Cyborg Genos

With that god-level mosquito summoned away by Mosquito Girl, an infuriated Saitama had chased it outside.

"Get back here!"

Saitama shouted at the mosquito, his face twisted with irritation.

But he soon noticed something wrong with the huge, eerie black cloud in the sky.

"What's that? Whoa... looks like a whole swarm of mosquitoes wriggling around."

Saitama stared up at the swarm in surprise.

"Why is someone still here...?"

Surprised by Saitama's appearance, Genos immediately warned him, "You there, hurry to a shelter. If those mosquitoes spot you, they'll attack."

"...Seriously?"

Saitama stared blankly for a moment. "Then let's get out of here."

Just then, a strange sound came from Mosquito Girl, who was enveloped in countless mosquitoes.

"...!"

Genos immediately turned to look, only to see the swarm surging toward him like raging ocean waves.

Faced with this terrifying sight, Genos remained calm, energy gathering in his palms.

"Incineration!"

The energy blast erupted across a five-hundred-meter radius around Genos, burning every mosquito nearby to ash.

"When I first detected you, I confirmed there were no signs of life nearby. That means I can destroy you without holding back..."

Standing amid the sea of flames, Genos fixed Mosquito Girl with a piercing stare.

Only then did he remember that someone had just appeared beside him...

"Oh no! There was someone else here!"

Genos hurriedly turned toward the bald man.

He found Saitama standing there naked, his clothes evidently burned away by Genos's incineration blast.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. What was that move, anyway? It's the ultimate mosquito killer."

Saitama offered his praise with a relaxed expression.

"...?"

Genos stared at Saitama in stunned confusion.

"Hehehe..."

Just then, Mosquito Girl let out a cold laugh overhead.

She had completed her evolution. Her body was now dark red, though her skin remained snow-white. The mosquito-like parts of her body had undergone some changes, but not many.

Most importantly, her strength had skyrocketed.

She flashed behind Genos faster than he could react.

Slash!

A huge gash opened across Genos's waist, nearly cutting him in half.

He immediately struck back with his fist, but Mosquito Girl dodged just as quickly. He couldn't land a hit.

"Hahahaha! You're so weak!"

Mosquito Girl gleefully mocked him as she tore apart his mechanical body.

Before long, she had driven Genos into a desperate corner.

Knowing there was no way to turn things around, he could only choose to self-destruct...

But just as the core in Genos's chest began beeping its self-destruct warning, Vaccine Man suddenly appeared before Mosquito Girl, forming a ball of light in his hand.

"?!"

Seeing Vaccine Man appear out of nowhere, especially with that ball of light radiating terrifying energy, Mosquito Girl's smug smile froze.

"I'm in a really bad mood right now..."

As he spoke, Vaccine Man shoved the ball of light straight into Mosquito Girl's face.

Boom!!

The explosion sent Mosquito Girl flying.

Her ruptured blood sac scattered through the air like a bloody mist. Her wings, arms, and other limbs shattered as well, and she was blasted an unknown distance away.

[Ding! The host's enforcer, Vaccine Man, has defeated the Demon-level monster "Mosquito Girl." Reward: 40 points!]

[Ding! The host has defeated a "Demon-level monster" for the first time. Reward: 30 points!]

Vaccine Man was Bai Ye's enforcer, after all, so Bai Ye naturally received the rewards.

But the blast's effects didn't end there. Nearly all the buildings across the surrounding area were leveled too.

Fortunately, this was No Man's Land, so no innocent civilians were hurt.

Genos wasn't seriously harmed either. Saitama had shielded him from part of the blast, but even without Saitama, the shock wave wouldn't have been enough to destroy Genos's core.

"...!!"

Lying on the ground, barely able to move, Genos stared in shock at Vaccine Man floating in the air.

Although he wore human clothes and looked somewhat human, he seemed like a monster no matter how Genos looked at him.

A monster attacked his own kind?

And he took out Mosquito Girl in a single blow?!

At that moment, Vaccine Man looked down at Genos as well.

He realized he could feel hostility toward Genos, which meant Genos wasn't human, just like that strange mosquito earlier...

Still furious, he wanted to throw another ball of light to let off some steam.

Vaccine Man ignored Saitama beside him. He definitely couldn't touch that bald man. A ball of light gathered in his hand as he prepared to blast Genos in the face too.

"...Damn it!"

So this guy really is a monster too!

Seeing Vaccine Man about to attack, Genos instinctively tried to struggle, but with both legs severed by Mosquito Girl, he couldn't get up.

Will I have to self-destruct after all...?

I'm sorry... Doctor...

For the second time, Genos activated his self-destruct sequence.

But in the next instant, Bai Ye appeared beside Vaccine Man using the Flying Thunder God Technique and smacked him across the head.

Smack!

The slap left not only Vaccine Man stunned, but Genos as well.

Vaccine Man turned toward Bai Ye, utterly bewildered, his eyes filled with shock, confusion, anger, and hurt...

"Didn't I tell you not to hurt innocent people? What were you about to do?"

Bai Ye began scolding Vaccine Man.

"But this guy isn't human."

Vaccine Man immediately protested.

"Cyborgs are human too. Remember that next time."

Bai Ye told him.

"Yes..."

At that point, Vaccine Man could only lower his voice and nod meekly.

"You're pretty strict. But was he really about to attack this guy?"

Saitama spoke up with an innocent look.

Since he knew Vaccine Man, he had instinctively assumed Vaccine Man was just fooling around. Only after hearing Bai Ye scold him did he understand what had happened.

"Yes. That's why I had to set him straight."

Bai Ye nodded.

Then he turned his gaze toward Genos on the ground. "Are you all right? I'm really sorry about him acting out just now."

Only then did Genos recover from his shock. He hurriedly said, "My name is Genos! I'm a cyborg who carries out justice on my own!"

He had figured it out. Whether the strange fellow who defeated Mosquito Girl in one blow was a human or a monster, he had to be the disciple of this red-eyed young man!

So he had to seize this opportunity too!

P.S. I spent ages trying to post a picture of Mosquito Girl in the comments, but it just wouldn't go through. I'm seriously fed up with Tomato's automated moderation system. It keeps swallowing comments and refusing to display them. I posted it fifteen or twenty times, wasting half an hour, and it still never appeared. I could've written a thousand words in that time. (From now on, anything I can't post in the comments will go in the author's notes.)