"Hey, can you see my shimmering muscles?"
Superalloy Darkshine barreled through the tunnels, crushing every monster he encountered into mincemeat. Strangely, not a single drop of blood stained his skin; he remained as pitch-black and glossy as ever.
When his companion, Tanktop Master, voiced this confusion, Darkshine replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world: "That is the sheer power of my muscles. When you possess a physique like this, such things are possible."
"I see." Tanktop Master nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps when my Tanktop Power reaches its absolute limit, I can achieve the same effect."
"Hey, hey, there's no way that's possible," Suiryu couldn't help but interject. "And what the hell is 'Tanktop Power' anyway?"
"No, I've done it too." On the other side, Puri-Puri Prisoner was stark naked, his muscles bulging as he mimicked Darkshine's charge, shattering several monsters without a speck of blood sticking to him.
"Prisoner, could it be that you've already..."
"Yes, inspired by Darkshine, my Dark Angel Tank mode is finally complete."
"Not bad, not bad. Your muscles are looking quite beautiful."
"It's not enough. I must become even more beautiful."
"Oh, such fighting spirit! Let's work hard together!"
Seeing the "philosophical" atmosphere among the three musclemen grow increasingly thick, Suiryu gasped and recoiled a few steps, ending up next to Pig God.
Just as he was about to vent his frustration, he saw Pig God open his mouth wide and swallow a fat worm monster whole.
"...Never mind me."
Suiryu retreated in defeat, staring speechlessly at the ceiling. "I'm totally out of place with these four 'monsters.' Why was I put on this team? Even if I couldn't be with the girls, I should at least be with someone normal."
Sighing and accepting his reality, he focused his attention on the monsters in front of him.
"Die, monsters!"
Exuding violent killing intent, Suiryu charged into the fray. He unleashed a barrage of Void Fist strikes, exploding the creatures into mists of blood.
Just as he cleared the area and prepared to catch his breath, alarm bells suddenly rang in his mind. Without a second thought, he rolled to the side.
A high-speed jet of water grazed his shoulder and shot into the ground, leaving a deep, bottomless pit.
Clutching his bleeding arm, Suiryu shouted, "Watch out! A powerful one has appeared!"
He didn't dare stay put, leaping and weaving to another spot. But the enemy seemed to have locked onto him; tricky water cannons attacked from every angle, leaving him exhausted just trying to evade.
At the critical moment, a burly figure stepped in front of Suiryu. The water cannons slammed into his body but failed to leave even a mark.
"I happened to want a bath anyway." Darkshine struck various poses, letting the water jets hit different muscle groups.
"Thanks, Darkshine." Suiryu stood straight and offered his thanks.
He might be flamboyant, but he's reliable. With such a meat shield in front of him, Suiryu felt a sense of security he had never known before.
"Don't mention it." Darkshine grinned, showing off his brilliant white teeth. He looked toward the source of the water cannons and began to run. "Let me take care of this."
Like a heavy tank, Darkshine charged with unstoppable momentum. As he drew near, he saw the attacker was a shapeless mass of water with two eyeball-like orbs floating inside.
"So this is the Evil Natural Water mentioned in the briefing? A monster made of water, as expected." Darkshine was slightly surprised but didn't slow down. He slammed right into it. The massive impact shattered Evil Natural Water into a mist that scattered across the floor.
"Eh? Was it that fragile?"
Tanktop Master and the others arrived after finishing off their respective monsters.
Puri-Puri Prisoner looked around, confused. "Where's the enemy?"
"Right here," Darkshine pointed at the puddle on the ground.
"Solved it that quickly? As expected of an S-Class hero," Suiryu gave a thumbs up.
"I just gave it a little nudge and it ended up like this," Darkshine said, rubbing his bald head.
"A 'little' to you is a disaster for a monster," Suiryu retorted.
"Exactly." Tanktop Master nodded in agreement. Looking around, he said, "All the monsters here are dealt with. Let's head elsewhere to find more."
"Understood."
As they turned to leave, they noticed Pig God was still standing there, staring blankly at the water on the ground.
"What's wrong, Pig God?"
"I have a feeling... it's not dead yet," Pig God murmured. His eyes turned cold as he lunged at the ground, sucking the entire puddle into his stomach.
"Hey, hey! You can't just eat everything you see!" Suiryu, the only normal person, complained once more.
Pig God stood up and wiped his mouth, appearing unbothered. A few seconds later, he suddenly clutched his stomach, his expression contorted in pain.
"See? I told you not to eat random things," Suiryu said, shaking his head.
"Hey, Pig God, are you okay?" Tanktop Master stepped forward to help, but Pig God stopped him.
"Wait... don't come close."
Pig God doubled over in agony. The next second, he jerked upright as dozens of water jets erupted from his stomach. Mixing with Pig God's blood, the water coalesced in mid-air, and those lifeless eyeballs reappeared within the mass.
"Crap! It's that Evil Natural Water! It's still alive!" Suiryu yelled.
Tanktop Master quickly helped Pig God up and asked worriedly, "Are you alright?"
Pig God was pale and shook his head slightly.
"Tanktop, Suiryu, take Pig God to the surface for medical attention. Prisoner and I will stay here and finish this!" Seeing someone get injured right in front of him made Darkshine angry.
"Right." Tanktop Master and Suiryu nodded. Master hoisted Pig God onto his back while Suiryu kept watch, and the two ran back the way they came.
Once they were gone, Prisoner was the first to charge at Evil Natural Water. "How dare you hurt my dear Pig God! I won't forgive you!"
Stimulated by his killing intent, Evil Natural Water's eyeballs locked onto him. A mass of water condensed and fired rapidly at Prisoner.
"Dark Angel Tank mode!" His thick body hair stood on end, hard as iron. Prisoner's eyes widened as he charged straight ahead without dodging.
Thud!
Evil Natural Water was once again smashed into a spray of water. However, the droplets slowly began to gather toward the center. It was obvious that Evil Natural Water would revive again before long.
"This time, I'll blast you until there's not even a speck left!" Darkshine looked down at the water with a grim face. His massive fists began pounding the puddle rhythmically. "Superalloy Piledriver!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Darkshine unleashed hundreds of punches without fatigue. The sheer force destroyed the entire section of the tunnel, even punching through the floor. He and Puri-Puri Prisoner tumbled down to the level below.
"Hahaha! Let's see you revive from that!" Darkshine stood up from the rubble, hands on his hips, boasting proudly.
"This time there really isn't a speck left." Puri-Puri Prisoner climbed out of the debris and rubbed his chest. He still had bruises from the water jets; compared to Darkshine's ultimate defense, Prisoner was still quite far behind.
"Hey, you two. You're heroes, aren't you?"
A cold, arrogant voice came from the side. Darkshine turned his head and his eyes widened. "Silver Fang? What happened to him?"
"Nothing, he's just asleep." Garou tossed Bang toward them. "This old man shouldn't be out here causing trouble; he should be home retiring."
Puri-Puri Prisoner caught him carefully and found that Bang was indeed just unconscious and not in any life-threatening danger. He exhaled in relief. "Did you save him? Thank you."
Garou didn't answer. Instead, he shot a glare at Prisoner. "I can't believe Aomori gave a flasher like you the chance to be a hero. You're lucky I don't have time to deal with you right now."
With that, Garou turned and vanished into the darkness.
"?"
"?"
Darkshine and Prisoner exchanged looks of utter confusion.
…
"King, are you ready?"
"Yeah!"
Having practiced for less than two days before being thrown into a real battlefield, it was impossible not to be afraid. But he was already on the boat; there was no turning back now.
King took a deep breath, nodded sharply, pushed the throttle to the max, and shouted: "Freedom Gundam, launching!"
Compared to the other two models, he preferred the more balanced Freedom Gundam. On the other side, Child Emperor piloted the remaining Strike Gundam, launching alongside King.
Propelled by the thrust of their engines, the two Gundams soared into the blue sky toward the battlefield in City Z.
"King, follow me."
"Understood."
Moments later, they arrived over the battlefield and saw the massive hole in the ground.
King couldn't help but ask, "Who are we fighting?"
"A monster that can split into many individuals," Child Emperor replied.
Although he had learned from the returned Kayaba Akihiko that a monster had easily taken down the Justice Gundam, he decided to stick to the plan.
"Where is Genos's signal... Found it!" Child Emperor immediately contacted him. "Genos, we are in position. What's your situation?"
"It's not good. There are too many enemies; no matter how many I kill, they keep coming," Genos's hurried voice came through the headset.
"Lure it to the surface. We can't fight properly underground."
"Understood!"
Inside the tunnel, the area was teeming with clones of Black Sperm. Surrounded by them, the expressions on the faces of Genos's trio were no longer as relaxed as before.
They had destroyed countless Black Sperm clones, yet the enemy showed no sign of thinning; if anything, there were more of them now. Furthermore, multi-cellular individuals appeared occasionally with much higher strength, requiring significant effort to kill.
Without backup, they would be ground down to death. Thankfully, Child Emperor had finally arrived.
After finishing the call, Genos shouted, "Mumen, move out!"
Mumen Rider understood. Channeling his remaining energy, he condensed a massive fireball as wide as the tunnel between his hands and hurled it forward. Countless clones were swallowed by the flames and turned to ash.
Behind him, Genos extended his hands and fired a powerful Spiral Incineration Cannon, clearing out the Black Sperm clones along the entire path.
Having cleared the way with their big moves, the three didn't linger and rushed for the exit.
"Trying to escape now? Too late!" Black Sperm sneered. "If I let you get away, I'll lose all my dignity!"
They shrieked and gave chase.
Reaching the hole through which Justice Gundam had emerged, Genos shouted, "Both of you, hold onto me!"
Mumen Rider and Glasses didn't hesitate to grab Genos around the waist.
"Hold tight!" Genos activated his thrusters. Flames erupted from his hands and feet, lifting them into the air. "I can't fly for long, but this distance to the surface is enough!"
The Black Sperm clones reached the opening and watched the three fly away, gnashing their teeth. "Hey! They can fly! We're going up too; don't think you're escaping!"
They formed a living bridge with their bodies and climbed upward, though they were nowhere near as fast as Genos.
Upon reaching the surface, the trio tumbled to the ground in a heap.
"Genos, you really need to work on your landing technique," Glasses said, shaking his head.
"Sorry. I will," Genos replied. He looked up at the two towering Gundams in front of him and whispered, "They're huge."
"Amazing..." Mumen Rider's jaw dropped.
"Are you all alright?" Child Emperor spoke through the external speakers. "Rescue personnel are on standby two kilometers away. I can send you there if needed."
"No need, I feel fine," said Glasses, who had been "fishing" (coasting) most of the time. "How about you, senpai? You looked exhausted just now."
"I'm fine." Mumen Rider took a few deep breaths, and his breathing gradually steadied.
Genos was a given; as long as his power source wasn't depleted, he wouldn't feel "tired." He was currently equipped with a new energy core from the Organization, and after all that output, he still had over 60% remaining.
"Alright then. You three stand guard and make sure not a single one of them escapes."
"Got it!"
A short while later, the Black Sperm clones finally managed to climb all the way out. On the wide-open ground, the black mass seemed even more numerous, like droplets in an ocean.
Seeing Genos's trio standing not far away, Black Sperm asked in confusion, "You didn't run? What gives you such confidence?"
"Our strength, naturally," Glasses said with a smile. "It's wide open here; now we can use many of our best moves."
"Is that so? Then let me see those moves! Everyone, get them!" The Black Sperm clones surged forward together, snarling.
Glasses chuckled, then turned and ran alongside Mumen Rider and Genos.
"Heh, I'll see what tricks you're trying to pull!" Having strong confidence in his own strength, Black Sperm wasn't afraid.
Once they were a short distance from the hole, the two Gundams descended from the sky, cutting off their retreat.
"You have the advantage in numbers, so it's not too much to ask for some backup, right?" Glasses and the others stopped and turned back around.
"These two big metal lumps are your backup? Heh." Black Sperm said dismissively, "Size isn't everything."
"King, it seems he doubts our firepower. Let's show him what a Gundam can do!" Child Emperor manipulated Strike Gundam to draw a massive energy sword nearly ten meters long and swung it down violently into the mass of Black Sperm clones.
"So this is a monster? How ugly," King "exhaled" as he piloted Freedom Gundam into the fray. "If we're playing a 'game,' I'm not losing to you!"
————
NOTE: This fic has been completely translated. If you want to read the whole story head over to my p-atre-on: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]