One of the most common depictions of one's soul leaving this mortal coil and transcending into the afterlife is a dark abyssal nothingness illuminated by a single bright white light. Now of course none of us can be truly certain as to what it is like to die, as anyone who HAS experienced such a thing would not be able to relay that information to us. But for what seemed like an eternity King floated in a dark and empty space that matched the one described, though it lacked the bright white light. What was even stranger was his lack of reaction, he wasn't scared or worried that something might've gone wrong which he normally would've done, instead he was calm and serene almost as if he were sleeping.
"Is this what it's like?" He wondered with his eyes closed, feeling as though he was drifting "I always thought if I died, there'd be someone...or something waiting."
Given how he seemed to be stuck in a place of limbo this was all he really could do, as even if he desired to move or do anything other than think he found he was unable to. However, given that he had not moved on to any actual place such as Heaven or Hell if they in fact existed, the notion that he was stuck in some manner of limbo or even purgatory was made easier to accept, and should this in fact be the case then perhaps he hadn't been fully killed. Maybe he had simply been put into a coma, or the more darkly humorous ideas was that both Heaven and Hell were simply too busy to deal with his particular soul at this time. These were a few of the thoughts that occupied his mind as he floated adrift in this nothingness, completely unaware of what was actually happening to him outside of this place.
There are few select moments in life where if one is asleep or even unconscious it is actually better than if they were awake, such examples include a long flight on a crowded and fairly noisy airplane, or if there is a raging storm outside and you wish to ignore it completely until it passes. But in this particular moment the person who benefited from being unconscious was King, despite the fact this was due to the immense amount of damage and strain put on his body. For just as G4 was about to slam his body into the ground which would have killed him, a sudden explosion occurred at the center of it's form with enough power and intensity to break the sound barrier. If anyone had still been around to watch the fight up to this point they might've assumed it was One Punch Man who delivered the attack, but if this were the case not only would there be nothing left of G4 but most of the city block would also be gone.
Instead it was Genos who had delivered the blow to G4, and while it only managed to break apart some of it's armor, it did successfully serve as a smokescreen which diverted G4's attention to him whilst Saitama with great speed rescued King. With but an insanely quick passing nod between them as Saitama freed King from his assailant's grasp and escaped, Genos before G4 could react used what was left of the attack's smoke to quickly get behind him without being noticed. Once in position he then leaped high in the air only to come straight down on the other's neck, latching onto it with both of his hands. Sadly for G4, just as he realized what had truly happened Genos without so much as a word powered his weapons to their fullest before unleashing a hellfire from his palms which went straight into the other's body.
Unable to do anything but stand there and take the full force of the attack, G4's entire body slowly glowed brighter and brighter as the heat filled out his form, quickly turning him from the once mighty machine he was into a melting heap of metal. Staying there on it's back a few seconds longer as to be absolutely certain it was finished, Genos then leaped from it's backside to the street in front of it, landing a good few feet away.
"I've melted it from the inside, he should not be able to move again." He spoke talking to Saitama "His gigantic body was his downfall." He noted as he turned around.
Expecting to see Saitama standing there with King in his arms, Genos was surprised to in fact see King lying on the ground with a fairly panicked Saitama looking him over.
"This isn't good..." He said as he inspected King's injuries "He's lost a lot of blood, we need to get him to a hospital immediately!" He exclaimed worriedly.
But before either him or Genos could proceed with their next action, the sound of shifting metal reached their ears, causing them to look back at the still melting form of G4. Looking into the center of it's body passed the molten metal, the two of them could see something moving inside of it, only to then realize that it wasn't fully destroyed.
"Saitama, get King to doctor Genus, I'll finish this." Genos told him as he turned back around.
"Oh right the doctor guy!" Saitama recalled as he picked King up "Good idea Genos!" He complimented just before he disappeared.
Knowing well Saitama had taken off with incredible speed and that King would be okay, Genos then directed his full attention to G4 who had finished emerging from it's body. Though much smaller than his previous form was, his true form that now stood before him looked more appropriate for battle, as it's design heavily resembled that of a soldier with a helmet like head and an armored body.
"So this is your true form then?" Genos asked though received no answer "Then I'll make sure to leave nothing of it when I'm through." He threatened with a glare as without hesitation he darted forward ready to attack.
It been a long time since Saitama had felt worry or even fear, most of the time he was simply bored with but some moments of joy and anger coming through. But from the quick journey to the House of Evolution to waiting as doctor Genus and his clones attended to King, that is exactly what he felt. Pacing back and forth outside of the door Saitama had never been this worried about anyone in his life, though that was mostly because before now he never really had to. Back when he was still a normal person he really didn't have many friends or people in his life that he was concerned for, and even when he became a hero anyone he worked with or knew fairly well was strong enough to take care of themselves.
Then that fateful day happened when he and King first met and soon after became friends, and while admittedly he knew King wasn't all that strong he still didn't worry about him because if something should happen he could've easily taken care of it. Still, as time went on and King got stronger and wanted to partake more in S class missions or just wanted to accompany Saitama whenever he went out, there was a small bit of concern if things managed to somehow get out of hand. But this, this was something that Saitama not even in his worst dreams could've ever expected, as he always thought that if something should happen he'd be able to get there in time to have King's back and make sure nothing serious happened. Though as he thought about it this wasn't the first time he felt such panic and worry for one of his friends, for as he paced back and forth he thought back to the inciddent with Sea King and how he thought in that moment Kaemon had been killed.
Never until that exact point in time had he ever been faced with the reality that one of his friends could die, but seeing Sea King take their head from beneath his crown and show to him like some sick trophy, admittedly something snapped. Nothing like a psychotic break or anything, but in that still instance of time a burst of emotions filled out his form, which hadn't happened in quite some time. Anger, sadness, guilty, and regret were the most prominent though there could've been a few more, honestly while Saitama did want to feel things again on a consistent basis such as excitement or adrenaline, he didn't want to dwell on unpleasant feelings like those.
"One Punch Man?"..."One Punch Man?"..."ONE PUNCH MAN!"
"Huh?" Saitama sounded as he looked towards the door.
Standing there with a shirt and lab coat stained in blood was doctor Genus, though given his calm demeanor and relaxed expression, it was obvious no bad news was to be given.
"We've taken of his injuries with no issue." He spoke once he had gotten his attention "He's been heavily sedated for the sake of rest, but all in all he'll be perfectly fine once he wakes up." He explained.
"Oh, that's great to hear." Saitama admitted with a sigh of relief "So how long will he be out?" He asked.
"Only for an hour or two, after which I'd like to run a few basic tests before we release him, just to make sure there's no lasting effect on his physical capabilities such as strength and stamina." Dr. Genus answered.
"So like training?" Saitama questioned.
"Hmm...something like that, but more so just basic things like running a treadmill for a few minutes and lifting something weights." He clarified.
"Ah okay." Saitama replied as he looked at the door "So...should I wait inside the room or?..." He inquired, unsure as to what he should do now.
"Actually you might want to go tell Mutsuko and the others why you're here, as you did just rush in here with your friend heavily injured and bleeding." Dr. Genus suggested.
Taking a moment to look down at himself Saitama just the realized that while he wasn't soaked in blood his suit did have a decent bit on it.
"Oh, right." He said as he looked back to the other "Is there a place I could maybe clean up first?" He asked.
"Certainly, I'll show it to you myself." Dr. Genus offered as he walked away.
Following behind the doctor, Saitama cast one more look at the door before releasing another sigh of relief, thankful that he and Genos had made it just in time.
"It's a good thing we decided to drop by King's place today..." He thought.