What's out there, a very simple question that mankind has been asking since it was first capable of thought and curiosity, the desire to know what lies in wait among the stars has and most likely will always be one of our greatest questions. But what about the life that exists out there, surely there has to be some other sentient beings who have gazed at their own set of stars and wondered the same thing? Yet what if by chance that wasn't exactly what they were thinking when they gazed towards the infinite horizon that loomed above them, what if their desire to explore the stars was to find something in particular and not just other forms of life? Perhaps that alone is what drove the leader of the aliens currently attacking the planet to come here and do so, perhaps they are not driven by a simple lust for power or a desire to explore but have come for something greater.
Whatever the reason for their being here one thing is most definitely certain, that they could not in any way or fashion have expected to receive such a strong resistance to their might and technology as they currently were, causing their leader to rise from their throne and slowly make their way towards the ship's command center, as to get a better understanding of the situation.
"Th-This can't be happening! even the mighty Groribas the best warrior we had was defeated?!" A being with deep blue skin and a body seeming to be made mostly of tentacles questioned in disbelief as they stared towards countless monitors that were connected to all of the ship's cameras "What manner of creature is he? and how did he get aboard our ship in the first place?" It asked as frustration began to build due to the aforementioned cameras all being swiftly destroyed by the intruder "Damn it, Melzalgald was supposed to be guarding the ship against any threats! now he and I are the only other elite fighters left available to fend off this barbaric biped! I bet he's just mucking about, I need him now the bastard!" It exclaimed angrily.
However, before it could continue to go on with it's rant the sound of the room's door behind it opening gained it's attention. Standing there in the doorway at an intimidating seven foot ten was their leader, and while he possessed impressive gold plated armor which not only complimented his spiky pink hair but also his blue skin, he also possessed an aura of authority and power that any being regardless if they knew who he was would sense immediately.
"Geryuganshoop, what's the problem?" He asked as he stepped into the room, looking towards the other with his one cyclops like blue eye.
"Lord Boros!" It greeted as it turned to face him "I'm sorry I've made a terrible mistake! I've allowed one of the natives to infiltrate the ship!" It told him as it turned back towards the monitors "In the mere four minutes since he came aboard twenty three percent of the ship has been damaged! it seems he is alone, but has somehow managed to instantly kill every warrior sent to intercept him! I'm at a loss here!" It admitted seeming to be on the verge of panic.
"Do not panic, as long as the power sphere remains intact the ship will continue to function." He told the other as he too now looked towards the monitors "The damage thus far seems to be limited to the crews living quarters, but our pawns alone won't be enough, Geryuganshoop, my top lieutenants you, Groribas, and Melzalagald will destroy him, show him what we're made of." He ordered before turning around as to take his leave.
"Uh, Groribas has unfortunately just fallen sir." Geryuganshoop informed their leader causing him to stop.
"He what?" Lord Boros asked wanting to be certain he had heard his lieutenant correctly.
"But let me get Melzalgald back here! the two of us working together will wipe out the intruder without fail I assure you!" Geryuganshoop promised as the other turned back around and stared towards four monitors, which had the intruder's face upon them.
Not responding to his lieutenant's promise of success, Lord Boros simply kept silent and focused on nothing but the intruder's face.
More often than not the greatest stories ever covered or published by the news and press often times just land in their laps thanks to the effort of others or universal chance. A good example of this would be something like a drug bust done by the police or something more tame like a celebrity controversy, very few times have stories that people remember long after they're told have ever been a result of their own effort. And even now as the massive interstellar vessel of the extraterrestrial villains floats above the ruins of City A, despite their best efforts no news outlet was able to truly get all the details of what was transpiring. Thankfully they would soon come to thank Metal Knight for giving them exactly that.
"Are we almost live?" A female newscaster asked the crew as they were hurrying to get the broadcast started.
"We're almost there just a few more seconds and we'll be all set." One of the producers replied before suddenly stopping in his tracks "Wait what?" He asked as he put a hand to his headset, now speaking to the person on the other end of the com "Whoa whoa whoa HOLD ON EVERYONE!" He suddenly shouted causing them all to stop from surprise "We're getting a message from Metal Knight!" He revealed surprising them even more.
"Metal Knight?" "The S class hero?" "Could it be the association's official statement?" Were some of the few comments that could be heard among the boisterous chatter now taking place.
"Uh huh...uh huh...I see..." The Producer muttered in response into his com before focusing back on everyone else "Alright people! it seems Metal Knight is going to be giving us a live feed so let's get this going!" He told them with a circular gesture of his hand causing them to return to their work.
Now even more frantic than they were before everyone resumed what they were doing and soon had the broadcast ready to go.
"Alright this is it!" The Producer shouted as they all got ready "Three!...Two!...One!..." He counted down before signaling to the newscaster to begin.
Clearing her throat as their channel four news logo went first she then looked towards the camera as well as the teleprompter before speaking.
"Our top story above City A, a mysterious object has suddenly appeared and is hovering above the sky, we will now show you a direct live feed of the situation provided by the class S hero Metal Knight." She read from the prompter as the feed from the drones came up.
While those in their homes or perhaps businesses were of course able to see the feed as well her side by side on their televisions, in the studio she and the others had to look towards their own television meant for these situations in order to see what was going on. And the moment everyone's eyes landed upon the drones' feed they could not believe what they were witnessing. Due to the feed being made up of several different drones' perspectives and unique viewpoints of the situation as a whole, each feed was displayed in its own small square and they were all organized in a rectangular shape so to show absolutely every detail. From the ruins of the city, to the massive ship, and of course the battle raging on between the heroes and the alien creature, EVERYTHING was being shown without any kind of censorship or hindrance in either quality or closeness.
However as the feeds continue to go on and the people looked through them one in particular immediately began to draw attention, which of course was thanks to the person it was capturing. Running through the corridors of the alien vessel was of course One Punch Man, and as the feed showed him smashing and destroying everything in sight the once present fear and shock in the people's bodies was quickly replaced by excitement and rejoice.
"YEAH GO ONE PUNCH MAN!" "SHOW THOSE ALIEN BASTARDS WHO THEY'RE MESSING WITH!" "BRING ALL THE SHIPS YOU WANT AIN'T NOTHIN GONNA STOP ONE PUNCH MAN!" Were but a small few of the millions of cheers and screams of support coming from the populace of the world as they looked on to their hero.
Yet even with all of the citizens of the world now focusing solely on the feed showing off their strongest hero, there were some who were also watching this feed who had different reactions.
"O-Oh my god..." Hammerhead thought to himself as he, his wife, and his mother all sat around their table staring towards the television screen.
After his encounter with Saitama Hammerhead had quite the epiphany, no longer would he flock to a life of violence or crime but instead strive to reach and maintain a comfortable life for his family. However due to his time as a villain and thug finding work was quite challenging, despite the fact that he did in truth possess a fair amount of skills, nothing TOO impressive mind you but he was well above average so to say. But regardless of this streak of failed interviews he still tried without deterrence to find a steady job of some sort, feeling a new found dedication and determination be instilled within him all thanks to the "mercy" Saitama had shown him.
"All those people...just...gone..." He noted as he stopped writing another resume due to his focus on the broadcast "Whoever these guys are, they better be ready to beg like they've never begged before, cause not even One Punch Man's THAT merciful..." He thought.
"GO GO SAITAMA GO GO SAITAMA!" Mutsuko cheered as she jumped up and down like a cheerleader.
Even though they were not useless by any means Doctor Genus had still made it clear his creations were not to accompany him to the S class meeting with Metal Knight, and by NO MEANS were they to get involved with whatever might happen as a result of said meeting. Of course though, once the broadcast went out they as well as all of the good doctor's clones flocked to the massive computer terminal to watch the broadcast, seeing as how it was basically a massive flat screen television.
"Mutsuko could you PLEASE calm down?!" Bunji asked with a sigh as he pointed towards the screen "We can barely hear what's going on with all of your cheering..." He told her which in turn caused her to stop and look at him with a glare.
"HEY! doctor Genus told us not to go there no matter what! so if I can't support Saitama in person then I am going to do so from here!" She replied pointing between the screen and the floor as she did.
"Yeah but we kinda have better senses than most people." Bunji argued as he pointed to his ears "So when you scream like that it's even more painful than it would be for a normal person." He said causing her to gasp.
"ARE YOU IMPLYING SOMETHING ABOUT MY VOICE?!" She questioned causing Kamakyuri to sigh.
"Would you both please just shut up?" He asked gaining both their attentions "I personally wasn't bothered by her cheering but I am DEFINITELY irritated with your arguing." He admitted as he crossed his arms.
"Hmph! Thank you Kamakyuri!" She said before looking back to Bunji "And as for you! if you don't like my cheering just go stand over there with some clones so it's not so close." She suggested before looking back to the screen.
Letting another sigh escape him Bunji while taking his leave of her presence walked over to Chikara and Atomu instead of elsewhere in the crowd of clones.
"I don't even know why you bothered standing over there, you knew she was gonna cheer." Atomu admitted as he reached them.
"I just wanted a better view is all." Bunji replied causing Chikara to cast him a confused look.
"Better view? the screen nearly takes up the whole freaking wall! how could any place in this room be a bad view?" He questioned.
Taking a moment to think on that Bunji admittedly didn't have an answer to the question causing him to simply remain silent and continue watching the feed.
Technology, even in the rapidly accelerating world we live in some people don't care for the latest innovation or invention, instead they care only for a simple life and simple things. Whether it be something light like a small house and few fancy electronics, or perhaps something a bit more "extreme" like an amish sort of life some people simply prefer it this way. Yet even with a good amount of people caring more about quiet and peace than technology and overall connectivity with the world, if there is but one thing EVERYONE has access to it would be a radio. Such is the case for a particular ninja who currently sits within his dojo polishing his blade all the while listening to the news broadcast currently happening.
"If somehow you have STILL not managed to get to television in order to watch this for yourselves, we will continue to describe to you the jaw dropping events currently happening within the alien ship!" The voice on the radio exclaimed before clearing his throat "As of now One Punch Man is without hesitation or restraint punching away at every wall, ceiling, and even some parts of the floor that he can find! yet despite all of this damage and all of the explosions, the ship still seems to be maintaining it's current altitude in the sky without issue!" He described as he was watching the feed from the station's television.
Slowly dragging the cloth held in his left hand across his blade one last time, Sonic turned the blade towards it side so it would be easier to check it for any remaining scuffs or dirt. Seeing what little light there was in the room managing to reflect off of the pristine condition of his sword, he could not keep a seemingly toothless jack o lantern like grin from appearing on his face.
"Finally..." He thought as his grip on the sword's handle tightened ever so slightly "We'll have our rematch Saitama..." He decided.
"Oh man this is amazing!" A member of the Blizzard group exclaimed as they and the rest of the group watched the broadcast from their television.
Even though her sister told her to not come to the meeting and to just stay away where she would be safe, Fubuki never said she and her group wouldn't watch what was happening if it should make the news.
"You think he'll be alright miss Blizzard?" Mountain Ape asked as he looked to their leader causing her to look at him with a dumbfounded look.
"Of course he'll be okay!" She quickly answered "What would make you think he wouldn't be?" She questioned.
"It's just these guys are from outer space ya know, so maybe they've got like a really tough alien on their side." He replied.
"Hmm...true." Fubuki admitted as she looked back to the television "But no matter how strong their toughest person is, they're still no match for Saitama~" She said with a somewhat blissful sigh.
Heavy breathes escaped the lungs of Puri Puri Prisoner as he stood before the now damage riddled form of the alien creature, yet by no means was he actually tired or exhausted. But even with the creature now seeming to be lifeless thanks to the countless holes and missing pieces as a result of his barrage of blows, it still remained in an upright position not appearing to be on the verge of falling.
"He pummeled that thing with nothing but the power of his bare fists! that's a class S hero for you." Iaian noted as he watched on from a distance.
Unfortunately, despite the truly amazing effort of Puri Puri Prisoner the creature began to rapidly heal it's wounds yet again, it's sinister grin never faltering all the while.
"That won't do any good!" He cried out as he returned to a combat ready stance "It posses incredible regenerative powers!" He told them as the creature finished healing "And be sure not to let it hit any part of you, a single blow instantly tore my entire arm off!" He warned.
Now that it was fully restored the creature raised a fist towards them clearly readying an attack.
"Dodge it's attacks at all costs!" He advised just as the creature sent it's fist flying towards them.
"Let me give it a try." Bang suggested with a snap of his wrist as with impressive speed he moved in front of Puri Puri Prisoner and with no effort at all simply deflected the creature's attack with but a light block of his hand.
With the creature now open for attack Bang leapt towards it's mid section before dealing a powerful strike to the chest, the force alone being enough to send the creature flying a small distance backwards before hitting the ground. For the first time since this engagement had begun the creature's grin faltered as it began to return to it's feet and instead of it's over abundant pride and certainty it felt irritation and anger.
"Should we use a bombardment to finish of these humans?" It asked itself as a head suddenly grew out from the right side of it's own.
"Yes that is good." It replied looking towards the first head as it did.
"Contact the ship." The first head ordered causing the other to sprout bat like wings from it's sides.
"I will go." It assured as it separated itself from the other before taking off towards the ship.
With an expression that was nothing but unsettling the creature with due haste began to ascend. But before it was able to get high enough from the ground to where they would not be able to catch it, Metal Bat having noticed what happened leapt into the air and brought his bat down onto it's skull easily sending it down to the ground.
"Get back here!" He shouted as he made the swing watching as it bounced across the ground a small bit before stopping.
Landing on his feet not too far from where it had also landed the creature was quick to regain it's composure and resumed flying in the air, though this time just a small bit as to confront it's attacker. Yet once again before it was able to react in any way to the attack, Metal Bat was already upon it and with another devastating leaping blow smashed it with his weapon, this time possessing enough force to break it apart into multiple pieces.
"MIND YOUR MANNERS!" He shouted as he landed back to the ground holding his bat out from his side as he did "I hope you like mincemeat freak!" He taunted as he readied to attack again.
All the while this transpired the original head after returning to it's feet was ready to attack once more, only to be kept from doing so thanks to a voice only it could hear.
"Melzalgald what are you doing?!" Geryuganshoop questioned via telepathy.
"I'm in battle." Melzalgald simply replied through thought as it looked towards the ship.
"There's an intruder here!" Geryuganshoop exclaimed in a panic causing the other to fully focus on the ship with a shocked expression now present on it's face.
"That's ridiculous!" It simply replied once more.
"It's true! so hurry and finish them off and get back here immediately!" Geryuganshoop demanded right as another explosion erupted from the ship.
"Crap this one's locked too." Saitama noted as he lightly tugged at a door leading to a different hallway "Hey open the door! you've got a visitor!" He called out.
However, just as the door seemed to be giving in to his immense strength and was on the verge of being pulled from the wall, a small round drone suddenly flew out in front of him causing him to let go.
"Whoa!" He exclaimed as he took a step back.
"Do not be alarmed One Punch Man it is only me." The voice of Metal Knight spoke from the drone as it simply hovered in front of him.
"Oh hey Metal Knight, where's your robot?" Saitama asked as he looked down both ends of the corridor for the machine.
"It is still on the ground level helping in the effort to free trapped survivors, this is but one of the many surveillance drones it can deploy." He explained.
"Wait surveillance? does that mean you have the ship mapped out then?" Saitama asked.
"Yes and no." Metal Knight replied before a holographic projection of the ship suddenly came from the drone "You see I have but the one drone inside the ship at the moment, the others are still surveying the outside to try and identify any key areas or points that will aid in destroying the vessel faster." He explained as the projection suddenly changed to show the inside of the ship "But even with the limited data I have on the ship's inner workings as of right now, I am still able to get a basic mapping of it's corridors through the use of sonar pings." He revealed.
"So you can help me find the guy who's in charge then right?" Saitama asked.
"Again yes and no." Metal Knight repeated before focusing the projection on a few areas "As I said I can gather only the layout of the ship's passages and rooms, I cannot determine what exactly lies within each respectively, but if we are to go with the assumption that the leader would be in the largest space found in the vessel, then the best place to check first would be near the part of the ship where the helm would most likely be located." He explained.
"That does make sense." Saitama agreed as the projection went away "So which way is that exactly?" He asked.
"Through this door." Metal Knight answered as the drone turned around to look at it "It shouldn't take me but a few moments to open it so if you would-" He began to offer only to have Saitama cut him off with the door's destruction via a punch.
"There problem solved." He said as he walked through "Come on let's go!" He ordered as he continued on.
"Right...he can just punch his way through the ship..." Metal Knight said to himself as the drone followed and the while he "failed" to mention the fact that he was also being broadcast via the drone.
Back on the ground, as the major part of the creature was focused on dealing with Atomic Samurai, Bang, and Puri Puri Prisoner, the head which had separated was already reformed and focusing on Metal Bat.
"I know, I'll rip your limbs off and make you the ship mascot, that is good." It told him as it's wings grew back and it gained some height over him in the air.
Feeling his already present annoyance grow a slight bit more at this threat, Metal Bat quickly spit in his left hand before dual wielding his weapon.
"Put yourself together again huh?" He asked before leaping up for a third time and dealing another blow, this one only denting it slightly "I'll keep you for batting practice!" He shouted as he quickly followed up with another swing yet still the creature kept itself together.
While this seemingly endless cycle was underway, back with the other heroes their fight with the rest of the creature was also in full swing. Yet no matter how many precise strikes Bang landed, the several clean slashes Atomic Samurai made, and the multiple holes created from Puri Puri Prisoner's strikes, the creature continued to hold it's ground and showed no signs of actually being injured.
"Comrades! your direct physical attacks have no effect on it! all of our efforts have only been in vain!" Iaian called out from the sidelines as he watched them fight "Let's withdraw for now! there must be some other way to destroy it, like using heat!" He suggested seeming to be the only one thinking about this fight on a strategic level.
"Smashing is all I'm good at! forget it!" Metal Bat responded just as he landed another blow against the flying head sending it flying back to the ground.
"This is all I know as well! can't teach an old dog new tricks, my apologies." Bang replied as he shoved a hand into the creature's side.
"That goes for me too, sorry sweet Iaian." Puri Puri Prisoner apologized as he dealt another punch to the creature's shoulder.
"Iaian I'm disappointed! don't you have faith in me? there's nothing I can't cut!" Atomic Samurai told his disciple as he slashed upward through it's torso.
"It's pointless, these guys are used to coming out on top...they aren't the type to listen..." Iaian thought as the feeling of dread began to come over him.
Blow for blow attack for attack the creature continued to heal and heal without delay or issue, and while it was annoyed by their persistence and refusal to die it would be the returning voice of Geryuganshoop that would be the most annoying.
"Melzalgald! look I REALLY need you on the ship, getting rid of the intruder takes priority!" Geryuganshoop exclaimed with urgency desperate for the other's help.
"I'd love to but I'm still busy down here, these creatures are persistent." It replied as it simply walked about healing and swatting away the heroes.
"You've got to be kidding! the lifeforms down there are proving tough to handle too? what the hell's with this place?!" Geryuganshoop wondered aloud but thanks to his telekinetic capabilities was able to ensure the other heard it as well.
"Nothing tough about them, what's the ship's status is it going down or what?" It asked as it continued to stomp about.
"It's not going down, but more than half the crew have been killed by this intruder." Geryuganshoop answered not bothering to continue speaking through thought.
"There's no way!" It thought in disbelief stopping in it's tracks as another series of blows made contact with it "I need to end this fast then, begin cleansing my location with a bombardment from the ship!" It ordered.
"Like I said I've got my hands full right now! besides artillery bombardment's the job of the lower ranks..." Geryuganshoop replied as it raised one of it's tendrils to it's mouth.
"Well I'm in a situation where I can't return on board." It causally stated seeing no point for furthering arguing.
"Alright fine, I'll notify the artillery crews of your predicament, but don't you get caught up in the barrage understood?" Geryuganshoop asked as it moved to a nearby console to get things underway.
"Wait! hold on a second!" It exclaimed though this time verbally as it looked back to the ship.
Unfortunately for the creature it's focus would immediately be pulled back to it's attackers as it's head was sliced horizontally in half. But thanks to it's ability to split itself up when need be as it's body continued to fight the top half of it's head which had been separated from the attack flew towards the ship a small distance before continuing the conversation.
"You should come down here and help me, that'd be a much faster solution!" It reasoned "Hey, Geryuganshoop!" It called out after a few seconds of no response "Damn him, just how tough is this intruder?" It wondered before returning to the rest of it's body.
Meanwhile with Metal Bat and it's other head, to no surprise they were still doing the exact same thing of him smashing it to pieces and it regenerating only so he could smash it again. However, as he smashed it to bits for the fifth time now he noticed something floating among them that caught his attention.
"More attacks, it is good that you're exhausting yourself." It told him as it began to reform.
But before it's head was even halfway complete Metal Bat with haste lunged for the object that had caught his eye and manged to grab it.
"What the hell is this?" He questioned as he held it tightly in his fist.
Now fully restored the head looked towards him to see what he was referring to, only to have it's eyes widen in shock. Opening his hand to see what it was up close it seemed to be some kind of light bluish marble, the kind you could find in any store that would sell them.
"A marble, why've you got one of these?" He asked.
Feeling anger and panic quickly take hold the head without thinking rushed towards him fully intent on finally killing him.
"GIVE IT BACK!" It demanded.
"Alright here ya go!" He replied as he tossed it into the air before smashing it to smithereens with his bat.
Upon doing so the creature suddenly halted in it's approach before immediately disintegrating into a pile of ash and waste. Of course being shocked by this sudden revelation Metal Bat hurried over to the pile to get a better look stopping a few feet away just to be safe.
"Whoa! that's nasty ya nasty bastard! you dead?" He asked as he looked it over pretty sure it was in fact deceased "Hey! I just discovered something! this guy's got a marble thing inside'em, destroy it and they die!" He exclaimed as he turned back towards the others.
Seeming to take everyone even the creature by surprise, while a look of horror seemed to adorn it's face a newfound confidence adorned the heroes.
"Hey nice work." Atomic Samurai complimented before turning back towards the creature "So I just have to slice away at you until I hit this final marble he's talking about." He said as he leapt towards it readying to strike.
Simply standing there and allowing itself to be sliced away at by the other, the creature was currently in a state of shock at how these lifeforms were somehow the first ones to ever figure out how to defeat it.
"Impossible! I've been growing that head for a hundred years! and it got killed in this dump?!" It wondered as it looked towards the ship "Either way you scum are dead when the shells hit, they're coming and there's nothing you can do to stop them!" It thought before putting all of it's focus back on the fight.
"Look's like they're finally making some progress down there." Child Emperor noted as he and the others who were still on the roof not only watched the feed from Saitama but also the fight down below.
As for how they were even able to watch the feed from the rooftop, the simple answer to that is Child Emperor's backpack was not just the housing compartment for some robotic spider legs but also a great deal of other technology which he could use as he wished, how this was even physically possible given the size and supposed space of the bag no one was willing to find out.
"We could help them." Genos suggested only to receive a dismissive shake of the head from King.
"Believe me, if we try to get in the way now they'll just get mad and say we thought they were weak and turn on us instead." He said as he looked down at them "...Well...maybe not Bang and Puri Puri...but the other two most definitely." He corrected.
"I'm surprised you haven't gotten involved Tornado." Superalloy Blackluster admitted as he turned to face her.
"Like I said I'm giving Saitama five minutes." She replied as she was only focused on the feed "He's got three minutes and fourteen seconds left." She noted as she crossed her legs while hovering in the air.
"Alright, take a left up here." Metal Knight directed as the drone followed behind Saitama.
Thanks to the other's guidance through the labyrinth that was this ship's interior, Saitama felt as though he was finally making real progress towards the big bad of the aliens.
"What do you think he'll be like?" He asked as he ran wanting to fill the silence between them with some hopefully pleasant conversation.
"It's impossible to even guess, so far from both the corpses you've left behind us as well as the life form on the ground it seems as though the crew of this vessel is incredible diverse, no doubt possessing species from several different worlds and galaxies." Metal Knight responded.
"Huh, guess that's true." Saitama agreed "Still I hope he's not like those cartoon aliens, you know the little green ones." He said.
"That would be disappointing indeed." Metal Knight agreed.
Suddenly without warning Saitama stopped dead in his tracks causing the drone to run right into the back of his head.
"Is something wrong?" Metal Knight asked as he easily stabilized it so it wouldn't hit the ground.
"Intruder, this is your last chance! leave immediately o-or we'll be forced to send every soldier we have at you!" A voice only Saitama could hear threatened, though due to it's somewhat shaky state it was clear it was nervous.
"That's weird, I can hear a voice inside my head." Saitama said as he stuck a finger in his ear and turned it a bit as to clear it out.
"Hmm...it could be a form of telepathy, similar to what Tornado uses." Metal Knight suggested.
"This is your last chance! take one more step and you're dead!" It threatened him again yet still because of the shakiness it wasn't really threatening.
"It's saying I should leave, otherwise I'll be dead." Saitama relayed to the other causing him to chuckle.
"Seriously? you've already destroyed most of their ship and have killed every single creature sent to intercept you, what could they possibly have that would have any chance of hurting you, let alone kill you?" Metal Knight questioned.
"Eh you never know, they are from space after all." Saitama said with a shrug before looking towards the ceiling "Sorry to tell you...whoever you are, but I'm not leaving the ship till I deal with your boss." He told the voice before looking back to the drone "Speaking of, where to from here?" He asked.
"Keep going down this corridor, take a left, then a right, and then keep going straight until we reach what seems to be the largest room in the ship." Metal Knight instructed.
"Alright sounds good." Saitama replied before continuing in his light jog.
"W-Wait! stop! don't take another step further!" Geryuganshoop said to the intruder, only to be met with complete silence as he was probably just ignoring him now "DAMN IT! he's headed straight for Lord Boros!" He exclaimed as he looked at a map of the ship on one of the monitors "But then again...if anyone can kill this intruder it would be Lord Boros..." He reasoned deciding that if this intruder was determined to get himself killed he might as well just sit back and let him.
"Sir we've just received a message from the artillery, the bombardment is nearly ready, should he proceed as planned?" A member of the crew asked as he looked over his shoulder towards him.
"Of course he should! make sure to wipe them out completely this time though! we don't want any more intruders!" Geryuganshoop replied causing the other to turn around and repeat the command to the artillery "Hopefully Melzalgald won't get himself killed..." He said beneath his breath before refocusing on the intruder.
Meanwhile, as both Saitama and the other heroes were dealing with this alien threat the association of course was also doing all that they were able given the circumstances. But seeing as how they weren't really able to offer any support for the heroes in the form of tactical aid or even battle analysis given the amount of unknowns there were, they were only able to focus on helping survivors across all of City A's ruins.
"Get those people inside right away!" Bearded Worker directed as other employees rushed any injured found into the building on gurneys.
"We have an issue." The voice of Sitch said to him via his headset gaining his attention.
"What is it sir?" He asked pressing it to is ear as to drown out all of the noise around him.
"Child Emperor just informed us that the ship's energy levels are rapidly rising, meaning it's more than likely readying another attack." Sitch answered causing the other's eyes to widen.
"What should we do about the civilians?" He asked.
"Recall the search and rescue teams for now, have everyone find shelter and take cover, you'll be under serious fire soon!" Sitch warned.
Upon hearing this Bearded Worker took a moment to look out at the ruined city before him and even though every fiber of his being was telling him to continue on to try and help any survivors still out there, he had to consider the people around him too. Unknown to him however just a few miles away from the building further into the ruins, a man weak and exhausted from having made his way up through the rumble was doing all he could to try and make it there. Sadly due to his state he was only able to take a few more steps before collapsing to the ground, unable to lift so much as an arm in hopes of crawling to safety. Coughing but a slight bit due to the dust in his lungs, the man simply laid there hoping to regain some of his strength but soon heard the sound of what seemed to be a bike approaching him from behind.
Able to turn his head just enough to look over his shoulder he felt his eyes widen in surprise and joy at the sight that met him. Pedaling towards him was none other than well know top ranking C class hero Mumen Rider and within but a few seconds he came to a stop before him holding out a hand as he did.
"Hop on!" Mumen Rider said to him with a smile clearly there to help him and any other survivors.
Feeling a smile of his own come to his face, the man with a new found surge of energy was able to get back on his knees and grab onto the other's hand where he was then pulled to his feet and helped onto the bike.
"Hold on!" Mumen Rider told him as he immediately began to pedal wanting nothing more than to get this man to safety before coming back out here to save more survivors.
"Only two heads left, I'll bust those suckers wide open!" Metal Bat exclaimed as he stood between Bang and Atomic Samurai.
After both revealing the creature's weakness and killing the head he was occupied with, Metal Bat rejoined the others in their attack against the rest of it resulting in two of the four remaining heads being swiftly destroyed. However unknown to the four heroes the creature was truly no longer concerned with the engagement as it was awaiting the bombardment from the ship.
"Is it time yet?" One of the heads asked aloud as they both looked upwards.
"Ship bombardment coming quite soon." The other replied.
And sure enough, within the bowels of the ship the lone alien in charge of the bombardment had finished locking onto his position and was fully ready to attack.
"Oh there they are." The creature said as it leaned back, it's appearance seeming to be some weird combination of a multi eyed squid and a child's imagination gone rampant "Well bye bye problems." It said as it pressed the button to launch the shells.
Back on the ground the heroes all felt their eyes widen in shock as countless purple lights suddenly shined from the ship followed by a shell shooting out from each. Feeling two grins come to both of it's heads the creature simply looked towards them with it's arms held out.
"It's over." "You will die, there is no escape." The two heads said as the shells closed in.
Uncertain as to what they should do or what they even could do or what they even could do, the four heroes could not pry their gazes away from the rapidly approaching death. But just as it seemed all hope for their survival was lost, the shells suddenly stopped dead in their tracks and were enveloped in a green aura.
"You muscle heads would be dead without me, can't you finish one small fry?" Tatsumaki asked them as she stood behind them, gaining their attentions "Maybe you should try starting over from class C." She told them as she started levitating to the air "Hey aliens, take your shells back." She said as with but a dismissive gesture of her arms she sent each shell with even greater speed and power back to where they came from.
Everyone who watched on from the heroes on the ground and the rooftop, to the employees in the building, and of course the people of the world able to witness such a thing thanks to Metal Knight felt their jaws draw at such power and skill displayed by her. As for the aliens however, if the intruder who was currently running around destroying everything hadn't instilled fear within their souls yet this counter attack sure enough did, starting with the one in charge of the bombardment.
"I wanna go home..." It said as a look of dread and fear appeared on it's face.
With the threat of the attack now successfully dealt with and both the heroes as well as the survivors were no longer in danger, the rescue teams led by Bearded Worker were able to continue in their searches and treatments the survivors, yet much to his surprise they were not the only ones doing so.
"I had no idea you were here, thanks a lot Mumen Rider." He said as he turned to face the hero after seeing the man he brought with was taken inside.
"I know there are more survivors, where should I look? narrowing the search area will save more lives." Mumen Rider asked not wanting to waste any time.
"I'm not sure if you-" Bearded Worker began to say only to be cut off by the other.
"I'm ready to rescue them right now!" He assured.
"Sounds like a plan, we wanna know too." A voice said from their left gaining both of their attentions.
Looking to the voice's owner both Mumen Rider and Bearded Worker were shocked to see the A class heroes Stinger and Lightning Max standing before them.
"Yeah, can't let this guy hog the limelight." Lightning Max said as he crossed his arms.
"It's Stinger and Lightning Max..." Bearded Worker said in disbelief as he wouldn't have expected any heroes that weren't S class to have shown up.
"So, can we borrow this?" Stinger asked as he patted the military jeep that was parked next to them.
Unable to keep a smile from coming to his face Bearded Worker had no words to describe the relief and joy that filled him at the sight of these three heroes willingness to help. And while the remains of the city as well as the survivors no longer had to worry about a bombardment coming down on top of them, unfortunately there was still the matter of the alien creature who was still fighting Bang, Metal Bat, Puri Puri Prisoner, and Atomic Samurai. With a hellish roar of frustration and anger the creature changed it's arms into multiple sharpened appendages, which then shot out towards the heroes with incredible speed and power. Despite this though both Metal Bat and Puri Puri Prisoner were able to not only deal with them with ease, but were also able to keep them from attacking the other two which was in truth mostly due to Puri Puri Prisoner as he had grabbed onto most of them.
"Nice catch!" Bang complimented as he hopped onto one bundle of limbs before proceeding to run up it.
With his own great speed and power Bang quickly reached one of the heads and with but a simple strike through it's left eye he manged to grab it's specific marble.
"I found it, begone!" He exclaimed as he easily crushed it between his fingers and thumb "Only one left!" He noted as he landed on a destroyed pillar.
However, before he was able to move or do anything else the creature in response to the loss of another head simply lashed out at him with it's right arm sending him flying from the pillar and through multiple buildings.
"They got Silver Fang!" Atomic Samurai shouted with widened eyes.
"No...a direct hit..." Iaian muttered in horror as he stared towards the seemingly limp form of Silver Fang hanging from the building he stopped in.
"Ah ha ha ha! weak! weak! you are all so very weak!" The creature taunted as it turned it's focus back to the remaining heroes "Dead after a single hit, a change of tactics was all I needed, if I forget about defense and focus on my attacks this will all be over quickly, you're next swordsman!" It assured as it now loomed over Atomic Samurai "I will spring past that blade and squeeze your skull till it pops!" It threatened as it began to change it's form.
"If you think you can do it then be my guest..." He simply replied as a new found rage began to creep into his form.
Despite the ship being infiltrated, despite most of the crew being dead, and despite the ship being bombarded with it's own shells, their leader still sat atop of his throne not seeming to be by bothered by any of it. Yet as he sat there simply staring towards the massive door that led to the connecting corridor outside, he could feel something approaching rather quickly.
"He's come." He said to himself as his stare grew a slight bit more intense.
True to his word, just beyond the door by twenty feet or so was indeed Saitama with Metal Knight's drone following right behind. And while with any other person Metal Knight would try and reason with them to do their best from destroying too much of the ship, he knew all to well that the only way they were going to open that door was for Saitama to simply punch it to pieces.
"The sonar is detecting something in there and my energy scanners are also detecting two sources of power, one seems to be powering the ship while the other belongs to the entity found on the sonar." He said.
"Then I guess this is it." Saitama simply replied as he suddenly jumped into the air.
Stopping the drone in it's tracks Metal Knight watched as Saitama headed straight towards the door and with one punch dealt to it's surface once he reached it, it as expected exploded into countless pieces. Landing with no issue on the other side, Saitama waited for the drone to catch up to him before continuing on and by doing so remained in a pose that was both heroic as well as epic.
"OH MY GOD HE LOOKS SO COOL!" "NOW WE'RE TALKING! TIME TO SHOW THESE ALIEN ASSHOLES WHO THEY'RE MESSING WITH!" "GO GET'EM ONE PUNCH MAN WE BELIEVE IN YOU!" Were but a small few cheers being shouted across the world as everyone watched their hero stand before the alien leader.
"The finest warrior this planet has to offer, I can sense no limit to his energy." Lord Boros thought to himself as he rose from his throne.
"Are you the boss man of these invaders?" Saitama asked resuming his usual laid back posture, wanting to be certain they had found the right person.
"Wonderful." Lord Boros began which caught not only Saitama off guard but Metal Knight and the rest of the world as well "Before we fight let us exchange names, I lead the pirate band known as Dark Matter and I am the dominator of the universe, my name is Boros." He greeted.
"I am the world's strongest hero Saitama." Saitama greeted in return.
"Saitama..." Lord Boros simply repeated as his eye widened, seeming to get excited from that.
"Look dude I don't know what the denominator of the universe wants with earth but you sure did make a mess out of City A." Saitama Replied.
And even though Metal Knight, Genos, King, and a few others knew the mistake of his title wasn't some sort of clever jab or joke, the rest of the world however thought otherwise.
"What I want with Earth?" Lord Boros questioned as he began his descent from his throne towards Saitama "There exists a prophecy." He began once more.
"A prophecy, what do you mean?" Saitama questioned confused by what he meant.
"I was once a traveler exploring the universe ravaging everything in sight, but I was too strong eventually I found there were none left that could face me, I came to know total and encompassing boredom." He recounted as he got closer "Then one day, a great seer told me that somewhere on a faraway planet a being exists who IS my match, one who could rekindled my passion for battle." He continued as he was now done with the stairs and began to walk towards Saitama "That was twenty years ago, have you any concept of the distance I've traveled to get here?" He questioned as he stopped right in front of the other "My men thought the prophecy was a ruse a fairy tale made up to focus my attention and lure me away." He admitted as his gaze instantly changed from seemingly eager to scarily intense "But now I am certain it was true, come and give stimulation to my existence! that is why I am here!" He concluded.
It would not be even a second after he finished speaking before Saitama without even moving a single inch from where he stood delivered a punch with his left hand directly to Lord Boros's chest, sending him flying across the room into a massive pillar which was but one of seemingly endless rows.
"Are you an idiot? you can't just go around attacking other planets to liven up your boring little life, even telemarketers wouldn't think of something that dumb." He told him.
Even though his face and expression hadn't change in the slightest the rest of the world was a far different story. From cheering to literally leaping with joy the people of the world were over ecstatic of their hero's triumph though of course the heroes were also a far different story.
"Oh man that was awesome!" Child Emperor exclaimed as he gripped his lollipop "He just sent the guy flying!" He added.
"Of course he did! ain't no one capable of surviving a punch from THE One Punch Man!" Superalloy Blackluster chimed in.
"Hmph, took him long enough." Tatsumaki commented even though on the inside she was admittedly proud and happy of Saitama.
"Incredible, even beings from other worlds cannot withstand his strength!" Genos noted with an amazed expression.
"Wow." King simply said as he still wasn't used to seeing just how powerful Saitama could be.
"YEAH WOOHOO! WAY TO GO SAITAMA!" Mutsuko cheered as she jumped up and down.
Even though she was by far the loudest and most expressive of them all, the others both the clones and other creations were also cheering and clapping out of amazement.
"Man he really is strong..." Chikara muttered as he looked down at his hands "Maybe if I get control over my carnage mode, I could be as strong as him..." He suggested.
"That was just a light punch, he didn't even put any real power behind it." Kamakyuri noted as he closed his eyes to think for a moment "If Metal Knight and the doctor's limiter theory is true, then I don't even want to think about what that ninja could become..." He thought before reopening his eyes.
"Did you see that?! the guy shot off like a rocket!" A member of the blizzard group exclaimed as they too were of course cheering and rejoicing.
Even though she of course had complete faith in Saitama Fubuki was secretly relieved that there was no actual threat to him.
"Well I guess that settles that then..." She thought as a somewhat giddy expression became present on her face "Saitama's not just the world's strongest hero, but the UNIVERSE'S strongest hero~" She mused.
"Everyone seems to be cheering for you." Metal Knight informed Saitama causing him to look back at the drone.
"Huh? what do you mean?" He asked but soon began to put two and two together "Wait...have you been broadcasting me to everyone?" He questioned.
"I didn't think you would mind." Metal Knight simply answered as the drone looked around the room "Besides it's not like you're not used to it or anything, and in all honesty the drones were in fact originally just meant for surveying the ship, the broadcast was just a pleasant bonus." He reasoned.
However, before they could continue their conversation or the world could continue it's cheering and celebrations, as the smoke from the impact of Lord Boro's body began to clear and he was able to be seen embedded, they would all come to a sudden stop as if time itself had been frozen. Slowly but surely Lord Boro's body began to move and before they knew it he was freed from his place within the pillar and was back to his feet. Even Saitama who had also just assumed the other had been killed was surprised at what was happening, though where he was simply surprised the rest of the world was more so going into a state of shock. Then as if things couldn't get any more unbelievable Lord Boro's armor suddenly shattered into countless pieces which fell to the floor around him.
"This set of armor which was used to seal my immeasurable and irresistible power has now been broken." He spoke seeming to be completely fine.
"Okay." Saitama simply replied having the most blank and bored expression quickly taking place of the former somewhat surprised look.
With but only grunts now escaping him Lord Boros drew his arms close to his chest and hunched over as something seemed to be happening to him. Slowly his light bluish skin began turn into a far darker shade and along all of his joints and knuckles spikes were sprouting from his body. Soon energy the likes of which neither Metal Knight nor anyone else had ever seen began to in a emit from him causing a strong wind to blow in all directions. Yet even with this sudden transformation happening right before his eyes Saitama maintained his blank expression, not seeming to care about what was happening at all.
"IT IS TIME!" Lord Boros shouted as he looked towards Saitama before suddenly rushing towards him.
Knowing well if he were to stay close to Saitama his drone would be destroyed, Metal Knight had it swiftly retreat to an incredibly far safe distance so to keep the broadcast going. This would prove to be the smartest thing he could've done as the moment Lord Boros reached Saitama he sent fourth a punch that would be easily blocked by the other, resulting in a massive dispersal of winds that were comparable to a tornado. This would only be Lord Boro's opener however as he immediately followed up with a rapid series of blows to Saitama's left arm which was all he was using to block the attacks. Seeing that this was getting him nowhere Lord Boro's concluded the combo with one powerful strike which was enough to send Saitama flying a good distance towards the other end of the room, to which Lord Boros would follow to continue his assault.
"This is insane!" Metal Knight said to himself as he did his best to follow with the drone "I'll need to get the other drones if I want to make sure I don't lose them!" He decided as he sent the order for all the drones to come to this one's location.
In the few moments he had looked away to issue the order Saitama and Lord Boros had left the floor and were now fighting in the air, with the means for Saitama's place in the air being solely the force impacting him from each of the other's attacks. Both however would soon part ways and land on two pillars that were across from one another, but this would not last long as they leapt off of them and head right back towards each other though this time Saitama had an attack ready. Trading a quick blow that the world almost could not see, both men then landed back on the floor with their backs to each other. And while of course Saitama seemed to have no injuries at all Lord Boros on the other hand lost his entire right arm, which to any other hero would illicit a cheer or reaction from those that watched on but for Saitama it only brought them more shock as it meant he had just survived a SECOND punch!
"Even though my true power's been unleashed on you, somehow you're still able to keep up!" Lord Boros exclaimed as he turned to face the other.
"Yup." Saitama simply replied as he turned to face him as well, his fist now held out in front of him "You're tough, cool." He complimented.
Even though MOST of the world was currently in a coma like state due to their shock at what they were witnessing, Atomic Samurai and the other heroes on the ground were not a part of it as they were still occupied with other matters. Slash for slash Atomic Samurai traded blows with the creature as it continued to heal what was cut off and replace it with more sharpened blade like appendages, yet despite it's numerous attack he dodged them with grace and ease as if they were nothing.
"Bastard, you sure are making things interesting around here." He said as he leapt back to the sides of Metal Bat and Puri Puri Prisoner.
"I'm beginning to taste victory!" It taunted as it brought it's arms across it's chest ready to begin attacking once more.
"Ah that's better, the stiffness in my shoulders is gone, must be a little rusty." Bang noted as he approached, doing a few light stretches as he did.
Upon hearing his voice both the creature and the heroes looked to find a now shirtless Bang coming to rejoin the fight, and while the heroes were of course overjoyed their comrade wasn't dead the creature was utterly baffled.
"No...how can you still be alive?!" It questioned as it now turned to face him.
This would prove to be it's most fatal mistake as with but just a second of lapsed focus Atomic Samurai moved behind it and readied his sword.
"Hey." He spoke as to regain it's attention "Forgetting something?" He asked before unleashing countless slashes to it's body "Atomic Slash!" He shouted once the attack was done.
Upon it's completion the creature's body exploded into pieces and dust but as expected began to swirl around in order to regenerate.
"Insolence...such INSOLENCE!" It shouted in anger.
"You move that hard marble thing around your body in order to hide it's location." Bang casually said as he walked through the swirling storm that was the creature's destroyed body "But your regeneration process always begins with your head, therefore in the center of that must lie your heart!" He exclaimed as he sent a piercing jab upward managing to go straight through the creature's somewhat reformed head "After seeing it so much even a monkey could figure it out see?" He admitted as he held the marble in his fingers "Checkmate." He added as he crushed it.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" The creature shouted as it broke soon followed by the head as well as the rest of it's former body turning into the pile of ashy muck that the other heads had.
With their enemy now finally defeated Bang took a moment to dust himself off to make sure none of that residue was on his body. While he did so Iaian even with his arm still bleeding a fair bit ran over to make certain he was okay.
"Silver Fang!" He exclaimed as he reached him.
"All I needed was one more swing." Atomic Samurai commented as he disciple looked over the elderly hero "Keep your hands to yourself and let me finish what I start Silver Fang." He told the other as he sheathed his sword.
"My goodness, I really need to do more full body workouts." Bang said to himself seeming to ignore Atomic Samurai.
"We got all of the heads, that was the last one, victory is ours!" Puri Puri Prisoner exclaimed as he held his fists up in celebration.
"Yeah but there's that big ass ship up there to deal with." Metal Bat Pointed out as he rested his weapon on his shoulders "If anything One Punch Man's probably up there taking care of it right now." He admitted.
"Okay, I think this is the last of the reported survivors." Lightning Max noted as he and Stinger were currently attending to an injured woman "Let's go." He said as Stinger helped her to her feet.
With the jeep that Bearded Worker gave them the trio of heroes were able to get all the remaining survivors which weren't being helped by the rest of S class rounded up and ready to be taken back.
"Hey Mumen, quit your staring and come on!" Lightning Max called as the other was just standing there with his bike looking towards the ship.
"Right, coming!" Mumen Rider replied as he began walking over with his bike in tow "I wonder if Saitama's up there?" He thought.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" Lord Boros shouted as he even with one arm forced Saitama to go on the defensive.
After their exchange of words the two quickly resumed their combat which could only be described by any who saw it as two high speeding flashes of white and neon pink flying across the air. And even with the blows dealt by Lord Boros, the countless pillars and even walls being destroyed by their conflict, Saitama simply took each and every hit as if it were nothing. But just as he was sent into another pillar, instead of following up with another punch or even a series of punches Lord Boros used an incredibly powerful kick to send him through both the pillar as well as the wall behind it, leading them both into a new area entirely. Now dodging his way up a massive column neither combatant showed any sign of growing tired or even some kind of pain from the blows being dealt.
Soon due to the sheer raw power of their attacks explosions began to occur around them without them actually touching the walls themselves, this would continue on as they ascended in a spiral like fashion until they reached the space's ceiling and went through it. Now outside and on the top of the ship the two once more separated themselves from each other landing about ten feet from the other.
"Nice moves! as I thought you are strong! of all the myriad beings I've fought thus far only you have survived this long!" Lord Boros praised as a blue pillar of energy enveloped him, only to receive a blank stare in response "Now to release the destructive energy held within me! any normal creature hit by it would find even their bones vaporized!" He warned as he shot a massive beam from his chest towards Saitama.
Thankfully due to the order he sent all of the drones were already in multiple positions around the ship, allowing them to get every possible angle of this fight including one that showed Saitama simply stand there and take the beam head on. With destructive power and force that not even Metal Knight's entire arsenal of missiles and weapons could match the beam destroyed any structures that were atop of the ship in it's direction. Yet still as fires from the attack raged on around them Saitama stood upright with the only damage done to him being his cape which was now torn and tattered.
"BEHIND YOU!" Lord Boros shouted as he suddenly dashed to his backside before dealing a blow to his face.
The blow even with it just being a simple punch was able to generate enough force to cause an actual tornado, and while it was small and only last a second or two it was strong enough to clear away all the fires around them leaving the area enveloped in smoke.
"You were a worthy opponent, but the outcome of this battle is clear." Lord Boros said after having moved back in front of Saitama "My species won the struggle for survival amid the harsh environment of our home world, we possess the ultimate in regenerative abilities and I in particular have the god like traits of self healing, physical prowess, and latent energy beyond your conception, a wound that would be fatal on your heals for me in mere moments." He explained as his right shoulder began to twitch only to soon be followed by a completely new arm seeming to sprout from it's wound like a budding plant "By focusing my energy on my destroyed arm I can exponentially speed up the healing process!" He exclaimed as he showed it off "Good as new, you on the other hand will only get injured more, all the while your stamina gradually decreases-"
"Shut up." Saitama spoke cutting him off.
"Hm?" Lord Boros sounded surprised by the interruption.
"Blah blah blah! you're boring me out of my mind." He said with a glare "Are you finished?" He asked.
Upon hearing this Lord Boros with a clench of his fists began to build up more energy as Saitama's words seemed to spur him on.
"Not yet!" He answered as his skin once more was changing color along with his hair both becoming pure white "Meteoric burst!" He shouted as he charged towards Saitama.
Being caught off guard by a slight bit due to the speed Lord Boros now possessed Saitama wasn't able to dodge the punch the other delivered to his face. And while the punch itself already was immensely powerful the shock wave it created began to destroy the ship was over it like a tidal wave of pure death. Countless members of his crew unaware of the fight happening above them soon found themselves swallowed by the fiery death except for one. Inside the control center of the ship Geryuganshoop was shielding himself with his telekinetic power, but even then it was only barely providing safety from the power of their leader.
"THIS IS INSANE!" He shouted in panic as he was surrounded by fire "IF HE DOESN'T GET CONTROL OF HIMSELF THE WHOLE SHIP WILL BE DESTROYED!" He added as he struggled to maintain the barrier.
As for Saitama however while he had not been killed nor even injured by the attack or it's shock wave, the force was strong enough to send him flying through the wave itself allowing Lord Boros to unleash another combo attack. Punches, kicks, elbows, and knee jabs came at Saitama from all sides as thanks to his speed Lord Boros was able to attack from nearly every conceivable angle as they traveled. And travel they did for they were still flying across the ship's top destroying numerous structures and parts, none of which slowed down their speed.
"The energy sent forth from my body transforms into a propelling force! elevating speed and power to beyond limitation of living flesh!" Lord Boros shouted as he slammed Saitama down towards the ship.
But before he could even get within fifty feet of the ship Lord Boros using his speed managed to get below him and by increasing it even more he met Saitama in the air delivering one final blow, a knee to his abdomen. What happened next no one not even Metal Knight or Doctor Genus could describe, a phenomenon in which Lord Boros and Saitama were enveloped in a black hole like energy that sent forth raging lightning striking different parts of the ship each second, but it would only last a few seconds as that was all it took for Lord Boros to complete the attack and send Saitama flying upwards into the sky. But due to the speed as well as the power of the attack it didn't just send him to the sky but through the atmosphere, clear into space, and into the moon, the impact being so great that even without a feed of the moon the whole world could see it even during the day. And as for the people's reactions to this the sight of their strongest hero being sent into the moon with but a single blow, none of them knew HOW to react.
"D-Did he just..." "N-No it can't be..." "This...this isn't...how..." Were some of the quiet muttered words of the world's populace as they stared at their television screens in disbelief.
"One Punch Man..." Child Emperor said quietly as he and the other heroes, both those on the rooftop as well as the ground stared up towards the sky.
"He...he's up there..." Superalloy Blackluster said as it was all he could say.
"Could he survive that?..." Genos asked even finding Saitama's seemingly godlike durability to be at it's limit.
"Of course he is! nothing can hurt him!" Tatsumaki assured even though she too possessed a look of uncertainty "Isn't that right baldy?..." She asked softly to herself.
"Saitama..." King simply said in a hushed tone as much similar to one's life flashing before their eyes memories of him and Saitama hanging flashed before his.
"SAITAMA?!" Mutsuko shouted as everyone else had gone quiet "HE'S OKAY RIGHT?! HE'S PERFECTLY FINE RIGHT?!" She asked looking around to someone for an answer.
But no matter who she looked to for some sort of comfort or confirmation Mutsuko found everyone to have a look of worry on their faces.
"One Punch Man's stronger than any other human being..." Kamakyuri said as he stared wide eyed at the screen "But even someone like him...has to have some kind of breaking point...right?" He questioned.
Silence gripped the blizzard group as they all stared at the television with their jaws dropped and their eyes widened, all except for their leader.
"Saitama..." Fubuki thought as she gripped the arms of her chair "You're okay right?...you're...okay?..." She repeated as worry was quickly taking over her emotions.
Even though the people of earth were more worried than they had ever been, as for Saitama besides the lack of air given he was in space he simply just laid there in the moon looking back at the planet. Knowing well that he couldn't just lay there even though he WAS on the moon, Saitama after getting up to his feet and testing the gravity a small bit nodded his head before squatting down and jumping, all the while not a single sound was made. Back on earth the people's attentions while still focused and concerned for their hero were back to looking at the drones' feed of Lord Boros, as after all that it seemed like he was still perfectly fine and was only a slight bit winded, meaning for the one moment another explosion occurred on the moon from Saitama's jump they had missed it.
"This places enormous stress on the body similar to anaerobic exercise, as a result it shortens my life." He thought to himself as he entered a battle stance "Therefore it should only be used as a trump card to settle fight's as quickly as-"
Without warning, a sonic boom, or any other indication of what was about to happen Saitama suddenly crashed down onto the ship in front of Lord Boros causing a massive explosion. All drones' cameras immediately focused on the hero and managed to catch the exact moment he made contact which made him look simply badass. However before any cheers or reactions could come from those who watched on the power of his landing was so great it actually made the ship which hadn't moved a single inch begin to tilt towards the ground. It was THEN that everyone properly reacted to what they had just seen.
"HE'S ALIVE HOLY SHIT!" "HE DID IT! HE JUMPED ALL THE WAY FROM THE FREAKING MOON!" "DID YOU SEE THAT EXPLOSION?! THAT WAS JUST FROM HIS LANDING!" Were some of the shouts and cheers resuming once more as the people of the world had all of their worries and concerns just disappear.
"HE'S OKAY!" Child Emperor shouted as a huge smile appeared on his face "AND THAT LANDING! THAT WAS SO COOL!" He added.
"OH YEAH ONE PUNCH MAN! THAT'S HOW YOU MAKE AN ENTRANCE!" Superalloy Blackluster shouted as he flexed his muscles.
"Pfft, such a showoff." Tatsumaki said dismissively as she looked off to the side even though on the inside she was overwhelmed with joy.
"He truly is the world's strongest hero." Genos said with amazement as his already present respect for Saitama grew exponentially.
"Whoa..." Was all King could say as just like Genos his respect and admiration for Saitama also grew.
"OH MY GOD THAT WAS INCREDIBLE!" Mutsuko cheered as she flew around the room unable to contain her excitement.
While she flew around the room the clones and the other creations were also cheering and celebrating at Saitama's safe return back to the planet.
"WAY TO GO ONE PUNCH MAN!" They all shouted in unison each of them throwing a fist into the air as they did, though with Kamakyuri it was more so a careful raise of one of his blades.
Incoherent shouting, cheering, and joyous laughter filled the space of the blizzard group's locale, and even though this noise could be heard from all the way down the street Fubuki still managed to ignore it.
"Oh thank god he's alright." She thought with the biggest sigh of relief she ever let out as she placed a hand to her chest.
As the world resumed in it's cheering and praise of their strongest hero's survival and return, Lord Boros on the other hand felt as they did just a few moments ago completely stunned in a state of shock. Never in his entire life had being been able to survive that attack and yet there he stood the greatest warrior of this world with but only a few scuffs not even a small tiny scratch!
"Cool, I made it back." Saitama said with a smile as he looked down towards him.
Hearing him speak seemed to be what was needed to bring Lord Boros back to reality for after a few more seconds passed by he suddenly glared at Saitama before taking off in a mad dash towards him.
"This infuriating man...makes me want to give this everything I've got!" He thought to himself as he began once more to assault the other with a barrage of blows.
But unlike before hand where he was able to get Saitama off of his feet and send him flying through the air this time he held his ground firmly taking it with no issue. The reason why he chose to do this was not because Lord Boros had him on the ropes but it was so Saitama could watch him move and at the right moment pick the spot he would move to in order to land a punch. And land it he did, for the moment it made contact with Lord Boros's body his eye went blood red and he coughed up black blood before he was sent flying across the ship. Quick to react however he soon did a flip while traveling in order to make his feet touch the ship which rapidly decreased his speed and brought him to a complete stop.
"That is the way Saitama! you are indeed worth the effort!" He praised as he got to work healing the wound.
Sadly he would not have even a second's worth of time to do so as Saitama was already upon him and with speed that easily outclassed him own began punching every conceivable centimeter of his body.
"Consecutive normal punches." Saitama simple said as due to both the heat made from the punches as well as their innate power Lord Boros's body would explode sending blood and bits of him in all directions, even managing to damage parts of the ship behind him.
This would still prove to be not enough even with there seeming to be nothing left of him Lord Boros instantly brought himself back together and in another surge or energy began charging up one final attack.
"I WILL DEFEAT YOU!" He shouted as his body turned from white to gold and the earlier phenomenon comparable to a black hole happened once again surrounding Lord Boros as it had before "ALL OF MY ENERGY WILL BE RELEASED! BLASTING YOU AND THIS PLANET STRAIGHT TO HELL!" He assured as lightning began to surge once again as well though this time far bigger and much more powerful causing more destruction to the ship as a result.
And even though Saitama could not see it as no one could, deep inside of Lord Boros a powerful beat was beginning to occur a beat that most would compare to thunder due to it's deafening noise and power. This beat was his heart, which up until now had long since been still in a slow rhythm due to his boredom.
"COLLAPSING STAR ROARING CANNON!" He shouted as loudly as he could before shooting out a massive beam of energy towards Saitama.
"In that case I'll use my own final move." Saitama told him as he reared back his fist "Killer Move Serious Series, Serious Punch." Said as he sent forth his fist and all of his power with it.
Even though Lord Boros was nowhere near him and physically speaking the punch would not connect, the sheer shock wave created by his punch was so powerful it not only completely destroyed the beam, it not only hit Lord Boros far harder than his beam would've hit Saitama, but it was also powerful enough to push the clouds in the sky towards the other side of the world and even on it's most outer reach it made grass and tree leaves shake from the wind it created. But inside of the ship back in the room where this fight had begun, the bright shining sphere that rested above Lord Boros's throne began to crack and with it the ship began to fail. As for Lord Boros, he was next to nothing of what he just was, in fact he was barely even a skeleton only his upper torso, his head, his eye, hair, and some organs remained of him.
"Did I...lose?...I can...feel nothing..." He asked weakly as what little life he possessed was quickly fading away.
"You're still conscious...you really are strong, for real." Saitama complimented as he looked over his shoulder towards him.
"The prophecy held true...the battle was...a hard fought one..." Lord Boros replied.
"Yeah...it sure was." Saitama agreed.
"...You lie...you were...holding back...weren't you?" He asked but received no answer "I never stood a chance...it wasn't even a battle...you...obliterated me..." He admitted as a few chuckles escaped him "So much for prophecies...you were just...too strong...Sai...tama..." He said with his final breath.
And so with his adversary defeated Saitama with not a single word left to be said began to walk away. As for the ship, with the passing of it's captain the sphere above the throne shattered causing it to fall to the world below.
"It's coming down!" Iaian shouted as he looked to the ship above them.
"Then we better get out of here!" Metal Bat shouted in response as he took of running towards the headquarters.
With all survivors near the headquarters having been saved Zombieman, Pig God, Watchdog Man, Flashy Flash, Drive Knight, Tanktop Master, and Metal Knight's robot were all able to get inside the building the moment the ship started to come down. But for Atomic Samurai, Bang, Puri Puri Prisoner, Metal Bat, and Iaian they were forced to run as fast at they could to avoid being crushed.
"Damn it, how did old man Silver Fang get so fast?!" Atomic Samurai questioned as he helped his disciple run.
"Angel Dash!" Puri Puri Prisoner shouted as he ran acting as if that would somehow increase his speed.
"Hey pansy don't run in front of me you're too slow!" Metal Bat shouted.
"Angel Dash!" Puri Puri Prisoner repeated.
"Stop calling out your dumb moves and just run!" Metal Bat shouted having to fight off the urge to hit him.
As for the others on the rooftop, once Saitama's fight was at it's end and the ship began to fall Tatsumaki helped all of them get to the ground at a safe distance of course, so they could meet Saitama when he got out of the ship.
"There might still be survivors on board." Genus said as the ship made contact with the ground and finished crashing.
"We can worry about those alien guys later, right now we should make sure One Punch Man's okay." Child Emperor reasoned.
"He's fine." Tatsumaki assured with a scoff "He's just a big showoff, but I'll show him for being so overly dramatic." She said as they began heading towards the ship.
Unknown to them however, just a short distance away from their location another hero has arrived, though he is not there for the sake of helping.
"How did City A end up like this?" Sweet Mask asked as he looked at the ruins before him "All of S class was meeting here today, and yet Saitama was the only one to actually do his job." He noted as he too had been watching the broadcast.
But soon Sweet Mask would be able to get his answers for as he looked around he spotted the group of heroes who had dealt with the other creature. Walking over to them Sweet Mask would stop a few feet away from them as to remain on the high ground.
"Care to enlighten me on this Metal Bat?" He spoke gaining not just Metal Bat's attention but the other's as well.
"Huh?" Metal Bat sounded unsure as to what he meant.
"Explain it to me so I can understand." Sweet Mask repeated.
"Handsome Kamen Amai Mask, where in the hell did you pop up from?" Metal Bat asked.
"I was filming a TV drama in the next city over, there was a loud roar and tremors so I came to check things out, only to find City A destroyed." Sweet Mask answered.
"Monsters on this big ass ship behind me came and attacked us, they fired artillery and did all this and we still took care of it." Metal Bat explained.
"Took care of it you say? really?!" Sweet Mask questioned his eyes becoming blood red like a two crimson moons "You call this devastation victory?! what utter incompetence! I'm completely appalled at all of you!" He exclaimed as he held his arms out to his sides.
"Hey, you didn't even show up until this was all over, so get off your high horse." Metal Bat told him already done with his pompous attitude.
"Yes it's true I didn't make it here in time, but every single one of you did correct? and you didn't even save one brick!" Sweet Mask argued.
"We were having a meeting inside the headquarters building when it all started, we went outside as soon as we heard the enemy attacking, but city had already been reduced to ruins." Atomic Samurai explained stepping forward.
"And? so what?" Sweet Mask questioned with a wave of his hand "You think if you say that the media will just let this go?" He added.
"Hey Handsome, who's side are you on here? we worked together and did our best." Puri Puri Prisoner said getting serious as well.
"I'm on the side of peace and justice." Sweet Mask answered as he got to his feet "Having class S heroes this clueless and pathetic is an embarrassment, anybody that's this useless should voluntarily retire." He said as he slid down from his spot to them.
"Hey! don't start talking crap with us pretty boy!" Metal Bat exclaimed as he walked up to him, stopping right in front of him once he reached him "Who's gonna care about a pop idol with his face up his ass?!" He questioned just one good shove away from beating the other with his weapon.
"Do you have any idea why I don't move up to class S? it's simple really, I remain class A rank one so I can prevent weak good for nothing piss ants like you from ever moving up." Sweet Mask replied.
However before Metal Bat could raise his weapon to try and show Sweet Mask what he was feeling, a pod suddenly dropped down from the sky not too far from them gaining their attention. Once the pod opened however it turned out to be one of Metal Knight's robots, but unlike the one he had already sent in his place for the meeting this one was much skinnier and seemed to be fitted for scouting and not combat.
"Nice timing Metal Knight, you skip the meeting and decide now to just show up." Sweet Mask said as they all watched the robot leave the pod and go towards the ship.
"On the contrary Sweet Mask, I sent a robot in my place for the meeting, but like the others it was unable to do anything to the actual threat of the ship meaning there was nothing at all I could do." He explained as he turned around to face them "The robot you see before you is a scouting robot, for even though I had drones for this purpose this machine will allow me to truly explore and scavenge parts from the ship for study." He continued.
"For study? you don't mean you're gonna research that thing do you?" Metal Bat asked.
"Indeed, this is technology and resources we cannot even begin to fathom the full scope of, I will not allow such an opportunity be wasted." Metal Knight replied "Luckily for me One Punch Man didn't destroy as much as I thought he would." He admitted causing all of their eyes to widen.
"That's right One Punch Man! where is he?" Atomic Samurai asked as he looked around "We saw the impact on the moon and soon after ship started tilting, so where'd he go?" He added.
"He's still inside the ship, luckily my drones are guiding him through a path that will have him out shortly." He explained as his robot pointed towards the right end of the ship "You'll find him exiting one of the engines, if you don't want to miss him I'd suggest you hurry." He advised.
Seeming to forget about their previous argument all of the heroes rushed towards that end of the ship, all except for Sweet Mask who stayed behind.
"This isn't over Metal Knight." He warned as he then began to follow but at a casual walk.
"Mhm yes whatever." Metal Knight said dismissively before resuming his work.
True to his words, while Metal Bat and the others were still running towards the engines Saitama was already exiting the ship.
"Oh wow that was fast." He noted as he looked to the drone "Thanks for your help Metal Knight." He said.
"I should be the one thanking you." He replied as his drones looked at the ship "Due to your impressive restraint most of the ship is intact, I will be able to gather a great deal of materials." He complimented before the drones took their leave.
Watching the drones as they flew away Saitama was about to turn back around and keep walking only to be halted by a familiar voice.
"HEY BULB HEAD!" Tatsumaki shouted coming from his left.
Looking to his side Saitama found not only Tatsumaki floating in the air about ten feet away but also Genos, King, Superalloy Blackluster, and Child Emperor who upon seeing he saw them all hurried over.
"Saitama!" King exclaimed as he pulled his friend into a hug "That fight was incredible!" He complimented as he let him go.
"It's good to see you're okay Saitama." Genos admitted as he did a quick scan of other and found no injuries.
"You were so cool!' Child Emperor complimented clearly overjoyed that he got to witness such a thing.
"Sorry we couldn't help you out, but seeing as how that fight got pretty intense at the end maybe it was a good thing." Superalloy Blackluster said as he rubbed the back of his head.
"It was nothing." Saitama causally replied with a shrug of his shoulders "Although the guy was really strong." He admitted.
"But not as strong as you huh?" Tatsumaki asked with a raised brow crossing her arms as she did.
"Well yeah but still he was strong." Saitama answered.
"YO ONE PUNCH MAN!" Metal Bat shouted from behind them.
Looking behind him both he and the others saw the group of heroes quickly approaching all seeming to be excited as well, except for Bang of course.
"Hey guys." He greeted as they reached him "You guys okay?" He asked as he noticed Bangs exposed torso and Puri Puri Prisoner's...everything.
"Yeah we just had to fight some clay monster thing but it was no big deal." Metal Bat assured as he patted him on the back "But you on the other hand took down the whole ship! bet that was something!" He praised.
"Wait...did you guys not see the fight?" Child Emperor asked with widened eyes.
"What fight?" Atomic Samurai asked.
"Oh my god you HAVE to watch this!" Child Emperor exclaimed as he hurried over pulling a screen from his backpack "Don't worry I recorded everything Metal Knight broad casted so you won't miss anything!" He assured.
Curious as to what they missed out on they all gathered around Child Emperor's tablet to watch this fight, making sure not to make ANY bodily contact with Puri Puri Prisoner.
"Hey." Tatsumaki spoke before pointing towards where they came from "Don't look now, but here comes Handsome." She said with a slight scowl as the sight of him just made her feel sick.
Knowing well that Sweet Mask probably had something to say to him Saitama met him halfway just to get it over with.
"Hello Saitama." He greeted as they stopped.
"Hey Sweet Mask." Saitama replied.
"I see you've been busy." Sweet Mask noted as he looked at the somewhat disheveled state of his costume.
"Mhm." Saitama sounded.
Right around now is when Saitama expected to hear some kind of comment or insult be thrown at him from the other which he of course would just simply shrug off, but instead Sweet Mask held out his right hand for a handshake.
"Well done." He said as Saitama slowly and somewhat awkwardly took his hand and shook it.
"Uh...thanks?" He replied before letting it go.
Thankfully before this awkward conversation could go any further someone else could be heard running towards them though this person was someone Saitama was actually glad to see.
"SAITAMA!" Kaemon shouted as they just ran right into him hugging him as they did.
"Oh Kaemon hey." He greeted as he admittedly forgot Kaemon had been in the association building during this whole thing.
"I saw you on the TV and you were awesome!" They praised as they released him "You were like BAM! and the alien dude was like POW! and then there was the part with the lasers and it was just so cool!" They recounted.
"Glad you enjoyed it." He said as he looked around "Say is anyone else coming out here? because if not I kinda want to head home." He admitted.
"Oh right!" Kaemon exclaimed as they remembered something "I came out here with doctor Genus! and he told me to tell you that Sitch wants to see you back at the headquarters!" they said.
"How come?" He asked.
"I dunno probably just wants to thank you or something." They replied with a shrug.
Even though after the day he's had all Saitama wanted to do was go home, have a bath, then take a nap, he knew he should probably go and see Sitch just so he could deal with whatever praise or compliments they were gonna give him for just doing his job. And so, with everyone in tow right behind him excluding Sweet Mask Saitama headed back to the association headquarters. But this was not the end for City A nor what had occurred here, for while the threat had been dealt with and the city had been destroyed, Metal Knight thanks to his reverse engineering of the ship's materials as well as with help from doctor Genus was able to rebuild the headquarters into a city sized base, where heroes A class and above could live there if they so desired. As for those who had lost their lives to the attack, they have a massive monument erected to preserve their memory to show that even though they were gone they would indeed be missed.
(Aaaaaaaaaaaaand it's DONE, not the story mind you just this arc and thank GOD it is, don't get me wrong I LOVED writing this chapter but it took so long because it was just SO draining to get every detail that needed to be right right you know? but anyways before we wrap things up there's actually a few things I wanted to talk about before the story's "over"
1. In regards to the "Special" which happened before this arc and was met with mixed reviews, guess what? there's gonna be more of those as well as filler punches, and if you don't like it guess what? I. Don't. C A R E. Because and try to stay with me here, while I do try to make this story something everyone will love I also want to have fun with it so a good way to describe WHAT these specials are is below.
First we have the Story Arcs and "Epic" events which either have their own name like this and the sea king arc or are referred as "Punch (Insert Number Here).
Second we have Filler Punches, these chapters ARE canon in regards to THIS story's canon they're basically what happens between the story arcs and "epic" chapters.
Finally we have "Specials" which are just random chapters that have NOTHING to do with the Canon of this story and is just me as the writer wanting to do something fun because let me be clear here, again while I LOVED writing this chapter, it was DRAINING and for a good while I'm mainly going to be doing fillers and specials because I just want to do fun chapters for a while and not hardcore lengthy serious stuff like this.
2. I've gotten more reviews about it than I ever thought I did so let me address this issue some of you have, YES I KNOW Carnage Kabuto aka Chikara probably could've EASILY killed Sea King or at the very least held his own incredibly well, but we're all here to see Saitama and it would've been INSANELY anti climatic if he had saved the day so for the sake of the story that's just how things happened.
3. I am going to be rewriting as few chapters, DON'T worry it won't be anything TOO major just corrections and better execution of the story as a whole, this will mainly be the first few chapters with all the others simply receiving corrections to typos and so on so whenever a new chapter is added be sure to go back and check the earlier chapters as they will more than likely be updated.
4. there IS a major thing in the actual series that happened in this arc but didn't happen here, I'm of course referring to when Drive Knight tells Genos to watch out for Metal Knight, again DON'T worry that is still in the "canon" of this story but it's going to happen later as with how this arc played out in this "canon" it was of course different.
And finally the last thing I want to say is just thank you, this story has grown into something I never dreamed it could've and to literally every last one of you beautiful people who have favorited, reviewed, and followed this story I am forever in your debt, you all mean the world to me and I hope you continue to love this story as I continue to love writing it, also the 3 and 4 messages here will be removed when what is done with them HAS been done so don't think this massive end text will be like this forever, same goes for this last bit.
Sincerely yours, The Lone Lobster
"What are you thinking doctor?" Metal Knight asked Doctor Genus as his robot and the other both looked towards two gene therapy baths.
"The damage to each of their bodies is immense, with the first priority obviously being the worst of the two." Doctor Genus replied.
"But you can save them right?" Metal Knight asked.
"Of course, it'll take some time but I can repair the damage that was done to them, in all honesty I'm more surprised that anything was left of either." Doctor Genus admitted.
"Unfortunately we couldn't get the other one, but you have every corpse and survivor of the ship that I could find in your possession." Metal Knight assured.
"I wouldn't say couldn't." Doctor Genus said as he looked down at his clipboard "All that was left was the ashy substance it left behind, and while we didn't find much among all of the wreckage I might be able to do something with it." He hoped.
"That's good." Metal Knight replied as he put his hands behind his back "You do know of course that the association cannot find out about this." He told him receiving a nod in response.
"I understand the reasoning." Doctor Genus assured before looking to him "But you have to be honest with me and tell me what your plans are with them." He told him.
"Simple research doctor that's all." Metal Knight assured as he took a step closer to the baths "I mean, we are looking at the only being to have survived more than one punch from One Punch Man."