"The world's strongest hero!"
"Since debut, he averages four Demon-level monsters a day—an absolute workhorse among S-Class heroes!"
"The Superman who shattered a meteor with one punch!"
"Z-City's savior, ranked S-Class #2, the invincible man on Earth—Freedom, Jovian!"
Click.
Inside his apartment, Jovian picked up the remote and turned off the TV. He couldn't be bothered watching the news gush about him.
"Another day of hunting for the Monster Association."
He rolled his shoulders and got to work.
Chasing down Demon-level monsters and anything stronger, interrogating them for information about the Monster Association…
And yet, the way Jovian spent every day flying around the world to hunt monsters looked, to the Hero Association, like the perfect example of what a hero should be.
A hero should be like Jovian—strangling danger in its cradle instead of waiting for disaster to strike and only then resisting it. Heroes shouldn't be just defenders or avengers. Heroes should be prevention.
"So you think the Monster Association might be in Z-City?"
Jovian wore a headset, speaking with Dr. Genus.
"It's only a theory! Z-City's always been a mess. Even superheroes usually don't want to manage it—it's basically a city everyone's abandoned. And after that meteor incident, a lot of superstitious residents packed up and left. If I were a monster, I'd absolutely choose Z-City as my base."
"I see…"
"Then I'll take a look."
After getting the rundown, Jovian sliced through the air and sped toward Z-City.
"Z-City… that bald guy lives there. So this is 'hiding in plain sight,' huh? Building a nest on the strongest hero's turf—no wonder the Hero Association and every other faction never found a trace of the Monster Association."
Floating high above, Jovian's eyes shifted into X-ray vision mode. His gaze pierced steel and concrete as he searched for his target.
"Hm…"
In an empty apartment building, Genos was cooking a pot of chili when he suddenly felt something and looked up.
"High-energy reaction detected. Someone is scanning and probing me…"
Wearing an apron, Genos kept the heat low, calmly simmering the pot while raising his head.
"That energy signature… is it the S-Class hero who shattered the meteor a few days ago?"
Based on the energy reading, Genos reached the conclusion instantly.
"Whatever. Not my problem."
After confirming it wasn't an enemy, Genos went back to cooking.
"Hm…"
But as he continued to let the pot simmer—following the cooking-mode plugin he'd installed for perfect timing and temperature—he sensed something again.
"Three blocks away… an unknown monster has appeared?"
Genos tilted his head. His eyes seemed to look straight through countless walls as he locked onto the monster in the distance.
"Uh…"
"The hero who shattered the meteor already noticed it too. Looks like I'm off duty again."
Genos was about to untie his apron, but instead he tied it tighter and went right back to simmering the chili.
"So this is Z-City…"
At the entrance to Z-City, a monster stood there, its body pitch-black, its "hair" made of countless strands of kelp—tousled and flowing like a ridiculous wig.
It studied this disaster-riddled city—basically the Gotham of the One-Punch world.
"I heard there's a legend here… some 'super monster' who can one-shot anyone. Wonder if that's actually true?"
The kelp-haired monster kept observing the battered, cratered city.
"Hey! You the legendary monster?"
Just as it was about to head deeper in, two loud, cocky voices hit its ears.
"I'm A-Class hero Spring Mustachio!"
"Same here—A-Class hero Golden Ball!"
A mustached man holding a rapier and another man in a hoodie with a slingshot stepped up in front of the kelp-haired monster.
"Two A-Class heroes, huh?"
The monster's eyes lit with interest.
"I'll go first~"
Golden Ball grinned at Spring Mustachio, lifted his slingshot, and fired a golden sphere straight at the monster.
"Huh?"
The kelp monster blinked, eyes widening—like a kid seeing a new toy.
Crack—
In midair, the golden sphere warped and reshaped into a miniature missile, rocketing toward the monster.
"Boring~"
One long strand of kelp whipped out, extending instantly. With a lazy flick, it batted the missile away.
Boom!
The explosion pulverized a nearby balcony into dust and shards.
"What?!" Golden Ball stared at the destroyed balcony, eyes wide.
Before he could process it, a whip of kelp shot up from a sewer opening, wrapped around Golden Ball's ankle, and hurled him away like a ragdoll.
"Interesting!"
Spring Mustachio watched Golden Ball get flung, calmly stroked his elegant mustache, and tightened his grip on his rapier as he stepped in.
"And what are you supposed to be?" the monster sneered.
The kelp atop its head whipped into a wild, exaggerated storm, lashing toward Spring Mustachio.
"Olalalalala…"
Spring Mustachio swung his blade in tight arcs, deflecting wave after wave of tentacle-like strikes.
"Not bad!" Spring Mustachio praised, his muscles tensing.
"Hah!"
With a low shout, his rapier twisted like a spring—then snapped forward, shooting out like a bargain-bin version of a living spear-gun.
Slash!
But against Spring Mustachio's supersonic spring-shot blade, the kelp monster simply sidestepped and dodged with ease.
"Ah…"
Spring Mustachio's face tightened. He knew this had turned serious. Keeping one hand behind his back, he quietly pressed the Hero Association phone's one-tap distress signal.
"Goodbye."
The kelp monster's "hair" lengthened again and again, surging forward to strike.
"Two A-Class heroes—easy."
"Now I'll take down even more heroes!"
After finishing off Spring Mustachio, the kelp monster wore a smug grin as it turned around. It had decided: it was going to become Z-City's next legend.
And then…
The instant it turned, it froze.
Because somehow, standing right behind it, there was now a hulking man in a white bodysuit.
"Surprise~"
The white-clad brute smiled warmly at the kelp monster.
"You are…?" the kelp monster asked, confused.
The man kept smiling as he walked forward.
A legend that hadn't even begun… ended on the spot.
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