Chương 148: Chapter 140: The Void Strikes Back (Part 2)

In B-City, the streets were a chaotic battlefield of hyper-accelerated motion and lethal precision. Speed-o'-Sound Sonic leaped gracefully off a crumbling billboard, his traditional shinobi gear snapping in the violent wind.

"Wind Blade Kick!" Sonic shouted, driving his heel into the carapace of a multi-limbed eldritch abomination with guillotine-like force. The monster shrieked, collapsing into a pile of disintegrating cosmic ash. Sonic landed perfectly on the cracked asphalt, adjusting his purple scarf. He was not a hero. He didn't care about the Hero Association or the evacuating civilians. But these extradimensional creatures attacked anything they saw, and Sonic refused to let mindless beasts infringe on his territory.

He had fought these horrors when they first emerged nearly three months ago, and as he dodged a sweeping scythe-like appendage, he noticed the difference immediately. Their carapaces were much denser. Their reaction times were sharper.

"Annoying pests," Sonic sneered, drawing his Ninjato sword.

"But still far too slow." He blurred into motion. Sonic carved through the horde, utilizing his unparalleled speed and flawless sword techniques, skills that had been fiercely honed through his constant, obsessive "duels" with Saitama. Even though, in reality, every single one of those encounters had ended with Saitama swatting him away effortlessly. After cleanly severing the head of a particularly large monster, Sonic backflipped away, landing lightly on a clear patch of the city street. CLANG!

He bumped back-to-back with someone who had just landed heavily from the sky. Sonic glanced over his shoulder. Standing behind him, his metallic chassis smoking and his core glowing bright orange, was Genos.

"You," Sonic scoffed, a mocking, arrogant grin spreading across his face as he recognized the cyborg.

"Saitama's sidekick. Still playing hero while your Sensei plays hide-and-seek?" Genos didn't even turn his head, his optical sensors locked onto the approaching horde.

"Sensei's self-proclaimed rival. Do not get in my way."

"Oh, please," Sonic chuckled, leaning casually against his sword. He had heard the persistent underground rumors. Demon Cyborg had been desperately investigating Caped Baldy's disappearance for the past three months.

"He better not be running away. If he thinks he can hide from our ultimate rematch in another dimension, he is sorely mistaken." Genos's optical sensors flared a dangerous, violent crimson. He slowly turned his head to glare at the ninja.

"Do not mock Saitama-sensei!" Genos hissed, his synthetic voice dropping to a lethal frequency.

"He did not flee. He is out there, and I will find him!"

"Right, right," Sonic teased, twirling a kunai.

"Or maybe he just got tired of babysitting a walking toaster." The ground trembled. Dozens more multi-limbed extradimensional monsters poured out of the surrounding alleyways, completely surrounding them. Their cosmic eyes glowed, charging their destructive violet beams. Genos and Sonic deeply disliked each other. But in this apocalyptic situation, surrounded by a horde of adapting cosmic horrors, they had no choice but to share the battlefield.

"Do not cross my line of fire, ninja," Genos warned, raising his glowing palms.

"Just try not to blow up the entire block because your aim is garbage, cyborg," Sonic shot back, dropping into a low stance. They dashed toward the multi-limbed nightmares.

"Incinerate!" Genos roared, unleashing a massive, sweeping beam of golden plasma that melted the front line of monsters into screaming ash. Sonic darted through the flames entirely unscathed.

"Fourfold Burial!" he shouted, creating four perfectly synchronized afterimages. The clones slashed in tandem, completely dismembering a group of monsters that attempted to strike Genos from the flank. A massive beast fired a concentrated cosmic beam directly at Sonic.

"Lightning Core!" Genos generated a blinding flash of light to blind the creature, sidestepping the beam with a burst of his thrusters before delivering a devastating High Voltage Fist that shattered the monster's chest cavity. Sonic bounded off a ruined car, launching a barrage of Exploding Shurikens into the open mouths of the remaining horrors.

"I had that one!" Genos barked as the monsters detonated.

"You were too slow!" Sonic laughed, landing gracefully. Eventually, the final monster collapsed into ash. The street fell quiet. Genos lowered his smoking palms. Sonic flicked a speck of black ash off his blade, sheathing his Ninjato with a satisfying click. However, the silence didn't last. The surroundings began to vibrate. It wasn't the deep, rumbling sensation of an earthquake. It felt entirely unnatural. The air pressure dropped violently. It was as if the fabric of reality itself was shaking.

Thousands of dark, swirling particles began to manifest out of thin air. They gathered like a localized swarm of locusts, rapidly condensing into a single, massive point directly in front of Genos and Sonic. The dark cosmic particles terrifyingly fused together, forming into a physical, eldritch creature. It was a towering, chitinous horror. Its body was a dense tapestry of shifting, obsidian plates that seemed to absorb the ambient light around it.

From its back trailed long, tendril-like appendages that crackled with violent spatial distortion. Its size was significantly larger than the standard spawns, and clasped in each of its multiple clawed hands was an otherworldly, jagged dark sword composed of condensed cosmic energy. Genos and Sonic's eyes widened.

"Is that..." Sonic asked, a rare bead of sweat forming on his brow.

"... the one Saitama encountered?" Genos raised his hand, initiating the newly upgraded dimensional detector system Dr. Kuseno had installed.

"No," Genos confirmed, his synthetic voice tense.

"This one is different. The energy signature is massive, but it does not match the progenitor I recorded three months ago. I assume it's an advanced variant. A commander." The advanced multi-limbed eldritch monster shrieked, a sound like grinding metal. It swung its dark swords, firing massive, crescent-shaped waves of cosmic energy directly at the two warriors.

"Move!" Genos yelled. Genos and Sonic blurred out of the way. The cosmic energy waves struck the buildings behind them, instantly and flawlessly disintegrating the concrete, leaving gaping, smooth holes in the architecture.

"If that touches you, you're erased!" Sonic yelled, drawing his blade again. Genos ignited his thrusters, launching himself high into the air.

"Dual Incineration Cannons!" He fired a massive, combined beam of golden plasma. The advanced horror didn't even flinch. It swung its dark swords, literally cutting Genos's plasma beam in half with spatial distortion. Sonic used the distraction to close the gap.

"Tenfold Burial!" Ten afterimages of Sonic surrounded the monster, unleashing a flurry of lethal strikes aimed directly at its joints. The monster roared, spinning its body with terrifying speed. Its dark swords cleaved through the afterimages, forcing Sonic to retreat with a frantic backflip. Genos dropped from the sky.

"Jet Drive Arrow!" He slammed his rocket-powered kick directly onto the monster's shoulder armor. The impact cracked the obsidian plating. Sonic immediately capitalized on the opening, launching himself off a wall and driving his Ninjato deeply into the fracture. The monster shrieked in agony as its arm was severed entirely.

"Machine Gun Blows!" Genos followed up with a point-blank consecutive powerful punches to its chest, caving in the armored torso. The advanced monster collapsed to the asphalt, smoking.

"Hah! Too easy," Sonic smirked, wiping sweat from his chin. But their relief was instantly shattered. The severed arm did not disintegrate. Instead, dark cosmic particles violently rushed back into the wounds. In a fraction of a second, the monster's arm reattached, and its caved-in chest completely popped back into its flawless, obsidian shape. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"What?!" Sonic gasped, his eyes widening.

"It regenerates?!"

"Impossible," Genos gritted his teeth.

"The smaller spawns do not possess cellular reconstruction." The monster lunged, far more aggressive than before. The fight escalated into pure, unadulterated chaos. Working in flawless, desperate tandem, Genos and Sonic managed to coordinate another devastating combination, completely destroying the monster's lower torso. And once again, the dark particles rushed in. The monster regenerated entirely.

"This is getting extremely annoying!" Sonic snarled in pure frustration.

"Are we just going to cut it down all day?!"

"Its cellular reconstruction rate has decreased by 14%," Genos noted, his optical sensors locking onto the beast's core.

"It is running out of spatial energy. If I increase my thermal output to absolute maximum, and you strike precisely at the center of its mass, we can completely obliterate it before it initiates the repair sequence."

"Fine," Sonic agreed, gripping his sword tightly.

"Just don't miss, toaster." But just as they prepared to launch their final assault, a massive shadow fell over the street. The advanced multi-limbed monster was suddenly struck by a relentless, heavy barrage of high-explosive smart missiles from the sky. The sheer payload engulfed the monster in a deafening, towering pillar of fire and shrapnel. Genos and Sonic looked up to see a massive, heavily armored drone descending from the smoke. It landed heavily in front of the two warriors.

"Metal Knight?!" Genos gasped. Following Dr. Bofoi's primary battle robot were dozens of specialized combat drones. The drones immediately surrounded the crater, firing thick, crackling lines of a high-tech laser restraining grid over the monster like an electrified net.

"Demon Cyborg," Metal Knight's cold, synthesized voice commanded through the drone's speakers.

"Cease your maximum-output incineration immediately."

"What?" Genos demanded, his thrusters still primed.

"It will regenerate! We must destroy it!"

"Your primitive urge to destroy is counterproductive. My scientific division requires a functional tissue sample for deep multidimensional analysis. We need at least one specimen alive, or structurally intact." Metal Knight stated clinically.

"We must understand the mechanics of their spatial traversal. We need this specimen to extract its residual warp energy, to prevent future invasions and locate their origin point."

"You want to study it? Are you insane?" Sonic scoffed loudly.

"It's too aggressive! It's impossible for you to capture it!" Genos, on the other hand... His processors froze after hearing Metal Knight's words. If Bofoi can analyze its spatial traversal mechanics... Genos thought, his core flaring with sudden, desperate hope. If we can locate their origin point... I could find Void-Gorgon!

"He can't," Genos stated firmly.

"Not alone." He lowered his glowing palms, adjusting his combat parameters to suppression mode. The advanced multi-limbed monster roared. With a violent surge of cosmic energy, it tore the high-tech restraining grid off its body, cleaving three of Metal Knight's combat drones into scrap metal. Genos and Metal Knight dashed toward the creature. The fight shifted dramatically.

Genos utilized controlled bursts of his thrusters to deliver heavy, concussive kicks, targeting the monster's joints to disable its mobility without vaporizing the limbs. Metal Knight provided heavy suppression fire, firing concussive rockets and deploying localized gravity manipulators. Sonic remained standing on the sidelines, watching the two machines struggle to subdue the massive, thrashing horror.

"Idiots," Sonic scoffed, crossing his arms.

"They are wasting their energy. Let the tin cans get themselves killed." But then, the arrogant ninja paused. His eyes narrowed as he processed Metal Knight's words. Wait... Sonic thought. If they can extract data from this thing to locate Void-Gorgon... then they can locate Saitama. A feral, eager grin spread across Sonic's face. If they brought the bald idiot back to this world, Sonic could finally have his ultimate rematch.

"I guess it can't be helped," Sonic sighed dramatically, drawing his Ninjato. Sonic appeared directly behind the monster.

"Sky Ripping Scattered Flash Slash!" Moving faster than the creature's cosmic eyes could track, Sonic unleashed his Scattered Flash Slashes, severing the monster's primary mobility joints into pieces without touching its vital core. The monster shrieked, collapsing heavily to its knees. As the dark particles rushed in to regenerate the damage, Genos ignited his thrusters, driving both of his palms directly into the monster's chest plate.

"High Voltage Shock!" Genos unleashed a massive surge of raw electrical voltage, completely overloading the creature's nervous system. The advanced monster convulsed violently, completely paralyzed as its regeneration sequence was disrupted. Before the monster could recover, Metal Knight deployed his most advanced containment drones. They shot thick beams of a highly specialized, dense restraining trap energy, forming a solid heavy energy cube around the weakened nightmare.

The creature thrashed inside the glowing cube, its cosmic beams reflecting harmlessly off the interior walls. It was finally restrained.

Across the continent, the desperate battles had finally reached their conclusions. In R-City, the streets were littered with the fading ash of the destroyed multi-limbed monsters. Amai Mask wiped a speck of soot from his suit, his face set in a dark scowl.

"Such hideous creatures sully the world's beauty. But they were undeniably stronger this time." Flashy Flash sheathed his blade with a sharp click.

"Your movements were sluggish, idol. I had to step in before you embarrassed yourself."

"I did not ask for your assistance," Amai Mask sneered. Zombieman lit a fresh cigarette, blowing a cloud of gray smoke into the bruised sky.

"Can you two stop measuring egos for five minutes? We just survived a second invasion. I need a drink."

In W-City, the situation is over as well. Heavy Kong, Smile Man, Golden Ball, and Spring Mustachio stood on the perimeter of the evacuation zone, watching the distant monster bodies disintegrate into thin air. On the other side of the city, Atomic Samurai slowly slid his katana back into its scabbard. His three disciples: Iaian, Okamaitachi, and Bushidrill, sheathed their weapons, panting heavily.

"Excellent work, you three," Atomic Samurai praised them, his sharp eyes surveying the empty street.

"Your forms held strong under pressure."

"Thank you, Master," Okamaitachi and Bushidrill breathed respectfully.

"But..." Iaian spoke in worry.

"Do you think they will return?"

"I am certain of it," Atomic Samurai noted grimly.

"And we must be sharper when they do."

The heroes in Y-City also had successfully fought off the invasion. The massive, three-headed Underdog Man Cerberus mechanically separated back into Underdog Man No. 23, No. 24, and No. 25.

"Good job, boys," Child Emperor smiled, offering them a metallic pat on their heads as he sucked on his lollipop.

"Great. Just great!" Metal Bat leaned heavily on his weapon, groaning in profound annoyance.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to get VIP panda tickets?! Zenko is gonna be so mad our trip to the zoo got cancelled because of these extradimensional bastards!"

"Please calm down, Bad," Child Emperor sighed.

"Your elevated heart rate is unnecessary now." Beside them, Pig God was completely unfazed, quietly munching on a massive bag of potato chips, having thoroughly digested his share of the eldritch horrors.

Lightning Max, Stinger, and Lightning Genji, have just finished destroying the remaining multi-limbed horrors in Q-City. The three A-Class heroes observed as the eldritch bodies disintegrated.

"I think that's all of them," Lightning Max said in relief.

"For now," Lightning Genji added, having a feeling that the next wave would surely come.

"But seriously, though. We only fought like... How much was it, six?" Stinger chuckled in disbelief.

"The Association should've assigned us at another city!"

"Yeah... He took almost all of these creatures alone," Lightning Genji agreed. Lightning Genji looked at a certain hero in fluffy dog suit in bafflement.

"This city is still as safe as ever." At the center of the plaza, Watchdog Man was standing on top of the towering, massive mountain of severed biomechanical limbs, shattered carapaces, and cosmic monster heads. The pile was steadily disintegrating into ash, but the sheer volume of the corpses was staggering. All the citizen of Q-City praised their guardian. While the dog-suited S-Class hero was just yawning in boredom.

In M-City, Tanktop Tiger, Tanktop Black Hole, Tanktop Girl, and the other members of the Tank Topper Army cheered, incredibly relieved to see no more monsters. Puri-Puri Prisoner, Tanktop Master, and Superalloy Darkshine stood together amidst the fading ash.

"We did it, my precious boys!" Puri-Puri Prisoner cheered, striking a fabulous pose.

"Sorry about missing that throw earlier," Tanktop Master apologized, adjusting his shirt.

"I have brought shame to the Tanktop."

"Nonsense! Your form was impeccable!" Superalloy Darkshine flexed his massive biceps, a brilliant sheen radiating from his skin.

"Look at this luster! The apocalypse itself cannot dull the shine of these pectorals!" Despite his confident flexing, Darkshine looked out over the ruined city, his smile faltering slightly.

"Though... I have a terrible feeling that this is not over yet."

The battle in C-City, too, is finally over. Eyelashes, Mountain Ape, Lily, and the Blizzard Group were collapsed against cars, panting in sheer exhaustion. A few blocks away, Fubuki and Tatsumaki stood silently. Fubuki was heavily exhausted, leaning slightly on her hands, while Tatsumaki floated effortlessly.

"Not bad, Fubuki," Tatsumaki repeated softly, offering her sister a genuine, respectful look.

"Thank you, Sister," Fubuki let out a tired, shaky sigh.

"But I still need to grow much more. I know they will appear again." Fubuki looked up at the sky.

"We need to find a way to track the dimensional anomaly. We need to find Saitama."

"Hmph, That idiot is probably just lost," Tatsumaki scoffed, turning her head.

"When he gets back, I'm making him pay for making us do all the heavy lifting."

In D-City, Sneck, Forte, Chain'n'toad, and Butterfly DX were panting in sheer exhaustion alongside Sour Face, Lin Lin, and Zakos. Only Suiryu remained standing casually, completely unbothered.

"Welp, I guess that's it," Suiryu smirked playfully. Sneck chuckled.

"So, you're fighting for free now?"

"Let's just say a certain hero taught me a lesson about what really matters," Suiryu smiled humbly. Just then, footsteps echoed down the street. Charanko sprinted up to the group, out of breath.

"Sour Face!" Charanko called out.

"I was with Bang-Sensei and Bomb-Sensei. They sent me to find you!" Suiryu looked at the young martial artist, his eyes widening in sudden confusion. He vividly remembered the Super Fight Tournament, when Saitama had famously entered while pretending to be this exact disciple. Wearing a wig. Suiryu walked over, looking closely at Charanko's hair.

"Wait... you're Charanko? The real Charanko, right? You don't have a bald head under a wig." Charanko stared at the legendary Super Fight champion, completely baffled.

"U-Uh, no? Why would I wear a wig?"

On the other side of D-City... Garou, Bang, and Bomb executed a flawless, synchronized combination, obliterating the final three multi-limbed monsters into ash.

"Uncle!" Tareo is seen from far, ran back toward them from the shelter perimeter, waving frantically.

"Brat, I thought I told you to evacuate," Garou grunted, though a faint, fond smirk touched his lips.

"Your posture is too rigid, Garou," Bang lectured, his hands clasped behind his back.

"You leave your left side exposed."

"And your nagging is giving me a headache, you old fossil," Garou complained comically.

"Do you think Genos-kun can finally get a clue to Saitama's whereabouts after this?" Bomb asked quietly, looking at the disintegrating ash. Garou paused. He didn't retain clear memories of his ultimate, cosmic battle with Saitama. But the name still carried an immense weight in his mind.

"You know, I've heard about this 'Saitama' guy for a while," Garou muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Even though I don't know the bald guy that well... I somehow have a feeling that he is just fine somewhere else." Bang and Bomb smiled softly.

"Anyway," Garou turned and walked away.

"If that brat with the ugly face comes looking for me again, tell him I already left for work."

Back in B-City. Genos, Sonic, and Metal Knight stood in a circle, staring intently at the massive, glowing heavy energy cube containing the advanced multi-limbed eldritch monster.

"Demon Cyborg!" A voice calling Genos was heard. The three turned to look at the man approaching with his iconic bicycle.

"Mumen Rider," Genos was relieved to see the C-Class Rank 1 hero fine. Mumen Rider stopped and got off his bicycle. He saw the S-Class Rank 5 and the ninja beside Genos.

"Metal Knight!" He is surprised by the presence of Dr. Bofoi's battle robot.

"Thank you for helping us protecting the city."

"Are the citizens safe?" Metal Knight asked.

"Yes," Mumen Rider nodded.

"No casualties." Mumen Rider turned to Sonic in confusion, since he never saw him in the heroes registry.

"And... You are..." Sonic smirked.

"Just a passing through ninja."

"Oh... Okay..." Mumen Rider said, bewildered. Genos, Mumen Rider, Sonic and Metal Knight turned to see the restrained eldritch monster. Inside the cube, the horror was thrashing wildly, trying desperately to set itself free. Its severed limbs were regenerating at an agonizingly slow pace under the suppression field.

"Y-you captured one!" Mumen Rider was terrified, observing the creature.

"This is... larger than the others!" Sonic stared at the trapped beast in absolute disgust.

"Just what kind of freakish creature is this?"

"That is exactly what we are going to find out," Metal Knight's synthesized voice stated coldly.

"We will extract its secrets, and discover its dimensional origin."

"Agreed," Genos nodded firmly, his optical sensors burning with renewed, desperate hope. Across the continent, the S-Class and A-Class heroes had successfully crushed the second wave. The multi-limbed extradimensional eldritch creatures were not showing up again... For now. The invasion was quelled. But the mystery deepened. They needed to act fast, to tear the secrets from the void before the inevitable, apocalyptic third storm arrived.