"Always so secretive…"
After hearing Jovian's warning, Tatsumaki—trying not to disturb him—could only sit there bored in her seat, muttering under her breath.
Other than Jovian, she couldn't be bothered to talk to any of the other S-Class heroes. In her eyes, sure, they were all "S-Class," but they weren't anywhere near the same league.
As for the rest of the S-Class heroes, each one was an elite among Earth's people—strong personalities, the lot of them. They all sat arrogantly in their chairs, and not a single person took the initiative to chat with anyone nearby, like every "strong one" felt obligated to maintain a cold, untouchable image.
"We couldn't locate Blast, Metal Knight, or Zombieman…"
"We have no way to contact them. But fortunately, everyone else made it to this gathering."
"Apologies for making you all come out here!"
Just as the room sat in heavy silence, the conference room doors opened. A middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair entered with two Hero Association executive managers.
"There are some familiar faces here, and a few new ones, so I'll introduce myself briefly. Hello, everyone. I'm Sitch—one of the Hero Association's senior executives."
Sitch addressed the S-Class heroes in a steady voice.
"In any case, what we're about to discuss is no small matter. Even if an S-Class hero chooses to leave, I won't stop you."
"Running away takes courage too. But if you hear what I'm about to say and decide to stay, then until this incident ends, you will not be allowed to leave."
After speaking, Sitch scanned the room, waiting.
"…It seems no one intends to leave. In that case, I'll explain why we summoned you."
Seeing that nobody stepped forward to quit, Sitch exhaled in relief and continued.
"Hey! Is what you're about to say actually important?"
"I cancelled my sister's show to come here."
"If it's not important…"
"Don't blame me when I tear this whole Hero Association HQ down!"
Metal Bat sat with one leg crossed over the other, openly threatening Sitch.
"Heh. You really think the Hero Association's expensive building is getting demolished by some busted metal stick?"
Tatsumaki scoffed, eyes full of disdain.
"You bastard! Looking down on me, huh?! Believe it or not, I'll pry that octopus hairdo right open first!"
Metal Bat roared, swinging his bat.
"Bring it on. But don't think kneeling and begging will make me let you off!"
Tatsumaki already had a bellyful of anger. She couldn't beat Jovian, she couldn't be bothered to hit a C-Class like Saitama… and now some low-ranked S-Class near the bottom wanted to run his mouth in front of her?!
"Sitch, just get to the point."
"Otherwise Metal Bat's about to get pressed into meat paste."
Flashy Flash shook his head at the nonstop bickering and spoke to the Hero Association leadership.
"Bastard—are you saying I'm not as good as that brat?!"
Metal Bat snapped at Flashy Flash, feeling his pride take a hit.
"Hmph~"
"Looks like everyone here except you has a brain."
Tatsumaki crossed her arms over her flat chest, smug as can be.
Sitch sighed, watching the argument escalate, and finally blurted it out.
"Here's the situation: the great prophet Shibabawa has passed away."
"…What? Shibabawa is dead?"
The room collectively jolted.
"No—six months ago, after Shibabawa finished her prophecy, she felt some irritation in her throat and started coughing, so she ate a throat lozenge, and then…"
"…the lozenge got stuck."
The blond manager beside Sitch explained with a deadpan expression.
"But that part isn't important!"
"What matters is that while she was choking on the lozenge, Shibabawa left this prophecy…"
As Sitch spoke, he placed a sheet of paper on the table in front of him. A moment later, the projector displayed the prophet's words.
"Earth is in trouble!"
The S-Class heroes stared at the words, eyes widening.
"What? That's it? So boring. I'm going back to my tutoring session."
Child Emperor shook his head, looking unsettled and annoyed at the same time.
"No! Shibabawa's prophecies have always been like this. She only writes a fragment, but in the end they always come true. In the past she'd write something like a certain street is in trouble, or a certain city is in trouble."
"This is the first time she's ever written: Earth is in trouble!"
"I think at this point, you understand what I'm saying."
"That means, in our future, Earth will face a disaster far beyond Demon-level—possibly even beyond Dragon-level monsters…"
"Everyone—our disaster scale has a highest category."
"And it isn't Dragon."
As Sitch spoke, sweat beaded across his forehead. The meaning was painfully clear.
"A God-level monster… the one from legend?"
Atomic Samurai folded his arms around his sheathed sword, a blade of grass between his lips, murmuring quietly.
"Um…"
"Let me ask something."
"If Shibabawa said it would happen 'one day' after her death… doesn't that mean…"
"…it could be today?"
In the silence, a bald man in the crowd stood up, raising a hand as he asked.
"Uh…"
"Who are you?"
"But you've got a point. Yes—today is possible."
Sitch's expression tightened.
"Tatsumaki! Use your powers—cover all of A-City!"
At that exact moment, Jovian—who had been sitting with his eyes shut the whole time—snapped his eyes open. He turned toward Tatsumaki and spoke in a low, urgent voice.
"Huh?"
Startled by how sudden it was, Tatsumaki still moved fast. She immediately expanded her psychic power, blanketing the entire city.
Boom!
In A-City's sky, a colossal alien warship—so enormous it could blot out the heavens—slowly revealed itself. Shell after shell fired from its cannons, screaming downward…
"—Huh?!"
And then, to the shock of the ship's crew, every single shell stopped—floating motionless in midair.
"A-City is under attack."
Feeling the suspended barrage pressing against her power, Tatsumaki spoke softly to Jovian.
"I know. Tatsumaki—send their attack back exactly as it came."
Jovian looked at her.
"As if I need you to tell me!"
Tatsumaki snapped back stubbornly—then her body erupted in brighter green light as she hurled every floating shell straight up into the sky.
Boom!
With a thunderous chain of explosions, the shells returned to the warship that fired them—detonating into brilliant, blooming fireworks across its hull.
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