Bang Gu slowly walked up to Garou.
Garou at this moment was in a sorry state.
His Monster transformation characteristics had completely vanished, revealing his scarred human body.
He was now kneeling on the ground, head bowed, his expression unclear.
"Garou."
Bang Gu's voice showed no emotion, but the hands clasped behind his back trembled slightly.
"Now that it's come to this, do you still have anything to say?"
Garou struggled to lift his head.
Those eyes, once filled with malice and arrogance, now held only emptiness.
Since the "Absolute Evil" he pursued was a joke, since the "Justice" of this world was indestructible, what was the meaning of living?
"Heh..."
Garou pulled at the corner of his mouth, sneering, blood oozing from between his teeth.
"Old Man, are you here to clean up the sect?"
"Perfect."
Garou closed his eyes, stretched out his neck, and deliberately exposed his vulnerable throat.
"Do as you please, kill or flay me. You are an S-Class Hero, and I am a Monster that everyone wants to eliminate. This is fair."
"But, spare me the lectures. The last thing I want to hear right now is your so-called heroes' talk of benevolence and righteousness."
The next second.
"Idiot disciple!!"
A roar exploded.
Before the surrounding people could react, Bang Gu had already moved.
He suddenly took a step forward, raised his calloused palm, and fiercely struck down at Garou.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"This punch is for your senior brothers whom you injured!"
"This punch is for the heroes whom you injured!"
"This punch is for your stubborn, blockhead!"
"Ugh!"
Garou was struck, his body swaying, blood once again oozing from the corner of his mouth.
But these punches... Garou's lifeless pupils suddenly contracted.
It hurt. It really hurt.
However, there was no killing intent.
This feeling... Garou felt a little dazed.
The door of memory was instantly pushed open.
That day, in that bustling dojo, he injured all his fellow disciples, standing amidst the wreckage and laughing madly.
The Old Man was like this then too, scolding him as an "idiot disciple" while fiercely beating him, eventually expelling him from the sect.
Seemingly a fierce storm, yet he held back everywhere.
Every punch avoided vital points, only landing on flesh, making him feel pain but not threatening his life.
"Old Man..."
Garou's throat felt as if something was lodged in it.
But he didn't speak, just lowered his head, letting the punches fall upon him.
If you can't bring yourself to do it, why put on this act?
I already don't want to live anymore.
"Enough!"
A voice of displeasure suddenly rang out, interrupting Bang Gu's actions.
Sweet Mask strode forward, his face full of anger.
He stared coldly at Bang Gu, mercilessly exposing him:
"Silver Fang, what kind of act are you putting on?"
"Are those soft punches giving someone a massage? Do you think we can't tell you're deliberately holding back?!"
Bang Gu's movements froze.
He slowly withdrew his hand, maintaining that posture, as if frozen in time.
"Get out of the way!"
A cold glint flashed in Sweet Mask's eyes.
"Since you can't do it, then let me! As the face of the Hero Association, I absolutely will not allow such a hidden danger to continue to exist!"
With that, Sweet Mask was about to rush forward and deliver a fatal blow to Garou.
Just then.
"Stop!"
A childish but tearful voice came from the other side of the ruins.
Immediately after, a small figure stumbled out, rushing desperately in front of Garou, spreading his arms, and firmly blocking Sweet Mask.
It was the ugly child, Tareo, whom Garou had saved multiple times.
"You can't hurt Uncle!"
Tareo's face was covered in tears, and his whole body was trembling, but the determination in his eyes stunned everyone present.
"Get out of the way, kid!" Sweet Mask frowned deeply. "Do you know who you're protecting? That's a Monster who wants to destroy the world!"
"No! Uncle isn't a Monster!"
Tareo screamed hysterically, snot and tears mixing together. "Uncle saved me! He saved me many times!"
"Even if the whole world says he's a bad guy, he saved me! He's my hero!"
These shouts exploded over the ruins.
Garou, who had been kneeling on the ground with empty eyes, suddenly trembled.
He slowly raised his head, looking at the small back shielding him.
That kid, who once only cried and was weak, now dared to face Sweet Mask's killing intent to protect him.
A glimmer of spirit gradually returned to Garou's empty eyes.
It turned out, it wasn't completely meaningless.
"You brat..."
Sweet Mask's face was extremely grim.
He believed in absolute justice, and any factor hindering the execution of justice was wrong, even if it was just a child.
"Seduced by a Monster? Truly incorrigible."
The killing intent in Sweet Mask's eyes surged again; he even wanted to push the child aside and execute Garou in front of him.
"Get out of the way, kid!"
"That's enough."
A dignified voice rang out.
Sweet Mask's foot, about to step forward, froze in mid-air, and cold sweat instantly drenched his back.
He stiffly turned his head.
He saw KING, who had been silent, quietly watching him at some point.
"Doing such a thing in front of a child, isn't that a bit inappropriate?"
Lin Mo spoke casually, his hands in his pockets, but only those facing him could feel that terrifying oppressive presence.
The lingering power of that dimension-piercing attack seemed to still reside on Lin Mo; just a glance made Sweet Mask feel his breathing become difficult.
"KING, but..." Sweet Mask gritted his teeth, trying to argue, "He's a Monster! If we don't kill him, later..."
Lin Mo interrupted him, "If you insist on acting, shouldn't you consider whether your so-called 'justice' is too extreme?"
"Moreover," he withdrew his gaze, "although this guy caused quite a ruckus, as far as I know, he has never truly killed any hero."
"Is it really necessary to eradicate a 'Monster' who hasn't taken any human lives?"
At these words, the heroes who had been clamoring for Garou's execution instantly fell silent.
They looked at each other.
Upon careful recollection, it seemed to be true.
Although many were sent to the hospital, there were indeed no death reports.
Under KING's suffocating aura, the originally agitated situation was instantly suppressed.
"This..."
Sweet Mask opened his mouth, but found that under the man's gaze, he couldn't even muster the courage to retort.
Just as the atmosphere fell into a stalemate.
The bald man walked over.
Saitama scratched his head, which still reflected light in the night, and stood beside Lin Mo with a blank expression, looking at everyone.
"Yeah, yeah, always talking about killing people, that's too weird, right?"
Saitama pointed at Garou, "Since we've already won, shouldn't we just make him pay for medical expenses? Killing people doesn't seem necessary at all."
As the S-Class Hero ranked 14th, One-Punch Man, Saitama's words, though not as weighty as KING's.
At this moment, they served as a stepping stone, giving everyone room to ease the tension.
The two top powerhouses expressed their stance simultaneously.
Sweet Mask gritted his teeth, his hands clenching and unclenching repeatedly.
Ultimately, he chose to give up.
"...Since Mr. KING has already spoken."
Sweet Mask snorted coldly, turned, and strode away, but before leaving, he still glared fiercely at Garou.
The crisis was averted.
Bang Gu's tense body finally relaxed, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
He gazed deeply at KING and Saitama, his eyes filled with gratitude.
If it weren't for these two stepping forward, he truly wouldn't know how to resolve the situation.
Bang Gu slowly walked to Garou, ignoring Garou's complicated gaze, and directly lifted him from the ground.
"Everyone."
Bang Gu turned around and bowed deeply to all the heroes present.
"This rebellious disciple's destruction, this Old Man will take full responsibility for."
He straightened up, his voice, though aged, carried immense resolve.
"From today onwards, this Old Man will resign from his position as an S-Class Hero of the Hero Association."
"I will take this unfilial disciple back to the dojo, and for the rest of my life, even if I have to chain him up, I will strictly discipline him and never allow him to take another step out to harm society."
"So, please rest assured."
After speaking, Bang Gu no longer looked at the reactions of the crowd, nor did he care if Garou was willing, and dragged the scarred body towards the outside of the ruins.
Moonlight shone upon the two of them.
Garou stumbled, dragged by Bang Gu.
He looked back.
That snot-nosed kid was still waving vigorously.
That bald man was chatting with the man known as the strongest.
"Let's go, idiot disciple."
Bang Gu's voice came from ahead; this time, there was no scolding, only a long-lost calm.
"Go back and fix the dojo first."
Garou was silent for a long time.
Until the two figures gradually disappeared into the night, a faint, almost inaudible whisper drifted on the wind.
"...Tch, damn Old Man."
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