A Dragon-level monster let out a roar, convinced that Zodehis was just putting on an act. It lunged at him, swinging a massive battle-axe straight at his neck.
Zodehis didn't move. He let the blow land. The axe, forged from ultra-high-strength alloy, shattered against his neck like a cheap plastic toy.
Slowly clenching his fist, he raised his other arm. With what looked like barely any effort — the kind of casual punch you'd throw at a friend as a joke — he tapped the monster in the stomach. The creature turned into a streak of black light, sent hurtling backward, smashing through the wall.
A single wall couldn't possibly stop the force of that flying body. A series of deafening booms echoed in everyone's ears as the monster, like a cannonball, crashed through building after building, then shot into the distant depths of space.
Earth's gravity couldn't even pull back a monster now traveling faster than the third cosmic velocity. It was punched clear out of the solar system — who knew how long it would drift before finally stopping.
Every remaining monster stared at Zodehis in sheer terror. How was this possible? He really was that powerful! This wasn't just special effects!
The superheroes, too, looked at Zodehis as if they were meeting him for the first time.
This genius had given them far, far too many surprises.
The tall, handsome man floating in the air drew a deep breath, his chest rising slightly. He turned his head and then exhaled in a sweeping arc. Instantly, a violent windstorm erupted in the entire space, as if a bomb of incredible power had detonated with Zodehis at its center.
The gale swept through the area. The horde of Demon-level and Dragon-level monsters were like paper dolls bound from straw; visible ripples of air washed over them, and every one of them was blown apart.
Flesh, bone, mechanical parts, and shattered armor clattered wetly against the surrounding walls. Splashes of multicolored blood and plasma sprayed everywhere, splattering and smearing across the iron-black walls, turning them into a vivid canvas covered in abstract, multicolored graffiti.
Garou was rooted to the spot — not blown away by the wind — but the monster shell encasing him was gone. His skin and muscles had been stripped from his bones, leaving behind nothing but a blood-soaked skeleton.
One breath. Every single monster annihilated.
Divine Sword Bureau superheroes versus the Monster Association — the Divine Sword Bureau won a complete, overwhelming victory!
"Too weak."
Zodehis sighed. From the look of things, if he wanted a truly satisfying fight, his own creations could probably only manage to produce something like a Doomsday.
But Zodehis wasn't going to do that.
Besides, he had already partially comprehended the mechanism of the Power Law. After using the principles of the law to remodel his body, kinetic attacks had become completely ineffective against Zodehis.
Even if an enemy's strength exceeded his own, they could no longer cause him any harm.
"Zodehis, are you even human anymore?"
Stark couldn't help asking. The main reason was, they had all agreed to walk the path of technology together — and then suddenly you just go and become this ridiculously powerful!
"From a biological perspective, I'm no longer human. I've probably evolved into some other species. But in terms of self-identity, I'm still human, of course. I have no interest in becoming some sort of god."
Zodehis replied calmly. He channeled his energy conversion effect into the molecular domain, transmitting it to all the heroes, and effortlessly healed their injuries.
"How did you become so powerful?"
Stark was deeply interested.
"Super Soldier Serum."
Zodehis answered.
"You already achieved results?"
The others asked in surprise. Didn't that mean the whole world would soon enter an age where everyone was a superhuman?
"Your idea sounds wonderful, but in reality, it's impossible. There's only one dose of the serum, and I'm the only one who can produce it."
Zodehis said bluntly.
"If everyone were superhuman, the entire order and rules of the world would change. Still, why didn't you save a dose for me?"
Stark agreed with Zodehis's approach, then added, very disgruntled.
He also wanted to be as powerful as Zodehis. It was just too cool.
The nations of the world, who had been waiting with mounting anxiety, finally received the outcome.
If there had been no result soon, they would have launched nuclear missiles to cleanse the area. New York was already gone anyway; at worst, they'd cleanse it and then abandon it for a few centuries.
If the superheroes had been defeated by the monsters, and then those monsters scattered, dealing with them would have cost a thousand times the price.
And then they learned many unbelievable things.
For example, that Zodehis had successfully developed a perfected Super Soldier Serum, became immensely powerful, wiped out Demon-level and Dragon-level monsters in an instant, and won the battle.
But this Super Soldier Serum, which made the entire world drool with greed — Zodehis stated there was only one dose, and he wouldn't be making any more.
This left them itching with desire, yet completely helpless.
There was nothing they could do. Previously, they couldn't threaten Zodehis. Now that Zodehis had become the "True Strongest Man in the World," the "World's Greatest Capitalist," the "Director of the Divine Sword Bureau," and "Humanity's Hope," threatening him was even less of an option.
Another example: Zodehis had wiped out the Monster Association. Ordinarily, that would be a cause for universal celebration. But when they inspected the corpses afterward, they simply could not find the one called Garou — the one rumored to be a human who transformed into a monster, who had beaten up a large group of superheroes, and even forced Zodehis, who was wearing "power-sealing armor," into a hard fight.
Although the reason Zodehis had struggled was because protecting the superheroes had drained his armor's energy, the fact that Garou could push Zodehis — a man who slaughtered Dragon-level monsters as easily as chopping melons and vegetables — into a bitter battle was still extremely tantalizing.
Most importantly, there was that method of turning a human into a monster!
With no body found, everyone concluded that Garou had probably clung to a last breath and escaped.
Immediately, the governments that had just begun to feel safe, thinking they could comfortably deal with the aliens, started having headaches again.
The Chitauri invasion had just ended, but the Saiyans had yet to show their faces!
And on top of that, Zodehis dropped a bombshell.
He said that eliminating monsters wasn't a permanent solution. Monsters were, in fact, Earth's immune system response to the "virus" called humanity — a measure to kill the virus. In other words, monsters would keep emerging endlessly; they would never truly disappear.
Stark, after studying the natural degradation speed of the monsters and the environment, confirmed Zodehis's statement.
With verification from two of humanity's greatest geniuses, the world's governments were forced to devise a plan to deal with the situation.
As things stood, the temporarily established supreme-authority organization, the Divine Sword Bureau, was already beginning to show all sorts of drawbacks.
For instance, agents abusing their authority for personal gain, and expenses blowing past the budget by several streets.
After all, agents from a capitalist background didn't have particularly lofty moral awareness; most dreamed of saving the world with the suave, dashing style of James Bond — and then riding off into the sunset with a beautiful woman, complete with sports cars, private jets, and yachts.
If it were something like the CIA, that would be one thing. America didn't mind its agents wining and dining on the public dime, as long as they got real work done.
/-\
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