Chapter 79: One Punch |
A giant octopus with massive, writhing tentacles lumbered toward the outskirts of City S.
Its gargantuan limbs cast long, ominous shadows across the earth, and every heavy movement triggered a localized earthquake.
The octopus was fast approaching the city limits.
Countless civilians in City S watched in terror as the terrifying beast grew larger in their field of vision by the second.
It was already too late to flee!
One look at its sheer size and the destructive power of its tentacles was enough to confirm it: this was a Dragon-level threat!
But just as those long tentacles were about to crush the city's outskirts, they suddenly froze and were violently repelled by an invisible force.
Tatsumaki, wreathed in an emerald-green radiance, hovered high in the sky above the giant octopus, her eyes narrowed in irritation.
She couldn't stand tentacled monsters, especially the slimy, disgusting variety.
Tatsumaki exclaimed, thrusting her small hand vertically toward the heavens.
Following the motion, a flaming meteor tore through the clear blue sky, plummeting directly toward the giant octopus.
The beast let out a gutteral, frightened roar before lashing out with its massive tentacles to intercept the falling celestial rock.
Boom!!!
A shocking explosion rocked the area.
A massive mushroom cloud billowed into the sky, and where the giant octopus had stood a moment before, only a massive crater remained.
Tatsumaki pressed a hand to her earpiece and declared, "Threat neutralized."
"As expected of Miss Tornado of Terror!"
The respectful voice of a Hero Association staff member crackled through her headset.
But as Tatsumaki prepared to fly back toward the nearby city, the ground at the bottom of the crater shattered, and a long tentacle shot into the sky, lunging straight for her.
Tatsumaki, who had already partially turned away, casually waved her hand toward the incoming limb.
Thud!!!
A powerful ripple distorted the telekinetic barrier blocking the massive tentacle, and small cracks even began to spiderweb across its surface. Tatsumaki herself was sent reeling back about a hundred meters.
She cast a surprised glance at the bottom of the crater and found the giant octopus completely unharmed.
The beast's previously blue skin had taken on a much darker hue, and its body had become significantly more massive.
"Fear... annihilation... destruction... doom... the abyss..."
A series of coherent but disjointed words escaped the octopus's maw, sounding like a robotic voice layered with heavy static.
As the sound rippled outward, the city behind Tatsumaki fell into absolute silence. Then, numerous civilians began to turn pale and collapse to the ground, as if they were witnessing a scene of ultimate horror.
"Ah, ah, ah..."
The Hero Association staff member on the line with Tatsumaki also turned deathly pale and fell to his knees. 'Is this... could this be... an auditory hallucination?!'
He struggled to calm himself, shaking his head to dispel the encroaching illusion, and continued to monitor the situation on the outskirts of City S.
Tatsumaki, also partially affected by the sound, was forced to cover her ears briefly. She quickly recovered and irritably thrust her hand toward the giant octopus.
"Shut up! You're too noisy!!!"
Whirr!!!
Accompanied by Tatsumaki's annoyed shout, the giant octopus was completely engulfed and hoisted into the air by a surging telekinetic force.
Tatsumaki clenched her small palm, intending to grind the giant octopus into mincemeat with her telekinesis, just as she did with other vile monsters.
But as the giant octopus was compressed into a tight sphere along with its massive tentacles, a crimson light flared in its eight massive eyes. Suddenly, a powerful repulsive force erupted from its body.
It was telekinetic power!
Initially, the octopus's telekinesis was noticeably weaker than Tatsumaki's, but it was clearly growing stronger by the second!
Moments later...
Tatsumaki's crushing telekinetic pressure began to be forced back by the octopus's repulsive force!
'This telekinetic power... how can this be...?'
Tatsumaki's face grew pale and tense as she realized that this was likely no ordinary Dragon-level threat. It was a rare monster capable of immediate growth and evolution in response to a threat!
In response to the meteor strike, it had become larger and more durable; now, in response to being crushed by telekinesis, it had developed its own telekinetic power to counter her!
"What a troublesome monster,"
Tatsumaki whispered seriously, watching the giant octopus grow significantly stronger after undergoing two evolutions.
She then thrust her arms upward, her body stretching vertically in the air.
In that moment, Tatsumaki was incredibly alluring, possessing a certain magnetic grace despite her petite, less-than-curvaceous figure.
Her telekinetic force gripped the earth below, ripping out a massive chunk of soil and crushing it into a vast mass of gravel that began to spin violently.
Rumble!!
The massive collection of stone spun faster and faster until it formed a colossal tornado bridging the gap between sky and earth.
"Die!!"
With a sharp motion and a shout, the mass of gravel, accelerated to extreme speeds, lunged at the octopus.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
The massive octopus lashed out with its long tentacles and instinctively manifested a telekinetic shield to block the terrifying stone tornado, but it couldn't fully stop the gravel, which was constantly reinforced by Tatsumaki's power.
In the end, the octopus could only block a fraction of the debris. The rest shattered its telekinetic shield and engulfed its body like a localized storm.
Spray after spray of blue blood erupted in every direction.
"Know your place,"
Tatsumaki declared coldly, crossing her arms over her chest.
However.
Just as it seemed the octopus would be torn to shreds by the countless stone fragments, a terrifying power surged from the depths of its mangled body.
Whine!!!
The wounded, bleeding octopus emitted a horrific sound that far exceeded anything the human eardrum could withstand.
Tatsumaki instinctively covered her ears, and her telekinetic control faltered. She grew visibly pale, unable to fully shield herself from the influence of the terrifying sonic wave.
In the nearby city...
Civilians began to collapse, blood streaming from their ears and noses. Some fell into fits of madness, while others simply exploded, dying instantly.
Under the influence of this horrifying sound—billions of times more piercing than the whistle of a boiling kettle—Tatsumaki grew paler. The emerald-green radiance cloaking her body weakened until it flickered out entirely.
Splat!!
Simultaneously, the torn flesh of the giant octopus began to writhe. Finally, a massive figure with black scales and wide wings emerged from its body like a butterfly from a cocoon.
"Ah, ah... what the hell is that..."
Tatsumaki, barely clinging to a shred of her telekinetic strength, landed on the roof of a tall building and looked up at the giant octopus undergoing its third evolution.
It was no longer accurate to call it an octopus. It now possessed a massive humanoid body covered in fish scales, the wings of a bat, and the head of an octopus!
Whoosh!!!
The evolved monster emitted a terrifying aura that caused the blue sky to darken, as if it had ascended to the human world from the deepest pits of hell.
The creature had yet to show its full power, but Tatsumaki already knew she couldn't win!
This was...
A Divine-level threat!
Over the last three years, monsters had been appearing more frequently and becoming increasingly powerful. There had even been cases of multiple Dragon-level threats appearing simultaneously!
It was as if the world was under the influence of some destructive, unfathomable force, birthing more dangerous monsters with each passing day.
But despite the influx of Dragon-level threats—some strong enough to give even Tatsumaki a difficult time—not a single Divine-level monster had appeared in those three years.
But now, a third had arrived, following Boros and the One-Eyed God... a Divine-level threat!
"This is bad, very bad..."
The numerous staff members and the head of the Hero Association watching the live broadcast at headquarters were stunned and horrified.
Seeing Tatsumaki pale and strained, everyone present immediately realized she was likely incapable of opposing this beast.
A monster that even the Tornado of Terror couldn't handle was undoubtedly a Divine-level threat!!
Now, only the Bald God and the legendary King could stand in its way!
...
Outside City S.
The terrifying sound gradually faded into silence.
The tentacles hanging from the monster's head stopped their chaotic writhing, and a hint of intelligence flickered in its massive, glowing red eyes.
"The seal is finally broken..."
The massive monster scanned the city before it and turned its gaze toward the pale Tatsumaki, who had managed to lift herself back into the air. It spoke in a terrifying voice that seemed to rumble from a deep abyss: "You... broke the seal... upon me... the Great Old One! I... the Great Cthulhu... grant you the honor of becoming my herald... in the destruction of this world..."
Tatsumaki's face was deathly white as she hovered in the sky opposite Cthulhu.
She was fully aware of the carnage in the city behind her, but in her current state, she simply didn't have the capacity to worry about them.
Even now, just floating in the sky before this terrifying creature, she felt an overwhelming sense of oppression.
She desperately wanted to tell the monster exactly where it could shove its proposal, but she could barely breathe, as if a crushing weight had been laid upon her soul.
As Tatsumaki looked into the monster's gargantuan eyes, glowing with that horrifying red light, her mind was flooded with fear, confusion, anger, and a host of other negative emotions. Her small body trembled in the air.
Every cell in her body and her very soul screamed that she could not oppose this terrifying Divine-level monster.
But...
If she retreated now, the city would be utterly destroyed.
At the thought of so many lives being lost, Tatsumaki gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, banishing any thought of flight.
As the atmosphere grew heavier and more dismal, and the pressure on Tatsumaki intensified, a voice suddenly drifted through the air. It instantly dispelled the gloom, and the insurmountable pressure crushing Tatsumaki vanished without a trace.
"Did you really think you could make one of my people your herald without my leave?"
The voice rang clearly across the vast city, despite being calm and quiet.
The chaos and panic that had gripped the population instantly subsided, and people began to calm down, slowly coming to their senses.
"!"
Cthulhu was momentarily stunned before it raised its head and noticed a human figure that had appeared in the air to Tatsumaki's right.
A young man with silver-white hair and a handsome face looked at Tatsumaki with a soft smile.
"..."
Tatsumaki stopped trembling. Joy, irritation, and a whirlwind of conflicting emotions flashed through her eyes.
She let out a cold huff and smirked, her cheeks flushing slightly. "You're late..."
At that moment, two suns still lit the Earth, but upon closer inspection, the smaller sun was gradually dimming. Soon, only one sun remained in the sky, just as it had been three years ago.
Tap, tap, tap.
Yeruashi stepped forward leisurely through the air. Despite his seemingly slow pace, he arrived directly in front of the gargantuan Cthulhu in just a few strides.
The massive monster looked down at the approaching Yeruashi and spoke slowly in a muffled, heavy voice: "My... awakening marks... the end of all things... none can stop me... all shall become darkness... the abyss... nothing shall remain in this fading world..."
"Just shut up already."
Yeruashi interrupted Cthulhu. "Stop talking nonsense. I have things to do."
Cthulhu: "..."
After a brief silence, Cthulhu's massive form erupted with a terrifying pressure that blanketed the sky and earth.
The surrounding world suddenly plunged into darkness, herald of the promised eternal abyss, and a crushing weight descended upon Yeruashi, as if the entire world had been placed on his shoulders.
However.
In that moment, Yeruashi calmly raised his right hand and delivered a punch that looked perfectly ordinary.
Boom!!!
The terrifying darkness cloaking the sky and earth instantly shattered. Cthulhu was blasted into countless tiny fragments in the wake of a deafening explosion.
The sky, which had been as dark and dismal as ink, was instantly clear and serene, as if a dusty window had been wiped clean with a wet cloth.
Numerous people on the city streets stared blankly at the clear sky.
An absolute silence also reigned at the Hero Association headquarters.
Click!
The pen slipped from a staff member's fingers and hit the desk.
...
In the sky near City S.
Yeruashi slowly lowered his fist and turned his head toward Tatsumaki, who was hovering nearby. "Want to hear my story?"
"No..."
Tatsumaki initially turned her head away, rejecting Yeruashi's offer, but then she looked at him out of the corner of her eye and muttered, "But I might listen if you have something to say..."
Yeruashi smiled at Tatsumaki and took a step forward, vanishing instantly.
"Hey?!"
Tatsumaki exclaimed in confusion, looking around frantically.
Finding no sign of Yeruashi nearby, she lowered her head and muttered despondently, "Don't... don't leave me... again..."
Her voice grew quieter and quieter.
Just as her voice faded completely, a black spatial rift opened behind her, and a hand reached out. The hand quickly pulled Tatsumaki into the rift, which then vanished without a trace.
...
A few days later.
City A.
Several figures stood facing each other in a desolate, uninhabited area.
On one side stood Yeruashi, with Tatsumaki and Lilith hovering slightly behind him to his left and right.
Opposite them stood two men: Saitama, his bald head gleaming, and the blonde-haired Demon Cyborg, Genos.
"Here I come."
Yeruashi smiled at Saitama.
Saitama nodded. "Bring it on."
Whoosh!
Yeruashi vanished even as Saitama spoke, appearing directly in front of him a moment later and throwing a punch.
Saitama threw his own punch almost simultaneously.
Silence.
There was no loud explosion, no spatial distortion, nor any other spectacular display.
Their fists simply met and froze.
A moment of silence followed.
Saitama was suddenly sent flying backward, vanishing into the clear blue sky.
"Sensei!"
Genos cried out in concern.
"He'll be fine,"
Yeruashi said, slowly lowering his fist while watching the receding Saitama.
He now possessed energy on the level of a star, which was undoubtedly enough to surpass the current Saitama.
Saitama might evolve again and surpass him once more, but for now, Yeruashi clearly held the advantage in pure strength.
Throughout all their previous encounters, Yeruashi had suffered from Saitama's devastating blows more than once, but the time had finally come for Saitama to experience the weight of his fist.
"How far?"
Tatsumaki asked, her eyes scanning the empty sky.
Yeruashi thoughtfully stroked his chin. "Well... I don't think Saitama will leave the solar system... he should be back soon."
Tatsumaki sighed sadly. "You're leaving soon, aren't you?"
Yeruashi had already told Tatsumaki his story about the 'ability to control time,' and she had grasped it fairly quickly, as people of the modern world found such concepts easier to accept.
She understood that Yeruashi would eventually travel to the distant future and that, from her perspective, his return might not take even a second.
But...
There was also the possibility that Yeruashi might never return at all.
"In a month."
"Will you come back?"
"Of course."
Yeruashi smiled at Tatsumaki and looked up at the sky.
He would return—he would definitely return to every world he had ever visited once he attained true control over time.
...
A month later.
Yeruashi climbed to the roof of a tall building, where Lilith was already waiting for him.
"Let's go."
Following his words, the entire world suddenly froze, as if someone had hit the pause button.
Silence.
Yeruashi took a leisurely step forward and absorbed Lilith, then vanished without a trace in a flash of pale gold light.