Chapter 34
The invasion escalates
Before Ryder Linct closed his eyes because of Dennis cutting his arm off,he asked Dennis who and what he is. Dennis Longshun didn't answer and ordered someone behind the dying Ryder that their objective is complete. This person is what shocked Ryder. He said to the person "You! The captain of the -!!",then he fell unconscious, meaning that this attack was planned on the inside by a hero among them, and a captain of one of the teams Black Beginners, Green Momentum, Blue Warriors, Silver Legacy, Yellow Disk, Dark Embargo and Purple Oceans is the imposter responsible for the invasion on Buenos Aires. The imposter took the green calcium carbonate stone from his pocket and ordered Tidalthree to transport him back to Buenos Aires. Ryder Linct was transported back,on the verge of death. Casey Linct and Karak Krohickey panicked immediately and treated him. Lisa also panicked and began wondering who could have done this to him. Billy got angry and asked that exact question. Darkdrake confesses that Lightmage has gotten rid of Ryder Linct, he just didn't know how it happened. He told Billy that this invasion is far from over. Meanwhile,a witch called Hoodon appeared and began cursing innocent people. Betty and Marianne intervened in Hoodon's destructive wrath and told her that they'll be her opponents now. Before the two did anything, Hoodon swooped them away using a giant, overwhelming typhoon. The typhoon then disappeared when it got outside the city, and both Marianne and Betty got down on the floor, having being swiftly defeated by Hoodon.
The world dissolved into a searing kaleidoscope of fire and agony for Ryder Linct. His arm, ripped away by a blinding, incandescent flash, throbbed with a raw, unholy heat. As the periphery of his vision began to dim, a choked, desperate question clawed its way out, "Who… what are you?" Dennis Longshun’s face remained an impassive mask of serene cruelty, offering no answer. Instead, a voice from behind the downed hero sliced through the encroaching fog of Ryder’s fading awareness. "Objective complete," it declared, the pronouncement chillingly devoid of emotion. Ryder’s eyes, now wide with a dawning, profound horror, flickered towards the speaker. "You! The captain of the—!!" The accusation died on his lips, swallowed by the abyss of oblivion. The truth, stark and brutal, settled like a burial shroud: this was an inside job. A captain, a trusted leader from one of the esteemed hero organizations—Black Beginners, Green Momentum, Blue Warriors, Silver Legacy, Yellow Disk, Dark Embargo, or Purple Oceans—was the traitor, the insidious architect of the devastation that had been unleashed upon Buenos Aires. The imposter, with an unnerving, deliberate precision, withdrew a dull green calcium carbonate stone from their pocket and commanded Tidalthree to transport them back to the city.
Ryder Linct rematerialized amidst the ravaged streets, a broken hero teetering on the precipice of death. His teammates, Casey Linct and Karak Krohickey, rushed to his side, their faces contorted with unadulterated panic as they frantically worked to staunch the lifeblood draining from him. Lisa, witnessing the grim tableau, felt a cold, creeping dread seep into her very bones, her mind desperately sifting through the ranks of known heroes, a frantic search for the betrayer. Billy’s jaw tightened, his voice a low, guttural rumble of barely contained fury. "Who did this?" Darkdrake, his own capture a bizarre and unsettling twist of fate, confessed, his usual blustering bravado conspicuously absent. "Lightmage dealt with Ryder. I… I don't know how." He added, his voice stripped of its former arrogance, "This invasion is far from over."
At that precise moment, a disembodied cackle, sharp and malevolent, echoed through the ruins. A witch, Hoodon, materialized from the swirling dust and debris, her aura of pure malice a tangible miasma as she began to unleash a torrent of vile, shimmering dust upon innocent bystanders, cursing them with a mere flick of her wrist. Betty and Marianne, their earlier discourse on the delicate intricacies of friendship momentarily abandoned, stepped forward, their eyes blazing with a shared, unyielding defiance. "We'll be your opponents now," Betty declared, the wind coiling around her like a protective, ethereal cloak. But before they could even begin to channel their powers, Hoodon conjured a colossal typhoon, a swirling vortex of emerald fury that dwarfed the shattered cityscape, sweeping them away with an overwhelming, primal force. The tempest, as if its purpose had been met, dissipated the instant it cleared the city limits, depositing Betty and Marianne unceremoniously onto a desolate, dusty plain. Their defeat was swift and absolute, leaving only the faint, surprised echoes of their gasps on the indifferent wind.