Thermal energy and the roar of an explosion erupted simultaneously from the muzzle.
Even without much charging, the Sword of Light possessed the power to shatter the defense of most Demon-level monsters; the previous Mosquito Girl had had her legs completely erased by it.
Of course, the power and blast radius of the Sword of Light would rapidly increase the longer it charged, but so far there had been practically no chance to do so.
Either the enemies' strength didn't warrant it, or there simply wasn't any time to spare.
However, the Beast King's defense was far greater than Mosquito Girl's.
The Sword of Light did not pierce straight through his body. Instead, just as he had anticipated, a violent explosion erupted upon impact.
The blazing, deafening roar still echoed in place as a blinding flash, carrying a scalding wave of air, violently surged outward.
Alice's figure was like a leaf swept up by a gale. Under the dual forces of the Sword of Light's sudden recoil and the blast's propulsion, she flew straight backward through the air.
Thud! A heavy impact cut through the smoke and dust. Her back slammed violently into the reinforced concrete support pillar of the bridge.
In an instant, the concrete on the surface of the pillar peeled and flaked away along the edges of the deep crater she had smashed into, exposing the rusted, dark-grey rebar inside. Fine stone debris mixed with the scent of gunpowder stirred up into the air.
"Alice?!" For once, a hint of urgency crept into Saitama's voice.
He instinctively raised his hand to block the oncoming wave of heat. Even though his vision was blurred by the swirling, grayish-brown smoke, his sharp eyes remained locked onto the trajectory of Alice's flight.
Even though he saw her take such a heavy hit, the worry that had just flared up in his chest was dampened a bit by the sheer resilience inherent in her figure.
The smoke finally began to drift away, and the young girl's form slowly materialized in front of the crater.
The hem of her black dress, which usually made her porcelain skin stand out, was now caked in a large patch of dust.
A few strands of her smooth, bluish-black hair clung to her soot-stained cheeks, and even the fringe on her forehead was dusted with gray.
Only the halo above her head flickered gently a couple of times, like a candle flame caught in the wind, before returning to its soft glow.
In the next second, Alice lightly hopped down from the crater. She lifted her head and waved forcefully toward Saitama, shaking off the dust in the process. Her voice carried a slight dizziness from just recovering: "Ugh... Alice is totally fine!"
Seeing that she didn't actually look hurt at all, Saitama completely set his mind at ease, then shifted his gaze to the Beast King.
Compared to Alice's condition, the Beast King was clearly in a much more miserable state.
A large amount of blood poured from his entire body onto the ground, his eyes had completely rolled back to show only the whites, and his chest, which barely rose and fell, proved just how faint his breathing was right now.
The right arm he had used to block the Sword of Light was practically reduced to mush, the bones inside obviously shattered to pieces.
Like this, he was clearly in no condition to fight. After confirming this, Saitama gave Alice a thumbs-up: "Nice."
Alice naturally responded with enthusiasm to the encouragement between teammates.
Not only did she return a brilliant smile to Saitama, but she also raised one arm straight up: "Ta-da! Alice defeated a powerful enemy all by herself for the first time!"
Although she had defeated monsters before, it was either together with others, or they couldn't be called powerful enemies at all.
The Ground Dragon's face turned from blue to pale, and then from pale to black. Fortunately, because his face was covered in fur, no one else could see his expression.
The Beast King was actually taken care of in just two rounds?! This... this is already beyond a normal S-Class, isn't it?!
If the Ground Dragon still had a shred of confidence along the lines of 'even if I can't beat them, at least I can escape' to keep him from breaking down, the Frog and Slugs standing to the side could be said to not even dare to breathe heavily.
Didn't they say the opponent wasn't strong... wasn't she just a newly appointed S-class?
Watching Alice walk back covered in dust while carrying her Sword of Light, Saitama's expression, after his initial worry, became somewhat subtle.
Though it might not be nice to think this way, it felt a bit like a cat coming home all dirty after going out to pick a fight.
"Uncle Saitama, what should we do with these monsters?" Alice didn't know what Saitama was thinking, but instead looked at the three trembling monsters nearby.
"Hmm... send them to a zoo?" Saitama scratched his bald head.
"I see, Uncle Saitama wants to open a 'Bizarre Zoo'!" Alice nodded in understanding.
"No, I was just speaking off the cuff. Anyway, let's knock them out and tie them up first."
Saitama directly skipped the topic. Although it felt great that the other party could always play along with his jokes as a friend, looking at her as a junior made it a bit...
It was probably better to regulate his words and deeds a little.
The Ground Dragon was naturally unwilling to just become a prisoner like this. Possessing the ability to move underground, he didn't think he could be caught at all, and dived into the earth the moment Saitama's words left his mouth.
Seeing this, Saitama went straight down, following the tunnel the Ground Dragon had dug.
Meanwhile, Alice walked over to the two trembling monsters: "Don't worry, Alice will control her strength well, it won't hurt."
Saying this, she raised the Sword of Light in her hands.
"Wait-wait a minute! Just tie us up! If there's anything you want to ask, we'll tell you everything we know!" Frog Man and Slugerous had far too much self-awareness regarding their own durability; taking a hit like that would kill them or leave them half dead.
They weren't exactly fiercely loyal people anyway—in fact, they were just treated as test subjects.
Seeing Alice, this mountain of an opponent, they realized they had finally met an enlightened master to surrender to.
"Hmm... interrogating for information..." Alice tilted her head: "But, Alice doesn't have any rope."
"Even without rope, we'll tell you everything! Please just ask, Milady!" Frog Man said hurriedly.
Beside them, Saitama emerged from the ground at this moment, carrying the Ground Dragon who had already fainted from fright in his hand.
Hearing Frog Man's voice over there, a spark of interest was struck in his heart as well.
Yes, he really was a bit curious about who had sent these people. After all, they were clearly coming for him. Having an information source to ask what was going on was indeed necessary at this point.
If there were enemies targeting him, it was better to deal with them early. Otherwise, it would be too much trouble if they kept sending people in the future—it's best to avoid leaving loose ends.
Boom!
During the lull in their conversation, the sound of battle nearby drew their attention.
The two of them also shifted their gaze together toward Genos's side.
If the scorching heat on Alice's side was merely incidental from her railgun, then Genos's side was a literal inferno.
Because one of his primary combat abilities was high-temperature flames, the battlefield around him already showed optical distortion caused by the intense heat.
The Armored Gorilla, which had originally gleamed with a metallic luster, had been scorched to a coppery red by the flames. Both of his arms were nowhere to be seen, and his iron helmet had been knocked to the ground.
The next moment, Genos delivered a finishing kick to the tottering body, leaving him slumping to the ground.
With that, the attackers had been completely dealt with.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL