The same day that Saitama's friends and acquaintances had gathered at his home, the Hero Hunter was lying unconscious in a dark and damp, stone cell. Garou was laid out on a poorly maintained bed, similar to those used in prisons, and was dressed only in his damaged pants. The only other thing to decorate this cell was a small stone table next to the bed's head.
Suddenly, Garou's eyes shot open on his bandage-covered face as he thought in a slight panic, Augh! My body feels like shit! What the Hell happened!? Where am I?! I- Wait... I was fighting all those Heroes... The old fart... Shit Mask. After that, the phoenix asshole interrupted and kidnapped me.
Sitting up, Garou winced and asked himself, Why the fuck am I in so much pain?! I thought I was healing faster now or something. Shit! My throat's dry as a rock, and my stomach feels like it's eating itself! I need to get some water and eat something.
Climbing out of the unkempt bed, Garou noticed the table next to him. On it, there was a note that he swiftly picked up and read the contents of.
"Hero Hunter, you are in the Monster Association headquarters. You're safe here. You can rest here for as long as you need, but please come talk to our leadership as soon as possible."
The very instant he finished reading this, Garou tore the paper apart. He then looked around the room in hopes of finding some new clothes to replace his missing and tattered ones but only found a pair of pants and shoes. Annoyed, he quickly got changed before walking to his cell door and kicking it down.
Walking out of the cell, Garou examined his surroundings and saw that he was in a gray and black stone hallway. While making his way through this structure, Garou found himself reaching one turn in the halls after another. Just as the Hero Hunter began to wonder if these halls had no end, he heard desperate screams that sounded like they were not much further away.
Following the noise, Garou quickly came upon the open entrance to a room. Peaking around the corner, the Human Monster saw a group of Humans in mechanical suits of white and black armor. There were five men and two women, all seven of whom were on their knees, crying like children and begging for their lives.
The circular room itself had a ceiling nearly two-hundred feet off the ground. Lining the walls were podiums filled with hundreds of various hideous monsters who were all cackling, taunting, and threatening the Humans.
"Please don't eat us! Just let us go! We surrendered!" The largest of the Humans pleaded.
"Let me eat them!" "Tear them piece from piece!" "How about we cut them into even pieces and divide them equally among-?" "I want flesh! Give them to me!" The numerous monsters exclaimed.
While the monsters made their ruthlessness clear, the other armored individuals broke down, groveled on the floor, and screamed, "AAAAHH! WE DON'T WANT TO DIE! PLEASE NO!"
As Garou watched these people cower, he wondered, "Did these idiots try to attack the Monster Association? They don't look like Pro Heroes."
Even as these people threw away their pride and begged for mercy, another monster that was sitting by itself on the lowest podium to the ground asked, "You want us to spare you all? Yet you were the ones to invade our base and even killed two of our soldiers. You must know we can't just let you leave after that."
The monster that spoke was tall, fat, and had skin like white clay. In the center of its face was a single, veiny, large eye, yet there was a complete lack of a mouth underneath. It had clumsy-looking segmented arms, with two smaller ones where nipples would have normally been. Linning the monster's oval-shaped head was a ring of more of these same arms that seemed to be acting as antenna of sorts.
Despite not having any oral cavity to speak of, words still came from its head as if this were no issue at all, "Whoever hired you outfitted you all with some high-quality gear. The least you could do is put up a fight until the bitter end. Just about everyone here loves toying with prey that fights back."
"Guh. It's all that robot's fault. Shit! If that thing hadn't shown up, we could've escaped," the lead mercenary complained as he glared at a robot standing beside them that was styled after samurai.
"Hehe, yes. It looks like our advertising paid off. Thank you for this gift. I'm pleased that such promising recruits are still showing up," the one-eyed monster exclaimed.
The samurai robot, gesturing to the Humans, responded, "I came across them on my way here. It seems bringing them to you was a good way to audition."
Raising its arms, the monster replied, "Indeed. Of course, you pass. Would you care to share your name?"
"I am Machine-God G5. I was sent by The Organization to assist the Monster Association. Would you share your name in return?"
"Hmm. I am Gyoro Gyoro. However, what is this Organization? How did know our location? Can I speak to your boss?"
When asked this, G5 gave no response, allowing for an uneasy silence to build in the room.
"Hrm, well, I guess that's just how it is. We can talk about it later. Regardless, welcome to the Monster Association," Gyoro Gyoro conceded.
As Garou continued observing this scene, he heard a voice in his mind, shocking him.
You can stay hidden for a little longer, Hero Hunter.
What was that?! Some kind of voice in my head...? Telepathy?! Garou thought.
While the Human Monster processed this, Gyoro Gyoro shifted its attention back to the mercenaries and loudly questioned, "Now, what to do with the invaders? Should we eat them, monsterize them, or-?"
"ARRG! FORGET THIS! FIRST COME FIRST SERVED!" A goblin-like monster shouted as it, and two others jumped from their podium at the Humans.
Half-heartedly, Gyoro Gyoro interjected, "Oi, don't act on your own."
However, before this trio of monsters could get very far, all three of them were suddenly hacked into pieces.
"If it's first come, first served, then I want all of them!" A humanoid monster with swords for hands declared. This monster had moved so quickly that only the Demon Level Threats and higher had been able to keep track of it as it raced ahead of the other three monsters and reduced them to mince-meat.
Taking as close of a look as he could at this monster, Garou recognized it as Royal Ripper, the monster he found in the Hero Association Almanac with Tareo. If his memory served him correctly, he recalled this monster being a Demon-Level Threat.
While extending one of its blade arms into the lead mercenaries face to begin leaving cuts on it, Royal Ripper asked, "You don't mind, right, Gyoro Gyoro? I'm almost at my limit here! I can't hold back my impulses anymore... I want to hear people scream. I feel like I'll go crazy if I don't!"
However, stepping forward, G5 interjected, "If I may throw my opinion into this; the battle suits that these people are wearing are quite powerful. I would estimate that if there were no Demon Level and above fighters among us, then it would require a joint effort of dozens, possibly over one-hundred, of us to stop them. I believe it would be best if we made use of them. However, according to my scans, the suits are designed specifically for each of these individuals. There would be no one else who could use this armor aside from them."
Perking up slightly, Gyoro Gyoro asked, "Hm, interesting. Are you suggesting that we make them fight for us?"
"No, No! Look at these kids! They're too scared to fight against the Heroes! That would be too cruel. It's best if they die right now, right!?" Royal Ripper exclaimed.
As the psychotic monster raised its blade to begin slaughtering, a thorny whip suddenly lashed out and wrapped around it. Turning to see who was interrupting it now, Royal Ripper saw a curvaceous, blond-haired woman dressed in a scanty, spike-covered, dominatrix outfit, including a leather mouth-guard. However, the black heart imprint on her forehead, as well as her black scleras, made it clear that this was no woman but a monster.
While pulling on its whip and smiling with its eyes, the monster woman exclaimed cheerfully, "Don't worry. I'll handle this. I can discipline them and make them mine."
"Royal Ripper, stand down. Let Do-S handle this," Gyoro Gyoro ordered.
With that command given, Royal Ripper lowered its blade arms and began staring at the floor. Despite its obedience, the killer monster's body was visibly shaking from head to toe.
Looking at Do-S with desperate fear, one of the mercenaries asked, "Discipline? What do you mean?! Please just let us go..."
Lashing its painful-looking whip at all the Humans, Do-S exclaimed, "Silence!"
After being struck by the monster's weapon, the Humans' eyes bulged as their pupils became heart-shaped. Suddenly, the white sections of their suits cracked before shattering off as the black sections bulged as if they were swelling muscles.
As the newly brainwashed mercs let out roars of devotion and madness, Do-S cooed, "How interesting. I'm ecstatic to have such wonderful slaves."
"If I may ask a question," G-5 spoke up, waiting for others to pay attention to it before it continued, "Lord Gyoro Gyoro. Are members of the Monster Association allowed to kill each other?" Notably, as the robot asked this question, it glanced at Royal Ripper as the monster let off a killing aura glare at it.
"Well, given our nature, it can't be helped if it occasionally happens. That being said, it's still discouraged. If someone here starts going wild, we can't rightly ignore it. We want to keep our forces up for the coming battle after all."
Looking as if it were about to blow, Royal Ripper hissed out, "Hhhaaaaaaaah... Hehehehe. I smell... another Human." Lowering the tips of its blades to the ground, the monster began to pace while cutting through the stone floor and continuing, "I've sensed it for a while now. Come out."
Without hesitation, Garou stepped out from around the corner and strolled into the massive room. As he walked, the Hero Hunter's senses sharpened to their absolute height, ready for any of these monsters to jump at him.
For reasons he couldn't put his finger on, perhaps fear or rejection of reality, Garou had consciously ignored the largest monster in this room up until now. Some sort of gargantuan monstrosity sitting on and taking up an entire side of the room. It was no wonder it took up that entire area, for if it stood up, this beast could easily stand well over one-hundred-sixty feet tall. It had the general outline of a Human; however, the joints and limbs of its gray and purple, stone-like body were not segmented the way a typical organism's would be. Instead of connecting skin, it seemed as if every area with a joint was vomited out by a series of draconic, razor-toothed maws. Covering the majority of the creature's body was a huge, dirty-white cloak that seemed to be growing out of a purple flesh-nub in its chest. Its face was like that of a Human's, but its complexion was more stone-like there than any other part of its body, giving the impression that this monster couldn't even move its statuesque face, save for a few cracks around its circular mouth. Lastly, as if a crown had grown from its skull, a ring of curved horns protruded from the monster's head.
As Garou diverted his focus away from this titan, Gyoro Gyoro focused its eye on him and greeted, "Hello, Garou. You woke up rather quickly."
Once the Hero Hunter's identity was made clear to the room, all the monsters began to speak up once again, "So that's the Hero Hunter." "Sweet! I'm a big fan of his!" "He got carted here after getting hurt and even got fixed up. No fair!" "Yeah. Why is Lord Gyoro Gyoro giving a Human special attention?!" "Are you sure he's Human? His face still looks it, but that weird pearly skin of his says something else."
It was that last comment that actually perked Garou's attention somewhat, the implications of it drawing out a subdued reaction from him.
White skin? The Human Monster internally questioned.
In his confusion, the Hero Hunter inspected his hands to take notice of the fact that they had indeed turned as white as fresh, clean bandages. Going up his arms, he saw that the color of his limbs matched his hands. Although he couldn't see all of it, the monsters observing Garou could see that all of his skin, up to his just below his neckline, had turned to this pure white color. Not only had the Human Monster's skin turned completely white, but several large veins had grown and begun lightly pulsating on his back.
"Silence! Lord Orochi and I have important matters to discuss with the Hero Hunter!" At that, a hush took over the room.
Drifting his gaze back over to the colossal creature, Garou wondered internally, Orochi? Is that this big bastard here?
Dividing his attention between Orochi and Gyoro Gyoro, the Hero Hunter asked, "What exactly do you guys want with me?"
Gyoro Gyoro was still the one to talk, answering, "The Monster Association currently consists of roughly five-hundred members. Our numbers just about match the Hero Association's. Unfortunately, after our invasion, we now only have thirty members at the Demon-Level or higher. Even so, the advantage in the coming war is still clearly in our favor. However, as you just witnessed, we lack coordination. Our leadership is too few. As such, I'd like you to become one of our Cadres to assist with this problem."
Stepping out from the crowd of monsters, a short creature made its presents known. It couldn't have stood any taller than three feet and resembled a scrawny man in a black body-suit with a large antenna on its head, and only its ugly, white face exposed.
"You're making him a Cadre right away? You really are playing favorites," the tiny creature accused.
"Of course, he's the perfect person for this. He's an incredibly strong person that wants to topple the Hero Association. He doesn't just have the power, but the resolve as well. He's even gone after S-Class Heroes, ready to take them out at the risk of his own life. However, Monster King Orochi has one condition. We aren't yet sure of your allegiances, so we need you to prove to us that you're a real monster."
Looking unamused, Garou asked, "You want me to grow horns or something?"
"ONE DAY." A deep, booming, growling voice spoke. Turning around with the slightest hint of fear, Garou looked as a voice came out of Orochi's unmoving mouth.
"YOU HAVE ONE DAY TO BRING ME THE HEAD OF A HERO. IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO."
The next monster to speak up was a creature that seemed to be a fusion of a body-builder and a beetle.
"That's the easiest way. If you can kill Heroes without hesitation, you're an excellent monster." The beetle man's voice was laced with tones of encouragement and comradery. It was clear by the way this monster talked that it viewed this as a way of becoming chummy with the Hero Hunter.
Refortifying his expression and posture, Garou responded, "If you want bodies, shouldn't the ones Elder Centipede finished off work?"
However, Phoenix Man was next to speak, cutting down this idea by explaining, "I'm afraid not. Elder Centipede was defeated. All those Heroes you were fighting survived."
For a moment, Garou froze. His face was unreadable as he processed the information provided to him. However, he was eventually able to make a request.
"Fine. Give me something to cover up with. My body stands out too much as it is now."
A few minutes after being given his mission by the Monster Association, Garou climbed out of a hole that led to City-Z's ghost town.
As the Hero Hunter had asked, he'd been given some clothes to cover up with. While he did have his normal, black skin-tight shirt, that alone would have revealed his pulsating back to anyone glancing at him. As such, he had also been given a large trench coat and thin gloves for further anonymity.
Alright. First things first. I gotta get something to eat. As soon as Garou finished this thought, he began strolling out of the ghost town and into the nation-sized city that surrounded it.
While Garou walked out of City-Z, Royal Ripper, the beetle monster, and one other gathered in Gyoro Gyoro's room after being summoned there.
The third individual looked to actually be a Human man. He had unkempt, long, greasy black hair. His face was disheveled with splotchy facial hair. He was dressed in ratty, worn-out clothing and had a tattered and dirty red cape tied over his shoulders. However, as if to contrast all this, he had a small but finely crafted crown resting on one side of his head.
As Gyoro Gyoro looked at these three, Royal Ripper was the first to speak, asking, "Why did you call us here?"
After Gyoro Gyoro's main eye flashed with a green light, it answered, "Royal Ripper, Bug God, Homeless Emperor. Garou has made his way into Human territory. I'd like you all to follow him."
"Why are you giving grunt work like this to me? I'm a Cadre. These two should be enough," Homeless Emperor complained while gesturing to the two other monsters.
With a patient voice, Gyoro Gyoro explained, "I believe Garou is already a Dragon-Level Threat. If he turns against us and these two aren't enough to subjugate him, I would like you to provide them cover fire. Amongst the Cadres, you're the one who can blend into Human society with the most ease after all."
Without a change in expression, Homeless Emperor thought eagerly, Hmm. If things do go 'poorly', then I can start blasting apart buildings early and just say that I missed my target.
Closing his eyes while nodding, Homeless Emperor responded, "Very well. For the sake of the Monster Association, I'll take on this mission. Let's move out, boys."
This scrawny puke thinks he's so much better than us. I could rip him apart easily, Bug God thought in annoyance at Homeless Emperor's way of addressing it and Royal Ripper.
Despite the annoyed atmosphere, the three members of the Monster Association turned and left Gyoro Gyro's room in unison. And as they left, Gyoro Gyoro seemed to smile wickedly with its main eye, despite its lack of a mouth.
A while later, Garou was walking through City-Z in search of a restaurant.
As he sauntered down the street of a more populated area, he overheard a group of activists proclaiming through megaphones that humanity must become subservient to the Monster Association and start offering up sacrifices to the monsters in order to survive.
Eventually, there was a man on a date with his girlfriend who yelled at these people, "Hey! Shut the fuck up! There's no way I'm ever gonna serve monsters!"
Without hesitation, the man leading the activists exclaimed through his megaphone, "Excellent timing then. You can be the first sacrifice." Three of the activists then rushed at the couple at the same time Garou walked between them.
Without effort, the Human Monster flicked the one leading the charge in the face, sending him flying back into the two behind him.
"You idiots think you can survive by sacrificing others? You clowns don't know the first thing about monsters."
While leaving behind the man he'd unintentionally saved shaking on the ground, Garou pondered, Society got this shaken by the Monster Association so easily. How disappointing. If things keep going this way, will people still react when I show up as the ultimate monster? I gotta make sure my ultimate debut will leave the world shaken to its core. Maybe... Monster Mask said that that Kie stuff can be learned. If I had those powers, then I might even be able to become the ultimate monster already. What'd he say it needs...? Something about, selflessness and goodness... and that a guy like me could never use those powers. Hrm... Well, I am a pretty selfish bastard. Eh, I'll figure it out later. I need to eat first.
As he thought these things, Garou had made his way to the street in front of a restaurant. However, blocking his path inside was a drunken man roughing up a senior citizen. A couple of people were trying to get the hoodlum off the elderly man, but his drunken strength was too much for them.
"Calm down, asshole!" One of the civilians yelled.
"Like Hell I'm gonna calm down! Sides', the monsters are gonna kill us all anyway, so what's it matter who I beat on!?" As the drunk yelled this, Garou approached him, a look of impatient disgust planted on his face.
"Yo, I'm trying to get in, and you're annoying. Move it," Garou demanded.
Pulling out a knife, the guy thrusted it at the strange red-haired man while demanding, "What'd you just say to me, punk!?" However, before the knife could reach him, Garou swiftly snapped the blade off of the knife with his fingers. Garou then pointed the blade at the drunkard's face, holding it less than a centimeter from the man's eyeball.
With a subtle look of disgust on his face, Garou told growled at the drunk, "Get out of my sight."
Once the hooligan had been frightened into submission, he and all the others that were gathered ran away.
As Garou watched them flee, he thought, Monster Association... Monster Mask... I'll show 'em all. I can create a world of horror where even trash like that is silenced. Right now, though, I'm just so damn hungry.
A few minutes later, Garou was sitting down at one of the restaurant's tables with three plates in front of him. One was a side dish of vegetables, the second had a massive serving of rice on it, and the largest plate had a huge, steaming, glistening steak with various garnishes.
"Please enjoy your Empty Stomach combo, sir," Garou's waitress said before giving a small bow and walking away.
Readying his fork and knife, Garou cheerfully exclaimed, "Mmm. Bottoms up." However, after taking just one bite of his steak, a look of realization appeared on the Hero Hunter's face.
"This isn't gonna be nearly enough. Hey, menu, please," Garou moaned while calling the waitress back.
Once she was back, Garou told her, "Alright, give me everything on the meat menu, top to bottom. Same thing for the salads. And don't forget to bring a ton of water."
Despite the nervous and somewhat overwhelmed look on her face, the waitress was able to get down Garou's entire order.
Just a bit later, Garou's order had arrived. His entire table was filled with various dishes of meats and salads, and instead of a glass, an entire pitcher of water was brought out for him. The Human Monster ate so fast that all of the other patrons around him were watching in awe. One after another, Garou would swallow entire steaks whole, and when it seemed as if he was about to choke, he started downing the pitcher of water, clearing up his airway.
Once he was done eating, Garou let out a satisfied sigh. Feeling refreshed, the Hero Hunter began trying to pull the bandages off of his face but flinched when he realized they wouldn't come off.
After spending a few more seconds picking at his bandages, Garou realized that he couldn't find a seam that separated them from his skin. To his confusion and discomfort, the Hero Hunter found that, just like the bandages he'd been wearing while fighting Monster Mask and Demon Cyborg, these ones had also fused to his flesh.
The fuck...? What the shit is happening to my body?! Did Monster Mask do this...!? No, stop that. You're being paranoid. I should go take a look at this in a mirror, Garou concluded.
Getting up, the Human Monster went to the restaurant's bathroom and placed himself in front of a mirror. Looking closely at the bandages, Garou could see them pulse slightly. Almost instinctively, Garou suddenly dug his finger into the part of his cheek that the bandage was over, ripping off the piece of skin it had fused with.
With a frantic look in his eyes, Garou tossed the piece of skin into the sink, watching intently as his face bled. Once he began healing, as he suspected he would, he gripped the sink in front of him tightly as he saw the bandage regrow along with his skin. However, Garou grew even more concerned when he saw that a couple of small, white veins had grown out of the bandage, expanding its size. Panicked, Garou's grip shattered the sink he was holding.
As if in a daze, the Human Monster came stumbling out of the bathroom.
Just as the restaurant's host was about to approach Garou and ask if he was okay, the Hero Hunter dashed forward, running out of the establishment.
As Garou ran, he heard from behind people shouting about him dine-and-dashing and that someone needed to catch him. This only emboldened him to run faster, not wanting to deal with anyone giving him any grief when he had more important things to worry about.
After running for a few miles, Garou felt sure that he'd escaped any potential pursuers.
"I wasn't sure I could do a marathon right now, but I guess my healing's really sped up. I'm not even short of breath at all." As the Hero Hunter thought this aloud, he continued walking and began thinking about the mission he'd been sent on.
'Bring me the head of a Hero...' Hrm. What kinda bullcrap is that? No way am I gonna do what they tell me to. I mean, they say I'll be a monster once I kill a Hero? Where's the logic in that? A real monster's supposed to... Supposed to... Whatever! I gotta figure out what's happening to me first. Am I... turning into a real monster?
As he walked, Garou overheard some children laughing and crying. The street he was standing on was on a hill over a playground. Looking down this hill, Garou could see three kids bullying a fourth one.
After pulling on the bullied boy's face, the other kids started throwing rocks at him while asking a series of taunting questions. "Hey, Tareo! Why are you still alive?!"
"Yeah, that guy was a monster or a crook or something! Are you a monster too!?"
"Yeah! He's an Ugmon!"
Gripping the road's guardrail, Garou took in a sharp inhale before yelling out, "HEY! KNOCK IT OFF!" He then vaulted over the guardrail and started jogging down the hill. However, once the other boys were sufficiently frightened enough to run away, the Human Monster slowed himself down to a stroll.
Walking over to Tareo as he bawled his eyes out, Garou told him, "Hey, brat. If all you do is cry like that when you're bullied, it's just gonna get worse. Honestly, it makes me feel bad."
After wiping his eyes, Tareo looked up and gasped when he saw Garou.
Smirking, Garou said, "Yo. We meet yet again, brat."
"Uncle!?" the boy exclaimed.
Quickly becoming annoyed, Garou yelled, "Stop that! First Old Dude and now Uncle?! I'm only eighteen, Goddamn it! Tsk, whatever! Go home. It's about to get dark. There might be monsters, and I got stuff to do." With that said, Garou turned and started walking away from Tareo in annoyance.
Before Garou could go far, though, Tareo wiped his tears and asked, "Uncle... How did your interview go? It actually was an interview, right?"
"Huh?" Garou asked as he turned back around.
"M... My friends told me that the Heroes told them that you're a criminal. But that's not right. You've always been nice to me, and we've been talking about wanting to become Heroes. And just now, you saved me. I know Uncle must be a man of justice- Mmmf!"
Putting his hand over Tareo's mouth, Garou snapped, "Shut your mouth! You want to make me puke!?"
Just as Tareo began to sweat over Garou's intimidating presence, someone else arrived on the scene and yelled at the Hero Hunter.
"Hey, Mr. Dine-And-Dasher!"
Shifting his stance again, Garou saw a bald man with a bland face wearing a yellow and white superhero costume.
"A Hero?" The Human Monster questioned.
"Yes, you! Who do you think you are, running away without paying?! I'm not much one to talk myself, though! So, I'll let you off with a warning this time! Well, now that I've warned you..." Without another word, the pathetic-looking Hero turned and began walking away.
Baffled, Garou yelled, "Hey, wait a second! Where are you going?! Aren't you here to defeat me?! What's your Hero name!?"
Without turning around, the odd Hero muttered, "Cape... Caped Baldy..."
Trying to piece together what was happening, Garou thought, Couldn't hear what he said. Whatever. He looks the part for sure. It doesn't matter if he's fodder. If he's a Hero, then I'm gonna hunt him.
"There's nothing on him in the Hero catalog. He must be new," Tareo explained as he clutched his book.
"Go home already, brat," Garou bluntly stated.
Ignoring the order and, instead, grabbing the back of Garou's trench-coat, Tareo asked, "Uncle, did you really eat without paying? It looks like he's letting you off the hook, so don't start something."
Suddenly, Garou's eyes intensified as his bandage growths pulsed, and he thought, Are you kidding me? First, the Monster Association, now nobody Heroes and kids are taking pity on me?! What the fuck!? I don't know why, but when I heard that old fart Bang survived, it was like a weight came off my chest. And when I realized that Monster Mask survived, too, I was excited. This really pisses me off! I don't care about being recognized as a Monster, but I still need to harden my resolve! That's it! I'm taking this Hero's head! This is what he gets for underestimating a true monster!
As he rushed up to the Caped Baldy and grabbed his shoulder, Garou yelled, "Hey! I'm gonna-!"
Without warning, the Caped Baldy threw his fist behind himself, sending the Hero Hunter flying while muttering, "Sorry, but I have to go. I'm basically an accomplice at this point."
After that, Tareo watched as the unknown Hero dashed away, leaving Garou unconscious with a bloody nose on the ground.
Later in the day, Garou's blood-covered face shot awake. Quickly, he sat up, seeing that Tareo had been keeping watch over him while he slept in the dirt.
"Are you alright, Uncle? The bald Hero said something about needing to go and then ran off."
Looking at Tareo with disbelief, Garou asked him, "I... I lost?! What... What did the Heo that beat me look like?!"
Tilting his head, Tareo asked, "You don't remember? Maybe he hurt your head real bad."
Before they could continue with their conversation, a voice as chilling as ice suddenly rolled in on the wind, "Gaaaarroooou. What are you doooooing?"
Quickly jumping to his feet and turning toward the direction that voice came from, Garou saw three individuals. There was Royal Ripper, standing next to it was Bug God, and sitting smugly atop the jungle-gym was Homeless Emperor, whom the Hero Hunter did not even recognize.
"I saw eeeeverything," Royal Ripper continued. "Garou, you're nothing like us."
Letting out a chittering sigh, Bug God added, "Nothing like us at all. Real shame. I thought you had potential, but I couldn't sense the monster in you at all."
"I suppose this shows us where his allegiances lie. With Humanity. Disgusting," Homeless Emperor stated with an eager grin.
Glancing back at Tareo, Garou told him, "Get home right now, brat. It looks like I have another interview."
Shaking with absolute horror, Tareo dropped his book and exclaimed, "It- It's the... It's the urban legend monster... From the book! Wha-wha... What's it doing here?!"
With a cheery tone, Royal Ripper responded, "Well, hello there! My name's Royal Ripper, and I've ripped open quite a number of children. Would you like to be the next one to be my friend, little boy?"
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Erupted from Tareo's throat as the boy fell on his rear end.
Gritting his teeth at the kid, Garou snapped, "Hey, get up! Stop crying and get out of here already!"
While taking steps toward the Hero Hunter, Royal Ripper commented, "Ooooo. I didn't know you had a friend, Gaaarrooou."
Stepping between the crying Tareo and the approaching monster, Garou yelled, "Hold it! If you got something to say, say it over there!"
As Royal Ripper began to drag its swords along the ground, Bug God began walking with it as the sword-armed monster chimed, "Oooooh, sorry. I didn't mean to make the baby cry just yet. I wanted to draw out his screams of agony. I'm truly soooooo sssooorrryy. Awww, it's so sad. You'll be cut up into little pieces. So sorry. There's no one who can save you now, kid. Soooo... Sorry."
Tensing his muscles, Garou gave an order to both the child behind him and the monsters in front of him, "Stay back."
Deciding to speak up, Homeless Emperor yelled so everyone could hear him, "Before we get started, let's throw him one last chance! Hey, Hero Hunter, we're here to decide if you deserve to stand alongside us monsters! Tell me! Are you really a monster, or just some freak who's too obsessed with playing pretend?"
Clenching and unclenching his fists, Garou retorted, "That's rich. You guys are the ones disappointing me. You're total letdowns of monsters."
"Then kill that child," Royal Ripper exclaimed, causing Homeless Emperor to smirk.
Shifting his foot back to keep his leg in front of the sweating boy, Garou yelled in response, "What?! What's that got to do with being a monster?!"
"Monsters are beings that abandoned their morals and humanity. Yet we saw you rescue that child. That will not do. If you want to enlist in our ranks, you must throw away your humanity and kill that kid. Prove to us that you're a real monster," Bug God exclaimed.
Shifting to a cross-legged position, Homeless Emperor spoke up once again, "Well said, boys. Our organization will conquer and wipe out humanity. We don't need any half-assed failures amongst our leadership. And besides, you lost to that plain-looking Hero. Can we even count on you in a battle?" As Homeless Emperor talked, suddenly, bluish-white orbs of light materialized and started floating around his head.
"How many times do I gotta tell you to go home, kid?!" Garou whispered aggressively to Tareo as he looked at the orbs around the homeless man's head.
Is that Kie?! What the fuck!? The Human Monster questioned.
"M-my feet are shaking a-and my l-legs won't m-move!" Tareo screamed in between tears while gripping his Hero almanac.
Immediately turning to face the cowering child, Garou yelled at him, "Idiot! If you can't do anything for yourself, then don't expect someone to come save you! Nobody's gonna give a damn! And get rid of this crap!" Garou then hit the Hero book out of Tareo's hands before continuing to berate him, "Keep your hands free! You need to protect yourself! It's situations like this that you need to get strong for! NOW GET UP!"
Seemingly inspired by Garou's words, Tareo calmed down enough to stop crying and looked at him in admiration for a split second.
"TAREO!" With that last shout from his uncle, Tareo jumped to his feet.
Just as the kid did this, a sword shot out from over Garou's shoulder aimed at Tareo's face.
Before Royal Ripper's blade could go any farther, Garou spun in place and put his palms on the flat sides of the blade, stopping it. The monster was going to try to pull away, but unfortunately for it, the Hero Hunter moved one of his palms to the center of the sword and pressed as hard as he could, snapping it in half.
Just as it seemed like Royal Ripper was about to yelp in pain, the Human Monster lifted the beast by its arm above himself before contorting his body to kick the serial-killer-creature in the gut, sending it flying up the incline leading to this park.
Before it could be sent tumbling into the city, Royal ripper planted its remaining blade into the hill and stopped its momentum. Simultaneously, the kinetic force carrying the monster's body pulled its arm out of its socket, causing a sound similar to that of hair being pulled apart.
Once it climbed back to its feet, it was clear to see that the bandages that surrounded Royal Ripper's arm had been stretched out and torn up somewhat. However, those same bandages quickly started reconnecting themselves before putting the monster's arm back in place.
Despite one of its arms being healed, Royal Ripper quickly fell again, landing on one knee as the pain in its chest from Garou's kick settled in. Before it could do anything, Royal Ripper vomited up a black sludge, which might have been its blood, from its bandaged mouth.
While Royal Ripper staggered and Bug God hesitated to charge in, Garou yelled, "GET MOVING!"
Those were the last instructions Tareo needed, as he quickly turned face and ran as fast as his chubby legs would allow.
"The self-proclaimed Hero Hunter that's never killed a single Human is now fighting monsters! Just as I thought, you're a fake!" Bug God proclaimed.
Despite its big talk, nervous thoughts ran through the bug monster's mind, He almost killed Royal Ripper with that attack. This won't be easy. I don't think I can afford to hold back!
"You ass hats really piss me off, ya know that?!" Garou responded while readying Fist Of Flowing Water Crushing Rock.
Clenching its fists, Bug God roared back, "Alright then! How about I show you what a real monster is like, fake!"
Suddenly, Bug God's carapace started segmenting as two other sets of arms came out of its shoulders. While this happened, various barbs grew out from all over the monster's shell, and its jaw segmented to allow another set of razor-sharp mandibles to shoot out from its mouth. The monster then assumed a slightly more hunched posture as its transformation finished. Now, Bug God truly reassembled more of a giant bipedal insect than a human crossed with a beetle.
Once it had taken its new form, Bug God let out a chittering roar, charging at Garou while unleashing a flurry of powerful punches aimed at the young criminal.
Managing to slide between all of the blows, Garou landed a punch of his own squarely in Bug God's spikey-chest. The force of the strike caused the insect monster to slide back, giving Garou room to think.
At the same time, however, Garou noticed that the skin of the knuckles he'd used to punch the monster had split open. Despite the pain this caused him, the Human Monster paid it no mind, as the wound closed up just as quickly as it had appeared.
Before Garou could take it easy, though, a shimmer appeared in the corner of his eye. Having grown used to Monster Mask's techniques, Garo leaped out of the way as Homeless Emperor's orbs collided with the ground he had been standing on, each one exploding with the force of a tank shell.
As the orbs around Homeless Emperor continued to form around him and throw themselves at Garou, the generator of these attacks exclaimed, "Fast reflexes you've got there, boy. But you won't be able to dodge my spheres of destruction for long, and if you tried a head-on attack, you'd be too easy of a target to miss."
As Garou ran in a line, causing a path of explosions to follow him as these orbs continued to miss, he yelled. "Hey, I got a question, shitty bum! Where'd you learn how to do this light ball stuff?!"
Looking utterly baffled, Homeless Emperor responded, "Learn...?! This is not a power that can be learned! I was blessed with this power by God himself to destroy humanity! No learned techniques could ever compare!"
So, wait! Is this the same stuff as what Monster Mask does?! Fuck! Garou complained inwardly while continuing to dodge. However, at the same time, he noticed how Homeless Emperor's barrage let up ever so slightly when he talked.
The greasy shit must need to concentrate to keep the volley up at full force.
"I don't know about that! They seem pretty similar to the stuff that another asshole I know can do! 'Cept he's a Hero all about saving humanity. Maybe your god is just stringing you along while giving Heroes powers too!" The Hero Hunter yelled while turning to run slightly in Homeless Emperor's direction.
"Well, that's just...! What?" Homeless Emperor asked as the rate of his attacks slowed down.
Taking advantage of this, Garou jumped at the park's swing set, bounced off of its frame, and launched himself at Homeless Emperor while readying a strike. Unfortunately, just as Garou got within a meter of his fellow villain, a sphere of destruction materialized right in front of his face, causing him to collide directly with it. The nature of the resulting explosion was odd, as the entire blast only traveled in Garou's direction, none of it going anywhere near Homeless Emperor.
Once the explosion blew him away, Garou didn't even have a chance to land before Bug God hit him in his back with a destructive punch. The hit smashed Garou into the ground, yet didn't truly faze him as he immediately spun in place and kicked the monster in its chest. The force of his attack was once again enough to cause the insect creature to slide back, allowing Garou to flip to his feet.
Bug God was in no way deterred, however, rushing back in to exchange blows with a slightly more dazed Hero Hunter.
Homeless Emperor's attack had slowed Garou down enough that he wasn't able to dodge Bug God's attacks as easily. As such, the Human Monster had to exchange counter-blows with the insect monster for a moment. Their attacks were a match for each other. Despite Bug God's fist tearing into Garou's flesh, the Hero Hunter's attacks actually had more power behind them, with him simply lacking the same durability as the monster. The Hero Hunter's healing actually made up for this, though, closing his wounds almost as quickly as they were made. It was this factor that allowed Garou to keep fighting long enough to begin cracking the carapace of Bug God's arms.
As the monster took notice of the damage it was taking, it instinctively started to back off. This allowed Garou to once again maneuver around Bug God's punches and land another blow to its chest. In reality, this was actually an onslaught of hyper-fast punches all focused on one spot that only looked like a single punch to the untrained eye.
This combo-attack was enough to not just slide Bug God back but also crack its carapace and knock the monster a few feet into the air.
While Bug God stumbled back and took a knee, Garou stood confidently, even as Homeless Emperor's attacks caught his trench-coat on fire, and thought, The bum's gonna be an issue to deal with, but I'll wear him out. As for the other two, they're hardly a challenge, if at all. It's three on one, but I can win this!
"We... We were supposed to try and take you back alive, but screw that! We're going to kill you here and now, Hero Hunter!" Bug God yelled while trying to stand back up.
His grin widening, Homeless Emperor added, "Yes! You're just another filthy Human who has the audacity not to lay down and die at this point! Prepare to meet your end, Garou!"
Smiling while striking up an offensive stance, Garou retorted, "That talk's not all too intimidating, pissants! I wasn't planning to let any of you leave here alive anyway! Now come on!"
However, just as Garou was about to pick another target, a voice cried out to him, "I-I'm s-sorry, Uncle."
As soon as Garou heard Tareo's voice, he examined his surroundings to find him. To Garou's horror, when he located Tareo, he saw him wrapped in tendrils coming from the burbling mass of rancid ichor known as sludge jellyfish.
"Ha! I've been waiting for any chance to get back at you, asshole!" The sludge monster gurgled out.
"Is that the guy I punched back when I had to run from Metal Bat?!" Garou questioned internally while beginning to panic.
"S-sorry, U-Uncle..." Tareo apologized through tears.
"Damn it! The brat has nothing to do with-!" Before Garou could finish yelling, he felt a sword go through his abdomen before being rotated and cut out of his side.
While Garou vomited blood, Bug God stampeded in next to Royal Ripper and smashed Garou into the ground, pummeling him repeatedly while he was in this defenseless position.
Despite his disemboweled state, Garou mustered the strength to throw out counter-punches, knocking Royal Ripper and Bug God away. Unfortunately, before the Human Monster's healing ability could kick in properly and allow him to start moving again, he was pelted by another volley of Homeless Emperor's spheres of destruction.
Smiling as his attacks hit their mark, the emperor of the homeless indulged himself for a moment and started cackling as his exploding spheres pummeled Garou and started to leave his body in a meteor-sized hole in the ground.
Believing that victory was ensured, Homeless Emperor readied a half dozen more spheres and sent them hurtling at Garou. At the last moment, however, he redirected the attacks to fly just over Garou, travel up the incline next to the park, and then collide with the buildings on the other side of the street. Each sphere annihilated a building and started fires that would surely destroy the structures in the surrounding vicinity.
Laughing hysterically, Homeless Emperor exclaimed, "WAHAHAHA! WHOOPS! GUESS I MISSED MY MARK! I'M JUST SUCH A POOR SHOT, I GUESS! AHAHAHAHAHA!"
As Homeless Emperor reveled in the destruction he'd caused, Royal Ripper rushed into the crater the Cadre had made and started stabbing Garou's chared-up body repeatedly in a blind rage.
Thinking more rationally than its allies, Bug God yelled, "Look what you did, Cadre! That's gonna attract a lot of attention! We have to get out of here before more Heroes arrive on the scene. I don't want to fight the S-Class in the condition I'm in now!"
Although he initially growled and grimaced at Bug God's words, Homeless Emperor had to concede, "Hurgh! I guess you're right. We need to head back. I don't want to take risks when I don't have to. Royal Ripper, get back up here, and let's go!"
As the monster received this order, it stabbed Garou one last time, growled, and then jumped out of the hole it was in.
That bastard, Garou! He broke one of my swords! Now I have to... have to... run around the Monster Association and start slaughtering until I can find someone else who's got swords that match mine! Eeeeeehehehehe! Thanks, Hero Hunter! Royal Ripper thought to itself with glee through its blood-stained, bandaged face.
While carrying the ugly child and looking at the destruction that Homeless Emperor had caused, Sludge Jellyfish thought to itself, "The Cadres... They really are monsters among monsters. How incredible."
As Sludge Jellyfish admired the power of its superiors, Royal Ripper approached it, causing the weaker monster to flinch. However, Royal Ripper merely gave its fellow monster a smile with its exposed eye, to Sludge Jellyfish's confused relief.
"Why don't you take that kiddie back with us? That way, we can all go home together as friends!" The Demon Level monster exclaimed cheerfully.
Walking past them, Homeless Emperor instructed, "Take that kid if you want, but we need to go now!"
"Ah, right, right. Let's go, gang!"
With Royal Ripper's words sending them off, the quartet of monsters rushed back to tunnels underneath the City-Z Ghostown. In their wake, they left Garou on fire and bleeding out at the bottom of the pit that Homeless Emperor had crafted.
As if things couldn't get any worse for the Hero Hunter's situation, the borders of the pit then gave way, tumbling down the hole and burying him.
Soon after the monsters had left, Heroes, police, and firefighters arrived on the scene. The three groups worked in surprising tandem with each other, managing to get the fires put out and evacuating any people who had gotten trapped in the blaze.
The Heroes and police that arrived on the scene attempted to find the monsters or criminals responsible for this but quickly concluded that whoever the culprit was, was long gone by now.
However, due to Garou's buried state, no one ever managed to locate him, even as rescue forces examined the crater. Once more, he was left to his fate.
Later on, by the time night had fallen, all the emergency response units had left the scene. All the people they could locate had been saved, and there was nothing left for any of them to find at the moment. Besides that, no one intended to stay out after dark while the Monster Association was a threat.
Yellow safety tape had been set up around the hole Garou was in, as well as around the entire park.
In the calm of this night, as if by some miracle of God or Satan, the ruble Garou was under started to rumble. Eventually, a grayish-white hand erupted from the debris, followed by a body of matching color. Now, even Garou's face had come to match the color of the rest of his body. The only exceptions to this grayish-white was the body's red, spikey hair, bloodshot eyes, and a red pulsating scar on the torso. Garou still had his pants by some wonder, but the majority of his top had been lost. All that remained of it was two tatters of his trench-coat that were stuck to his shoulders and were billowing in the wind.
Wha... What happened? Was I unconscious...? I... I lost. That's right. I got jumped at the end there... Wait. What happened to the brat? Did they let him go? If not, is he still alive...? Whatever, I don't care. All my bleeding has stopped... What's with the flutters on my shoulders?
Garou then attempted to pull the tatters of the trench-coat off of himself but stopped when he realized that they were fused to his skin.
Okay, I can get those off later...
As Garou continued to talk to himself, he decided to climb out of the pit.
While Garou walked out of the crater, images of Tareo's crying and scared face raced through his mind on a loop. At the same time, some words that Monster Mask had spoken to Garou during their last meeting started playing in tandem with these images.
It's a power that comes from rigorous meditation and becoming one with your selflessness and desire to help others! It's something that a psychotic, cold-hearted bastard like YOU will never obtain!
Without warning and without him even seeming to notice, the veins that had been pulsating on Garou's back started acting up again. The tatters of the coat suddenly slid down the Hero Hunter's back, stopping at the shoulder blades. The veins then moved over to the scraps of cloth, as if they were worms underneath his skin. The veins then traveled into the scraps, merging with them. The tatters then became fleshy in appearance, with their ends connecting to the back of Garou's shoulder blades. By the time Garou had reached the top of the creator, two half-circle arcs had formed on the back of his shoulders.
The Human Monster then cracked his knuckles, spine, and neck before standing up straight. He looked up into the night, fury and determination having overcome his expression as he continued to think about Tareo.
Suddenly, as the Hero Hunter was looking at the night-time stars, his eyes became filled with gray flames. These flames quickly overcame the rest of his body, with Garou not flinching one bit at them.
Lifting up his flame-covered arm to examine, Garou had an unreadable expression on his face for a moment. This left as quickly as it came, being overtaken by rage and determination once again as he tightly clenched his fist.
With a gray glow accompanying him, Garou started walking out of the park and back to the Monster Association headquarters, thinking, Alright. Let's get this done with.