Chapter 223: So You Brought Him Here?
Countless Monsters surged toward Saitama from every direction.
For the first time since entering the underground complex, his expression shifted slightly.
"There really are this many of you down here?"
Then he threw a punch.
The air exploded.
Every Monster charging from the front burst apart at once, reduced to a cloud of blood and shredded flesh that splattered across the tunnel.
Saitama gave the remains a brief glance before continuing forward.
He had barely taken another step when the ground beneath him trembled.
Cracks raced across the passage floor.
The entire tunnel collapsed as an enormous centipede erupted from below.
Its head alone measured dozens of metres across. Two massive mandibles snapped shut around Saitama's body, carrying him upward as the creature smashed through layer after layer of earth.
They burst out into the ruins of the Ghost Town.
Elder Centipede swung its head and hurled Saitama away.
He crashed into a collapsed building and disappeared beneath the rubble.
Only then did Elder Centipede pull the rest of its body from underground.
Its colossal form stretched for several thousand metres. The portion rising into the air was so vast that it almost blotted out the sun.
A clone of Black Sperm crawled out behind it and stood nearby, watching with interest.
Saitama soon emerged from the ruins.
He looked up at the enormous creature with the same dull expression as always.
"A centipede?"
He tilted his head.
"There was something this big underground?"
His gaze moved over the shattered Ghost Town.
"Did this thing cause all the damage too?"
Saitama had been carrying a great deal of frustration lately.
Sonic had been crushing him in games, stealing his beef, and generally making his life more irritating than usual.
Now, at last, he seemed to have found somewhere to vent it.
Elder Centipede had no idea what kind of danger it was facing.
Without wasting time on words, it twisted its enormous body and charged.
"Centipede Grand March!"
Its countless legs spun wildly along one side of its body, turning into a vast living saw as it coiled around Saitama.
Black Sperm grinned from a safe distance.
"That baldy is finished..."
He never completed the sentence.
Saitama raised his right fist.
For once, there was real force behind the movement.
"Serious Series."
His fist drove forward.
"Serious Punch."
The blow struck Elder Centipede directly in the abdomen.
For a fraction of a second, the giant Monster remained intact.
Then its body began breaking apart.
The destruction spread outward in both directions, tearing through every segment until the entire creature crumbled into dust.
Only a single severed leg fell to the ground.
It was the sole proof that Elder Centipede had ever existed.
Black Sperm stared in horror.
His entire body went rigid.
Crap.
This bald guy is even more terrifying than Sonic.
He killed Elder Centipede with one punch!
I need to leave before he notices me.
Black Sperm quietly turned around.
Before he could take a second step, a red gloved hand settled on top of his head.
"Where are you going?"
Black Sperm slowly turned.
Saitama's blank face was right behind him.
His heart began pounding.
Should I attack?
No.
I will die in one punch.
Black Sperm's expression changed at once.
"I was only taking a walk."
He forced a friendly smile.
"I would never dream of bothering you."
He tried to slip away, but Saitama kept his hand firmly in place.
"Wait."
Saitama looked him over.
"Are you a Monster?"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Are you with the ones from earlier?"
One wrong answer and I die.
Black Sperm responded without hesitation.
"Big Brother, please do not hit me!"
He clasped his hands together.
"Yes, I am technically a Monster, but I am actually one of the good ones."
"I am an undercover agent."
"We are on the same side."
He pointed toward the underground with passionate disgust.
"I hate those evil Monsters down there more than anyone."
"Surely you understand how I feel, Big Brother."
Saitama stared at him.
"Really?"
Cold sweat poured down Black Sperm's face.
"If you do not believe me, I will take you to them myself."
He straightened proudly.
"I know exactly where those villains are hiding."
"All right."
Saitama released him.
"Lead the way."
Before Black Sperm could reconsider, Saitama grabbed him and jumped back into the hole.
Deep beneath the Ghost Town, Sonic had finally reached the true heart of the Monster Association.
He emerged through the lowest entrance of an enormous circular chamber resembling an ancient colosseum.
At the far end stood a towering throne.
Upon it sat a Monster more than a hundred metres tall.
Monster King Orochi.
Sonic stepped forward and swept his gaze around the chamber.
Countless crimson eyes watched him from the darkness between the surrounding levels.
Below the throne stood Psykos, speaking through her puppet Gyoro Gyoro.
"You finally arrived, Sonic."
Her voice echoed throughout the headquarters.
"We have been waiting for you."
Sonic looked at the grotesque pink puppet, with its single eye and numerous arms growing from its head.
"So you gathered here to wait for death?"
Psykos ignored the insult.
She raised several hands in a placating gesture.
"Stop."
"There is no unavoidable conflict between us."
Her enormous eye focused on him.
"Why not become a Monster?"
"Would it not be better to overthrow this world alongside us?"
Psykos spread her arms.
"You desire strength, and growth requires killing."
"If you restrict yourself to hunting Monsters, your progress will always be too slow."
"Join us."
"We will create a world ruled by strength, free from morality, restraint, and meaningless rules."
"In that world, you may slaughter as much as you please and become stronger without limit."
There might have been a time when Sonic would have found the proposal interesting.
But now, he merely sneered.
"You are nothing but frightened animals huddling together underground."
His contemptuous gaze swept across the chamber.
"And you think you can overthrow the world?"
"What nonsense."
Sonic rested the sword against his shoulder.
"As long as Saitama exists, he can kill every one of you whenever he feels like it."
The name immediately reminded Psykos of the bald man in the yellow suit.
She stared at Sonic.
"This Saitama you mentioned..."
"Is he bald?"
Sonic's eyebrows rose.
"You have seen him?"
Psykos immediately shifted her awareness to one of her surveillance puppets.
In a dark passage elsewhere in the headquarters, a Black Sperm clone was leading Saitama forward with an ingratiating smile.
Psykos nearly lost control of her expression.
He defected?
So you were the one who brought that bald man here?
Everything began to make sense.
Countless Monsters had died when Sonic was nowhere nearby.
Gouketsu and Fuhrer Ugly had failed to return.
Perhaps that bald man had killed all of them.
Psykos still did not know the true extent of his strength.
But there was no longer any path of retreat.
She raised every hand at once.
Psychic power erupted at full force.
An invisible weight crashed down upon Sonic like a mountain.
The Monsters surrounding the chamber attacked simultaneously.
Overgrown Rover lunged from the darkness.
The pitch black beast towered more than ten metres tall, with three pairs of eyes glaring down at Sonic.
It opened its enormous jaws.
Lightning gathered within its mouth, condensing into a blazing energy cannon.
The blast fired straight toward Sonic.
From another side, Evil Natural Water surged forward.
A high pressure stream erupted from its body, with vicious piranhas swimming within the torrent.
Gums leapt from above.
The grotesque Monster resembled a giant mouth filled with rows of teeth. It opened wide, ready to swallow Sonic after the other attacks struck.
Homeless Emperor raised one hand.
Countless spheres of light appeared around him, then rained down toward the centre of the chamber.
Only Orochi and Black Sperm remained still.
Neither intended to reveal his abilities too soon.
Against an opponent like Sonic, exposing even a single weakness could prove fatal.
....
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