My great thanks to HighFlyingWings, who kindly chose to use some of his free time to be my beta reader!
The Hunter's Dream.
"Well, this has been some time since we had to do this again." said Oedon, smiling slightly as we all sat around a table in the gardens, looking over the next jumpdoc.
"Agreed. But there's so much more to reality than just this realm, and it's about time we keep on moving." I pointed out.
"And it's certainly a different world that we are heading in. Heroes, monsters, and at least one evil god to worry about." mused Lucy.
"Yup. I'll enjoy it, I think." I said with a smile.
Oedon gave me a knowing look. "Eager to meet true heroes, aren't you, Good Hunter?"
My smile fell slightly, before I perked up. "Well, many of the people calling themselves heroes over there are not worthy of the name… But yes, I will enjoy meeting those who are actually worthy of it."
Oedon chuckled gently, before she smiled. "Then I can only hope that your expectations about meeting such individuals will be met, or even surpassed, dear Aeon."
I met her gaze. After all, she knew I was specifically interested in one man in particular.
Saitama himself, and whether or not he will measure up to what I hope him to be.
Still, only time will tell.
But for once… I found myself genuinely uncertain about something.
It had been some time since I felt like this… The only other thing I was not sure of was everything involving the Lovecraftian Mythos, after all.
Still, I had… Hope.
Or was it faith, in… What, Humanity? Other people?
The concept of heroism itself?
All of the above?
"You're thoughtful."
I raised an eyebrow at Lucy, who was staring at me with her own thoughtful expression.
"We've known each other for a long time now, and lately I've seen you more and more lost in thought. Before, you were always decisive, always certain of the path forward… But now, you seem almost worried… No, not worried. Hesitant, perhaps? Either way, you seem troubled." she finished, a slight measure of concern for me in her expression.
I smiled at her, shaking my head. "It's just… There are questions I'd like answers to, and a part of me wonders if I'm going to like the answers."
My expression hardened slightly. "Don't worry, one way or another, I'm prepared for the future. No matter what it holds for us all, and even if the answers I find do not please me, I am ready for it."
Instead of reassuring her, it seemed to only concern her more.
I knew why, of course. She worried about the exact details of the plans I had thought up in case things do not go well in the future.
And it's not like she wasn't right to be worried. The things I thought up…
Well.
Some of them could hopefully give even the Nuclear Chaos cause for concerns.
It was a good thing anything I created using my powers was something I had total control over, but some of my ideas…
"Potential complete omniversal collapse" shouldn't be words anyone should have to seriously contemplate.
Let alone potentially help bring about.
But needs must when the devil drives, and the Nuclear Chaos has the potential to be far more terrifying than the Devil.
Still, that was for later. For now, I had heroes to take the measure of.
A gleam of actual excitement entered my eyes. I was… eager in a way that I had not been in a long time.
And I could tell that Oedon noticed it, by the amused grin on her lips as she looked at me.
"So, do you want me as CEO again?" asked Lucy, and I smiled wryly at her.
"If you don't mind. Giving better technologies, especially in the medical field, could save many lives in that world. Also, if regular cops had, say, even lasgun, they might be able to kill low-level monsters, freeing up Heroes to deal with greater threats."
Lucy sighed, looking a bit frustrated but also accepting. "Well, I won't ever say no to better knowledge for Humanity. And I suppose that, at the very least, I'll have less headaches dealing with the people in power of that world than this one."
She fell silent, before looking at me in the eyes.
"You are certain about introducing ourselves as gods? Considering the being, or beings, that exist in-universe already…"
"That's all the more reason. Better be open and honest from the get go, than risk confusion and distrust. And there's nothing like secrets to breed distrust." I answered.
Lucy shrugged. "Fair enough. It's just that it's a change compared to your usual way of doing things."
I smiled at her. "Well, I do need to get used to being seen as a god at some point, you know?"
"It would be good for him… For you both, really." said Oedon with a firm nod.
Not that I was surprised. She's been pushing me for that before, but was willing to wait since we had all the time we could want.
Still, she had to be pleased to see me embrace my divine status, especially after how much I bled to earn it, and yet how much I've been holding back on making use of it.
I gave her a knowing look, and she shamelessly grinned back in amusement.
Amusement and approval, the second of which did make it hard to keep my stern look, since I just wanted to smile happily at seeing her being proud of me.
I held back a snort. Ah, love.
It almost made even me a fool of a man, grinning like an idiot at the woman I love.
Bah! I really needed to kill some monsters, or I'd start getting soft.
The horror.
I grinned. "So, ready?"
Both women smiled. There were others of my lovers who would join up, but for the start it would just be us.
"Ready."
"Then let's go, into a land of heroes and monsters."
-
OPM Earth, office of Agoni, one month after his grandson was saved by an unknown stranger.
"Thank you for accepting us, Mr. Agoni." politely said Lucy, while the multi-millionaire merely smiled warmly while they shook hands.
"Please, no need for that! With all the support you are promising to the project, the Hero Association will be fully functional even faster than our previous best estimate! And-"
His eyes found me and Oedon, and his smile widened, a gleam of eagerness in them.
"-you bring not one, but two extremely powerful people to join, a healer-" his gaze flickered towards Oedon and he bowed respectfully- "and an already experienced monster Hunter!" his gaze turned to me, just as warm and friendly.
We smiled, because we could feel the genuine desire to do good in the man. Whatever the problems of the future hero Association, Agoni genuinely wanted to create something to help the world become a better place for all, and that was something we could only respect.
"That's correct. Though I must thank you for your understanding that we keep the full breadth of our abilities a secret until now- I can assure you, the reason for why we needed to ensure a proper plan to introduce ourselves to the world will be very apparent soon." I told him, smiling gratefully at him.
He waved a hand, smile just as bright. "No matter, from what I understand, you are just so powerful that introducing you to Humanity at large will require a proper PR set-up for it. That is not a bad thing- indeed, I am very pleased that the hero organization we will be creating is already attracting such people of importance!"
A bit more of a back and forth, and soon enough we were seated around his office, and the important question was finally brought up.
"So, if you wouldn't mind, what exactly can you do that requires such secrecy in the first place?" asked Agoni, eagerly leaning forward over his incredibly expensive desk.
We gods shared a glance.
"Well, it's actually really simple." I declared.
Then I called upon my divinity, and Agoni froze in shock as suddenly he was staring at a man radiating more power than a supernova, calmly sitting in front of him with a slight smirk on his face.
"We three are gods, and Oedon and I seek to personally help this new project of yours, in order to ensure the continued survival of Humankind against the threats assailing it."
I leaned forward as well, Agoni sweating as eyes like stars and black holes stared at him, the poor man feeling like the weight of the universe was slowly crushing him simply by staring into my eyes.
I could feel it, the visions of distant stars, worlds and galaxies he saw as he helplessly looked into my eyes, a twitch developing in his brow as he desperately tried not to collapse from his seat.
"So Agoni, would you be willing to welcome gods as well as heroes in your organization?" I asked, the mere sound of my voice warping the air around us… and the local Space-Time Continuum too, for that matter.
"I, huh… That's… I'm sure that can be arranged?" he finally squeaked out, his eyes finally managing to look away from mine, only to find the glowing ruby of Oedon's, and the ever-shifting ones of Lucy staring back.
He visibly gulped.
And then, in a move that earned him a great deal of respect from me, he straightened in his seat, did the same to his tie, and desperately tried to get the meeting back on track.
Even if he was sweating heavily as he did.
"So, can I… please ask… What exactly would you be willing to do as a… hrm, that is to say… as a hero?" he only somewhat stuttered out, his eyes staring slightly below where mine were, unwilling or unable to look further into the endless depths of a God representing all of his Reality… and beyond.
I smiled. Idealistic, brave, and wise as well.
Oh yes, I liked him already.
-
OPM Earth, one month after the meeting with Agoni.
"Well, it seems the world is finally done losing its mind." I muttered in amusement, looking at the news and seeing how humanity was finally done freaking out over the three gods who revealed themselves to the world.
Amusingly, Saitama had no idea about it, focused as he was about starting his training regimen to be a Hero.
I had considered letting Saitama be known to the world from the start, but ultimately chose to let him do his things in secret.
It would let me set things up for later, when I would indeed ensure that Saitama's introduction to the world would be far more noticeable than in canon.
No need for exams this time. No, I fully intended to make use of Genos' new presence as Saitama's student to turn the both of them well-known.
After all, imagine the reaction of the world if the sparring they did in canon was seen by the entire world?
Both of them would end up in S-Class on the spot, no doubt about it.
Still, I did change a few things. For one, the S-Class was now created from the start, as a way to get the heavy-hitters required for the Association noticed from the beginning.
Also as the face of the Association. Nothing quite like having literal gods at your side to boost the desire to join, and the pride of being amongst the best.
Also, I made sure to inform Agoni of the so-called "God" threat, the true being responsible for the growing number of monsters across the world. Knowing exactly the who and why behind the monsters' appearances into the world helped make him even more motivated to create the Hero Association, since he knew now that it was a matter of literal human survival.
And I told him about Blast, of course. As the foremost expert in dealing with God's nonsense, he was the best man for the S-Class No.1 seat.
We further added better plans for recognition of weaker heroes, more resources to them, and more.
Just because someone wasn't strong didn't mean they should be ignored or looked down.
I'm looking at you, Mumen Rider. I wouldn't turn you into a Hunter, but… Well.
I could at least see about helping him out in other ways.
All in all, it had been a very productive meeting.
Hell, by the end, I wasn't sure who was happier: me, or Agoni.
Once he got over his shock, the sheer joy and pride the man felt about having literal gods helping him was something to behold.
The fact that I swore to one day bring the man who saved his grandson into the Hero Association helped as well. I had told him I wanted to keep him hidden for now- as a secret weapon against God, but that in a few years he would be ready to join up.
Though I made sure to specify that I wasn't training him. The man was growing stronger by his own efforts, he deserved to have that fact recognized.
Overall, I was satisfied. Agoni was firmly on our side, made aware of both the threat of God and also told to keep that information secret, at least until he had a long talk with Blast on the matter.
Saitama was already training, and I looked forward to the day it would be time for me to challenge him.
The Hero Association had better plans to build upon, and while a measure of corruption was inevitable, we would be ready for it.
Especially with Lucy gaining an Executive spot in the organization. That ought to help.
So now, all that was left was-
A portal opened.
Speak of the devil, I thought in amusement, while Oedon paused before taking a sip of tea, and Lucy looked up from her laptop at the somewhat expected entrance of a man we all recognized.
I cut off the sounds from the TV in our home in this world, looking away from the latest news about the Hero Association to instead gaze at the serious face of Blast, who stared at us three looking like he was expecting violence at any second now.
"Would you like some tea?" politely asked Oedon from her seat, which made the man blink, blink again, and then glance at her.
Slowly, he smiled.
"If you would be so kind. My apologies for the unexpected entrance." he politely replied.
"No worries." I replied, getting up from the sofa and taking a seat at the table Oedon was, Lucy doing the same, with Blast joining a moment later. He was still a bit tense, ready for a fight, but seemed to have been surprised enough by the serene greetings to his arrival that he was willing to talk things out for now.
Oedon served everyone, and as one we took our tea and took a sip.
I could feel Blast checking his cup for anything untowards, but after finding nothing, he took a sip and hummed in surprise at the taste.
"Well, whatever else I will learn from this meeting, you all at least have excellent taste in tea." he declared, looking faintly bemused and amused at the same time.
We smiled. "At the difference of a certain someone," I declared, snapping my fingers and creating an illusion of a certain cube, the sight of it making Blast's expression tighten, "we are not evil savages. As a matter of fact, we quite prefer a thriving humanity." I said calmly.
"I do quite enjoy tea… and found myself enjoying quite a few local books in this world. Also, movie nights with my husband are pretty great." agreed Oedon.
Blast stared at her.
Lucy snorted at the look on his face, before she took pity on the poor flabbergasted man and decided to explain.
"It makes more sense when you consider that both Aeon and myself were once regular human beings, before our… Ascension."
"Also, I died way too many times in the name of saving Humanity to see it destroyed now. That would just be really annoying." I mused, which had him now staring at me blankly.
"Perhaps we should start at the beginning?" suggested Lucy, looking at me with both amusement for pranking Blast, and reproach for the same.
I sighed. "I swear, at some point I really need to write a holy book on the matter or something, and spread it across the world. That way, every time someone wonders about my backstory, I can just throw the book at them and tell them to read the damn thing."
"You could always do it in twenty words or less." said Oedon with a smirk, and I had to hold myself back from laughing at the reference.
Quoting Saitama at me? Well, it was certainly appropriate.
Still, I didn't expect it from Oedon.
I was so proud of how far I'd corrupted her!
"I would certainly appreciate some explanations, considering how three gods, who appear to be opposing the one I'm familiar with, announced themselves to the world… and two of them declared their intent to be heroes." Blast said politely, though I could tell he was very intent on getting those answers, one way or another, before leaving our home.
Which, considering his enemy, makes sense.
I nodded towards him. "Fair enough. Well, it's a bit of a long story… Do you mind if I just share my memories with you? It would speed things up immensely."
Blast hesitated, but after a moment slowly nodded.
My eyes glowed, and Blast suddenly repeatedly blinked, before he took a deep breath.
"Ah. That's… Yes, that does explain a great deal." he muttered, staring off into the distance.
I waited for him to fully get over everything I showed him. I didn't give him everything, but at least enough to understand my backstory and that of Oedon and Lucy's.
I usually didn't use this method, but the man was familiar enough with psychic powers I rightfully suspected him to be comfortable doing things this way.
Also, I could tell he had tried to study what he could of my powers when I touched his mind, to try and compare it to God's power. Sneaky of him… I approved.
Finally, he took a deep breath and exhaled, before nodding at me.
"I thank you for the show of trust. A tale like that… Well. It would be understandable to not show me as much as you did."
"Trust is a two-way street." I replied. "How can I expect you to meet me in the middle, if I don't make the first move? Especially when you have damn good reasons to be wary of anything calling itself divine."
His lips twitched in amusement. "If only more people thought like that." he remarked, before narrowing his eyes slightly.
"Is that why you informed Agoni of God? A show of trust?"
"That, and because he's the one bankrolling the efforts which shall see this world made much safer. If he's willing to go so far to protect the world, the least he deserves is the truth. Also, he'll be much more willing and able to help safeguard the world if he understands what's at stake." I answered.
I smiled. "Also, I just like the guy. He's got a good heart, a good head on his shoulders, and a genuine desire to help the world. Those are rare traits in a man as influential as him, so I felt he earned the right to be taken seriously, and not just used as a tool for my purposes… Even if those are the security of the world and the prosperity of humanity."
Blast stared at me, then nodded. "Very well. I'll let time show whether that was wise or not. And it's not like you informed anyone else, so far."
He fell silent, taking another sip of his tea, my lips twitching in amusement at the gleam of delight in his eyes appearing once more in his eyes at the taste of it.
"There's something else I wanted to ask, then. Well, several things, actually. The first, is that you mentioned that the man who saved Agoni's grandson was training to be a hero, but you wanted him kept secret for a few more years, as a possible weapon against God. Just how powerful do you expect him to be? Especially when, from what you told Agoni, you aren't training him." he questioned.
I hummed, before looking at him in the eyes. "In three years, less actually, he'll be more powerful than you."
Blast's eyebrows jumped in his hairline, an expression of genuine surprise on his face.
"Truly? How?" he asked.
I smiled. "I'd answer, but a part of me really wants to see the look on his face when you find out. I can tell you that God, or really Gods, if we include ourselves, won't have anything to do with it. It'll be all him."
Blast stared at him with curiosity for a moment, before humming. "Alright, but… I'd like to see actual proof of such a thing. Can it be arranged?"
Lucy glanced at me. "I could have his exploits secretly recorded. Only me and Agoni will know in the Association, though we'll make the data available to Blast." she looked at him. "Would you be willing to wait until we think him ready, if we give you evidence of his growth in power over the next few years?"
"From what I have seen of Agoni, the man would certainly enjoy watching the growth of Saitama." remarked Oedon, Blast's eyes gleaming at the name, no doubt filling it in his memory for later.
I hummed, then nodded. "Alright. As long as none of us interact with him, that's fine. I want him to be a self-made man and hero. So long as it's just observation and done by you, Lucy, I suppose it's fine."
"Alright." said Blast, looking satisfied. "Then my next question is this: Why recommend me for the highest seat in the Heroes' rank? You could have taken it yourself, but Agoni made it clear you categorically refused to ever do so. I admit, that confused me when I had my talk with him."
"I did so for a few reasons." I replied, raising a finger. "One, I firmly believe that the highest spot of the Hero Association deserves, and needs, to be claimed by a Human. Not a god, but a Human. The first seat must be one that all can look up to. It must be a symbol of Human potential, of its powers, and its virtues. I, nor any gods, can ever take it. The day a god takes that seat, is the day that the Hero Association is no longer about Humanity, but about divinity. About power over all else. That cannot be allowed to happen. For the good of all Humanity, it has to be a hero who holds that seat." I declare passionately, and very firmly.
Blast was visibly surprised both by my fervor on the matter and my words, but he recovered quickly, giving me an appraising look.
"If I had not seen your memories, I might have been confused by your reasons to believe as you do… But I did." his expression turned thoughtful as he stared at me. "It's curious. You are no longer human, but your way of thinking is something that aligns quite well with how you thought when you were still a man."
I smiled wryly at him. "Just because I have obtained ultimate power does not mean that my beliefs or ideals have changed. Merely my ability to uphold them."
Blast sighed deeply at that. "If only more people thought like you, the world would be a very different place."
"But it isn't, and so men like us need to hold the line. I know." I replied, our expressions quite similar.
Then I paused, and smiled a bit sadly, but also fondly.
"Besides, I once saw a man looking like a monster show more nobility of soul than most actual men. If he could do that in the depths of his personal hell, how can I do any less now?"
Blast looked at me with confusion… before his eyes widened slightly, and I could see the moment he thought back to my memories of my encounter with Ludwig.
A sympathetic and understanding expression crossed his face, before it smoothed out as he once more looked at me thoughtfully.
"Alright, one last question then. Any reasons none of you seem to want to take to the field against God? As far as I can tell, none of you seems to be lacking in the power to fight him."
I shared a look with Oedon and Lucy, before looking back at him. "Well, to be honest I'm hoping that Saitama will be able to deal with God. I'd rather see Humanity capable of taking care of itself, than having to rely on me or mine every time a god-level threat shows up. I can deal with them, but that doesn't mean that I should. Especially since repeatedly doing so might cause Humanity to look up to me and mine entirely, at the cost of mortal heroes."
Though despite my words, I wasn't certain that Saitama alone could deal with God. For once, me and my true self have deliberately not looked too deeply into all of reality, and by that, I meant that we had deliberately held back watching over Saitama.
Oh, my True Self was keeping an eye on his progress, but he was doing so at surface-level only, not through full-on Omniscience.
After all, we wanted to give him a chance to surprise us. Knowing everything about the man before I challenged him would kind of be counter-productive to that.
"In other words, you don't want the headaches of ruling humanity." snarked Lucy at my words, looking amused.
"Hell no! I'll have to one day take a leadership position, sure, but let me just focus on punching my problems in the face while I still can!" I exclaimed.
Blast actually laughed at that, before he, badly, tried to cover it up by fake-coughing.
Then he finished his tea, smirked at me, and stood up.
"Alright, that was certainly an interesting meeting. I have a lot more questions, though the memories you shared answered many of them, I now have one I feel like I should ask."
I smirked back, the emotions I felt from him giving me a good idea of what he wanted.
"Which is?"
"Care for a spar?" he challenged, smirking widely at me, understanding that I was the true fighter of the group.
At my sides, Lucy rolled her eyes and shook her head, a muttered "men" passing her lips, while Oedon merely smiled, finished her cup of tea, and then glanced at me. "Well, Good Hunter? Did you not want to take the measure of these heroes?" she teased.
I chuckled, before snapping my fingers, a portal opening up.
I gave Blast a challenging look.
"You're on."
-
"We're not in the same universe anymore." Blast remarked after passing through the portal and looking around at the desert planet we were now standing on.
I smiled at his words. "Indeed not. I figured it would be wiser to not accidentally risk the Earth… Or the local Space-Time Continuum, for that matter. This entire universe is lifeless, so we can fight without worry."
Blast raised an eyebrow at my words, and I had no doubt he would carefully remember every ability I showed, just in case I ever proved to be a threat.
And while sharing my memories allowed me to gain his trust, I had no doubt that he would both continue to carefully watch over me and the others' actions, just in case.
Also, that meant he knew most everything my Human self was capable of.
But that was fine. My human self was strong, but he was nearly basically insignificant compared to the God "me".
To say nothing of my true self.
And that was the thing with people watching you for signs of evil plots: If you had none, they were literally wasting their time.
So he could watch all he wanted, because I had nothing to hide.
Also, it gave me opportunities to prank him, how could I pass that up?!
Either way, we took our position facing each other, a few feet of distance between us, a small smirk on our lips, though I could feel that Blast was a bit concerned over how powerful I was.
Especially because he couldn't tell how powerful I was.
I had held back the side-effects of gazing into my eyes, and made sure to show a great deal of power in my Aura… but nothing that he wouldn't expect from, say, the evil God.
Which itself had to make him worry, because if that was my level of power while holding back, how much greater was I then God, truly?
Well, he was about to find a fraction of the full answer.
"Begin whenever you are ready." I said calmly.
Blast stared at me for a second. Right now, I was in the same outfit I used before armor in ISIS became good enough to be worth my time.
A tricorn hat, a black long coat, black boots…
But nothing that would scream "this is a god."
Yet.
And then Blast moved, and a ten feet wide crater was left behind from the sheer shockwave of his movement.
And with that, the fight was on.
-
Blast had a very surprising day so far.
Learning that not one but three gods, benevolent ones at that, had chosen to step forth to fight the evil God was quite the surprise after all.
The memories he received had also been fascinating. Disturbing too, but also fascinating, and he'd have to think deeply over them later.
Of course, they could be fake. He doubted it, it explained far too much, but they could be.
That was the problem with beings like God. They could lie and manipulate others like no one else, and use a variety of abilities to do so.
They were also incredibly patient and cunning, so he couldn't take any of the three on their words, not now, and perhaps not for a very, very long time.
If ever.
But. If it was true… If they were what they claimed to be…
And then, there was the matter of this… Saitama. Someone stronger than him? Without God… Or rather, gods involved?
He'd wait to see it before believing it, but if true…
Well. The world was going to change, one way or another, but he could still hope it would be for the better.
Hope, but also prepare. And testing this… Aeon's strength, since he was the apparent leader of the trio of gods, both for being the most powerful and the way the two women obviously deferred to his judgment, would teach him a lot, in case he ever had to fight him seriously.
He could have called on his allies in his fight against the evil God for help, but he wanted to see how he would fare on a 1vs1 against this apparent benevolent god.
And no better way for that than to find out the hard way.
So Blast ran, fist cocked back, his Gravity Knuckles technique glowing purple around his clenched fist.
And as Blast suspected, this Aeon barely reacted to it. With an incredibly fast motion of his right hand, the blow was deflected, a brutal return punch ready to hit him in the face in retaliation.
Blast reacted instantly, tilting his head to avoid the attack before speeding up, mixing punches and kicks with supreme skill, speed, and strength against the god in front of him, each attack creating shockwaves spreading for miles around them.
Once again, the god didn't even blink, deflecting and blocking every attack with a supernatural ease that spoke of supreme mastery of hand-to-hand combat.
His defense was unbreakable, his attacks as vicious as they were skillful.
But that, too, Blast expected it.
If this Aeon was truly a god on the level or above of the evil God, then he had to be in perfect sync with the Cosmos. He had to be capable of so, so much more than just a perfect skill at CQC.
So Blast escalated.
Speeding up, moving now faster than light itself, they blurred across the planet, every blow strong enough to shatter hundreds of miles of ground if they hit it… but neither of the fighters even blinked.
Leaving trails of light across the sky, Blast holding a focused expression on his face and Aeon holding a smile, they escalated again.
Blast created portals, surrounding the god before him, each of those portals allowing his punches to be able to hit across his opponent's entire body nigh-instantly.
And yet, despite that, none of them hit. Somehow, someway, even as they moved at speeds far beyond light, even as the time between the launch and supposed impact of his punches was ridiculously low, infinitely smaller than the time required for a blink- the god still dodged every blow.
And by now, Blast had noticed a few things.
1) his opponent was visibly still holding back massively.
2) his opponent was literally holding back, barely even striking back now, and mostly just defending himself.
3) his opponent was still smiling slightly, seemingly uncaring of the ever growing intensity of the fight.
At that point, Blast had to admit that trying to keep going as he was was pointless.
It was time to escalate more.
Slamming his fists together, a miniature singularity shot forth… only for his eyes to widen when Aeon casually batted it away with the back of one of his hands.
"You'll have to do better than that." finally spoke Aeon, looking faintly disappointed so far despite the smile on his face.
Blast considered the words… and mentally nodded.
Yes, he would have to do better to achieve anything.
So, time to do so.
And Blast moved.
Aeon's eyes widened slightly, as suddenly dozens, if not hundreds of Blasts suddenly surrounded him.
Each of them were equally him- he was simply going so fast that he was essentially attacking from all directions at the same time.
For the first time, Aeon's lips twitched upwards in genuine approval.
And then it was his time to move, and Blast suddenly found himself flying back when the god moved so fast he created a shockwave that sent him flying back at immense speed.
Blast's eyes widened when a gloved fist suddenly appeared in his vision, opening a portal to let the punch go through it instead.
And then the world fell silent, as all sounds were lost in the aftermath of the punch's shockwave spreading across the entire's planet.
Blast's expression hardened, recognizing that his opponent had upped his power level in response to his actions, and an instant later, Blast replied in kind.
Mixing his portals with his physical attacks, Blast sent dozens, if not hundreds of strikes each powerful enough to blow up a good chunk of the planet they were standing on if any were to hit it.
Aeon replied by opening portals of his own, and creating beams of raw power strong enough to erase the entire planet back at him.
Blast pursed his lips, before he outright slid into another dimension, letting all attacks phase through him before sending a planet-busting level punch towards Aeon's face, going back to the proper dimension a mere instant before the punch would connect.
And then to his surprise the punch connected-
And did nothing.
He gaped, before Aeon gently pulled his fist away from his face with a smirk.
"Nice trick with the dimensional shifting. Still, let this be a lesson- mere gravity and physical strength at this level just isn't enough to damage me."
And then before Blast knew what had happened, he was flying back, crashing through a mountain before skidding to a halt in the middle of the desert world's sandy ground.
He winced, that strike definitely landed- but he had no idea when, or what hit him.
He just had not seen the strike.
Just how fast-
"It's not a question of speed." said the god, suddenly standing before Blast's rising form. "I just reversed causality."
Blast boggled at the casual way the god announced breaking the law of cause and effect, even as Aeon raised a fist with a grin. "Still, you aren't done, right? I can tell."
Blast's expression hardened once more.
If the god before him was willing to throw out such techniques, then it was time to stop holding back entirely.
Blast took a deep breath-
And moved.
A punch strong enough to equal a supernova slammed into Aeon, the planet and a good chunk of the local solar system vanishing instantly.
The warm up was over. Now came the real fight.
And his opponent agreed, as less than a second after taking a blow capable of killing anyone else, Aeon retaliated, each punch striking with enough power to match Blast's attack.
The god's clothes had changed, a long robe of flowing, surreal Cosmos seemingly clothing him now, his right eye glowing like a supernova and the left a deeper black than even the core of a Black Hole.
The power he exuded, too, had shifted- now releasing more than ever before of it simply by standing there. Blast took note that no deadly radiation emanated from him, perhaps because Blast would have been immune to it anyway.
The hero's eyes narrowed, and created Black Holes around the god, seeking to either harm him with their power, or at least slow him down.
Instead, the God chuckled and, to Blast's surprise, took control of every Black Hole, reducing them in sizes to mere pebbles- before launching them like the universe's deadliest bullets straight at him.
Blast barely had time to create a portal to protect himself that the Black Holes went through, his portal collapsing an instant after, as somehow the portal shattered from merely getting into contact with those black holes.
No, it was more like the portal outright ceased to exist at the contact of the Black Holes bullets.
Blast grunted, then closed his fist, shattering the local Space-Time Continuum around Aeon's body entirely, using the ragged edges of it as deadly blades to cut him with.
The god didn't even blink. With a negligent wave of his hand, the god kept walking forward, even amongst the growing cloud of space dust their battle now took place in, the ragged edges of Space-Time surrounding him fixing themselves instantly.
Blast wasn't going to just admit defeat quite yet however, and instead broke and shaped a piece of Space-Time like a sword, added unstable, unnatural dimensions to it, and then tried to stab the god with it. If this Aeon truly was a higher-dimensional being of some sort, then weaponizing Space, Time, and Dimensions might be the best way to do damage him.
"Impressive." said the god, voice deeper and echoing oddly, but with greater power than ever. "But still not good enough."
A moment later his right hand held a glowing green-black blade, the god skillfully using it to deflect and parry every attack, before slashing back against him.
Blast's instincts screamed at him, and he teleported instantly away- but even then, three new gashes suddenly appeared over his body, making him grunt in pain as trickles of blood rolled down from the wounds.
First blood went to him it seemed.
He healed himself with a slight flex of his power, eyes narrowing. That last attack… It wasn't a reversal of casualty, more like… tricking reality into thinking he attacked several times at once through nothing but sheer skill.
Aeon's memories told him of that technique, but to actually see it…
Though thankfully he hadn't added his even more deadly dimensional sword technique to it.
Blast wasn't 100% sure he would have survived being hit by that.
Either way, he was not done- not by a long shot.
He teleported again, throwing singularities at the god, weaponizing space-time and trying his best to punch him while shattering dimensions with his fists at every strike. If Aeon was a Higher-dimensional being, then dimensional attacks were a needed requirement to do any damage at all.
They jumped and flew across the wrecked solar system, fighting by the sides of and through the remains of its once celestial objects, broken planets, and shattered moons littering their paths with space dust and debris.
Blast tried to weaponize those as well, sending them flying across dimensions like multi-dimensional kinetic weapons, but the god casually deflected them out of the way, seemingly uncaring at their multi-dimensional nature brought by Blast's power.
The god wanted them deflected, and so they were. The impossibility of the feat was thoroughly ignored.
Blast clenched his jaw, barely avoiding a piercing strike of Aeon's sword, which he had quickly noted did not move like it was bound to physics.
He'd almost lost his head the first time the damn sword flowed like water to reach his neck, or when it seemingly teleported between moments- though he could tell the sword was simply moving forward in time, jumping forward or back in order to always be where its wielder wanted it to be.
It was not as deadly as full-on reversal of causality, but such masterful use of Time powers wielded with such skill forced Blast to rely on his instincts more and more to try and desperately avoid a blow that would immediately make the god win.
And that wasn't even speaking of the god himself. His body blurred unnaturally, in ways which made his head hurt to look at, taking on shapes and positions that shouldn't be possible, and yet visibly were to him.
How could someone simultaneously bend back 90° to avoid a hit while also managing to look down at him as if he was standing tall, he had no idea, but that guy pulled it off.
Still, Blast fought. Throwing out punches exploding with the power of the stars by the dozens of thousands by every second that passed, he watched and learnt from his opponent, almost seeing the ways he bent reality to let his impossible moves be possible.
His body shifted, his punches beginning to blur unnaturally as he sought to master the ways of bending reality to his will that the god so easily accomplished, his blows growing faster not because he sped up, but because the distance between him and Aeon was bent in ways that violated the laws of physics.
Becoming better at avoiding blows as well, as he shifted Space and Time like his opponent was doing so naturally, the god's lips twitching once in approval at the sight.
"Alright. This was a good first spar, but time to end this."
Blast tensed as the words reached him despite the lack of air, the two opposite pools of power serving as eyes of the divine creature before him narrowing slightly-
"As a certain someone would one day do- Reversal of causality: Zero Punch."
And this time, the god did not hold back.
Blast could not even blink before a blow strong enough to knock him out on the spot slammed in his jaw, the last thing he saw being the slightly pleased smile on the god's face as he spoke those words while looking at him-
And then everything went dark.
-
I looked at Blast, as we once again sat around the same table as before, though this time with just the two of us.
Lucy declared that she had work to do for the still being created Hero Association, and Oedon, once she was done healing Blast, merely declared that I needed more male friends and that she would leave the two of us to our "male bonding time."
I wasn't sure what it said about me that said bonding time happened after I broke a hero's jaw, but it probably wasn't good.
Or maybe it was the shonen of this reality infecting me. Could be either, really.
Either way, Blast took a sip of his tea, looking vaguely delighted at the taste once again, before he set down the cup with a wry smirk.
"It's been a long time since I got my ass kicked so badly." he declared, not looking too outwardly concerned about it.
I shrugged at him. "You challenged a god to a fist fight, and you're surprised at the outcome? You've got my memories, you know how much of a pain in the ass fighting gods all-out is."
"Yeah, especially a god-slayer turned God." he snarked.
"Hey, at least you didn't die. Honestly, I've been going easy on you." I replied.
He stared at me. "Say that to the poor planet a system over from the one we fought in with a massive crater shaped like my body in it." he said dryly.
"Meh, no one was there, and I fixed it all afterwards, so no harm done."
He snorted, then passed a hand in his hair. "Yeah, because fixing up a solar system thoroughly obliterated by all the countless explosions we subjected it to with a literal snap of your fingers isn't intimidating at all."
"Well, better learn the true might of divinities from me than from the overly angsty local divine doing jail time, isn't it?" I remarked, raising an eyebrow.
Blast spluttered at the way I described the Evil God, mouthing the words with a faintly bewildered expression on his face and quite a bit of amusement, before he shook his head.
"You're right, it's been too long since I was last so challenged. Dealing with him is never a straight up fight, imprisoned as he is, so finding opponents capable of getting me used to actually fighting him is a… Well," he smirked. "A godsend."
I smirked back, before looking at him thoughtfully. "Well, if you want more spars, you know where to find me." I chuckled. "Even if I can tell you're going to shamelessly rip off everything I showed you and replicate it by the time we fight again."
Blast nodded, not even trying to hide it, before he sighed slightly. "Well, most of it. That reversal of causality technique you have is just… I have ways of manipulating gravity, and dimensions, but that is beyond even me. And I have no idea if it can be learned and used by a human. The strain on the body must be horrifically high."
"It can." I replied thoughtfully, before nodding at him. "Though it might take a while for you to get there. Still, it's worth the pain and time invested into learning it, if you ask me."
"Fair enough."
He drank the last of his tea, sent a saddened glance at his now empty cup, before standing up and nodding at me. "I need to go back, as fascinating as this visit was, I have other matters I must return too." He hesitated, before speaking again. "Also, would your wife be available for healing? Me and a few others of my group can heal, but we are not anywhere near as good as she is."
"I would gladly assist, if you would have me." said Oedon, entering the room an instant later, green eyes twinkling mirthfully as Blast stiffened before glancing at her in surprise.
Mostly because she had hidden her coming from his senses, and thus caught him off-guard entirely.
My lips twitched. I had to wreck a solar system to spook him with my power, and she did it by just moving around.
Truly, my wife was the best.
"Your aid could save lives. Thank you." finally replied Blast, bowing slightly in thanks, and I had a feeling he was talking about more than just her helping him and his group, but her choosing to be a healer for the entire Hero Association as well.
Oedon gave him a gentle smile, and bowed slightly back. "It is my pleasure to render aid to those in need of it."
Then Blast opened a portal and left, leaving me to look at the spot he previously was in deep thought.
We did not gain Blast's full trust, but we both convinced him to take a wait and see approach towards us, as well as make it clear that trying to fight us would be foolish.
Also, I had some fun sparring with someone other than my Hunters, Lucy, or Oedon, for once.
Furthermore, everything I gave Blast was valuable information, but ultimately useless. He could not go out of his multiverse, and none of what he learnt could be used against me.
Besides, while he was incredibly powerful by mortal standards, he was still so very, very weak by Outer Gods' standards.
And his ability to manipulate reality was both impressive, and yet nowhere near enough to truly stand amongst the great.
If even basic reversal of causality was far beyond him, much less defending from it, then he had no hope of ever being a threat to me and mine.
I suppose that the powers of this reality did not do well with such high-level reality manipulation, except at the highest levels of the local beings.
Far too much focus on raw power, not enough on more esoteric abilities.
Then again, this was One Punch Man.
Ah well. Hopefully, Blast would learn from this and get creative. Weaponizing dimensions and local space-time was a start, at least.
Hey, maybe one day he'd be powerful enough that I could reverse causality to all of his attacks and send them back against him and he'd be able to survive it!
I could only hope. Well, I could also check with my true self, but where was the fun in that?
In the meantime, I might as well return to watching people deal with the fallout of three gods revealing themselves to humanity.
That, and pointing and laughing at the people in power trying to claim that Lucy shouldn't be CEO because she's a goddess. That was always good for a laugh. I'd be more respectful if they had genuine concerns, but they were just freaking out over how much money and influence they might lose because of it, so screw 'em.
Now then, the real question was who was going to be the first S-Class hero I'd meet when they started joining up…
-
Hero Association Headquarters, A-City.
I looked up at the new building before me, taking in the shiny new center of operations of the Hero Association.
Standing taller than most buildings in the city, it truly stood as a testament to the growing power of the Hero Association.
Or at the very least, the power of its backers, I supposed. It would take some time more before the Association truly started gaining influence of its own.
"Quite the sight, is it not? A symbol of a new age, it seems."
I smiled, before turning to look at the old man coming to a stop at my side looking at me with interest.
"So it is. Let's hope, and work hard, to make it a good one." I extended my right hand. "Aeon, the Good Hunter. A pleasure to meet you, Silver Fang. Or do you prefer Bang?"
"Either is fine." the old martial arts master replied with a smile. "Though it appears my reputation precedes me. Or is it something more, coming from you?" he wondered, hinting at my publicly-known divine status.
I chuckled, before winking at him with a glowing right eye. "You made a very cute and very excited baby, let me tell you."
I held back a laugh at the old martial art master's face at my words, though he quickly recovered.
"I suppose that you would watch over all people, as a god." he mused, looking at me with visible curiosity.
I nodded. "I'm there for everyone, both at the beginning and at the end. Everyone deserves someone to be there to welcome them into the world, and everyone also deserves a friend at the end."
I shrugged. "I'm only an avatar of my true self, so I don't actually know everything he knows, but I can feel countless shards of me appearing and disappearing across the world as people are born and die."
Bang blinked, then smiled slightly. "A friend at the beginning and end, huh? Well, this isn't quite what I expected to learn when I said hello, but I'm glad to hear that, all the same. This world has more than enough evil in it to not add more to it. Learning of acts of kindness instead is always good news."
I hummed in agreement, before looking back at the building of the Hero Association. "That's what we are here for, are we not? To help make the world a better place. I'm glad a man like you will join me, my wife, and Blast in the S-Class. The world needs its heroes, and you can add wisdom as well as courage and skill to the table."
He chuckled. "Well, if the mistakes I made in my past can be avoided in others thanks to the hard lessons I have learnt over time, I would be gladdened by it."
"Wisdom." I sighed at the word. "That is one thing that far too few possess in spades, even when it is far more valuable than gold could ever be. A pity the cost of gathering it is always a steep one."
He glanced at me. "I hear a story in the weight of your words, if you'd allow me my curiosity."
I grimaced. "All I will say is that I earned my wisdom from dealing with the fallout of the mistakes of others, though that did not mean I didn't endure horrifying trials to earn it all the same." I shook my head. "Dealing with the folly of man is one thing I've become all too familiar with, and while I learnt greatly on what not to do from that, I cannot say I do not grieve for all that has been lost because of those very mistakes."
I thought back to Yharnam, my expression distant. "Hopefully, one day I can go back to make things right. I dealt with the worst of things, but…"
"Some things are not so easily fixed as they are broken, huh?" muttered Bang with sympathetic understanding.
I nodded.
Then I put the past out of my mind, and glanced back at Bang with a small smile. "But enough about old pains. By any chance, would you be willing to teach me your style? I'd hardly be your normal student, but I'm curious to learn, if you'll have me."
His eyebrows shot up, a look of surprise clear on his face. "You want to learn Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist? Truly? Even with you being…" he waved at me, and I chuckled.
"My true self knows it already of course, as he knows all things, but I do not. He… We, did not feel it would be right to use it without your approval. So yes, I would be honored to learn. I must warn you that I would master the art at inhuman speed, but if that doesn't trouble you, then I promise to use it only in situations that would honor the intent behind the creation of your martial style, master Bang." I declared, bowing respectfully at him.
I was sure that many other gods would never be so humble, or care about the opinion of a single man, but I was not most gods.
This man had walked a wrong path, got that fact beaten into his head by his brother, and rather than reject his failings, he owned up to them and became someone worthy of respect.
For that and his martial accomplishments, he deserves my respect.
I could feel Bang's shock, but it quickly turned into joy and delight, and he smiled widely.
"It would be my honor to teach you, if you are willing to learn." he replied, bowing back. "I never would have thought that my Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist would be learned by a god… But I am humbled by your respect for it and your desire to learn it from me." he finished, his feelings matching his words.
We straightened, smiling at each other, and then began walking towards the Hero Association building.
"It is a good style, created by a good man. Anyone who looks down upon it is a fool unable to distinguish gold from mud. That, or they have their own path to power already that they pursue to its furthest end, which I can respect. Any warrior worth the name knows that true mastery is a journey without end." I replied to his words.
He grinned. "A lesson that needs many years to understand. Though I suppose that you have been around for much longer than even me."
"Fair. But to that, I shall reply with this: A knowledgeable man knows many things; A wise man… knows that he knows nothing. And I like to consider myself wise enough to understand that much."
Bang laughed. "Ah! I guess that explains the world we live in. Too many knowledgeable men, not enough wise ones."
"Then let us go, Master Bang, to protect this world, so that one day Humanity may grow enough that it shall be filled with both knowledgeable and wise men." I declared, entering the Headquarters of the Hero Association.
"A most worthy cause indeed." agreed Bang, smiling.
And with that, the second human hero of the S-class joined the ranks of the Hero Association.
He would not be the last.
-
A.N: Alright! Here is the next chapter in which we start the One Punch Man Arc!
Aeon certainly changes a few things from canon, with him and the others not hiding their divinity, helping build better foundations for the Hero Association, and informing at least Agoni and Blast about Saitama.
As for Blast, we see him as a pretty laid-back guy most of the time in canon, so I figured he'd be willing to talk things out despite being incredibly concerned about Aeon and co., though he's still deeply suspicious about them by the end of his first encounter with the trio. In his defense, he's rather used to gods being trouble, after nearly twenty years of hunting down any hint of God's influence across the world.
He's willing to take a wait and see approach to things though, and his fight with Aeon served to make it clear that trying to fight the trio would not end well for him and his group.
We don't know much about what Blast can do when fully pushed, so I had to get creative. Even so, God!Aeon was just so far above him it was more of a one-sided curbstomp than a real fight, since it ended the moment Aeon decided to end things.
As for Saitama, as mentioned Aeon doesn't want to mess his chance at ultimate power, so while he's keeping an eye on him he's doing it incredibly carefully, not interacting with him at all directly, even in his otherwise omnipresent true form, in the chance it could fuck things up somehow. Also, Aeon is curious, and really wants to be surprised by Saitama. So yeah, no spoiler, in other words.
And finally yes, Aeon asked to learn Bang's style. He won't use it much, but Aeon always is eager to learn and master new skills, and respect Bang enough to give him the ego boost of personally teaching Aeon. Sure, he's a god so he's going to master the art in, like, a week (and that long mostly to let Bang have the chance to actually teach him something.), but hey, Bang had to be pretty overjoyed of being able to take Aeon as a student.
Still, with all that being said, I hope you all enjoyed this update! Next time, we continue OPM, as more S-Class heroes join up the ranks of the Hero Association…