Chapter 29: What happened here?

Sensing the ogre's intentions in advance, Kai quickly dodged the blow by a minimal margin, managing to get close enough to land his strike on the ogre's lower torso. This caused the ground beneath his feet to give way, while the damned monster let out a choked scream before being sent flying in the opposite direction.

(That thing is still alive!!!)

Noticing that although the ogre's presence had weakened, it was still there. Unlike the man's presence, which had faded long ago, Kai quickly retreated, maintaining a steady breathing rhythm and style he had noticed helped him significantly recover his aura, which had been almost completely spent in that attack.

“AHHH DAMN RAT!!!”

Shortly after, the ogre managed to recover and began to roar in fury, swinging her 'club' erratically. It could hardly be recognized as a human figure anymore and was more like a twisted, bloodied mass of flesh, as she charged towards the fleeing boy.

On his part, Kai, who had managed to recover a small portion of his aura thanks to the improvised breathing exercises he had discovered, quickly changed tactics. He used the aura to primarily intensify his lungs and then his legs while focusing on the aura of his mini-self, which seemed to be in much better condition than his own.

Meanwhile, enraged at not being able to catch Kai, the ogre started throwing rocks and trees she could uproot along the way. This forced the blue-eyed boy to dodge erratically while ensuring he led the irrational monster as far away as possible from Nemuri, whose presence he could feel approaching.

(Even with all my power, I can't incapacitate that bitch, and Onee-chan's quirk isn't affecting her as it should. She almost seems recovered, despite having breathed it in for quite some time…  Therefore, my only chance is a precise hit to a vital spot, preferably on the head…)

With a plan in mind, Kai focused completely on the ogre's intentions, moving fluidly among the terrain's obstacles using his modified version of the Pussycats' movements.

Just as Kai expected, the ogre quickly lost patience and charged in his direction with that absurdly strong rush she had used before. But having been warned in time by his observation Haki, Kai strengthened his brain and eyes, causing the world around him to seem to slow down. He managed to see in slow motion the ogre's ugly face twisted in rage as she approached.

With agile movements, Kai jumped into the air, performing a somersault while taking a deep breath, causing his aura to explode in power for a moment. He then used it to strengthen his left hand while covering his right arm with Haki, using all the aura from his mini-self that he could control.

Having perfectly calculated the ogre's speed, when Kai reached the highest point of his jump, he was right above the monster's head. With a quick movement, he grabbed her rough hair, using it like reins, landing moments later with his feet on the ogre's massive shoulders while delivering a precise punch to the beast's temple.

At the moment of impact, the ogre's head jerked violently, undoubtedly causing significant damage to her neck. She then began to fall slowly to the ground, clearly stunned. But Kai didn't stop hitting, managing to land three more blows, all in the exact same spot on the temple, before the ogre hit the ground.

Just before the ogre touched the ground, Kai jumped off her back, landing a few meters away as the powerful crash from the ogre's fall made the ground tremble. But not willing to take any chances, Kai kept his attention on her 'voice,' which seemed to weaken and shrink a bit but didn't disappear.

(She's not dead?!!)

Determined to make sure, Kai quickly reinforced his fist with the little Haki and Aura he had left. As large amounts of smoke began to rise from the ogre's body, Kai sensed a presence approaching rapidly from the sky. Moments later, a powerful blaze landed in front of him.

From the flames emerged a tall, muscular man with red hair, wearing a dark suit lit by flames on his shoulders, hips, and boots. His face was covered by flames forming a mask, and he had a fiery beard.

Arriving at the scene with his usual imposing attitude, the man looked at the evidently agitated blue-eyed boy with a dangerous look in his eyes, then turned to a woman with brown hair lying on the ground, her body bearing several wounds, especially on one side and her head, appearing unconscious.

With an analytical gaze, Endeavor focused his turquoise eyes on the boy before speaking in a firm tone, ready to unleash his flames at any movement.

“What happened here?”

Without taking his eyes off the boy, Endeavor approached the woman, and shortly after, a barrier of flames covered her while he sent a message requesting assistance.

[I need medical assistance and reinforcements. I have an injured woman and a boy about 5 years old who seem to have been attacked, but I see no trace of an active attacker.]

Meanwhile, Kai stared intently at Endeavor. After all, he recognized him, not just from his memories in this life, but also from those of his past life, which caused a strong derealization attack. However, thanks to the tense situation, he was able to remain stable.

(The crazy flame guy. I remember that flame beard. If I'm not mistaken, he's a powerful pro hero and the father of an avenger emo. The problem is, I only remember him as a bastard who doesn't listen to reason...)

Locked in a staring contest with the boy who didn’t respond and just looked at him with a dangerous glint in his eyes, Endeavor spoke in a firm tone.

“Don’t worry, kid. I’m here to help. I just need you to tell me what happened here.”

Calming down a bit, Kai took a few deep breaths to recover, then spoke in a serious tone, trying to conceal the flood of conflicting emotions he was experiencing.

“That woman used to be a three-meter-tall female ogre, super strong and fast. She was also carrying a man in one of her hands. I don't know why, but she suddenly attacked us when we were on our way home and started yelling that she wanted to be famous or something.”

“Were you with anyone else?” Endeavor couldn't help but be a bit surprised by the story but quickly asked.

“Yes, my older sister. But since I'm faster, I left her in a safe place and lured the ogre here, so she's a bit far away.”

Endeavor couldn't help but notice the boy's legs trembling a bit, though the boy quickly tensed his leg muscles, forcing them to stop. He couldn't help but comment.

“You're quite brave for doing something like that.”

“I just did what I had to do.”

“I understand, but how did the woman end up in that state?”

“I hit her several times until she ended up like that.”

Endeavor's eyes widened a bit in surprise, but he quickly asked about something that had caught his attention.

“You said the woman had a man in her arms. Where is he?”

“I don't know. At some point, he went flying. I don't think he's still alive; the ogre used him as a club.”

A bit disturbed not only by the image the boy described but also by the fact that the boy could comment on it in a serious and firm tone, Endeavor looked around, noticing the evident destruction indicative of someone with super strength. He quickly added.

“I understand. Medical help is on the way. Try not to move much; you might be injured. Once my colleagues arrive, we'll go find your sister.”

“…Alright.”

After thinking for a moment, Kai agreed. After all, he didn't have many other options. It was clear that the flame man didn't fully believe him and wanted to keep him close in case he was the culprit. Plus, Kai didn't have much aura or Haki left to escape or fight.

On the other hand, Nemuri, perhaps following the trail of destruction, was rapidly approaching him, while he still couldn’t sense the presence of the hero’s 'colleagues'. So his best option was to recover as quickly as possible and reunite with Nemuri, to be able to escape more easily if things went south.

While Endeavor analyzed the boy who sat on the ground and closed his eyes, he tried to visualize the events in his mind, quickly concluding that if the boy was telling the truth, his quirk would be quite impressive to allow him to damage someone with the power to cause the destruction he saw around him.

Some time later, a tearful and visibly panicked Nemuri arrived at full speed to where Kai was. Upon seeing him, she couldn't help but scream in a heart-wrenching voice as she ran toward him, completely disregarding the state of her clothes or the presence of the flame hero.

“KAI!!!!!!!”

Hearing Nemuri’s scream, Kai quickly approached her, only to be hugged tightly as she cried and almost pleaded in a tone filled with relief, fear, and desperation.

“Please, Kai, don't ever do this to me again. If something were to happen to you, I would die. You’re all I have left, please... please... I beg you...”

Feeling a bit guilty, Kai remained silent and hugged the woman of divine beauty who had repeatedly shown that she loved him, not daring to apologize or promise anything since he knew that something like this could very likely happen again.

Shortly after, Kai felt several presences approaching rapidly, which turned out to be several vehicles and ambulances. Paramedics quickly got out of the ambulances and began to administer first aid to the female ogre, now a normal woman.

Meanwhile, several heroes emerged from the vehicles. After listening to Endeavor's instructions, they quickly dispersed in different directions, while several police officers who had arrived at the scene approached Endeavor to speak with him.

At the same time, several paramedics approached Kai and Nemuri and checked their conditions, quickly concluding that they did not have any serious injuries. After giving them a couple of blankets, they started to examine their conditions in more detail using the ambulance equipment.

Soon, several police officers approached the ambulance, with Endeavor at the forefront. Among them, Kai couldn’t help but notice one of the officers, who was literally a cat walking on two legs. This inevitably brought to mind images of the cat officer arguing with the police chief he had met some time ago.

“Miss, we would like to ask you some questions, is that alright?”

The one who spoke was an average-looking man with black hair and eyes, wearing a business suit under a light brown trench coat and a hat.

“That’s fine,” Nemuri replied, a bit calmer now, in a soothing voice while making sure to cover herself well with the blanket, avoiding being seen without her blouse.

“First, I’d like to know your name,” the man asked, taking a small notepad from his pocket, to which Nemuri responded seriously.

“My name is Kayama Nemuri, but until recently, I was also known as Midnight.”

Everyone present, including the young detective and Endeavor, looked at Nemuri in surprise. After all, the ‘R-18 Hero’ was well-known enough for everyone to recognize her. There were even a couple of fans among the police officers, but the problem was that her modest and serious demeanor was entirely different from her hero image.