Emi's fingers flew across the keyboard, her hands a blur.
First, she furiously flamed a group of Echoes of the End fans who were arguing with her.
Then, she turned her fire on several bloggers who specialized in trashing the Hunter and One-Punch Man anime online.
Finally…
Emi checked the time.
Three minutes.
In three minutes, the sixth episode of One-Punch Man Season 4 would begin airing.
She immediately sprang up from her chair, rushed into the living room, turned on the TV, and tuned it to Capital TV. Then she quickly prepared snacks and drinks, setting everything neatly on the table.
After checking that nothing was missing;
"Perfect."
Emi smiled in satisfaction.
As a loyal fan of Shirogane for over three years, she had followed every one of Rei's works without exception. She had attended every manga signing event Rei held in Japan.
She was also the administrator of several major fan groups.
Naturally, every Friday to Sunday evening was sacred viewing time.
At last, eight o'clock arrived.
The iconic One-Punch Man theme song began to play. In the opening, various S-Class monsters from earlier arcs flashed by in quick succession.
Then the opening ended.
The story picked up exactly where it had left off last week.
And this week's episode title appeared:[The Strongest Man!]
Emi clenched her lips, trying hard not to laugh.
As everyone knew, this series had two "strongest men."
One of them was the protagonist, Saitama.
He was the strongest in terms of sheer power, yet almost no one in the story knew his true strength.
The other was the man everyone believed to be the strongest.
All of Saitama's accomplishments, defeating Vaccine Man, the Giant Brothers, Elder Centipede, had been attributed to him. Even though no one in the Hero Association had ever seen him make a move, his title as the World's Strongest Man was completely unquestioned.
That man was King.
And judging from last week's preview, this "Strongest Man" could only be him.
Emi focused intently on the screen.
The heavily injured Super Alloy Black Light stared at the newly fused Golden Sperm, whose smooth, sculpted muscles gleamed unnaturally after merging countless Black Sperm clones.
"There are… actually muscles in this world that shine brighter than mine…? This… this is impossible…"
Emi burst out laughing.
Cruel as it was, was there really someone who would mentally collapse just because another man's muscles were better than his?
And this guy was an S-Class hero?
As Golden Sperm prepared to attack the fallen heroes, Genos, his limbs already torn apart, dragged his shattered body forward. Gritting his teeth, he bit down on Tornado's clothes, trying to pull the unconscious esper away from the battlefield.
Golden Sperm sneered.
The surrounding Black Sperm clones grinned viciously, ready to strike.
Then;
Thump.
A deep, rhythmic sound echoed through the battlefield.
Emi froze for a split second, then her eyes lit up.
The sound of a heartbeat.
King's heartbeat.
The infamous King Engine.
A sound born from terror, yet interpreted by the world as the roar of overwhelming fighting spirit.
King stood atop a pile of rubble at the edge of the massive crater.
His eyes were dark. His expression solemn.
He wore nothing more than a simple otaku-style plaid shirt, yet his arms-crossed posture was relaxed, almost casual. From every angle, he radiated an aura of absolute dominance, one that seemed to look down on everything before him.
Putting aside King's true thoughts, this entrance sent a crystal-clear message to everyone present:
'I'm not targeting anyone in particular. I'm saying everyone here is trash.'
The remaining Hero Association members were completely spent.
And the man who had just arrived on the battlefield, King, now stood alone before: The Dragon-Level monster Evil Natural Water.
The peak Dragon-Level threat Homeless Emperor.
And Golden Sperm, who had already defeated four S-Class heroes by himself after completing his fusion.
In the original version, Psykos would have been present as well.
But in the Murata redraw, Psykos and Orochi had already been defeated through combined efforts.
Which meant, King was facing three top-tier Dragon-Level monsters by himself.
Emi's heart tightened.
She had been eagerly anticipating this scene, but;
Did it really make sense?
Was King really stepping forward, risking his life, just to save Genos, Saitama's disciple?
Wouldn't any one of those Dragon-Level monsters be able to reduce him to dust with a casual attack?
On screen, King's expression never changed.
Even in the depths of terror, his face looked as calm and unshakable as that of the strongest man alive.
Yet inside, he was already drowning in despair.
And then, the most iconic moment arrived.
King stood perfectly still, gazing down at the center of the battlefield with cold disdain.
The Dragon-Level monsters hesitated.
None of them dared to move.
They might not know King's true strength, but how could they not know the strength of Elder Centipede?
The news that Elder Centipede had been slain by King with a single punch was known to everyone.
King: It's over… it's over, I'm dead!
Homeless Emperor: 'King has almost no combat records, yet his ability to conceal information is terrifying. No wonder he's called the World's Strongest Man,' thought Homeless Emperor'
Golden Sperm: 'Even though we've taken the Hero Association hostage here, King's rumored to be so powerful he can neutralize opponents without lifting a finger. We absolutely cannot be careless…'
No matter how many calculations they ran in their heads, reality could not be avoided forever.
Homeless Emperor struck first.
A massive sphere of light condensed in his palm, radiating terrifying power, bright enough to illuminate the entire night sky.
'Just out of curiosity, what happens if I touch that light ball?' King asked calmly.
'You'll be vaporized!' Homeless Emperor sneered.
'Even so, you remain unfazed? King… let me shatter that composure of yours!'
Emi was already clutching her stomach, squirming uncontrollably on the sofa.
'How could this be this funny?'
'What exactly are you idiots even testing for?'
'And King, you're obviously so scared you're about to wet your pants, so why does your face still look this terrifying? Is this some kind of innate talent?!'
"Wait. Haven't you noticed yet?" King spoke again, tone perfectly even.
"The rubble beneath your feet is extremely unstable. It's quite dangerous. Just a friendly reminder."
Of course, King wasn't issuing a warning.
He was desperately stalling, clawing for time in the only way he knew how.
He was still hoping Saitama would arrive and save him, just like always.
So even delaying one second mattered.
But to Homeless Emperor, the timing made no sense.
Why would King say something like this right now?
His expression immediately stiffened. He unconsciously shifted into a defensive stance, feet pigeon-toed, mind racing.
'Is King implying that he can instantly dodge my light ball and kill me? Standing there, there's no way I could avoid him…'
A sentence suddenly surfaced in Emi's mind.
'King's strength exists entirely inside your imagination.'
His past "achievements" were simply too terrifying.
After all, which powerful monster in this world hadn't been defeated by Saitama, only for all the credit to be dumped onto King?
From Vaccine Man to Elder Centipede, every victory had built King into a walking legend.
The premise was ridiculous.
Completely unreasonable.
And yet, watching it unfold, it didn't feel forced at all.
If Emi were one of these monsters, she would be just as cautious.
Despite laughing nonstop, her palms were starting to sweat.
Her heart rate picked up.
Could King really survive this crisis purely by letting the enemies destroy themselves mentally?
Homeless Emperor was already unraveling.
But what about Golden Sperm?
And Evil Natural Water lurking nearby?
Then the situation escalated even further into madness.
"King! Today I'll expose your true identity!" Homeless Emperor shouted, furious after being frightened so thoroughly.
King, who was even more terrified, instantly misunderstood.
"True identity?"
He thought he had been exposed.
Panicking, he blurted out, "I...I sincerely apologize for a regular person appearing here!"
The phrase "regular person" detonated Homeless Emperor's psyche.
Through Homeless Emperor's spiraling thoughts, Emi finally understood.
Homeless Emperor himself had once been nothing more than an ordinary man.
He had merely been granted power by a god.
At his core, he was still human.
King's words made him believe he'd been seen through completely.
His psychological defenses shattered.
"Black Sperm! Attack, now!"
"Why should I expose myself in front of King just for you?" The Black Sperm clones replied solemnly.
'Evil Natural Water attacks indiscriminately when it senses killing intent… yet it hasn't reacted to King at all. Does that mean King has already seen through Natural Water and concealed his killing intent?No… that's not it.'
'King doesn't even consider us enemies.'
Who would feel killing intent toward ants that could be crushed at any moment?'
He doesn't even have me in his eyes… damn it!'
Emi's mouth fell open.
Absurd as it was, Black Sperm's reasoning actually made sense.
After all, the possibility that King was just a weak human had to be excluded.
Otherwise… how had Elder Centipede died?
With King standing here, Evil Natural Water unmoving, Dragon-Level monsters frozen, this explanation was the only one left.
As expected of you, Teacher Shirogane…
How did you even come up with this?
Did you laugh while writing it?
Emi finally lost it.
She rolled off the sofa onto the floor, clutching her stomach, laughing so hard she couldn't breathe.
...
Read 55 chapters ahead @[email protected]/Ashnoir