Chapter 166: Wait, Are You Actually Serious?!
Hearing Garou's answer, King was genuinely taken aback.
Wait... are you actually serious?!
He had only asked casually to see if the recent events—and witnessing the heroes' efforts to protect the Earth—had sparked even a tiny bit of character development in the kid.
Instead, you still want to hunt heroes and be the personification of Absolute Evil?
For a moment, King didn't know whether to call him a pure chuunibyou teenager or just incredibly thick-headed.
After a moment of thought, King offered an alternative:
"Have you ever considered that defeating heroes in combat isn't the only way to prove you are 'Absolute Evil'?"
"If you want to show the world you've surpassed every hero, violence isn't the only path. There are other methods—for example, joining the Hero Association and becoming a member of the S-Class."
"Hah?"
Garou and King stared at each other. Garou looked like he couldn't process the words.
"You mean... you want me to join the Hero Association? To be a hero?"
"Yup."
After receiving King's confirmation, Garou scratched his head, his brain effectively stalling.
What is this guy talking about...?
Me? A hero? For real?
Seeing Garou's confusion, King calmly explained his logic:
"It's simple. S-Class heroes are beings that stand above all others. If you surpass every single S-Class hero and take the Rank 1 spot, you have, by definition, defeated all of them.
"Once you've successfully stood atop the mountain and looked down on every hero in existence, you can then choose to return to your monster identity. At that point, you will naturally be the ultimate Absolute Evil. What do you think?"
"Uh... well..."
Garou was stunned by the argument. But the more he thought about it, the more it actually made a twisted kind of sense.
I don't have to beat them all up physically. I join them, climb the ranks until I'm the strongest hero at Rank 1, and then "betray" them to become the greatest monster. That's actually a pretty solid plan!
Wait, no! This is definitely some kind of trick!
Garou finally snapped out of it. He was just about to argue against King's sophistry when he noticed something: a sandbag-sized fist, wreathed in intimidating power, was quietly clenching and unclenching.
Garou: "...."
He shut his mouth.
His martial artist's intuition guaranteed that if he said one more word in opposition, he was going to get a world-class beatdown.
They weren't on the ground; they were in deep space. King didn't even need to hit him. He just had to drop the Aura Shield, and Garou would be dead in a second.
Realizing his very life was in this man's hands—and that his life had just been saved by this man—Garou felt incredibly stifled, as if he'd been forced to eat a giant bowl of lemons.
On one hand was his ideal. On the other was his savior, his benefactor who prevented him from being erased by a God, and a guy who was currently threatening him with a fist of doom.
And...
The image of an old man with silver hair flashed through Garou's mind. The memories were vivid, like an old film reel playing behind his eyes.
If I become a hero... the old man would probably be pretty happy.
After a long pause, Garou sighed and ruffled his messy white hair in resignation.
"Fine. But let's be clear: once I hit Rank 1 in the S-Class, I'm definitely turning back into a monster! No questions asked!"
"Sure, sure. Whatever you say."
King didn't care about Garou's threats. It didn't matter if the kid could actually reach Rank 1.
To climb to the top, Garou would have to perform a massive amount of heroic activity. After doing that much good, his perspective on heroes would inevitably change.
And if, after all that, he still wanted to "break bad"? That was even easier to handle.
He can choose to face my fist or the Bald Demon's fist. His pick.
Hiss... wait.
Just then, a crucial realization hit King.
I just remembered... Genos still hasn't registered as a hero yet!
King finally remembered his "cheap" cyborg disciple. In all the chaos, the boy had never actually gone to the Association to get his license.
Perfect. I'll take Garou back, and the two of them can go register for the S-Class together.
After his brush with death and being buffed by GOD's presence, Garou's physical stats were significantly higher than when he was in prison.
King estimated that if Garou and Puri-Puri Prisoner had a rematch right now, Garou could probably flatten him in under ten rounds.
"A wise decision. Now, let's get back to Earth."
With that, King transformed into a crimson streak of light, hurtling forward and diving straight into the atmosphere.
Garou remained trapped inside the Aura Shield, looking like a stray dog caught in a burlap sack, trailing behind King.
From a distance, it looked like a red crystal ornament with a tiny white-haired doll inside, bouncing around and seeing stars as they broke the sound barrier.
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