Night descended slowly over the city. Ever since the moon had been destroyed, the nights had grown noticeably darker.
Other cities were still bright, illuminated by countless lights. However, the uninhabited zone of Z City remained nearly swallowed by darkness. Only a few streetlights flickered weakly along the empty roads, their dim glow threatening to fade out at any moment.
Inside the room next to Saitama's apartment, Lucien sat cross legged on his bed, meditating quietly. His tall frame remained perfectly still. His long black hair rested loosely around his shoulders, and his eyes were closed in deep concentration.
In another room, Beast King was already asleep. Loud snores echoed through the hallway, bubbles forming and popping from his nose. Mosquito Girl had also gone to sleep. The apartment building had fallen into silence.
Suddenly, the dark night outside the window brightened. High above the clouds, a massive meteor roughly thirty meters in diameter tore through the sky. Flames trailed behind it as it descended violently toward the ground. Its impact point was precise. The building where Lucien lived.
Lucien slowly opened his eyes. He did not move. He already knew his prey had arrived.
"Boom!"
The meteor struck. The entire building was instantly reduced to rubble. The impact released a massive shockwave that spread in every direction. The ground was violently lifted upward as nearby structures collapsed one after another. Within seconds, the surrounding area was completely flattened.
"Ptooey! Ptooey!"
A bald head suddenly emerged from the rubble. Even in the dark night, it shone like a bright light bulb.
Saitama climbed out of the debris in a daze. His blue and white pajamas were torn to pieces and hung loosely from his body. He slowly looked around. The scenery had completely changed. The confusion on his face gradually began to twitch.
Another explosion sounded nearby.
Lucien stood calmly within the ruins and glanced toward the sky. A small figure hovered high above them.
At Lucien's feet, Mosquito Girl and Beast King had also crawled out of the debris. Their expressions were blank at first, but once they saw the surroundings clearly, their faces instantly turned pale. Fire burned everywhere. Buildings had vanished. Everything within sight had been reduced to shattered ruins. They were standing inside a gigantic crater.
How could the world change so drastically after a short nap?
"Ah! My home!"
A miserable scream suddenly echoed through the night sky. Saitama dropped to his knees, pressing both hands against the ground. His eyes turned red with grief.
He had always been poor. That was the only reason he chose to live in the abandoned zone of Z City. Now everything was gone. His small savings were gone too. The thousand yen he had carefully saved was probably buried beneath the ruins. That was all the money he had.
"Damn it!"
Saitama roared toward the sky. His voice cracked with fury. Unfortunately, his scream failed to attract the attention of the figure floating above.
From the beginning, the Terrible Tornado's eyes had been locked onto Lucien. Her psychic powers erupted. The surrounding rubble began to rise into the air. Broken walls, chunks of concrete, twisted steel bars, all of it floated around her like deadly weapons. Every piece aimed directly at Lucien.
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
The debris shot downward with sonic booms. The Terrible Tornado had always been this domineering, especially when she was angry. She did not waste time speaking. She simply attacked.
Lucien actually preferred people like this. Direct, decisive, and efficient. Finish the job quickly and everyone could go home.
Lucien lifted his right hand slightly.
In the next instant, a vast divine dragon burst from the ground. The massive dragon formed from overwhelming Ki surged upward like a force of destruction itself. Everything in its path was instantly blown apart as it rushed toward the Terrible Tornado.
Her expression changed instantly. Shock appeared on her face. She pushed her psychic power to its absolute limit, attempting to stop the approaching dragon. It was useless. That terrifying force could not be stopped.
The sky flashed brightly, almost like daylight. Then the Terrible Tornado's small body exploded. Not even fragments of bone remained. Her body disappeared from the sky completely.
Lucien extended his hand and clenched his fingers. A struggling soul was forcibly dragged into his palm. A moment later, he landed back on the ground. Less than ten seconds had passed. The second ranked S Class Hero, the Terrible Tornado, had been instantly killed with a single strike.
Far away inside the Hero Association headquarters, every staff member watching the surveillance feed turned pale.
"How is that possible!"
The room filled with stunned voices. After learning about Fubuki's death, the Hero Association had been monitoring the Terrible Tornado closely. Unfortunately, that monitoring allowed them to witness something terrifying.
The Terrible Tornado had died. Her death had been fast. Sudden. Unbelievable. That was the second ranked S Class Hero.
"That dragon attack..."
"There's no mistake. That same dragon appeared during the God War."
"Then that means this man is..."
A heavy atmosphere spread through the Hero Association. One of the individuals responsible for destroying the moon, Antarctica, and the Arctic had appeared again. Outside forces across the world were panicking.
Lucien did not care about any of it. He had never intended to hide his identity.
Back in the ruins, Saitama had finally recovered from his shock. He had originally planned to confront the attacker personally. Instead, the enemy had been killed by Lucien with a single slap.
"Why did you kill her?" Saitama asked.
Lucien's face filled with righteous anger.
"That woman was obviously a villain. She attacked us without warning and destroyed our home. Look around."
He gestured at the surrounding devastation.
"The steak and lamb Mosquito Girl and Beast King bought earlier are gone. My computer is gone. The furniture is gone. Tonight we might have to sleep on the streets."
Lucien looked extremely angry.
"Damn it!"
Saitama's anger instantly reignited. Lucien's words struck his heart like knives. Saitama's personality was very simple. To put it bluntly, he was somewhat naive and did not think deeply about complicated matters. People like him could easily be influenced with the right words.
Lucien had allowed the Terrible Tornado to destroy the building specifically for this moment. Right now Saitama was thinking about his lost home, his savings, and his missing food. He was not thinking about whether the Terrible Tornado had been a hero.
If she had approached them calmly and spoken politely first, she might have survived. Saitama respected heroes greatly. He might have stopped Lucien. Unfortunately, things had already gone too far. Everything was irreversible.
"Let's go," Lucien said. "Let's find somewhere else to stay tonight."
As he spoke, the light screen in front of him disappeared. The Terrible Tornado had rewarded him with a single dice roll opportunity. Only one. Just another minor supporting character. Lucien had originally believed she would count as an important supporting character. He had been disappointed.
The next morning arrived quickly. The sun rose over Z City. Lucien and the others had spent the night inside an old five story building in the abandoned district. After some discussion, they decided to temporarily settle there. Mosquito Girl and Beast King had already left to purchase daily necessities. Saitama remained asleep. Lucien continued meditating quietly.
Meanwhile, at the Hero Association headquarters. Inside the spacious conference room on the top floor, the atmosphere was heavy. Nearly every important figure had gathered. All of them were S Class heroes.
Blast, ranked first. Silver Fang, ranked third. Atomic Samurai, ranked fourth. Child Emperor. Metal Knight. King. Zombieman. Drive Knight. Pig God. Superalloy Blackluster. Watchdog Man. Flashy Flash. Tanktop Master. Metal Bat. Puri Puri Prisoner. Fifteen S Class heroes in total.
Every one of them was staring at the projection screen in the center of the room. The footage displayed the moment the Terrible Tornado had been instantly killed. Another video showed satellite recordings of the God War from several days earlier.
The director of the Hero Association sat at the head of the table with a serious expression.
"Gentlemen, we have confirmed that the person who killed the Terrible Tornado is one of the individuals involved in the God War a few days ago."
Tanktop Master folded his arms and looked toward the director.
"So what, you want us to arrest him?"
He shook his head.
"Are you joking? Even the Terrible Tornado was killed instantly. Unless every one of us attacks together."
Metal Bat had his feet resting on the conference table. His normally aggressive face now showed clear tension.
"Even if we all go together, we might still lose."
Silver Fang had remained silent until now. His eyes stayed fixed on the projected image. The picture showed a tall young man with sharp black hair. His face was cold and handsome. His eyes looked like purple diamonds with strange patterns within them. Amethyst colored eyes.
On the surface, he appeared ordinary. But that ordinary looking man possessed the power to destroy humanity.
Atomic Samurai frowned.
"I want to know why the Terrible Tornado provoked him. From everything we know, this man has not shown any intention of destroying humanity."
The director nodded slowly.
"It likely has something to do with Hellish Blizzard."
He then began explaining the entire situation.