Glaring at Bomb, Tornado, and Demon Cyrborg, Garou pointed three of his crimson wings at them like spears.

Lowering his own glare, Shunshi asked his opponent, "Garou, what do you think you're doing?"

Smirking, Garou flipped Shunshi off and replied, "What do you think, dumbass? If I get rid of these distractions, then you can give it your all to killing me."

Folding his arms as his Burn Whips focused on Garou, Shunshi remarked, "If I'd been trying to kill you, our fight would've felt much different up until now."

Raising an eyebrow as his wings unconsciously relaxed slightly, Garou asked, "The fuck are you on about? You expect me to believe you haven't been trying to end me? What kinda shit is that?"

Letting out a sigh through his nose, Shunshi answered, "What this shit is, is the truth. The only things Heroes kill are monsters, and you're not a monster, Garou. I'm just planning on taking you to jail."

Completely taking his focus off the injured Heroes, Garou exclaimed, "What?! The fuck kinda bullshit are you saying?! Of course, I'm a monster! I'm one step away from becoming the ultimate evil! Just look at me, you brain-dead dick head!"

"What are you saying, Shunshi?!" Genos voice called out in desperation.

Looking over at the pile of wounded, Garou and Shunshi saw Genos lift his head up as he exclaimed, "The Hero Hunter has become too serious a threat to be locked away! You must end his life now! Do it before it is too late!"

Frowning with sorrow, Shunshi replied, "Senpai... I'm sorry, but I'm not doing that."

"Why not?!" Garou and Genos yelled at once.

Staring Garou down, Shunshi told him, "If you've got Kie, then you can't be all that bad. Your nephew clearly cares about you a whole lot, so you must be doing something right with that kid. I mean, you cared enough about him to wait for him to get safety when we fought in the forest."

Gnashing his razor-sharp teeth, Garou exclaimed, "Huh?! Of course, I waited for that brat to get out of there! I'm not a... I, uh..."

"You're not what? A monster?" Shunshi asked with a pleased and cocky smirk.

Absolutely infuriated, Garou rushed Shunshi, punching him across his jaw as he yelled, "Shut!"

"Shunshi!" Genos screamed as his Junior was sent flying.

Catching up with Shunshi before he could touch the ground, Garou appeared above him, pulled back his wings, and shouted, "Your!" The Hero Hunter shot the tips of his crimson wings forward to strike at Shunshi like spears.

Shunshi was able to use his Burn Whips to counter five of the six wings, the sixth one stabbing through his armor and into his torso.

And as Shunshi was slammed into the ground with magnitudes of force, Garou readied a double spear strike with his hands, aimed for Shunshi's face, and exclaimed, "MOUUUTH!"

But just before Garou's attack could connect, he felt the muscles in Shunshi's torso tighten around the wing piercing it. Simultaneously, Shunshi formed a Light Ball on his forehead and headbutted it at Garou's face. And due to the short distance between them as well as Garou being in mid-attack, he couldn't react in time to dodge or raise a barrier.

The explosion was powerful enough to form a blast that lead into the horizon. Hit with such a devastating detonation, Garou's nose and most of the skin on his face were blown off. And before he could recompose himself, Shunshi had placed his feet against the Hero Hunter's torso and used his core's grip on Garou's wing to stand horizontal against the Hero Hunter.

Then, with a blast of Kie from his feet, Shunshi launched himself off of Garou while tightening his core muscles as much as possible. As such, the wing buried in Shunshi's guts was violently pulled from its socket and came with him.

Landing a few dozen feet from Garou, Shunshi pulled the severed limb from his guts and allowed himself and Garou a few seconds to heal.

During this time, Monster Mask addressed the damaged Hero Hunter, blood falling from his mouth as he spoke, "Dammit, Garou...! What the Hell is your deal?! Why are you so obsessed with being a monster and being evil?! You're not even good at being either of those things!"

With enough of his face growing back to talk, Garou snapped, "What the Hell are you saying?! I'm one step away from becoming the ultimate evil that will change this world!"

"No! You're just being an asshole! Even the weakest monsters are way worse than you!" Shunshi yelled back.

Briefly, Garou seemed genuinely stunned until he asked, "Can... Can anyone even tell me what's wrong with being a monster?! What's wrong with being evil?! What makes your precious justice so much better?!"

Now it was the Hero's turn to be stunned. Shunshi couldn't comprehend what he was being asked initially.

Being asked something that was as obvious to him as why fire is hot, Shunshi had to take a moment to wrack his brain. I... Did... Does he seriously not understand why evil is evil? Did nobody ever explain the concept to him...?

Taking a deep breath, Shunshi focus his glare on Garou's eyes and told him, "Garou... Evil is evil because it's the label applied to any acts that spread cruelty and misery with no justifiable cause. And when it comes to monsters, they don't even have a cause past enjoying the pain and death they spread! Is that seriously something you want to be?!"

For a nanosecond, Shunshi swore he saw the hostility on Garou's regrown face vanish and be replaced by agony. And a hint of that agony still remained when the anger came back. To Shunshi, it looked like Garou wanted to bite his face off and cry a river at the same time.

"Why...? Why don't you get it?! Why doesn't anyone get it?!" Garou yelled at Shunshi with pain and passion in his voice at once. "Why can't you see what I'm doing?! I'm going to become the ultimate evil! An unstoppable monster that will unify the world in terror! No more war, no more misery, and no more lonely and ugly kids getting bullied when no one's watching! Everyone will be too busy being scared of Garou The Monster to hate each other! And if I can finally beat the Hero of this story once and for all, I can truly become that force of absolute evil! Can't you see it?! I'm fighting for world peace!"

Hit with the revelation of the Hero Hunter's true motives, Shunshi was overcome with emotion.

Shocking the Hero Hunter to his core, Monster Mask dropped his guard and began to cry.

Wiping tears from his face with his arm, Shunshi whimpered out, "Garou, that... that will..."

All at once, Garou smiled earnestly and asked almost pleadingly, "You understand now, right?! The other Heroes, the monsters, they don't matter! All that matters is that we finish our final fight! Once it's over, we'll change the world forever!"

Pulling his arm away from his face, Shunshi spoke with agonized earnestness, "Garou... that will never work."

Almost immediately, the Hero Hunter seemed heartbroken as he asked, "Whu... What...?"

"Haven't you ever paid attention in a history class?" Shunshi asked, his pain only growing as he spoke. "Fear never works in the long run to control people! Even if it works at first, the terror you cause will eventually become the status quo, and then people will just go back to using and abusing each other whenever you're not around. And no matter how terrifying you are, no matter how many Heroes you take down, there'll never be an end to the people trying to kill you."

Processing Shunshi's reasoning, Garou was absolutely stunned.

I... History class...? Maybe... I shouldn't have dropped out of school when I started studying under Bang... Does- Does Monster Mask have a point? Am- Am I...? No! No!

Grabbing at his own head, Garou suddenly screamed at Shunshi, "NO! You're wrong! That can't be right! After everything I fought and how far I've come, you can't be right!"

The more Garou yelled, the more unhinged his movements became, until he was practically flailing in place. Watching this, Shunshi thought he was about to have to deal with a feral Garou. However, he was both surprised and relieved when Garou instead stared at the explosions being caused by Homeless Emperor in the distance and wordlessly recomposed himself.

Taking a deep breath, Garou pointed to the battlefield of the Heroes and Cadres, stating, "I'll prove you're wrong, Monster Mask, but I can't do that if you can't focus. Let's end the pointless battle over there so you'll pay attention to what's important."

The Hero Hunter then started marching in Monster Mask's direction.

And as Garou walked toward and past Shunshi, the Hero turned and asked, "Wait. Seriously?"

"Move your ass before I change my mind and kill you right now, Shit Mask!" Garou roared back at him.

An involuntary smirk crept onto Shunshi's face when Garou said this. Shunshi then used his Blast Stepping to catch up as Garou took off with his wings.


With their combined efforts, Garou and Shunshi splattered Evil Natural and sent Platinum Sperm flying in a few nanoseconds. And only a few moments later, the Heroes Flashy Flash and The Caped Baldy appeared from a wormhole, along with a small one-eyed monster.

Noticing Shunshi standing beside Garou, Saitama stood up and said, "Oh! Yo, Shunshi. Glad to see you're still in one piece... Hey, did you dye your hair? And what's with all the tentacle things coming off ya?"

Unable to contain his joy any longer, Shunshi exclaimed, "Master Saitama! You're finally here!"

And while Garou gave Monster Mask a puzzled glare, King yelled gleefully, "He- He's back! Saitama-Bro's back!"

Getting up alongside Saitama and Manako, Flashy Flash ignored the shouting, examined his surroundings, and asked, "What happened here?"

"Di- did we just warp?" Manako asked nervously.

Noticing the bodies of the beaten Heroes, Flashy Flash went on, "Was everyone defeated?" He then finally paid attention to the younger man yelling at him and Saitama, "Those armor scraps... Is that Monster Mask...? And is that a monster beside him?"

Glaring back at Flashy Flash and Caped Baldy, Garou remarked, "A couple more Heroes were hiding out...? So, you also studied under Flashy Flash, Shunshi? I didn't know his real name was Saitama."

Looking back at Garou, Shunshi cocked an eyebrow and was about to correct him when Saitama suddenly started running at them. This earned the Hero Hunter and Monster Mask's full attention for a moment until Saitama just went sprinting past them.

Watching Saitama race off, Garou asked, "Where is he going?"

"It looks like Master is off to check on Genos-Senpai," Shunshi explained with a heart-warmed smile.

"I... Wait! Master...?! Him?!" Garou exclaimed in disbelief.


While Garou and Shunshi conversed momentarily, Saitama rushed up and found a limbless and wrecked Genos laying beside the unconscious Tornado and Bomb.

With a hint of concern on his face, Saitama asked, "You got wrecked again, huh, Genos? Are you okay?"

Smiling up at him, Genos replied, "Master... I am fine."

Gesturing in the direction he came from, Saitama seemed just the slightest bit upset as he asked, "Is that Angel-looking guy the one who wrecked you?"

Glaring off where Saitama pointed, Genos replied, "That is... Yes, he did. But-."

Turning around with the slightest crease to his brow, Saitama stated, "Alright, I'll take care of 'em."

"Master, wait!" Genos exclaimed.

"Eh, what's wrong?" Saitama asked as he turned back.

"Sensei, that creature is the Hero Hunter. I thought it prudent to inform you, as you said, we should allow Shunshi to fight him by himself...," Genos explained.

Relaxing, Saitama said, "Ooooh, so that's the guy. Alright, well, I'm still gonna go watch. You want me to bring you along, or are you alright here?"

Focusing his glare, Genos stated, "Please do, Sensei."

Throwing Genos on his shoulder faster than the cyborg could see, Saitama told him, "Cool. Let's go."


With a sympathetic smile, Shunshi concluded, "And the last time I saw him before now was when he dove into the Monster Association hideout by himself."

Staring at Shunshi with a mix of bewilderment and slight concern, Garou thought, That guy?! That plain-looking dork?! He's supposed to be stronger than us both...? Wait, there is something about that unremarkable face that rings a bell... Have I-?

Before Garou could gather his memories properly, his combat reflexes kicked in as he ducked out of the way of a flying kick from Flashy Flash.

"Woah!" Garou exclaimed as he slid away. "Aren't you supposed to be the S-Class Hero Flashy Flash?! What's with the sucker kick?!"

Landing next to Monster Mask, Flashy Flash thought with shock, He dodged?!

In an attempt to calm things down, Shunshi approached Flashy Flash and told him, "Flashy Flash. Don't worry, I have this-."

Cutting his colleague off, Flashy Flash attempted a roundhouse kick to Monster Mask's face the second he was in range.

Blocking the attack by his ankle with a pair of Burn Whips, Shunshi glared at Flashy Flash and asked him, "The Hell are you doing?!"

Jumping back from Monster Mask, Flashy Flash stated, "Your conversation just now did two things for me. It opened up a perfect opportunity to strike and showed me that you've allied with the Monster King here. Child Emperor was right to be wary of you, it seems! Just look at you! You've even Monsterized!"

As absolute bewilderment spread across his face, Shunshi pointed at Garou and exclaimed, "Are you crazy? The Monster King got killed over an hour ago! That's Garou, and I was in the middle of fighting him! We were just taking a break for a second after we took out the other monsters!"

"You two... killed the other monsters?" Flashy Flash asked with confusion.

Staring at Flashy Flash as Monster Mask yelled at him, Garou thought with impatience, I'll worry about Monster Mask losing his mind later.

Taking a few steps toward the bickering Heroes, Garou stated, "You think I'm the Monster King, eh? Sorry, but that title's not enough to describe me!" Gesturing to himself while oozing confidence, Garou explained, "Remember this! I am Garou, The Hero Hunter! And I am the absolute evil that will rise to Threat Level God and straighten out this world!"

Staring rays of frustration at Garou as Flashy Flash's suspicions worsened, Shunshi grumbled at his rival, "You... You couldn't have just...? God, you really are a dick."

Somewhat surprised, Flashy Flash asked, "You really are the Hero Hunter?"

Cracking knuckles, Garou replied, "Yeah. By the way, Shit Mask was telling the truth. I'm not with the Monster Association. They can't fit me in their box, y'know?"

While Flashy Flash and Garou spoke momentarily, Shunshi's gaze wandered and fell back on Blizzard's battered body amongst them.

Remembering that Blizzard had been altered by Spirit Harmony as well, he wondered, What happened to her...? Did her Spirit Harmony end because she was knocked out, or did she run out of energy...? I'd have to guess it's the latter. Not good. How much time do I have left in this form? I can't beat Garou without it... I mean, I know Sensei can still handle it, but I really wanna beat him myself... Hmm... On the plus side, I don't feel an unnatural attraction to her anymore. It must have been some kind of emotional resonance between our powers... Or something like that.

Snapped out of thought, Shunshi heard a familiar but higher-pitched voice call out, "Just as I had thought."

Turning to where the less husky voice came from, Shunshi saw Platinum Sperm dashing at himself, Flashy Flash, and Garou.

Lashing his Burn Whips at the monster, Shunshi tangled Platinum's limbs in a net of light, stopping it mid-stride and mid-statement.

Smirking at the bewildered Platinum Sperm, Shunshi asked, "Wow. That you, Golden Sperm? You really slimmed down! You gotta tell me your diet."

Desperately pulling to free itself from the burning tangle, Platinum exclaimed, "What?! How did you-?!"

While Garou and Flashy Flash stared at the scene, Shunshi hypothesized, "Let me guess. You were gonna say, 'Let me pass through.' You already tried that on me once, freak."

Absolutely infuriated, Platinum Sperm's head tendril wriggled like a worm, before suddenly flying out in a ring pattern and lassoing Shunshi's Burn Whips together. Tugging on them with a pull of its neck, Platinum Sperm managed to loosen Shunshi's grip enough to pull itself free.

Stepping back slightly from Monster Mask, Platinum Sperm clenched its fists and gnashed its teeth as it exclaimed, "The coward who refuses to turn on Humanity despite Monsterizing, and the freak who pulled a mountain of power out of his ass! Both of you should have been killed from the start!"

Glaring at Platinum, Flash stated, "A final ant was hiding in the rubble. I suppose I'll have to take down all three of you at once."

Turning around to glare at Flashy Flash again, Shunshi stated, "I already told you I'm not a monster, you idiot!"

Suddenly, faster than Flash's eyes could follow, Platinum Sperm rushed back in to attack Monster Mask, but the younger Hero had managed to catch the monster's roundhouse kick.

Planting a clawed palm thrust into Sperm's torso, sending it flying back, Shunshi exclaimed, "If you really won't listen to reason, just fight Garou and get your ass kicked while I finish this asshole off! Maybe it'll knock a few screws into the right holes!" Shunshi then dashed off to catch up with his target.

Instinctively turning around when Shunshi told him to fight Garou, Flash was just in time to counter a punch from the Hero Hunter.

Blocking a follow-up knee strike next, Flashy Flash exclaimed, "So you two are in alliance!"

Taking the ninja Hero by surprise, Garou struck him twice across his face with the balled-up ends of two of his wings. He then folded in the other four and smashed Flashy Flash across his torso.

While bashing Flash out of his way, Garou roared, "Hero, villain, monster! I'll take down anyone who wants to fight! Absolute Evil is unbiased! Now move so I can finish off the main character and flip this script on its head!"

With Flashy Flash tossed aside and spitting out blood, the Hero Hunter flapped his wings and flew above where Shunshi and Sperm were battling.

Getting his second wind, however, Flash flipped back to his feet and dashed after the Human Monster with absolute rage and a hint of terrified disbelief.

A few miles away, Monster Mask and Platinum Sperm were exchanging blows as the A-Class Hero pushed the monster further and further back.

In return, Platinum Sperm was doing all it could to dodge and block Monster Mask's attacks. The Cadre was parrying punches and kicks with its own while trying to deflect the Hero's Burn Whips with its head tendril.

And as a Burn Whip grazed Platinum's face and nearly punctured its head, the monster panicked internally, This freaking bastard! I know he was getting stronger when I fought him last time, but he couldn't have already surpassed my perfected form! I-!

Just as suddenly as Monster Mask's Burn Whip shot past Sperm's head, the light tendril lashed sideways and smashed into the monster's skull.

Disoriented, Platinum Sperm couldn't think or react as Monster Mask flipped on his back with a pair of Burn Whips holding him up and planted a dropkick on the Cadre's chest. This move served to push both Monster Mask and Platinum Sperm out of the way, as Shunshi spotted a figure rocketing down at them.

With Shunshi and Platinum Sperm just managing to avoid him, Garou smashed into the Earth with the force of an atomic warhead. Albeit, Platinum's rescue was only an incidental result of Shunshi using the monster as a springboard.

Garou's collision sent thousands of pieces of large debris flying into the air, which took Shunshi, Platinum Sperm, and Flashy Flash, who had nearly caught up, into the sky with them.

Immediately, the quartet of combatants righted themselves and began dashing from one boulder to another as they clashed with one another. And as the warriors darted through the air with speed unimaginable to normal Humans, the trails of light left behind by them started to form a massive, crisscrossing structure in the air.


Atop the large piece of ruble King was on, Saitama had laid Genos upright and was watching the four-way fight unfold. However, Saitama's focus was broken as King grabbed him by his shoulders and started crying.

"I knew you'd do it for us, Saitama-Bro!" King wept in relief.

"Huh? Do what?" Saitama asked while trying to look around King.

Crying slightly, King exclaimed, "I believed in you...! I knew you'd show up...! I was so scared, but I did everything I could... as a stone..."

Seemingly just realizing that Saitama had brought Genos with him, King looked down at the observing cyborg. The greatest S-Class then flinched, wiped his eyes, and recomposed himself.

Taking his hands off Saitama and striking a composed stance, King stated, "I was afraid you wouldn't see the fruits of my labors, so I'm glad you made it in time, Saitama-Bro."

Tilting his head, Saitama asked, "What did you mean about being a stone?"

Clearing his throat, King explained, "Ugh... Y'know, my kidney stones... But enough about me. You should be proud of Genos-Bro. He risked his life to save Ms. Tatsumaki twice."

Smiling at Genos, Saitama remarked, "Oh, so that's why you were fighting the Hero Hunter. Good work, Genos. Nice work!"

Overwhelmed with aw, Genos averted his eyes from his Sensei and said, "Master... When the time came for me to self-destruct, I was no longer able to do it. Meanwhile, Shunshi is single-handedly fighting the foe who felled me, Tornado, and Bomb when we worked together. Can one truly say I've become strong?"

Completely lost, Saitama stared at Genos for a moment before stating, "I don't really get it. But you didn't blow up, right?" Crouching down and placing a gloved hand on Genos' exposed power core, Saitama told his student, "That means this part here got stronger too, doesn't it?"

And as the light from the four-way clash brightened up the sky, Genos' Sensei was silhouetted by this brilliant light as his words of encouragement left his mouth.

For one of the first times since becoming a cyborg for justice, Genos smiled so earnestly that he appeared ready to cry, stating, "I owe it to you and Dr. Stench!"

Smiling back at his good friend, Saitama held hints of genuine flattery as he told him, "Nah! I didn't do anything!"


That night, as the sky above Z-City was brightened by what reporters would misidentify as a geometric structure of light with explosive flames coming off random points, The Hero Hunter, Monster Mask, Platinum Sperm, and Flashy Flash were engaging in a battle with speed that left lightning in shame.

Having crossed Platinum Sperm's path, Flashy Flash engaged the monster in battle. But to the ninja Hero's horror, Platinum was matching and possibly even surpassing the speed of every one of his attacks.

Fighting with his all to get an edge on this metallic monster, Flash unleashed a flurry of palm strikes that came down like a rainstorm.

"Falling Leaves Barrage!" Flashy Flash called out as he pelted the Cadre with attacks. However, while a few landed and got winces from Platinum, the majority of these moves were blocked or redirected with relative ease by the platinum creature.

Enraged and terrified, Flashy Flash jumped away and started dashing from one boulder to another to gain momentum.

I just need to build up my speed to its max and finish this thing off in one blow with the Flashy Punch! After that-!

Stopping Flash mid-thought, Platinum Sperm caught up with the Hero and lassoed his neck with its head tendril.

"Where do you think you're going?! I need a punching bag to let out all this rage on!" Platinum Sperm called out as it strangled Flashy Flash.

Pulling on the tendril to get some air, Flash cartwheeled midair and called out, "Wind Blade Kick!"

Kicking and spinning himself free, Flash glared back at the grinning monster and thought, Dammit! That's four people that have surpassed my speed today! Impossible! I can't allow this!

As Flashy Flash and Platinum Sperm continued with their exchange, Shunshi and Garou crashed into each other.

Landing a Shadow Sphere-enhanced punch to Shunshi's gut, Garou yelled at him, "You were really gonna leave your fellow Hero to be killed by me?!"

Lashing two Burn Whips at Garou, which he deflected, Shunshi distracted Garou enough to land an explosive, slashing uppercut to his chest.

And while Garou recoiled from the cut and blast, Shunshi snapped back dismissively, "Don't give me that bullshit! You've never killed anyone but monsters, ya soft-hearted goody-good!"

Grimacing as he recomposed himself, Garou leaped from one boulder to another as he thought, Shut him out! It doesn't matter what he's saying now. Especially not now. I can feel it. My Fist is nearly complete. This isn't the Old Man's Fist... It's not Bomb's, it's not Monster Mask's, it's not any other master's! I've absorbed every other style I have ever fought! This is my own art...Named after the Disaster Level I am, God Fist Of Monstrous Destruction...! No wait...

Using his wings to change trajectory as Shunshi chased him down, the Hero Hunter gained just enough time to circle his arms as Darkness Barriers appeared over his fists, feet, elbows, and knees.

God Slayer Fist Of Monstrous Destruction! With this Fist, I'll reign as Absolute Evil and throw Humanity into the ultimate abyss of despair! I'll destroy even that crutch known as God!

Garou then unleashed a flurry of punches shielded from the explosions that Monster Mask's body produced with each strike. And the power of every attack tore flesh and armor from Monster Mask's body until the final blow of the combo sent Monster Mask ricocheting across several rocks.

Smiling wide with his razor-sharp teeth, Garou exclaimed to the discombobulated Shunshi, "Hahaha! I can tell you've started picking up on copying and adapting to other styles, but you're still nothing but a novice there! You'll never beat my God Slayer Fist Of Monstrous Destruction!"

After striking one last rock, Shunshi got embedded in stone, becoming a new piece of modern art in the process.

Coughing up blood while his body put itself back together as fast as it could, Shunshi stared up at glowing gray Garou and thought, What the Hell?! What happened?! I was staying a step ahead of him until now, but his abilities and techniques just skyrocketed! How am I supposed to deal with this...?

As Shunshi pondered what he could do, he heard a familiar voice remark, "Man. You really are in a tight spot, huh?"

Snapping his head to face the voice, Shunshi saw Saitama sitting beside him, looking up at Garou.

Scratching his bald head, Saitama remarked, "He even copied your Kie stuff."

He copied Kie... My Kie...? Shunshie thought as he stared more intently at the gray flames encasing Garou's body.

While Shunshi thought about his master's words, Saitama extended a hand to him and said, "But hey, listen, dude. You've almost got this one in the bag. You just need a last push. I've got a secret technique that, if you let me show you, you'll end this instantly. Come on."

Hearing Saitama's words, Shunshi processed them momentarily before glaring up and asking, "A shortcut...? Who the Hell do you think you are?! No one gets to impersonate my Master!"

As if a shadow melted away, the face of this thing calling itself Saitama revealed itself as nothing more than a clump of fleshy veins.

"Dammit," was all the fake Saitama said before suddenly vanishing into thin air.

Exploding free of the rock that'd been holding him, Shunshi started Blast Stepping toward Garou and thought, I don't know who you are, and I'll figure it out later, but fake or not, you gave me a great idea...! Now let's just hope it works.

"God Slayer, huh? A bit lofty for someone who's too kind to kill even one person!" Shunshi shouted as he wrapped his Burn Whips around his arms and legs. They then fused with the Kie already emanating from his limbs, causing the skin on his arms and legs to glow white.

Flying down to intercept Shunshi, Garou exclaimed, "Keep talking, Shit Mask! That's all you have left against me now!"

Throwing out a punch that he intended to follow with a barrage of kicks, Garou exclaimed, "Soon enough, I'll even master Kie to a greater level than you! The reign of ultimate evil is just one more beat down away!"

Focusing all his senses to their limit, Shunshi ignored Garou's words and focused on the Kie coming from him instead. He isolated Garou's Kie from the rest of the world, listening to the sound of the flames, the feeling of heat, the burning taste and scent of the air, and the way the gray light hit his eyes. Shunshi then compared it to his own white Kie and all the ways it felt to him.

Within Shunshi's mind, he broke down all the different aspects of his and Garou's Kie, coming to understand them both so well until there was no difference to him but the color.

Throwing out his own punch to counter Garou's, the two fighters' wrists slid past each other. Then, Shunshi's body let out another explosion at the point of contact.

Garou smirked at this clash, expecting his barriers to absorb the blow, but was caught off guard by Monster Mask yet again when his barrier fell apart when faced with the detonation. Or, rather, it was more accurate to say the barrier and all of Garou's Kie surrounding it were absorbed into the explosion. As if colored fuel were thrown on a fire, the blast doubled in size as it became a mixture of gray and white flames.

At the same time, Garou felt the flesh of his arm soften, the extra layer of defense his Kie had provided vanishing. In less than an instant, Garou's forearm was stripped down to almost nothing but bone.

Even with his body quickly regenerating, the Hero Hunter recoiled from the pain. This left him open as Shunshi landed a solid snap kick in his ribs. And with the Kie in Garou's torso being absorbed into Shunshi's attack, the resulting explosion blew a hole through the Human Monster's chest and sent him crashing through a dozen boulders before getting embedded in a final one.

Pulling himself free as his lungs reformed, Garou asked weakly, "H-How?!"

Floating in the air with his Blast Stepping, Shunshi answered confidently, "You might be the master of copying, but when it comes to Kie, the only master is me! It's mine to use!"

Letting his lungs finish healing, Garou internally lamented this situation. Dammit! Looks like this still isn't over! Even as Garou tried to force himself to be upset at these thoughts, he couldn't help it as a sense of relief and excitement flowed through him.

At the same time as Shunshi and Garou were tearing each other apart, Flashy Flash and Platinum Sperm were continuing their brawl.

"Platinum Spear!" Platinum Sperm exclaimed as it smashed Flashy Flash through several boulders with a flying kick to his face.

Rushing at Flash as the Hero tried to recover, Platinum exclaimed, "Ha! Just like Darkshine, the second you encounter someone who surpasses you at your specialty, all you care about is your pride! There's no such thing as a truly selfless Hero!"

Infuriated, Flash wiped the blood from his face, exploded with speed from the boulder he was on, and rushed to meet Platinum Sperm.

Spinning his body through the air fast enough to create a noise like that of a power drill, Flash pointed his foot at Sperm and exclaimed, "Flashy Drill!"

I normally use my legendary sword, Insta-Kill, for this technique, but I suppose I'll have to make do!

Smirking, Platinum Sperm spun its tendril as fast as it could, shouting, "Platinum Whirlpool!"

To the monster's surprise, when the two attacks collided, both it and the Hero knocked each other away.

Both fighters then recomposed themselves with backflips, and Platinum yelled, "Not bad! You actually matched me for a moment there! Just keep at that level for the rest of the fight and you might stand a-! Hm?"

Glancing upwards as all the massive explosions from Monster Mask caught its eye, Platinum Sperm noticed the Hero in question with his back turned to it. He had just knocked the Hero Hunter into a boulder and was lecturing him with some speech.

He's open! Time to finish him!

Looking to where Platinum was staring, Flashy Flash saw the Hero Hunter, heavily injured and pulling himself free of a boulder.

There! I can take out the Hero Hunter and then I'll be able to use Monster Mask as a distraction to finish off this metal creature!

Ignoring each other, Platinum Sperm and Flashy Flash dashed upward, with Flash gunning for Garou while Platinum sought after Shunshi.

However, once Garou pulled himself from the rocks and his body had regrown, he noticed Platinum Sperm coming after Shunshi from behind. Simultaneously, Shunshi saw Flashy Flash rushing in to sneak attack Garou.

At once, both martial artists grew annoyed looks on their faces and dashed forward. Most would onlookers would have assumed at first the two were going after the other. Instead, they slipped past each other at the last moment, as Platinum and Flash were about to close in on their target.

As Garou and Shunshi were practically back to back, Shunshi landed a devastating punch to Flash's face while Garou sent a kick straight through Platinum's torso.

Although Shunshi's blow held back any explosions, the Kie encasing his limbs still left a burn on Flash's face.

And as the unconscious Flashy Flash was sent flying away and the impaled Platinum Sperm gasped for air, Shunshi and Garou roared in unison, "Stay out of our way!"

Kicking Platinum Sperm off of his leg with his free foot, Garou sent the monster hurtling back. Giving chase to the monster that was falling apart like shattered metal, Garou pulled his hand back for a claw strike to its face.

Gritting its teeth as its mouth oozed black blood, Platinum Sperm cursed, "Damn you... Hero Hunter!"

With a final blow to Platinum Sperm's cranium, the monster's head was smashed to pieces and the remains of its body were sent hurtling down the gargantuan hole that used to house the Monster Association headquarters.


By now, King, with Saitama's help, had started gathering up all the injured for their own safety.

First, they found the unconscious Tatsumaki and Bomb and brought them over to the other nearby beaten Heroes. In an attempt to help the two, King laid his jacket on top of Tornado and his shirt atop Bomb, revealing his rather unimpressive physique.

And as King did what he could to tend to them, he stared into the sky and saw as the construct of light vanished. Coinciding with the light's disappearance, a rain of glimmering, metallic flakes slowly rained on everyone.

Simultaneously, what looked like a meteorite to King crashed in the distance from where King, Genos, and Saitama stood.

Tilting his head, Saitama remarked, "Huh. What did Forelocks dude do to piss Shunshi off that much?"

While King and Genos tried to figure out what Saitama meant by that, Tatsumaki was tickled awake by the flakes that landed on her face.

And as the esper's green eyes flickered open, Tornado heard a familiar voice tell her, "You almost did it, Tornado."

Fully opening her eyes, Tornado saw a large man with black spiked hair and dressed in a black, white, and red caped uniform with sizeable shoulder pads standing above her.

"B... Blast?" She asked weakly.

Smiling at the injured esper, Blast said, "With just a little more strength, you would have swept every enemy away."

Grimacing like a sick child confined to bed, Tornado replied, "Y-Yes. Of course."

Reaching a hand down to Tornado as the sparkling flakes illuminated him, Blast told her, "Tornado. My training has granted me the ability to give strength to others. Now... Accept my strength so we can defeat the enemy together."

Staring up and the man responsible for her being alive this day, a single phrase ran through Tatasumaki's mind. When the time comes, don't expect someone else to come along and save you.

Seeing through the blood in her eyes, Tornado asked, "Who are you?"

Pulling its hand back, the smile on Blasts' face vanished, alongside the entire face, being replaced by a mess of fleshy veins.

Letting out a dissatisfied grunt, Blast vanished into thin air without another word. Simultaneously, Tornado passed back out.

An instant later, the same type of black ball that Flash, Saitama, and Manako appeared beside Tatsumaki. Stepping out from the orb as it disappeared, the real Blast landed next to the esper witch.

Kneeling beside Tatsumaki, Blast exclaimed, "Tornado...! Did you drive it away?" Staring at the unconscious woman, Blast felt a sense of relief as he saw her smile at his voice. "You've grown."

By now, Saitama and King had grabbed Puri-Puri Prisoner and Child Emperor, with King carrying the boy and Saitama holding Prisoner by the arm over his shoulder.

Seeing Blast, King froze up and thought, Who the heck is that?!

Unphased, Saitama remarked, "Oh, Blast showed up again."

"B-Blast?!" King yelled.

Perking up and taking his attention away from the battle between Shunshi and Garou, Genos looked at Blast and thought, Blast? He is real?

Standing up while picking up Tornado, Blast said, "I stopped it at the last minute, but due to the effects of the Cube, I allowed it to make contact while I fell into a gap in time."

Looking over at King, Blast approached him and said, "You must be King."

Initially, King was floored by Blast's mere presence and couldn't get a proper word out. However, the World's Strongest Man was quick to recompose himself and answered, "Yes. I am."

Handing Tornado to King's free arm, Blast stated, "Take care of Tornado. I must return to give my support."

His legs shaking beneath him, King thought, Ah, crap! The weight of two kids is too much for me!

Hiding his struggle, King asked, "Support? What are you saying?"

Turning around, Blast opened another portal. Within it, the shadowy forms of dozens of alien-like humanoids stood waiting for him.

Stepping inside, Blast looked back and explained vaguely, "I do not fight alone."

Once the portal disappeared, King exclaimed, "He vanished!" And as King sweated with anxiety, even Saitama seemed mildly intrigued.

Almost immediately after Blast left, a youthful voice called out, "Hey! Who the heck was that?!"

Turning to face the voice, Saitama, Genos, and King saw Metal Bat, Tanktop Master, Amahare, and Spring Mustachio approaching. Along with these survivors, Tanktop Master held many other unconscious Heroes, excluding Sweet Mask, Pig God, and Zombieman. In addition, Spring Mustachio was carrying the remains of Nichirin while Metal Bat had an unconscious Psykos thrown over his shoulder.

Notably, Psykos also had a painfully large bump on her forehead.

Perking up at the reinforcements, King exclaimed, "Tanktop Master, you're on your feet again! And Metal Bat, you found your way back!"

"Yo, King! Good work on blasting the boss monsters away!" Metal Bat exclaimed cheerfully.

"Blizard's done a lot to enhance my tanktop today. I'm healing incredibly fast, thanks to her esper abilities... I am a bit hungry now, though," Tanktop Master admitted.

While King contemplated on whether Metal Bat's praises were warranted, Saitama pointed at Psykos and asked, "Who're these guys...? And who's the nude chick?"

Speaking up, Genos answered, "Sensei, those are the A and S-Class Heroes, Spring Mustachio, Metal Bat, and Tanktop Master. I do not know who the older man is, however. As for the woman, that is one of the Monster Association leaders. She is named Psykos."

A vein popping on his forehead, Saitama muttered, "So she's responsible for ruining my house?"

Tilting his head, Metal Bat remarked, "Is that Demon Cyborg's sidekick...? And is that blonde chunk of metal there, Demon Cyborg? Huh... Well, yeah." Metal Bat then poked Psykos' face with the tip of his bat and went on. "We saw this lady trying to make a run for it, so I gave her a little knock on the head and brought her here... So, what's going on up in the sky?"

When Metal Bat pointed up to where Garou and Shunshi were battling, Saitama answered, "Huh? Oh. A pal of mine is trying to take down the Hero Hunter. Figured I'd let him finish his go at things before I take care of it."

Ignoring most of what Saitama said, Metal Bat ungraciously dropped Psykos and narrowed his focus to the sky.

"That's Garou up there?" Metal Bat asked no one.

Before the teen Hero could act on this revelation, the remains of Z-City began violently shaking. This rumbling was almost immediately followed by a swirled pillar erupting from the chasm that Tornado tore the Monster Association headquarters from. This odd sight even managed to get Shunshi and Garou to stop and observe it just as they were about to resume their clash.


"What the heck?!" Shunshi asked as he hovered on explosions, lowered his fist, and watched this new bizarre sight.

"Oh, what now!?" Garou yelled as he gnashed his teeth.

The more intuitive observers picked up that this pillar was what little remained of the structure that got pinched off. However, the pillar had an oddity in that there were two massive bone-like arches sticking out from the bottom. The source of these arches became clear in the next moment, though.

Lifting the entire structure in its mandibles, a centipede of Godly proportions exploded from the hole and crushed the pillar as easily as a child with a piece of candy.

Leaving Genos and Shunshi jaw-dropped, they recognized this creature was a sized-up version of Elder Centipede. In fact, the size difference was enough to make Elder-Centipede seem like an infant in comparison. However, instead of the spear-like legs of Elder Centipede, this creature had colossal, buff arms ended with four-clawed hands.

As the new centipede began swirling in the air, huge pieces of rubble started raining down on everyone. Two pieces of the debris came at Shunshi and Garou, with Garou splitting his piece in half and Shunshi blowing his up. Meanwhile, Saitama dashed around and destroyed every piece of rubble that would have hit anyone else.

Throwing his pieces of rock aside, Garou remarked impatiently, "An even bigger centipede?"

"Oh, another one... Wonderful," Shunshi groaned as he tensed his fingers and readied an attack.

Looking down at Garou and Shunshi, the impossibly huge monster roared, "HEAR ME, INSOLENT LITTLE ONES! WE HAVE COME TO DESTROY YOUR HATEFUL FISTS THAT HAVE TURNED AGAINST GOD! I AM AN INCARNATION OF FATHER EARTH! SAGE CENTIPEDE!" (Threat-Level Unknown).

The instant Sage Centipede finished speaking, it turned its head to the coastline. Following the monster's gaze, Garou and Shunshi saw what appeared to be some kind of monster rising from the ocean.

However, just as Shunshi's thoughts about the Deep Sea King flashed in his mind, he realized that there wasn't actually anything coming out of the water. Instead, the entire coastline was congealing into a massive blob of water. Then, finally, two iceberg-sized eyeballs appeared from within the water and stared at the coast.

With another deafening roar, Sage Centipede exclaimed, "AND THIS IS AN INCARNATION OF MOTHER SEA! EVIL NATURAL OCEAN! NOW DIE BY DIVINE PUNISHMENT!"

Without hesitating, Garou flew at Sage Centipede and stated, "No, I refuse!"

Landing on one of Sage Centipede's mandibles, Garou started jumping between the mandibles and struck the Sage across its humanoid face repeatedly.

While Garou attacked Sage Centipede, Shunshi blasted himself at Evil Natural Ocean. As he continued piling explosions behind himself to pick up momentum, Monster Mask spun himself as he pointed his claws forward. Effectively, Monster Mask turned himself into a blazing spear being propelled by a hurricane of white flames. In response, Evil Natural Ocean launched a raging river's worth of water at Shunshi with enough force to level a mountain range.

As Monster Mask flames pushed against Evil Natural Ocean's stream, flooding water raining off of him to the ground below, he thought, Okay, first a fake Sensei, and now this?! What the Hell is happening?! I don't have time for these guys!

Laughing proudly as Shunshi struggled against his foe, Garou knocked Sage Centipede back and declared, "Hahaha! If even God fears my fist, a lackey like you stands no chance!"

While Sage Centipede recomposed itself, it felt hairline fractures on its carapace and thought, Erck! He's strong!

With the primordial monster recoiled, Garou was able to look into the distance and saw what was a blip at first. But as his vision magnified, Garou saw a helicopter. In the craft's windows, there were numerous injured Heroes, but also two young boys, one of whom, an especially ugly kid, the Hero Hunter recognized.

The brat! He escaped! Garou thought with shock and relief.

In that instant, Sage Centipede's armor shattered off and a new shell appeared as fast as the prior one broke apart.

Glaring at the monster, Garou thought, He already recovered?! I need to keep his attention on me and Monster Mask.

"What's wrong?! Aren't you gonna fight back, little bug!?"

As Garou taunted Sage Centipede, the monster's antennas twitched before asking, "YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT THAT FLY?"

"What fly?" Garou asked in a bored tone as Sage Centipede's Humanoid face grinned.

"IF YOU MOVE AN INCH, EVIL NATURAL OCEAN WILL SHOOT THE HELICOPTER DOWN! AND IF YOU THINK THE GLOWING ONE IS KEEPING HIM PREOCCUPIED, DON'T FORGET THAT HE HAS TWO EYES!" Sage Centipede stated as Garou noticed that only one of Evil Natural Ocean's eyes was focused on its clash with Monster Mask while the other gargantuan eyeball was floating toward the helicopter.

While the Hero Hunter flinched in shock, Sage Centipede shot itself at him and coiled around him. Continuing forward at speeds that should be impossible for a creature of its size, Sage Centipede unleashed a parade of mountain-sized fists one after another on Garou.

"CENTIPEDE GRAND MARCH!" Sage Centipede exclaimed.

However, Sage Centipede realized almost instantly that, no matter how much it pummeled Garou, the Hero Hunter was budging from his spot in the sky. Glancing back, the monster saw as the Hero Hunter was surrounded by a Darkness Barrier. And although the barrier was cracking, the Human Monster within it was unharmed.

Before the Sage could react to Garou's defense, the Hero Hunter yelled at the top of his lungs, "HEY, SHIT MASK! THAT WATER THING IS GONNA KILL SOME KIDS! IF YOU'RE REALLY THE FINAL HERO I NEED TO HUNT, THEN STOP IT ALREADY!"

Managing to hear Garou despite the explosions and roaring water surrounding him, Shunshi glanced to his side and saw the helicopter and the boys and Heroes within it. But not only them, Shunshi saw the bandaged Lin Lin laying down through one of the windows. After them, Shunshi noticed Evil Natural Ocean's other eye lazing over at the aircraft.

Horrified, Shunshi thought, Lin! My friends! The kids!

Righteous rage exploding in him, Shunshi's power began increasing rapidly and pushing through Evil Natural Ocean's attack. Knowing that this wouldn't be fast enough, Shunshi began racking his brain's mastery of Kie for an answer.

I'm releasing as much power as I can, but it's still... Releasing... That's it! Just like Fist Of The Exploding Fire Spirit and how I countered Garou's Kie, I need to control my Kie, not let it run wild!

Suddenly, the twister of exploding flames that had been pushing Shunshi forward stopped all at once. And just as Garou feared Monster Mask's power had run out, more pure white energy instead erupted from him. However, instead of the godly explosions Garou had grown used to, Shunshi's Kie came out in a semi-solid form and assumed a consistent shape.

Blowing clear through Evil Natural Ocean's stream of destruction, Shunshi sat inside the center of an Eastern-style dragon the size of the original Elder Centipede. And the face of this Kie beast was a perfect replica of the monstrous face on Shunshi's helmet. This creation of Shunshi's was able to move as it was being propelled forward by explosions, with the A-Class moving it the same way he would move himself through Blast Stepping.

"DRAGON SPEAR OF LIGHT!" Shunshi cried out as he stretched out his arm and opened his hand, causing his dragon's mouth to open.

Once he cleared through Evil Natural Ocean's attack, Shunshi's dragon swallowed the eye that had been focusing on the helicopter and bit down on it as he closed his hand. The whole dragon then detonated, blowing the eye into atoms and splattering a full quarter of the water monster's humongous body.

As Shunshi hovered above the damaged creature, gasping for air from exhaustion, he thought, Okay, that... took a lot... Focus! You need to do that at least three or four more times if you... Huh?!

Looking closer at Evil Natural Ocean, Shunshi was mortified to see a fully-staffed aircraft carrier being thrown around in the torrents of the base of the blob behemoth.

Are- Are you kidding me?! What am I supposed to do about-...? Oh, never mind.

Just as Shunshi was about to panic, he saw a huge dust cloud racing across the ruins of Z-City. Focusing slightly, he was able to make out Saitama dashing toward the water. Or more precisely, toward the aircraft carrier.

Blast Stepping away from Evil Natural Ocean, Shunshi thought, I suppose I should go focus on the centipede now.

While Shunshi's Dragon Spear Of Light had been tearing into Evil Natural Ocean, Garou had looked on in complete amazement. Unfortunately, this caused him to lose some of the focus he had on his Darkness Barrier, allowing Sage Centipede to smash through it and send him crashing to the ground.

Then, seeing Shunshi seemingly abandon his assault on the Evil Ocean, Sage taunted, "HA! YOUR WEAKLING ALLY HAS SPENT ALL OF HIS POWER ON THAT LAST ATTACK! ALL HE CAN DO IS RUN NOW AND-!"

Just then, Evil Natural Ocean exploded entirely as the ocean itself parted all the way to the horizon.

Utterly flabbergasted, Sage Centipede blurted out, "WHA-WHAT WAS THAT?! HE'S DEAD?! WHAT HAPPENED?! A TECTONIC SHIFT?!"

Grimacing, Sage Centipede focused back on the helicopter holding Tareo. And as Garou pulled himself out of the crater he'd been used to make, the centipede began charging for the escape vehicle.

Noticing where the monster was going, Garou and Shunshi took off after it, both of them calling out, "Get back here, vermin!"

Just then, Shunshi and Garou noticed a figure running across the remains of nearby rooftops toward Sage Centipede.

Puzzled, Shunshi glanced back to see if his Master had already arrived to help, but saw that he was still preoccupied surfing the aircraft carrier to shore.

So who is-? Before Shunshi could finish his thought, he and Garou saw Metal Bat leap from the roof with enough force to reach Sage Centipede's humanoid face.

As soon as he was up there, Metal Bat unleashed a flurry of strikes with his weapon and cried out, "Pumped Up Dragon Pummeling!"

Once his attack concluded, Metal Bat felt his hands shake in pain as he thought, Crap, he's even tougher than the last one!

Unharmed, Sage Centipede bashed Metal Bat aside. This sent the teenage Hero crashing toward Garou, who'd been gliding near the ground.

As he flew toward him, Garou recognized the Hero and blurted out, "Metal Bat?!"

Glancing down, Shunshi saw S-Class Rank 15 and thought, It really is Metal Bat! Can he help us?

Flipping to his feet, Metal Bat, recognizing Garou in turn, replied, "You're... The Hero Hunter! Are ya gonna get in my way again?!"

Metal Bat then took several swings at Garou, with each one being dodged as the Human Monster exclaimed, "I don't have time for this!"

Frowning as he watched this exchange, Shunshi thought, Oh... I guess Garou must've picked a fight with him too.

Pissed off even more as Garou flew away from him, Metal Bat gave chase with surprising speed and exclaimed, "Hey! Get back here! So you monsterized, huh!? So this is the real you! You won't get away this time!"

"Of all the people to run into...," Garou grumbled as he picked up altitude.

"Hey! Don't fly away from me!" Metal Bat called out as he struck a boulder and home-ran it at Garou.

And, although Garou easily smashed the boulder with his back wings, Shunshi grew irritated and yelled down to Metal Bat, "Hey! Read the room, Bad! Garou and I're trying to stop that monster!"

Hearing his real name called out, Metal Bat looked up and noticed the presence of a man with glowing white hair, eyes, and limbs, dressed in scraps of dark armor, who was running through the air on explosions.

Gnashing his teeth, Metal Bat roared, "Are you another monster buddy of the Hero Hunter!? And how do you know my real name!? Are you psychic!?"

Almost losing focus on his Blast Stepping, Shunshi cocked an eyebrow at Metal Bat and exclaimed, "Why does everyone think-?! No! I'm the A-Class Hero, Monster Mask! And I'm literally the opposite of a psychic! I've just read your profile on the Hero Association website!"

Before the argument could escalate further, the trio of young men saw a second helicopter that, instead of flying away, was getting closer to Elder Centipede. Seeing the markings on it, all three of them recognized that this was a news chopper.

Despite the vehicle not even being in its way, Sage Centipede growled, "PESKY FLY." It then took a swing at the copter with its antenna.

At once, Metal Bat and Monster Mask cried out, "Watch out!"

While Metal Bat began leaping up along Sage Centipede's back, Monster Mask raced over its head, and Garou flew straight past it. Then, as Metal Bat absorbed the hit for the copter with his namesake, Monster Mask unfurled the Burn Whips from his legs and launched himself downward to smash Sage Centipede in its cranium, Garou rushed at the helicopter and clung to its front window.

While the pilot panicked, Garou made as terrifying a face as he could, gnashing his teeth and unleashing gray flames from his eyes and mouth, and roared, "Get the Hell outta here!"

Garou then pushed the helicopter of terrified people away with his wings before flipping around. And while Metal Bat watched this with confusion, Garou made a cone around himself with his wings and started spinning like a drill.

Thinking Garou was coming for him, Metal Bat turned himself in the air and went to block the attack with his bat. However, Garou simply dashed past him and struck Sage Centipede alongside Monster Mask, the two martial artists forcing the beast to the ground as its shell shattered once more.

Once Sage Centipede hit the ground, the monster regrew its shell and lashed its antenna at Bang's pupils. The two managed two jump up and avoid these attacks. However, both flew right into the massive front hands at the front of Sage Centipede's body, the two getting slapped away as a result.

Fortunately, instead of cratering like before, both Garou and Shunshi managed to land on their feet as Metal Bat fell out of the sky and ended up between the two.

As Metal Bat readied his weapon, Shunshi unfurled the rest of his Burn Whips and prepared his claws, and Garou assumed the stance of his newly invented martial art.

"What's gotten into you?" Metal Bat asked Garou. "You're beating on monsters and helping people escape. You were worse as a Human."

"Shut up. It suits my purposes to make the world fear me. That's all," Garou replied as Sage Centipede slowly started getting up.

"And you... You said you're a Hero, right? Are you sure you're only A-Class?" Metal Bat asked, this time addressing Monster Mask.

Smirking at Metal Bat's more chilled-out attitude, Shunshi stated in a friendly tone, "You can call me Monster Mask! I'm A-Class, Rank 3! I'm supposed to get promoted to S-Class after this mission, actually! It's nice to finally meet you, Metal Bat!"

Growling, Garou stated, "Stop your ass-kissing, Monster Mask. You and I are way stronger than this guy. We gotta keep the centipede away from the helicopter with the kids in it. Metal Bat, why don't you act as a decoy or something?"

Without warning, Metal Bat suddenly kicked Garou in the side of his head.

"Don't give me orders!" Metal Bat yelled into Garou's face as he recomposed himself. "Maybe you've changed, but I ain't taking orders from a monster with a history of violence! And where do you get off calling me weak?! If you hadn't run away, I would've finished off you and the other centipede last time! If Monster Mask wants to help, that's fine! Otherwise, I'm doing this on my own!"

Standing up straight, Garou returned the favor, yelling in Bad's face, "Don't give me any lip! You just got lucky 'cuz that robot powered you up with a missile! You're acting like a punk when saving the brats takes priority! Aren't any of you real Heroes aside from Monster Mask!?"

Having fully recomposed itself, Shunshi watched as Sage Centipede started charging him, Bad, and Garou. He was about to point this out but couldn't get either to listen as they kept yelling at each other. Irritated, Shunshi gritted his teeth and gripped his Burn Whips tightly.

Suddenly, both Bad and Garou were struck in the back of their heads by two of Shunshi's Burn Whips as he snapped at them, "Where do you get off calling anyone brats when you're the ones acting like brats!? Would it kill you guys to focus!? Listen! The only way to beat this kind of monster is to destroy it all at once!"

Getting up after Monster Mask's reprimanding, Garou and Bad punched Shunshi in his face and yelled back, "Stay outta this!"

Just then, Sage Centipede came charging at the trio of squabbling pseudo-men, roaring, "WHAT ARE YOU MITES TALKING-?!"

All at once, Metal Bat took a swing, the Hero Hunter let out a kick, and a recomposed Monster Mask lashed with his Burn Whips as all of them yelled, "Shut up!"

With their combined might, the trio sent Elder Centipede flying back. And as the monster was smashed away, the Hero Hunter, Metal Bat, and Monster Mask pursued and caught up with it.

"Brutal Tornado!"

"Neo Lashing Inferno!"

"God Slayer Fist! Heaven Cracker!"

Garou attacked with a precise onslaught at the face, Shunshi moved as a burning blender ball of whips at the base of where the monster's body lurched up, and Metal Bat was unleashing a twister of bat strikes on the beast's body in between the two. While Shunshi and Garou's moves managed to rip apart more of Sage Centipede's carapace, Metal Bat's moves left nothing but smoke from the friction.

It didn't work!? Metal Bat thought as he looked at Sage Centipede's unscathed shell.

Tearing apart every piece of shell he touched, Garou thought, This big bastard won't stop. No matter how much I break him apart, he just keeps regenerating... What was Monster Mask saying about how to beat this thing?

Watching exoskeleton shatter and burn to ash before him, Shunshi thought, Dammit! This is getting us nowhere! I could try Dragon Spear Of Light again but that wasn't even enough to finish off the water monster! I need to get these guys to work with me... Yeah right. If I get lucky, I'll just have to try and take advantage of their rampaging.

While Sage Centipede regenerated from the damage as fast it was dealt, the monster thought, The glowing one and the half-monster are dangerous...! But the Human with the stick is harmless. Should I take him hostage?

Just as the centipede pondered its plan, Garou yelled at Bad, "You're not even cracking him! Hit him harder, meat heat!"

"Huh?! Want me to bust your head instead?!" Metal Bat yelled back.

Feeling like an older kid having to mediate kindergartners, Shunshi snapped at Bad and Garou, "Would you two stop screaming at each other and just hit this thing?!"

Nevermind. I doubt that'd work.

With their combined assault ending, Garou, Shunshi, and Metal Bat landed, and the Hero Hunter stated, "Guh! This isn't working. We need to crush this thing from head to tail all at once."

Gnashing his teeth, Shunshi snapped, "I already said that! Don't act like you're coming up with an original plan!"

"Just be glad I listened to you at all, Shit Mask! Besides, it's not like you actually know how to do that!" Garou snapped back.

"Yes, I d-!" Shunshi began.

Interrupting, Metal Bat said, "Are you guys crazy?! We'd need multiple Heroes stronger than S-Class to do that!"

While the three young men argued, Sage Centipede stampeded past them and began pursuing the helicopter with the kids and Heroes on it. The trio sprung back to action the second this happened, all of them giving chase and striking at Sage's legs to try and stop its march. Despite these efforts, though, Sage Centipede didn't stop and kept closing in on its prey.

"Dammit! It's catching up!" Metal Bat exclaimed.

"Tch! Why aren't they flying any higher?" Garou asked as he readied his wings.

"I don't know, but I have at least part of a plan!" Shunshi stated before suddenly setting off a massive explosion at his feet. "Garou! I might have to use the last of my power for this! So we only have one shot at it!"

With obvious horror on his face, Garou fumbled his initial takeoff as he muttered, "What?"

Halfway to Sage Centipede's face, Shunshi yelled back to his puzzled allies, "I'll get to this thing's butt! You guys crush it from the front with everything you have!"

"The butt? But he's-," Metal Bat started.

Glaring as he recomposed himself, Garou readied his wings and roared, "Are you fucking stupid and blind?! You're going the wrong way for your crazy plan, Shit Mask!"

"Just shut the Hell up and trust me if you wanna save your nephew, Garou!" Shunshi exclaimed as he launched himself past Sage Centipede's head.

Raising an eyebrow as he ran, Metal Bat muttered, "His nephew?"

Once Shunshi reached the front of Sage Centipede, he flinched momentarily as a bullet whizzed by his face. Following the bullet's trail, Shunshi glanced over and saw bullets flying from the back of the helicopter. And the source of the shots was One-Shotter's rifle, with the man himself firing them. However, the A-Class Hero's usual accuracy was lacking, assuming his target was Sage Centipede, with each bullet flying overhead.

The others are up already...? Let's hope they can help somehow. Now... Let's focus. Shunshi thought as he readied his next move.


With the back of the rescue helicopter open, One-Shotter, with his damaged eye bandaged, did his best to steady his aim as he cursed, "Dammit! I can't get my aim focused without my sniper's eye!"

Standing nearby the sniper Hero, Needle Star exclaimed, "You might hit the Heroes fighting it! Metal Bat and... Who are those other two?"

Looking down as well, Stinger added, "I don't know who the wing guy is, but I... I think the glowing guy with the tendrils is Monster Mask!"

Suddenly sitting up from her medical cot, Lin Lin stared out the back of the helicopter, and after just a moment, she exclaimed, "Yes! That's him! That's Shunshi! Fix your aim! He needs help!"

"Wha?! What do you think I'm-!?" One-Shotter started to snap back.


That instant, Sage Centipede's antennas reached forward to grab the helicopter, stopping any discussions of the now panicking passengers. But just as the feelers were about to wrap around the flying vehicle, Monster Mask set off a concentrated blast at his back as he wrapped all his Burn Whips around his legs.

Taking on the form of another light construct, Shunshi's lower torso was enveloped by a massive glowing drill. And as the drill revved up, it went crashing into the teeth of Sage Cetipede's insect mouth before breaking cleanly through and sending Shunshi hurtling down the abyss that was Sage Centipede's maw.

THAT FOOL! WHAT DOES HE THINK HE'S DOING?! MY STOMACH WILL MELT HIM IN SECONDS! Sage Centipede thought.

As an unintended side-effect of Monster Mask's attack, Sage Centipede recoiled and whipped up, smashing and breaking the helicopter's blades. And just as the helicopter was about to start going down, Sage Centipede managed to recompose itself enough to finish wrapping one of its antennae around the air vessel.

"Oh, crap!" Metal Bat exclaimed as he skidded to a halt.

Stopping mid-flight and allowing himself to fall to the ground when he saw this, Garou thought, He got the brat!

Once Sage Centipede got ahold of the helicopter, it grew its shattered teeth back, turned around, and exclaimed, "HAHA! WHAT'S WRONG, FLIES? YOU CAN'T BUZZ AROUND WITH YOUR LEADER IN MY STOMACH AND THE INNOCENT IN MY GRASP?!"

As Sage Centipede made its taunt, it tilted the helicopter backward without thinking, nearly throwing the occupants out of it. Fortunately for the children who would've been too weak to hold on, Tareo and Waganma were strapped to their seats.

But with the helicopter tilted over, Tareo was able to look out the open back and see Metal Bat and Garou and remark, "Is that... Uncle?"

Furrowing his brow, Garou replied, "Leader?! You think that self-righteous jackass is my leader?!"

Smiling ecstatically, Tareo exclaimed, "That's him!"

While Garou and Metal Bat were standing still, Sage Centipede lined up its fists on either side of its body, aimed them at the Hero and the Hunter, and declared, "CENTIPEDE GREAT MARCH!"

Racing its humongous body over Bad and Garou, the two were forced to suffer the full barrage of Sage Centipede's landscape-warping power. And this time, Garou didn't dare raise a Darkness Barrier, the fear of what Sage Centipede would do in retaliation now that it held Tareo overwhelming the Hero Hunter's own survival instincts.


As the insect monstrosity wailed on their saviors, the Heroes within the helicopter exclaimed, "Metal Bat is getting pummeled to dust!"

However, while the others were panicking, Gearsper managed to crawl along the floor to One-Shotter's side. And as he crawled, Gearsper's eyes went white and his head veins bulged with psychic energy.

Putting a hand on One-Shotter's shoulder, Gearsper told him, "Use me as your sniper's eye! Hurry!"

"Gearsper?! Wha-?!" One-Shotter began. However, when he could suddenly see through Gearsper's eyes with even greater clarity than his sniper patch, One Shotter exclaimed, "Wahaha! This is incredible! I could hit him from another mile or two away!"

"Concentrate!" Gearsper yelled as he gripped tighter on the sniper's shoulder and sweated profusely.

Taking aim, One-Shotter replied, "Right!" Before emptying out every shot he had.


As bullets traveled through the air, Sage Centipede grabbed hold of Garou, brought him up to its face, and swung its pincers down on him. However, just then, Sage Centipede felt a horrible, burning pain emanating from its rear end. Then, as a hail of bullets struck Sage Centipede's eyes and disoriented it, the explosive heat began traveling up its body.

All this discombobulation the monster was suffering was more than enough to allow Garou to free himself and halt Sage Centipede's Great March atop Metal Bat.

Prying open Sage Centipede's giant hands, Garou felt as if he could hear familiar-sounding explosions. Although these explosions were heavily muffled.

Growling, Garou jumped at the beast's face, unleashed a flurry a shell shattering blows, and exclaimed, "Hurry up and spit him out so I can get back to the important fight!"


While the Support Team Heroes watched Garou's assault in awe, Needle Star exclaimed, "That guy's way too strong! Who is that Hero?!"

Scratching his head, a blood-deprived Stinger muttered, "I feel like I've seen his hair somewhere before... Nah, I got nothing."

"Whoever he is, he has the right idea!" Lin Lin cheered. "Hurry up and get that bug to spit Shunshi out!"

Taking out a new clip, One-Shotter exclaimed, "He needs more covering fire!" However, when he tried to load the chamber, he was met with the terrible but familiar noise of his chamber jamming.

"Dammit! Uchiara was right!" One-Shotter cried. "This always happens! I need a new gun!"

Getting thrown off One-Shotter in his fervor, Gearsper got up and told him frantically, "Don't panic!"

And as Gearsper and One-Shotter tried fruitlessly to recompose themselves, Death Gattling suddenly ran to the edge of the chopper's back door, took out his bowie knife, and threw it as hard as he could.


While Garou started trying to break off Sage Centipede's antenna, the colossus was about to counterattack but stopped momentarily when felt something poke its eye and it heard a crazed voice call out, "Ha! I took your little brother's eye! I'll take yours too!"

Almost simultaneously, Metal Bat called out to Garou, "Move it!"

Glancing in the teen Hero's direction, Garou remembered the ending of his battle atop Elder Centipede's back and instinctively flew backward, lightly knocking into the bottom of the helicopter. Taking the Human Monster's place, a metal wheel came crashing through the air.

And as the wheel broke through Sage Centipede's antenna, freeing the helicopter, Metal Bat called out, "Overkill Spiral!"

Furious, Sage Centipede regrew its antenna and managed to call out, "HOW ARE YOU STRONGER AFTER I NEARLY KILLED YOU?!" This was despite the feeling of its insides being burnt and lacerated intensifying with each passing instant.

"Hell yeah! You gave me a good beating back there! Now I'm pumped up with Fighting Spirit!" Metal Bat exclaimed as he glided threw the air and left behind a trail of his own blood.

Smirking down from his grip on the helicopter, Garou remarked, "Heh. You never change!"

Pointing behind himself with his bat as he fell, Bad exclaimed, "Garou! There's a giant net five hundred meters ahead!"

Instantly picking up on what Metal Bat meant, Garou turned around and, with all his controlled strength, hucked the helicopter where Metal Bat pointed. And when it landed, the vehicle went through one side of a baseball stadium's net before being safely caught in the other.

Flipping around in the air, Garou let out a gout of Abandonment Steam before placing his hands beside each other. The Hero Hunter then formed a Shadow Sphere the size of a skyscraper and launched it at Sage Centipede's insect mouth.

Unable to react properly as it felt its interior being burnt apart, Sage Centipede could do nothing as Garou's huge Shadow Sphere broke through its teeth and went down its throat.

Letting out coughs that flattened the landscape with wind force, Sage Centipede called out, "ACK GUH CAOGH! WHY ARE YOU FLEES OBSESSED WITH CLOGGING MY AIRWAY?!"

Smirking, Garou replied confidently, "It's not meant for you, pest! It's a gift for someone who knows how to use it!"


While Sage Centipede tried to understand what Garou was saying, the source of its pain, Shunshi was crashing around the monster's innards by utilizing another Dragon Spear Of Light.

As Shunshi used his extended arm to direct his Kie Dragon through Sage Centipede's hindgut, he thought, If I had a few more minutes, I could do the damage I need to make this work! But guess what, Shunshi!? You don't have that kind of time! So either make this work, or you've failed... failed... Oh, that could work.

Admits his self-criticism, Shunshi was able to direct enough attention to see the miniature sun of gray Kie that was crashing through Sage Centipede's insides and right toward him.

Smirking giddily, Shunshi extended his free hand and absorbed Garou's Kie into his own the instant it got near him. With this new reservoir of extra energy, Shunshi was able to form a second construct of gray Kie out of his Dragon Spear's tail. This construct being a second Dragon Spear. However, instead of Shunshi's monstrous mask, this dragon had a normal Western dragon's face while also sprouting angelic wings and hair identical to Garou's.

Controlling this second Dragon Spear with his left arm and his Dragon Spear Of Light with his right, Shunshi had them bite onto the walls of Sage Centipede's insides while he exclaimed, "Yin Yang Dragon Spear!"

Shooting forward with a spinning Blast Step, Shunshi's Yin Yang Dragon Spear pulled on Sage Centipede from the inside, burning, blasting, and cutting into the centipede while compressing the monster's body.

For anyone watching from the outside, it would have looked as if Sage Centipede's body was flattening like an accordion, starting from its backside.


As Garou and Metal Bat stood beside each other and watched in confused surprise, Sage Centipede roared in pain from its body flattening from the backside. Unable to handle the agony, the massive monster rose its head upwards as if hoping it could find some escape in the sky.

Raising his bat, Bad stated, "Whatever the Hell that is, now's the perfect time for me to finish this thing off!"

Encasing his hands and feet in Darkness Barriers while spreading his wings out, Garou told the S-Class, "Whatever! Just stay the Hell out of my way while I deal the finishing blow!"

At once, Garou and Metal Bat charged in for their individual assaults.

Using the speed of his spinning to carry himself through the air, Metal Bat unleashed a whirling flurry of strikes all up and down Sage Centipede's body, causing the whole thing to reverberate as he went.

"Brutal Hurricane!"

Simultaneously, Garou dashed upwards to reach Sage Centipede's face, unleashing blows in a straight arch up along its body that seemed to resonate perfectly with Metal Bat's attacks.

THEIR MOVES COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER PERFECTLY! HOW IS A HERO WORKING SO WELL TOGETHER WITH A MONSTER?! Sage Centipede panicked internally.

In truth, Garou and Bad were making no attempt at working together. However, the nature of their attacks still happened to complement each other perfectly. Like a pair of tuning forks constantly increasing each other's intensity, Garou and Bat were magnifying the destructive strength of each other's blows. And although neither of these young men had any way of knowing this, the frequencies of their attacks also aligned with Shunshi's techniques, speeding up the rate of crushing the monster as he simultaneously improved their damage potency.

It was thanks to this unintended phenomenon that even Metal Bat's strikes were smashing apart Sage Centipede's exoskeleton.

"THAT WEAKLING IS HARMING MY SHELL?! HOW DARE YOU!" Sage Centipede roared.

Ignoring its pain for a moment, Sage Centipede threw out another full-strength punch right into Metal Bat, causing him to crater into the Earth with the force of a meteorite.

Unable to move, as unfathomable as it seemed, Metal Bat had reached the limits of his Fighting Spirit as he weakly called out, "You and... Monster Mask better... finish this freak off... I'll kick your ass... later, scumbag."

However, the moment Metal Bat was knocked away, Garou unleashed a final attack enhanced by Bad just below the monster's head. This monumental blow broke straight through the centipede's body, leaving a massive hole behind as Garou held a huge, heart-like organ in his right hand.

Glaring in horror at this hole as its backside was crushed closer to its front, Sage Centipede exclaimed, "I'M- I'M NOT HEALING?!"

Flying above Sage Centipede's face, nearly breaking through the atmosphere of the Earth to do so, Garou lifted the organ above his head, surrounded it in a Darkness Barrier, and stated, "I figured you must have some kind of healing organ. I saw the same sort of thing protruding from that Monster King guy's chest when I fought him."

"GI-GIVE IT BACK!" Sage Centipede exclaimed with desperation but also vivid rage.

Condensing the Darkness Barrier and crushing the organ, Garou flew down, swinging the Kie bubble and all his right wings at the monster as a chop while stating, "Here, take it! God Slayer Fist! Dragon Tower Splitting Strike!"

Remembering all of his tile-breaking lessons with Bang and the fact that he always failed to smash the last tile, Garou was determined to get it right this time and focused as much Kie into his hand as he could. With this blow, Garou unleashed a flash of gray Kie that blotted out the sun along his entire hemisphere for ten whole seconds.

I have a fist that even God fears! With that, I will unleash my full potential and reach the pinnacle of martial arts! Garou thought with unshakable resolve.

Subjected to the full force of Garou's technique, Sage Centipede's head was immediately crushed to a pulp. After that, Garou's Kie-covered hand traveled down Sage Centipede's, splitting the gargantuan monster clean down the middle.

Ultimately, this technique stopped halfway down Sage Centipede's body when it came in contact with Monster Mask's Yin Yang Dragon Spear.

Exploding from the guts of Sage Centipede's body, Shunshi noticed Garou colliding an attack against him, the force of their competing techniques sending the remains of Sage Centipede flying off the supercontinent that held all of Humanity's cities.

Although initially surprised, the young A-Class Hero couldn't help but smile and state, "Alright! Just in time! Talk about lucky! Are you ready to settle this, Hero Hunter!? Yin Yang Dragon Spear Flank!"

Surrounding Garou on either side, both Kie Dragons closed their maws on him, unleashing explosions as he exclaimed, "Yes, YES! This is perfect! God Slayer Fist! Swarm Of Endless Shadows!"

With what seemed like a blur of fists, kicks, wings, and gray Kie to even Shunshi, Garou unleashed countless attacks against Shunshi and his Dragons. And each one had power equivalent to what he had split Sage Centipede with.

The sheer strength behind Garou's moves almost immediately pushed Monster Mask back and smashed him to the ground with such force that it caused a continent-shaking earthquake and pushed back the tsunami that Saitama was surfing the aircraft carrier on. And not only did the colliding techniques repel the ocean, but its effects could also be felt all around the world.


Neer the edge of City-Z, a band of Humans had gone into an underground bunker when Tornado's battle with Psyrochie had begun. And while this decision had saved their lives at the time, they were unfortunately now trapped as their bunker's door was buried under the ruins of a collapsed building.

However, just as true despair and panic was about to set into the minds of the people trapped underground, they heard a noise of brief but intense rumbling coming from above ground.

Hopeful and curious, the people tried the door again and found it opening to natural skies.

Once everyone was cleared out, one person asked, "What happened? Who or what saved us?"

Pointing into the distance to the mass of gray and white light, another person said, "I'm guessing whoever or whatever that is over there."

"Okay, well, that's nice, but let's hurry and get out of here!"

However, as everyone ran, one person hesitated for just a moment, gave a bow of respect, and said, "Thank you... Whoever you are."


Elsewhere, by the edge of City-Y, Shunshi's hometown was facing the threat of an active volcano. As if the world thought that the battle against the Monster Association hadn't been enough.

Watching this horror from a relatively safe distance, Shunshi's parents had been driving to the grocery store when this unexpected disaster hit. Knowing that there was no way to get to safety in time through the rest of the panicked traffic, the couple stopped the car, got out, and were hugging each other.

Holding his wife tightly, Otkan told Hanja, "I'm so sorry, Dear! You were right! We should have supported Shunshi at Super Fight and talked with him there! Now we'll never get that chance and it's all my fault!"

Hugging her husband just as tightly as tears streamed down her face, Hanja exclaimed, "It's alright, Honey...! Sob! We'll see both our children again one day on the other side!"

However, just as the lava started to reach the forests surrounding the city, an unimaginable earthquake suddenly split the mountain like an egg. Following the earthquake immediately, a Godly torrent of wind swept across the land. And although the winds had the unfortunate effect of knocking over cars and sending people flying a dozen feet each, the air currents also knocked the lava upwards while simultaneously cooling the remains volcano.

This ended in the creation of the most bizarre but beautiful lava rock formation the people of the city, and possibly the whole world had ever seen.

Once the air blew by, Otkan and Hanja helped each other to their feet and stared at the diffused volcano.

Blinking in utter bewilderment and relief, all Hanja could do was smile awkwardly and ask, "Uh... Wha... What?"


Finally, as Garou landed stronger and stronger blows on Shunshi's Dragons, and by extension him, the tectonic plates beneath them were pushed out of place.

As such, on the other side of the planet, when a crashed plane began sinking into the ocean, the people aboard were saved at the last moment by a long-lost island being pushed out of the water.


And while the Hero Hunter laid into Monster Mask, powering through the explosions his body and the Dragons produced, he asked with manic glee, "Come on, Monster Mask! What happened to that Kie absorbing trick you pulled off before?!"

Suddenly smiling as Garou laid into him with Kie-infused strikes of his perfected martial art, Shunshi replied confidently, "Come on, Garou! Who said I haven't been doing just that?!"

Just as Garou started to raise an eyebrow, he felt it as all the Kie in his body left him at once.

In truth, Shunshi had taken this time to absorb power from Garou with each blow he landed. For if he had tried to take it all in one go like he was now, Garou would have pulled back using Kie right away and Shunshi wouldn't even have a quarter of the power he now held in himself.

In an instant, the Yin Yang Dragon Spears grew in size until they both matched Sage Centipede. And with their increased size and raw power, as the Hero Hunter's defenses dropped dramatically, the Dragon Spears pushed Garou back up into the atmosphere.

Getting cut into by their teeth and burnt up by their flames and explosions, Garou attempted to form a Darkness Barrier out of pure desperation. However, this only served to give further fuel to the Dragon Spears and magnified the damage they were unloading.

With Garou completely at his mercy now, Shunshi floated via Blast Stepping where his Dragons' tails connected and thought, Alright. I've got about one second left... Time to give this everything!

Closing his fists as tightly as he could, both of Shunshi's Dragon Spears bit down on Garou with their full might before erupting with biblical power.

That instant, as Shunshi felt Spirit Harmony wear off, and his body returned to normal, he fell from the sky in exhaustion. And while the A-Class Hero fell, he watched as the whole of Earth's atmosphere was filled with a swirling mass of white and gray flames exploding with before-unseen fury for the next few minutes.

Crashing into the ground as the white glow left his eyes and his hair turned back to black, Shunshi felt his spine break on impact.

Staring into the blazing sky as he realized he'd been paralyzed, Shunshi thought in complete exhaustion, Ah, shit...! I can't move my legs... And my Kie is gone... Well, I hope it comes back like before... And that it can heal a broken spine without Spirit Harmony... I don't know if walking is worth making out with Blizzard again.

Trying to see if he could spot Garou in the sky, Shunshi lamented to find his vision was no longer enhanced before he muttered, "Looks like it's jail time once the fireworks are over, Garou... Seriously... If this doesn't knock him out, I don't know what will."


As the sky was lit ablaze, a series of events took place all at once.

Firstly, two different figures had pulled themselves from the rubble of City-Z in two different locations.

The first of these people was the totally naked Zombie Man, who managed to dig out from underneath the boulder Psykos had put him under.

Rubbing dirt out of his eyes, the unkillable S-Class muttered, "Well... That was annoying. First, my interrogation subject turns to dust, then I'm gored and buried alive..." Once his eyes were clear, Zombieman took notice of the swirl of white and gray explosions lighting up the sky. "And now, the sky is on fire... Alright, I'll worry about that God stuff in a minute. For now, I'd better go find everyone else and coordinate with them."

As for the second individual on the opposite side of the battlefield, a blue-haired man with yellow eyes and pants that had been split down the middle punched his way to freedom.

Once Sweet Mask cleaned his eyes out, he stood up, held up the remains of his pants, and started walking around the battlefield in search of survivors to rescue and opponents to slaughter.

After a short time, Sweet Mask managed to find someone sitting on a small rock that overshadowed a pit.

"Hey, you! What are you doing here?!" Sweet Mask asked as he approached the man.

Getting a good look at the man, one could see he seemed sickly thin with long greasy hair and clothes so large they were drooping off him.

Standing up with a look of surprise, the thin man replied, "Sweet Mask? What are you doing here?"

Is this guy a reporter or something? Sweet Mask wondered.

Annoyed, Sweet Mask's face started bulging with veins. As such, he covered his face with his free hand and said, "A horrible monster tore apart my favorite skinny pants, and I need to find it."

Looking down, Sweet Mask noticed a giant black tarp, picked it up, which allowed his pants to fall, and asked, "Were you trying to set up a campsite out here...? We're in an emergency situation, so I'm requisitioning this tent."

Tilting his head, the thin man replied, perplexed, "Okay, sure."

But that's my jacket, actually. The thin man thought.

Wrapping the oversized jacket around his waist, Sweet Mask told the man, "Come with me. I'll take you to safety. But I have to hurry back to finish this fight... I must do to that monster what it did to my pants!"

Glancing down the pit he'd been sitting over, the thin man replied, "Um, okay, but... Is this the monster you're talking about? I hope you don't mind if I fill myself up on it before I go anywhere."

Examining the pit, Sweet Mask felt his stomach drop when he saw the remains of Fuhrer Ugly. Its face had been pummeled to a pulp and burnt to a crisp, while its whole body had been torn in half from head to groin.

What the Hell?! Someone already killed this thing the way I planned to?! Who-?!

Before Sweet Mask could finish his thought, he was absolutely stunned as the thin man unhinged and stretched his jaw as he took the remains of Fuhrer Ugly and started eating them as easily as a child with pudding.

Who is this guy?! He doesn't look like a monster... But that just makes him even creepier.

Swallowing an entire cow's worth of monster flesh, Pig God asked, "What's wrong? Is this the monster or not?"

"Uh, nothing... And, yes... that's the one..." Sweet Mask said before turning around. "Well, just be careful," the top A-Class Hero told Pig God while walking away.

"You too," Pig God replied casually while eating and staring at the brightened sky.

What's going on? I'm glad Blizzard helped speed up my healing, but it burned through all my fat reserves. Now I need to restock my fat if I want to help against whatever this is.

Shortly after Sweet Mask walked off from Pig God, he found a large crater in the ground. Examining it, the A-Class Hero was shocked to find Metal Bat in its center, beaten unconscious.

Without a second thought, the pop-star Hero took the punk Hero onto his back in hopes of finding others who could help give him medical attention.

Almost immediately, Sweet Mask saw two figures in the distance. One, a stout one-eyed monster, and the other, the S-Class Hero Flashy Flash.

At that moment, Flash was out cold with a swollen burn mark on his face as the small monster was slapping his head.

That monster is trying to kill Flashy Flash while he's unconscious! Sweet Mask concluded.

Simultaneously, Manako started shaking Flashy Flash while nearly crying, telling him, "C'mon! Wake up! We gotta get outta here!"

"Hey," Manako heard someone call out from behind.

Turning around, the small monster was terrified when she saw Sweet Mask throwing a punch at her while carrying Metal Bat on his back and exclaiming, "Death to all monsters."

However, just as the punch would have connected, a metal wall came crashing between them, absorbing the blow. Following right after, a foot of ocean water crashed into their legs.

In combination with the upended debris caused by the crashing aircraft carrier and water, Manako and Flashy Flash were knocked northward, while Sweet Mask and Metal Bat were thrown southward.

While riding the aircraft carrier, Saitama realized he was out of waves to surf and muttered, "I guess this spot'll have ta do."

Treating the massive ship like a surfboard, Saitama shifted his hips and turned the boat sideways. The Caped Baldy then slammed his weight down and embedded the ship into the Earth, nearly breaking the whole vessel in half but also ensuring it wouldn't tip over.

At the same time, as Sweet Mask flew back, he managed to recompose himself on a flying boulder. He then started jumping from one piece of debris to another until he was able to get over the boat and to the side Manako was at with Flashy Flash. All the while, Sweet Mask held onto Metal Bat by his arm.

I don't know where this boat came from, but I can't let that thing live and kill Flash! Sweet Mask told himself as he momentarily hovered over the battleground and scanned it for signs of his target.

In a second, Sweet Mask was able to spot Manako desperately holding Flash's head above the water.

Jumping off the last piece of debris, Sweet Mask torpedoed at Manako, ready to spear her body with his hand. However, just as he was about to strike the shrieking monster, Sweet Mask felt himself forced to a stop as something grabbed his wrist.

And while Saitama held onto Sweet Mask's wrist, he looked at Manako and said, "Hey, Manako. Glad to see you're still in one piece in all this... Wow. Shunshi sure hit Forelocks hard."

Glaring at Saitama, Sweet Mask tried to pull his hand free. However, his rage turned to panic once he realized this bald man's grip was too strong for him to free himself.

Deciding to use words over violence for the moment, Sweet Mask exclaimed, "Why are you defending that monster?! Release me, whoever you are!"

Twitching his brow at Sweet Mask, Saitama let go and said, "Huh? Me? Who are you-?" Just then, Saitama found himself having to catch Sweet Mask's other fist.

Tightening his grip, Saitama exclaimed, "What's with everyone taking cheap shots at me today?! You're one of the bad guys, aren't you!? Is that why you have the pompadour guy who was helping Shunshi?!"

"Sensei! That is the number 1 A-Class Hero, Sweet Mask! We have met him before!" Genos called out.

Looking eastward, Saitama saw a collection of most of the still conscious Heroes. At the front of the pack, Blizzard strutted confidently despite her wounds. Standing beside Blizzard, King was struggling to carry Child Emperor and Tornado. Behind them, Spring Mustachio and Amahare were carrying what remained of Nichirin and Genos. Finally, on shaky legs, Tanktop Master was carrying the rest of the unconscious.

"I bet you didn't expect the newly formed Blizzard Gang, Saitama!" Fubuki stated confidently.

Ignoring her, Saitama addressed Genos and said, "Oh... Right, I think that sounds a little familiar."

With a gentle toss, Saitama sent Sweet Mask flying back into the haul of the ship, causing him to lose his grip on Bad and knocking the air out of him.

This display of the bare minimum of Saitama's strength left those conscious and unfamiliar with him stunned.

Paying no mind to the shocked reaction of the swordsman carrying him, Genos said, "Master. While you were rescuing this ship, I saw Shunshi fall out of the air as his power readings dropped drastically. I believe he may be hurt."

"You think so...? Eh, I guess I can go check on him," Saitama replied.

Looking back at Manako, Saitama told her, "Keep on keeping that guy's head out of the water, Manako... Oh, and nobody attack Manako. She's a useful animal that helps light up dark caves."

Glancing fearfully at the Heroes staring at her and Saitama, Manako quickly did her best to act cute and state, "Yep! That's me! A useful animal!"

And as the Heroes stared at Manako holding up Flash's head with suspicion but no desire to cross Saitama's instructions, the Caped Baldy dashed off to see if his second disciple needed help.


While he ran, Saitama happened across the nude Zombie Man.

Stopping beside him with the intention of giving quick direction, Saitama asked the startled undead Hero, "Hey, are you one of the S-Class Heroes?"

Although shocked by the yellow-clad man seemingly appearing from thin air, Zombie Man was able to relax when he recognized him as one of the Demon Cyborg's sidekicks, responding, "I am. What are you doing at this battle site, Caped Baldy?"

"What?" Saitama asked with blatant annoyance at being addressed by his Hero name.

Raising his hands in a calming gesture, Zombie Man said, "Sorry. I appreciate you arriving to help, but this battle is too dangerous. You need to get somewhere safe."

Pointing off in the distance, Saitama replied nonchalantly, "Sure, maybe in a bit. But for now, I need to go check on Shunshi."

"Monster Mask is over there? Is he hurt?!" Zombie Man questioned while realizing the connection they must have by working for the same S-Class.

"Yeah... I think so," Saitama replied almost hesitantly.

Taking a deep breath, Zombie Man stated, "In that case, I'll come along to help make sure you both get out safely."

"Er... Alright, fine," Saitama answered, annoyed but lacking the emotional energy to argue.

Jeez. He's gonna slow me down. Saitama complained to himself.

"Okay. Let's move!" Zombie Man stated as he ran as fast as he could while Saitama effortlessly matched his pace.

At the same time as Saitama lightly jogged, and Zombie Man sprinted at full strength, the white and gray flames in the sky finally started to diminish.


Before the explosive atmosphere vanished, Garou was wrapped in the epicenter of the firestorm.

Encased in a prison that was endlessly blowing his body apart, the Hero Hunter could do nothing but let out a deafening cry of pain. Thrown about the blasts, unable to move under his own power, all Garou could really do was contemplate what would happen.

Can... Can I survive this? Monster Mask said he isn't trying to kill me, but this is insane. I can't see or hear anything. The air tastes like ash, and my nose has already been burnt off... Is this it? Is he really going to beat me?

As he wondered this, Garou thought about all his interactions with Monster Mask thus far. His determination to keep coming back no matter how badly Garou would beat him down. How he would continuously pull new powers and techniques out every time they fought. But, most of all, Garou couldn't stop thinking about how much Shunshi would insist on treating him with mercy after their first couple of rounds.

Especially now, even as the two gave this last battle everything they had to bring the other down, Garou never felt a sense of bloodlust from Shunshi. And despite his best efforts, Garou was unable to bring out any killing intent against him.

If anything, this last battle with Monster Mask made the Hero Hunter think back on his childhood traumas at the playground once again. However, instead of remembering the abuse he faced from his bullies, this time, the game of Heroes VS Monsters seemed fun to him as he imagined a supportive friend who made sure he had a good time too.

Despite himself, as Garou thought over this memory, which he wished was real, he told himself, He kept insisting on calling the brat my nephew... All I can see when I think about those two now is Monster Mask making sure he stays safe... Hehehe... I guess... If I live through this, I guess I can give Shunshi a chance to be the Hero the unpopular kids need... The Hero I needed... I'll just kick his ass later if I survive.

However, as Garou finished his thoughts and closed his eyes, ready to accept whatever judgment the Yin Yang Dragon Spears would pass on him, he instead heard a familiar voice call out to him despite the deafening explosions.

"Garou... A single Hero can make you abandon your resolve so easily?"

Huh? Who are you? Shut up! You wanna die?

"Are you truly ready to lose against a fist that fights for the justice that has caused so much suffering and strife? Are you so eager to let your ambitions end here?"

I... No, Monster Mask's not fighting for that kind of justice! He's... It's something different! You're just spitting bullshit!

"Hehe. Defiant as ever. Even as I'm trying to help you?"

Opening his eyes in annoyance, Garou hadn't actually expected to see anything other than the blinding blasts of Kie. However, he instead saw the familiar silhouette of Bang.

Old man...?

Taking a few steps across the air, Silver Fang approached Garou and told him, "No master would simply watch his greatest apprentice suffer an unearned defeat." Reaching his hand out, Bang told Garou, "Come. I'll help make sure your battle with Shunshi has its proper ending. And if he really is the Hero you think he is, then he'll be able to overcome this as well."

Seemingly awe-struck, Garou extended his hand toward Bang's. However, at the last moment, instead of taking the offer, he smacked it away.

"The old man would never say something so understanding to me! Shunshi's his precious pupil too!" Garou exclaimed with a grin.

To Garou's confusion, though, in the next second, he felt a horrible new pain shoot through his body that eclipsed even what the Yin Yang Dragons were inflicting.

Standing stoic as Garou flailed in agony, Bang stated, "Even if you didn't grip my hand..." His face was then shined out of darkness, revealing a mess of fleshy veins. "It was enough that you touched it."

Pulling himself out of pain, Garou snarled, "I knew it! You're a monster that disguised itself as the old man to control me! What did you do to me?!"

With his body melting into a mess of these fleshy veins, Bang replied, "You shall be my representative. And you know what you should do with that power." This creature then vanished into thin air as Garou felt his body begin to take on a whole new mutation as his wings started to melt off.


Staring into the only part of the sky that was still being lit up by a ball of his and Garou's Kie, as some blood pooled beneath him, Shunshi heard the sound of footsteps approaching him.

Turning his head to get a look at the source, Shunshi's blue eyes lit up as he saw Saitama and, to a lesser extent, Zombie Man dashing toward him.

"Saitama-Sensei!" Shunshi couldn't help but call out.

Picking up his pace and leaving Zombie Man in the dust, Saitama rushed to Shunshi's side once he recognized him.

Looking down at Shunshi with a hint of concern, the Caped Baldy told him, "Sheesh, man, you look terrible. Why are you just lying in all that blood?"

Chuckling at his Master's attitude, despite his pain, Shunshi explained, "I fell out of space, broke my spine, and my Kie isn't working, so I'm not healing right now."

With a twinge of guilt, Saitama replied, "Oh, ouch... So, where's the Hero Hunter? Did he beat you?"

Pointing at the ball of white and gray Kie that still remained, Shunshi answered, "I think he's still in there. Once it burns out, we'll see how I did."

"Oh, okay, fair enough..." Saitama said while watching the ball impatiently.

Catching up now, Zombie Man said, "Whoa. You're actually pretty quick, Caped Baldy. It's no wonder an S-Class recruited you as a sidekick."

Walking around the annoyed Saitama to quickly throw the crippled Shunshi over his shoulder, Zombie Man stated, "Now, come on, let's get your friend out of here."

Slapping Zombie Man's back, Shunshi yelled at him, "Hey! Zombie Man, wait a second! I need to wait here to see what happens to Garou!"

Flinching from Monster Mask's strikes, Zombie Man replied, "What?! If the Hero Hunter is still here, then we especially need to run!"

To S-Class' horror and Shunshi's relief, though, just as Zombie Man finished talking, the last of the Kie in the sky dissipated. And crashing down from the dissolved Kie, Garou's body clumsily collided with the Earth.

Picking himself up to look over Zombie Man's shoulder, Shunshi felt the briefest sense of pride when he saw that Garou wasn't moving. His body appeared scorched black, and his wings had turned to bones with only the thinnest pieces of flesh holding them together.

However, this sense of accomplishment vanished at once and was replaced with melancholic acceptance when he saw Garou slowly stand back up. Then, when he realized the true horror of what he was seeing, Shunshi's emotions turned to concern seasoned with hints of fear.

What Monster Mask, Caped Baldy, and Zombie Man had at first assumed was burned flesh was far too inky-black to be explained by scorching. Instead, this was the darkness of space itself, with Garou's entire body having seemingly transformed into a window to view the cosmos.

Pointing at Shunshi as he stumbled to his feet, Garou addressed him in a voice colder than any the Heroes had ever heard before, "Get up, Monster Mask. Our fight's not done yet."