Intense pillars of fire shoot high into the sky.
Catastrophe begins.
A massive earthquake of unknown origin slams into Z City, and the residential district collapses almost completely in an instant.
The ground keeps twisting, and disasters keep erupting as the city’s very foundation heaves like waves.
After that continues for several dozen minutes.
The final, overwhelmingly huge shockwave surges into the sky.
And in one instant, the entire city of Z City twists violently and collapses as if exploding.
In the end.
Z City vanishes without leaving even a trace, except for the area around one subway station.
If there was any comfort at all, it was that, miraculously, there were no casualties.
Once word spread that the monster hunter designated as dragon-level was heading for Z City, and that the Monster Association was in Z City as well, every resident evacuated and got out.
"...And in the middle of all this, the Monster Association hideout is still fine? Tch."
Atomic Samurai clicks his tongue.
It had only been a few hours since Silver Fang was taken to the emergency room.
Under normal circumstances, they should have made more preparations, but after a conference, all the S-Class heroes had finally decided to storm the hideout now.
They expected the Monster Association to suffer devastating damage at the hands of the monster hunter.
Monsters had always been observed to kill on sight without exception, so they assumed this time he would rampage through the place crawling with monsters.
Either way, it wasn’t wrong.
The scale was just too enormous to be a problem.
"This is... incredible. Judging by the energy wave... it’s probably the monster hunter’s doing. The source seems to be the center of the Monster Association hideout."
"At this point, it feels like all the monsters have already been ground to pieces..."
"...................."
Aside from Amai Mask, the heroes below A-Class had decided not to deploy.
There had been fierce opposition, but... it was an extremely wise decision.
In the face of that overwhelming trail of destruction, even an S-Class hero would instinctively shrink back.
Even now, that was true.
On Kurobikari’s usually confident face, unease had appeared. On Prisoner’s face, which had been hardened by resolve, fear had appeared.
On Genos’s voice, which kept its cool tone but could not hide its trembling.
On Tanktop Prisoner, who swallowed hard in tension.
On Flashy Flash, whose hand holding his sword was shaking.
On Amai Mask, who was sweating coldly while clenching his fists tight.
Even on the silent Demon Cyborg.
Most of the S-Class heroes were hiding their anxiety.
If it were heroes below them.
Would they have been able to summon any fighting spirit at all?
And yet.
"Hah! Pathetic."
Even so, there are those who remain calm.
"So? When are we going in? If you’re all going to keep dawdling like slugs, then get out of the way. I’ll go in by myself."
Tatsumaki, still confident and composed with her arms crossed.
And then.
The man everyone had expected.
-Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun....
"...King’s engine? In a situation like this..."
"Mr. King is burning with fighting spirit even in a situation like this...!"
The man calmly looking down at the scene of destruction with his usual stoic expression.
The strongest creature on Earth.
King.
Not a single bead of sweat, not a trembling limb.
He simply looks down at the enemy lines with sharp eyes, accompanied by the rumbling King Engine.
"...Right. We can’t hesitate here."
Whose murmur it was, no one knew.
But.
It was certainly.
For an instant.
Exactly the same as the thought that most of the gathered S-Class heroes had all shared at once.
Yes.
We have King.
More than anything.
If we retreat here, there will be no one left for what comes next.
Let’s go.
For war.
"...All right. Let’s do this!"
"Yeah, let’s give it a shot."
"We’ll crush those monsters thoroughly."
"........"
"Ah, Mr. King. Are you standing guard in the rear? Then please leave the front to us."
King deliberately did not look at Genos, who turned toward him with a relieved smile.
Because.
He was going to die.
What is this situation?
Shouldn’t he have stayed out once Z City was already destroyed?
He should have made up some excuse about being sick.
He was really, truly doomed.
Where the hell had Saitama gone in a situation like this?
King pours out a flood of pessimistic thoughts inside his head.
He is, as always, an ordinary citizen.
What appeared in his field of vision was.
A cloud of ominous, bizarre shape that no one else could see.
"......Huu."
His vision blurs with exhaustion.
It is the result of pouring out an enormous amount of power all at once.
His body staggers, sways, and nearly topples forward, and he barely props himself up with both arms.
His kneeling legs tremble violently.
His loosened muscles won’t take any strength.
He can’t even lift one arm properly.
And yet.
Even so.
I won.
I look at the ancient ruins, with the lava that had covered them all blown away to reveal the floor beneath.
I can’t eat Orochi’s remains.
There’s nothing left except the blood clinging to the walls.
Yeah.
When [Pseudo Strangulation Fist] landed directly in his abdomen, Orochi burst apart like a water balloon.
He didn’t even leave behind a proper chunk of flesh, not even a scrap of organs.
He was, in his own way, the strongest enemy I’d faced so far.
Lucky me.
If I hadn’t started absorbing that finger in advance, I’d definitely be the one in this state instead.
Besides... if there were anything greater than that, only two possibilities come to mind, and one of those two has no reason to fight while the other is already nothing but a finger.
"...Then, I guess it’s about time."
I bare a vicious smile, full of killing intent.
All right. Shall we head up to the surface?
The Monster Association, I’m going to smash it to pieces.
I’ll sweep away everything moving in front of me.
Let’s erase it all.
Tear it apart.
Break it.
Eat it.
Swallow it.
Kill it.
If it’s a living thing, I’ll massacre every last one.
Not a single one spared.
Whether it’s a monster.
Or a human....
"................huh?"
...Wait a second.
That’s weird.
Kill all living things on Earth?
What kind of fresh bullshit is that?
No, putting that aside.
Why the hell did such nonsense.
Come out of my mouth?
Why would I.
Say something like that?
It was an absurd thing I couldn’t even consciously grasp.
What the hell is going on?
Then, almost absentmindedly.
The moment I turned my gaze toward the mural.
It was looking back at me too.
"......Ugh, grrrrgh."
I clutch my head so hard it starts to bleed.
I don’t even know where the strength came from.
But more than that.
My head feels like it’s about to split open.
The blood vessels in my eyes burst, and blood tears pour out like a waterfall.
The blood vessels all over my body shake violently.
My organs turn over.
My heart twists.
It twists and twists.
My vision turns red from the thick blood tears streaming down.
Redder and redder.
Until I can barely see any object in front of me at all.
...No.
I can see it clearly.
The stairs leading to a sacred altar.
I step forward and climb.
With every step, it grows redder and redder.
But.
The more it does, the more clearly the mural comes into view.
Humans.
And the grotesque monster drawn above them.
And then.
Above even that, a giant towering figure.
[Our god will be resurrected on the surface after a long span of time]
[By a fitting sacrifice]
[Offered to this altar]
[The sacrifice has been offered by you]
[So, error mass.]
[Accept your beautiful fate as the hunter of god]
[This is your final chance]
The blood-red world crumbles.
It splits into pieces and is swept away by a wind from somewhere.
My body flails as if sinking into water, feeling resistance.
This is different from floating with psychic power.
Rather.
It feels light, as if the concept of weight itself has disappeared.
Powerless, with no strength going into anything at all.
And unlike what I expected.
There is no pain whatsoever.
Only.
An utterly perfect peace.
And so.
Twisting like a cold vortex.
I step into a world that should have shattered like a puzzle and left nothing behind.
A ticklish sensation under my bare feet.
The quiet rustle of something alone.
A world full of the fresh scent of blue-green grass.
And then.
A garden of vividly colorful flowers I have never seen before spreads out before me.
It feels almost real.
No.
This is real.
A fluttering yellow butterfly brushes through my hair as it passes.
A smile rises on its own.
Without meaning to, I leap into the swaying sea of flowers.
Poof.
"...Warm."
I sink deep into the fluttering flowers.
For the first time in my life, a very warm, comforting sensation wraps around my whole body.
A cool, gentle breeze brushes softly over my head.
Sunlight shines on my face and lightly tickles me.
Petals lifted into the sky drift back down, fluttering.
The beauty leaves me dazed.
Paradise.
If there is such a place, would it look like this?
With a rustling sound, a girl approaches.
So familiar.
And yet at the same time, so unfamiliar.
A cute girl with long silver hair that I absolutely do not know, and should not know.
{How is it? My paradise. Pretty great, right?}
At her proud yet calm and gentle voice, I unconsciously nod.
As I lived, I had forgotten the sensations of comfort and warmth.
My world had only ever been stained with blood, pain, and the coldness of flying flesh.
Yes.
That’s right.
So this was what the world was like.
A peaceful, happy world.
Something like this was only something I had imagined in dreams I couldn’t even remember having.
So it really was possible.
I clench and unclench a fist that had only ever felt sharp and hard.
I feel soft, squishy, supple skin.
I shake my long, long tail.
Nothing moves.
I see.
Being human.
It was this good.
Thoughts chase after thoughts, and my mind grows more and more hazy.
I sink into bliss.
Yes. Maybe this was the world I wanted.
No, maybe I had wanted this from the very beginning.
A world with no conflict.
No pain.
No sorrow.
A happy world where everyone smiles.
I wanted this.
A warm, perfect peace where no one needs to hurt and no blood needs to be spilled.
{Here, take this. I prepared it for you.}
I take the bouquet the girl offers and hold it to my chest.
Under the warm sunlight, I gently close my eyes.
Everyone’s happy smiles take shape in my mind.
I don’t need to fight anymore.
I don’t need to suffer anymore.
I can be happy now too.
Everyone in the world will become happy.
The girl’s gentle voice reaches me.
{I’ll give you a chance. Accept the power, even now.}
...Power?
{Yes. Power. Then you’ll no longer be an error mass that rolled in from outside, but a true whole being reborn.}
A true whole....
{You’ll be able to do everything you want.}
{Save the world.}
{And become the ideal hero everyone has secretly longed for.}
Really...?
{Of course, you can also atone for your sins.}
{I can even make your sins disappear.}
Really...?
{I can even bring back everyone who died.}
I see.
{Now, let’s make a paradise for everyone. Come, take my hand-}
I heard enough of your bullshit, fraud.
"Yeah, get lost."
{.........What?}
I tear the bouquet in my hand apart.
With a truly genuine, brilliantly bright smile that I had never once been able to make while frozen stiff until now.
I raise both middle fingers high.
"Are you deaf? I said get lost."
If you were going to make a flower garden.
You should have made the scent properly too.
{......You’ll regret this.}
The girl’s face grotesquely changes.
As a hideous face like brain tissue reveals its true form.
The world shatters into red fragments.
"-Kheh! Hah, hah, h-hhhk..."
I stagger back from the mural, breathing hard.
The sensation is as if something had gone inside me and then violently yanked itself back out.
It feels strangely different from the exhaustion I had been feeling.
Something heavier and sharper.
In this incomprehensible situation, my instincts suddenly start screaming.
Did dead Orochi come back to life?
No.
That’s not it.
Something more ominous than that.
An indescribable sensation brushes against my instincts.
Dangerous.
What is?
With my now-clear vision, I look up at the mural.
The picture has changed.
From the resurrection of a great god through a fitting sacrifice.
A colossal unknown monster opens a mouth that is nothing but endless darkness, like the abyss itself.
It is shown swallowing the entire universe.
{You thought you would become a god, but you were fated to become a sacrifice.}
{I will give you power.}
{I will make you into the god of destruction.}
{You know what you must do next.}
{Erase everything together with the error mass that should never have existed...!}
Yes.
Power.
It is power.
I want absolute power, above all others.
I will become a god.
I will kill every mortal being.
I will tear apart the bastard who stole my fate.
I will destroy this world.
Humanity.
No.
I will rise above even this world and reign as the natural enemy of all worlds.
So.
I crave and desire power more overwhelming and destructive than anything in this world.
Give it all to me.
I will devour it.
Your power.
My skin starts to tingle.
My heartbeat quickens.
It’s a familiar sensation.
That’s why my nerves go taut.
An overwhelming.
presence of a strong one.
From underground, a purple gale begins to rage.
As a massive power that should never have existed begins to rise, something starts to stir beneath the altar.
[{Kheh... heh....}]
That thing.
That monster.
Can it really be defined as a monster?
Dragon-level?
It’s no longer even a level that can be categorized like that.
It doesn’t take long to realize that.
[{Power... power is overflowing... so this is the power of a god... even I cannot grasp my own limits....}]
A razor-sharp, high-pressure gale begins to carve away at the surroundings.
Even the ruins that had somehow endured between the two monstrous powers begin to collapse.
In the pure destruction of nothingness, a great darkness raises its shrunken body.
[{Aaah... it feels refreshing, as if I’ve thrown off armor weighing a thousand pounds... just like the day I first gave up being human...!}]
Despair, empowered by the strength of a fallen god, has been born.
{[<Destroyer (Cosmic Destroyer)-Orochi>]}
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