Chapter 17: Chapter 16 Shakai
The red-haired man glanced around and noticed that all the hostages had escaped. His gaze fell on the withered corpse of one of his companions lying on the ground, and his expression darkened.
"You bastard! What did you do?!" he snarled at Akira, his tone filled with fury.
"This guy... I'll kill him! I'll tear him apart!" shouted his accomplice, Okada Choshiro, his face twisted with rage as his bloodshot eyes locked onto Akira.
"Die! Die!" Okada roared, his voice echoing through the ruined floor.
At that moment, Akira suddenly felt an invisible force pressing down on him, like an immense weight trying to crush him.
"So, this is his Quirk," Akira muttered, narrowing his eyes.
Indeed, it was Okada Choshiro's Quirk: **Gravity Control**. However, it had its limits—it could only target one person or object at a time. The level of gravitational force depended on Okada's control, currently weighing down Akira with an oppressive force of about 250 kilograms.
Though cumbersome, this was not enough to stop Akira completely—it merely slowed him down.
"Kill him already!" Okada shouted to the red-haired man.
The red-haired man nodded and conjured a ball of fire in his hand. Without hesitation, he hurled it at Akira.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Fireballs streaked through the air in rapid succession. Akira darted to the side, narrowly dodging each fiery projectile as they crashed into the sandy terrain around him.
No one dared to fight recklessly in the already-damaged building. If the battle escalated too much, the entire structure could collapse.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The intensity of the attacks increased. Fireballs rained down faster and faster, leaving Akira with fewer openings to evade.
Finally, one fireball hurtled too quickly for Akira to dodge. Just before it struck, Akira raised his hand, and the ground surged upward, forming a towering **sand wall** to intercept the attack.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The fireballs slammed into the wall, dissipating harmlessly into the sand.
But just as Akira focused on defense, Okada Choshiro appeared behind him. Akira had no time to react.
"Super Gravity Crush!" Okada bellowed, his fist descending with an ear-splitting *boom*. White energy rippled around his hand as his attack connected, blasting a massive hole in the building wall.
Debris scattered everywhere, smoke and dust filling the air.
Amid the wreckage, only Akira's lower legs remained standing—the rest of his body was nowhere to be seen.
"Hah! He couldn't even withstand one hit. What a pathetic weakling," Okada sneered, his lips curling in disdain.
"We should retrieve the hostages quickly," the red-haired man said, glancing at the escape route.
Okada spat angrily. "If I catch those cowards, I'll break their legs for running!"
But before they could move, the red-haired man froze, pointing toward Akira's severed legs.
"Choshiro… look!" he stammered.
Okada turned and saw it—sand was flowing toward Akira's remains, rapidly rebuilding his body. Within seconds, Akira stood before them, completely unharmed.
"What the—?! What kind of Quirk is this?!" Okada exclaimed, stepping back instinctively.
"Does he have the ability to resurrect?!" the red-haired man muttered in disbelief.
Akira flexed his restored fingers, shaking off the last grains of sand. "That was close," he said lightly. "For a second, I thought you two might actually be dangerous."
The red-haired man and Okada exchanged a glance, their confidence shaken.
Akira, however, ignored their reactions. Instead, he placed his hands on the sandy ground beneath them.
"Shakai!"
With a single word, the entire top floor transformed. The sand surged upward like a tidal wave, engulfing everything in its path. Within moments, the entire level was buried under a thick layer of sand.
"Bang! Bang!"
Both villains burst free from the sand, gasping for air.
"Is this guy insane? He buried himself along with us!" Okada growled.
"Maybe he really is crazy!" the red-haired man snapped. "But be careful! One wrong move and we'll fall—this is the twentieth floor!"
"And how are we supposed to get down?!"
"Don't worry—I'll help you."
Akira's voice echoed ominously from within the shifting sands.
Before they could react, the sand began to move. It coalesced into a massive humanoid figure—a **Shakai Giant**—looming over them like an armored warrior made entirely of sand. Its glowing yellow eyes stared down at the two villains, and in its hands, it formed a gigantic sand hammer.
"What… what kind of monster is this?!" Okada stammered.
"What kind of Quirk lets someone do this?!" the red-haired man yelled, panic setting in.
The Shakai Giant raised its hammer high, casting a long shadow over the two men.
"This is where it ends," Akira said, his voice calm and unwavering. "Let's see if you can survive the weight of the desert."