"Hmph, I don't want to fight you, you're too much of a bother."
Saitama scratched his face and said, "I'm here to eliminate monsters; I don't have time to fight you."
"I didn't say I would fight you now." King put on his duckbill cap, slightly raised its brim, and revealed a meaningful gaze. "However, sooner or later, you and I will have a decisive battle. By then, I'll make sure you can't tell east from west."
Heh, Saitama, once we truly become familiar with each other, you'll taste the terror of being dominated by me in games!
"Whatever. I couldn't tell east from west to begin with."
Saitama, with a casual expression, strode away.
King watched Saitama's departing figure, his mouth curved into a smile. "Saitama, the atmosphere isn't suitable for a formal introduction today. We'll do it next time. Anyway, we have so many ties between us; we'll definitely get to know each other properly sooner or later. But, I hope next time we meet, we won't call each other 'inner wear' and 'underwear' anymore. It makes me... too embarrassed."
"Ding, congratulations to the Host for obtaining a two-star Monster Card: Piccolo."
He casually touched the corpse of the monster, and at the same time, asked the system to process Piccolo's revival.
"Ding, the system has collected the dead pet. Resurrection countdown: forty-seven days!"
"Countdown starts, forty-six days, twenty-three hours, fifty-nine minutes, fifty-nine seconds!"
"..."
King couldn't help but smile. This resurrection time is ridiculously long!
"Attention M-City residents, attention M-City residents. The Hero Association urgently announces that a Demon-level monster has appeared in M City Government District Street. The Hero Association is currently dispatching heroes to eliminate the monster. Before the monster is eliminated, please, residents, do not approach M City Government District Street. Please proceed to a shelter for safety..."
"Huh? Demon-level monster?" King was slightly startled, and he quickly shot towards M City Government District Street. "Saitama, wait for me, I'm here for the easy pickings."
...
M-City.
Bang!
A heavy impact sound echoed through the street.
"Humans are indeed helplessly weak, hahaha. Speaking of which, I was once a weakling like you. But, tsk tsk, the Doctor gave me new life, granting me immense power, the strength to destroy everything, and unparalleled defense. Hehehe, this world will eventually be ruled by us Dinosaurmen. You humans... are obsolete. It's time to be eliminated by great nature."
Standing on the street was a nine-meter-tall Dinosaur Monster. Its entire body was covered in armor-like carapaced scales that emitted a metallic luster, deeply embedded in its skin. At the same time, it possessed a long, spiked spinal tail. The tail had a fleshy mace-head at its end, making the entire spinal tail look like a flexible spiked mace. These distinct features made its defense extraordinarily high, while also being full of offensive power.
"Cough cough, you want to destroy humanity? Hmph, we won't agree!"
Beneath a collapsed store, Lightning Kid laboriously pushed aside the rubble and crawled out from the ruins. He swayed unsteadily, facing the Dinosaur Monster. He wiped his blood-covered face, glaring intently at the Dinosaur Monster. "To exterminate humanity, please first step over my corpse."
"Tsk, are you a hero from the Hero Association? I've heard of you. I used to admire you, but when I gained powerful strength from the Doctor, I realized you heroes are... unable to withstand a single blow!"
The Dinosaur Monster sneered. Its huge spinal tail, like a swinging giant iron hammer, slammed fiercely towards Lightning Kid.
Bang! Splat!
Lightning Kid couldn't dodge in time. He blocked with his electric staff, and in an instant, his internal organs vibrated violently. He vomited blood wildly, as if a geyser, drawing a vibrant arc in the air. His body flew backwards, crashing into the glass cabinet of a nearby store. The powerful impact caused him to shatter the entire pane of glass and fall into the shop.
"This guy... definitely possesses Demon-level monster strength... Damn it... I must send this information to the Hero Association..."
After the Dinosaur Monster casually flicked its tail, it found that Lightning Kid had no reaction for a long time inside the shop. It sneered mockingly, "Hehe, even a hero, an elite of humanity, is so helplessly weak. Humans are indeed fragile. How can such a fragile race deserve to live in this world?"
"Huff! Huff! Humans... are not as weak as you imagine!"
Lightning Kid's furious roar came from inside the shop.
"Stop it! You must stop it! Wait for the Hero Association's rescue!"
In the short time he lay on the shop floor, he had already sent a request for help to the Hero Association Headquarters. He believed that the Hero Association would soon issue a Demon-level monster alert for the monster in front of him. At that time, there would definitely be stronger heroes to join the fight to eliminate the monster. Before that, he had to do his best to stop the monster from destroying and killing humans.
"I didn't expect you to still be alive! You, a weakling who can't even take a simple hit from me, what are you shouting so loudly about? Looking for death? Heh, if I were you, I'd obediently lie there. At least I could survive. But you actually stood up again. Tsk tsk, what a foolish fellow. Or rather, are all you heroes just strong-limbed, simple-minded brutes?"
The Dinosaur Monster glanced sideways, looking at the blood-covered Lightning Kid with a face full of mockery!
"Shut up! Don't you dare insult the word 'hero'!" Lightning Kid's anger filled his entire body. He gritted his teeth and glared at the Dinosaur Monster. "The hero's mission is to stop you monsters and protect ordinary people from harm. It is precisely because of this great mission that we have become strong. You can defeat me, but you cannot look down on heroes!"
"Tch! Nonsense!" The Dinosaur Monster sneered. "The hero's mission? Heh, it sounds quite great, but so what? Can you stop me? You clearly could have escaped, yet you stayed to sacrifice your life for some inexplicable duty. Truly laughable!"
Lightning Kid swayed, moving forward with difficulty. He once again blocked the Dinosaur Monster's path, gripping his electric staff tightly, glaring intently at the monster. "King once said, if the heroes run away, then who will fight..."
"So, you've also seen the Ajinomoto Dragon advertisement?"
"Hmm? Very imposing words, but I don't have that much time to play with you! Get lost!"
The Dinosaur Monster glanced sideways at Lightning Kid, who swayed like willow floss, and impatiently swung its spinal tail again. Lightning Kid's eyes widened. He wanted to counterattack, but his body was too severely damaged and could no longer keep up with his thoughts. Facing the monster's casual blow, his body didn't react, and he took the monster's attack head-on.
With a huge 'chi' sound, blood splattered, and Lightning Kid fell again.
The Dinosaur Monster looked at Lightning Kid, whose body was bursting and bleeding, and sneered, "I'll continue forward to slaughter humanity, so what? You... can you still stop me?"
"Heh, heroes... don't necessarily have to be able to stop you, but they *must* stand here and stop you!"
Suddenly, a faint voice came from the air.
The Dinosaur Monster quickly turned its head and looked towards the sky. It saw a figure floating in the air, with golden hair, a square-shaped face, three scars above and below its left eye, expressionless, and with an extraordinary aura.
"Who are you? Are you also a hero?"
"He's... King!?" Lightning Kid's vision was a little blurry. Although he couldn't see very clearly, king's full head of golden hair was still so conspicuous. He recognized king's identity at a glance, and his heart relaxed. A smile bloomed on his blood-covered face. "That is the Strongest Man on the surface, and also my... idol!"
"King, please take care of eliminating the monster. I'm... a little tired and want to sleep."
Lightning Kid grinned, and his body slowly fell. Saitama, who had also rushed over, darted over and caught Lightning Kid, whispering, "Don't worry, kid! Leave the rest to me!"
"Who is speaking? King? No, King doesn't have this voice. Oh, I know. It must be King's pet monster! King's clone -- the Justice Monster!"
Lightning Kid's mouth curved into a smile, and then passed out.
(end of chapter)