It was easy to confirm the current point in the One-Punch Man world's timeline through the media, the internet, and other sources.
Simply put, a certain bald trainee had yet to make his debut, while conflict between the two camps-Heroes and Monsters-was already brewing.
Predictably, Monster incidents across the major cities would become more frequent in the future, and the severity of the disasters would steadily escalate.
Josen instinctively pressed down the brim of his cap.
Good grief. What a pain.
Boom-
The tremendous explosion snapped Josen back to his senses, his brows drawing together slightly.
Billowing black smoke rose from the block ahead to his left, with faint screams and panicked shouting coming from within.
"That's... Forestwood Shopping Street!"
He twisted the throttle, and his little scooter let out a roar completely at odds with its appearance, speeding toward the site of the explosion.
Five minutes later.
The scooter skidded sideways to a stop at the curb. Josen got off, faced with raging flames and thick smoke that blotted out the sky.
The office buildings lining the street wore heavy coats of soot. Burning vehicles and broken branches formed a deadly barrier that, together with the scorching flames, completely cut off any hope of escape.
Apart from those trapped inside the pedestrian street, everyone nearby had already fled.
Josen nodded. That saved him the trouble of clearing the area.
He loosened his tie and tossed it into the storage compartment along with his police cap and jacket, then rolled up his sleeves and cracked his neck.
He strode into the fire.
Click!
Behind him, a reporter who had just arrived instinctively raised his camera and snapped a shot, capturing the lone figure walking against the tide on film.
What even the reporter failed to see was that, the moment the flames swallowed Josen, a layer of azure light ignited around his body. The nearly solid psychic flames formed a barrier, keeping the surrounding fire and thick smoke at bay.
Under the influence of the One-Punch Man world's rules, his Psychic Power as a Stand User had transformed, evolving into psychic abilities that could directly affect reality, much like those of Tatsumaki and her sister.
With a month and a half of telekinetic training, plus one Fate Draw every day, Josen's own combat strength was now far from negligible.
"Help!"
"Someone save me!!"
"Ah! Ah... no!! Ah, I'm dead!"
"Please, mighty Monster, don't kill me! Aaargh..."
Inside the pedestrian street.
Crackle, crackle...
Beside a shattered floor-to-ceiling window, a neon sign broken in half struggled to spit out one last spark before going dark for good.
The distinctive metallic smell of blood filled the air.
Following the cries for help, Josen moved forward, his brows slightly furrowed and his gaze growing sharper.
Nothing but corpses.
Human corpses of every description.
Humans had become prey, slaughtered at will by an unknown hunter.
A pet shop beside the street suddenly exploded. Flying rebar and rubble smashed through the display windows of the clothing store opposite, filling the area with dust and smoke.
Thud, thud, thud...
Heavy, slow footsteps rang out.
A blue-black reptilian foot with five sharp claws emerged through the smoke. More than fifty centimeters long, it stamped onto the cracked ground with a tremor that set the heart pounding.
As the smoke gradually cleared, a towering creature over three meters tall revealed itself: thick, hardened skin, two powerful hind legs that carried it upright, and a tail as thick as a bucket swinging behind it, plowing a deep furrow through the concrete.
"I'm the Lizard Monster, mutated because I looked too much like a lizard! Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss-"
The Lizard Monster bared his teeth in smug, wild laughter. A long, forked tongue dangled from his enormous mouth, and thick, foul-smelling green saliva dripped onto the ground, corroding smoking pits into its surface.
"Stupid humans! You'll finally pay for mocking me-aaah!!!"
Bang-
A pistol bullet carrying far more kinetic energy than normal bored precisely into the giant lizard's left eye socket. It pierced a hardened eyelid tough enough to withstand ordinary firearms and churned the lens beneath into mush.
Roooar-
Now left with only one eye, the Lizard Monster bellowed, "Who was that! Who!! Who dared sneak up on me!!!"
Bang, bang, bang, bang-
A string of gunshots answered the Lizard Monster.
Had someone with Psychic Powers been present, they would have seen each bullet wrapped in a layer of azure energy flames, multiplying its destructive power.
Thud, thud, thud, thud-
The scales on his face, as tough as armor plating, were as flimsy as a sheet of printer paper before the psychically enhanced bullets. More than a dozen bloody holes opened up in succession, but given his size, the Lizard Monster merely cried out in pain a couple of times. The muscles around his facial wounds were already writhing, squeezing out the bullets. The damage was negligible.
Even his shattered eye was shedding ruined tissue and regenerating. By the look of it, growing an entirely new eye was only a matter of time.
Such was a Monster's vitality.
"Strong as a monster. What a pain."
Muttering to himself, Josen holstered his service pistol, its magazine empty, and stepped out of the shadows. He planted his feet and faced the vicious, dinosaur-sized Monster head-on.
The reptile's vertical pupil instantly focused on the seemingly defenseless human figure. The Lizard Monster wheeled around, his massive tail whipping into a blur and snapping a decorative lamppost. An all-too-human sneer spread across his hideous face.
"You actually dared show yourself!"
Boom, boom, boom!!
Bricks burst and scattered. In just three strides, the coldblooded reptilian hunter covered thirty meters, opened his cavernous maw, and bit down.
The Lizard Monster could already picture the beautiful sight of this damned human bitten in half, crawling across the ground and writhing in agony.
Faced with the oncoming fangs and foul stench, Josen suddenly looked up, a cold smile curling his lips.
√
Spider-Time activated-
The World!
The world froze at that moment. Only the reflection of a fist wrapped in blue flames grew steadily larger in the Lizard Monster's amber eye.
Ora-
Ora ora ora ora ora ora!
(งᵒ̌皿ᵒ̌)=3⁼³₌₃⁼³₌₃⁼³₌₃
Ora ora ora ora ora ora!!
Time resumed its normal flow.
Before he could react, the Lizard Monster took countless iron-fisted blows head-on. His enormous head, so hideous and terrifying a moment before, was completely misshapen. His swollen eye and crooked mouth now formed one gigantic, ridiculous face.
"Phew-"
With the barrage of oras finished, a heavy swinging punch powered by his entire body sent the massive Lizard Monster crashing over. The police officer who had thrown it exhaled a stale breath and snapped his fingers.
Snap!
Stand Ability activated!
An utterly unremarkable N card materialized in an instant. As it burst into brilliant light, Josen flicked it into the air.
The next second, a ponderous shadow blotted out the sky and came crashing down!
On the ground, the Lizard Monster barely managed to open his remaining eye. Its pupil abruptly contracted, as though he had seen the most terrifying thing in the world!
A heavy yellow road roller appeared out of nowhere above his head. Driven by the combined force of Mother Earth and the azure flames, it became a charging steel beast.
Finishing move-
Takizawa Rola-da!
"Oh my God! No-"
Boom!
The heavy, solid drum at the front of the vehicle slammed straight down on his head without the slightest flourish, instantly crushing the Lizard Monster's spine, chest cavity, and most of his body!
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