King suddenly seemed to think of something.
Opening the Death Gate of the Eight Gates was almost certainly fatal; although it granted tremendous power, the price was one's life.
Once the Death Gate was opened, it continuously burned the user's vitality, damaging the body until it was completely consumed.
"System, can Ultra-Speed Regeneration cure the side-effects of the Death Gate?"
King muttered inwardly, and the system quickly replied, its icy notification sounding in his mind:
Ultra-Speed Regeneration can heal the damage caused by the Death Gate, but the gate itself consumes life essence; if kept open too long, irreversible harm will occur. At present, the host can sustain the Death Gate for a maximum of ten minutes."
"Friendly reminder: after the Death Gate opens, it will keep burning the host's vitality. Regardless of how long it remains active, once closed, the host will enter a weakened state lasting thirty minutes."
"Weakened for how long?!"
King's eyes bulged; he hadn't expected the penalty to be so light.
What surprised him even more was that the system-rewarded Eight Gates actually allowed the Death Gate to be toggled at will.
Put simply, King now possessed a ten-minute super-burst mode, followed by only thirty minutes of weakness.
It was an absolute steal.
With that thought, King hesitated no longer; the boundless, ocean-like vitality within him surged, rapidly flooding the final gate point.
"Eight Gates: Death Gate—OPEN!!!"
Crimson steam wavered like blazing flames, dyeing his golden hair red as crimson patterns slowly spread across his body.
Sensing King's aura skyrocket, even Saitama couldn't help raising an eyebrow.
"King, how many new forms do you have? You've switched to an even cooler one again."
King didn't answer; he stared, transfixed, at his vitality-wreathed hands, lost in thought.
Power—unparalleled power—surged within him, several times stronger than when he had opened the Gate of Shock.
I wonder if this level… can contend with the Bald Demon King's normal mode…
With that thought, King drew a deep breath, lowered his stance, and set himself to charge.
Seeing this, Saitama knew a fight was coming; he adopted the same charging posture.
As if by agreement, both vanished from where they stood.
At the hundred-meter chasm left by their earlier clash, a red streak and a yellow streak smashed together, wild energy scattering in every direction.
The violent explosion that followed swept the area, a towering mushroom cloud of energy stretching a kilometer high, visible from cities a thousand kilometers away.
At that moment, the Hero Association's satellites lost all signal.
From then on, mere mortals were no longer qualified to watch the battle.
Twenty kilometers away, Genos felt his parts creak once more and could only keep retreating.
So this is the power of KING-sensei and Mr. Saitama… It's practically divine…
Genos felt a surge of gratitude. Fortunately, both KING-sensei and Mr. Saitama stood on humanity's side; if either of them opposed mankind, humanity would surely perish.
Meanwhile, at the center of the chasm, the desert terrain had been completely reshaped; the drifting sand poured into the bottomless abyss like water, and the surrounding desert peaks had been ground flat by the shockwaves of the titanic clash.
Saitama looked at King, whose fist could actually hold against his own, excitement flashing in his eyes.
This is the first time I've found someone who can trade punches with me… Don't let me down, KING!
King channeled every last wisp of his flame-like vitality into his fist, yet could only barely stalemate Saitama's.
But he could sense that this state would last five seconds at most before he was utterly crushed.
Even with the Death Gate open—and against Saitama's Normal Punch—King's arm bones were already cracked throughout.
In that case… A red glint flashed in his eyes; the instant he drew back his fist, Super Speed Healing had already mended the shattered bones.
"Evening Elephant!!"
In less than a second, King threw a thousand punches; criss-crossing air cannons carved white scars across the sky for nearly a hundred kilometers.
People in the city looked up in shock; the once-azure sky was now latticed with white trails, compressed air streaming along their centers.
At the very center of the attack, Saitama didn't even dodge, taking the thousand punches with his absurd body.
His iconic yellow jumpsuit sported a few new holes, and his ever-flowing white cape was now half tattered.
Seeing this, Saitama's mouth twitched.
"KING, you ruined my clothes! These are custom-made hero suits I had specially ordered!"
"I'll pay you ten times the price—let's go, Saitama!"
A red afterimage flickered at blinding speed, the surrounding area turning into a haze of crimson light; King's faint voice rode the wind into Saitama's ears.
With King's promise of compensation, Saitama let loose, likewise turning into an afterimage that flickered through the air.
From Genos's perspective, both fighters vanished; even his mechanical eyes could barely catch traces, unable to confirm their forms at all.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
A distant mountain erupted under the violent blast, the entire peak erased, the ground beneath forming a gigantic pit a hundred meters deep.
The scene repeated itself again and again; every collision left a crater hundreds of meters wide, the surrounding space distorting with each clash.
...
(End of Chapter)
[Throw some stones]