After His Body

Dazzling light spread from Baicang's chest.

In a mere instant.

His body dissolved into countless motes of light. A fierce, incandescent glow burst out from deep within Mount Ohara, then the scattered motes reassembled into Baicang's hazy silhouette.

"Now this is a real superpower! A cheat!"

Baicang floated in midair, his body composed of countless motes of light. Long, flowing hair of incandescent white drifted around his head, while his clothes had all fallen to the ground.

Looking at his hands, which were made entirely of light, Baicang could hardly believe it.

He really had turned into light!

He hadn't turned into Tiga, but this terrifying power, this strange sensation...

Baicang could feel the surging, practically limitless energy inside him. With a casual flick of his hand, he sent out an enormous blade of light that sliced a chunk clean off a distant mountain peak.

"From this day on, one punch is all I need!"

Baicang's ambitions swelled without limit. Boros, Garou, Saitama-he no longer considered any of them a threat.

Laughing wildly, he flew into the sky, reveling in his own strength.

He didn't even look cool for three seconds.

A crushing sense of suffocation and weakness swept over him. His body flickered a few times in midair, its brightness dropping from a car's high beams straight down to an energy-saving bulb in a public toilet.

Finally, he could no longer maintain the transformation and plummeted straight out of the sky.

Fortunately, he hadn't flown very high, barely a few dozen meters. The fall didn't kill him outright, but he wasn't in great shape, either.

Not only was every ounce of strength gone from his body, but waves of stabbing pain washed over him. He was completely drained and unable to move.

"Seriously? A real man for five seconds?"

Cold sweat beaded on Baicang's forehead as he lay in the bushes, pale-faced and smiling bitterly.

When he'd sensed something was wrong in midair, he'd tried to force himself to stay in his little lightbulb form. The resulting pain had felt like his entire body was being torn apart, and he'd nearly passed out.

Looks like I celebrated too soon. I knew this bullshit superpower couldn't be trusted!

Luckily, no one was nearby, or Baicang would have made tomorrow's headlines.

"Shocking! A C-Class hero was found naked deep in the mountains, lying on the ground looking utterly drained! Was this a perversion of human nature, or..."

After lying there for over ten minutes, Baicang finally recovered a little strength and struggled to his feet. His first priority was getting his clothes back on.

Sitting beneath a tree, Baicang still felt shaken. He'd forced himself to maintain the transformation for less than a second, yet he'd ended up immobilized on the ground for over ten minutes. Wouldn't holding on any longer be seriously dangerous?

Looking at the distant mountain he'd given a flat-top haircut, Baicang felt conflicted again. This power really was tempting.

Fortune favors the bold!

To gain better control over this new superpower, Baicang began testing it repeatedly.

Deep within Mount Ohara.

Flashes of white light occasionally flickered through a dense patch of forest. Within the glow, a naked man waved his arms and kicked his legs, laughing one moment and sighing the next. Truly, public decency was going down the drain. What a disgrace.

Baicang collapsed naked on the ground once again.

This time, however, a satisfied smile rested on his face. The hours he'd spent enduring the mosquitoes' harassment hadn't been wasted. He'd finally worked out the limits.

After turning his entire body into light, he became immune to all physical damage, and any object would pass right through him. Simply maintaining the form only lasted about twenty seconds, after which he had to end it, or his body would break down.

Any movement in his light form, including hovering and flying, shortened that duration. Releasing energy through attacks reduced his transformation time even more drastically.

Also, his clothes fell off every time he transformed, leaving him completely naked once he changed back. That was a real headache.

"I really have become a Giant of Light this time. Transforming and fighting burns through my time limit. Too bad it's so short. I wonder if that's because my body isn't strong enough, or if it's something else."

Over ten minutes later, Baicang stood up again, though he was unsteady on his feet and mentally sluggish.

Transforming multiple times in a single day also strained his mind, and that was harder to recover from than physical exhaustion.

Bzzzz-smack!

He slapped a mosquito out of the air. Whenever he collapsed on the ground after testing his transformation, these disgusting mosquitoes were what Baicang hated most.

They kept buzzing in his ears. They couldn't pierce his skin, but they were unbelievably annoying! Kill one, and another showed up.

Bzzzz-smack! Bzzz-smack! Smack! Smack!

"Will you give it a rest?!" Veins bulged on Baicang's forehead as he watched the mosquitoes multiply, considering whether he should blast the entire area to pieces.

Only when the mosquitoes gathered into a black cloud and swarmed toward him did he realize something was wrong. How could there possibly be so many mosquitoes? It was as though someone was controlling them...

Mosquitoes? Controlling them? Could Mosquito Girl from the House of Evolution have appeared?

Baicang hurried toward the edge of the mountains.

The House of Evolution is a gold mine. I can't miss this! Mosquito Girl, I've been craving... ahem, Dr. Genus! Right! I've had my eye on the doctor for ages!

As the founder of the House of Evolution, Genus was a leading researcher in this world's field of biology. He could develop rejuvenation potions and had lived for who knew how long.

He had even created Carnage Kabuto, a top-tier Dragon-level fighter. He was absolutely a secret super-boss.

Unfortunately, he'd encountered the ultimate boss, Saitama, too early. The House of Evolution had been destroyed outright, and afterward, his convictions had crumbled. He'd given up and started selling takoyaki. Still, there was no denying Genus's talent. He was one of the most intelligent people in the entire world.

With his help, Baicang would have more power and resources at his disposal when facing all kinds of unknown disasters in the future.

As for getting Dr. Genus to work for him willingly, Baicang figured everything would be negotiable with Saitama around to beat him into despair.

By the time Baicang reached the area near Saitama's home, all he saw was an entire scorched street and buildings covered in blood. Shattered mechanical fragments and parts still littered the ground.

"I'm too late. Even Genos has already left."

Looking at the traces around him, Baicang knew the events from the anime had already played out. It was a shame he hadn't been part of them and hadn't gotten to see Genos take his first beating.

He pursed his lips and continued toward Saitama's home.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Coming... huh? What brings you here?"

Saitama opened the door and looked in confusion at the grinning Baicang.

"Isn't it perfectly normal for a disciple to visit his teacher? Come on, let me treat you to ramen."

At a roadside ramen stand.

Once Saitama realized Baicang was paying, he ordered an extra-large deluxe seafood ramen without the slightest hesitation.

Baicang didn't mind. He'd just made a tidy sum last night, so Saitama could order whatever he wanted.

"Did someone ask to become your disciple today?" He wanted to know whether the plot had changed.

"Hmm... yeah, a cyborg said something like that," Saitama replied, his voice coming from inside his bowl as he bent over his ramen.

"So what did you think?"

"Me? I gave him your address."

Baicang choked and sprayed noodles all over the stand owner's head. He stared at Saitama in bewilderment. "Why the hell did you give him my address?!"