After his brief but nearly deadly encounter with the leader of the Monster Association, Atomic Samurai reunited with Iaian, Pig God, and Tanktop Master.
Atomic watched alongside his student and allies as Tornado finished planting her spear of light into the Earth, hopefully finishing the monster boss and its whole Association for good.
Folding his arms, Atomic Samurai stated, "Tch! That bastard was actually able to parry a few of my slashes... Looks like I might need to sharpen my skills a bit further. How about it, Iaian? You think you and the others are up for some more intense and personal training with your teacher?"
Taken off guard by his master's sudden question, Iaian had to recompose himself before he could give an answer. However, Iaian didn't have a chance to give a proper reply, though, as Child Emperor's voice erupted from everyone's communicators.
"This is Child Emperor. Multiple enemy Cadres have emerged from underground. Please be on guard. I repeat-. Kzzch."
And just as fast as it came, the message cut out.
"Huh?!" The four Heroes asked at once.
Just as they began to comprehend the meaning of the child Hero's words, the group noticed something large and glowing moving toward them at incredible speeds.
Assuming that whatever this projectile was wouldn't be good, all the Heroes jumped out of its path. Atomic Samurai and Iaian leaped to the sphere's left, while Pig God and Tanktop Master dodged to the right.
"Whoa!" Pig God exclaimed as the sphere of light left a trail of scorched Earth in its wake.
Taking out his communicator, Atomic Samurai shouted, "Hey, Child Emperor! Answer me! Was that one of the Cadre's attacks?! Child Emperor!"
Once he realized that the boy wasn't going to answer, Atomic Samurai grimaced as he stated, "That impossible... After getting caught up in the ground blender, they still have that much strength left..."
While Atomic contemplated what their next move should be, a sudden eruption of water came out from the blown apart Earth created by the Cadre's energy attack.
"Is that underground water?" Atomic asked.
Reaching for his blade as terror filled his face, Iaian exclaimed, "No!"
Understanding his student must have a reason for his reaction, Atomic followed suit and unsheathed his own weapon.
While the swordsmen prepared themselves, Tanktop Master shouted to them from the other side of the destroyed path, "Hey! Are you guys okay?!"
Immediately afterward, a pair of large eyes sprung out of the dirt along with the water. Then, the erupting water gathered around the eyes, until it formed a blob-like pillar of water, with the big eyeballs floating at the top, forming the Dragon-Level monster and Monster Association Cadre, Evil Natural Water.
While Tanktop tried to check up on the blade wielders, Pig God noticed as a circle of teeth came out of the ground around them.
Grabbing Tanktop Master, Pig God shouted, "Look out!" And just managed to pull himself and Tanktop Master to safety as a huge mouth chomped down and swallowed the area they had been standing.
"Wha... What is that thing?!" Tanktop Master shouted as he watched a monster erupt from the ground.
The creature looked like a bulging hill of white flesh with a set of stumpy arms and legs, no eyes, and a huge mouth filled with molars at its top. This monster was the Monster Association Cadre known as Gums, a foe Pig God had already had a near-fatal encounter with.
Almost instantly, Gums' body started compressing until it took a much shorter and round form. That said, Gums still towered over both the S-Class Heroes facing it down by a foot or two.
I knew it would reemerge! It's digesting the debris it ate almost instantly. The thing makes me look like I'm going on a diet.
While Pig God and Tanktop Master focused on Gums as the monster gritted its humongous teeth, the two noticed a bright flash race by in the distance. In addition, the flash was accompanied by a series of explosions.
It was only thanks to the S-Class Heroes' superhuman physiologies that either of them even noticed this streak of brightness. For just as soon as it appeared, it vanished in less than a half second.
The heck was that? Another monster...? Well, unless it comes this way, it's better to focus on the walking mouth, Pig God decided.
Steeling his resolve, Pig God glared at Gums as the monster gnashed its teeth, and Tanktop Master tightened his large fists as his face was overcome with a mix of anxiety and exhilaration.
At the same time as the Cadres freed themselves from underground, Genos came crashing into the Earth, with Bang, Bomb, Blizzard, and Puri-Puri Prisoner standing near his impact point.
As the group rushed to his side, Blizzard exclaimed, "Demon Cyborg!?" As Prisoner asked, "Sweet Genos?!"
Immediately, it was evident that Genos was in a volatile condition, as arcs of lighting pores from every crevice in his mechanical body. Even his mouth and eyes were spewing energy as if they were tears and vomit.
"What happened to you?!" Silver Fang shouted.
Digging his clawed hands into the rubble, Genos yelled, "My power core has exceeded its limits! I will explode soon!"
"What did you say?!" Prisoner and Blizzard shouted.
"Surely there must be some emergency fix!" Silver Fang exclaimed.
Raising a finger, Prisoner said, "Of course! Drive Knight should know sweet Genos' body inside and out!"
"Really?" Blizzard asked with slight discomfort.
Furrowing his brow, Genos said, "He defused with me and left as soon as the barrier dropped."
With disgust on his face, Bomb said, "How heartless of him."
"Th- then what about Child Emperor?!" Blizzard suggested.
Pulling his communicator out from between his but cheeks, Puri-Puri Prisoner exclaimed, "Of course! Hm..." Examining the holographic display of the communicator, he went on, "It seems he was hurried by one of those explosions earlier. Fear not! I won't allow one of my cute boys to be scattered to the wind right under my nose! I'll go rescue Child Emperor, and, in turn, he will save sweet Genos!"
Diving face-first at the ground, Puri-Puri used his powerful arms to tunnel through the terrain as he exclaimed, "Angel-Crawl!"
As soon as Prisoner was gone, though, Genos yelled as his electricity intensified, "It is futile! There is no time! You all need to retreat to a five-kilometer radius! I will amplify my energy as much as possible and take out any remaining enemies within my range!"
"You're willingly self-destructing?!" Blizzard exclaimed, mortified.
With his power continuing to build, Genos shouted, "Please apologize to Saitama-Sensei and Dr. Stench on my behalf for being so reckless and inexperienced...! And I suppose I will need to apologize to Shunshi personally once this is all over."
Irritated beyond belief, Silver Fang shouted at Genos, "Fool! The young should never give into despair so easily! Prisoner will return with Child Emperor any moment, so you must endure until then!"
Despite the fright-induced sweat on her face, Blizzard's composure suddenly returned to her, as if Bang's words had inspired her.
Intensifying her gaze, Blizzard strutted over toward Genos, with the blond Cyborg exclaiming, "Blizzard of Hell! What are you doing just standing there?! There may still be enemies around once the blast subsides! You may not be our strongest asset, but we cannot afford to throw away-!"
"Be quiet," Fubuki stated as the veins in her face bulged.
Before Genos could understand what she was doing, Fubuki slammed her hands onto his back as psychic energy erupted from her and entered his body.
However, as the power radiating off of Genos started ripping her sleeves apart and burning her arms, the young cyborg shouted, "What are you doing!? Run, you reckless fool!"
Tightening her grip on him, Blizzard shouted back, "I am the Blizzard of Hell! Leader of the Blizzard Gang! Do you think I'd just run away and leave my subordinates to die like nothing happened!? Leaders must always know how to behave like leaders!"
While Genos, Bang, and Bomb looked at Blizzard with impressed expressions, she focused her powers and thought, I'll use telekinesis to suppress the thermal motion as much as possible, then find the organic portions to reinforce and restore-.
Interrupting her train of thought, an explosive amount of Genos' power traveled out of him and through Blizzard as her body erupted with a mix of psychic and mechanical energies.
After this brief instance, however, Blizzard's body returned to normal. Simultaneously, Genos' body seized its electrical eruptions as heated smoke bellowed off from him.
"Critical section... clear... Explosion... averted," Genos said with nearly complete disbelief.
Releasing her grip, Blizzard stood up but immediately fell backward as blood spewed from her eyes and nostrils.
Catching her alongside his brother, Bomb said, "Whoa there!"
Setting her down as Genos looked over with concern, Bang said, "I am amazed. She may have the makings of a great leader after all."
As Blizzard struggled to get back up, the Demon Cyborg stood up and pondered, Fubuki was able to save me. Could she... Could she also heal Shunshi...? I need to get her to him as fast as possible.
Before Genos could get a chance to ask for Blizzard's help, every combatant on the battlefield suddenly felt the Earth shake beneath their feet yet again.
"What is this?! Another monster?!" Genos exclaimed as Bang and Bomb began scanning their surroundings, and Blizzard's eyes shot back open.
It was then, in the distance, when everyone at this war of Heroes and monsters saw what looked like a gray sun erupt from the ground. However, only the absolutely most observant could see it when a gray, Humanoid with wings followed after this humongous orb of Kie.
And as this gray, glowing figure stared down at the war zone, commenting something about hunting, he thought, Let's see what my prey consists of... I can see Gyoro Gyoro is tied up with wires in that rubble over there, so I'll take her out when I feel like it. As for the others... Those black creatures all look like copies of the same thing, so I'd have to guess that means they're just grunts. As for the bosses, there's still three monsters, including that Homeless Emperor douchebag, and, including Bomb, there's still ten conscious Heroes. So, for about every three Heroes I take out, I'll need to bring down one of the monsters, too, just to keep things fair... Monster Mask, if that is you down there, you'd better get back up before I'm done... Gah, whatever. Time to get on with the hunting!
While this almost angelic figure hovered in the sky above, Shunshi, still grabbing his chest, looked up at it and questioned, What is that thing?! Is that... Is that Kie coming off it? Wait a second... I recognize that hair! Is that... Garou?!
Furling his wings to allow himself to fall, Garou nose-dived toward Bang and the group surrounding him.
However, as Garou got closer, he saw Bang staring back up at him. The elder Hero's face was a swirl of emotions, mixing confusion, grief, disappointment, and anger all into one expression.
Seeing Bang look at him like this, the determination across Garou's body wavered slightly.
And when the old man asked, "Garou...? Is that still you?" The Hero Hunter used his wings to abruptly stop his descent.
"Grr..." As the Human Monster growled at himself, he thought, I'll deal with you later, ya old shit! I want you to see what I'm about to accomplish.
But as Garou flapped his many wings to change course and locate a new target, he suddenly noticed a barrage of boulders surrounded by green energy coming toward him at high speed.
At the largest rock, Garou instinctively raised a hand, fired a Shadow Sphere, and reduced it to rubble on impact. As for the dozen or so other boulders, once they got close enough to him, Garou unleashed a flurry of strikes that broke them down to powder.
"The Hell was...?! Tornado," Garou stated as he began scanning for her presence.
Sensing bloodlust from where he'd last seen her, Garou looked up and saw the petite and bloodied esper raising her arms as she formed spikes out of more debris.
Cracking his neck as he and Tornado exchanged glares, Garou muttered, "Guess it'd be smart to focus on the biggest threat first."
Glaring at the Hero Hunter, Tatsumaki thought, Just great! I thought you'd been buried! I'm almost out of power, so I have to take you out now before you do whatever you did to me last time!
As Tornado finished her thought, her eyes began to glow intensely as she started another, I know I can't grab you and rip you to pieces, so I'll have to resort to breaking you with the landscape!
Just then, Garou started flying toward Tornado at supersonic, possibly hypersonic, speeds. In response, Tornado hurled three of her spikes at the Hero Hunter. However, they did little to slow him down, as he easily bashed through each projectile.
However, for Tornado, that little bit of time was all she needed. Channeling her psychic power, she infused the rest of her spikes with her energy, the same way she had with her light lance. And once the spikes were reinforced with psychic energy and were fiercely glowing, Tornado fired them at the Hero Hunter.
As the empowered missiles closed in on him, Garou thought, How strong are those? Can I avoid them, or should I try dodging? Our speed difference is enough that I think I could, but-Huh?!
It wasn't until this instant that Garou noticed a glow coming up from beneath. Glancing down, he had half-expected Monster Mask to be throwing himself at him again. Instead, dozens more of the Tornado Of Terror's empowered missiles were closing in on him from below.
The fuck?! When the fuck did she make those?! How didn't I notice?!
As Garou panicked momentarily, Tornado smirked and said, "Looks like someone needs to pay attention to their surroundings... Now get diced!"
All at once, Tornado's light darts crashed into Garou above and below, creating a massive cloud of dust and dirt. And for a moment, Tornado hoped she had handled the Hero Hunter right then and there.
However, once the smoke cleared, Tornado grimaced as she saw Garou, unharmed and surrounded by a Darkness Barrier.
Most of her attacks had been completely nullified by this shield of Kie, with only the tip of one having managed to penetrate it at all.
Dispersing the Kie that created his Shadow Barrier, Garou smiled at Tornado and told her, "You were right. I got a bit drunk on these new powers. I always gotta remember to keep my guard up. Let's try this again."
Flapping his wings in one powerful motion, Garou blasted himself toward Tornado as she raised a psychic barrier of her own. The shield protected Tatsumaki from any direct harm, but Garou's first strike against her was still enough to send her flying away. However, Garou dashed off in pursuit, wanting to take out the Tornado Of Terror as fast as possible.
As the Hero Hunter gave chase to Tatsumaki, Blizzard stood up and stated as her eyes grew misty, "No...! My sister is almost completely exhausted! And if that thing is really using Kie, like Monster Mask does, then Tatsumaki can't even fight him the way she normally would. She'll have to rely on weaponizing her surroundings, and... and..."
Finishing Blizzard's sentence, Bang said, "And we all just saw how well that went. Hrm... Garou, what happened to you?"
While the others spoke, Genos watched Blizzard as memories of when Saitama defeated the Deep Sea King raced through his head.
Sensei showed respect to those who would risk their lives, regardless of their capabilities. I must do the same, right, Sensei?
After quickly checking his limbs to make sure they were still functioning, Genos approached Fubuki and told her, "I am heading back in to back up Tatsumaki. While I do that, I have a request for you, Blizzard."
Shocked by this sudden decision, Blizzard replied, "Huh?! That's too reckless!"
"She's right! After this young lady put so much work into fixing you, next time you'll explode for sure," Bang chastised.
Giving Blizzard a smile, surprising the B-Class Hero, Genos told her, "Do not worry about me. So long as I do not use my full power, I will not overheat, so I shall be able to act as an effective shield for your sister. While I do this, I must ask that you rescue Shunshi."
"What? What do you mean?" Blizzard asked in shock.
"Shunshi's in danger?!" Bang shouted.
Pointing to his immediate left, Genos explained, "While I fell, I saw Shunshi amongst others being attacked by emerging Cadres. Shunshi used techniques I am unfamiliar with to retaliate. He was able to soundly defeat one of them, but whatever he did overwhelmed his physiology, and he is now in shock over in that direction."
As he shifted his gaze between where Genos pointed and where Garou had flown off, Bang muttered, "Shunshi... Garou..."
While Bang contemplated what course of action to take, Genos requested from Fubuki, "If you think you can, please heal my Junior, Fubuki. Bang and Bomb, I must also ask that you both protect Fubuki as she makes her way to him."
Tightening her fists and gritting her teeth, the Blizzard Of Hell proclaimed, "My part-timer's in danger! That's all I needed to hear!"
In contrast to Fubuki's determination, more and more, Silver Fang's expression was warped by uncertainty by Genos' request.
Fortunately, with a sideways glance, Bomb recognized his little brother's conflicted feelings.
The elder martial artist then took a deep breath, walked over to Genos, and stated, "Bang should be more than enough protection for our lovely leader. I'm going to help you support Tornado." As he strolled toward the Demon Cyborg, Bomb looked back at his younger brother with a knowing expression.
Glancing at Bomb as the old man came to his side, Genos replied, "I will not follow your orders."
"I... I didn't think you would," Bomb replied.
"I am the apprentice of Saitama-Sensei. Not yours or your brother's," Genos exclaimed further.
His brow twitching, Bomb asked, "You could just say thanks, you know?"
Watching his older brother and Genos pick up their pace and dash away, Silver Fang's anxiety somewhat lessened.
Closing his eyes, Bang thought, Do your best to subdue Garou. And please... Don't kill him, brother.
Opening his eyes, Silver Fang looked at Blizzard and asked her, "Are you alright to move?"
Nodding, Fubuki exclaimed, "Of course! Did you think my words were just for show?!"
With steeled resolve, Bang exclaimed, "Good. Then let's go save Shunshi!"
As they rushed off, though, the two heard a noise like an orchestra of humming lights. Glancing into the sky, they saw what almost looked like an aurora of light.
However, upon a more focused inspection, Bang stated, "Those are... balls of light?"
Elegantly waving its hands to and fro, Homeless Emperor orchestrated a tsunami's worth of its orbs of destruction through the air. As the Cadre directed its energy, the orbs' movements created an operatic melody.
Smirking as it watched its handiwork, Homeless Emperor said to one of the numerous Black Sperms sitting beside it, "It looks as if the Hero Hunter has emerged and chose to go after Tornado first... The fool. If he had any sense, he would've gone after you or me first! Now he and her shall die together in a symphony of light!"
"Look at the snob here," the Black Sperm retorted.
What a pompous prick. This guy's got the body of a normal Human, right? If that's the case, I bet I'll be able to find an opening eventually and take him out by surprise... I wonder if those other mes that wandered off have found what they're looking for yet.
Just as the Black Sperm finished its thought, another cluster of Black Sperms came rushing over a hill of debris. Atop them, they carried the tied-up Psykos. However, her gag was gone.
With a feint blush, Homeless Emperor asked, "Why do those yous have that naked woman?"
"Uh... good question," Black Sperm admitted.
The small monster then called out to its other-selves and asked, "Hey, you guys! What's with the nude chick?!"
"You'll never believe this! She says she's Gyoro Gyoro!" The Black Sperm at the head of the pack of ones carrying Psykos shouted.
Smiling nervously, Psykos exclaimed, "That's right! This is my true form! Free me, and we can destroy the Hero Association together!"
Cocking a brow, Homeless Emperor remarked, "Gyoro Gyoro...? Feh, if that's true, then she's a failure. Do what you want with her, Black Sperm. I'm busy."
Tossing Psykos the rest of the way, the other Black Sperms regrouped with the main pack, as one asked, "Whatever we want...? We could always use more cell stock."
"Ow...! Wait, what? You don't mean..." Psykos tried to get out, but her words ended up caught in her throat.
Grinning, another asked, "You suggesting what I'm thinking?"
Smiling ear to ear, despite the lack thereof, another Black Sperm exclaimed, "Oh, Hell yeah! Dinner time!"
Surrounding Psykos, the Black Sperms exclaimed, "Dinner time! I wonder how many cells a body as powerful as yours will generate!"
Jumping at the bound Psykos, one of the Black Sperms shouted as its teeth grew jagged, "You aren't the first Human we've eaten, and you won't be the last!"
Just as the monster was about to land on Psykos and sink its fangs into her, its body was torn apart by psychic energy. Several more of them were then destroyed in the same way as Psykos' eyes glowed with power, and she gritted her teeth.
Suddenly, the metal restraints on Psykos were psychically pulled apart with a considerable amount of resistance.
Psykos then stood up as her nose and left eye were bleeding, and she exclaimed, "Who the Hell said I was Human?! I am Cadre of the Monster Association, chosen by God himself, and I am going to wipe out all of Humanity!"
As the Black Sperms exchanged uncertain stares after Psykos' outburst, she thought in frustration, Shit! My powers haven't fully come back yet. I nearly gave myself a stroke breaking free of Child Emperor's stupid toy!
Before the Black Sperms could come to a decision on what to do next, a massive explosion went off in the distance as Homeless Emperor's energy spheres collided with a target.
Turning around with a maddened yet ecstatic grin, Homeless Emperor asked, "Is it true?!"
"Huh?" Psykos and the Black Sperms surrounding her asked.
Raising some of its orbs of light in excitement, Homeless Emperor went on, "You truly saw God as well?! You're one of his champions, just as I am?!"
Realizing the advantage she could gain by simply telling the truth, Psykos smiled and boldly proclaimed, "Yes! Yes, I saw him, and he chose me during my battle with the Tornado Of Terror! Let's work together to complete God's will and eradicate Humanity!"
Laying out a carpet-bombing of energy orbs behind itself, Homeless Emperor extended its arms and exclaimed, "Yes, yes, yes! Once the Humans are gone, we will be the Adam and Eve of the new world."
What?! Never! Psykos immediately thought at the sight of this disgusting former man.
Forcing her smile to continue, Psykos verbally replied, "Let's... Discuss the finer details once the Heroes are dead."
As if coming back to its senses, Homeless Emperor's ecstasy died down as its face snapped back to reality while it said, "Oh...! Oh, yes... I got a bit carried away meeting a fellow worshipper. I need to refocus on the task at hand... Black Sperm! Don't eat her!"
All at once, the Black Sperms erupted in a cacophony of opinions, "Aw, come on!" "Tch! Fine, whatever." "Are we taking orders from that jerk now?!" "Just let her wear out some of the Heroes for us. I'm sure she'll die in the process." "She'd be better served as more cells for us!" "You wanna try eating her? Go ahead, ya idiot! It didn't work so well for the last guys!"
Eventually, the hoard of copies came to a conclusion, agreeing to let Psykos fight on their side.
Splitting off into multiple groups, with a handful staying behind, one of the Black Sperms exclaimed, "I'm going to swarm the parts of the battlefield you aren't bombarding, Homeless Emperor, and take out everyone I can find."
Turning back around to focus again on Tornado and Garou, Homeless Emperor stated, "Have fun with that. I'll take care of the big fish."
Watching the two Cadres as they bickered, Psykos bemoaned internally, Dammit. If only these two could work together properly. With their powers, they could defeat any of the S-Class if they just worked as a team. Heck, I'm not sure anyone but God could beat that combination.
Switching her attention to the flying targets of Homeless Emperor's barrage, Psykos continued her thoughts, In any case, with how weakened I made her, I'm sure Homeless Emperor can finish off Tornado, especially with the Hero Hunter keeping her busy. I think I'll stay off the front lines until she's dealt with.
Taking a seat on a boulder, Psykos stated, "I need a minute to allow my powers to recharge. I'll help out once I'm ready. It shouldn't take long, though."
"See? We should totally just eat her," one of the Black Sperms grumbled.
"Give it a rest already. It's only right that I allow one of my fellow followers a moment's rest to make the best use of her abilities," Homeless Emperor replied while watching its energy orbs rain down on its foes.
Squinting its eyes at its targets admits the storm of explosions surrounding them, Homeless Emperor pondered, How is it possible...? Why aren't they dead already?
Flying through the tsunami of blasts within the safety of his Darkness Barrier, Garou laughed and exclaimed, "Ha! Does that shit-covered loser really think this is doing anything?! Now that I have this Kie stuff, that Homeless bastard's attacks are useless against me!"
Making his way to his target, Garou slammed his Kie barrier into the psychic barrier Tornado was using to protect herself.
"What's wrong, Tornado!? Can't handle a little rain!? Come on out and enjoy the shower!" Garou yelled in equal parts frustration and amusement.
After she was knocked back a few feet, Tornado began pushing back against Garou, until she was able to halt him entirely.
While trying to push the battle out of the hail of explosions, Tornado thought, This is so annoying! If my powers weren't so depleted, I could focus on empowering my barrier and attacking the Hero Hunter at the same time! I have to try and force the battle away from that Cadre's attacks.
While watching Tatsumaki struggle against him, Garou frowned as he had a thought of his own, Alright. These energy bombs were fun for a second, but she can't even really attack me like this... I should finish her off fast and then finish off that Cadre if he's gonna keep getting in the way of my hunt... Hm?
Suddenly, the barrage of energy orbs came to a stop, surprising both Garou and Tornado. Tornado was the first to act on this break, though, slamming Garou into the ground with her barrier while he was distracted for the split second.
As he fell, sustaining no significant damage, Garou noticed a figure out of the corner of his eye. The Demon Cyborg had intervened to help Tornado, firing a barrage of lightning blasts at Homeless Emperor. Unfortunately, each one of the Demon Cyborg's attacks were blocked and countered by the Cadre's seemingly endless pool of energy orbs.
Eh... That crazy cyborg should keep that asshole distracted long enough for me to finish off Tornado.
Coinciding with the Hero Hunter wrapping up his thought, Tornado had slammed him into the ground with her psychic bubble. And simultaneously, the Hero Hunter's own barrier dropped.
Unfortunately, it became clear almost immediately that Garou's Kie hadn't faded from damage, but instead due to him dropping it on his own to throw out an attack.
Before Tornado's heavily wounded mind had a chance to react, Garou's hand smashed through her shield and connected with her stomach. Utilizing Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist, the Hero Hunter shredded Tornado's dress around her naval. Fortunately, her innate psychic powers still served as enough protection to keep the resulting cuts from going any farther than skin deep.
While Tornado was knocked far back, Garou used his wings and rushed at her in hopes of unleashing a martial barrage on her. However, the moment Garou was about to land a Fist Of The Impenetrable Fire Spirit claw-strike on the Heroin, he found his attack knocked aside as he took a whirling clawed strike to his face.
After being knocked back slightly, Garou landed, recomposed himself, and saw who had cut in; Bomb.
"Hello again, Garou," his old master's brother said, clearly unamused.
Getting to her feet and flying to Bomb's side as blood leaked down her torso, Tornado seethed, "Who gave you permission to interrupt my fight?"
With a drop of awkward sweat, Bomb asked back, "Can't you young ones just say thank you?"
Despite her prideful complaints, Tornado made no actual attempt to force Bomb to leave. Without either having to say another word to the other, the two superhuman combatants moved in synch with each others' pace as they approached the Hero Hunter
Wiping his chin, the Human Monster watched the master of the Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist and the Tornado Of Terror, thinking, One of the world's best martial artists and the most powerful esper on the planet at once...? Perfect! I've already faced both types of techniques separately! Learning how to beat them at once will be the perfect stepping stone for one of my final steps toward absolute evil!
As Bomb dashed ahead to deliver a killer blow, and Tornado threw a barrage of psychically-propelled boulders at him, all Garou could do was smile.
Meanwhile, arriving on the outskirts of the remains of City-Z, a set of four individuals approached the battlefield.
First was an elderly man dressed in a black kimono and white haori. he was covered from head to toe in wrinkles, giving his body an almost wooden appearance, while his full head of gray hair was the sole remaining sign of youth on his body. This was the swordsman, Nichirin, of the Council Of Swordmasters.
The next one was a dark-skinned, middle-aged man who wore a floral-patterned haori over a white kimono, along with numerous necklaces and earrings. He had dark-gray hair braided into cornrows and tied into a high ponytail. This was the second member of the Council Of Swordmasters, Amahare.
Third among this group was a comparatively youthful man, no older than forty, who wore a black kimono with a white sash. He had a feint mustache on his lip while his bald head and face were covered with scars. This was Zanbai, who, aside from Atomic Samurai, was the final member of the Council Of Swordmasters.
The fourth and final member of this group was not an official member of the Council Of Swordmasters. Instead, it was the top student of Nichirin, the A-Class Hero, Spring Mustachio. What was noticeably different about him now, though, was how his scalp was fully bandaged as a result of his run-in with the Hero Hunter.
Walking with a cane, Nichirin commented as he observed the flattened cityscape, "Wow. The whole city is truly gone."
"I'd even compare this to a nuclear weapon," Amahare remarked.
"The one who did this... What was her name again? Tatsumaki?" Zanbai asked.
Stroking his mustache, Spring Mustachio answered, "That's right, Lord Zanbai. She's number 2 in the Hero Association's S-Class."
"Hehe. At any rate, all this extra space will allow us to swing our blades as we please," Nichirin commented jovially as he and the others continued their march.
At the same time as Homeless Emperor had been bombarding Tornado and Garou, the other Heroes and Cadres were preoccupied with their own life-or-death battles.
While Atomic Samurai and Iaian worked tirelessly to avoid and deflect Evil Natural Water's jet streams with their blades, Gums had managed to get Tanktop Master between its jaws.
The tanktop Hero was using all his strength to keep from being crushed by the Cadre's teeth, but it was only a matter of time before the Dragon-Level monster would force the man into its gullet. Fortunately for the Tanktopper, Pig God came to his rescue, body slamming the monster and freeing his ally from between its teeth.
While Tanktop Master and Pig God rushed back to each other's sides, Gums' body began bulging with veins as it clenched its teeth and stomped its foot in frustration.
"Looks like pulling you out of its mouth really ticked this thing off," Pig God remarked.
Rubbing his cuts, Tanktop Master replied, "Yeah, looks that way... Do you have any ideas on how to fight this thing? It got me in its mouth the second I tried to get into melee with it."
After a split second of formulating an idea, Pig God replied, "That beast also overpowered me when I fought it underground, but I was at least able to match blows with it temporarily. The best I can think of is for me to fight it in melee while you give support from a distance with debris. If that's not enough, we at least gotta keep it busy until reinforcements arrive."
Crouching down to stick his fingers into the Earth, Tanktop Master replied, "Not the most complicated plan, but I suppose it's the best one we have."
Then, just as Tanktop Master finished speaking, Gums finished its tantrum and charged the two Heroes.
Meeting the Cadre's ferocity, Pig God rushed in to meet it head-on. But before the two gluttons could collide, Gums was stopped as an office-sized hunk of concrete was hurled at it.
Instantly, Gums was able to open its mouth wide enough to catch and swallow the whole projectile, but this gave Pig God the opening he needed to body slam the Dragon once again.
While Pig God continue his counterattack, Tanktop Master lifted another small building's worth of rubble and shouted, "My unstoppable tanktop still has more than enough power to give you the backup you need, Pig God! Just believe in the tanktop and everything will go our way!"
However, as the two S-Class battled Gums, neither of them noticed as the white face of a black-bodied humanoid appeared next to the unconscious bodies of the mercenaries, Okamaitachi, and Bushidrill.
And just as Tanktop Master chucked another huge piece of rubble that gave Pig God an opening to head-butt Gums, Black Sperm called out, "Are you idiots really trying to satisfy Gums with rocks? He needs real meat in his meals to be happy! Like one of these guys!"
Turning around, Pig God and Tanktop Master saw in horror as numerous Black Sperms had lifted the unconscious combatants over their heads.
Before they could react, the Black Sperms began tossing the bodies while exclaiming, "Here ya go, Gums! Eat up!"
Despite the monsters' small bodies, it was easily able to hurl the victims all the way toward Gums as the monster opened its jaws eagerly.
Moving on instinct, Tanktop Master went charging like a freight train at Gums while shouting, "Tanktop Tackle!"
Unfortunately, the second he got near Gums, the monster turned its attention to the larger slab of meat and closed its jaws on him again. This caused Tanktop Master's legs to struggle for freedom as Gums held his top half between its teeth.
Simultaneously, the bodies of the A-Class Heroes and mercenaries landed on and bounced off of Gums.
Suddenly, Gums' lips receded as its entire body flexed. All at once, the Cadre put all of its strength into trying to chew threw Tanktop Master's superhuman muscles.
"Master!" Pig God yelled as Gums' teeth began cutting and crushing their way through his fellow S-Class.
Before he could react, though, Pig God suddenly felt something strike his torso and knock him back.
Landing on his feet, Pig God looked at what hit him and saw another Black Sperm whose arms had increased tenfold in size and muscle mass.
"Can't let you get in the way of Gums' feeding time, fat ass!" The monster exclaimed sadistically.
Suddenly, though, Black Sperm felt a sudden but powerful jolt through the ground that caused it to bounce a half dozen feet off the Earth.
Allowing its eyes to wander, the large-armed Black Sperm asked, "Huh? Is someone else coming out of the ground? Who's left...? What the fu-?!"
This momentary loss of focus proved fatal for this piece of the Cadre. For the instant it looked away, Pig God launched himself at it, mouth ajar, and swallowed it whole.
"Hey! That me had over a hundred cells in it!" One of the other Black Sperms yelled in annoyance as they came charging at Pig God.
Ignoring the Black Sperms, however, Pig God used the bit of extra mass he just swallowed, and body slammed Gums harder than ever before. Once again, Tanktop Master was freed while the Cadre had the wind knocked out of it.
Despite his slightly cracked bones, Tanktop Master didn't wait a moment before he was running alongside Pig God toward the unconscious warriors.
Dropping down to slide along the ground, Pig God managed to scoop all of them into his mouth. Once Pig God had all the K.O.'d combatants, Tanktop Master lifted the massive man's multi-ton body over his head and aimed him.
Before throwing him, Tanktop Master made a request of Pig God, "If you see License-Less Rider, tell him this was a victory won by all the Heroes who gave up their beds!" Then, as if Pig God were a football, Tanktop Master hurled the would-be pigskin and those he was carrying out of sight.
"That's really brave of you, meat-head, but who said you're winning this?"
Turning his muscular frame back around, Tanktop Master's brow furrowed as he saw thousands of Black Sperms standing menacingly around a drooling Gums.
Crossing his arms, Tanktop Master assumed a running stance before charging headfirst into danger once again.
"Tanktop Tackle!" He exclaimed again as he managed to plow through several of the Black Sperms in his path, reducing them to paste.
Unfortunately, after that, hundreds of the Black Sperms piled together into a single form, creating a massive wall-like blob with the monster's face that stopped Tanktop Master in his tracks and knocked him back.
When Tanktop Master tried to get back to his feet, he was stopped by a gargantuan black fist that shattered his ribs. This attack was then followed by a flurry of dozens of similar blows, with each one breaking another bone.
Looking up as he coughed up blood, Tanktop Master saw a thirty-foot tall version of Black Sperm made from well-defined muscles and covered in faces.
"Hehehe! There's thousands of me piled into this form! I doubt even that fat ass buddy you hucked away has the stomach for this!" A chorus of Black Sperm voices exclaimed gleefully.
Despite his wounds, Tanktop Master tried to stand back up as he wheezed out, "The... Tanktop is... invincible!"
Frowning with disgust, Black Sperm remarked, "Tch," before smashing its foot down on the Tanktop Hero.
With his skeleton crushed so thoroughly that he could no longer move, Tanktop Master was powerless to do anything as the massive Black Sperm picked him up and carried him toward Gums.
While dangling the immobilized Hero over a chomping Gums, Black Sperm said, "Alright, Gums, I softened him up, so you shouldn't have any more troubles chewing this one. Now go ahead and eat up!"
Just then, the nanosecond Black Sperm released its grip above Gums' awaiting maw, the upper half of its fellow Cadres' body vanished. It looked as if the Cadre had been physically ripped in half by a seemingly invisible force.
It was only when Black Sperm saw in the distance, the elderly Silver Fang carrying Tanktop Master away on his back did the Dragon understand what had happened.
"Stupid sack of senile crap! You think you can get away just like tha-?!" Before the massive Black Sperm could finish speaking, a huge hole was smashed through its face. Less than a second afterward, the surrounding flesh of the hole blew apart in a spectacular explosion that took out all but the body's feet.
The few dozen Black Sperms that survived the blast grew out of the body's feet until there was nothing left of it. They then joined the other Black Sperms as they surrounded the figure responsible for getting in their way, Monster Mask.
Despite what his explosive attack would have implied, the only hint of Kie on Shunshi's body was the intense glow in his eyes. On top of this, his hair had become completely white, similar to how his tips would turn white during Spirit Rage. But unlike when in his Spirit Rage state, his locks weren't flying about and were in the same style as ever.
Looking at him with a tilt of its head, one Black Sperm asked, "Hey... Isn't that that nobody with the flashy fire and explosion powers?"
"Yeah... But he looks... Different, somehow. Can anyone put a finger on it?"
"Eh, I didn't pay enough attention to the guy to remember what he looked like. Let's just swarm him and take him out!"
At once, all the Black Sperms standing behind Monster Mask rushed him, while another one in front of him asked, "Wait. If he's here, doesn't that mean he killed Fuhrer Ugly?"
Before the Black Sperms knew what was happening, all the ones standing behind the now white-haired Monster Mask were enveloped in a huge explosion that erased half of them.
Glaring at the pieces of the Cadre in front of him as they returned stares of aggression and uncertainty, Monster Mask stated, not with hostility but almost pity, "You're Black Sperm, right? Sorry, but based on what my Senpai told me, this is a bad matchup for you."
As a few of itself started clumping together, one of the Black Sperms replied, "A bad matchup...? What the Hell's with that cocky attitude?! Who the fuck do you think you're talking to, ya nobody!?"
Keeping its many eyes trained on Shunshi, Black Sperm thought, Trying to rush him didn't work out well. It cost me about a million mes all at once... So if raw numbers won't work when separated...
Cracking his neck as the Black Sperms continued to congeal into one colossal body, Shunshi answered, "From what I can tell, I'm talking with a gutless monster. As for me... I'm the second strongest disciple of the Earth's strongest Hero, and I'm hoping to end this before my Master even has to get his hands dirty."
Meanwhile, in a small underground cavern, Saitama and the monster he was carrying before were working together to carefully move boulders so they could free Flashy Flash without hurting him, as all but his face was trapped under rubble.
Hello, everyone. Author Batty1377 here with a few notifications.
I thought it wouldn't hurt if I mentioned that I put a link on my author profile to where I post my own stories for anyone who might be interested in reading my original works. I also started posting some artwork to a DeviantArt profile that I also put a link to on my profile. There is a drawing on that page of Shunshi in his original suit, as well as one of Shunshi in the same suit without his helmet. Fair warning, though, my artistic skills are pretty bad.
Finally, I wanted to ask if any of you would be willing to contribute to a fundraising account if I were to open one. If not, do not be afraid to let me know.