BETA's face tightened. "King, I was just talking, alright? Don't get all fired up already!"
Child Emperor was genuinely spooked. He'd heard the stories—how King's "Emperor Engine" would start roaring the moment he merely sensed a powerful enemy, even without seeing one. He hadn't expected a few sentences from himself to set King off this quickly.
"I'm fine," King replied, wearing an awkward smile.
That awkward look, however, landed in Child Emperor's eyes as disdain—yes, this man clearly held their upcoming foes in contempt, already ready to wipe them out.
Child Emperor could only give a wry smile. They were heading underground this time. He could only hope King wouldn't go too hard and bury them all alive by accident.
What Child Emperor didn't know was that King was nearly scared to death. He knew full well: against normal monsters, he could still rely on his ancestral escape technique. But if he ran into Demon- or Dragon-level… how was he supposed to run?
Hmm… was it finally time to fight seriously?
"Uh…" Child Emperor only relaxed when King's "Emperor Engine" finally stopped thundering. "Even so, don't let your guard down. Drive Knight's already been defeated, so be careful."
"What! Drive Knight was beaten?" King blurted. S-Class heroes didn't fall often. Even Dragon-class monsters had trouble putting an S-Class down, right?
As the thought flashed by, Child Emperor continued: "He captured a monster and interrogated it, then rushed here to City K. After that, we lost contact. Thanks to the data he uploaded before he went down, we learned the Monster Association's base is here."
King nodded. Though nerves gnawed at him, he kept his tone steady. "I feel… very ner—uh, very surprised. But I really can't imagine myself being defeated."
Child Emperor exhaled, smiling. As expected—just being with King made you feel at ease.
Elsewhere, Saitama lay in bed, still unable to sleep. Why? Because that constant vibration never stopped—like someone had pried the earth open.
"Is this ever going to end?" Saitama muttered, exasperated.
"Sensei, what happened?" Genos came rubbing his neck. He'd been forcibly powered down for maintenance earlier, so he'd missed the first waves. Another tremor hit; Saitama snapped, "So annoying! I can't sleep at all!"
Genos's face hardened. "Could it be the heroes' battle with the monsters?"
Saitama paused, then nodded. "Probably. Sounds like somebody's fighting under us."
"I understand. I'll end this fight now. If they dare keep Sensei awake, I'll show them pain!" With that, Genos was already out the door.
Saitama: ???
Ah… whatever. He's young. Lots of energy.
He tried to remember what that doctor said—something about how even cyborgs had needs? Was that why Genos was so eager to fight monsters?
With that idle thought, he shut his eyes. Sleepiness washed over him, and a small smile tugged at his lips—right as—
Boom!!!
The bed bounced. Saitama pretended he wasn't awake.
Boom!!!
The bed bounced again. He still pretended.
Boom!!!
Having slept exactly one second, Saitama's eyes snapped open. Three blasts in a row—sleep was impossible.
"Looks like…" Saitama slipped out of his pajamas and grabbed his hero outfit. "It's time to fight—for my sleep."
Dressed, he hurried outside.
This district barely had people in daylight; at night, it felt like a boundary realm—almost empty.
Saitama glanced around and frowned.
Wait…
So…
Hmm…
How do I actually get down to the Monster Association?
Right. Serious question. His face soured. He had no idea where the entrance was. No, no—there had to be a way. They'd said the base was somewhere beneath this neighborhood. In that case…
"The sewers." Saitama realized—wow, he was pretty smart! He sprinted to the nearest manhole cover.
Up on Saitama's rooftop, two voices watched him go.
"Brother, Saitama's moving."
"Hmph. Even if you want to repay a favor, must you be this sneaky?"
"You don't understand, brother. Saitama's so strong he needs no one's help. But to protect our benefactor's sleep, we should do our part. More importantly, we need to guard those around him. Alright—let's move!"
The Bang Brothers shot off toward the directions Fubuki and Genos had taken.
By then, Fubuki had already met her first enemy.
She remembered an entry point from the tablet Child Emperor had distributed, so she headed straight for it—only to run into a clustered horde on the way.
A quick sweep told her there were nearly a hundred monsters in front alone, with more ambushed throughout the surrounding buildings.
"So many…?" Fubuki sighed, a bit helpless.
But numbers didn't matter much here. Her power wasn't the sort that got bogged down by headcount.
"In that case, all of you—come at once! Everything for Saitama's sleep!"
(End of Chapter)
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