"What happened?!"
Child Emperor stumbled, almost falling—but Kaito caught him before he hit the ground.
The laboratory's foundation began to shake violently, as if struck by a magnitude ten earthquake. The sturdy metal walls groaned under the strain as grotesque cracks spread rapidly, spiderwebbing across the surface. Overhead, lighting fixtures exploded one after another, raining fragments in every direction.
Kaito's eyes narrowed slightly. The low hum of his Emperor Engine filled the air.
Crimson-gold energy flared to life around him, a radiant aura forming an indestructible barrier above the trio's heads, deflecting the falling debris with ease.
Through the collapsing ceiling, a doomsday-like scene unfolded before them.
Y City's night sky was painted blood-red by flames. A gigantic Centipede Elder, thousands of meters long, rampaged through the city. Its pitch-black carapace, composed of countless segments, gleamed with metallic menace beneath the moonlight—each segment as thick as a skyscraper.
Most terrifying of all was the face at its head: an old man's visage twisted by age and madness, its murky eyes glinting with a deranged fury.
"Blast! Where is Blast?!"
The Centipede Elder's roar shattered the air, its soundwaves toppling buildings in its path. With a single sweep of its colossal body, an entire commercial district collapsed like a set of toy blocks. Dust and smoke rose, forming miniature mushroom clouds across the horizon.
At the same time, the S-Class Hero communicators on Kaito and Child Emperor's belts began to vibrate violently.
Reacting instantly, Child Emperor suppressed his shock and tapped the device. A virtual light screen projected upward, displaying an urgent, red-lettered emergency broadcast from Hero Association Headquarters:
Red Alert! Large-scale monster disaster outbreak worldwide!
Z City: Dragon-level disaster confirmed! Three Demon-level incidents detected!
Q City: Dragon-level disaster confirmed!
H City: Demon-level outbreak!
W City: …
Images began flashing across the projection—Gouketsu distributing Monster Cells across B City, Gum devouring buildings whole, and Homeless Emperor bombarding oncoming heroes with relentless divine strikes.
Kaito's expression remained calm. "It's begun," he murmured. "As expected."
These were familiar faces—the core forces of the Monster Association itself.
It seemed Sykes, after several failed attempts to target him, had finally lost her patience and launched an all-out assault ahead of schedule.
Child Emperor caught the shift in Kaito's tone. A solemn expression crossed his youthful face—an expression far too mature for his age.
"Mr. King… you seem to know something?"
"It's merely the last struggle of a defeated dog," Kaito replied flatly.
He tucked his communicator away and surveyed the ruined laboratory.
Then, reaching out with one hand, he suddenly grasped at thin air.
"Buzz!"
The space before him rippled—and a silver briefcase, half-buried in the rubble, broke free and landed neatly in his palm.
It was one of Child Emperor's latest inventions: restraint collars, designed to control the D-class recruits recently enlisted by the Hero Association.
Each could emit 100,000 volts of high-voltage, low-current electricity via remote activation.
Kaito smirked faintly. Sykes had caused quite a commotion this time. Once he caught her and her subordinates, punishment would be inevitable.
He casually slipped one of the collars into his pocket, intending to test a certain online rumor about its "tightening response" under electrical stimulation—but his thoughts were cut short by a sudden scream.
"It… it's coming for us!"
Saori, who had been monitoring the situation outside, pointed toward the horizon with trembling hands.
The Centipede Elder had turned. Its wrinkled face now locked directly onto the laboratory's position.
"Blast's aura… no—wait… that brat! Great Eyes commands—capture him!"
With an ear-splitting screech, the colossal creature surged forward.
Its body tore through the ruins like an unstoppable tide.
Its target was clear—the genius scientist, Child Emperor.
Sykes's intentions were unmistakable: capture those close to Kaito and use them as leverage.
The enormous shadow cast over the lab, the sheer pressure of destruction, turned Saori's face pale. Her legs gave out as she clutched Kaito's sleeve in terror.
"It's… it's over," she whispered, trembling. "Let's run!"
"Run?" Kaito chuckled softly, patting her trembling hand.
He looked up at the approaching monstrosity, disdain gleaming in his eyes.
"It's the one who should be running."
If he were still the "Strongest Man on Earth" King, dependent on Saitama's timely rescues, perhaps he'd have no choice but to flee.
But now?
It was the Centipede Elder who should be afraid—for it was charging headlong into its own annihilation.
With a faint gasp from Saori, Kaito's arm slipped around her slender waist, steadying her trembling frame. His other hand lifted Child Emperor effortlessly by the collar, as though picking up a small chick.
His movements were unhurried, graceful—completely detached from the apocalyptic chaos outside.
"Watch closely," Kaito said, his gaze locking on the Centipede's hideous maw looming just beyond the shattered window. "The next move will be… very cool."
Boom—!
It wasn't a roar, but a deep, resonant thud, like the heartbeat of the universe itself—
erupting from deep within Kaito's chest.
And in that instant—
everything changed.
Rumble—!!!
A torrent of crimson-gold energy erupted outward, thick and molten like the inferno of a dying world.
It surged from every pore of Kaito's body, roaring to life like a floodgate unleashing the wrath of creation itself—
engulfing him, Saori, and Child Emperor in a sea of divine light.
But this aura did not rage aimlessly.
Under Kaito's unparalleled mental control, it moved with purpose—flowing, condensing, taking form.
A colossal silhouette began to rise behind him.
A giant phantom, towering and transcendent, took shape amid the chaos—so vast, so majestic, that even space itself seemed to quiver in reverence.
It reached a height of ten thousand meters, its form faintly resembling Kaito—
yet older, more divine, like a war god resurrected from ancient legend.
The air around it screamed under pressure, and the heavens trembled in its presence.
And that was only the beginning.
Armament Haki — Perfected State!
A second wave of energy burst forth—darker, denser, absolute.
A black radiance, sharp and domineering, cascaded over the phantom's colossal frame.
It clung to every surface, every curve, until the once-ethereal giant became solid—an indestructible war titan glimmering with metallic luster.
In its eyes, twin flames of crimson and gold blazed to life—
each spark pulsing with imperial might.
Susanoo · Asura!
The ten-thousand-meter titan stood, its cherry-hued energy robes rippling like divine fire, splitting the clouds apart.
It loomed between heaven and earth like a god reborn to judge all creation.
Its shadow alone engulfed the entire Y City.
And before this divine behemoth—
the once-terrifying Centipede Elder, a monster a thousand meters long—now seemed nothing more than a pitiful insect.
A wriggling loach before an eternal god.
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