"You guys! Why the hell are you wrecking my home?!" Saitama roars, his right fist cocking back before blasting forward with devastating force!
"You—!" Elder Centipede's bellow barely starts before its vision is swallowed by a blood-red glow!
Not light, not flames.
A massive, sky-blotting blood-red "Death" character, radiating an ominous aura, looms before Saitama's tiny red glove, like a brand of doom, overwhelming Elder Centipede's senses!
BOOM!
The punch hasn't even landed, but the ferocious wind pressure slams into Elder Centipede's head, lined with ringed mouthparts, like a giant hammer!
The next second.
Splat! Crack! RUMBLE!
Only the teeth-grinding, relentless sound of tearing and crushing fills the air!
To Gaio, Gojo Satoru, Tornado, and the few monster lieutenants on the ground, the mountain-sized Elder Centipede—its grotesque head and the massive body erupting from the earth—looks like a giant cockroach that stumbled into a high-speed industrial fan.
Utterly brutal.
Its alloy-hard carapace, rock-like muscles, and pillar-thick limbs… all of it, the moment it meets the fist cloaked in the blood-red "Death," is shredded, torn, and crushed by an unstoppable destructive force!
Its colossal body is churned like it's been thrown into a meat grinder!
Splat!
A crimson mist of blood, mixed with countless chunks of carapace, guts, and fluid, explodes outward like a grotesque firework, spraying in all directions!
It forms a scarlet dust cloud, expanding rapidly before collapsing inward!
And that devastating fist force doesn't slow for a second.
Carrying the pulverized remains of Elder Centipede's massive body, it crashes like a blood-red comet into the already hollowed-out pit below!
RUMBLE!
A deeper, more resonant boom echoes from the depths!
Accompanied by the heart-stopping roar of the earth being torn apart!
The ground quakes violently, the edges of the massive pit collapsing further inward!
Dust swirls, debris rains down like a storm.
In midair, Saitama lands lightly on a falling chunk of concrete, his dead-fish eyes scanning the newly cleared area and the deepening, dust-filled pit below. His expression shifts back to his usual odd, cartoonish style.
"Whoa~" Gojo Satoru lets out a whistle, his Six Eyes curiously tracking the still-airborne bits of flesh. "Talk about cleaning house~"
Tornado hovers nearby, glaring at the wreckage and the bottomless black hole below, muttering under her breath, "…Musclehead."
On the ground, Nyan, Homeless Emperor, and Gums—having just narrowly escaped—stand frozen, as if under a spell.
They stare at Saitama's bald figure and the smoking, terrifying pit that swallowed Elder Centipede, every monster's face etched with one word:
Fear!
Gaio, unfazed by Saitama's one-punch annihilation of Elder Centipede, is instead intrigued by something unexpected—a plot twist that shouldn't exist, stirring deep underground.
He raises an eyebrow, addressing the trio. "You guys handle them. I'm heading down."
Without waiting for a response, his figure vanishes midair.
"Such a reckless little Tian-Tian~" Gojo Satoru shrugs, turning to the bald hero. "Right, Saitama-kun?"
Saitama scratches the back of his head, his dead-fish eyes glancing over the petrified monster lieutenants below.
As his gaze passes Nyan, the cat-like monster's fur bristles, its back arching, sharp claws involuntarily digging into the concrete.
"Dunno." Saitama lowers his hand, his red glove creaking with leather. "Whatever. Let's take these guys out."
Before he finishes, a blinding green light erupts!
"Annoying!" Tornado's curls writhe like living things, her petite frame unleashing a tidal wave of telekinetic power.
She doesn't give anyone time to react, her right hand clawing forward—
BOOM!
Nyan's position is crushed by telekinesis!
The ground splinters in a radial pattern, countless rocks defying gravity to float upward!
"Meow—!" At the last second, Nyan's feline reflexes kick in, dodging with a desperate leap.
But its left hind leg is grazed, flesh tearing open, blood arcing through the air.
Homeless Emperor's muscles bulge. "Loli~ Heh heh heh~ I like~ Heh heh!"
His creepy grin sends a shiver down Tornado's spine. She spins to Gojo Satoru, shouting, "Blue-eyed white-hair! That creep's yours!"
"Huh?" Gojo Satoru grimaces, his Six Eyes scanning Homeless Emperor's twisted face with disgust. "You stole my kitty cat, and now you want me, a total heartthrob, to deal with that ugly thing?"
Tornado ignores his whining, her green hair whipping as her telekinesis surges, turning floating rocks into a barrage aimed at Nyan!
Natural Evil Water tries to move, but its liquid body is suddenly locked in an invisible telekinetic field.
"Meow—!" Nyan's bleeding leg spurts, but its feline reflexes weave through the rock barrage. Its claws extend, sharp as poisoned daggers, slashing at Tornado's face!
Meanwhile, Gojo Satoru lazily extends a hand. "Domain Expansion: Infinite Void."
Homeless Emperor's feral grin freezes, his swollen muscles twitching unnaturally—his brain overwhelmed by an infinite flood of information!
Gojo Satoru tilts his head, watching Homeless Emperor's brain buckle under the infinite data. "Wonder how much that pointy head of yours can handle."
As he speaks, Homeless Emperor's eyes roll back, blood streaming from his nose, ears, and mouth, his body convulsing.
"Damn… damn pretty boy… how can you kill me?!" Homeless Emperor, bleeding from every orifice, trembles like he's having a seizure, his scattered eyes still burning with a shred of savage instinct, his voice breaking into fractured syllables.
His vaunted muscle strength and regeneration are a pathetic joke against this mental onslaught.
"Oh?" Gojo Satoru raises an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise in his Six Eyes. "Still talking tough after Infinite Void fries your brain? Your mental grit's just a tad stronger than your face."
His expression hardens slightly, his movements swift.
His slender fingers cross elegantly, condensing a pinpoint of destructive energy at his fingertips.
"Imaginary Technique: Purple."
Buzz!
A purple beam, warping space, flashes silently.
Homeless Emperor's bloated, distorted body, along with a chunk of the ground beneath, vanishes without a trace.
All that's left is a smooth-edged, bottomless micro-pit and lingering ripples in the air.
"Done~" Gojo Satoru dusts off his hands.
At the same time, Tornado's fight wraps up.
Facing Nyan's lightning-fast claw strikes and Natural Evil Water's high-pressure water blades from all directions, Tornado just scoffs.
She doesn't even budge, her surging green telekinesis an absolute fortress.
Nyan's venomous claws freeze ten centimeters from her face, then its entire body is compressed and folded by an irresistible force!
The sickening crack of bones and a shrill cat yowl erupt and cut off!
Splat!
A mangled mess of fur, bone, and blood splatters onto the ground.
Natural Evil Water's attack is trickier, its countless water blades piercing the telekinetic field, but just as they near Tornado's green aura, a finer telekinetic force hijacks and reverses them!
Every water blade halts midair, then spins back like boomerangs, slicing into the liquid monster itself!
Splash! Ssssh!
Natural Evil Water tries to split, reform, and liquefy to evade, but the omnipresent telekinesis manipulates every droplet with surgical precision.
Its massive liquid body is shredded, torn, and vaporized by its own blades!
Finally, with a faint pop like a bursting bubble, its core is crushed and detonated by telekinesis, dissolving into a fine mist.
In the swirling dust, Tornado hovers, her green curls settling.
She shoots a disdainful glance at Gojo Satoru. "Tch, slowpoke blue-eyed white-hair."
Gojo Satoru throws up his hands, feigning innocence. "Hey, I handled it perfectly, okay? And you got to play with two small fries…"
Tornado opens her mouth to snap back but catches a glimpse of another battlefield at the pit's edge.
Her words die in her throat.
Saitama, standing straight after retracting his fist, stares at his red glove, coated in sticky fluid, looking mildly puzzled.
Near his feet, only two thick legs remain, torn off at the thighs by some horrific force.
The severed ends are a mess of twisted muscle fibers, dark purple blood pooling beneath.
As for Gums' upper body? Gone, not even a speck left.
Saitama scratches his bald head, muttering at the slimy glove. "Ugh… went a bit overboard… this is gonna be a pain to clean…"
Gojo Satoru, grinning, strolls past Tornado, pointing at Saitama. "Don't be shocked by a guy who can go toe-to-toe with Nero."
Tornado turns away with a huff, lips pursed, saying nothing.
The trio (or rather, two plus a floating one) regroup at Saitama's blood-stained "battlefield," their movements syncing as they snap toward the same direction!
Hundreds of meters away, at the pit's edge among the ruins.
Phoenix Man, charred and tattered costume in shreds, creeps backward. His horrific wounds heal visibly, blackened skin flaking to reveal glossy new flesh.
His ruined costume writhes, multiplying, reshaping! Charred fabric extends like a living thing, forming ornate wing outlines, a majestic phoenix crown shadow coalescing above his head—a newer, stronger phoenix form rising from the ashes!
But his actions betray the grandeur—he's trying to slip away!
Just as his toes tense to bolt, an icy chill shoots from his spine to his skull!
It's like being throat-locked by three prehistoric beasts! Cold sweat floods his back.
His movements freeze, his neck turning like a rusted gear, painfully slow.
His pupils shrink!
Saitama, Gojo Satoru, and Tornado, who should've been hundreds of meters away, now stand silently less than ten meters behind him!
He can even see the sticky blood on Saitama's glove!
Dead silence.
Only Phoenix Man's pounding heartbeat thunders in his chest.
"Whoops," Gojo Satoru says, hands in pockets, his playful blue Six Eyes glinting. "Looks like we got a monster bro trying to sneak off~"
Tornado, arms crossed, sneers. "Hmph, trash."
Saitama tilts his bald head, his dead-fish eyes looking past Phoenix Man's glowing transformation to the bottomless pit below, his tone carrying a regular guy's worry. "Should we head down? Gaio's been down there a while. Bet it's more fun below."
He barely registers the dragon-level aura radiating from the reborn Phoenix Man.
Phoenix Man: "…"
His dazzling new form still shines, but the inflated confidence of his newfound power shatters under the silent gazes of these three "gods of death," leaving only bone-deep fear and absurdity.
Sneak away?
In front of these three?
He feels like a bug trying to crawl away under a T-Rex's nose.
---
1,500 meters underground, faint blue fluorescent moss glimmers on the cavern ceiling.
Fubuki hangs suspended, bound tightly by countless metallic black cords, her deep green dress slipping off one shoulder, exposing pale skin.
Her knee-high boots scrape harshly against the rock wall, her long legs, wrapped in black stockings, looking striking under the ropes.
"No use struggling," Psykos says, adjusting her gold-rimmed glasses, her eyes glinting coldly behind them.
Her curvaceous figure leans forward. "These were crafted from Elder Centipede's toughest molted segments, designed specifically for espers like you…"
Her words cut off as the cavern shakes violently! Rocks rain from the ceiling.
Psykos snaps her head up, her pupils shrinking behind her glasses. "Impossible! Elder Centipede's presence… it's gone?!"
"Heh…" Fubuki lets out a cold laugh, her bound body leaning forward slightly. "Psykos, your precious monster was that weak?"
Psykos scoffs. "Doesn't matter. I can make more of those monsters given time. But you—you're my trump card~"
Fubuki freezes, then smirks. "You think capturing me will threaten my sister? That's laughably naive."
Psykos adjusts her glasses, stepping closer to the suspended Fubuki, her slender fingers playfully lifting Fubuki's chin. "Oh? Then why're you so nervous? I can feel your heart racing~"
"Nonsense!" Fubuki jerks her face away, her chest heaving with rapid breaths. "My sister wouldn't care about someone like… like me…"
"Like what?" Psykos leans closer, her warm breath brushing Fubuki's ear. "A useless little sister?"
Fubuki's body stiffens for a moment but quickly recovers, her head snapping up defiantly. "Say what you want! Nobody cares about me!"
"Really?" Psykos gives a knowing smile, her fingers tracing the red marks on Fubuki's bound wrist. "Let's see about that…"
"Nobody cares about me!" Fubuki shouts, her voice echoing in the vast cavern.
Her eyes rim with red, but her gaze remains defiant.
Just then, a male voice cuts through the darkness:
"Hm? Looks like I found the right place."