The Heavenly Martial Empress Returns: An OP Xianxia Returnee LitRPG

Chapter 213: A Race Against Time

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Kenichi and Zenith hurried, moving rapidly through the wastelands as they chased the leftover essence of the Symbols that had abandoned the Gaorangers completely. The Demon King glared into the distance, noticing a strange presence rapidly approaching—no, several of them, but of the same original—making him quickly realize whatever was coming after them, or their new heroic red-capped friend, might be more bizarre than even the monsters of their original world.

“Red,” Zenith called for the Gaoranger, as he moved through the ground while running using his humanoid transformation.

“Yes, I felt them too,” Kenichi nodded, glancing from afar. The black clouds in the sky and the gigantic Kaiju battle happening over there weren’t any worse than whatever was chasing them. “We have to hurry; we can’t let them catch up to us! Once I can find the power of the Symbols and my friends recover, we’ll be ready for anything!”

“But weren’t your robots thrashed? What are you planning to do with that, fool?” Zenith asked, his face angry, as he couldn’t believe the Red Gaoranger was this stupid.

“Don’t call me dumb; I know how the power of the Symbols works much more than you, and also how they’re connected with the Deus Ex Beasts,” explained Kenichi. “Once we can recover the Symbols and my friends are back together, our Deus Ex Beasts will fully recover as well. They aren’t normal technology after all but formed and materialized out of the Symbols’ powers and Deus Ex Machina’s alien technology. There was once a time when our robots were destroyed, and we thought it was over… But he told us that they recover and power up over time; the more we believe and embody the symbols, the stronger they become and the faster they recover too.”

“Hmph! Isn’t that power incredible then? And immensely unfair at that?! With such power and abilities, you Gaorangers could even conquer the entire Galaxy! Yet you limit yourself to protecting that tiny, pathetic planet you love so much…” Zenith groaned, feeling disgusted by Kenichi’s weakness.

“Isn’t that tiny, pathetic planet the one you and your people have been fighting with tooth and nail to take from us?” Kenichi sighed, glaring at him angrily. “I bet it’s more precious than what you said…”

“…” Zenith remained in silence for a while. “Planets with so much life and environment for the survival and spread of life are rare. But you humans are doing nothing but destroying its beauty and the true potential that planet has for biodiversity. We wanted to wipe you all out of the globe to save that planet from you; we will take much better care of it than you humans could ever do!”

“Oh yeah, and you start by blowing up cities and causing immense destruction using nuclear energy-powered space lasers?” Kenichi sighed, waving his head. “Xeno Beasts are the same as humans at the end, hypocrites that claim to do things for a good cause, but at the end… it’s all just selfishness.”

“W-What did you say?!” Zenith roared angrily.

“And it’s not like humanity is any worse either, to be honest… But at the very least we’re coming together to defend the planet we love,” said Kenichi. “And… protecting our home is worth more than conquering more planets or traveling through the galaxy. I don’t have any intention of doing anything like that… As long as my friends are okay and I get to eat yakisoba every now and then, I’m happy.”

“…I simply cannot understand your mentality, so simpleminded… Such a huge lack of desire for greatness… What a pathetic man,” Zenith groaned grumpily.

However, he suddenly smiled a bit.

“But I admire your conviction and your selflessness, if anything…” he suddenly said, surprising Kenichi.

“Zenith…” The Red Gaoranger was surprised his enemy had praised him.

“It’s rare to find a man so dedicated and made of pure sheer willpower like you… You are indeed a leader, I guess… Hmph, wouldn’t have liked it to be any other way. Nobody else but someone like you would have to go against me,” Zenith smiled. “Once we’re finally done with this, our battle shall resume, and it will be legendary.”

“Hah, you bastard…” Kenichi smiled. “We won’t lose, no matter what, you know?”

“We’ll see about that! I’ll enjoy breaking that conviction and willpower! Hahahaha!” Zenith laughed heartily.

“What a weird guy you are…” Kenichi sighed. “Hm?”

The Red Gaoranger noticed someone walking out of the interior of the Crimson Lion; it was Wingspeed; his clothes had even self-repaired themselves through their own technology, and he seemed already quite recovered.

“Wingspeed? You’re okay?”

“Yeah, I don’t just walk fast, you know? I also recover quickly; as long as I get a good bed and some medicine or food, that’s it.”

“Glad to see you well recovered, but you look nervous. Is everything alright?”

“I couldn’t sleep; that presence kept lurking around me… When I woke up, I realized it was a nightmare.”

“A nightmare?”

“I saw the faces of my friends, Kenichi; they were screaming at me; they were asking me to save them, but… But I couldn’t do anything… I was so powerless…”

Wingspeed suddenly fell to the floor, grabbing his face and crying.

“It’s coming… That thing is coming here…!”

“C-Calm down!”

Kenichi walked to his side, hugging his shoulders.

“You’re not mentally well, Wingspeed, let’s move you back to your bed. I think you need to rest some more.”

“I can’t… You’re seriously asking me to rest right now?! That thing is coming here… I can feel it! It felt something on me—a mark, or something else! Wherever I go, it’ll find me!”

“I also know something is chasing us, but the Crimson Lion can move incredibly fast; it won’t easily catch up with us! Once we recover the Symbols, we’ll fight them off together and-”

“No! You can’t fight them! Especially not Galaxy Man! He has his body! He’s the strongest hero! But he… he lost; he was possessed! With his body, with his strength, he’s invincible…”

“Invincible? There’s no way there’s an invincible being out there!” Zenith roared. “Stop talking nonsense, you-”

CRAAASH!

“UGH?!”

Out of nowhere, a massive shockwave hit Zenith’s head, blowing his entire mechanical body through the air and making him fall upside down almost a kilometer away from where they were!

BAAAMM!!

A tremendous presence emerged as Kenichi and Wingspeed widened their eyes, glancing at the massive, muscular figure floating above them, keeping up with the movement of the Crimson Moon without effort.

A white man with short black hair, wearing a mostly blue-colored, skin-tight superhero suit, with a big G on his chest, made of bright gold color. His cape seemed almost cosmic, as if it were made of a small nebula with tiny stars, an embodiment of his power; the larger and more majestic it was, the more power he had accumulated.

His bright blue eyes had become green and red in color now, glowing with a green and red aura.

The man that once was praised as the most benevolent and merciful of heroes, who saved thousands of lives every day across the galaxy…

He was no longer himself but the vessel of something much more sinister.

“Y-You’re…?!” Kenichi muttered.

“G-Galaxy Man!” Wingspeed screamed. “He’s here! We have to run, Kenichi!”

Galaxy Man smiled, his eyes glowing brighter, and his voice… reverberated within the minds of the two heroes in front of him.

“I’ve finally found you, Wingspeed…” He spoke. “It is finally time for you to give up. Your body shall become my new vessel. Once I obtain your powers, I will become truly invincible!”

“N-No…! You won’t get to me! N-Never!” Wingspeed screamed. “The Speedium Particles cannot fall into the wrong hands, demon!”

“Hahaha… Can you even hope to stop me? No… to stop us?” Galaxy Man spoke, and as Wingspeed and Kenichi realized they were surrounded, there were three more figures with them, all floating in midair with supernatural powers.

“Do you recognize them, Wingspeed?” The Red Gaoranger asked.

“M-Marvelous Woman, Nightman, and… Jade Star! They were all possessed…!” Muttered Wingspeed. “Dammit… T-This is hopeless! They’re the strongest heroes of my world!”

“It’s pointless to fight anymore, Wingspeed. Join us,” Marvelous woman spoke with her original voice, inviting. “I know you want to stop running; give up.”

“It’ll be painless; you’ll feel stronger and better than ever before,” Nightman smiled. “You’ll grow to like it.”

“No more fighting, no more disagreement; we’ll always be united, like we should have always been,” Jade Star said.

CRAAASH!

Suddenly, the Crimson Lion stopped moving, hitting a giant emerald-colored wall made of psionic energies generated by Jade Star’s Jewel, of the same name.

“Graaaooohh!”

The Crimson Lion roared angrily and in pain as Kenichi felt the wall being tougher than he imagined. Glaring back at the heroes, he quickly manifested his Super Armor, and his Sword.

Crimson and golden armor covered his suit, giving him stronger strength and defenses, while a blazing, mechanical golden and red blade with a lion-like face at its handle manifested, overflowing with power.

“I won’t let you touch Wingspeed…” Kenichi suddenly said, glaring at the heroes. “I promised him that I would protect him! And so I shall!”

“Wait, Kenichi! This is hopeless; don’t… don’t fight them!” Wingspeed screamed as he saw the Red Gaoranger swing his blade against Jade Star.

“Hmph, pathetic. So be it, fight to your heart’s content,” laughed Jade Star, manifesting a gigantic titanic machine out of green jewel-like psionic energy. “Struggle as much as needed, then your body will be my new vessel!”

The massive fists rushed down as Kenichi gathered the power of the Symbols into his blade.

“Don’t underestimate the Dekai Gaorangers!”

With a furious roar, his Aura exploded, resembling a fierce crimson lion. An explosion of flames surged everywhere as his sword cut through the entire psionic construct, splitting it in half!

SLAAASH!

And then, dozens of explosions engulfed the entire thing, hitting Jade Star and confusing him beyond belief.

“W-What…?! He’s quite strong?!”

“HEEYAAA!”

With a mighty roar, Kenichi leaped in midair and swung his blade against Jade Star. The hero attempted to defend, but the Red Gaoranger was fast, swinging his blade several times, cutting through his armor and then his suit, and then kicking him down with a blazing explosion.

BOOOM!

Marvelous Woman, Nightman, Galaxy Man, and even Wingspeed were left speechless as they glanced at Jade Star on the floor, unconscious and with several severe wounds.

“I-Impossible…” Wingspeed gasped. “I thought that… Huh? You’re actually super strong?!”

“Of course I am! I am the Embodiment of Courage!” Roared Kenichi. “You aren’t getting past me while I protect my friends!”

“It’s the suit!” Galaxy Man said. “The suit is giving him powers! Tear that suit to pieces!”

He rushed with Marvelous Woman and Nightman together, and as they tried to gang on the Red Gaoranger, punches, kicks, and blows reached, covering the hero from every single angle.

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

“Uuggh…!”

Kenichi saw his armor breaking apart; the attacks were too much!

“I won’t… go down here!”

With a mighty roar, Kenichi infused his powers into the Crimson Lion, whose massive mechanical claws threw the possessed heroes away.

CRAAASH!

As they were sent flying a few hundreds of meters away, Zenith appeared right above them, transforming from a flying spaceship-like form he had taken by copying the spaceships of the reptilians into his humanoid form again.

“You dare punch my face in the middle of my words?!”

BAAM! BAAM! BAAM! BAAM!

Four massive punches reached them all, sending them pummeling into the ground. A shockwave shattered the ground beneath, leaving behind gigantic craters on the wastelands.

“Red! We’re getting out of here!”

However, Zenith didn’t go after them after that, quickly rushing back to Kenichi.

“You said that once you get the Symbols you can handle them, right?! Then let’s hurry!”

“Y-Yeah!”

Kenichi was surprised Zenith was so alarmed, despite showing off his power like that.

But he quickly realized why, as he saw Galaxy Man slowly crawling out of the crater without any wounds whatsoever.

Behind him were Marvelous Woman, Nightman, and even Jade Star, who was even closer. They had larger wounds, but they recovered quickly, infused with strange supernatural energies from another world.

The world where the mysterious specter that had possessed them came from, making them even more durable than they were.

Perhaps even stronger.

“Combine your red lion with me!” Zenith screamed. “HURRY!”

“Are you sure?!” Kenichi asked. “Will that even work?!”

“Just do it!” Zenith was terrified by the enormous auras approaching. “HURRY, RED!”

Kenichi, shocked to have never seen Zenith acting this way, quickly nodded.

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