In the dim tunnel, Bang stood still, gazing at the suddenly appearing Garou. He squinted his eyes and offered a small smile.
"Garou, you've returned."
"Hmph. Don't smile, old man. I'm not on your side this time." Garou crossed his arms and turned his head away.
"Heh, suit yourself. I don't have the energy to deal with you anyway."
"You're just a washed-up geezer. Even if you were in your prime, I wouldn't fear you." As he spoke, Garou began to walk forward. "Go home and enjoy your retirement; this place isn't for you."
"You brat..." Bang muttered with a playful scold, shaking his head.
Halfway down the path, Garou's eyes sharpened. He retreated violently, reappearing at Bang's side and smashing a fist into the ground.
BOOM!
Debris flew everywhere. Garou looked down at the deep crater, remaining silent.
"What is it?" Bang asked.
"Nothing. Might have been an illusion." Garou frowned as he thought, then hauled Bang up and threw him onto his back. "Old man, you sure know how to be a burden."
"Haha! This is what they call 'one good turn deserves another.' I worked so hard to teach you before. Now that I'm old, it's your turn to help me." Bang laughed heartily.
"Save it. I just don't want you dying like this. Between you and me, a final battle is destined."
"Fine. Once I've recovered, we'll have a proper match. Let's see what exactly you've learned over these past six months."
"Don't cry when the time comes."
"Heh, I only remember a certain someone crying quite loudly when he first joined the dojo."
"Shut up!"
"Hahaha..."
As Garou carried Bang further away, a clay figure rose from the crater, it was one of No. 17's clay clones.
He stared in the direction Garou had vanished, saying with lingering fear, "That guy's perception is terrifying. My emotions flickered for just a second and he noticed. If I hadn't escaped into the depths quickly, I'd be toast."
Steeling his nerves, he decided to head in the opposite direction to avoid that "God of Plague."
The clay clone moved through the earth like a fish in water.
Bypassing several mediocre individuals who weren't worth his time, his eyes suddenly lit up. He surfaced and saw a man playing with a small black dog.
The man wore a dirty yellow suit with a white cape. It was Saitama, fresh from his encounter with Overgrown Rover.
"You dared to mess up my hair; do you know what you did wrong now?" Saitama said menacingly, patting the small black dog that only reached his knees.
Previously, in a fit of rage, Saitama had given Overgrown Rover a serious thrashing. Somehow, Rover's body had shrunk to the size of an average dog.
"Woof!" The deflated Rover panted, wagging his tail to act cute.
"Sit!"
Rover obediently sat down.
"Give me your paw."
Rover lifted a forelimb and placed it in Saitama's hand.
"See, that's better." Saitama rubbed Rover's head and smiled. "Be a good dog from now on. No more bullying people, okay?"
With that, he patted his seat, stood up, and turned to leave.
After a few steps, Saitama looked back and found Rover following closely behind. Seeing him look over, the dog wagged its tail happily.
"Shoo! Don't follow me. I don't plan on keeping a dog."
"Woof!"
"No, no. Your grocery bill alone would cost me a full-meat meal." Saitama gave Rover a light nudge with his foot to stop it from following.
Rover whimpered, sadness reflecting in all six of its eyes.
"Don't be like that. We were enemies just a moment ago." Saitama steeled his heart and turned away.
However, as if fate refused to let him leave, earthen walls rose simultaneously at the front and back, sealing the passage.
"Who is it? How unethical, blocking the road like this... was it you?" Saitama looked at Rover.
Rover flinched and quickly shook its head.
"It was me." The clay clone surfaced, revealing only a head. He looked at Saitama and remarked, "Such a formidable physique. You'll make more than an adequate sacrifice."
"What are you babbling about?" Saitama frowned. "You don't look human. Are you a monster?"
"A monster? Hahahaha!" The clay clone laughed. "Don't compare me to those low-quality products. I am an Apostle under Kami-sama!"
"Come! Become the sacrifice for Kami-sama's resurrection!"
The clay clone sank back into the ground, controlling the surrounding earth to crush Saitama. He intended to bury him alive and force him into a suffocating coma.
"So you're an enemy then." Saitama's face darkened. His hands moved in a blur of afterimages, smashing all the encroaching soil to dust.
Rover also opened its mouth, desperately trying to help by spitting out a tiny "mouth cannon" no bigger than the flame of a lighter.
Sensing the commotion above, the clay clone chuckled. "Go ahead, struggle. The more you struggle, the more oxygen you consume. It won't be long before he runs out of strength. I'm staying fifty meters away, perfectly safe. Capturing him will be a breeze."
"Dammit! Is there no end to this stuff?" Saitama's patience was wearing thin. "This isn't working. I have to take out that guy from before."
His gaze sharpened. Concentrating his strength, he balled his hand into a fist and smashed it into the ground. "Open up!"
With a massive roar, the ground shattered like wet paper. The powerful impact traveled through the soil directly onto the clay clone.
"Impossible!" His eyes widened as his body was torn apart, his residual spirit dissipating into the depths.
Seeing the walls settle, Saitama wiped away some sweat and exhaled. "Finally, handled."
…
A massive boom generated from somewhere unknown echoed through the base. The ground shook incessantly, causing dust and debris to rain from the ceiling while the lights flickered.
Standing at the entrance of a room, Atomic Samurai and Iaian ignored these trifles, focusing instead on the ugly, fat creature inside.
"So you're Fuhrer Ugly? You really are hideous," Atomic Samurai said with his usual smirk, a toothpick in his mouth.
"You've got a face like a horse; what are you so smug about? In a moment, I'll show you what true terror is!" Fuhrer Ugly cackled. "I'm going to tear you into little pieces!"
"How dare you say that about Sensei..." Iaian was incensed. He stepped forward and gripped his hilt. "Sensei, let me handle him. I won't let him get away with this!"
"Iaian, sorry, but not this time." Atomic Samurai sneered. "For some reason, looking at him makes my blood boil. Only by cutting him down myself can I settle this irritation. Otherwise, I'll end up with internal injuries from holding it in."
He began walking toward Fuhrer Ugly, step by step.
"Hehehe, can't wait to die? I'll oblige you then!" Fuhrer Ugly split his mouth open and exhaled a foul breath, excitedly swinging a fist. "Face Caving Punch!"
Atomic Samurai bent low and lunged forward. In a heartbeat, the two crossed paths.
Unnoticed, Atomic Samurai's blade had already been unsheathed, held firmly in his right hand and pointing diagonally toward the ceiling.
"Atomic Slash!"
The moment the words fell, Fuhrer Ugly behind him burst into countless bits of flesh, scattering across the floor.
"Sensei is amazing!" Iaian's face was full of admiration. But before he could step toward Atomic Samurai, dozens of spikes erupted from the ground, lashing out at his master who was still in his cool posing stance. Iaian shouted, "Sensei, look out!"
Atomic Samurai seemed to have sensed it already. As he retreated, his sword swept beside him like a phantom, slicing all the spikes into dross.
He returned to Iaian's side, and the two stood back-to-back.
"Sensei, the door is blocked."
"Stay sharp. It's a new enemy."
"Understood!"
They didn't have to wait long before a new attack arrived. This time, several giant stone men, nearly reaching the ceiling, rose from the ground and surrounded them.
"Iaian, let's go together."
"Yes, sir!"
"Atomic Slash!"
"Iaian Slash!"
A series of sword flashes flickered by, and the stone men were reduced to rubble. However, new stone men rose immediately, popping up like bamboo shoots after rain.
"It's no use, Sensei. They can't be killed," Iaian said anxiously. "We have to find the monster controlling them!"
"Calm down, Iaian," Atomic Samurai said, unperturbed. "A swordsman must trust his blade. If it wants to wear us down, we'll oblige. Let's see who gives up first."
"But..." Iaian hesitated but ultimately chose to trust his master. "Fine. I'm with you!"
The two swordsmen charged into the flood of stone men.
…
"Is this the level of a Monster Executive?"
Flashy Flash looked at the bisected body of Gums with disdain. However, as he prepared to sheathe his beloved sword, Instakill, he noticed the blade was covered in pits and pockmarks, as if corroded by strong acid.
"This guy's stomach acid? Dammit!" Flashy Flash glared at the corpse of Gums, barely suppressing the urge to mutilate the body further.
He returned the clearly ruined sword to its scabbard and walked on with a dark expression. He was in a foul mood and looking for someone to hit.
Reaching a corner, he suddenly paused, his eyes narrowing. Two sets of breathing... one of them sounds like a dog.
But this was deep underground; how could there be a dog?
Monsters then. Perfect. I'll use the two of you to blood my blade. Flashy Flash masked his presence and pressed against the wall, waiting for the right moment. He was a former ninja-assassin; he specialized in ambushes and one-hit kills, rarely caring for frontal confrontations.
As the footsteps drew closer, he counted the seconds. 3, 2, 1... now!
He pushed off the wall, spun, and appeared at the corner, his long leg kicking out like a bolt of lightning. "Flashy Kick!"
In that same instant, he saw his target, someone who looked somewhat familiar. One of those A-Class heroes who just got promoted? Tsk, a waste of my preparation.
Realizing it wasn't a monster, he pulled back more than half of the kick's power.
Thud. His foot was caught in Saitama's hand. "What are you doing? You scared me."
"You actually blocked my Flashy Kick? Even though I held back most of my strength, you have reason to be proud," Flashy Flash said, slightly surprised.
"You're a human, right?" Saitama let go of the foot and frowned. "Even if it was an accident, you should apologize. Why are you saying such weird things?"
"Apologize?" Flashy Flash tossed his silky hair and laughed. "I am Flashy Flash of the S-Class. Why would I apologize to an A-Class hero like you?"
"Even if you're S-Class, if you do something wrong, you should apologize," Saitama lectured, wagging a finger.
"You dare speak to me like that?" Flashy Flash's brow twitched, his frustration growing again. "If this weren't the final battle against the Monster Association, I'd make you learn your place."
"Are all S-Class heroes this unreasonable?" Saitama muttered.
As if sensing Saitama's annoyance, Rover bared its teeth and barked at Flashy Flash. "Woof!"
Flashy Flash looked down, his pupils shrinking. "I didn't look closely before... this dog is a monster?!"
While everything else looked normal, those six eyes clearly signaled it wasn't a regular dog.
"No, no. He's just an ordinary dog now," Saitama explained.
He hadn't wanted Rover to follow, but after seeing the dog's effort against the clay clone, Saitama had softened and hadn't driven it away.
"Who are you kidding?!" Flashy Flash roared. His right hand instinctively went to his hilt, only to remember his sword was broken, making him even angrier.
Without another word, he raised a leg, aiming to kick Rover like a soccer ball.
"Can you just listen for a second?" Saitama blocked him. "He's an ordinary dog now. He's not a threat."
"That's not for you to decide. All monsters must be purged. Move!"
"Why are you as stubborn as an old man? Can't you listen to someone else's opinion?"
"No! If you won't move, I'll beat you along with it!" Flashy Flash said coldly, giving Saitama an ultimatum.
"I only just met him; we aren't that close. Logically, I shouldn't get into a fight with you over a dog," Saitama said with a serious expression. "But, if I move out of the way here, I won't have the face to be a hero anymore."
"So, if you want to kill him, you'll have to beat me first!"
Saitama's internal compass was unwavering. To him, only monsters that behaved maliciously were "monsters." An innocent-acting creature like Rover wasn't something that needed to be eliminated. Flashy Flash, however, believed every single monster had to go.
It was a fundamental clash of ideologies.
"Fine. Then prepare yourself for a hospital stay!" Flashy Flash sneered. "I'll show you what an S-Class hero truly is."
"Good. It's been a while since I had a troublesome opponent. My hands were starting to itch anyway." Saitama met Flashy Flash's gaze fearlessly, prepared to give it his all.