— — — — — —
About half an hour later—
"Sir! This is the place! See? We did exactly what you asked! So... can we go now?"
The Gorilla and Beast King, who had run several hundred kilometers to get here, nervously rubbed their hands together as they pointed to the building in front of them, speaking to Renzo with uneasy smiles.
Renzo used his mental sensing ability to scan the area. Sure enough, Dr. Genus was down in the underground facility. He nodded in satisfaction.
"Yeah, you didn't screw it up. You can go."
He waved them off but added with a warning glare, "Don't let me catch you doing evil again. If I do... I won't hesitate to crush you. Got it?"
"Yes, yes, absolutely! We swear!"
The two monsters looked like they'd just been pardoned from a death sentence. They immediately turned and bolted away at full speed—faster than they'd run all day, like they were afraid Renzo might change his mind.
"Sensei, are you sure it's okay to let them go?" Genos asked, walking over, still a bit uneasy.
They were monsters after all, and from what he could tell, not exactly weak ones either.
Sure, they didn't last a second against his teacher, but Genos could still sense some danger from them.
"Don't worry about it," Renzo replied with a casual wave. "I left a little surprise on them. If they try anything, they're dead men walking."
"Anyway, enough about them. Let's head inside."
With that, Renzo strolled toward the facility entrance.
"Wait—Sensei, are you sure it's safe to just waltz in like that? There could be traps. Shouldn't I blast the place first, just in case?"
SMACK!
Renzo whacked Genos on the back of the head and laughed. "What do you mean 'blast the place'?! I might still have use for this facility! And besides, what kind of trap could actually hurt me? Quit worrying and move!"
Then he disappeared into the entrance in a blink, leaving Genos sighing and hurrying to follow.
...
Inside the facility, Dr. Genus was watching it all unfold through the security monitors. He smirked as Renzo and the others stepped into the building.
"So... they've shown up after all. Impressive."
He muttered to himself, "If even Beast King and Armored Gorilla were no match... I guess it's time to bring out my trump card."
He reached over and activated his ultimate creation—Carnage Kabuto.
---
After some time...
Renzo and the others had entered a huge open hall. The second they stepped in, red warning lights began flashing along the walls.
CLANK... CLANK...
A giant humanoid rhinoceros beetle-like monster emerged from the shadows.
"Hahaha! Thanks to you guys, I've finally been unleashed again!"
Carnage Kabuto cracked his neck and flexed his claws.
"To show my appreciation... I'm going to tear you all apart! Piece by piece! Kehahaha!"
As soon as he finished, he vanished in a blur and charged straight at Saitama.
But—
Before he could land a hit, Carnage Kabuto suddenly slammed on the brakes. A cold sweat broke out all over his body, and he leapt backward, pressing himself against the far wall in pure terror.
He stared wide-eyed at Saitama. "What... what are you?! Just now, I felt it. If I attacked you... I would've died!"
The sensation had been crystal clear—and terrifying.
"Oh?" Saitama tilted his head. "Your instincts aren't bad. Looks like you've got some power in you. Might be fun."
He turned and looked at Renzo and Genos.
"This one is mine?"
"Go for it," Renzo replied casually—and disappeared in a flash, leaving the hall.
"Huh?" Genos blinked. "Sensei just... left?"
"Probably off to find the guy pulling the strings," Saitama said with a grin. "Fine by me. I've been wanting to stretch a little anyway."
He rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles, grinning as he casually strolled toward Carnage Kabuto.
"You bastard...! You think I'm scared of you?! Watch as I show you my ultimate form!"
Infuriated by the sheer disrespect, Carnage Kabuto roared, his body turning red-hot as steam began rising off him.
"Carnage Mode!"
BOOM!
A massive surge of energy exploded out as he transformed into his final form: a towering, purple-and-green striped humanoid beetle. His body ballooned in size, and the pressure rolling off him multiplied a thousandfold.
— — —
BEEP BEEP! WARNING!
Massive energy surge detected 184 kilometers north of Z-City.
Threat Level: DRAGON!
BEEP BEEP! WARNING... WARNING...
Carnage Kabuto's transformation didn't go unnoticed.
The moment his power spiked, satellite surveillance systems picked it up. Back at Hero Association HQ, the alert system lit up like a Christmas tree, and loud alarms blared nonstop.
"Did I hear... Dragon-level?!"
The director's face went pale. "Who's the nearest S-Class hero? Can anyone be deployed right away?"
A threat level of Dragon— A-Class heroes wouldn't even scratch it.
Only S-Class heroes stood a chance against a Dragon-level threat. And even then, some of the lower-ranked S-Classes might not make the cut.
A staff member, clearly anxious, quickly responded, "Sir! The recently promoted S-Class Rank 16—Mr. Renzo, Creator X—lives in Z-City! But, uh… we haven't even had the chance to notify him of his promotion yet!"
"And aside from him… the only one close enough is Lady Tornado, but even she's over 400 kilometers away. It'll take time for her to get there!"
The Director didn't hesitate. "Contact both Creator X and Tornado immediately. See if they can assist. Especially Tornado—tell her it's urgent and we need her on-site ASAP!"
"And if Creator X agrees to help, make sure he knows to play it safe. Have him stall the monster if he can until Tornado shows up—better they take it down together than risk anything reckless. It's Dragon-level, after all."
That was the best he could do for now.
"Understood!"
The staff quickly split up and began reaching out to both heroes.
— — —
At that exact moment, Creator X—aka Renzo—was sitting in a chair, completely relaxed.
Beside him were Dr. Genus's real body and several clones. All of them had already been mentally dominated by Renzo's powers and were under his control.
"Hmm? Oh, it's the Association," Renzo said casually, answering the call. "What's up?"
"…A Dragon-level monster, huh? Coordinates? …Wait, those coordinates sound really familiar… oh! That's right—it's where I am right now!"
He burst out laughing. "No joke! A group of monsters just came to attack my estate today!"
"Yeah, seems like it's all connected to that group the Mosquito Girl was with. This Dragon-level guy? He's one of them too."
"What? Support? Nah, don't worry about it—I can handle this one myself. No need to send backup. I'm not being cocky, I promise."
"…You already contacted Tornado? And she insists on coming no matter what? Heh, alright then. Let her do her thing."
"Okay, I'm hanging up now."
He ended the call, still smiling.
Dr. Genus's real body nervously spoke up, "Sir! This is all my fault. Should I activate the failsafe and destroy Carnage Kabuto before things get worse?"
Renzo shook his head. "Nah. This'll be over soon enough. I won't even need to lift a finger."
Sure enough, on the monitor in front of him, Carnage Kabuto had already completed his transformation.
Then—boom!—he exploded forward in a burst of speed and smashed Genos straight into a wall like a ragdoll, sending him flying before he even knew what hit him.
Genos hit the wall hard, mechanical parts sparking and falling off. His whole body was damaged.
"…What the hell just happened?" he mumbled, stunned. "Why me?"
He hadn't even done anything. He was just standing there watching the fight!
Why'd that bug freak target him first?!
If he'd known this would happen, he never would've come!
Genos felt seriously wronged.
Back in the control room, Renzo couldn't help but laugh. "Pfft—poor guy really got the short end of the stick!"
Meanwhile, Carnage Kabuto, now fully transformed, cackled maniacally. "HAHAHAHA! Do you see now?! I'm on a whole new level! You shouldn't have given me time to transform! It's over for you!"
Having seemingly overcome his earlier fear of Saitama, the monster launched himself toward the bald hero, full speed and full fury.
The pressure alone was enough to make Genos shout in panic, "Watch out!!"
But—
"Normal Punch."
Saitama didn't even flinch. He just raised his right fist and threw a casual punch.
BOOM!
Before Carnage Kabuto could even touch him, Saitama's fist connected with his chest—
—and in an instant, the monster exploded into a splatter of green goo and broken limbs.
Genos stood frozen, completely dumbfounded.
"…It's over? Just like that?"
He couldn't believe his eyes.
This bald guy… was that strong?
Genos started seriously questioning everything he thought he knew.
.
.
.