Its huge eyes, once burning with deep crimson hatred, went dark in an instant, leaving only an empty, collapsing void that slid toward annihilation.
Boom!
The monster's mountain-sized body could no longer support itself. Its massive knees suddenly slammed to the ground, shattering huge swaths of street. A heartbeat later, the entire body toppled forward like boneless sludge with its spine torn out, crashing face-first into the ruins.
Crashhhhh—!
With its core energy gone, that incomparably tough violet-black bone armor could no longer hold its shape. It began to crumble and peel away in great sheets like rotting rock. Beneath it, the surging purple flames that made up its form flickered violently, like candles in a storm, then broke apart and thinned out, on the verge of going out.
The raging, out-of-control dark red energy rampaging inside its body finally gathered one last time into a silent annihilation. It turned into a blinding dark red radiance that burst outward from countless cracks across its surface, like a final, desperate struggle.
The radiance dimmed quickly.
A few seconds later, under everyone's tense gaze, that gigantic body began to collapse inch by inch, like a sand sculpture weathered by the wind. First the outer bone armor turned to ash. Then the burning purple fire snuffed out and vanished. Last of all, the unknown substance that formed its true body unraveled into wisps of gray-violet smoke, shot through with faint black flecks, which were instantly caught by the scorching winds of the battlefield and swept away into Brooklyn's burning ruins and choking haze.
Only the huge claw-shaped craters in the ground, the several completely collapsed buildings, the buckled and half-melted asphalt, and the scattered wreckage and still-burning flames proved that this terrifying creature from another world had ever existed.
Silence.
The wind blew across the ruins, stirring up a few burning scraps of paper and dust, making a sound like a low, mourning wail.
The civilians who had been hiding away cautiously poked out their heads. On their faces, confusion, fear, and the numbness of having narrowly survived were all jumbled together.
Up on the shattered rubble, Saitama slowly pulled his arm free from what was left of the monster's body. His arm and fist were smeared with sticky, dark purple sludge and lingering energy residue that reeked faintly of sulfur. He glanced down at it, then casually wiped it off on a chunk of broken wall beside him.
Steve was leaning on his shield to keep himself upright, breathing hard. Sweat soaked his blond hair. He lifted his head to look at Saitama, and his eyes were filled with a complex, hard-to-put-into-words respect and a faint sense of relief.
Natasha stepped out from her hiding spot. Her gaze settled on Saitama's calm, unreadable profile, then shifted to the stretch of ground that was now nothing but scorched marks and craters.
Even the Black Widow had waves surging in her chest that refused to settle for a long time.
High above, Clint finally let the tension drain from his bowstring and took a deep breath of filthy but undeniably real air.
He knew that this victory was ninety-nine percent thanks to that bald man's world-shattering punch and that near-miraculous final strike. The rest of them had only done the small things they were capable of, a bit of modest support.
After a brief silence, a few scattered claps rang out. Then more joined in, growing denser, louder, until waves of cheering filled with endless gratitude erupted from the throats of the surviving civilians around them.
"We won!!"
"Heroes! They're heroes!"
"That bald hero! And the Captain! And S.H.I.E.L.D.!"
The cheers rolled across the battlefield like a warm tide, washing away the lingering cold and despair. People who had survived the disaster helped each other out of the ruins, hugging and crying as they walked. They waved toward Saitama and Steve, who were still standing in the middle of the scene, and toward Natasha as she walked over to join them.
In the distance, the shrill wails of fire engines and ambulances grew closer and closer.
(End of Chapter)
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