"That smoke is wrong—don't breathe it!" the female monster shrieked.
Too late.
All four jailers foamed at the mouth and collapsed in an instant.
A harsh screech of metal followed. Sparks danced across the iron door of Waganma's cell—someone outside was cutting it open.
"Wh-who's there?!" Waganma was scared witless.
"It's me—Child Emperor."
"C-Child Emperor?!" Even an airhead knew he was an S-Class hero. Waganma's spirits shot up at once.
"Anyone else imprisoned here?" Child Emperor asked while working.
"N… no!" Waganma hesitated—thought of something—but still answered quickly.
"Good. Let's move. We haven't bumped into any Dragon- or Demon-level threats on the way, but something still feels off…"
Elsewhere, Phoenix Man completed his fiery rebirth. The Reborn Phoenix stood before Saitama at last.
His puppet-beak split to reveal a sharp, handsome face—one many girls would swoon over at first glance. Yet he was a pinnacle monster—a Dragon-class existence.
Handsome monsters were rare.
Saitama studied him. "So you're ready to fight now?"
"Of course! Come, Saitama—show me your power!" They clashed at once. From a simple opening exchange, the Reborn Phoenix was blasted hundreds of meters, smashing through a wall and vanishing who-knows-where.
"H-how?!"
Stabilizing midair with frantic wingbeats, Phoenix Man tucked and rocketed back like a meteor. "Hayabusa Mōdo, kidō! (Falcon Mode, activate!)"
His face folded back behind the armor again. A dark aura slicked over him. "Totsugeki! (Charge!)"
Boom!
To his relief, this time their power actually locked—for a moment at least.
"Not bad! You caught that one. But what about the next?" Phoenix Man cackled, lancing straight upward, bursting into a large chamber above.
Saitama frowned and followed. The room was vast—over twenty meters tall, perhaps seven or eight hundred square meters across.
"Heh! In those narrow tunnels I couldn't unleash my true power. Now—behold!"
"You've said that like three times already," Saitama deadpanned.
Phoenix Man cleared his throat, then roared, "My new form—Kuroi Honōdori! (Black Flame Bird!)"
Black fire seethed over him. His speed spiked again. Watching him power up yet again, Saitama's interest faded.
Simply put, this guy was leveling up too slowly.
Yes—Saitama was getting bored.
"Even if you can grow without limit, this pace is just… slow." He sighed. "I'm done playing."
"Done… playing?" Phoenix Man felt outright insulted. He screamed and began circling Saitama at blistering speed.
Saitama watched him twice around.
Fast. Very fast. Even faster than those two Dragon-class ninja monsters. But so what? Cranking up speed and converting speed into destructive power were two different things.
"An opening!" Phoenix Man slammed a fist into the floor. Saitama's eyes flicked upward—sure enough, the bird had already launched skyward, aiming to dive-bomb from above.
"Die, Saitama! Tensei Hōōha! (Rebirth Phoenix Wave!)"
His maw yawned wide. A massive beam of light speared down at Saitama.
Saitama just raised a hand, utterly unimpressed. He didn't even bother throwing a punch.
Boom!
The tremendous blast blossomed over him—yet to Phoenix Man's horror, on Saitama it looked like…
Like nothing.
No effect—at all.
Why?!
Phoenix Man gaped, stunned. Yes, his output now surpassed his former self by a tier—but to Saitama, he was still just… ordinary. Not even worth a punch.
The floor, however, was not so lucky.
Crack—crrrrraaaack!
The ground caved and spider-webbed apart.
"Hahahaha! Let's see how you fight with no footing!" Phoenix Man poured on even more power.
Just as he said, Saitama's body was shoved steadily downward by the violent beam. Saitama inhaled, tightened his fist. If that's how it was going to be, he couldn't just let it drag on.
"Futsuu no Punch (Normal Punch)."
A torrent of force surged back up the beam. The air itself seemed to tear. Phoenix Man's eyes bulged—he hadn't even processed it when his body was ripped into dozens of pieces in midair.
Dead. Completely, utterly dead.
Saitama didn't have it easy, either. With no foothold in the air, unleashing a shock-driven counter sent him plummeting. He smashed through floor after floor until—sudden light.
He tumbled into an open space. Looking around, Saitama blinked in confusion.
Where… was this?
(End of Chapter)
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