Tokyo: My Superpower Refreshes Every Week

BOOM.

The ground instantly ruptured, dust billowing as Onofre's large frame plummeted to the floor below. He immediately dashed towards the window.

The faint sound of shattering glass drifted up slowly from below.

Aozawa didn't pursue. With his catalyst sensing ability, he had already pinpointed his adversary's escape route.

Let him run for nine hundred and ninety-nine meters.

"Madame Kochou?!"

The guards' voices outside grew increasingly anxious.

Kochou yelled out, "Stay calm, nothing's wrong!"

Halting them, Kochou looked at the giant before her, seemingly constructed from diamonds. With a complex expression, she said, "Dio, in your eyes, we must be enemies, right? Why would you save me?"

"You are mistaken."

In this state, his voice resonated with a metallic clang. "An enemy is someone capable of causing harm, someone possessing a certain degree of danger. I have no enemies. I am merely walking my path to Paradise. You don't even qualify as roadside scenery; at best, you're just stepping stones on my way."

Kochou felt no anger at such contemptuous words; instead, she found them quite normal.

Her eyes softened further as she spoke gently, "Then why did you save me, this stepping stone?"

"You're different."

Aozawa answered leisurely, then noted that fellow Onofre was indeed a fast runner, having already covered nine hundred and ninety meters.

"Next time we meet, I'll tell you the specific reasons."

Aozawa shifted into the non-existent state of Schrödinger's Cat.

"Wait!"

Kochou reached out, trying to stop him, but couldn't prevent the towering figure from vanishing into thin air.

A hint of reluctance touched her face. The commotion below had already alerted the estate's servants.

Kochou turned and opened the door.

A group of guards rushed in.

"Madame, are you alright?"

The reluctance on Kochou's face vanished, replaced by a stoic expression. "Who was in charge of the estate's defense today?"

"I am deeply sorry, Madame. It was I," someone immediately bowed in apology.

Kochou said sternly, "I don't want your apology. Half of your salary for this month will be deducted. If something like this happens again, don't blame me for disregarding past kindness and telling you to pack up and leave."

"Yes!" the man shouted, showing no objection to the pay cut. He was filled with gratitude toward Madame Kochou for not firing him; it was truly her mercy.

Kochou gazed out at the balcony. The strange feelings that had briefly stirred in her heart had vanished. Ultimately, she wasn't the type of woman driven by romantic notions, but a ruthlessly rational businesswoman.

Her eyes saw only benefits.

What did Dio's words mean? Kochou analyzed them in her mind. I'm different? The influence of Phoenix Academy and her own looks could be immediately dismissed. She didn't believe Dio, a Superpower User, would value such things. If Dio valued her, it must be for a deeper reason. Could it be that her soul was beneficial for Dio's ascent to Paradise?

As she pondered this, a chill crept into her heart.

As someone in a position of power, she knew all too well that any kindness from above harbored an ulterior motive. When there are benefits, we are a collective. When there are none, they'd just as soon kick us to the curb. We're simply not the same kind of people. If Dio were targeting her soul, that would be truly troublesome.

She gazed out into the night, her mood somber.

***

The top speed of a cheetah can reach one hundred and ten kilometers per hour.

Onofre had once let a cheetah get a three-hundred-meter head start and still managed to catch it.

He had never specifically tested his own speed, but he knew that if he truly decided to run, not even a car could catch him.

Onofre quickly scaled the wall, fleeing the Phoenix Academy estate, and crossed several more properties.

Landing on the ground, he paused to catch his breath, casually wiping the sweat from his forehead with his right hand.

"Haha."

Onofre laughed. This world sure is interesting. A Superpower User, eh? Next time we meet, I'll make sure to defeat him.

Onofre tucked his hands into his pockets, planning to find a boxing gym and kill everyone inside to satisfy the hunger gnawing at him.

The most exquisite delicacies are out of reach for now, so I'll have to settle for rough, inferior fare to sate my cravings.

As that thought crossed his mind, he rounded a corner. A colossal figure, taller than the surrounding walls, stood silently before him. Bathed in light, it seemed clad in gleaming armor.

"Passage here is forbidden."

"Dio?!"

Onofre stumbled back eight or nine steps in shock, the easy grin on his face instantly replaced by a grave expression. He hadn't detected any sign of being followed, nor had he slackened his pace for an instant. In that short time, he estimated he'd covered a kilometer.

Yet, he had still been intercepted.

"Is this also a Superpower?"

"You cannot escape the palm of my hand."

Aozawa stepped forward.

Onofre pursed his lips, his hands remaining in his pockets, and calmly advanced.

One step, two steps.

In the world of martial artists, there's a specific term: the air dominance zone. Much like in modern warfare, whoever commands air superiority has a better chance of suppressing the opponent.

During combat, the martial artist who first seizes control of the air dominance zone gains an overwhelming initiative.

Very few martial artists in the world have mastered this.

Onofre was one of them, arguably an elite among them.

Once anyone entered his air dominance zone, regardless of the type of attack, he could predict it and counter-kill.

This was why ordinary martial artists couldn't last a single round against him. Their slightest movement would inform Onofre where they would strike and with what force, allowing him to know exactly how to respond.

That was his confidence.

He believed this would hold true even against the Superpower User before him.

Aozawa raised his hand.

Like a cannonball, Onofre's fist preemptively slammed into Aozawa's chest with explosive, domineering force. The Diamond on Aozawa's body surface shattered thunderously.

"HA!"

Exhaling like thunder, Onofre surged forward at the fastest speed of his life, unleashing a furious barrage. His fists moved so quickly they left trails of afterimages, like a machine gun firing relentlessly.

Shimmering fragments flew in every direction.

Onofre didn't want to give his opponent any chance to react.

Aozawa stood there, feeling no pain. Elementalization allowed him to ignore any physical attack.

Even if Onofre carved out most of his torso, he wouldn't sustain any injury.

Aozawa considered this. Continuing to draw power from the earth would enlarge his form further, but unlike wind, Rock Giants were too conspicuous.

He decided to change his form.

***

Time Suspension!

A gray-white filter enveloped the world. Onofre's snarling face and fists froze mid-motion.

In the stilled time, Aozawa observed that his opponent's stance exuded a power reminiscent of a large-caliber shotgun, clearly employing special techniques to mobilize his entire body's strength, ensuring both power and speed.

With a shift in thought, Aozawa appeared inside the freezer of a large fresh-produce market. He switched from the Earth Element to the Ice Element and frantically absorbed the frigid air.

About five seconds later, he vanished from the freezer and returned to the scene.

He had transformed into a Frost Giant.

Time resumed its flow.

"ARGH!" Onofre roared. His fist, failing to stop in time, struck Aozawa's body. An intense cold immediately assaulted him.

Realizing something was wrong, he kicked off the ground with his right foot, retreating ten meters. But it was too late; ice spikes had already pierced through his entire palm.

Blood did not flow; it was instantly frozen.

"Ah..." Onofre clenched his teeth, looking at his right fist, which now resembled an iron-spiked mace. The cold caused his entire arm to tremble uncontrollably.

He then looked at Aozawa, who had shed his Diamond form and transformed into a Frost Giant.

"Dio!"

Onofre muttered the name, his fighting spirit wavering for the first time.

Could I really fight this monster?

He exhaled, and astonishingly, in the sweltering summer heat, his breath misted white as if it were the dead of winter.

Frost began to creep across the surrounding ground.

"For a mortal to achieve what you have is quite impressive."

"A mortal, huh? Heh, I'm usually the one using that word to describe others. I never thought someone would use it for me," Onofre grumbled. He took a deep breath, his resolve hardening.

He didn't want to flee any longer. Striding forward, he declared, "Even a Superpower User can't be without weaknesses. You must have a fatal flaw somewhere!"

"If it could be explained by human logic, it wouldn't be called a Superpower User."

Aozawa took a step. As his foot landed, a cracking sound echoed. The frost shattered and spread further.

The chilling aura intensified, invading Onofre's body as they drew closer. Instead of recoiling, he ripped off his vest with his left hand, revealing his hard-earned, well-tempered muscles.

"Then let's see! Will I find your weakness first, or will you freeze me to death before I do?"

"I don't dislike brave men like you. Come, my entire body is yours to strike as you please."

Aozawa spread his arms wide, not even bothering to use any other abilities. His mere presence here was enough to kill his opponent.

Onofre's eyes blazed with ferocious light. He clenched his left fist, then stomped his feet hard upon the ground. His bones crackled loudly throughout his body, like a rampaging elephant stamping the earth.

A concussive boom ripped through the air.

His killing intent soared to its peak. Onofre roared, ready to gamble his life and his hands on finding and striking the Superpower User's weakness.

He refused to believe that anyone in this world could exist without a weak point.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

For a moment, fist-shadows tore through the air, ripping the wind. Under a barrage of attacks as fierce as a sudden squall, sharp, ear-piercing shrieks exploded.

CRACKLE! CRACKLE! Shards of ice flew everywhere.

Onofre was reminded of his childhood: being berated by his master from China while standing bare-chested in the snows of deepest winter, endlessly punching a wooden stake, day after day.

Even after the old man was gone, he had continued to punch, relentlessly.

Martial Arts… such joy!

In that instant, all of Onofre's thoughts, his very body, froze solid, congealing into an ice sculpture.