Breaking Saitama's Defense
The long-awaited pain began to excite him.
"Good."
His posture changed; his feet were slightly apart, his knees slightly bent, his body slightly leaning forward, and his fists clenched and pressed against his waist.
Something was burning in those yellow eyes.
It's like the excitement a child feels when they finally find a playmate.
"Consecutive Normal Punches."
His fists moved, a flurry of punches so fast the naked eye couldn't follow them.
One Punch Man carried the power to shatter a meteorite, One Punch Man was precisely aimed at Higashino Makoto's body.
Higashino Makoto didn't choose to dodge, since it was highly unlikely he could avoid it.
He chose to defend, holding his spear horizontally in front of him, his tentacles intertwining to form a shield, the magic of the Catastrophe Mantle concentrating at the defensive point.
The fist struck the tentacle, which snapped off and dissipated into red and black magical fragments.
The fist struck the spear. The spear bent and emitted a piercing hiss.
The fist struck the Catastrophe Mantle, denting, cracking, and shattering it.
A fist struck his body.
With the One Punch Man, his body flew out.
With the second punch, his body tumbled through the air.
With his third punch, his body crashed into an abandoned building.
The wall collapsed, and rubble rained down, burying him underneath.
"Oh no, I think I used too much force just now!"
Saitama withdrew his fist, stood still, and stared at the pile of rubble with his yellow eyes.
"Higashino, are you alright?"
"No, continue."
The rubble exploded from the inside.
Higashino Makoto stood up from the ruins and dusted himself off.
He looked at his health bar.
The first health bar has decreased by one-third.
In other words, with two layers of Catastrophe Mantle, one's health bar can withstand nearly ten normal punches.
"Continue, Saitama."
Higashino Makoto took a deep breath, his magic power began to surge, and he increased his output once again.
He poured his entire second MP into the Catastrophe Mantle.
The innermost layer that touches the skin remains unchanged.
The outer layer begins to separate, layer after layer, like a mille-feuille, with gaps of a few millimeters between each layer, filled with a high-density, compressed magic.
Spikes begin to grow on the outermost layer.
He stood there, like a red and black monster covered in sharp spikes.
"Again."
His figure disappeared again, with astonishing speed.
He appeared before Saitama, thrusting his spear forward.
Saitama's fist came at him. Consecutive Normal Punches.
Fist clashed with gun.
Higashino Makoto's spear bent, deformed, and shattered under immense force.
Spikes transformed into tentacles that coiled around from all directions, only to be snapped off by a fist.
The spike aimed at Saitama's fist was shattered by the fist, but his body was not knocked away.
As the outer spikes and armor shattered, magic flowed continuously, absorbing most of the impact.
Most importantly, his health bar did not decrease.
In other words, the Catastrophe Mantle made with two MPs can withstand Saitama's Consecutive Normal Punches.
"Oh, interesting. Higashino, you're really strong!"
Saitama's voice carried a hint of surprise.
"If that's interesting, then be serious. Were you just tickling me?"
Higashino Makoto launched another attack, faster and stronger than before.
Saitama also increased the speed of his punches.
The density of the Consecutive Normal Punches increased, One Punch Man carrying destructive power.
Fists collided with guns, fists collided with tentacles, fists collided with spikes.
Each time Higashino Makoto is hit, his armor shatters and his magic begins to drain away.
However, thanks to the "Spirit Devourer" class, most of the scattered magic power was reabsorbed, making the Catastrophe Mantle last longer.
Realizing that his ordinary punches were ineffective, Saitama finally got serious!
"Serious Punch!"
The fist, carrying immense, monstrous force, hurtled towards Higashino Makoto. The entire city was nearly destroyed by this One Punch Man, and the clouds in the sky were blown away by its force.
Earth-Splitting Punch!
Of course, this is the name that Higashino Makoto gave to One Punch Man punch.
Higashino Makoto was completely sent flying, and nearly one-fifth of his Catastrophe Mantle was destroyed.
Of course, Higashino Makoto stopped flying in the air and entered a holographic state.
Therefore, Saitama's next attack missed completely.
The fist struck in mid-air, parting the Earth's head once more.
Saitama looked surprised as his fist passed right through Higashino Makoto's body.
"Higashino, you're really interesting."
He then withdrew his fist.
Higashino Makoto checked his status.
My first health bar is almost empty, but there's still a small amount left.
In other words, if you are at full strength and have the enhanced version of the Catastrophe Mantle, you can withstand about six Serious Punch from Saitama.
Although it was just a friendly sparring match, this was the first time he had ever suffered such a crushing defeat.
Therefore, he decided to give Saitama a good beating.
The magic of the Catastrophe Mantle began to converge into the spear in his hand. The originally dark purple magic turned pitch black as it gathered.
The red and black armor disappeared from his body, revealing his true form.
Her long, silvery-white hair was somewhat disheveled, and there was a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth.
But he had a smile on his face.
"Saitama, I'm about to unleash my strongest attack, so be careful."
"Self Time Acceleration"
Higashino Makoto didn't use "Time Stop," after all, who knows if Saitama has time resistance?
Although there is a limitation that he cannot launch an attack midway, this ability allows him to gain an absolute first-strike advantage against the vast majority of enemies!
The nameless spear struck Saitama's thigh without hesitation.
Feeling the sensation of cutting meat, Higashino Makoto smiled.
They finally broke through!
Ultimately, Saitama doesn't have absolute defense; he just has exceptionally high defense.
The magic of calamity carried Saitama into the sky, as if he had transformed into a shooting star and disappeared from the earth.
After a long while, Saitama, looking extremely disheveled, descended from the sky and landed in front of Higashino Makoto.
Saitama was incredibly excited!
How long has it been since he went bald? He hasn't been injured or even felt any pain!
And now, he's finally injured!
Higashino is indeed very strong!
I need to take this seriously!
Just as he was about to launch Consecutive Serious Punches, Higashino Makoto made a gesture to stop.
I surrender!
Saitama felt his lips twitch and veins bulging on his forehead; a feeling of being stuck in the middle almost drove him mad.
I finally managed to get excited!
"We're not playing anymore?"
"Yes, we're not playing anymore."
That attack just now consumed almost half of his magic power.
Even at its peak, without using World Item to restore mana, it can only be activated twice.
In other words, without using "Hourai" or transforming into "The Seven Deadly Sins Demon," he does not have the ability to kill Saitama.
Continuing to fight would only be asking for trouble.
Saitama froze on the spot.
Although he really wanted to continue, as Hero, he simply couldn't bring himself to keep attacking after his opponent had surrendered.
Especially since the other person is a fan of mine, and they just treated me to hot pot.
"All right."
Higashino Makoto breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Saitama retract his fist.
He was genuinely worried that Saitama might continue his attack recklessly, leaving him with no choice but to flee.
"Don't look at me like that. I'll continue to treat you to hot pot, with the finest Wagyu beef and prawns, until you can't eat anymore!"
Upon hearing this, Saitama finally found an outlet for his pent-up frustration.
I'm going to eat you out of house and home!
Will you eat yourself into poverty?
Higashino Makoto almost burst out laughing!
"Haha, no problem! As long as you can eat it, I'll give you everything I own!"