Genos had begun gathering all the unconscious Heroes after being debriefed on the situation up until this point. Unleashing cables from his shoulders, Genos, with some help from Food Battler and Sekingar, were tying all the bodies to his back.
"Are you certain the rest of you will be able to ride on my back safely?" Genos asked.
"Of course. We'll be fine," Sekingar assured as he helped put Crescent Eyebroll into the ball of Heroes.
Resting his legs on the ground next to Shunshi and Lin Lin, Stinger added, "Yeah. Besides, it'll be more comfortable than getting tied up in that ball."
By now, Shunshi's pain had subsided enough that he would have been able to sit up on his own power. Despite this, Lin Lin had quietly told him to keep his head on her lap, with it being just as much of a comfort for her as it was for him.
Turning to look at Drive Knight, Genos asked him, "And you are certain you do not need to be carried like the others?"
"Yes. I am at least capable of returning on my own. In turn, I will leave transporting the other Heroes to you." A second after Drive Knight gave his answer, Nyan's body, which he was still holding in one hand, let out a bloody gasp.
Raising up one of his incinerators, Genos viciously exclaimed, "That monster is still breathing! Step aside and let me finish it off!"
Sitting up when he heard this, Shunshi yelled as best he could, "That bastard's... still alive?! Let me... Kill it!"
"Hold. Both of you. I have made taking care of this creature my responsibility," Drive Knight told them.
"That feline creature grievously wounded nearly every Hero present. You are not protecting it, are you?" The Demon Cyborg asked while charging his cannon further.
"No. I intend to dissect and study this beast. I plan to use its body as a reference for mechanical replicas of biological weapons. You understand, correct? I wish to get stronger, and studying unknown life forms is a necessary step in improving technology. Humanity has used the animal kingdom as a reference for creating new and wonderful technologies time and time again throughout history. This is simply another such instance. Even if we're using monsters, if it's to serve justice, then it is acceptable."
Furrowing his brow, Genos glared at Nyan as his hand began shaking in frustration. Simultaneously, Shunshi was squeezing and crushing a loose stone as he gritted his teeth.
Noticing how these two were looking at Nyan, Drive Knight told them, "If your main concern is to see punishment inflicted upon this monster, I assure you, it will suffer greatly from my experiments."
As Genos reluctantly lowered his hand, Nyan took in a breath before it despaired through broken teeth and bloody lungs, "No... This can't be happening... If I just knew before... I never would have joined this fight... Not only is there an insane human who can beat Cadres with a single punch... but now there's this freak who wants to dissect us and use us like props..."
One punch? Genos wondered.
"Oh... Sounds like Master is... wrecking shop down there," Shunshi remarked, his mood improving slightly.
"Saitama-Sensei has entered the battle?!" The young cyborg muttered as his face grew shocked.
"Hm... Interesting. Well, I'll be leaving then," Drive Knight told the group before turning and walking away.
As Drive Knight made his exit, Genos approached Shunshi and asked him, "Do you think he is being entirely truthful?"
Despite the pain that it caused him, Shunshi grunted and replied, "No... Drive Knight... acting weird... Senpai..."
Giving Shunshi a disapproving stare, Genos told him, "Considering the pain that your lungs are currently in, you do not need to put forth the effort of addressing me with a title until after you have recovered."
"Oh... Okay..."
Managing to get to her feet, Lin Lin addressed Genos as more Heroes were tied to his back, "So, you're the Genos I've heard so much about."
"That is correct. And you are?"
"I'm Lin Lin, martial arts pro, new Hero, and Shunshi's girlfriend," she answered, trying to act proud but friendly despite her wounds.
Thinking back for a moment, Genos remarked, "Ah, yes. I believe Shunshi has mentioned you to me before. In addition, I saw you in the lineup at Super Fight."
"You were there?" Lin Lin asked with a tilt of her head.
"Yes. I was there to watch Shunshi and... Um..."
Pouting, Lin Lin finished for him, "You were there to watch Shunshi and that Saitama guy who snuck in. Shunshi told everyone here that he's your guys' teacher... Not to mention showing us how tough that guy is."
A shocked expression returning to his face, Genos asked, "Is this true, Shunshi?!"
In response, Monster Mask nodded.
"That... I suppose others knowing of Master's abilities is a good thing, but I will have to ask Master himself if he was okay with this."
Joining in on the conversation, Stinger added, "Gonna be honest. I know you guys have been insisting about the Caped Baldy being super strong for a while now, but I didn't really believe it till I saw it."
Leaning toward Shunshi's ear, Lin Lin whispered aggressively, "I still expect an explanation about that later."
"Mm-hm," was all Shunshi could muster as an answer.
"Regardless. Such discussions can wait until after the current threat has been dealt with," Genos told Shunshi.
"Got it..." Shunshi wheezed out.
Shortly thereafter, Genos, Sekingar, and Food Battler had tied all the out cold combatants to his back. After that, Shunshi, Lin Lin, Stinger, Sekingar, and Food Battler climbed on top of the pile and rode along as Genos ran through the city with them, the added weight doing little to nothing to slow the S-Class down.
As they raced through the streets, Stinger almost regretted not being tied up in the ball after all. In their weakened states, he and Lin Lin were hardly able to hold on tightly enough to not be sent flying.
Eventually, they came across a steep incline that ended at a train track. Instinctively, Genos jumped over the tracks. However, this resulted in Sekingar, Food Battler, Lin Lin, and Stinger getting tossed into the air. Meanwhile, Shunshi had enough strength and quick reflexes to hold his grip.
Sekingar was the first to land back on the ball. Simultaneously, Shunshi dug his foot under one of the cables and reached up to grab Stinger and Lin Lin by their feet before pulling them back down. After that, just as Food Battler was about to collide with the overpass, Sekingar also pulled him down as well, causing the C-Class's chin to just clip the metal.
"That was too close! Is everyone okay?" Genos asked as he slowed down marginally.
"Don't worry about us! Full speed ahead!" Sekingar shouted back.
I wouldn't mind if he slowed down a bit, Stinger thought in annoyance.
"Look! There's the gate!" Just as Lin Lin had exclaimed, the perimeter fence that the Hero Association had set up was within sight.
Doing what Sekingar instructed, Genos rushed forward at full speed. Once he reached the gate, Genos kicked it open, slid across the street next to the guards, and released his cables, allowing all the injured to tumble out next to them.
Turning around to look at the pile of Heroes, Genos asked, "Is everyone alright?"
"We... We made it," Food Battler celebrated softly.
"Monster Mask?! What happened to you?! What happened to everyone?!" Waganma shouted while being held back by one of the guards.
Sitting back up, Shunshi smiled with his slashed-up face and answered, "Tough monster... Better that... you weren't there for it."
A few minutes later, all of the Heroes were receiving medical attention. That is, except for Shunshi, having insisted that he would be better off without it.
Instead, he was sitting on top of one of the armored convoys with Genos. Shunshi was up there meditating to speed up his healing, as Genos scanned for any potential incoming enemies.
After getting his stump bandaged up, Sekingar, while laying on a medical cot, injected himself with a syringe of high-powered pain killer. Tossing the empty syringe aside once his pain was gone, Sekingar grabbed a phone from one of the guards and contacted HQ.
"Hello, Sekingar here. Is this Sitch...? Alright. We've already rescued Waganma. Is the medical team on standby...? The Support Team was all but wiped out... No, only Uchiara was lost. We evacuated with the help of Demon Cyborg. I'll explain all the details later... Right."
Pulling the phone away from his ear, Sekingar shouted, "Demon Cyborg! Sitch wants a word with you!" He then tossed the phone in Genos' direction, with the cyborg extending his arm to grab it.
Putting the phone to his ear, Genos bluntly asked, "What is it?"
On the other end, Sitch's voice replied, "Regardless of our previous decisions, you have been a tremendous help. I have to give you my gratitude... Thank you. And I'm sorry for excluding you from the battle plans. I hope you will let us explain our reasons later."
"That is a waste of time. Monster Mask already informed me of your logic for excluding me moments earlier. Do you have any useful information?" Genos replied.
Harsh... But not wrong, Shunshi commented internally.
"Ah... About that. I hope you would still lend us your strength for the rest of this battle."
Genos paused for a moment to think about this until he remembered that Saitama was on the scene.
"I was going to return regardless of if you asked me to or not. Also, I think you misunderstood the situation. I was never planning on following orders. My decisions have nothing to do with you," Genos explained before hanging up and tossing the phone away.
"Don't you think that was rude?" Shunshi asked.
"Why should I listen to the fools who threatened to expel you from the Hero Association? Those who would treat my friends with such distrust are not deserving of my respect," Genos stated.
Shunshi's good eye widened at what Genos said. If it hadn't been for the emotional pain of losing the man he was supposed to look over, such a remark would have improved his state of mind much more significantly.
"I see... Well, I guess we should head back in there then," Shunshi replied.
Pausing to give Shunshi a worried stare, Genos asked him, "Are you... certain that you can still fight?"
Reaching up to his eyelid and pulling off the dried-out scab over it, Shunshi opened his eye, stood up, and answered, "I'm not at one hundred percent yet, but I will be by the time we get back to the scene of the fight, Senpai. My lungs are already back to normal even... Besides, I lost someone under my protection back there, and I didn't get the chance to finish off the one responsible. So, some more monster heads need to roll before I'm satisfied."
Somewhat surprised, Genos took a moment to contemplate before commenting, "I see... It appears that your healing factor has gotten even stronger. Very well, let us go."
"Wait! Hold on! You guys're leaving! No! I want Monster Mask and Demon Cyborg to come with me!" Waganma complained.
As the students of the Caped Baldy looked down at the whining kid, Monster Mask muttered, "Come on, Waganma. I thought we talked about this."
Adding to the topic, Sekingar postulated, "We would be able to rest easy with you two leading the retreat..."
However, stepping up and putting his hand on Waganma's shoulder, Food Battler stated, "Leave the kid to me. I swear I'll protect him with my life. You two need to return to the battle and help the S-Class. I'm the only uninjured member of the Support Team, so this is my duty."
"You say that, but you look rather emaciated. Are you sure you can protect the child?" Genos asked.
Pointing to some laid-out field rations, Food Battler answered, "Don't worry. I have a special body that can instantly turn ingested nutrients into fat. So long as I have the necessary fat in stock, I can keep fighting... Still, even with that ability, I was no help at all. I understand that this situation calls for pure strength to win the day! So please, leave the escort mission to me and let them head out!"
Grimacing for a moment, Sekingar eventually reached into his pocket and pulled out the data device Drive Knight had given him.
Throwing the device in Demon Cyborg's direction, Sekingar exclaimed, "This has valuable data from Drive Knight about the enemies! Take it!"
Once again, Genos extended his arm and caught what was thrown at him. Once he pulled it toward him, he examined the device for a moment before inserting it into a slot behind his ear.
"I will examine this on the way. Let us go, Shunshi."
"Got it," he replied.
However, just before they could jump away, Lin Lin yelled out, somewhat muffled, "Shunshi, wait!"
Turning around to look at her, Shunshi saw why her voice was stifled. Nearly her whole face had bandages over it. In addition, she was laying in a cot next to the one Stinger had been placed in, who had already fallen asleep.
"Hold on, Senpai. I need to see what she needs."
"Be quick about it, Shunshi," Genos ordered.
Giving Genos a nod, Shunshi leaped over to Lin Lin's side.
"Hey. What's up?" He asked his partner.
Gripping her shivering arms, Lin Lin asked, "Are... Are you really going back in there?"
Realizing how she was feeling, but knowing what his duty was, Shunshi remorsefully answered, "I'm a Hero. It's my job."
Lin Lin stayed silent for a moment in contemplation, before telling her boyfriend, "Fine, but you better come back. You still owe me a fancy date and some answers... Got it?!"
Smiling, Shunshi gave Lin Lin a peck on her cheek and told her, "If I've got you to come back to, then nothing in this world is gonna be able to stop me."
Blushing behind her bandages, Lin Lin replied, "That's what I want to hear. You'd better kick some serious ass for my sake."
"Well, of course!"
As the two lovers exchange a somewhat pained chuckle, Genos yelled to Shunshi, "We are moving, Shunshi! Let us go!"
"Got it!" After yelling back, Shunshi gave Lin Lin one last look and told her, "I love you, Lin. I'll be back once the Monster Association is reduced to ash."
With those words, Monster Mask jumped away alongside the Demon Cyborg.
Once Shunshi was gone, Lin Lin gripped the blanket over her and muttered, "I love you too... Please don't die."
As the students of the Caped Baldy ran through the streets of the City-Z Ghost Town, the top student was processing the data that Drive Knight had accrued.
"So, did you get any useful info on what we're going up against?" Shunshi asked while running alongside Genos.
Looking at Shunshi, Genos thought to himself in a split second, He is having even less trouble keeping pace with me than when we fought Elder Centipede...
Answering the question, Genos explained, "There are nine Cadres, as well as the Monster King and his second in command. Making eleven in total. However, three of them, Gouketsu, Elder Centipede, and Nyan have already been defeated. So, we are looking at eight Dragons that we will potentially have to fight. The strongest amongst these foes would require Master, Tornado, or King to defeat."
Grimacing, Shunshi asked another question, "Wow. Any specifics? Names and powers?"
"Yes. Black Sperm. This entity can self replicate and regenerate, with each individual body possessing combat strength at least on par with an A-Class Hero."
"Funny name, but sounds dangerous. Next one?"
"Homeless Emperor. Possesses the physical abilities of a normal Human, but can conjure mysterious spheres of exploding light."
"Heh, sounds like I got a Copycat. Maybe I'll be able to take him on. Who's next?"
"Gums. It has a limitless appetite and a large jaw that can easily crush all known materials and that could fit a rhino inside of."
"Gross. Maybe Pig God can handle that one? Whatever. Next?"
"Overgrown Rover. This massive beast has some of the best speed, agility, reflexes, and durability amongst the Cadres. In addition, it can fire bombs of heat from its mouth."
"Of course, it can. It's not a giant monster without laser breath... And the next one?"
"Evil Natural Water. It is a liquid lifeform that moves in reaction to sensing hostile emotions. It can also absorb water out of the air to increase its size."
"Huh... I feel like I've had experience taking out water before... Weird. Anyways, what about number six?"
"Fuher Ugly. Relies mainly on its physicality and relentless savagery, yet has a strange ability to see through people and know what sort of attacks would scare them most."
"Ugh. That one just sounds like it'd be a real pain in the ass to fight... There's just the king and second in charge now, right?"
"Indeed. Monster King Orochi and Gyoro Gyoro. The latter is a creature that possesses immense psychic powers. As for Orochi, it is powerful enough to keep all the others in line with sheer might alone. The only known certainties about this monstrosity are that it can use its numerous horns to attack freely and that the monster cells are made from its body."
"Hm. I think I could actually be a decent match for that Gyoro Gyoro one. As for the Monster King... If this were a safer situation, I'd want to try and fight that thing just to see how I'd do... But it's probably better to leave that monster to Saitama-Sensei."
Nodding, Genos remarked, "Correct. I would say that each of these monsters could be serious threats to the rest of us if Master has not already destroyed them all."
"Yeah. That's entirely possible. Sure would make this whole situation a lot easier. But like what Master told us, he usually shows up late," Shunshi commented with a melancholic smirk.
At first, Genos wanted to reprimand Shunshi for saying such slander. However, upon thinking about the topic for more than a second, he came to realize that his Junior was entirely right.
"Yes... I see your point. In all likelihood, we will have to give it our all if we want to survive long enough for Master to arrive. Fortunately, my new parts should allow for just that," Genos lamented.
Glancing at the Demon Cyborg's black, spikey, new appendages, Shunshi asked sarcastically, "So, speaking of your new look... Were you trying to copy my style ooorr...?"
Audibly turning his head to Shunshi, Genos snapped, "These parts were designed by the brilliant mind of Doctor Stench to maximize my combat abilities! He would not need to resort to copying someone else's design's for inspiration!"
Raising his hands in surrender, Shunshi pleaded playfully, "Okay, hold on. Just cool down, Senpai. I need to be in better condition when we get to the fight. Not worse, remember?"
Looking ahead again, Genos told Monster Mask, "Just because I have acknowledged us as friends does not mean that I suddenly find your antics less annoying."
"Geez, alright. Just trying to make a joke, Senpai..."
Meanwhile, in the lab of Doctor Stench, the good doctor was researching ways to improve Genos further.
Suddenly, he let out a sneeze and muttered to himself as he whipped his nose, "Hrm... I hope Shunshi picks up on the similarities between his armor and Genos' upgrades. It'll probably give the boys something fun to talk about."
At the same time as the Demon Cyborg and Monster Mask were making their way back to the battleground, the S-Class Heroes were tearing through the Monster Association base.
Puri-Puri Prisoner had just finished off another group of a dozen or so monsters. Notably, Prisoner was already naked, he had far more body hair than before, and a pair of scars on his chest that looked like scratch marks from a set of large claws.
After dealing with those monsters, Puri-Puri Prisoner used a shoulder-check to bust down the wall in front of him. Entering the room this opened up for him, the Prisoner found another prisoner.
In this small room, there was an unconscious man chained to the wall. At first, Puri-Puri was going to reflexively check to see if this person was okay. However, he stopped when he noticed the pair of gray feathered wings on his back.
"Another Angel like me...? Or, maybe not." Prisoner then noticed the horns coming from his forehead and remarked, "A demon, perhaps...? He looks mostly Human, but, is this guy actually a monster? But then why would the Monster Association chain up one of their own like this...? Maybe... Could it be...?! Could this young man have rediscovered his lost Humanity after becoming a monster, like my honeys were so close to doing?! Oh my! I should wake and question him. Perhaps he'd fall for me if I rescued him."
Putting his large hand on the sleeping man's shoulder, Prisoner lightly shook him and said, "Hey, handsome! It's time to wake up! Do you need a kiss to wake you up...? Hold on a second! Aren't you the Hero-?!"
Garou's blood-red eyes then shot open. In an instant, he shattered the chains binding him and struck the first living creature nearest to him in the gut, Puri-Puri Prisoner.
As he went flying through walls, blood spewing from his mouth, the Prisoner thought, Oh... I suppose Garou was just too dangerous for even the other monsters to be around.
After his body finished smashing through stone barriers, Puri-Puri Prisoner tried to stand back up but found that he couldn't.
"After just one blow to my torso, I already can't move?! And even after I got stronger... What cruel fate, but as expected for the weakest S-Class I suppose."
While the Prisoner lamented his weakness, he saw a dark-skinned and extraordinarily muscular leg step up beside him.
"What seems to be the problem here?"
His eyes going wide, Puri-Puri muttered, "That deep and powerful voice. Those legs overflowing with manly muscular energy! It's... Dark-Chan!"
Adjusting his head, the prisoner Hero saw Superalloy Dark Shine standing confidently above him.
Smirking, Dark Shine asked, "So, Puri-Puri Prisoner, what put you in such a sorry state...? Was it him?" Pointing at the hole that Prisoner had come through, Dark Shine saw as Garou stepped into the room.
Without even looking at where Dark Shine was pointing, Puri-Puri answered, "It was the Hero Hunter, yes. His strength is overwhelming... I know it doesn't mean much coming from the lowest-ranked S-Class, but I wasn't even able to put up a fight and was beaten in one blow. You must be careful, Dark-Chan."
His smile growing wider, Dark Shine remarked, "Is that so? Does that mean it's finally time for a battle where Superalloy Dark Shine can go all out?! My muscles are quivering with excitement! Don't worry, Puri-Puri Prisoner, I'll defeat him on your behalf. This I swear!"
With a loving look in his eyes, the Prisoner responded, "Oh, Dark-Chan..."
"Please don't look at me like that! My muscles are shriveling!"
Taking a few steps toward the Human Monster, Dark Shine remarked, "Well, looks like you've gone through some changes since you were last spotted, Hero Hunter. Will those wings of yours help you withstand my perfectly sculpted muscles?!"
However, just as the Human Monster was about to take a step forward, life that had been missing from Garou's eyes up until now suddenly returned.
Grabbing his head and taking a stumbling step back as his advanced healing woke him up, Garou asked himself, "What the Hell...?! Where am I?! Wasn't I just fighting that Monster King guy? Did I black out...? The kid. Did he manage to escape?"
"Speak up if you want to surrender, Hero Hunter," Dark Shine told him, unable to make out what Garou had just said.
Looking at who was in front of him, Garou exclaimed eagerly, "Superalloy Dark Shine?! Am I fighting you now...? Hehehe! Great! If I can beat you, then that'll prove my attacks can work on any Hero."
Putting his fists to his waist, Dark Shine remarked, "Not surrendering, huh? Guess that means it's time for me to bring your monster play to an end!"
Frowning, Garou replied, "Monster play, huh? I don't think so. I'm the one who's going to bring an end to your Hero play."
As Garou said this, he ignited his Kie, startling Dark Shine. Unbeknownst to the Hero Hunter himself, after activating his aura, a halo of gray flames appeared and started floating over his head.
What is...? Is this like what that A-Class was doing on the surface? Dark Shine questioned internally.
"Well? Ready whenever you are!" The Hero Hunter exclaimed as he struck up a defensive stance and bared his claws.
"Hmph! You won't be so cocky for long, Hero Hunter," Dark Shine shot back.
Rushing at Garou like a living locomotive, Superalloy Dark Shine threw a punch aimed for the villain's face. Garou could practically feel the raw strength coming from this blow before it even touched him. As such, as a reaction, Garou raised his hand and put up a Dark Barrier between himself and Dark Shine.
The sheer force behind the blow caused the ground beneath the combatants to shatter and knock up a cloud of dust. However, once the debris cleared from the air, Dark Shine and Garou were both stunned as they saw that the S-Class Hero's attack had no effect on Human Monster's Kie shield.
As Garou processed what he'd just accomplished, Dark Shine began sweating.
No...! No that can't happen! The physically strongest S-Class thought in a panic.
Frantically, Dark Shine pulled his fist back as his muscles flexed and doubled in size. After his muscles were ready, Darkshine readied both of his fists.
Throwing a double punch, Dark Shine shouted, "Superalloy Double Bazooka!"
This time, the shockwaves of Dark Shine's blow sent ripples that could be felt all the way to the surface. Puri-Puri Prisoner's limp body was even sent flying as the floors, walls, and ceilings of five stories of the Monster Association hideout were turned to dust.
With the floors gone from beneath them, Garou and Dark Shine fell all five stories.
Landing with surprising grace for a man of his gargantuan size, Dark Shine stood up, dusted himself off, and smiled proudly even as some of his nervous sweat remained. However, this pride vanished as soon as he saw the baleful gray light of Garou's Kie glowing through the smoke of the fallen debris.
As the dust cleared away, Dark Shine watched with an agape jaw as he saw Garou's shield still up, with only a few cracks in it.
I'm getting good at that, Garou congratulated himself.
Before Dark Shine could make another move, Garou condensed all the energy from his Dark Barrier into his palm, creating a Shadow Sphere. He then fired it directly at his S-Class opponent.
Fortunately for Dark Shine, he was able to react quickly enough to cross his arms in defense. This didn't, however, prevent the beefcake Hero from being blasted away as the muscles in his arms were dented by the ball of energy.
This can't be happening...! Are my muscles failing me?! Dark Shine panicked further.
Before the Hero could even land on the ground, the Hero Hunter had caught up to him. Dark Shine desperately tried to put up a defense, but once Garou unleashed his next flurry of strikes, the Hero's efforts simply weren't enough.
Not only were Garou's attacks too fast for Dark Shine to block, and not only were they too strong for his muscles to absorb the damage, but they also came in such quick succession that the Hero's body wasn't even able to reconnect with the floor. Dark Shine was suspended there in the air by an onslaught of precise and unstoppable blows.
After a solid minute of this, Garou grew bored with this type of attacking, and roundhouse kicked Darkshine into the floor, sending him down another nine levels.
As Dark Shine tried to climb to his feet, he could feel his muscles quake and quiver in pain, as a few parts of his body even began to bleed. Rapidly, Dark Shine could feel the strength leaving his body. However, this wasn't a result of the pain it was in, but something else entirely.
Throughout Superalloy Dark Shine's entire Hero career, he had always claimed to be looking for a battle worthy of his strength that could bring out his full power. This couldn't have been further from the truth, though. Such a fight would mean that there would be a chance he could lose, something he couldn't stand. In actuality, Dark Shine only wanted a fight that he could feel good about winning and, in a part of his mind that he kept tucked away from even himself, he dreaded the idea of fighting an equal, or, God forbid, a superior.
What's going on?! I'm Superalloy Dark Shine! Short of King and Blast, I'm the pinnacle of Human physicality. My way of building muscle is different than Puri-Puri Prisoner or Tanktop Master! In a clash of bodies, I can't be beaten!
As Dark Shine tried and failed to regain his footing and confidence, he saw as Garou came flying down through the holes with his wings. At that moment, Dark Shine managed to get back up, his survival instincts giving him the strength he needed to stand.
When Garou started getting closer, flying at Dark Shine like a demon straight out of the underworld, the S-Class Hero let out a panicked scream and threw out a hook punch. This attack wasn't even properly aimed at anything. It was only thrown out in desperation of repelling this monster. In Dark Shine's mind, Garou had become an unstoppable creature that he was now just trying to survive.
However, the Human Monster easily maneuvered around this blow, even as the wind force from it reduced to dust what remained of two of the floors above them.
Once he got close enough to Dark Shine, Garou dropped below his massive frame and threw a kick up into the Hero's jaw, knocking him airborne again. Following Dark Shine's trajectory, the Hero Hunter got ahead of him and fired another Shadow Sphere at him, this one twice the size of Dark Shine's body, bashing the S-Class through another two floors. Using his wings to launch himself forward, Garou landed another kick into Dark Shine's gut as soon as he hit the ground, breaking through more layers of the Monster Association base in the process.
As he and Dark Shine descended further, Garou wondered, Wow. How far down does this place go?
After Dark Shine smashed through another five floors, his momentum died enough that his body was planted into the ground instead of breaking it apart.
Atop the Hero's body stood Garou, who quickly crouched down and started to jab his fingers at Dark Shine's ears.
"Double Ear Strike!" He exclaimed.
In response, Dark Shine covered his face and shouted, "Eeek!"
At that moment, flashes of seeing Tareo getting picked on, as well as his own childhood traumas appeared in his mind. As a result, at the last second, Garou stopped himself short of actually hitting the massive S-Class.
Jumping off of Dark Shine to fly into the air above him, Garou looked down as the Hero shakily climbed to his feet. After getting up, Superalloy Dark Shine made a sad and whimpering face at the Hero Hunter.
What's with that look?! He's acting like I'm bullying him or something... No! My evil is far more than that! It's...! Um... Whatever! I beat him, and I've got more important shit to do! Gotta finish off that Monster King...! But I gotta find Tareo first... As Garou wrapped up his thoughts, he suddenly flew away without saying another word.
After Garou left, smashing his way through any floors in his way as he did, Dark Shine fell to his knees and muttered, "Eeek? Why did I say that...? I... I couldn't even keep the Hero Hunter busy for two full minutes... How pathetic am I?"
With all his willpower gone, Darkshine collapsed to the floor and assumed the fetal position.
Smashing through one barrier after another, Garou was effortlessly making his way through the Monster Association, even accidentally killing some of the monsters in his path.
Eventually, the Hero Hunter flew into a huge open gorge in the middle of the base. After ascending for a few minutes, he came across two bright lights, one green and one blue. As he got closer, he was able to make out two figures floating in the air.
One was the S-Class Hero, Tornado Of Terror, using her psychic powers against the other person. This other individual in question was a taller beauty of a woman. She had a curvy, voluptuous figure, clothed in a tight-fitting white cloth robe with a black corset. She wore earrings shaped like infinity signs and a pair of somewhat cracked glasses on her face. Finally, her back-length hair was a light greenish-blue in color.
At the moment, this other woman's upper and lower body was being twisted in two separate directions while her arms and legs were being kept bound by Tornado's power.
The woman was in the middle of answering a question for her torturer, telling Tornado, "The only other outsiders here are Narinki's mercenaries and the... Hero..." At that moment, the other woman noticed Garou, covered in gray flames, flying towards them. It was then that she smiled despite the pain she must have been in.
"Hero Hunter! Thank goodness you got my message! Quickly, get Tatsumaki before she has a chance to grab you with her telekinesis!"
Cocking an eyebrow, Garou wondered, Huh? Who the fuck is this? What makes her think I'd help her? I got my own shit to worry about! I'll kill Tornado on my own time, dammit!
Before Garou could reply, though, Tornado looked at him and asked, "The Hero Hunter, huh? Guess I'll take care of him too. Sheesh, can't the others do anything for themselves?"
Without hesitating, Tornado reached a hand at the Human Monster and wrapped him up in a telekinetic grasp. However, the instant Tatsumaki's psychic energy touched the Hero Hunter's Kie, she felt a painful feedback as her powers fizzled out, her left eye started bleeding, and she started falling.
Simultaneously, Garou's Kie was snuffed out as his muscles spasmed and he grunted in pain, "Shit...! Not this crap again!"
Garou's wings then seized up as he fell down the hole as well.
Tearing a few of his own muscles in order to force himself to move, Garou redirected his trajectory and landed on one of the openings that led into this crevice. After recomposing himself, Garou noticed just in time as Tatsumaki and the white-robed woman fell past him.
Taking a second to look down the hole they were falling into, Garou muttered, "Guh. Good riddance. It's gonna be a few minutes now before I can use Kie again... Hold on! Is that...?!"
Climbing up the pit was a huge mass of fleshly tentacles and monstrous faces.
"It doesn't really look anything like him, but... that menacing aura...! That's Orochi! No doubt about it!"
Even though his Kie had yet to return, Garou leaped down the hole and rocketed towards Tornado and the other woman.
Seeing him approach her, Tornado thought, Shit, he's coming right for me! I have to do something! Come on!
Gathering all of her willpower together, Tornado was able to draw a part of her powers back out, despite it costing her another bloody eye. Unfortunately, all she was able to do was accumulate enough power to stop herself from falling. Before she could put up a barrier or anything else, Garou had reached her.
At this moment, if it had been the Hero Hunter's goal to kill Tornado, he could have done so right then and there. Instead, he forced his wings into a cone shape and sped past her all the faster.
Plummeting toward the mass of monster flesh he assumed to be Orochi, Garou exclaimed, "Once I kill you, nothing here can get in my way! Die, Monster King!"
However, just as Garou started getting close, dozens of dragon heads suddenly popped up on the stones lining the walls. Each one then fired a beam of heat at Garou in an attempt to stop him in his tracks. In reality, these were all separate pieces of Orochi that had spread across the gorge and readied themselves ahead of time to protect the main body.
These heat beams did not have their intended effect, though. As soon as the blasts hit him and detonated, Garou torpedoed out of the explosion and moved even faster toward his target.
"I already told you that heat and explosions won't work on me anymore! I hope you'll be happy with this place as your grave!" The Human Monster proclaimed.
As Garou readied a combination of Bang's, Bomb's, and Shunshi's martial arts, he heard the other woman exclaim, "No! Stay away from my creation!"
In the second before he threw out his attack, Garou thought, Your creation...? Oh, I get it. That bitch is Gyoro Gyoro's real form somehow. Well, just watch and suffer as I ruin your life's work, you pompous prick!
At that moment, Garou unleashed his strongest strike since reawakening. The shockwaves of this attack actually slowed Gyoro Gyoro's, or rather, Psyko's descent considerably. Simultaneously, the mass of flesh was twisted, pummeled, and shredded into a whirlpool of bile from the Hero Hunter's combined martial arts technique.
Using her psychic powers to accelerate her fall, Psykos thought in a panic, No, no, no! In that state, who knows if Orochi still has the power to fight Garou! He's best used now as a battery merged with me to give me the power needed to beat Tornado Of Terror!
However, before Psykos could get very far, a psychic harness latched onto her and stopped her in the air.
"So is the Hero Hunter on your side here or not? I'm guessing no. Feh, I can't believe I let you trick me like that. I don't know what kind of trap you put inside of him, but it looks like he has other priorities right now," Tornado ranted as Garou shredded into Orochi's body.
Pulling Psykos back up to her, Tornado remarked, "Well, looks like it's back to the interrogation process."
This time, though Psykos noticed that Tornado's psychic grip was softer than it had been before. Gathering up all her power, the evil esper let out a telekinetic shockwave and freed herself from Tornado's harness.
Floating parallel to a startled Tatsumaki, Psykos exclaimed, "Looks like you're still recovering from the feedback from Garou's muscle aura. If I act fast, I just might have a shot at beating you on my own now!"
Frowning slightly, Tornado looked at her palm and commented, "Hm... I guess you're partially right. My powers are still not all back. That said... If you think that's enough to win, you're delusional!"
The diminutive esper then unleashed all she could of her slowly restoring powers, as Psykos did the same with her own fully functioning abilities.
As the two psychic vixens unleashed a light show of telekinetic prowess, Garou was struggling with the Orochi blob.
Tendrils of flesh, claws, and teeth came at the Hero Hunter from all sides, even underneath him. Without the use of Kie, it took all of Garou's martial prowess to outmaneuver and deflect them all.
My first move slowed this bastard down, but every time I redirect one of those tentacles, I can feel them trying to slither into my skin. If I don't figure something out, I could be in serious trouble. A few Dark Barriers would be really useful right about now, Garou thought while whirlwinding his way through Orochi's attacks.
While unleashing a Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist technique and shredding a tendril, Garou exclaimed, "You're slower and hitting softer than in our first match! What's wrong, Monster King? Did I hit you too hard!?"
However, when Garou asked this, mouths formed on a number of the tentacles, each one only adding one word to Orochi's response, "Your. Body. Is. Strong. If. I. Consume. Your. Blood. I. Will. Have. Enough. To. Reform. Then. I. Will. Destroy. That. Bald. Bastard!"
"A bald guy? What the Hell are you talking about...? Actually, that sounds familiar for some reason," Garou postulated while simultaneously avoiding more attacks.
As he continued to tear his way through more of Orochi's blob body, though, Garou failed to notice the mass of flesh gathering in the walls above him. Before he knew it, this flesh blanketed the sky above in a ceiling of goop. This Orochi Ceiling then began to drop onto Garou as the tendrils he'd been fighting failed to let up at all.
"Oh fuck!" Garou shouted as, before he could react, he was completely engulfed by this flesh.
Although he fought as hard as ever to rip and tear his way out of this tomb of ichor, Garou could feel as Orochi was digging its way into the Hero Hunter's body. Much to the Human Monster's horror, he could feel it as his blood and other fluids were beginning to be drained away.
Meanwhile, even farther down than Garou had taken Dark Shine, Saitama was running along a track system alongside the S-Class Hero, Flashy Flash. In addition, the Caped Baldy was also carrying some small monster above his head.
The creature had an oval-shaped pale-yellow body with one eye, proportionate limbs with three digits at each end, and a large black belt wrapped around its torso and covering where its mouth would have been.
The reason that Saitama and Flashy Flash were running was due to the fact that a number of Orochi's tendrils had spread down to this level and were giving chase.
Suddenly, some of the pseudopods shot forward and grabbed the small monster's head as it was pulled from Saitama's grasp and let out a frightened shriek. In response, Flashy Flash uses his sword and cut off the extensions of flesh, before taking the small monster under his free arm.
"It's also attacking monsters? So this lump of meat isn't an ally of the Monster Association?" Flashy Flash thought.
Suddenly, more tentacles exploded from the ceiling, grabbing onto Saitama's scalp. However, as Flashy Flash let out a concerned gasp, Orochi's feelers slid right off of Saitama's smooth skin.
Infuriated, Saitama threw a punch up at the feelers while shouting, "Don't touch my head!"
The resulting blow sent a rippling shockwave throughout the entire Monster Association fortress.
Just as Garou thought he might be sucked dry before he could escape, he suddenly felt a massive tremor, like an earthquake, shake the whole structure.
At that moment, Orochi let out a roar of pain as it loosened its grip on the Human Monster, allowing him to slice his way to freedom with both Bomb and Monster Mask's techniques.
After getting free, Garou took a moment to put some distance between himself and the shaken Monster King. However, after Garou ascended back up, he overheard a voice that sounded like it was coming through a radio.
"Eh... Hello? This is King. I've got the kid and he's under my protection. We're moving to the surface now."
Looking up, Garou saw as Tornado was grinning and had Psykos pinned to a pillar with her telekinesis. Suddenly, the tiny telekinetic's body started to glow with an even fiercer psychic aura.
"Heh. As expected of King. And this times perfectly with my powers restoring. Now I don't need to hold back!"
As Tornado threw Psykos aside, she lifted her hands into the air, causing the entire underground structure to begin shaking even more fiercely.
Did she say her powers are already back?! But... mine haven't even started coming back yet. The Hell is up with this brat?! Garou complained internally as debris started to rain around him.
Back on the surface, as Genos and Shunshi were getting close to one of the entrances to the Monster Association, they felt the ground beneath them shake violently. Suddenly, Shunshi had to leap to the side as the edge of a massive crevice formed beneath him.
"Whoa! That was close!" Shunshi exclaimed.
"Are you alright?" Genos asked as his Junior landed next to him.
Nodding, he answered, "Yeah, I'm good. What the heck do you think is going on, though?"
"Unknown. Perhaps Sensei has engaged the Monster King in battle," Genos speculated.
"Yeah. That'd probably do it... Except... I don't think that's Master's handiwork." As Shunshi pointed off to the distance, Genos easily saw what he was referring to.
The entire tower structure containing the interconnected catacombs of the Monster Association was being pulled from the Earth. Unbeknownst to Saitama's disciples, this had actually caused dozens of crevices to form throughout the whole of City-Z, as the ground was cracking apart.
Readying his jets, Genos exclaimed, "Come, Shunshi! We must investigate!"
Just as Genos rocketed away, Shunshi set off a blast at his feet and leaped after him, proclaiming, "Right behind ya!"
The two wound up reaching the base of where the building was being yanked from the ground in no time.
"So, what do you think's causing this, Senpai?" Shunshi asked while watching the colossal structure rise by the second.
However, before Genos could give an answer, something suddenly came crashing out of the side of the base. Tumbling out of the resulting dust cloud was King, who ended up laying at Genos and Shunshi's feet. In addition, wrapped safely in King's arms was Tareo.
At once, Shunshi with joy and Genos with confusion, the two exclaimed, "King?!"
"What are you doing?" Genos inquired.
Crouching down, Shunshi smiled and exclaimed, "You saved the other kid! Good work, King!"
Opening his eyes at the sound of all this yelling, King saw the Demon Cyborg and Monster Mask above him, prompting from him, "Genos-bro! Shunshi-bro!"
Getting up while setting Tareo down at his side, King went on, "Man, am I glad to see you guys."
"Where is Sensei? He should have joined the battle by now," Genos asked without any tact.
With his experience catching up to him mentally, King's voice started to shake as he explained, "S-sorry... I don't know where he is... Or if Fubuki or the others are safe..."
While those two talked, Shunshi had remained crouched, looking the frightened Tareo in his face as he tried to remember where he'd seen the boy before.
Eventually, Shunshi's memories fell into place as he chirped, "Hey! You're that kid who was in the shed with Garou! What are you doing here?"
"Garou?!" Genos and King exclaimed.
This time, Tareo was the one struggling to figure out who Shunshi was. Without his helmet, it was much harder to recognize him. However, after looking at the remains of Shunshi's armor, and remembering exactly what shed he was talking about, Tareo realized that this was Monster Mask.
"Hey, you're Monster Mask!"
Putting his hand on Tareo's shoulder, Shunshi replied, "Guilty as charged, man. But you need to answer my question, okay?"
Flinching, Tareo replied, "Oh...! Uh, right... This scary sludge monster kidnapped me to beat Uncle. After that, I got taken by a different monster from the Hero Association catalog called Royal Ripper. He said he wanted to... to... tor-torture me. But then Uncle came back and saved me. After that, Uncle had to fight off a bunch of different monsters so that I could run away. After I ran and hid for a long time, Mr. King found me and brought me here."
Noticing the cut on Tareo's face, Shunshi told him, "Oh, lord. I'm sorry to hear that all happened to you... Wait. By Uncle, you don't mean Garou, do you?"
"Yeah! That's him!" The boy exclaimed.
Doing his best not to look shocked, Shunshi thought, Garou has a nephew...?! Huh. Who would've guessed.
Clearing his throat, Shunshi asked, "So, you mean to say that Garou broke into the Monster Association hideout to rescue you?"
Looking desperate and pointing up at the structure, Tareo shouted, "Yes! I think he's still in there! Please, you're a friend of his or something, right? You have to go in there and save him too!"
As Shunshi tried to process what this kid had just asked of him, he was stumped. He was only able to come back to his senses when he heard a number of low-pitched and gurgling voices around him repeating something.
"Blood! Blood!" They chanted.
A puddle of flesh then rose up from the Earth around the four Humans.
"Aaa! We're being surrounded! What is this stuff?!" King exclaimed.
Forming out of the bile were a number of faces that began to lunge for the four. In response, Shunshi ignited his Kie and tried to get up so he could go on the offensive.
However, before Monster Mask could even stand up straight, Genos lifted his arm into the air as numerous ports for incineration cannons opened along his limb. Each one then fired a homing blast at the monster puddle, disintegrating it entirely.
"Well, that was... something. Good work, Senpai," Shunshi told Genos while turning his Kie back off.
Genos didn't acknowledge Shunshi's words of praise, however. Instead, he was solely focused on something at the top of the Monster Association base.
"I am sensing an enormous life form up there. What is that? And... Is that Tornado up there as well?! Is she the one doing this?!" Genos pondered internally as he looked into the sky.
Indeed, Tornado was floating in the sky above the City-Z Ghost Town. She had suddenly stopped yanking up the Monster Association base as if she had also sensed what Genos had and was preparing herself for it.
Suddenly, exploding out of the stone on top of the fortress, was Orochi's sludge body, with Psykos' face superimposed on the front of it.
Through gritted, needle-like teeth, this hybrid of the Monster Association's leaders exclaimed, "It's time to end this!"
In response, Tornado raised her hands and readied her psychic powers once again.
