The weather was excellent today.
The sky was clear, scattered with drifting white clouds. It was the kind of day perfect for a picnic or a relaxing trip to the beach.
After finishing the meal made from Centipede Elder, Lucien played several rounds of games with Saitama. Once he was done, he decided to head out.
Lucien did not bother hiding his presence.
His speed was neither fast nor slow. He did this intentionally so the Hero Association would detect him and prepare for his arrival.
The Hero Association indeed noticed him.
The moment their systems detected Lucien approaching, the entire headquarters became tense. From the highest officials to the most ordinary staff members, everyone was nervous.
It was obvious that he was coming straight to the Hero Association.
Ten minutes later, Lucien descended from the sky.
His tall figure hovered calmly about three feet above the ground as he looked at the large group gathered before him.
They had even prepared a banner to welcome him.
Over the past month, the Hero Association had considered contacting Lucien several times. Yet every attempt had been postponed. Just as they were preparing to reach out, Lucien appeared on his own.
Now everyone felt anxious.
If this godlike man decided to destroy the Hero Association, they would have no way to stop him.
After all, not a single S Class Hero was present today.
"Welcome, God, to the Hero Association."
The minister in charge stepped forward with difficulty. His suit was soaked with sweat, and his heart was pounding violently.
Still, he forced a polite smile onto his stiff face.
Lucien's amethyst eyes slowly scanned the crowd.
"You are the one in charge?"
His voice was calm and indifferent.
"Yes."
The minister nodded quickly.
Even though Lucien was not releasing any visible pressure, the man still felt as if an invisible mountain was pressing down on him.
The surrounding staff were no better.
Many lowered their heads while sweat dripped from their foreheads. Some swallowed nervously.
Lucien looked around at them.
"Are you all nervous?"
The simple question caused everyone's bodies to stiffen. A few people even felt their legs weaken.
Cold sweat ran down the minister's face.
His heart nearly stopped.
"T... this..."
Lucien waved a hand lazily.
"I am not here to destroy you. Relax."
The tension in the room dropped slightly.
Lucien continued calmly.
"You would not mind inviting me for a cup of coffee, right?"
"Of course, please come in."
The minister quickly stepped aside and guided Lucien inside.
Lucien floated forward through the entrance.
Only after his figure completely disappeared into the building did the crowd finally breathe again.
Nearly half of the staff collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.
Even though Lucien had not shown any aura, and he looked like nothing more than an incredibly handsome young man, everyone felt as if their hearts had been suspended the entire time.
Just standing near him made breathing difficult.
At least now they knew one thing.
He had not come here to destroy them.
Inside the top floor office of the Hero Association, the minister and several staff members stood behind Lucien.
Lucien hovered quietly near a floor to ceiling window while looking down at the city.
"What kind of coffee would you like, God?"
the minister asked carefully.
Lucien did not turn around.
"Many people call me Savior."
He paused briefly.
"Black coffee, no sugar. I prefer the bitter taste."
"Prepare it immediately."
The minister quickly gestured to a nearby employee.
Lucien finally turned around.
His amethyst eyes were deep and brilliant, almost like a distant galaxy.
"Your Hero Association should have a lot of information about monsters."
His tone remained calm.
"I want to see the records for disaster levels Demon and above. You do not mind, do you?"
"Not at all."
The minister bowed repeatedly.
Then he turned toward the staff behind him.
"Why are you still standing there? Go print all the records for Demon level and above immediately."
"Yes."
The office soon fell silent.
Within minutes the coffee and files arrived.
Lucien remained floating near the window the entire time. Now he held a thick stack of monster files.
Each record contained names, abilities, disaster levels, and the last known locations where the monsters appeared.
Many of the names looked familiar.
Centipede Elder.
Hundred Eyed Octopus.
Gouketsu.
Bakuzan.
Evil Eye.
These monsters were supposed to appear later in the story. Lucien had only watched the first season of the anime before arriving here, so many of them were unfamiliar.
Still, the Hero Association had surprisingly collected some information.
Even if the data was incomplete.
It proved that the Hero Association was not entirely useless. After all, they were the only organization actively resisting monsters.
Lucien flipped through the documents while drinking his coffee.
Soon something interesting caught his attention.
"Monster Association."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"So monsters have formed their own organization."
The leader of the group was listed clearly.
Monster King Orochi.
Lucien could tell immediately that this creature was a major boss level enemy.
The disaster level listed beside his name was extremely vague.
Dragon level and above.
Potentially even capable of reaching God level.
Lucien finished reading the documents and finished the last sip of his coffee.
"The coffee is good."
He flicked a finger lightly toward the glass window.
The entire floor to ceiling window instantly shattered into dust.
Lucien had already obtained the information he needed.
Now there was no reason to stay here.
First he would clear out the monsters.
Then he would deal with certain heroes.
Before anyone could react, Lucien's figure disappeared.
Everyone in the room blinked.
He was gone.
The minister collapsed onto the sofa, his legs trembling violently as he gasped for air.
Yet his expression slowly filled with excitement.
Lucien was clearly going after the monsters.
Savior.
That title was not meaningless.
Perhaps this godlike man had truly come to save humanity.
Ten minutes later.
Above City L.
Golden white lightning flickered briefly before fading away.
Lucien stood in the sky, reading the file in his hand.
Beneath this city was one of the Monster Association's underground branches.
So far the Hero Association had only discovered a few of these locations.
The main headquarters remained unknown.
Lucien looked at the name written on the file.
Phoenix Man.
Disaster level, between Demon and Dragon.
His appearance truly resembled a phoenix. According to the reports, he possessed the ability to resurrect and grow stronger after death, similar to a rebirth from flames.
Lucien was interested.
Very interested.
His tall figure slowly descended toward a large park.
Looking down at the grassy ground, he casually flicked a finger.
Boom.
The entire park exploded.
The ground cracked open violently before collapsing inward.
Dust and debris scattered everywhere as a massive underground space was revealed.
Below the surface was a vast cave system filled with tunnels and chambers.
Many strange monsters lived here.
Under the falling rubble, countless limbs and internal organs were scattered across the ground.
Several monsters had died instantly without even realizing what happened.
Lucien slowly descended into the crater.
He looked around calmly, confirming he had arrived at the correct location.
"What happened?"
"What was that explosion?"
Several surviving monsters crawled out from the tunnels.
Their appearances were grotesque and distorted.
When they noticed Lucien, sinister smiles spread across their faces.
"A human hero."
"Did the Hero Association send him?"
"He came here alone, he must be tired of living."
Lucien ignored them.
His gaze shifted toward the ground on his right.
There was a powerful presence there.
The strongest presence in the entire underground base.
Lucien flicked his finger again.
The air screamed violently.
A massive explosion followed, drilling a spiral shaped tunnel deep into the ground.
The shockwave blasted monsters across the cavern.
Many crashed into the walls as the wind roared through the tunnels.
"Who did that?"
An angry roar echoed from the spiral tunnel.
Moments later, a figure emerged.
Lucien looked him up and down.
"A bit handsome."
He spoke casually.
The creature had a slender body and a cold, elegant aura. Two pairs of wings spread behind his back, making him resemble a humanoid phoenix.
It was Phoenix Man.
The monster's eyes were cold.
"Human."
Lucien glanced around the cavern.
"You all can stop breathing now."
The monsters who met Lucien's gaze froze instantly.
Fear filled their eyes.
Their faces quickly turned blue and purple before their bodies collapsed onto the ground.
More than fifty monsters died in seconds.
Phoenix Man's expression changed immediately.
The arrogance from earlier vanished.
Lucien casually held up the file.
"It says here that you might be able to resurrect through flames."
His tone was calm.
"I want to test that."
Phoenix Man suddenly felt his heart tighten.
His entire body tensed.
The human who had been several meters away had somehow appeared directly in front of him.
Danger.
Extreme danger.
A drop of cold sweat slid down Phoenix Man's forehead.
He knew immediately that he had encountered a terrifying opponent.
Boom.
Flames exploded outward.
Phoenix Man attacked first.
His right hand burned with intense fire as he slammed a punch directly into Lucien's right cheek.
The heat was so intense that nearby steel and soil began to melt.
Yet Phoenix Man felt no joy from landing the attack.
Instead, a horrifying chill spread through his entire body.
It felt as if his soul had fallen into an icy abyss.