"Dinner is served."
After playing games for nearly thirty minutes, Mosquito Girl and Masira stepped out of the kitchen and announced that the food was ready. Although the sky had only begun to dim with the coming of dusk, the group did not mind eating early. It was already a habit in this house. Even if dinner came sooner than usual, there would always be a late night snack later.
"It smells amazing!"
The large dining table was covered with dishes arranged in neat rows. Each plate looked rich in color and aroma, making the entire living room feel warm and inviting. The presentation alone was enough to stir anyone's appetite. Mosquito Girl clearly still had many cooking tricks she had not revealed before.
"Let's eat!"
The four of them picked up their bowls and chopsticks. Just as Lucien was about to grab some food, he suddenly paused.
"Lucien, what's wrong?"
Saitama spoke with his cheeks puffed out, already stuffing rice into his mouth like a starving man. Mosquito Girl and Masira looked over as well, blinking in confusion.
Lucien Graves calmly picked up a sardine and placed it in his bowl.
"Trouble is coming. At that speed, it will arrive here in about five minutes."
His tone was casual, as if he were simply commenting on the weather.
Far away, a powerful aura was racing in their direction. The speed of the approaching presence had already reached roughly five to six times the speed of sound.
"Boss, should we deal with it?" Mosquito Girl asked.
Both she and Masira instantly changed expressions. The gentle and charming aura they had displayed earlier disappeared in a blink, replaced by cold killing intent.
"You two are not his opponents," Lucien replied calmly. "Continue eating."
In this world, the approaching aura would easily be classified as Dragon level. However, to Lucien and Saitama, it was insignificant. Something that could be crushed with a single finger or destroyed with one casual punch simply was not worth getting excited about.
Mosquito Girl and Masira relaxed again. Their hostility faded just as quickly as it had appeared. Dinner continued as if nothing unusual had been said.
Far away, at the outskirts of Z City, the sound of something tearing through the ground suddenly echoed across the empty streets.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
Wherever the massive figure ran, the ground cracked apart and deep ravines formed behind it. Violent gusts of wind blasted outward in every direction, shattering windows and collapsing abandoned structures. The terrifying aura immediately attracted attention.
"Boss, a massive energy fluctuation has appeared in Z City. It has reached Dragon level."
"What? Dragon level?"
"Quickly notify the nearest hero."
"Yes!"
Inside the Hero Association headquarters, the staff scrambled into action.
Meanwhile, time continued to pass quietly in Lucien's apartment.
Four minutes and fifty seconds later, Lucien calmly set down his chopsticks again.
"I'll be back in ten seconds."
With that single sentence, his figure shifted sideways and vanished onto the balcony.
"Have a safe trip," Saitama replied.
He did not even lift his head. His full attention remained on the delicious food in front of him.
Lucien stepped onto the balcony and floated effortlessly in mid air. He lit a cigarette and looked into the distance. Several tall buildings were collapsing in a chain reaction as something enormous rushed through them. Thick smoke and dust rolled across the streets.
Then a huge figure burst through the cloud, accompanied by loud and arrogant laughter.
"I am Asura Rhino Beetle, the strongest Demon of the House of Evolution!"
The wind rustled Lucien's T shirt and beach shorts as he stood calmly in the air.
In front of him stood a humanoid rhinoceros beetle monster. The creature was nearly three and a half meters tall, with a heavily muscled body and a thick armored shell. Its massive horn curved forward like a spear. The monster radiated violent power.
Asura Rhino Beetle pulled out a photograph from his loose shorts. The picture clearly showed Lucien.
"Looks like it's you."
The monster grinned wickedly, his thick lips puffing outward like a grotesque fish.
"Human, encountering me is your greatest misfor..."
His voice suddenly stopped. His eyes widened in confusion.
Something cold had wrapped tightly around his neck.
Lucien calmly exhaled a ring of smoke.
From behind him, a sharp crystal thorn had emerged from his tailbone. The transparent spike coiled around Asura Rhino Beetle's throat like a living weapon. The monster had not even seen it move.
Before Asura Rhino Beetle could react, Lucien's right hand moved slightly. Ki gathered around his palm. With a casual motion, he slashed through the air.
Instantly, a translucent figure was torn out of the monster's body. It was the creature's soul. The soul struggled violently, twisting and clawing in panic. However, it had no ability to resist.
As the soul was ripped away, the massive body of Asura Rhino Beetle instantly went limp. His breathing stopped.
"The soul is barely acceptable," Lucien muttered.
The tip of the crystal thorn pierced deeper into the corpse. At the same time, Lucien examined the struggling soul floating in his hand. His palm seemed to transform into a small black hole. Within seconds, the soul was completely absorbed.
A moment later, the body of Asura Rhino Beetle exploded into fine ash that scattered in the wind.
For Lucien, a Dragon level monster was simply too weak. Its soul could be extracted and consumed without any effort.
Far away, inside the underground base of the House of Evolution—
"How is this possible?!"
Dr. Genus stared at the screen with bloodshot eyes. His greatest masterpiece had been killed instantly. The scene replayed again and again. The monster he had spent years perfecting had not even managed to attack once.
"Asura Rhino Beetle is a Dragon level monster. If he was killed so easily... could that man be God level?"
Dr. Genus clenched his fists. Another thought suddenly surfaced in his mind—the mysterious God War that had occurred earlier. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.
He quickly began typing on the keyboard. Another screen flickered to life. The footage displayed a chaotic battlefield. It was the fight between Lucien and Saitama.
However, even after slowing the footage down a hundred times, only two blurred shadows could be seen colliding across the screen.
"Damn it!"
Dr. Genus increased the slow motion multiplier again—one hundred and fifty times.
Finally, the image froze. Two slightly blurred faces appeared. After comparing them carefully, Dr. Genus felt his heart drop. The similarity reached sixty percent.
"This man…"
Cold sweat poured down his face.
"No. I must escape immediately."
He no longer cared about the base. If the person in that footage truly was the same man who had just killed Asura Rhino Beetle, then staying here would only lead to death.
Dr. Genus had repeatedly sent creations to harass them. That meant he had already offended them.
The aftershock of the battle a few days ago still had not faded. Many organizations were secretly searching for clues about what had happened. Fortunately, he possessed many clones. That was the only reason he had discovered this connection.
Unfortunately, discovering it had terrified him even more. His legs trembled so violently that his pants were already wet.
Without hesitation, Dr. Genus abandoned the entire base and fled.
Back at the Hero Association—
"Disaster averted?"
"Energy fluctuations have disappeared."
The tense staff members stared at the monitoring screen in confusion. The Dragon level signal representing Asura Rhino Beetle had suddenly vanished.
"Which hero did it?"
"A Dragon level threat can only be handled by an S Class hero."
"But that location is the abandoned zone of Z City. No S Class heroes are stationed there."
Silence filled the control room.
Meanwhile, inside Lucien's apartment—
Saitama looked up as Lucien returned through the balcony.
"So fast."
He had not even finished one bowl of rice.
Lucien simply nodded and resumed eating.
At that moment, a faint light screen appeared in front of him. New information had arrived.
"Successfully hunted down Fubuki, a minor supporting character in the One Punch Man world. Dice roll chances awarded according to circumstances. Congratulations, one chance has been granted."
Apparently, Fubuki had already died thirty kilometers away.
Lucien did not react much. A minor supporting character only granted a single dice roll opportunity. Still, it was better than nothing.
Genos had counted as an important supporting character earlier, which had rewarded him with ordinary luck. Lucien had already used the dice. His luck had been surprisingly good. He had drawn a random crossing ability. That was the reason he was in such a good mood.
As for enemies like Vaccine Man, Armored Gorilla, and even the Asura Rhino Beetle he had just killed, none of them counted as true supporting villains.
Overall, the rewards in this world were quite poor. It felt as if he had used up all his luck obtaining the random crossing ability. The remaining three dice rolls would be saved. Once he accumulated ten, he could synthesize luck again.
Far away, in H City—
A massive explosion suddenly erupted in the suburbs.
After the dust cleared, a gigantic crater nearly one thousand meters wide appeared on the ground. Floating in mid air above it was a small girl with curly green hair. She wore a black dress with long slits along the sides.
Tatsumaki snorted arrogantly.
"It was only a Dragon level monster, yet they forced me to come all the way out here. What a waste of time."
Her phone suddenly rang.
"Ding ding."
She answered the call while yawning lazily.
"Tatsumaki sama, one of your sister Fubuki's subordinates wishes to speak with you."
The Hero Association staff member speaking was sweating nervously. A man in a suit stood beside him with a pale face.
"What is it?"
Tatsumaki continued flying toward headquarters.
"Tatsumaki sama… Fubuki sama… she has been killed."
The air suddenly became silent.
Tatsumaki stopped moving. Her previously bored expression slowly darkened.
"What did you say?"
Her voice cracked with fury. The psychic energy around her began to spiral violently. The surrounding atmosphere trembled as if the sky itself were about to collapse.
"Fubuki sama is dead."
"Who did it?"
Her voice was ice cold.
"The photo and address have already been sent."
The call ended immediately.
Tatsumaki looked down at the image on her phone. Lucien's face stared back at her from the screen.
In the next instant, her body transformed into a streak of green light that shot across the sky at terrifying speed.
A storm was coming.
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