"This is… the place where I fought those two ninja monsters before?!"
What was going on?
Did he fall back here again?
Before Saitama could react, he plunged straight into the pool beneath the chamber.
"Blub—blub—blub…" He prepared to dog-paddle to the surface—then froze.
There was something else down here.
No—calling it "something else" wasn't quite right.
Saitama's eyes widened.
Corpses.
A lot of corpses.
And he knew these faces.
From a dream he'd once had—at least, he thought it was a dream.
"Underground people…?" That was what they were called, right? In that "dream," the ones he'd seen upon waking were only half the size of normal humans. But the bodies down here—what was with them?
Most of the dead Undergrounders were over three meters tall. Some were five or six—ridiculously huge.
As the thought flashed through his mind, the Undergrounders moved.
Yes—moved, for real.
At the same time, a bellow rose from above the water. "Saitama! I know you're here! Get out here!!!"
Startled, Saitama shot out of the pool. Waiting in the chamber was Phoenix Man—wreathed now in golden fire.
"Hahahahaha! Incredible! Do you know? You're the best I've ever seen! Just one punch—and I advanced again! Power like this!!!" Reborn Phoenix howled in excitement.
Saitama's face tightened. No way… was this one of those "the harder you hit me, the stronger I get" things?
He didn't have time to keep playing. He glanced at his fist and closed his eyes a moment. Since it had come to this—he'd wrap this up quickly.
He wasn't as green as he used to be. That strange radiance from Phoenix Man felt wrong, and the way the Undergrounder bodies moved in the pool… it had to be because of that light.
What did he say his ability was again?
Revival.
Not just reviving himself—he could revive others. At this level, he could even bring back Undergrounders who'd died who-knows-how-long ago but whose bodies hadn't rotted thanks to their toughness.
No wonder such an ability drew attention—even if he wasn't a cadre.
Saitama looked at his fist. Seemed he'd have to get a little serious.
But before dealing with Phoenix Man, he'd clear the things behind him.
A flood of newly revived Undergrounders burst from the water and swarmed him.
"Hahahaha! So these are the natives from back then? They say they were all slain in a dream—killed in soul! How pitiful. The so-called Underground King sent his people to conquer the world in sleep—only for them all to be butchered there. A tragic tribe of monsters indeed. And now they're revived by me!" Reborn Phoenix gloated.
"Killed in a dream…?" Saitama blinked. No way it was that big a coincidence, right? Was that day not just some fake dream? Did he really fight a group of evenly matched opponents in his sleep?
Either way, it didn't matter.
He turned to the revived Undergrounders. "In that case… die again."
Saitama drove his fist forward.
Boom!!!
A shockwave rippled out. Saitama's mouth quirked up. Just as he thought—another monster that could take at least one of his punches had appeared.
"I remember you! You're the man who slaughtered our entire people!" a roar thundered from within the horde.
It was the giant Undergrounder—five meters tall—face grim. Before Saitama could answer, the titan charged. He could never accept how he'd fallen.
He was the Underground King, sovereign of the dream. Yet he had watched, helpless, as his people were cut down in slumber by a single human.
That shame had driven him mad. Now, here in reality, he would wash it clean—by pulverizing this man.
Heavy thuds boomed through the chamber in rapid succession—then the King's eyes went wide. Since this "revival," he was… weaker?
No—something else.
Could it be that after his death, this man…
Saitama's expression dimmed with disappointment. Honestly, he was let down. Seeing the Underground King again had stirred something; after all, in the dream they'd traded blows as equals.
But now, this one was far too fragile. He hadn't even used a Normal Punch—just casual strikes—and the King was already cornered.
In that dream, the King had taken a Normal Punch head-on.
Think about it, though. After the King died, he'd never grown. Saitama, meanwhile, had crossed into the Marvel world and pushed his power far higher.
Invincible raised further was still invincible—nothing to be done about that. But one thing was certain now…
Saitama glanced at his fist. "You no longer have any reason to exist."
He flicked out a light jab—Futsuu no Punch (Normal Punch).
A blue pressure arc bloomed, wrapping every Undergrounder in sight. They had no time to react; by the time Saitama looked again, they'd been shredded into mince.
This time they were dead—truly dead.
What Saitama didn't notice: in a far corner of the chamber, Gale Wind and Hellfire Flame peered out, tense and trembling.
Those two monsters who'd died earlier… were revived as well.
(End of Chapter)
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