How are heroes born?

This was a question few people regularly asked themselves. What made someone a hero?

Was it birth? Innate talent? Power? Intelligence? Money? The willingness to sacrifice oneself for a greater good?

The answer was really none of them specifically. Those elements only gave the necessary foundation for someone to become a hero. They lacked the essence.

What truly made one a hero were pivotal moments.

This current battle was such a pivotal moment. The mercenaries were reaching their limits even if they were ready to fight more. Even the robots were reaching the very limits of their calculations and directives.

In the main ship, passengers who were still too far away from any possible shelters were watching the combat through the multiple screens dotting the central hall of the ship and the windows. They knew death was the closest to them as it could get. Many of them just gave up altogether. Running was useless and screaming did nothing. Most just accepted the end of their lives.

In such a situation, all they could do was pray to whatever gods they believed in, hoping that the Time Ray would not touch them and rob them of their lifespan. Most simply lost hope and sat down, crying helplessly, or hugging their loved ones.

They were all going to die. Such was the prevalent thought that had rooted in everyone’s mind. The thought was only confirmed by the mercenaries retreating to the ship in droves. No one was there to protect them anymore.

As despair continued to grow, a small murmur started to spread. Very faint at first, only a few individuals noticed the newcomer in the battle between all the machines and the abyssal monsters.

But like an ever-growing wave, more and more eyes started to focus on a particular individual.

It was just a Shadowblade, a model that was not known for its strength. However, the way that single Knightframe cruised through space was nothing they had ever witnessed in their lives.

Dancing like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.

An apt description of the frame’s movements. The swords of the Frame were deadly, needing only one strike to accurately pierce the hardened shells of the abyssal beasts and crush its core.

It was as if the pilot had fought thousands of such beasts in the past and knew everything about them. The accuracy of his movement bordered on the uncanny.

They watched as the lone frame did something unimaginable. Blazing a trail of blood and fire as it cruised through the sea of monsters to face the tremendous cosmic beast. It was like a knight in shining armor facing the mythical dragon in the skies. A fairytale-like moment brought to life.

A fire was ignited in their heart. One born from hope. Soon, though they knew he could not hear them, many of the passengers started cheering for his victory.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

This was undoubtedly a hero –Someone who made the impossible possible

Still, a small seed of doubt filled the minds of some of the more experienced passengers. How were a Shadowblade model’s weapons able to tear apart those tough exoskeletons so easily?

***

Noah could sort of guess the reactions he was garnering as he fought through the seemingly endless waves of monsters. But he hardly cared.

Hero? All his life, he had been hailed and recognized as a hero.

Noah did not want to be a hero in this life. He did not want to let the hopes and expectations of others weigh him down any longer.

Helping people was one thing.

Protecting the weak was not a problem either.

But never again would he let people dictate what he could and could not do.

Right here, right now, all that mattered to him was to fight to his heart’s content. If there was one thing Noah could acknowledge, it was that he was having a blast!

“Hahaha! Die for me!” In the depths of his cockpit, Noah cackled heartily, joy dancing in his eyes, as he decapitated one of the abyssal beasts rushing him and then impaled the one behind him with the spear Eve made from his with her biomatter.

How could Noah let all this free food simply vanish in front of his eyes? The energy that the abyssal beast housed was minimal at best. However, the more energy cores he absorbed through his special spear, the more he felt himself become stronger.

He had already made sure the system would not disturb him with all the enhancement notifications. Thus he could keep his entire focus on what he did best.

Killing monsters.

Noah’s radar started to blink and he immediately maneuvered to use the corpse of a few beasts as a shield. Immediately after, a flash of crimson light was blocked by those corpses and they swiftly disintegrated right in front of his eyes.

Noah tsked, he had confidence in being able to counter this bloody light but he did not have an exact grasp of his lifespan, nor did he know how the light would affect him.

There was no need to take a risk when so many meat shields were at his disposal. He had already used this tactic a few times while killing his way forward but this time, his expression couldn’t help but become more serious.

— The light has changed colors.

Indeed, when the white light had previously hit those abyssal beasts, only a few of them immediately became dried-up corpses. But this time they had been reduced to dust.

Noah took a deep breath, his excitement forcibly held down as he observed the battlefield and ruminated on his current situation.

His Shadowblade never stayed in place. Even though it was a standard model, it was one that specialized in combat and high mobility. By using his fusion with Eve, he was able to reach an even higher degree of freedom in his movements and maneuverability of the Frame. Killing the beasts facing him while making sure to always have a way to protect himself from the light.

Looking at his radar, he could see more than a hundred beasts concentrated on him, while more went toward the main cruise.

They are not worth caring about.

He ignored them. At the moment, their only use was to become either his or the crocodile’s food.

The true threat was the Crocodile itself, and what a magnificent beast it was.

How huge.

Noah admired the cosmic beast in silence. He had to use multiple cameras to try and capture the entirety of the beast with how large it was. Even then, it was not enough to fit the beast in his screen. It was stupendously huge.

System, share with me any information you have about the beast.

『Name: ???

Race: Chronodraco

Growth Stage: Infant

Description: Chronodracos are one of the most dangerous cosmic entities in the universe. Like all Cosmic Beasts, they possess the innate ability to travel through the Sea of Quanta. But to a higher degree and their ability to devour time is matchless. Unlike Cosmic beasts such as Parasites they possess a fertility close to null but make it up by using their overwhelming might.

Danger Rating: High

Warning: The host is advised to avoid direct confrontation.』

Noah had not expected much at first but, gazing at the information he received, Noah was speechless. He realized two things.

Firstly, he really needed to stop underestimating the ability of this system.

Secondly, “This is an infant?”

What kind of bullshit is this?