Time rewound five minutes…
"Dumbass, do you know where the Monster Association is?"
In U-City, Jovian was "politely" chatting with a Demon-level monster. He gently stroked the thing's neck and, using the most refined language imaginable, asked whether it knew the Monster Association's location.
"Brrrblbl…"
The Demon-level monster—bright red, shaped like a lobster—spewed a bunch of bubbles and shook its head hard, signaling it had no idea where the Monster Association was.
"Yeah? Then you're useless."
Jovian's hand, still stroking the "Ultra Lobster" monster's neck, applied a little pressure.
With an "oops," the monster's head came off.
"Another useless piece of trash… where do I go next?"
Jovian pulled a white cloth from his pocket and wiped the sticky gunk off his hand, preparing to find another Demon-level monster—or better yet, a Dragon-level one—and ask again.
Bzzzt.
Just as he was about to move, the phone in his pocket started vibrating.
"Hm?"
Jovian frowned, pulled out his phone, and checked the message.
"Z-City is being attacked by a massive number of mosquitoes gathering for unknown reasons. All heroes, report for support! Note: This threat is rated Demon-level. If you don't have the strength, know your limits…"
Jovian stared at the text and immediately formed a plan.
"Seriously… I've been looking everywhere, and it drops into my lap."
"The House of Evolution—after I searched for you for ages, you come crawling out on your own."
He shook his head. He knew this was one of the earliest events in the One Punch Man storyline—the mosquitoes attacking Z-City were tied to a monster that escaped from the House of Evolution.
"Mister, can we take a picture together?"
A sweet little voice drifted into Jovian's ear.
"Hm?" Jovian paused, mildly confused.
Sometime while he was reading his phone, a little girl—maybe seven or eight—had run right up in front of him.
"Oh."
Jovian looked at her and instantly "understood." He yanked off the dead lobster monster's massive claw and handed it to the girl.
"Here. You look like you've been starving—go on, take it and eat!"
After saying that, he ruffled the girl's head—like she didn't need to thank him—because really, who could say no to a monster claw the size of a coffee table? Take it home, deep-fry it until it's golden brown, and the kids next door would start crying from jealousy.
Before the girl could even speak, Jovian slowly floated upward.
With a burst of sonic booms, he vanished into the sky.
Boom!
Jovian shot like a sharpened arrow, slicing through the clouds in an instant. The wild, sprawling cloud cover—seen from orbit—looked like Earth had just gotten a crisp middle part.
In just a few seconds, Jovian crossed five cities—U, V, W, X, and Y—and arrived in Z-City.
"Hm?!"
Mosquito Girl seemed to hear the tear in the air. Instinctively, she commanded the swarm to wrap around her like armor.
Boom!
But the moment Jovian reached her, the heat and shockwave from his high-speed flight burned the surrounding mosquitoes to ash.
Revealing Mosquito Girl, hidden at the very center of the swarm.
"You are…?"
Mosquito Girl's eyes went wide as she stared at Jovian appearing right in front of her. Her heart slammed in her chest—thump, thump, thump—like it was trying to escape.
Every instinct she had was screaming the same thing:
She was not his opponent.
Tzz—
The man in white didn't answer. His eyes flared with a blazing, blood-red glow.
Tzzzt… tzzzt…
Two beams—each as wide as an eye—fired from his gaze.
In one clean instant, Mosquito Girl's wings and her insect-like limbs were sliced off like vegetables on a cutting board.
"Hng?!"
Mosquito Girl's expression twisted. Without wings, her fall from the sky was inevitable.
Smack!
Before she could plummet from a hundred meters up and splatter into pulp, Jovian flashed in front of her and clamped a hand around her throat, locking it tight.
Beep—beep—beep…
Right after Jovian dealt with her cleanly, a ringtone buzzed from his pocket.
"Yeah."
Jovian hovered in midair, one hand choking Mosquito Girl, the other answering the call.
"Excuse me, are you ranked—" came a Hero Association staffer's voice.
"The enemy has been eliminated," Jovian said flatly.
"Uh…"
The line went silent for a beat, the staffer clearly stunned—both by how direct the answer was, and by how quickly Jovian had taken down a Demon-level threat.
"Anything else?" Jovian asked, impatient.
"N-no… nothing else!" the staffer blurted out.
"Okay."
Click.
Jovian ended the call the moment he heard "nothing else," then looked back to Mosquito Girl in his grip.
"You escaped from the House of Evolution, right?"
He couldn't be bothered with small talk.
"…"
Mosquito Girl didn't answer—either because she refused, or because Jovian's grip made speaking impossible.
"If it's yes, nod. If it's no, shake your head. If you stay silent…"
Jovian's gaze slid toward an empty building in the distance.
Slash!
Heat vision surged out again, slicing the building cleanly in half.
"That's what happens when you don't answer."
Still holding Mosquito Girl by the throat so she couldn't resist, Jovian adjusted his angle so she could clearly see the severed building.
"Now answer again. Did you come from the House of Evolution? Do you know the way there?"
"Hm—hm!"
This time Mosquito Girl didn't stay silent. She nodded rapidly.
"Good. Then you've got a job."
"Take me to the House of Evolution. Right now."
Jovian finally seemed a little satisfied with how obedient she was.
"Hm…"
Mosquito Girl had learned exactly what kind of person Jovian was. She had no interest in testing his patience again.
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