Chapter 370

"This is... a superpower?!"

Genos stared at Luo En in utter shock. "You're actually a superpower user too?"

Bang's eyes as he looked at Luo En were filled with astonishment as well.

A body that surpassed ordinary humans, an overwhelming aura of a supreme ruler, and such a powerful superpower on top of that... Is this guy a monster?!

"That's it for me, I'm heading back first. You heroes can deal with those stones up in the sky later, right?"

The moment Luo En finished speaking, his figure vanished from the spot in an instant.

All that remained were the two people standing there in a daze, and the countless fragments of rock floating overhead like an asteroid belt.

22, The Hidden Watcher

The meteorite incident in Z-City caused quite a huge stir.

Especially after learning that the one who shattered the meteorite was not an S-Class hero but a newly promoted B-Class hero, almost no one could believe it.

"So you're saying... a B-Class hero saved Z-City? Is that for real?"

"He must have pulled some trick. Even S-Class heroes couldn't handle that meteorite, so how could a B-Class possibly do it?"

"And that guy only smashed the meteorite. If no one had stepped in, wouldn't our city still have been wrecked by the meteorite fragments?"

"Exactly. That B-Class hero can't really be counted as having saved Z-City. The one who saved Z-City should be that mysterious superpower user!"

"But he really did shatter the meteorite. If that meteorite had fallen, Z-City and all of us would probably have vanished from this world by now..."

The internet was in an uproar.

Some people thanked Saitama, but the voices questioning him were far more numerous.

Besides that, what people were curious about was the identity of that mysterious superpower user who had made the meteorite fragments hover over the city.

At first many suspected it was the work of 'Tornado of Terror,' but after Tornado later came forward to clarify that it wasn't her doing, that person's identity became even more intriguing.

…………

That day.

Z-City, the Abandoned District.

"So this is that ghost town..."

Sweet Mask, wearing sunglasses, walked down the ruined street.

He had come to investigate the identity of that 【Sword Master】.

"What a wretched place. Could anyone really live here?"

Sweet Mask strode down the street, glancing around as he went.

Soon he arrived at the street where Spring Mustachio and the others had run into the Seaweed Monster.

He walked up to the edge of that bottomless crater.

"That's right, the aura here is the same as the one in J-City..."

"And over there."

He looked again at the massive mark left by Genos's incineration cannon, his eyes glinting faintly behind his sunglasses.

There was no mistaking it.

This had to be the mark left by Genos's attack.

He had fought someone here, and had been at a disadvantage.

With whom?

A monster, or that 【Sword Master】?

That guy Genos must be hiding something.

Sweet Mask's eyes flickered.

Hm?

Someone's presence.

He abruptly turned his head to look to one side.

On a distant street, a casually dressed bald man carrying a bag of groceries was walking toward him.

"Lucky me—turns out today is the supermarket's big Saturday sale. Good thing I went early, otherwise I definitely wouldn't have grabbed any."

"Today I'll treat Luo En and the others to some drinks."

As Saitama walked and thought, he looked up and spotted Sweet Mask in the distance.

The two locked eyes across a street.

Saitama was briefly taken aback, then remembered.

"Ah, that A-Class Rank 1 hero."

Sweet Mask looked at Saitama and remembered as well.

Isn't this guy that bald guy beside Genos? He seems to be a hero too.

B-Class, or was it C-Class?

Whatever.

He's just some loser anyway.

Looks like I won't find any useful leads today. I'll head back first.

Sweet Mask, hands stuffed in his pockets, strode toward Saitama's side, heading toward the exit.

As he drew near.

Saitama looked at him, thought for a moment, and said: "Are you here looking for Genos? He's not here today. What a shame."

Sweet Mask completely ignored Saitama, walking past him without a word.

A mere B-Class wasn't worth his attention.

"What? Weren't you here to see Genos…"

Saitama turned his head to glance at his retreating back, a little puzzled, but didn't ask further and headed straight home.

Sweet Mask had walked halfway when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

His brow furrowed slightly.

"That bald guy often operates together with Genos, and it looks like he might even live here. He might know some leads about that 【Sword Master】…"

Sweet Mask turned to look, but the bald figure had long since vanished.

…………

The suburbs outside City F,

"Wind Blade Kick."

"Sonic Chain Punch!"

"Exploding Shuriken!"

"Cross—Afterimage Slash!"

Sonic kept honing his combat skills in the mountain forest.

In his mind there was only one figure.

After being defeated by Luo En in a single punch, he was handed over to the Hero Association by Saitama and Genos, who had arrived later. Then, when the Deep Sea King attacked the city, he broke out of prison together with the Sexy Prisoner.

After his clash with the Deep Sea King, he retrieved his equipment and hurried back to City J.

But he learned that the Deep Sea King had already been taken down by someone.

After hearing others describe the appearance of that mysterious person who had slain the Deep Sea King — 【Sword Master】 — Sonic was certain.

The guy who took out the Deep Sea King was the very same person who had defeated him back then!

His goal instantly became clear.

"Sword Master, I, Sonic the Speedster, swear — I will absolutely defeat you!"

Sonic's eyes were bloodshot. "Just you wait — I will absolutely make you taste the bitterness of defeat too!!"

Blade in hand, his figure flickered ceaselessly through the mountain forest, leaving trails of afterimages.

…………

That evening.

Saitama's home.

"Cheers."

Saitama, Luo En, and Fubuki — the three of them raised their glasses filled with ice-cold beer and clinked them together in the air.

"Tastes great. Beer really is the best at a time like this."