"Actually, I'm really not a monster…"
"I'm an undercover agent planted inside the Monster Association."
The bird-man swore it up and down as he looked at Jovian.
"Look—this isn't part of my body. It's armor. All my abilities come from this suit."
Afraid Jovian wouldn't believe him, the bird-man flipped open his mask and revealed his true face beneath the mascot suit—an ordinary, completely unremarkable man.
"Phoenix Man?" Jovian thought quietly.
The bird-man didn't know it, but Jovian didn't need explanations. He knew him inside and out.
Phoenix Man—an entertainer in a costume who, after regaining consciousness, realized the suit couldn't be taken off and "became a monster." But what truly couldn't be removed wasn't the suit.
It was a nobody's refusal to accept fate.
And that stubborn, relentless refusal—never giving up—was exactly what gave Phoenix Man the supernatural strength to stand back up every time he fell… and come back stronger than before.
Jovian actually admired that. The kind of determination that kept climbing upward, again and again, no matter how unfair the world was.
On top of that, Phoenix Man's "power," strictly speaking, wasn't even his. It belonged to the suit—an ability fused with his belief. Meaning the real holder of that power wasn't Phoenix Man.
It was the costume.
So even if Jovian killed Phoenix Man, he wouldn't gain anything useful from Phoenix Man's genes.
And honestly… Jovian was curious about that suit.
He wanted to bring Phoenix Man back and have his scientific team—top-tier researchers and engineers—tear the thing apart conceptually, analyze it, and see if they could mass-produce combat suits based on it.
Even a simplified version could massively increase the effectiveness of his future forces.
So Jovian stopped. He didn't attack.
"I see," Jovian said, nodding slightly. "So you're an undercover agent sent in by the Hero Association, right?"
He deliberately didn't expose the lie.
"Yeah—exactly," Phoenix Man said, exhaling in relief. He felt like he'd probably gotten away with it.
"Since you're a hero," Jovian said, lifting the dog off the ground and holding it under one arm, "come back to the Hero Association with me."
"…Huh?" Phoenix Man's face changed instantly. "I have to go to the Hero Association too?"
As the Monster Association's last remaining "seed," being told to walk straight into the heroes' headquarters was… terrifying.
"Of course," Jovian said, turning slightly, eyes on him. "What—are you unwilling to go? Aren't you a Hero Association hero?"
"Uh… hahaha, no, that's not what I meant," Phoenix Man said, forcing himself to stand tall. "No problem at all. It's been years since I left the Hero Association… it's about time I went back and took a look."
"Good," Jovian said. "Then wait here for a moment."
"I've got something to take care of. When I'm done, I'll come back for you, and then we'll return to the Hero Association together."
He looked at Phoenix Man with a half-smile that wasn't really a smile.
"You'll wait here for me, right?"
Gulp.
Phoenix Man swallowed hard. Under that crushing pressure, the only thing he could do was nod like a pecking chicken.
"Good."
Jovian set the black dog down again.
"Rover," he said, patting the dog's head with a smile, "you and this little 'hero' wait here patiently. Don't leave. I'll be back soon."
"…Uh…" Phoenix Man had a very strong feeling that he'd been completely seen through, and panic hit him anyway.
"Relax," Jovian said, patting Phoenix Man's shoulder. "Stay here like a good boy."
"The things you're afraid of won't happen."
Then Jovian sank through the ground and vanished.
Phoenix Man stared at the spot he'd disappeared from, dazed.
"So he did find me out…?"
"He knows I'm a monster?"
"Then why didn't he finish me? Does he think he can't kill me?"
"No… if that power hit me head-on, even I might not be able to stand back up again and again…"
Phoenix Man wiped sweat. The costume felt heavier than ever. Hotter, too. Like it was suffocating him from the inside.
"So do I run? Or do I stay?"
"Damn it… I'm actually scared."
He looked around, thinking desperately.
"Hrrr… hrrr…"
Rover lay perfectly still, unmoving. Multiple eyes stared straight at Phoenix Man.
Jovian said not to let him leave.
So Rover would not let him leave.
Elsewhere—1,500 meters underground…
The true boss of the Monster Association—the real body behind Gyoro-Gyoro, the one who cultivated Orochi—Psykos, a beautiful esper with a perfect figure and an angelic face, was carving a tunnel through the earth with her psychic power as she fled.
"Heh."
"So what if the Monster Association lost?"
"Those trash monsters can all die for all I care!"
"As long as I'm alive, I can start over."
To Psykos, the Monster Association was nothing but a disposable tool—something she built to serve her goal and throw away when it stopped being useful.
If she lived, she could take a few years and cultivate another ultimate lifeform.
No—an even greater ultimate lifeform, something that surpassed Orochi.
Then she'd rebuild a brand-new Monster Association and come back stronger than ever.
And when that happened, she believed even the strongest hero in the world would tremble before her.
THUD!
Lost in her fantasy, Psykos surged forward through soft soil—until she slammed headfirst into something huge, hard, and glittering like a diamond.
The impact nearly turned her stomach inside out. Her head spun. Nausea rolled through her like a storm. Her fragile body shook violently—if she hadn't protected herself with psychic power, she would've been reduced to pulp.
"Damn it… what is that?" Psykos hissed, taking several long seconds to steady herself.
Then she looked up.
A tall figure, glowing faintly, moving through the earth with psychic power just like her…
And smiling at her.
"Surprise, mother fucker!" the tall man in the white fur-lined coat said with a friendly little grin, greeting her with impeccable manners.
"I—!" Psykos screamed, startled so badly her voice broke.
"Come on," Jovian said calmly. "You and I have a weird kind of fate."
"Let's go to the Hero Association together. Your power should be used in the right place, for the right purpose. Instead of hiding in the dark down here, use your telekinesis to help me."
"I'm not going with you," Psykos snapped, eyes hard with conviction. "You're not making me do anything I don't want to do."
Tap.
And then Jovian chopped her with a casual hand strike to the neck.
Psykos went limp and collapsed instantly.
"You misunderstood something," Jovian said, looking down at her. "I wasn't asking."
"I was informing you."
He picked her up and walked back the way he came.
Jovian saw Psykos's potential.
What did Psykos's opinion have to do with it?
Yes—Jovian always spoke politely, but politeness was just politeness. If someone heard his courteous tone and started thinking they mattered…
That was their mistake.
Back at the Monster Association…
Phoenix Man and Rover faced off.
"Rover," Phoenix Man said carefully, "could you move aside?"
"Or… you could come with me."
"Woof," Rover replied lightly, tail wagging—clearly not moving.
"Rover, let's leave together," Phoenix Man urged. "Now the Monster Association only has you and me left at Dragon-level. If we want to rebuild, it has to be us."
"Woof," Rover replied again, tail swaying, still refusing.
Phoenix Man sighed inside.
"This dumb dog has been completely tamed by that man."
If Phoenix Man tried to run, Rover would fight him.
And if they fought, it would attract the demon king who'd done all this.
Then Phoenix Man would die.
"…Damn."
"That man's strength is beyond anything I can reach. If he wanted me dead, I'd already be dead."
"But I'm alive—which means I still have value to him. Some use."
"Maybe he was telling the truth: if I stay put, nothing will happen."
Phoenix Man thought and thought, and in the end he gave up. Rationally, he knew it was better to stop struggling.
He decided to let Jovian decide whether he lived or died.
Not because he wanted to surrender… but because retreating for now wasn't the same as giving up. It was a step toward a better future.
"Woof! Woof!"
Rover, still watching Phoenix Man like a guard dog, suddenly sprang up and ran toward the giant hole in the ceiling. His tail wagged wildly as he barked excitedly.
Phoenix Man felt it too.
"Dogs only react like that for one reason…"
"He's back."
Sweat beaded on Phoenix Man's forehead. His heart started racing again.
BOOM!
With a roar, Jovian emerged from the dark shaft and flew up into view under Phoenix Man and Rover's gaze.
"I didn't do anything!" Phoenix Man blurted instantly, panic pouring out of his mouth. "I didn't try to leave with Rover, I didn't talk about rebuilding the Monster Association, none of that—so you can totally trust me!"
"..."
Jovian stared at him, speechless.
"Let's go," Jovian said.
He didn't bother arguing with Phoenix Man's guilty, unhinged confession. He'd done everything he needed to do here. It was time to leave and return to the Hero Association.
"Okay," Phoenix Man said quietly.
He forced his breathing to steady. He looked at Jovian… then at the beautiful woman Jovian had slung over his shoulder.
He thought for a few seconds, then immediately stopped himself.
He didn't want to realize something he shouldn't. He liked being alive.
So he just said one word: "Okay."
"Mm." Jovian didn't waste words either.
He crooked a finger toward Rover. Psychic power wrapped around the dog, and Rover lifted gently off the ground, floating in the air.
"We're leaving," Jovian said to Phoenix Man. "The Monster Association is destroyed."
"I know," Phoenix Man replied.
He understood the real message: the Monster Association was gone, and he'd better behave.
"Good."
Jovian rose into the air and flew back up through the tunnel he'd used to enter.
BOOM!
Phoenix Man spread his wings and followed right behind.
From that moment on, the monster called Phoenix Man was dead.
Only Phoenix Man—the "hero" who refused to die—remained.
Before, he had no choice.
And now… under Jovian's physics-powered fist—
He still had no choice.
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