Chapter 227: The Dark Matter Thieves
[The Earth is in danger!]
The short sentence displayed above the conference table silenced the room.
There was no detailed explanation.
No location.
No enemy.
Only those five words.
Yet everyone present understood the weight behind them.
Madame Shibabawa's prophecies had never been wrong.
Child Emperor leaned back in his chair, visibly unimpressed.
"This is pretty vague."
The ten year old S Class Hero sighed.
"I still have classes at cram school. Can I go home now?"
Sitch looked at him.
"For someone called Child Emperor, I expected you to understand the implications."
He adjusted his glasses.
"But if you cannot recognise the danger hidden in those words, perhaps you really are just a child."
Child Emperor immediately shot to his feet.
"What did you say?"
Sitch did not bother arguing with him.
Instead, he looked around the conference room.
"Everyone here knows Madame Shibabawa's record."
"She predicted countless disasters throughout her life, including events that caused enormous casualties."
He pointed toward the prophecy displayed above the table.
"Yet never once did she describe any of those incidents with the words, 'The Earth is in danger.'"
His voice grew heavier.
"This implies a catastrophe beyond anything she previously predicted."
"Something potentially worse than a Dragon level disaster."
"And according to her final divination, it will occur sometime within the next six months."
One of the heroes frowned.
"Within six months?"
"That could mean tomorrow or half a year from now."
"How are we supposed to prepare for something when we do not even know what it is?"
The discussion continued around the table.
Inside the sword at Sonic's side, however, Asuramaru already knew the answer.
This prophecy could only be referring to one thing.
Boros.
The Dominator of the Universe was coming to Earth.
Apparently, he was going to arrive earlier than expected.
Asuramaru considered Sonic's current strength.
Sonic had already stepped into the realm above Dragon.
With Asuramaru providing every available enhancement, he could temporarily reach God level combat power.
Fighting Boros directly was no longer impossible.
And even if everything went wrong, Saitama was still here.
There could hardly be a better safety net.
Asuramaru spoke within Sonic's mind.
"Sonic."
"The disaster these people are discussing is the enemy you have been waiting for."
Sonic's eyes sharpened.
"Who?"
"The ruler who has conquered countless worlds."
Asuramaru paused.
"The Dominator of the Universe, Boros."
Sonic's expression changed slightly.
He immediately asked the only question that mattered.
"What are my chances of defeating him?"
Asuramaru considered it for a moment.
"With my full enhancement?"
"Yes."
"About sixty to forty."
Sonic frowned.
"Only sixty percent?"
Asuramaru's voice became irritated.
"The sixty percent belongs to Boros."
"You have forty."
Sonic went silent for a moment.
"Forty percent?"
For once, genuine surprise appeared in his eyes.
"Is Boros really that powerful?"
Then his usual confidence returned.
"It does not matter."
Sonic leaned back in his chair.
"There are still six months."
"That is more than enough time for me to surpass him."
Unfortunately, the universe had no intention of giving him six months.
Before Sonic had even finished speaking, the conference room trembled.
Boom!
A muffled explosion came from somewhere outside.
Then another.
The floor vibrated beneath their feet.
Genos immediately stood.
"What is happening?"
His eyes began analysing the surrounding structure.
"Is the headquarters under attack?"
Superalloy Darkshine looked genuinely surprised.
"Someone is attacking this building?"
He glanced around.
"This is Hero Association Headquarters."
Inside Asuramaru, perception expanded beyond the walls.
Several hostile presences were attacking the building.
They were not particularly impressive.
Only Demon level.
But their arrival meant something far more important.
Boros was close.
Very close.
Asuramaru immediately warned Sonic.
"It seems your opponent has no intention of waiting six months."
Sonic slowly rose from his seat.
"So what?"
His hand settled around Asuramaru's hilt.
"I will kill him myself."
The sword left its sheath.
Everyone in the conference room turned toward him.
Sitch stared.
"Sonic?"
"What are you doing?"
Darkness gathered along the sword.
Sonic looked upward.
"Breath of Darkness, First Form."
His arm moved.
"Scattered Flash Slash!"
A black flash crossed the ceiling.
The reinforced roof split open, leaving a gap large enough for a person to pass through.
Sonic leapt through it and landed atop Hero Association Headquarters.
Wind swept across the roof.
Four grotesque winged humanoids circled above the building.
At their centre flew a crimson creature whose monstrous features stood out even among the others.
The Sky King.
He laughed arrogantly while attacking the structure below.
"This building is surprisingly tough."
His wings beat behind him.
"No matter."
"We will break our way inside and slaughter every hero hiding there."
He spread his arms toward City A.
"Once they are dead, everything on the surface will belong to me, the Sky King!"
Before he could continue, a voice came from the rooftop.
"Release."
The Sky King froze.
So did the three creatures beside him.
Invisible cuts appeared across their bodies.
A heartbeat later, all four Monsters were sliced apart in midair.
Their remains fell from the sky.
Sonic barely looked at them.
Then the light changed.
A shadow covered City A.
Sonic raised his head.
An enormous dark purple spacecraft descended from the clouds.
It was vast enough to rival the city beneath it.
The atmosphere seemed to tremble around the alien vessel.
Near the front of the ship hovered a strange humanoid creature with five heads and large batlike wings.
Sonic's hand tightened around his sword.
Before he could attack, deep purple light began gathering beneath the spacecraft.
His eyes narrowed.
Countless bombardment shells emerged from the underside of the ship.
Then they fell.
The sky filled with light.
City A vanished beneath the bombardment.
Buildings were erased.
Roads collapsed.
Entire blocks disappeared beneath explosions before anyone could react.
Within moments, almost the whole city had become ruins.
Only Hero Association Headquarters remained standing.
Sonic stood on its roof, looking across the devastated landscape.
Then his gaze lifted toward the enormous spacecraft.
Killing intent flooded from him.
"Boros is inside that ship?"
"Yes."
Asuramaru answered immediately.
"He is there."
Above the ruined city, the five headed alien noticed Sonic.
Its separate heads began speaking among themselves.
"That building survived."
"The material is unusual."
"There is someone standing on top."
"Kill him."
"Then eliminate every living creature inside."
The five voices overlapped strangely.
"Slaughter them all."
"Agreed."
Sonic stared at the creature.
"Five heads."
His expression twisted with disgust.
"You look revolting."
He had no interest in exchanging further words.
Asuramaru shattered into countless fragments.
Psychokinesis gathered them together.
The fragments stretched through the air and formed an enormous sword more than ten metres long.
Sonic swung.
A massive arc of steel crossed the sky.
The five headed creature could not evade in time.
Its body was sliced apart.
All five heads separated from the torso.
Chunks of flesh fell toward the ruins.
Yet they never reached the ground.
The pieces abruptly changed direction.
Every severed section flew back toward the main body, merging together once more.
Its form regenerated.
But instead of returning with five separate heads, the Monster now possessed a single head bearing five pairs of crimson eyes.
Those eyes were no longer dull.
Excitement burned within them.
"So this planet possesses a life form capable of fighting me."
The creature spread its arms.
"Excellent."
Its voice echoed through the air.
"Struggle against our invasion if you can."
"I am Melzargard, one of the three generals of the Dark Matter Thieves!"
Sonic looked completely uninterested.
"Invasion?"
He lowered his stance.
"You still do not understand what is happening."
His sword returned to one hand.
"This will not be an invasion."
Sonic vanished.
"It will be a slaughter."
Melzargard's ten eyes widened.
Sonic's voice came from every direction at once.
"Breath of Darkness, Fourth Form."
Four shadowy figures surrounded Melzargard.
"Four Shadow Burials!"
All four attacked simultaneously.
Then Sonic's true body appeared above him.
"Scattered Flash Slash!"
A storm of cutting force descended.
Melzargard never even realised the final attack had begun.
His regenerated body was shredded into countless pieces.
This time, Sonic's slashes did not stop at the flesh.
Hidden within Melzargard's body, five small cores were struck at the same instant.
Crack.
All five shattered.
Melzargard's remains scattered across the ruined city.
They did not regenerate again.
....
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