Been a while since I had one of these, right?
So, this'll be the shift from manga up until chapter 144-ish, to the webcomic. At the point of me starting this incredibly early rough draft, Chapter 147 just dropped, and honestly speaking, I can't see this arc finishing by the time I actually make it to the end. This is sort of just me going all in, betting that it won't finish so that I can just go the webcomic route, you feel?
By the way, did y'all see how goddamn cool chapter 146 was? I really wanted to put it in the story just because it was so goddamn cool to see all the other swordsmen!
In fact, I'm gonna have the other swordsmen be in here, and even though they're probably gonna get clapped in the manga, I'm going to have them get knocked back by Garou in the end, too, before Saitama comes along.
That being said.
Once I finish this story, I'm considering coming back once the arc finishes so I can revise these chapters. As of the release of this chapter, it'll be the webcomic, but once the story finishes and maybe the arc finishes, I'll consider coming back to this so I can change it into a manga-following story instead of having to shift to webcomic.
Naturally, there'll be some modifications. Fubuki doesn't go against Psykos, cause, y'know, Psykos is already defeated. Tornado isn't carried by Genos when she's injured all the way back to Fubuki because, in the manga, Tornado got injured during battle, which resulted in Genos and Bang having to come in to rescue her (see One Punch Man Manga chapter 144). In comparison, like from the end of the last chapter that I wrote, Tornado ends up deciding to stay with Fubuki instead of heading off, which also differs from her being sent flying by the Monster Association after all of them gang up on her. You get where I'm going with this. There are some other ones, but yeah, that's the main gist of it.
It isn't every day that the largest amount of S-Class heroes have to come together to fight monsters. It'd truly only happened twice ever since the formation of the Hero Association. One, the Alien Invasion. That...was something else. The entire, instant destruction of City A? Of course that'd warrant a large amount of heroes.
It also isn't every day that an entire city falls from the power of a single psychic, twisting it all into a single spiral, literally making the city itself into a weapon. To bring down the monster king that organized a successful attack on multiple cities? You'd need something that powerful, especially when they led multiple Dragon-level monsters themselves.
Even more, it isn't every day that you see the strongest heroes at work all together. Tank Top Master, Pig God, Demon Cyborg, even the Tornado of Terror.
Yet, there'd always been one hero that'd seemed to sit on the side, patiently waiting. As if searching for the moment to strike, he lurked. Like the lone-wolf hunter he'd taught, the same man who he'd been hunting for, he preferred to wait for the opportunity to present itself. It wasn't passiveness, he often repeated when asked the question of why he wasn't as active as other S-Classes. It was patience.
While the other S-Class heroes undoubtedly had extremely...eccentric personalities, he was arguably one of the more normal heroes, or at least, one of the heroes that behaved normally. He seemed like your ordinary martial arts teacher that was unusually old, yet abnormally able.
Abnormally able was the key phrase. It took more than just a simple martial artist to climb the ranks in such a way that other heroes such as Flashy Flash, Superalloy Darkshine, Zombieman, Demon Cyborg, and even Atomic Samurai could not best him.
It took a true master. A genius. With power combined with the heroics that was, officially, only bested by the Tornado of Terror and Blast, it was a mystery why he wasn't on the street more often dealing with monsters.
To the public, he was pretty much the decided king of martial arts.
Silver Fang. The silver sheen of his hair, combined with the sharpness of his technique. It wasn't the most creative of hero names, yet when the public first heard it, they knew. They knew damn well that it fit him perfectly.
The strength of a wolf comes with the strength of its pack, and if there was one person who the S-Class could look to if they needed a reliable leader, it was Silver Fang. While he wasn't the most assertive member, he was pretty damn calm. While he wasn't the smartest book-wise, his strategy and tactics were nearly unrivalled. While he wasn't the top ranked, he was the one who everyone could put some of their trust into.
The 3rd ranked hero in the entire Hero Association narrowed his eyes at the fragile, damaged form of Tatsumaki, before he decided on what to do.
He looked over at Genos. While Fubuki hadn't been able to fully repair him with her power, she was definitely able to mitigate some of the damage, especially what would've been caused by his self-induced explosion.
"Genos," he addressed him, slicing through the tension between the five people present during their conversation. "You and I need to take care of the monsters. Tank Top Master and Pig God are struggling." Before Tornado could disagree, Bang had already moved onto his next point.
"Brother," he addressed Bomb this time, who nodded in acknowledgement. "I trust you can protect these two from harm until an opportunity to return presents itself?" His older brother nodded solemnly, stroking his facial hair in the process.
"I swear it on my life," he promised quietly. "Now, go. The other heroes wait for you."
Bang quickly thanked him, before turning to Genos and preparing his legs to launch towards the combat, "Genos, are you ready?"
"I always am prepared for combat," the cyborg nodded, already recovered from his emotional episode in which he had realized he couldn't keep throwing away his life. "But first, allow me to do something. Quickly. I will catch up with you."
Bang nodded, trusting his word, and the trust that his cyborg enhancements were hopefully quicker than what his old limbs could do.
Yet, his hearing hadn't disappeared, for as he sprinted off towards the battle, he could hear Genos's words clear as day, filled with affection and care, "I promise I will come back to you, Fubuki."
Bang didn't need to look back to see the thankful look on Fubuki's face; she'd never been all that great at restraining her emotions during a battle.
He softly smiled to himself, before brushing it off; perhaps he too could've had a romance like that, had he not devoted his life to the art of his combat.
If he couldn't have a romance like that from dedicating his life's work and effort to perfecting his fighting skill, he sure was going to use his Fist of Flowing Water, Crushing Rock to the best of his abilities.
Which were, of course, superhuman.
"Well, now!" Fuhrer Ugly's gravelly, yet squawking voice blasted through the air, the mere sound of it more than enough to drive any potential romantic partner away from its putridness. "What do we have here?!"
He flicked at the leg sticking out of Gums's mouth, causing a loud crack to erupt from the limb, followed by an agonized scream echoing from within his mouth.
"Genos," Bang ordered succinctly. "Attack him. I'll grab Tank-Top Master."
The cyborg seemed slightly taken aback, though not taken off guard. He'd always thought the martial arts master to be a rather soft-spoken elderly man, not unlike the elders that would always take care of his village.
He mused, I see why they call him Silverfang. His tone was sharper than before, far sharper. There was conviction in his words, seemingly different than the attitude he'd approached the Monster Association with before they had got here.
Yes, he'd heard it from him when Bang would talk about Garou's past as his student, but otherwise, there was no instance that came to mind. Even with the meteor, he always seemed rather soft-spoken and casual, as if there wasn't a meteor ready to destroy the entire landscape.
Though, I suppose he could show off that title a little more, Genos admitted to himself, but he certainly wasn't going to bring that up in conversation.
He locked eyes with the old man for just a moment, and just like in an anime, he understood his message, his eyes gesturing towards the monster with Tank Top Master in his mouth. Genos pulled the drive that he'd installed within himself, the info given to him by Drive Knight.
Description of [Gums]: Driven by its limitless appetite. Devours targets with a bite force capable of crushing heavy machinery and a bottomless stomach.
His technology focused on the other heat signal near Gums, a monster with a face not even its mother would love. Do monsters have mothers in the first place? How does reproduction even work?
Description of [Fuhrer Ugly]: Possesses a resilient physical body and savagery. Can see through his opponents and figure out attacks they fear the most. Uses relentless violence and swearing to destroy people physically and mentally.
Genos scoffed under his breath; as much as he hated to admit it, he'd likely be destroyed if he took on Fuhrer Ugly as he was. If he was supposedly on the same level as Gouketsu in terms of raw power, given their shared position as cadres, there was no hope.
Gouketsu's likely more powerful, given his technique as a martial artist, but that doesn't mean Fuhrer Ugly is weak in the slightest. I'll have to go for the easier of the two, he assessed while focusing on Gums. He hadn't seen extremely fluid movement from the beast. If anything the main threat was its superior size, defense, and attack. But speed and versatility?
I'm likely getting cocky on this, Genos assessed, remembering his fights against Carnage Kabuto and Mosquito Girl. But it seems that its bite is its only weapon. If I can avoid that, I should be fine. In addition, it seems to be distracted with Tank Top Master. I can likely do something about that.
"Silverfang," He spoke, addressing Bang as his hero name, even though the elder had instructed him to do otherwise. "I'll distract Gums for a small moment. Can you find a way to grab Tank Top Master in time?"
A moment passed.
He only nodded, a solemn, almost dark expression on his face, "Leave it to me. Do not worry yourself, simply take care of it after I retrieve Tank Top Master." Genos blinked, almost taken aback. He'd definitely known that Bang held an abnormal strength to him; after all, how else would you end up being the supposed third strongest hero? But to take complete responsibility?
But in that moment of hesitation that took over Genos, Bang took his silence as agreement, instantly launching himself towards Gums with a battle cry, tearing through its left side before creating another exit in its right side, carrying Tank Top Master in his arms.
Genos took a deep breath. He'd never noticed it before, but it seemed to help calm himself down, even if his cybernetic enhancements quite literally allowed himself to stay calm through a controlled burst of chemicals in his brain. It was more like a ritual at this point, such as athletes in a routine, like a basketball player at a free throw line.
He narrowed his eyes, charging towards the monster, thinking to himself, Right, don't get caught up in what you think you can do. Trust him.
"If I burn up its insides," Genos hypothesized, shoving his right arm deep into the hole that Bang had created. His arm started to glow a bright orange, a faint hum coming from his shoulder as more of his arm started to open up, "It should lose its appetite."
In a flash, flames erupted from Gums, flowing out the hole that Bang had created, as well as the massive burst of heat escaping from its mouth, its innards reaching a solid medium-rare level within a few moments.
Fuhrer Ugly recoiled from the heat, instinctively taking a step back from his ally to see the gruesome fate it'd been met with, before realizing how the hell those holes within it had gotten there in the first place.
"Crap!" He swore, clenching his fist and setting aside Gums's new temperature and heading directly towards the speeding projectile, the old man known as Silverfang holding the heavily injured Tank Top Master.
"Where do you think you're going?!" It shouted with grit teeth, cocking its fist back. "Face caving punch!" He shot his gigantic hand directly towards Silverfang.
All too easy, Bang thought to himself, watching the hand as if it was moving in slow motion. He compared it to the lack of technique that Saitama had had, but...without the power that the bald man had to back it up.
With an elegant move of his leg, seemingly far too agile and flexible for a man his age, he countered the blow with a quick, almost instantaneous motion sending Fuhrer Ugly's attack right back into his face.
Genos scoffed, seeing Bang so effortlessly counter an attack he was certain his cybernetic enhancements hadn't prepared him for. Crap. I'm only holding him back, aren't I?
"Genos, fall back!" Silverfang called out, tossing Tank Top Master towards him. "Head back to my brother! I'll be fine!"
Genos, for his credit, was able to smoothly transition from his attack into catching the injured S-Class hero, feeling his heartbeat faintly through his sensors. Good. He's still alive.
He turned back to the hero, who'd easily executed yet another counter against Fuhrer Ugly, Should I really leave him be?
The cyborg cursed himself for his indecisiveness before a stray piece of debris headed his way, forcing him to dodge.
Damn it!
For all the times that the public had known Genos, his name had been "Demon Cyborg." A lone wolf who was willing to do anything to get the mission done, even if it meant his own destruction. Constantly tackling monsters stronger than him, always getting into a fight that he was almost certain to lose without any hesitation.
But here he was, taking a moment to consider the situation, thinking now and fighting later.
He landed, skidding a little bit after dodging the attack before taking a moment to survey the battlefield. Silverfang's taking on Fuhrer Ugly and Gums. Tornado was able to deal with quite a few of the associates for quite some time; they're likely distracted with some of the other members. He witnessed Pig God, Child Emperor, and Atomic Samurai trying their best to deal with the large, sentient pile of water that'd defeated three top-ranked heroes.
As he brought Tank Top Master closer to Fubuki, Tatsumaki, and Bomb, he laid him down for Fubuki to witness, only for Tornado to grit her teeth in frustration.
Crap! They need my goddamn help, don't they! Tornado tore herself apart at the seams with her words. Do I wait for Saitama or just risk it? Do I leave faith in these guys? They can't even kill that goddamn water thing!
"Bomb," Genos spoke to him as Fubuki tried carrying Tank Top Master off away to where the medics were, who'd been on the outskirts of the damage. "Do you mind helping out Silverfang? I hate to admit it, but I'd be more of a hindrance to him."
"Do not fret, young man," he assured, a pensive look in his eyes. "I'm sure you had just bore witness to it; an old man such as him, tearing a hole into a supposed Dragon-level monster that another S-Class couldn't put a dent into? Easily, mind you." The cyborg nodded, connecting the dots quickly.
"He's far more dangerous than he lets on," Genos observed. Bomb nodded, holding his hands behind his back as he watched Bang counter yet another attack from Fuhrer Ugly, directing his fist directly into Gums, who yowled in agony.
The elder martial artist only nodded, stroking his facial hair as he continued, "Precisely. It's irresponsible to take his calm demeanor for granted; he's quite a dangerous person."
He stayed silent for a moment, watching his brother dance between another hit effortlessly as he deflected the monster's fist right back into his face, "Tell me. What is the difference between harmless and peaceful?"
Genos stayed silent; he had an idea in his mind, but couldn't seem to phrase it in the same proverbial way that Bomb was leading onto.
"Being harmless means you can't hurt anyone, even if you wanted to. Peaceful, on the other hand, means you could easily hurt someone, but choose not to," he explained. "Being peaceful means you can be extremely violent." He noted the sharp glare in his brother's eyes. "That is what he and I learned when we first learned the martial arts."
In the very slight moment that Genos blinked (a practice he'd requested Doctor Kuseno to implant within his behavior in order to help him feel more human), he dealt the killing blow, dashing quickly towards the Ugmon before leaving a large hole in his chest, before Fuhrer Ugly slumped over with a large thud on the ground, kicking up the dust nearby.
Just as quickly, he turned to Gums, who'd had its mouth open in a desperate attempt to catch the third-highest hero off guard, before having its top part ripped from its bottom part, having easily been sliced in two by a single blow, right before evading the energy blasts that Homeless Emperor sent his way from above.
"Don't think you're getting away that quickly!" A merged copy of Black Sperm cackled from behind them, causing Genos to turn around only to see Bomb barely able to react in time to dodge.
"Crap!" Genos cursed, turning his head to Tornado, who'd surrounded them in her signature bright green glow to prevent the copies from reaching all of them. It was clear she was struggling, but she held on nonetheless.
This was their true battle.
This...
This isn't my job!
I shouldn't be here!
All I did was find this little kid, accidentally killed a monster because of my heartbeat, and was brought to the surface!
And I barely was able to stop myself from pissing my pants, no less!
My legs feel like...my legs like there's something chained to it, like I'm a prisoner. I gulp.
I tried working out. I tried it. I really went for it. I tried going on a jog, and almost puked after running a few blocks. I tried doing push-ups, and I could barely do five. I tried doing jumping jacks, and I almost sprained my ankle.
Hell, I even tried using one of those beginner Darebee workout things that middle school kids usually use, and I was barely able to do one set!
I tried getting fit. It didn't work! I forgot to ask Saitama about the one thing that let him actually become a strong hero, even though I took his damn title for him.
Which was what he did to get strong. I still haven't asked him. I really need to get on that, don't I?
Dude, I really need to start thinking about things better. I need to pay attention, I need to listen to what's around me, I need to look at the battlefield, instead of just hiding here after the little kid was saved!
I...
I have to do something.
I can't be here, just standing. The people I work with are being hurt. Genos is being hurt, Fubuki's being hurt, Tornado's even being hurt! Fuck, how am I supposed to do something when she's getting injured!
Dude, Saitama's gonna kill me once he learns that I didn't do anything to help her! I mean, Fubuki and Genos are both helping her out, and so is that old guy who was with Silverfang, but me? I'm doing nothing!
Fuck...
Okay, take a deep breath. Take a deep breath. In. Out. In. Out.
Don't hear the booms going off behind you! Crap, what's that hobo doing?! I can barely see him from the corner of my eye, but I know he's there! I know he's there, I can just feel it! And that weird black-suited thing that keeps splitting? And that HUGE MONSTER that Tornado had to destroy with a drill made out of the whole goddamn city?!
Calm down. Calm down.
Calm down!
Goddamn it, King! Calm down!
You're a fraud, yes.
Are you trying to hype yourself up for no good reason? Yes.
Are you almost two steps away from dying? Yes.
Goddamn it, this isn't helping! Those therapy things to help you calm down from YouTube don't work at all!
You're okay. You're okay. It'll be fine.
But my friends are being hurt! They're out there fighting those...those things, and I'm just here!
My heartbeat! No, fuck, my heartbeat! It's getting louder! They're going to know I'm here!
Calm down. Calm down. Calm down, for Christ's sake! You couldn't do it before, so at least do it now!
I could feel how slow my gulp was, how sweaty my palms were, how frozen my mind was. It was like my breath hitched all at once, and the flow of oxygen to my muscles stopped for just a moment.
This...this is it!
This is my chance. I have to do something. I have to make a distraction. I have to give them some time! Something, anything!
C'mon, legs, do something. Do anything, please!
You read all those goddamn manga, about how heroes act by instinct when they first become heroes. How their legs just...how they just move without you realizing it! How they're willing to sacrifice themselves, even if they're powerless, c'mon!
Goddamn it, I'm not a natural hero. I'm not, I'm not, I'm not!
But you can be one. You can become one. Saitama wasn't a hero when he first started. He told me all about how he worked so hard. He wasn't a hero on his first day of hero-ing, right?
I can be a hero. I can eventually be a hero, right?
I can be a hero.
"Fubuki!" Genos called out to his girlfriend, seeing her struggle to move Tank Top Master. She'd tried to get him to the medics, but after seeing the carnage, realized that it would be suicide to try escaping unnoticed.
"Genos!" She cried out to him, reaching out for his hand. "Can you help me? I need some energy right now!" She gestured to the other S-Class hero, barely conscious and blood seeping from holes that definitely weren't there at the start of the raid.
Genos blinked, trying to grasp the concept. How was she going to do that in the first place? He was barely a human in the first place, and there definitely wasn't any natural life energy that she could sap from him, if that was how it worked.
"Do not fret, young miss," A voice interrupted the two of them, the surprisingly limber Bomb coming up to the two of them. "You may use some of my energy if you wish, though I cannot guarantee it will be effective."
Hesitantly, she took his hand, and a few glowing tendrils seemed to be transferring from Bomb's forearm into Fubuki's hand. He hissed at the contact, though couldn't pull his eyes away from the soft pulsing of his forearm, his energy transferring from his arm to Fubuki's hand, before it exited out of her other arm into Tank Top Master's body. It seemed to disperse well, with his external bleeding stopping.
Genos watched the elderly man's eyes flitter back and forth, his forearm clenching as Fubuki continued to sap his energy. Coughing a little bit, Bomb fell onto his behind, wheezing a little bit.
He scoffed, watching Silverfang and Atomic Samurai attempt to defend themselves from the onslaught of the Black Sperm clones, alongside the help of a few swordsmen that had decided to show up.
They must be acquainted with Atomic Samurai, he reasoned, watching them converse amongst themselves, though quickly switched his attention to a seemingly equal, if not greater, issue. That being said...
Despite the presence of most of the main heroes, there were two missing figures. Atomic Samurai, Tank Top Master, Silverfang, Bomb, Fubuki, Tornado, Child Emperor, and I'm rather certain the figure in hiding over there must be King...Zombieman's most likely recovering right now, especially due to the strength of some of these monsters. Drive Knight's already gone...Metal Bat's already been incapacitated...
He dodged a piece of debris that came flying at him, though his attention was more on the swordsmen who seemed to have come up with a workaround that simply immobilized the copies rather than split them further. He furrowed his eyebrows at the sight, seeing a stark contrast between his abilities and theirs. Perhaps it isn't just brute strength I am lacking, but simply combat experience...do I need to fight weaker opponents so I can practice creating strategies on the spot?
Pig God's there too, and I can tell that Superalloy Darkshine and Puri Puri Prisoner are the two digging up from underground... He softly exhaled, accounting for the majority of the monsters. From what he recalled, Blast, Metal Knight, and Watchdog Man weren't participating.
And yet, Flashy Flash and Saitama-sensei are still not here, he observed, scouring within a radius of five kilometers to check for where they were. Perhaps they had to go hunt a monster? But that doesn't make sense, considering how Flashy Flash had started off with us, while Saitama-sensei and Tornado had both gone off as their own team...
He assumed that there definitely could be an instance in which the two of them happened to meet up, which wasn't all too unlikely given their immense speed, but for what reason would they be so far away from the battlefield?
However, for a brief moment, his attention was taken away from his thoughts, seeing Silverfang nearly slaughtered by a bombardment of energy balls. He recognized them instantly from the data that Drive Knight had given him.
"Homeless Emperor..." he growled, seeing the hobo smirk with satisfaction from a distance, sitting upon a throne of rubble as he watched Black Sperm. "Does he not intend to leave those copies alive?" He noticed how some of them had been absolutely incinerated, definitely unusable at that point. "Or is Black Sperm simply innumerable to the point that it doesn't matter if he kills them. What are their power limits, in the first place?"
Description of [Homeless Emperor]: Uses mysterious light energy that creates massive explosions. Physical ability similar to that of a normal human.
Does that mean that if I were to get up close, he couldn't do anything against me without killing himself in the process? Genos rationalized quickly. Though I imagine his reaction time is fast enough for that to be irrelevant. It'd likely have to be someone with inhuman speed or durability, such as Flashy Flash or Superalloy Darkshine...
He opened up the file depicting a copy of Black Sperm, looking for more information.
Description of [Black Sperm]: Can freely divide and increase in numbers. Each individual entity is self-conscious and possesses a high level of combat ability.
But clearly, they aren't invincible despite their ability to copy, Genos stared at the burnt corpses of some of the divided cells. If those balls of energy release heat energy, then I'd likely be able to take out quite a few cells in perfect condition.
He looked down at his arms, clearly damaged and overheated, Though that doesn't seem to a possibility for me at the moment, even with Fubuki's help.
Watching the cells start to multiply even further, a downpour of energy falling onto Bang and his allies, with the addition of Evil Natural Water taking up the attention of most of the other available heroes, Genos grit his teeth, What the hell is King waiting for?
He noted two heat signatures come from the ground, bringing a relatively okay Darkshine and an incredibly injured Puri Puri Prisoner.
"Child Emperor!" Darkshine called out, seeing a jet shoot towards the child. Yet, just as quickly, Darkshine acted as a shield, taking the blow effortlessly, if not just a little knocked back. "Are you okay?!"
The shorter hero frantically nodded, slightly caught off guard with how his first instinct was still to protect him despite the difference in their rank. Genos's eyes darted over to the source of the attack, the large pile of water that seemed to have some sort of intelligence, if not something else entirely that was beyond current scientific understanding.
Wait a minute...what the hell is that thing doing in the first place? Genos watched the sentient mass of water shoot out another high-pressure jet towards Superalloy Darkshine, though it seemed to only bounce off of him, adding extra shine to him. I remember seeing its description in Drive Knight's data, but I didn't expect...this...
Description of [Evil Natural Water]: A liquid life form that reacts to negative emotions like hostility and hatred. Increases its volume by absorbing water, attacks with water cannons.
As it stands, Genos deduced. They are only holding them off...winning in this state is unlikely as we are now...Miss Tatsumaki, King, and Saitama-sensei will be essential to victory...but...
When will they put themselves into action?
Will Miss Tatsumaki put herself back into the fray? Would it be wise for her to?
He grit his teeth, shaking his head in disdain, No, she's a stronger power for our side than I am, I've no room to judge right now. It's not my place to think about her as a tool for a fight, anyways.
So what do I do?
Then, a sound.
Ba-dum.
Ba-dum.
Ba-dum.
A sound recognizable by anyone.
To any human being who'd kept up with any sort of news outlet, or watched YouTube, or anything media-related, that noise was distinct from any other. It was a sound.
With the roar of a lion, the ferocity of a tiger, the power of a hippo, the technique of an alligator, and the destruction of another well-known, powerful animal, the deeply-pitched pulsing blasted for all to hear.
Ba-dum.
Ba-dum.
Ba-dum.
The noise was loud enough to drown out the sounds of jets of water breaking through the air, explosions from massive energy balls, the extreme grunts of effort from attacks, and even the shaking of debris from Black Sperm's swarms.
And in the epicenter of it all was one man, infamous for his King Engine, which was said to be capable of quite literally intimidating weaker monsters to death upon getting too close with the Strongest Man on Earth.
Ba-dum.
Ba-dum.
Ba-dum.
"The hell?" Black Sperm's largest formation of cells stopped its attack, his target's noises drowned out by the mere beating of the King Engine. "The hell is making that noise?!"
A faraway silhouette stood stoically, unmoving entirely as they placed their left leg on an unmoving piece of rubble. The heartbeat continued, somehow even increasing in volume as the fight continued.
"Who the hell are you...?" One of Black Sperm's clones grit its teeth, glaring at the figure, before making out the signature scars from a distance. "Wait a minute, I know you...you're King!"
"King, you say?" Homeless Emperor hummed, his attention clearly caught despite the heat of the battle, somewhat distracted from the hellfire that he'd been raining upon the heroes in the background. "What a pleasant surprise...Here, I thought that the heroes truly did underestimate us, but they must have brought some form of offense..."
Evil Natural Water only bubbled a bit, ignoring the futile attacks from the multiple heroes attacking it.
"King?" Tornado whispered to herself, eyes narrowing heavily. "What does that fucking dumbass think he's doing?" She did her best not to glare at him, though her attitude seemed only to worsen upon trying to keep it in.
A scowl would have to do.
Not being in on the loop, however, Genos only gazed on in slight wonder, King is here...has he finally decided to act?!
"Goddamn it, take the chance!" Tornado shouted out, feeling the second wind surge through her soul. Whether it was because of her inactivity during the fight, or King's unusual choice to take action pissing her off, or the fact that King was actually choosing to do something while being so powerless while she was off on the sidelines, she couldn't tell you. All she knew was that the goddamn heroes were being ineffective as hell.
Long story short, she was pissed that nothing was going on, and as the S-Class Rank 2 Hero, even if her injuries were way too severe for anyone to rationally keep fighting against it, faith really didn't matter if the people she had faith in at the moment were literally unmoving. It wasn't even her frustration or her companions being completely useless at the moment.
She saw a moment. An opening.
And by fuck, she was going to take it.
"Genos, fucking do something!" She shouted out to him, earning a quick nod from the cyborg who sent himself towards the frozen swarm of Black Sperm clones, blasting them to oblivion.
Granted, he definitely could've had some defensive measures installed, such as the good old "don't let them rip off your arms to a point where you can't use it," but that was a discussion for another day. Clearly something that Fubuki hadn't informed him in detail about, the not-dying instinct.
"Crap, we gotta split up our resources!" Multiple clones of Black Sperm shouted out to one another, fusions starting to form in order to combat Genos and what Tornado was able to do.
"I'm going to help take on King," Homeless Emperor muttered, feeling a sense of urgency upon hearing the heartbeat continue, wondering if he was even ready for battle. Considering how he hadn't even moved from his position, Homeless Emperor had practically assumed that King was casual, like he hadn't cared for the battle.
Like he was looking down on him.
The World's Strongest Man? That practically screamed "I'm going to ruin all of your efforts if left unchecked."
My greatest enemy, Homeless Emperor realized. His presence was more than enough for the monster to realize how powerful he was. No words that he could've said to warn him were unneeded.
King seemed...nigh untouchable.
Even blessed by the powers of God...is this not enough? Homeless Emperor gulped, his skin starting to feel slightly sticky from the sudden chill running down his back.
"We've gotta take him on together," he scowled, an uncharacteristically dark look coming upon him. "Once he's out of the game, this fight'll become a hell of a lot easier."
"Go!" He commanded, ready to take the initiative as he readied a few of his energy balls, the slight pulse brightening the projectiles ever so slightly as they reached their maximum capacity. "You will learn the difference between a king and an emperor today!"
"You sure about that?" King rolled his eyes, narrowing them as he sneered at the Emperor. "Look beneath you. Those rocks. They're loose, aren't they?"
Homeless Emperor widened his eyes, halting the sudden attack.
Impossible! The spheres of pure destruction circled about him, analyzing the floor beneath him. He...no, there's no way he's figured out my weakness already. Which means...no, he isn't just telling me this, I have to read between the lines!
The Ho(bo)kage of the Homeless stared into King's sharp eyes, and he could've sworn to any power out there that there was a true malicious look in his eyes. Like he'd already decided his fate, how quickly his death would take, and his plan to destroy his remaining allies.
He'd be too fast, he'd close the distance before I could even launch my attack! Don't tell me...he's pitying me!
"Hey. Do you have the time to be frozen like that?" A new, hoarse voice came up, a hand already clasping his shoulder. "Could've sworn you asked me something. Wasn't it along the lines of 'Aren't you going to revive again? Or can you not do that anymore?' Well..."
Homeless Emperor's voice clogged up in his throat as he turned his head, seeing the bloodied head of Zombieman staring right back at him, "I think I've finally got an answer for that question."
"Damn it, I've gotta take care of this myself!" Black Sperm scoffed, calling over a few literal metric tons of itself to cooperate. "Goddamn Homeless Emperor hoping for help, it's not like my cell stock is infinite..."
Granted, his cell stock was so massive that it might as well have been, but that was a separate issue entirely.
With Evil Natural Water seemingly ignoring King while attacking the others, Black Sperm was on his own. And fighting the World's Strongest Man required all of him.
"Don't think you've even got a chance, dumbass. I'll make you regret waiting around!" Its tone filled with malicious intent, clone upon clone forming together as its mass increased exponentially.
"No, you fucking don't!" Tornado grit her teeth, feeling blood start to flow again (outside of her body, mind you; everyone except Zombieman personally knows that injuries don't just vanish like that) as she crushed an absolute massive quantity of clones. "It isn't much, but I'll do what I can!"
In a flash, a gigantic psychic blast tore through the area, the force of the impact reaching heroes and villains alike. While most were durable to resist it, a multitude of Black Sperm's single-celled clones met their demise, Homeless Emperor was nearly torn in half from the impact had it not been for Zombieman holding on to his shoulder like it was the last thing he would ever do, and King...
King was promptly sent flying, yet his disappearance went unnoticed. It could be considered lucky, almost, that him having left the battle was completely undetected.
"Everyone, c'mon!" She shouted out, "You're goddamn heroes, aren't you?!"
A sharp voice came through, the response quicker than any other, carrying what seemed to be nothing but pure malice, malevolence, and anger, "Doesn't look like that to me."
A shift of rubble came, before a hill of rubble came crashing down like a pile of snow down a mountain, and at its summit stood a single silhouette that, while the general public wouldn't know of, everyone there could recognize.
"Garou..."
"Yo, Flashy Flash, you feel that boom?"
A nod.
"Of course. We should head there immediately if Tornado's exerting that much effort."
The sounds of footsteps came.
Hope Tats is all right...
It's been...two years.
It's been two whole years since I first published this work on Wattpad, and now I'm heading into my sophomore year come this school year. Hell, two years into this fic, and now I'm gonna be legally able to learn how to drive come September. That's how long it's been.
It feels so weird. Super weird, honestly. Like, it feels so weird to the point where I can barely remember how I started this fic in the first place. So many things happened to me, you know?
Had a breakup with someone I'd been dating for three years, and yeah, middle school relationships obviously aren't likely to succeed, but after three years passed, I had hope for it.
Ended up moving to a new place, which also meant I'd be writing in a whole new environment. God, I remember when I was just sitting on the floor in the corner in the dark, just typing away for the hell of it, barely putting a thought to the words I put because I was so focused on description over everything else like actual characterization that I couldn't realize the emotions that I was missing.
Continued in theatre, and even more fun for me, joined the math team in my high school, and worked my ass off.
I'd like to think that I've grown a lot over the course of this fic, honestly.
And more than anything, I'm so glad that I was able to go on this journey with all of you. Whether or not you guys started reading this fic recently, or have been here from the very start, or somewhere in between, you've read my words and seen the weird little quirks in my style evolve and change entirely, and my entire writings sort of go through a metamorphosis.
It's been two years since I started this fic, and it's starting to wind down to its final chapters.
Which is why I'm shifting its schedule back to every two weeks instead of every three weeks. It's honestly really weird, realizing that something I spent so much time invested in, this little old patch of land I can call my own, is coming to an end before the end of the year.
And I have so, so, so much more I want to say. I want to say thank you, I want to give my gratitude, express my desire, respect, admiration, and care for each and every one of you who's read this fic. Whether you've just read it just to read it, or followed it or favorited it and whatnot, or maybe you've left a comment, I'm so unbelievably heartwarmed by the fact that you even considered reading this little creation of mine.
But...
I really want to save it for the very last chapter.
Because, in all honesty, just writing this note here on July 23, the 2 year anniversary for this fic, is making my heart clench and feel emotions in such a strong capacity that I might actually end up crying.
Seriously.
Thank you.
-SpiritBloodDragon.
