*BOOM—!!! *
In the distance, another skyscraper collapsed with a roar under the bombardment of a purple energy ball, and the dust it stirred up covered the sky. The purple Piccolo Daimao looked coldly at the destroyed city before him, raising his hand without a word. Light balls with a diameter of three or four meters were generated out of thin air, and he threw them with a swing of his arm toward the several heroes before him, who were sweating profusely and in a defensive posture.
*RUMBLE—! *
The city was once again submerged by the light and heat of the explosion, and in the instantly ruined street, several heroes who had tried to resist the Monster were already of unknown life or death. Piccolo Daimao looked disdainfully at the tiny humans who tried to block his steps, floated up into the sky, and moved forward. Wherever the purple figure went, it turned into a ruin.
Amidst the ruins, the cold-faced blonde man with three scars on his face woke up from his coma.
"What is this…?"
When his consciousness returned, King remembered that he had come to City A specifically to buy a special limited edition of a new game. At this moment, he was already lying in the ruins of the game store, and a sloping surface formed by the collapse of an entire wall blocked other building debris, allowing him to be miraculously unharmed.
"…Is it a Monster again?"
A hint of bitterness arose in King's heart. Perhaps he was really, as Jack said, a natural Monster magnet—encountering Monsters wherever he went. This luck was unparalleled. Though he had developed muscles due to persistent training, with this level of disaster, muscles alone probably couldn't do anything, right?
Just as King was thinking, a shadow flew over his head. A purple figure flew straight over him and landed not far away, walking toward a crying twin-tailed girl in the ruins. Watching the Monster grin and pinch the unaware little girl with its gradually expanding claws, King—who had just gotten up—suddenly stiffened, his expression changing wildly.
*THUMP-THUMP—!! *
*THUMP-THUMP—!! *
*THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP—!! *
As the King Engine gradually roared, the justice that grew in his heart overcame his fear. King—ready to die—shouted loudly:
"Stop right there—!!!!"
Just as King roared, an unexpected change occurred. The little girl in Piccolo Daimao's hand disappeared as if by teleportation, and Piccolo Daimao was also tightly gripped by the neck by a large, well-defined hand. Three things happened almost simultaneously. King only felt a gust of wind sweep by, and then he found a bald man with a white cape fluttering behind him placing the unconscious little girl on the ground, while another tall, strong, young, and handsome youth was tightly gripping the Monster's neck, making its face turn even more purple.
"Ah…?"
King was stunned for a moment before reacting: "Jack!"
At the moment of contact, the system's ability pop-up appeared in Jack's mind.
[Monster: Vaccine Man]
[Disaster Level: Dragon (Upper)
]**
[Ability 1: 'Gaia's Apostle (SSR)'
]** : The agent of the Earth's will twisted by "Gods"—its body is directly composed of planetary energy, possessing the authority to mobilize planetary energy.]
[Ability 2: 'Supernatural Power Purification (SSR)'
]** : The power of destruction bestowed by "Gods"—a destructive light power. It condenses an endless stream of planetary energy into destructive light spheres, possessing powerful penetration and blast effects.]
[Ability 3: 'Earth Antibody (SSR)'
]** : Born as the Earth's will's cleansing weapon against the virus—human civilization—it can absorb atmospheric pollution and radiant energy to infinitely strengthen itself.]
[Ability 4: 'Apostle Awakening (SSR)'
]** : Unleashes the power within to strengthen the body, awakening the original form of Gaia's Apostle. Its size can freely swell and expand, and its combat power surges, but it will gradually lose its sanity due to hatred.]
A sharp glint flashed in Jack's eyes—another strong Dragon-level Upper. What's important is that, like Homeless Emperor, it's a Dragon-level Monster with an organization.
[Ding! Detected replicable target 'Vaccine Man'!]
[Successfully replicated SSR-level abilities: 'Gaia's Apostle' Lv1, 'Supernatural Power Purification' Lv1, 'Earth Antibody' Lv1, 'Apostle Awakening' Lv1!]
[Current ability slots occupied: 4/30.
]**
[Consumed Origin Points × 511,000 | 'Gaia's Apostle' level increased! Lv1 → Lv10 (MAX)!]
[Consumed Origin Points × 511,000 | 'Supernatural Power Purification' level increased! Lv1 → Lv10 (MAX)!]
[Consumed Origin Points × 511,000 | 'Earth Antibody' level increased! Lv1 → Lv10 (MAX)!]
[Consumed Origin Points × 511,000 | 'Apostle Awakening' level increased! Lv1 → Lv10 (MAX)!]
[Ding! Replicated abilities 'Gaia's Apostle (SSR)'… have reached max level, integrated into the main body, and released ability slot occupation!]
[Current ability slots occupied: 0/30.
]**
In the blink of an eye, the Dragon-level abilities were refined. Similar to Giant Brother's power, Jack's body instinctively wanted to expand and return to the original form of Gaia's Apostle. However, how could a mere Earth Apostle shake Jack's frail human body?
He even had the leisure to greet the two heroes who were also present: "What a coincidence, King—and Saitama!"
In Jack's eyes, King's life force intensity was already comparable to that of an ordinary C-Class hero. Among ordinary people, he could be considered a top-tier existence. In this world, muscle training combined with willpower is indeed the fastest way to become stronger. But in the current battle, even A-Class heroes are cannon fodder among cannon fodder, and King's combat power can be completely ignored—unless he can unleash the deterrent power of a strong person who can suppress four Dragons.
Seeing it was Jack, Saitama—with his strong-style demeanor—stood up and grinned: "Yeah—what a coincidence, Jack. We meet again. Let me introduce you—this is the hero by hobby, Saitama."
Saitama grinned foolishly: "Hello!"
"This is the hero by luck, King."
King: "Ah, this… Hello."
Jack introduced the two to each other and laughed: "Saitama—I remember you said something about hotpot last time. There's no time like the present, so let's do it today. It just so happens I haven't had lunch yet."
"Eh… hotpot for lunch?" Saitama scratched his head, looked up at the sky, and pondered. "I remember now—there's a supermarket in City S that has a special sale this morning. I'll go buy some discounted beef later, so let's have beef hotpot then."
"Great!"
Jack, of course, wasn't picky. While pinching the frantically struggling Piccolo Daimao with one hand, he casually said to King beside him: "King, you come along too. We'll go buy some ingredients and drinks later."
"Ah—okay…"