"Ow—damn it…!"
Pushing himself up from the cold floor, Garou felt pain explode through every inch of his body.
Even the slightest movement—
Sent a stabbing agony straight into his brain.
Clutching his forehead, his thoughts were a mess.
He couldn't remember.
Why was he this badly injured?
He forced himself to think—
He remembered crawling out of a sewer… encountering a hero…
…and then—
Nothing.
A complete blank.
As if he'd been beaten so badly that his memory itself had shattered.
He looked around.
An enclosed underground space.
"…Feels like I ran into something… terrifying."
"Something I don't even want to remember…"
"Awake now, Mr. Wolf?"
"Not even fully monsterized, yet already at near Dragon-level… impressive."
Two voices.
Garou's eyes snapped upward.
Standing before him—
Two monsters radiating overwhelming pressure.
One—
A strange creature with a single massive eye, frail-looking, yellow-skinned—
Yet exuding terrifying psychic power.
The other—
A towering giant, nearly twenty meters tall, with four monstrous eyes, rippling muscles, and clad in martial attire.
They were—
Grand Oculus and Ragnar.
Leaders of the Monster Association.
Both—
Dragon-level threats.
And far beyond Garou's current level.
"Monsters?!"
Garou's instincts flared.
He flipped backward several times, instantly widening the distance.
His stance shifted—
Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist.
Ready.
Alert.
Danger.
"No need to be hostile," Grand Oculus said calmly.
"We are the Monster Association. We share the same… perspective as you."
"We found you heavily injured outside. Brought you here to recover."
Garou said nothing.
His guard didn't drop even a fraction.
He trusted monsters—
Not at all.
"Alright then…"
Grand Oculus shrugged.
"You seem troubled. Care to share?"
Garou clenched his head.
Pain surged again.
And with it—
Fear.
Deep.
Primal.
Unexplainable.
"…This might sound strange…"
"Go on. We won't be scared."
Grand Oculus and Ragnar exchanged a glance.
They would take this slow.
Garou—
A rare specimen.
A human who hunted heroes.
With insane potential.
Properly cultivated—
He could become another Monster King.
Or something even greater.
"…I think…"
Garou winced.
"…I got knocked out by… someone…"
His mind trembled.
And suddenly—
A face appeared.
A bald head.
Plain.
Ordinary.
Unknown.
And yet—
Terrifying.
For reasons he couldn't understand.
"…A bald guy knocked me out."
"A bald guy? Who exactly?"
"…I… can't remember clearly."
"Then let me help."
Grand Oculus raised a tendril.
Psychic energy gathered—
Dust, fragments, colors—
Forming an image.
"Is it him?"
A muscular bald brute appeared.
Garou stared.
"…That's Nappa. From Dragon Ball."
"…He's a Saiyan."
"…Not human."
The image shattered.
Reformed.
"This one—Master Roshi."
"…He doesn't have a beard!"
"And his face isn't like that!"
Another shift.
Now—
The Ancient One.
Garou twitched.
"…Male. No chest. Definitely male!"
Another transformation.
A flaming skeleton—
Black armor.
Burning skull.
"…That's Ghost Rider!"
Garou grabbed his head.
His sanity was slipping.
Grand Oculus paused.
Thinking.
Then—
A flash of inspiration.
"Ah! This one—new S-Class hero of the Hero Alliance—Professor Koro!"
The image formed—
A yellow, tentacled creature.
Garou snapped.
"THAT'S NOT EVEN HUMAN!"
"That's a damn octopus monster!!"
Silence.
Garou covered his face.
"…Why am I surrounded by idiots…"
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