Erebus had noticed the falling meteor and decided to remove his Silent Domain, allowing the tremor from its impact to spread out, blowing away the corpses littering the ground and shattering the windows of every building in the area.
The protesters had already distanced themselves from the plaza so only a blast of wind reached them. Meanwhile, Erebus had to constantly move so the flying debris wouldn’t touch him. Not that it would’ve touched him even if he were to remain still.
"Seriously, why do you all have to be so flashy?" He asked, his voice dripping with exasperation.
An armored figure slowly walked out of the crater formed by the meteor, her crimson hair fluttering in the wind just like her brilliant red cape. Stopping at the edge, she took in the surroundings then turned her sight to the massive white building a short distance away.
As if unperturbed by her arrival, the shirtless berserker continued his efforts at demolishing the construct, a demented grin splitting his face as he struck with his bare hands. Watching him for a moment, Star let the corners of her mouth curl up and raised her left arm, pointing her palm in his direction.
The berserker swung his fist once more but only struck air. Before he could understand what was happening, his body shot backwards, as if yanked away by an invisible rope.
Driven by instinct, he flipped his body in the direction he was flying in and saw the armored woman pulling her right arm back with a grin on her face. Accepting her challenge, his demented grin grew wilder and he prepared to punch as well.
Both swung at the same time, and when their fists collided, the plaza exploded with the force of several cannons.
The winner of the clash was immediately apparent as the berserker’s arm shattered entirely, but the maddened glint in his eyes didn’t fade even slightly as he flipped his body and brought his leg down on the armored woman, who raised her arm, blocking the kick and leaving his leg shattered.
"Not bad." She said. "Guess keeping you around was the right choice!"
Star’s first punch should have sent the demented man flying, but her ability negated the force, keeping him in the same spot. Unfortunately, he wasn’t as durable as he was strong, so the next punch was bound to end him for good. Her feet dug into the ground, and she twisted her body, her left fist blurring as it shot up, but there was no feedback.
Striking nothing but air, Star’s eyes widened as she watched the berserker flip while balancing his body on the back of her hand before grabbing her arm and twisting, his remaining leg cutting through the air before smashing into her head.
The blow was powerful enough to blast the surrounding air, but Star barely budged.
"Uh-oh..." She straightened her neck and looked at the berserker. "You managed to land a hit after all. Bravo." Her right hand shot up and grabbed his outstretched leg, crushing it with her armored fingers. "I guess you can’t feel pain, huh? That explains everything."
Despite losing an arm and having his legs crushed, the shirtless man still retained the same grin, showing he hadn’t felt any of the damage he had suffered.
He tried to go for one last attack with his remaining arm, but his time had already run out. Still gripping his shattered leg, Star turned around and swung his entire body like a whip, slamming him into the cold, hard ground.
Even if the enhancement he received truly prevented him from feeling pain, there is no way he would be moving after having every bone in his body shattered.
"That was... disappointing..." Letting go of the leg, Star straightened herself, resting her hands on her waist. "If only he were a little sturdier."
"Uwah! This guy is still breathing." Erebus spawned beside the smashed berserker at some point. "You probably should put him out of his misery. Once the effects of Catalyst run out, he’s going to feel all that pain all at once."
"Then let him feel it." Star sneered. "That’s what he gets for being a terrorist."
"You’ve gone too far, Star." Thunder Strike floated down, landing a short distance away.
"Look who’s talking." She scoffed at him. "Didn’t you just fry that zappy woman?"
"I took no enjoyment from doing so." The blond hero replied.
"And that makes a difference, how?"
Strike moved his mouth only to realize that his voice was gone a second later.
"Alright, you two, focus on the job," Erebus said, only his voice audible in the silence of his domain. "Strike, did you take care of that bat guy?"
The blond hero tried to reply only for silence to leave his mouth. He fixed his shadowy teammate with a deathly glare, prompting him to quickly deactivate his ability.
"That one has been dealt with." Strike followed with a sigh, getting his anger under control.
"Alright, five out of the six villains have been dealt with," Erebus said.
"You handled the one who makes things float?"
"Yeah, that one wasn’t too hard to find once everyone ran out. All that remains is..."
Erebus’s voice died out near the end as he turned to look at a certain building, unlike everyone who had their eyes on the cocoon made from a bunch of tree trunks twisting into a spiral. Because of that, he missed the moment when its surroundings exploded, spear-like roots bursting out of the ground and shooting in their direction.
Strike shot toward the sky in a bolt of lightning while Star leaned forward and crossed her arms in front of her face. Erebus remained unmoving, but while the sharp roots passed straight through him, they shattered the instant they came into contact with Star’s blue armor.
The roots spread out in every direction, impaling everything that happened to be in their way. Most were focused on the heroes on the ground, but some shot up to the sky, reaching for the one who took flight.
"Hey Huntress!" Star shouted while withstanding the constant barrage of spear-like roots. "I thought you’re taking care of that one!"
[Never thought he would be fireproof.] A calm voice spoke through their comms. [Strike, I can’t take him out without blowing the entire block.]
Dodging more roots, Strike gritted his teeth and replied, "It’s alright. We will handle it from here!" Dodging another one, he gritted his teeth and looked down to where he had left his teammates. "Erebus! Get in there and finish off that thing!"