"Ahhhhhh—this is so annoying!"
Tornado irritably ran her hands through her signature green curly hair, trying to shake the chaotic images out of her mind. But the more she tried to forget, the clearer those images became.
Baka, Hentai, Urusai!!
"That bastard… that pervert… that… hateful guy!"
She kept muttering, but no matter how much she cursed, she only had these few meager words. After all, deep down, she wasn't as angry as she imagined, so her cursing lacked conviction. Instead… there was a novel and unfamiliar feeling—one she had never experienced before.
Dominance, suppression, gentleness, praise—while these elements weren't uncommon, for Tornado, they were completely unknown territory.
Just as Tornado's mind was in turmoil, the Hero Association's special communicator on her wrist suddenly rang.
*BEEP, BEEP, BEEP— *
Her girlish thoughts interrupted, she instantly reverted to her strong persona, pulling out the communicator from behind her four-dimensional dress with a deadpan stare, and answered the call with an impatient expression.
"Moshi moshi—this is Tornado. What is it?!"
(Her face had changed.JPG)
From the other end of the communicator came the tense and urgent voice of Sitch—the big-nosed executive of the Hero Association.
"Miss Tornado, thank goodness—I finally reached you! What's the situation in K City now?!"
Sitch's tone sounded like the sky was falling.
"After the Dragon-level monster was eliminated, we lost all means of communication. But headquarters detected two energy fluctuations—exceeding Dragon-level limits—erupting over K City. One of them was your Psychokinesis, and the other—golden energy—its peak even… even once surpassed your energy reaction!"
A pause.
"So—what exactly was that? A new Monster? Or…?"
(ꐦ ಠ ಠ)
Hearing the words "surpassed you," Tornado's brows immediately furrowed.
—Stupid Sitch—always bringing up the sensitive topic…!
"Huh? What nonsense are you spouting! How could anyone's energy reaction surpass mine!"
She immediately retorted haughtily, completely refusing to admit the fact that she had been suppressed.
"It was just a… relatively strange Dragon-level monster. I've already dealt with it! Don't bother me when there's nothing wrong—I'm on vacation!"
(Jack: A Dragon-level monster? Have I been exposed again?)
"But, but that energy…"
"I said it's fine—hanging up!"
Tornado didn't give Sitch a chance to press further, and with a snap, she cut off the communication.
She didn't want the guys at the Association to know that she not only failed to deal with the "Monster," but was instead… instead by them…
The thought of that embrace made Tornado's cheeks warm again. Covering her flushed face, she sped up her flight, wanting only to quickly find a secluded place to hide and sort out her chaotic thoughts.
On the other side, Jack—returning to Z City—was flying at high speed over a mountain range. As a mature Monster, he was already accustomed to digesting the gains from battle while on the move.
The battle with Tornado gave Jack a clearer understanding of his current strength. The power of "Golden Form" was beyond doubt, and combined with the foundational stats provided by abilities like Overgrown, it could now be fully applied as a regular combat method. There was no need to worry about the weakness of his chest beeping red after three minutes of fighting.
However, such a powerful transformation was merely one of his many trump cards. After all, the minor skirmish with Tornado didn't force out Jack's true full potential.
Of course, the biggest gain from this trip was not the validation of his strength, but… Jack raised his hand and looked at his palm, a smile unconsciously curving at the corner of his mouth.
Breaching the castle named Tornado seemed not so out of reach after all.
Just as he was savoring that soft touch and preparing to plan his next move—
*BUZZ… *
A mental fluctuation—as if from another dimension—descended without warning. This fluctuation did not come from any corner of the Earth. It was vast, ancient, cold, and ruthless, filled with the indifferent gaze of a higher-dimensional being looking down on lower-dimensional beings. It wasn't as violent and direct as Tornado's Psychokinesis, but it carried a bizarre power that could penetrate the soul and distort perception.
Jack's heart tightened. His mental power instantly contracted, and the sturdy defense constructed by "Imagination Power" at the conscious level was precarious and on the verge of collapse at this moment.
But that mental fluctuation seemed to have no malice—not even good or bad intentions or biases—it was merely observing.
In an instant, countless bizarre and incomprehensible images flashed through Jack's mind. Twisted star patterns, mysterious black cubes, gigantic human figures composed of countless eerie lines… It was a sight that could not be described in human language—filled with ominousness and madness.
"…God?"
A word, born from the depths of Jack's heart.
This probing came as quickly as it went. Lasting less than a second, the vast mental fluctuation receded like a tide, as if it had never appeared.
In the valley, the gentle breeze still blew, and birds chirped among fragrant flowers. But a fine layer of cold sweat seeped from Jack's back. He suddenly stood up and looked up at the azure sky—though he found nothing, his gaze became more solemn than ever before.
"Was it the combined transformation just now…?"
Jack quickly realized a possibility: perhaps, when he activated "Golden Form" just now, it had attracted attention from a higher dimension. The mysterious existence that still lived in the background of the One-Punch Man world—God.
However, he seemed not to have met the other party's requirements. Or rather, when God chose a proxy, strength was not the decisive factor.
"Whew—"
A strong sense of crisis—one he had never felt even when encountering Saitama—assailed him, and Jack, having escaped a close call, couldn't help but feel a little shaken. Saitama at least had identifiable principles of action, but God… the sparse information proved that this entity indeed existed, and it was capricious—capable of elevating an ordinary person into a Dragon-level pinnacle powerhouse at any moment, and then instantly confiscating everything it bestowed, along with taking away one's soul and life.
This world was far more dangerous than he imagined.
The excitement of stepping into Above Dragon-level instantly dissipated, and his slightly arrogant gaze also cleared considerably. At the same time, Jack quickly began to strategize in his mind.
"I wasn't chosen by God this time, but there's no guarantee there won't be a next time. According to the information provided by the anime—including Tornado, Flashy Flash, and Sonic—the strong individuals in this world have more or less experienced temptation by God. But as long as their willpower defense is strong enough, God has no way to make further threatening moves."
Jack clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within him.
"Though He seems unable to actively descend into the material world, my current strength… is not enough! Becoming stronger is certainly part of the plan, but more importantly… is to gain the initiative before God targets me again."
Connecting it to his greatest reliance, a plan quietly formed in Jack's mind.
"…Monster Association."
Jack's eyes narrowed, and the faint cyan contrail trailing behind him suddenly accelerated. It formed a discontinuous, cutting psychic trajectory under the clear sky, splitting the obstructing clouds ahead into two, and instantly vanished into the distant horizon.