ground quicker than expected and reacts at the same speed.

(Accelerated time, huh?) – The man from the past thinks – (Not bad, but let's see how you handle this.)

The man begins swinging the whip, analyzing the boy's reaction speed and creating a pathway of openings.

Sirius realizes he's probably planning something and discreetly signals Merkana for help.

What he doesn't expect is for her to appear right in front of Augusto, delivering a kick to his face, then another to his arm, sending him flying.

(...) – Sirius stands still – (Did she… just do what I was planning without me saying it?) – The boy reconsiders – (Got it.)

He moves beside Merkana, making several random hand signals to her.

To his surprise, she nods and assumes the attack position he was thinking of, prompting Sirius to follow suit.

(I don't know if I should be scared or grateful for how efficient this is) – Sirius thinks, a bead of sweat rolling down.

Zariani recovers in the background, rising and clearing rubble off himself. Ignoring his original plan, he charges at them with the whip, crackling with even more energy. In a vigorous and experienced move, he swings the whip toward Sirius and pulls him to the ground.

Merkana intercepts Sirius mid-air, spinning her body to free him from the whip. Since both were time-accelerated, reacting to the world was easy, but the man's skill impressed them both by keeping up.

(If I weren't so weak, he'd already be on the ground!) – Merkana thinks, irritated.

Without hesitation, Merkana approaches from the side, pretending to confront him head-on. The man's focus quickly shifts to her, and the whip cracks where her next step would've been. But thanks to Sirius delivering a flying kick to his right ear, the strike misses.

Merkana stops accelerating Sirius and delays her own inertia, allowing her to make a sharp 90-degree turn toward Zariani. She lands a spinning kick and releases her inertial hypnosis, adding colossal force behind the blow.

The man is launched so hard that he bounces off the ground and spins mid-air.

Hirofumi claps twice in the background, impressed by their teamwork.

"Wohoool! Go, Team Merkana! And also the boy… uh, boy!!"

"Hey! Stop slacking and come help!" – Sirius complains, being a total hypocrite at the moment.

Merkana rolls her eyes but notices something on Naobito's suit.

(Angel wings and a halo… wait, then why is he…?!) – She grits her teeth, shouting with a furious "D:<" expression – "HIROFUMI NAOBITO!! WHY DO YOU HAVE THE ANGEL BREAKER ACTIVE AND AREN'T EVEN USING IT?!"

The accused immediately hunches over in confusion, but seconds later, facepalms.

"That explains why I couldn't use my ability for so long…" – The Japanese man mutters.

Merkana's expression doesn't change, her helmet glowing red-hot with rage over his stupidity.

"What the heck is an Angel Breaker?" – Sirius asks, scratching his head.

"It's this…" – Naobito raises his hand skyward, and at that moment, everyone notices how the mall's atmosphere darkens.

The roof shatters into thousands of pieces, swept into a cyclone that forms in the skies.

From within the winds and tornadoes, an emerald vision appears—a draconic serpent with goat horns and wolf eyes, 35 meters wide, fitting perfectly inside the mall.

"Come to me… Leviathan." – Naobito says simply.

The bodybuilder, realizing this is beyond his ability, quickly runs, the "Chinese dragon" chasing him.

(Funny… it's smaller than usual) – Hirofumi thinks – (I really have gotten weaker…)

"Dear God, protect me!" – Zariani prays fervently as he flees, dropping his whip in fear as the being of light approaches.

When the dragon is about to reach him, Augusto jumps aside, with only his legs being struck. Some veins of light struggle to spread across his body. The creature of light continues forward, turning to strike him fully.

Just as it's about to hit Zariani's face, everything freezes: dust halts in the air, the bodies of all present suspend mid-action, and even Zariani can only move his eyes.

(Boss! He did it!!) – Zariani thinks, relief washing over him.

"What the…?!" – Sirius exclaims, realizing everything is frozen – "Merkana?" – He turns, seeing her stuck in time, suspiciously looking where he once stood – "Suspicious… Nah." – He turns again – "Cereal?" – He spots the Japanese man frozen in time, wearing a smug smile – "...." – He trudges over and punches him in the face – "Your smile is punchable!!"

Sirius grins beneath his helmet, satisfied, and turns to where Zariani was, only to find the bodybuilder gone while he was distracted hitting Naobito.

"..." – Sirius sweats nervously – "Back to my spot before they blame me!!" – He runs to where he was and strikes a pose.

When time resumes, Naobito instinctively scratches his face, as the punch wasn't strong enough to do serious damage.

"Damn it, Noodles! I couldn't move, and you punched me?!"

"Wait, you v-... Crap!" – Sirius backs away slowly, seeing the Japanese man's angry face.

. ..- / -- . .-. . -.-. ..

–––

Villain!

Name: Augusto Zariani.

Age: 47 biological years + 477 frozen = 524 years effectively.

Projection: Muskola Tesla (Inanimate Class, Tesla Coil!)

Projection Power: Can adapt to opponents by exercising with a Tesla coil. When empowered by a pact, it also grants him information about the enemy.

Standard Package: Can transform matter into Tesla coils and control them as he wishes.

–––

Hero!

Name: Jihai.

Age: 23 Earth years.

Projection: Benevolent Beelzebub (Nature Class, Animal Type: Fly!)

Projection Power: By snapping his fingers, he can erase the time of scenarios imagined in his mind, bringing the result directly into reality.

Standard Package: Can stick to anything, like a fly on surfaces, and is capable of flight.

–––

To be continued…