Tiny Hero Ch 10: Transformation!

The Obelisks moved like they were dancing—except their dance made the whole city fall apart. Their massive shapes twisted and pressed against each other, sliding into buildings like they were nothing but sandcastles. Each movement sent tremors down the streets. Windows shattered, towers leaned, and whole blocks collapsed like dominos.

I was running down what was left of the street, and every step felt like I was sprinting across a drum someone twice my size was beating. My knees threatened to give out with every aftershock. The Obelisks were going at each other like wild beasts, their colossal bodies slamming together with a noise so loud I swear my ears were bleeding. It wasn't moaning, it wasn't screaming—it was this horrible blend of both, like two thunderclouds having sex and not caring what they destroyed along the way.

I wanted to cover my ears, but that would've meant not watching my footing—and if you trip here, you don't get back up. Not with towers toppling like oversized dice and the ground splitting open every few seconds.

Ahead of me, through the dust, I could hear the screams. Real ones. The Minari, their voices ragged and desperate. Shapes stumbled through the haze, families clutching at one another, people dragging the wounded by their arms. Panic had turned them into a flood, but I was stuck running into it, like a fool diving against a tidal wave.

And here's the truth that burned through my head, hotter than any fire from the wreckage: I didn't have a plan. Not a clever trick. Not a weapon that would matter. Nothing. I was just one more idiot sprinting through a crumbling city while two titans used it as their personal bed. How the hell was I supposed to help?

I mean every time one of them slammed a foot down, I could feel it in my ribs. The sound wasn't just loud, it was deep, like the earth itself was moaning under the weight.

I'd seen storms rip through towns before. But this? This was different. This was destruction wrapped up in pleasure and honestly I wasn't liking it.

Soon as I contained running I found the Minari huddled in the corner of their district, trying to stay small while the Obelisks rutted above their homes, their moans shaking the area along with their movements. It was chaos—walls caved in, dust filled the air, and the ceiling shook like it was about to give way any second.

One man was on the ground, clutching his leg bent the wrong way. Broken for sure. The others crowded around him, fear in their eyes.

"Hey I'm here to help!@ I called as I ran towards them. I could see the suspicion on their eyes, I couldn't blame them, it wasn't like they knew me.

"Come on let's get him out of here." I said with a smile as I began to reach for the injured man.

"No, we should stay here," one of them whispered. "If we move, we'll be crushed for sure."

I looked around. They weren't wrong. Every direction looked like death waiting. But I also knew we couldn't stay, not here. "if we stayed, we'd get buried alive." I said. "It's not safe, we need to get to one of the shelters."

They didn't like it, heck I didn't like it, but I knew it was for the best, and as I looked at them I couldn't blame tell they thought so to.

I crouched next to the man with the busted leg. "Lean on me," I told him. "We're moving."

The man did as I asked and took hold of my shoulder. I with the help of another guy helped the man up.

"We'll die out there," A woman, I'm guessing his wife  said.

"You'll die faster in here," I answered, trying to sound braver than I felt. "Come on. If I'm wrong, you can haunt me later."

A weak chuckle slipped out of the broken-legged man, and that was enough. We hoisted him up, his weight dragging on my shoulder. We moved together, one shaky step at a time.

***

It took time but managed to get them out through a half-collapsed street, and eventually, they slipped away into a safer district. I could have gone with them. I should have gone with them.

But I didn't.

Because the city was still screaming.

I ran back in, helping whoever I could—pulling people out of rubble, shouting for them to move, dragging the injured away from falling buildings.

That's when it started. A low hum. At first I thought it was more collapsing walls or maybe the wind in my ears. But then I realized it wasn't around me—it was in me. In my head.

"Dammit." I said shaking my head and rubbing my eyes. Too much smoke, too much chaos. Had to be.

⸻

That's when she noticed me.

The girl Obelisk.

Her massive eyes locked on me as I shoved a pair of kids out of the way of falling debris. And then—she smirked. Not a friendly smirk, either. A cruel one, like she'd just spotted a new toy.

"Oh shit!" I yelled as Her hand came down fast. The building beside me exploded into rubble, the impact shaking my teeth. I jumped back just in time, rolling over broken stone as a ceiling of flesh made contact with the ground.

The people behind me weren't so lucky. A dozen lives snuffed out under her palm just like that. Their screams cut off too quick to even realize what was happening.

I froze as my mind struggled to come out of its daze. I stared at the crushed pile. My chest burned. My throat felt tight. My eyes stung. But I told myself it was just the dust, the smoke, the debris. Nothing else. Had to be.

⸻

I stumbled back, trying to catch my breath, when I heard it.

A scream. High, thin, terrified.

My head snapped toward the sound.

The Obelisk man was holding a tiny Minari girl in his fist, dangling her above his open mouth. His tongue lolled out, waiting.

"No..." I whispered, my heart hammering so hard I thought it'd break my ribs.

I could see her eyes, wide with fear. She was just a kid. Just a kid.

And me? I was nothing. Just a useless guy standing in the shadow of gods.

But I couldn't stand there. Not this time.

"I can't watch anymore people die!" I screamed.

Something inside me cracked open.

Power surged through me, deep and hot, like fire and lightning at once. The ground dropped away from my feet. My stomach lurched as I realized—

I was flying.

Straight toward the girl.

I grabbed her out of the air just before she slipped into the Obelisk's mouth. His teeth snapped shut, missing us by inches.

The next thing I knew, I hit the ground, skidding across the rubble, the girl clutched against my chest.

I looked down at her. She was shaking, but alive. I smiled, relief pouring through me. "Got you."

But then I noticed something else.

My arms.

They weren't my arms anymore.

They were glowing. Translucent. Blue. Like I'd been dipped in some kind of living glass.

"Huh?" I muttered, staring at my own hands.

The girl's eyes widened, staring at me like I was something just as terrifying as the giants.

I didn't blame her.

Because I didn't understand what I'd just become either.