Chapter 45: Almost Beaten to Death
Looking at the Crimson Dragon roaring into the sky, Saitama, who was still flipping through the air, couldn't help but exclaim:
"Whoa, so cool!"
But that wasn't all. With a thought, King enveloped the entire Crimson Dragon in vast psychokinesis. His body became a vortex, madly devouring the surrounding energy.
Golden and green brilliance flowed through the crimson vitality, as if cladding the dragon in indestructible armor.
Every muscle in King's body was tearing apart, and the moment blood seeped to the surface, it was instantly healed.
[NIGHT GUY]!!!
King charged out. The space in his wake twisted into a spiral. Terrifying power shook the entire earth as the berserk Crimson Dragon expanded rapidly in Saitama's vision.
Facing this god-like kick, Saitama's expression turned serious. He stabilized himself in mid-air, the muscles in his arm expanding instantly, and threw a plain, unadorned punch.
This was the limit of Saitama's "Normal Punch." Any more force, and it would cross the line into a "Serious Punch."
The boundary between Normal and Serious punches was roughly around 40% of his power.
Anything above 40% exceeded the realm of "Normal."
Meanwhile, Genos, who was spectating, suddenly had a very bad feeling.
Crap!
He had been so absorbed in watching the fight that he only just realized... they're about to clash with their ultimate moves!
The aftershocks from their earlier exchange had nearly wrecked him. Now that they were using their big moves, he needed to get much, much farther away.
Already 20 kilometers out, Genos turned and sprinted even further into the distance.
"Normal Punch."
The red-gloved fist collided with the Crimson Dragon. Massive energy fluctuations turned into a vortex of color. Violent shockwaves swept in all directions from the point of impact.
Amidst the yellow sand, the ground beneath King and Saitama vanished, replaced by a bottomless abyss several kilometers wide. Even the surrounding area continued to crumble, destroyed by the explosive force.
However, this time was different. The red-gloved fist didn't destroy everything in its path instantly.
The roaring Crimson Dragon actually managed to stalemate the Caped Baldy's fist for a brief moment.
Saitama was surprised. He looked at the blood-red dragon, which was cracking but still pushing forward.
It took a punch and didn't break?
The corner of his mouth curled up slowly. The excitement for battle was gradually reawakening in his heart.
King... you really brought me a huge surprise...
Saitama's face became even sharper. He slowly raised his left hand, which he hadn't used since the fight began.
In that case, I'll get a little more serious.
Third Punch. Fourth Punch. Fifth Punch!
His left hand moved at extreme speed, launching two rapid punches. The speed was so fast that only the afterimage of the red glove remained in space.
"Consecutive Normal Punches."
The power of three consecutive Normal Punches stacked together. The Crimson Dragon, which had held on briefly, finally shattered with a thunderous boom.
Crimson vitality sprayed across the sky, quickly dissolving into specks of energy and vanishing into the air.
King was sent flying backward, disappearing into the raging sandstorm on the horizon.
"Hm? Where did King fly off to?"
His vision obscured by the sand, Saitama looked around but couldn't find King anywhere.
Just then, a figure slowly emerged from the dust. King walked out leisurely. aside from his tattered clothes, there wasn't a scratch on him.
"Saitama, how was that move?"
Hearing King's question, Saitama smiled and nodded, his eyes showing approval.
"Not bad at all. Out of all the opponents I've fought so far, you're definitely the strongest, King.
"That big red dragon just now wasn't just super cool, it was also pretty tough. One punch wasn't enough to break it; I had to add two more."
As expected, the gap is still too big...
Hearing Saitama's enthusiastic review, a wave of melancholy washed over King.
As a transmigrator with a cheat system, he still couldn't compare to the Caped Baldy. He couldn't even stand shoulder-to-shoulder with him.
King had just used every trump card he had obtained since arriving in this world, unleashing his strongest attack, only to receive a comment like "That move was cool."
Moreover, while King looked unharmed walking out of the dust, it was only because he healed fast.
After taking three Normal Punches, not only was the [Night Guy] dragon shattered, but King himself had suffered severe injuries.
His entire body had been vibrated into meat paste in an instant. His bones were crushed into powder like the crumbs on a rice cracker, and his internal organs were mashed together.
If King hadn't focused all his effort on protecting his head to maintain consciousness, those three punches would have killed him.
Thankfully, the system's products were high quality. The terrifying recovery speed of [Extreme Regeneration] was insane, healing such total-body comminuted fractures in just two seconds.
Seeing King still standing there, the fighting spirit ignited in Saitama burned brighter. He clenched his fist excitedly.
"King, look, you just took five Normal Punches and seem fine. How about for the next five punches, I switch to Serious Punch?"
The Caped Baldy felt he was rediscovering his lost passion. Perhaps the thrilling, hot-blooded battle he had always dreamed of could be found here today!
Hearing Saitama's suggestion, King's face twitched.
He was almost certain that if he tried to tank a Serious Punch, he would be instantly vaporized into a bloody mist, with zero chance to regenerate.
Even in the original story, the Dragon-level (Above Dragon) cosmic overlord Boros didn't tank a Serious Punch directly.
Boros was blown to pieces by Consecutive Normal Punches. If he had taken a Serious Punch head-on, he would have been ground to dust instantly.
Facing Saitama's invitation, King shook his head, declining firmly.
"Let's forget about that. This is just a friendly spar today. No need to get that serious. Just stick to Normal Punches."
"Fine..."
Disappointment flashed across Saitama's face, but he quickly regained his motivation.
Only five punches left. As long as I can defeat King within five punches, all the fighting games released next month will be mine!
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