A brilliant beam of blue light tore straight through the wall of the training laboratory, allowing the dim evening sunlight from outside to pierce into the dust-choked room.
Is it over?
The question couldn't help but pop into the minds of everyone present.
As the smoke gradually cleared, everyone finally caught sight of Carnage Kabuto's current state.
Visually speaking... Carnage Kabuto was collapsed on the ground, his entire body covered in scorch marks, and his right arm was completely carbonized.
The purple carapace on his front was shattered down to the base. It was webbed with a dense network of fractures, making him look like a sheet of glass that had been struck by a window-breaker.
Because of the thick armor, no one could tell if he was still breathing.
So strong!
Genos marveled internally. He had watched the entire attack unfold, and according to his analysis, the energy from that single blast alone was enough to drain 80% of his own power core.
Yet Alice didn't look the least bit worse for wear; if anything, she seemed even more spirited.
Could it be that this railgun possessed its own independent power core?
"Ta-da! Alice has successfully defeated the guardian of the underground labyrinth! We can now proceed to explore new areas!"
"Ah... if we're going to keep exploring, let's save it for tomorrow." Even though they had just won a battle, Saitama's face showed absolutely no sign of excitement.
He merely glanced at the sky outside and said, "If we don't head back soon, I'm going to miss the late-night anime. Alice, don't you need to get home early too?"
This kind of casual remark, spoken as if it were the most trivial thing in the world, made Genus nearly lose his mind.
What do you take the House of Evolution for, a public park? You think you can just come and go as you please?
But regardless of his mental collapse, losing Carnage Kabuto—the ultimate fighting force of the House of Evolution—had fundamentally shattered his worldview.
The mutant he had painstakingly cultivated and nurtured had managed to do nothing more than kick up a little dust on his opponent during the entire fight?
How could he possibly accept something like that?
Consumed by impotent fury, Genus could only vent his emotions wildly around the laboratory, scaring his clones so badly that they didn't dare to move a muscle.
"If you ever dare to send people after us again, I'll be paying you another visit."
Remembering why he had made this trip in the first place, Saitama called out to the training room. He didn't know if the guy could actually hear him, but at this point, he just had to assume he did.
The trip back would take over three hours. He just hoped they could get home sooner.
Genos also knew Saitama was in a hurry. When they had walked over earlier, a big reason for their slow pace was to preserve as much of Genos's energy as possible.
Now that they were rushing back and the matter was resolved, Genos naturally had no intention of holding back.
As they dashed along the return path, Genos ultimately couldn't resist asking Alice about the nature of the energy source she used.
On the way back, Alice was still keeping up with him effortlessly, making it impossible to see where the limit of her energy lay.
More importantly, he couldn't fathom where a power core could possibly fit inside a body as petite as Alice's.
"A power core?" However, faced with Genos's confusion, Alice looked even more bewildered. No matter how one looked at her, she didn't seem to have the kind of physique that could house a power core.
After all, Genos had seen her eating at Saitama's house with his own eyes. That meant Alice had a digestive tract inside her to store food.
Trying to fit an energy core into an already cramped space would leave absolutely no room at all, wouldn't it?
Coupled with Alice's soft skin, which felt almost identical to a normal human's, the remaining space was even tighter.
Genos had actually thought the same thing, but he had his own hypothesis: "I was thinking that perhaps you possess technology that transcends our current understanding, so the size of the power core might be smaller than imagined."
That being said, he also caught the implication in her reaction: "So, you don't actually have one?"
"Hmm... Alice doesn't really understand it either, but Alice guesses that the thing keeping Alice moving freely might be this." As she spoke, Alice pointed to the halo floating above her head.
This thing could certainly be called unique. At the very least, Genos had never seen anything like it.
But could this thing... really serve as an energy source?
"Sensei [Amber] once said: 'There's no need to understand the things of Kivotos so clearly!' or something like that." Alice truly didn't know much about it herself. Perhaps Herta would understand?
"Sensei? Kivotos?"
Genos tilted his head as they sprinted along. 'Sensei' was understandable enough. Although he hadn't expected Alice to have a teacher too, considering his own situation, it wasn't that hard to grasp.
However, he still seized the opportunity to ask: "Are you referring to your creator? Is Kivotos your model number?"
"Alice doesn't know who her creator is. Sensei is Alice's teacher, and Kivotos is the name of the Academy City!"
Why did it feel like Alice's background was getting more and more complicated the more he listened?
There was actually an 'Academy City' behind her? While he didn't know its exact scale, since it was called a 'city', its area shouldn't be small.
After running a quick search through his database and finding absolutely no relevant information, Genos could only give up with a sigh of regret.
Saitama didn't overthink it nearly as much as Genos.
He just found himself wondering if androids taking on masters was becoming a bit too common nowadays. Was this some kind of new-era trope?
With Genos running at absolute full throttle, the trio managed to return to Z-City in just an hour and a half this time, cutting their travel time practically in half compared to their journey there.
Once they arrived back in Z-City, Genos bid the two of them farewell, his mind already drifting to whether he could equip a railgun of his own.
He honestly wanted to hang around Saitama a bit longer, but too much had happened today, and he needed to carefully organize his data.
Alice also remembered her promise to Piko and everyone else to return early, so she followed suit and said goodbye to Saitama.
The sudden silence around him felt a bit unfamiliar to Saitama for a moment. But since he had always been a loner, he steadied his breathing and headed back inside his apartment.
Meanwhile, in L-City, the Blizzard Group—who had been waiting for Alice's return for ages—finally saw the young girl walk back into the headquarters, her face brimming with joy.
"Alice and her companions raided the Demon King's castle today, and we even explored a dungeon! Although the dungeon wasn't fully explored, Alice has gained a lot of valuable experience points!"
The girl, though covered in dust, was clearly bursting with energy. Once the Blizzard Group confirmed she was safe and sound, they temporarily let their worries slide.
But... they also caught a specific detail in Alice's choice of words.
'Companions'? Meaning Alice hadn't gone alone this time? That fraud of a bald guy had actually brought along 'accomplices' this time?
The moment the thought crossed their minds, they felt their blood pressure skyrocket.
This turn of events wasn't entirely outside their expectations; after all, there were countless people who wanted to exploit Alice, so it was only natural for a couple of fools who didn't know the rules to pop up.
But it's only natural for us to keep an eye on Alice's social circle and handle friendships that aren't quite friendly enough, isn't it?
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL