"The match begins now!"
With Mr. Oomoto's announcement, Child Emperor bit down on his lollipop and manipulated his small 'treasure chest' backpack. Rubber fists, submachine guns, sharp knives, and various other weapons extended from it and hurtled towards Darkshine all at once.
Darkshine shielded his head with his arms, standing his ground and letting Child Emperor attack. The weapons didn't leave a single scratch on him.
"It's no use. My muscles are the strongest."
"Incredible! Seriously, not a single scratch! These specialized weapons can easily smash marble. Are you truly human?"
"One hundred percent certified human, yes."
Child Emperor nodded in admiration, retracted his weapons, and unhurriedly pulled out his small Laptop from his backpack, rapidly tapping on the keys.
"Huh? Child Emperor-kun, are you giving up?" Darkshine asked with confusion.
"Of course not. My gear is on its way, just letting it fly for a bit," Child Emperor stopped typing, pointed to the sky, and began to count down: "10, 9, 8..."
Darkshine cooperatively looked up at the sky and let out a surprised gasp: "Something really is coming this way."
"It's a rocket! It's heading right for us!" yelled an audience member with binoculars.
A commotion rippled through the stands.
The rocket disintegrated in the air, revealing a rectangular box over two meters tall that traced a parabolic arc as it hurtled towards the ring.
"...1, 0!"
The countdown finished precisely as the box landed in front of Child Emperor.
"Don't worry, with precise satellite positioning, the landing error is only within one meter," he explained before pressing the box's unlock button: "Come out, my Loyal Underdog Man!"
The box disassembled itself, revealing a dog-headed humanoid robot inside.
It was tall, slightly exceeding Darkshine's height, made entirely of metal, and had been specially painted to look stylish and refined.
"What do you think? This is a highly intelligent robot I developed." Child Emperor explained to Darkshine, then turned his head toward the viewing platform and gave Aomori a smug smile.
"That kid," Aomori finally realized what he and Kayaba Akihiko had been busy with—secretly building a large-scale robot.
It seemed Child Emperor was displeased that Aomori had single-handedly produced so many finished robot models and wanted to prove his own worth.
"Let me see how powerful your robot is," Aomori straightened up in his seat.
"Looks interesting," Darkshine grinned. "But it definitely isn't stronger than my muscles."
"Then let's find out."
Child Emperor issued the attack signal to the robot: "Go, Loyal Underdog Man!"
Loyal Underdog Man's eyes instantly turned red. Its head moved up and down, finally locking onto Darkshine.
Multiple magazines opened all over its body, launching dozens of rounds of projectiles at Darkshine.
"Woah!" Facing the sky full of artillery fire, Darkshine once again shielded his head with his arms.
"This is the 'Dazzling Bomb.' Every projectile is equipped with an auto-tracking device, so it won't miss the target," Child Emperor took on the role of commentator.
Every bomb struck Darkshine, and the resulting flames and thick smoke completely obscured his body.
The audience gasped in astonishment again.
"These youngsters really like to mess around. I hope that Darkshine is alright," Bang asked worriedly.
"Hmph, if he were defeated so easily, then I would seriously have to reconsider the value of an S-Class Hero," Tatsumaki, whose simple art style remained unchanged, commented mercilessly.
"Don't worry, Darkshine won't lose that easily," Aomori responded.
Sure enough, when the smoke cleared, Darkshine appeared to have suffered no damage.
Child Emperor was intensely curious: "This is unscientific. I really want to dissect you and take a look."
If Aomori hadn't previously disclosed Darkshine's immense strength, Child Emperor would never have dared use such an attack on a human.
"Child Emperor-kun, you just said something quite scary," Darkshine shook his slightly reddened arms. Being hit by that many projectiles hurt, even him.
"Looks like I can't let my guard down anymore. Child Emperor-kun, here I come!"
The heavy-tank-like Darkshine began to run, closing the distance to Loyal Underdog Man. He put his entire body's strength into a punch that vibrated the air.
"Superalloy Bazooka!"
Facing this punch, Loyal Underdog Man, which knew no fear, retracted its arms and synthesized them in front of its body. A circular shield extended and deformed from its arms, protecting its torso.
At the same time, metal spikes extended from its heels and dug into the ring, securing it firmly.
"Absolute Defense Mode activated!"
Darkshine's fist landed squarely on the circular shield.
With a deafening CRASH, the circular shield twisted and deformed.
Even with its heels firmly connected to the ring, Loyal Underdog Man's body couldn't maintain stability. Ripping up several flagstones, it stumbled backward until it stopped right at the edge of the ring.
Looking at the now-useless circular shield, Child Emperor was astonished once more: "That shield was made of Tungsten Alloy, which has a hardness comparable to diamond, yet it was destroyed! Not only is his defense outstanding, but his offensive power is also monster-level."
"Of course! You didn't think my muscles were just for show, did you?" Darkshine flexed his biceps, speaking smugly.
"It seems I need to avoid close combat," Child Emperor muttered, stroking his chin.
"I won't let you! Take another Superalloy Bazooka!"
Darkshine charged towards Loyal Underdog Man at the edge of the ring, intending to render it scrap metal with a single punch. However, he slipped halfway there and landed squarely on his behind.
"There's something slippery on the ground," Darkshine wiped some liquid onto his hand. It was slick, like soapy water.
"Heh heh, this is 'Friction Eliminator,' which I specially manufactured for Monsters that can't fly. Once you lose your footing, even your brute strength can't be utilized," Child Emperor proudly explained, holding up a plastic toy gun.
"Damn it, I can't stand up!" Darkshine was covered in sweat.
"Hmm..." On the viewing platform, Bang, Atomic Samurai, and Flashy Flash all wore deeply thoughtful expressions.
This kind of material would be a devastating weapon against them, too.
But they quickly came up with individual countermeasures and regained their composure.
"Tch! A child's toy," Tatsumaki sneered in disdain.
Aomori smiled: "Sometimes, a child's toy, when used well, can produce miraculous results."
Down on the field, Child Emperor advised: "Loyal Underdog Man, use your strongest move to end this match!"
Loyal Underdog Man nodded slightly, bending down and resting on all fours.
The four feet once again extended their spikes and connected to the ground. Its mouth opened wide, extending a large cannon barrel whose opening began to glow.
"Go, Wrath of Anubis!"
BOOM!
A blinding light erupted from the cannon's muzzle, eclipsing the sunlight.
The massive laser cannon beam sliced across the ring, hitting the helpless Darkshine dead on. It pushed him relentlessly off the ring, smashing through the stadium's thick wall, and landing him outside.
Tanktop Black Hole looked at the nearly two-meter-wide hole next to him and nervously wiped a bead of sweat. If he hadn't ducked quickly, he might have earned the distinction of being the first hero in the Hero Association to die by accidental means.
A silence fell over the audience. Most were gawking at the scene with their mouths wide open.
A moment later, Darkshine returned through the gap, rubbing his sore wrists, and the audience finally came back to life, erupting in roaring applause and cheers.
" Darkshine! Darkshine! Darkshine!"
"Child Emperor! Child Emperor! Child Emperor!"