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In the blink of an eye, another week quietly passed.
Life during that week had been unusually peaceful. The only incident worth mentioning happened when Lucien went out shopping and ran into a strange monster called Seaweed Man. The creature had easily defeated two A-Class heroes before Lucien casually dealt with it.
That afternoon's lunch became stewed meat with seaweed.
Aside from that brief disturbance, Lucien lived like a complete shut in. He occasionally played games with Saitama, but most of his time was spent cultivating, meditating, and exploring the abilities of the Soul Fruit.
Originally, Lucien expected the Hero Association to react quickly after the death of Tornado. He had even prepared himself to harvest the fools who would come knocking at his door.
Yet a full week passed without a single hero appearing.
Not an S-Class hero.
Not even an A-Class.
In fact, not a single C-Class hero came either.
Although heroes stayed away, monsters continued to appear in Z-City. Unfortunately for them, a bored Saitama handled every single one with ease.
Mosquito Girl and Beast King had also turned into full shut ins. Their daily routine was simple. They went out only to buy groceries or cook meals. The rest of their time was spent sitting in front of computers, binge watching shows, browsing celebrity gossip, or surfing the internet.
Yes, all four of them now had computers.
And internet access.
Lucien paid for everything.
Saitama was deeply moved by this.
Because of that, the four of them spent the week in an oddly comfortable routine.
Then the peace was broken.
"We interrupt this program for an urgent news report."
A serious voice suddenly echoed from the television.
"A giant meteor has deviated from its orbit and is currently on a collision course with Z-City. Estimated time until impact is thirty five minutes. Disaster level, Dragon."
Another alarm blared through the broadcast.
"The Hero Association advises all citizens to evacuate immediately. The disaster level is confirmed as Dragon. Thirty four minutes remain before the meteor strikes. If the meteor lands, Z-City will be completely destroyed."
Inside the computer room, Mosquito Girl was watching an idol drama with full concentration. Beast King had a gossip program open on another screen. Meanwhile, Saitama and Lucien were sitting side by side, playing a game.
The emergency broadcast, along with the loud air raid siren echoing across the city, made all four of them glance at the television.
Mosquito Girl lifted her head and looked at the ceiling.
"The meteor is supposed to land in Z-City, right? Isn't that directly above us?"
Her expression remained calm.
After all, both the Boss and Saitama were abnormal monsters in human form. With them around, she felt absolutely no pressure.
So she calmly returned her attention to the idol drama.
Unless the alarm clock on the table reminded her to go grocery shopping, or the Boss asked for tea, she had no intention of moving.
The past few days of late night binge watching had even given her faint dark circles under her eyes.
Beast King glanced upward briefly as well.
"Is that so?"
His tone carried the same indifference as Mosquito Girl's. A moment later he went back to watching celebrity gossip like nothing had happened.
Lucien kept playing the game while nudging Saitama with his knee.
"Saitama, this sounds like your job. Go deal with it."
In the original timeline, even Genos at full power could not destroy that meteor. In the end, Saitama had to punch it apart.
Saitama did not even look away from the screen.
"I'm about to clear this level. Something like that is better left to you."
Ever since getting a computer, Saitama had grown increasingly unwilling to go outside.
Lucien was about to refuse.
Then something crossed his mind.
This meteor incident seemed to involve two heroes. The S-Class hero ranked third, Silver Fang, and the sixth ranked hero, Metal Knight.
Minor characters in terms of presence.
Still, even a mosquito was meat.
(Really bro 🤣?)
Lucien had no reason to ignore free prey.
"Fine."
His body blurred and vanished from the room.
In the next instant he appeared on the rooftop.
The sky above Z-City had turned a blazing red. A massive meteor tore through the atmosphere while flames roared around its surface. The rumbling sound grew louder and louder as it descended.
Lucien did not hesitate.
He raised his right hand toward the sky and struck forward with his palm.
A deafening dragon roar erupted across the entire city.
From his strike, an enormous Divine Dragon formed. Its body stretched across the sky for tens of thousands of meters, its presence majestic and overwhelming as it surged upward.
In the blink of an eye, the Divine Dragon collided with the falling meteor.
The atmosphere trembled violently.
A blinding white light swallowed the sky.
Then everything went silent.
When the light faded, the chaotic evacuation across Z-City came to a sudden halt.
Citizens froze in the streets.
Heroes stopped mid movement.
Even the monsters lurking throughout the city were stunned.
All of them stared at the sky where the Divine Dragon had vanished.
The crisis was over.
The meteor had been completely destroyed.
Not a fragment remained.
On a crowded street, an ordinary man swallowed nervously.
"So... does that mean we do not have to run anymore?"
Beside him, a bald middle aged man stared upward with his mouth wide open.
"Probably not."
People began whispering among themselves.
"What was that dragon?"
"Was it a hero?"
"No way. I know the abilities of most heroes. None of them can do something like that."
Suddenly someone spoke again.
"Wait... I think I have seen that dragon before."
"I have too."
Recognition spread like wildfire.
"The God War."
"Damn it. The beings who destroyed the moon, the South Pole, and the North Pole. They would not happen to be in Z-City, would they?"
The entire city shifted from shock, to relief, and then to fear once again.
"When did a God start hiding in Z-City?"
"Damn it, there is actually a God living here."
Even the monsters lurking in the city trembled in fear.
The world now referred to that terrifying battle as the God War, and the beings involved were called Gods.
Yet as people calmed down, another thought appeared.
"It seems that this God is not evil. He destroyed the meteor."
"If a God lives in Z-City, then this city might actually be the safest place in the world."
"I think so too. If he wanted to wipe out humanity, he would have let the meteor fall."
"Let us go home."
The appearance of the Divine Dragon threw the entire city into chaos.
Soon the entire world would hear about it.
Whether this mysterious God was friend or enemy remained unknown, but one thing was clear. For now, he had no intention of harming humanity.
And with such a terrifying being in Z-City, most monsters would never dare show their faces again.
High above the city, Lucien slowly lowered his hand.
His amethyst eyes scanned the distance as his perception spread outward.
Soon he sensed a powerful presence inside a building far away.
Silver Fang.
At that moment, Silver Fang stood on a rooftop with his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open. He had been prepared to sacrifice himself moments earlier.
Facing a meteor of that scale, he had no confidence in destroying it, even if he used all of his strength.
Other S-Class heroes were either too far away or busy elsewhere.
At that moment, he had been the only one capable of responding.
Yet the meteor vanished instantly.
Not even dust remained.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in his field of vision.
Silver Fang's pupils shrank.
A chill rushed through his entire body.
The man floating in the distance raised a finger and casually pointed toward him.
Danger.
Every instinct in Silver Fang's body screamed.
Boom.
The tall building beneath him vanished instantly.
A gigantic crater more than a hundred meters wide appeared where it once stood.
Silver Fang barely managed to leap into the air in time. Cold sweat poured down his forehead as he stared at the enormous crater below.
Just a simple point of the finger.
Yet the power behind it had already reached Dragon level.
He truly was a God.
Lucien floated in the sky, watching calmly.
"An S-Class hero. He has some skill."
His earlier attack had been a casual Finger Pistol, yet Silver Fang managed to dodge it.
That was slightly surprising.
Lucien raised his finger again.
The air in front of him compressed violently, forming an invisible shockwave that blasted forward like a cannon.
Silver Fang's entire body tensed.
His martial arts erupted instantly.
"Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist."
He pushed his technique to its absolute limit.
But in front of overwhelming power, skill meant very little.
When the massive shockwave struck his body, Silver Fang felt as if an entire planet had slammed into him.
His arms shattered instantly.
His chest caved inward.
Blood sprayed from his mouth as his body crashed violently into the ground below.
At the center of the crater, Silver Fang lay motionless.
Blood flowed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
Through his fading vision he saw the descending figure approaching him.
"So... this is the power of a God..."
His consciousness grew darker and darker.
In his final moment of awareness, he saw Lucien reach out and grab him.
Then Silver Fang's soul sank into complete darkness.
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