"This world is sick…"
Jovian floated in midair. He'd already heard the news that he'd been rated an S-Class hero, and yet he wasn't surprised at all—like he'd expected it from the start.
"People in this world… maybe not one hundred percent, but ninety percent of them have something seriously wrong in the head. Every last one of them either runs their mouth like they've been eating shit by the spoonful, or they can't tell the difference between an enemy they can beat and one that'll crush them…"
"So in this world, you have to show a hard attitude. As long as I don't go picking a fight with that bald guy, with my S-Class status he won't bother me either. That means I don't need to worry too much…"
Jovian hovered there, thinking about everything he knew.
The One Punch Man world was packed with people who just weren't wired right—people who'd even dare to mock Saitama. Some of them could vaguely sense Saitama was ridiculously strong, yet they still hypnotized themselves into believing he "wasn't that strong," acting like total morons anyway.
With people like that, the only thing Jovian could do was slap them across the mouth, grind them into the dirt, and ask them who's the boss and who's the punk—because the big "F" on Jovian's chest didn't just stand for Freedom.
"So… where to next?"
Jovian sifted through the memories in his head.
"The Monster Association… no idea where they're hiding right now. I'll need to find someone friendly and ask around…"
"Oh—right. I remember there's a guy with a really interesting ability."
"I'll go take that ability for myself."
After thinking for a moment, Jovian's body blurred into an afterimage again.
"Hah…"
"Hahahaha…!"
"I finally escaped! You bastards at the House of Evolution~!"
A woman with countless thin wings and a voluptuous figure—like some twisted fusion of a human and a mosquito—floated in the sky, laughing wildly.
She'd finally gotten out of that hell called the House of Evolution…
"Just wait, you assholes!"
"Once I've sucked enough blood and stored up enough power…"
"I'll make you pay a hundred times—no, a thousand times over!"
The giant mosquito woman laughed, her body turning into a streak as she vanished into the sky.
"Idiotic…"
Somewhere Mosquito Girl couldn't see, a small reconnaissance drone watched her every movement.
"You can't even realize you're a test specimen I deliberately let out…"
"What a stupid little creature."
"Heh…"
"Let's see what kind of interesting changes you, as a half-finished product, can bring to this world."
"Will the S-Class heroes be stronger… or will you?"
A man in a black suit with nearsighted glasses sat with his legs crossed in front of dozens of electronic screens, observing Mosquito Girl closely.
Around her, displayed across the monitors, were dossiers on every hero in the Hero Association—everyone except Blast, and the newly promoted S-Class hero Jovian.
He was the owner of the underground scientific organization known as the House of Evolution, and he had only one goal:
To guide all humanity toward evolution.
That was why he'd intentionally released the prototype Mosquito Girl—so she could gather the kind of "interesting data" he wanted to see.
"We have an emergency notice…"
"A massive swarm of mosquitoes has converged and is now moving toward Z-City! The threat level is estimated at Demon-level! Everyone should evacuate as soon as possible, and unless absolutely necessary, do not leave your homes!"
On the TV, an elderly expert relayed the Hero Association's intel, warning residents so they could avoid the disaster.
"Huh?! Z-City is in the attack zone too?" a bald man muttered, scratching his shiny head. "What a pain… Hope I don't get dragged into this."
Then he climbed out the window to water his cactus—
And met the enemy of his life: the god-level monster… a mosquito.
At the same time, a handsome cyborg whose body had been modified with layers of armored plating—an "all-budget warrior," the so-called "Unbeaten Legend"—also received the news from his doctor and prepared to head to Z-City.
His goal was crystal clear:
Kill Mosquito Girl.
Save Z-City.
"Hahahaha…"
"Come to me~"
"My cute little babies~"
The true culprit behind the disaster stroked her cheek and kept laughing.
Around her were endless black mosquitoes, spreading through the sky like storm clouds rolling in.
"This number is way too insane…"
Heroes from the Hero Association who'd rushed over stared at the sky, eyes wide.
Inside, they were already backing down. They didn't dare take a single step forward.
They called themselves heroes, but they had zero courage—just clowns in flashy costumes, living off exaggerated marketing and a handful of small fights to maintain a "hero" image and pay the bills.
In the end, being a hero was secondary.
Making money was the main thing.
So when those money-first "heroes" saw the sky filled with mosquitoes like a dark cloud, they got scared. Sure, taking down a Demon-level threat usually came with a hefty payout from the Hero Association—
But no matter what, you need to be alive to spend your money.
Hero Association Headquarters…
"Damn it…"
"Those C-Class and B-Class heroes are completely useless, A-Class won't make it in time, and the S-Class all have their own crap going on…"
Inside the Association, the staff in charge of assigning heroes based on disaster reports stared at the Z-City feed from the drones, eyes bulging.
They could only watch helplessly as the swarm headed for Z-City and panic.
Even though Z-City's residents had already been evacuated, if the mosquitoes couldn't replenish themselves there, they'd spill into the surrounding nearby cities next—and then it would be an absolute catastrophe for humanity.
"Any S-Class heroes? Did any S-Class respond?!" a manager shouted angrily.
"The reply from Metal Bat is that he's watching his sister's performance, so he can't go…"
"Metal Knight says his artillery isn't for shooting mosquitoes."
"Tatsumaki says it's disgusting and she doesn't want to go…"
"Silver Fang Bang says he's online shopping for an electric bug zapper. Once it arrives, he'll head to Z-City. He says he can swat them one by one, but he still recommends we buy a lot of bug spray…"
The staffer relaying the responses sounded completely done with life.
"Damn it… So out of everyone in this Association, nobody can handle a bunch of mosquitoes?!"
The manager was furious. Normally, those heroes took the Association's money without blinking. But when they were actually needed—especially the S-Class—every one of them came up with some ridiculous excuse to refuse.
"Wait…"
"The satellites detected a high-energy signature!"
"There's an extreme energy reaction moving at a speed far beyond our equipment's tracking limits, traveling from U-City to Z-City!"
"N-No, that's not right—whatever it is, it's already in Z-City! It's too fast. Even with twenty-eight satellites, we can't lock onto their exact position!"
The staffer stared at the warning display as every satellite indicator lit up at once. If he hadn't concluded someone had crossed from U-City to Z-City in an instant, he would've thought six cities—U, V, W, X, Y, and Z—were all under attack at the same time.
"Who is it?" the manager asked, frowning.
"Based on our phone-location system, the one who passed through six cities should be the newly promoted S-Class hero Freedom."
"It's absurd—he was still in U-City one minute ago dealing with a Demon-level monster!"
The staffer read off the computer's conclusion.
"Really? An S-Class hero finally went?" The manager let out a breath.
"Confirm it by phone," he ordered, still not fully at ease.
"Yes, sir."
The staffer nodded and hit the call button.
"Beep… beep… beep…"
After a long stretch of ringing, the call finally connected.
"Gulp…"
Just thinking about the fact he was calling the mysterious S-Class hero Freedom made the staffer swallow.
"Um—excuse me, is this Mr. Jovian, S-Class Rank 17, Freedom? We're with the Hero Association. We inferred from your phone signal that you arrived in Z-City, may I—"
"The enemy has been eliminated."
Before the staffer could finish, a calm voice answered over the line.
"Hiss…"
In an instant, everyone in the room sucked in a sharp breath.
Fast? That was fast.
From leaving U-City to arriving in Z-City and wiping out a Demon-level disaster—less than a minute.
"Is there anything else?" the hoarse voice on the phone asked again, somehow making people feel safe.
"Uh… n-no! That's all! Please allow us to express our sincere gratitude at the end—thank you for everything you've done for the people!"
The staffer blurted out.
"Mhm."
Click.
The call ended immediately, like the person on the other end had zero interest in wasting time on small talk.
"Haa…"
Only after the line went dead did the staffer finally breathe out.
Talking to someone like that… it was brutal on his nerves.
"Well?" The manager walked over and handed him a bottle of water. "How'd it go?"
"Glug, glug, glug…"
The staffer chugged, the cold water soothing his dry, hoarse throat.
"Talking to S-Class heroes is seriously too much pressure…"
"But now I finally understand why they're called S-Class."
"That level of power… it's not even in the same universe as everyone else—every other rank, every other hero."
The staffer wiped the sweat off his forehead, full of awe.
"Of course," the manager said, sounding a bit helpless. "Those S-Class are humanity's protectors."
//Check out my P@tre0n for 10 extra free chapters //[email protected]/Razeil0810