Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist... I had begun studying this style just over half a year ago, but was using it against a real opponent for the first time — someone who wasn't my teacher, a computer simulation, or a weak monster. The moment was therefore important and terrifyingly nerve-wracking. Not that I had any time to think about it. Having pulled my hand back for the strike, I sent it forward as practiced.
Index and middle fingers bent, thumb extended to the side, the remaining two pressed against the palm. Tense the wrist to its limit, channel all the aura into one powerful burst and...
With a sharp spinning motion I sent the released energy shooting forward. Three arc-shaped lines that flashed through the air crossed the distance between me and the monster and slammed into its purple body.
The arm of the slightly surprised-looking creature separated from its torso and dropped to the ground. A thin long gash appeared across its muscular chest, and its head was thrown backward, held in place only by a half-intact neck.
The Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist strike into which I had poured everything I had was fairly effective — but by no means lethal. So without waiting for the monster to recover, I wound up again to finish what I had started — but... with a deafening shriek, Vaccine Man suddenly expanded rapidly in size, and its enormous paw — each finger of which was now roughly my own size — came toward me, threatening to tear me to pieces with its long sharp claws.
Unable to complete the Whirlwind technique, I was forced to switch to Water Stream and, deflecting the creature's attack, leaped back to open the distance. Despite all the practice, operating with two fighting styles simultaneously — and weaving in elements of the Void Fist on top of that — was quite demanding.
Meanwhile, Vaccine Man completed his transformation. His severed arm had regrown, all the wounds I had dealt him had closed. On top of that, he was now the height of a mid-sized five-story building. Broader, looking more like a beast than a human, with an enormous maw, long claws and teeth, and spines all across his body.
Second phase. For crying out loud... I am so sick of these...
When he opened his mouth, I expected another energy sphere to come flying at me. But it never did. After the shockwave from that terrifying roar hit me, the monster itself also leaped forward. Apparently, rather than the ability to wield destructive energy, he had chosen the path of brute force in this form... all the better for me!
I smirked, surged forward with a sharp lunge to meet him, and redirected the enormous paw flying toward me. The creature's strength was great — but not great enough to break through my defense. Having tested it several times in a row and coming out completely unharmed, I began to counterattack.
Strike, strike, another strike and another. Redirecting the monster's energy and channeling my own back into him, I pressed forward confidently — attacking constantly while giving him no chance to land a hit in return. Of course, outwardly Vaccine Man had still not suffered any visible serious damage. But I could literally feel his strength being depleted and internal injuries accumulating and accumulating beneath his extremely durable yet elastic skin. If I pushed him to his limit and seized the right moment, I might be able to use the destructive technique of the Whirlwind once more — and then...
"Need some help, or can you handle it yourself?" — suddenly, from behind me, came an unfamiliar bored voice.
Spinning around sharply, I nearly drove my foot into its owner. But I stopped in time. Standing before me was a young bald guy with an expressionless face and a costume that looked like something worn to a cosplay festival. Yes — this was the very same guy I had once briefly glimpsed in City Z. Saitama, also known as One Punch Man...
"I... I'm fine, thanks." — recovering from my surprise, I shook my head at his question.
"Alright then." — calmly shrugging, the baldy gave a nod. "If you need help — just say so... by the way, he's behind you."
Dodging the monster's strike from behind, I spun around again and nearly caught the next claw swing in the face. The tips sliced through the air just above my head. If I had the canonical Garou's hairstyle — that full upward spike — I would definitely have been missing half my hair. Fortunately, I didn't suffer from such nonsense and kept my hair at a normal length.
Maybe it only seemed that way to me, or maybe I was simply starting to tire — but after Saitama's appearance, Vaccine Man seemed to find a second wind. His attacks grew stronger, faster, the time between them kept shrinking and shrinking. And since I had no desire to be killed, I had no choice but to match the monster's pace.
Now retreating, now pressing the enemy back, I held this fragile balance — striking his enormous body again and again. Occasionally taking a risk and opening up, I applied the Whirlwind — using the weakest but extremely fast technique from that style's arsenal. In this manner, the monster had already been deprived of one of his horn-tusks and a couple of giant claws. But it wasn't enough. And so in one single burst I put everything I had on the table.
Using Water Stream I moved forward in a way that avoided every enemy lunge. Void Fist, to accumulate enough energy within myself while simultaneously shifting my center of gravity for an unexpected angle of attack. Fubuki's psychic techniques, to briefly amplify myself further and make my body more flexible. And finally, Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist, to deliver my finishing blow.
My palm with half-bent fingers met Vaccine Man's fist head-on. The forces were unequal, so the apparent standoff lasted only a fraction of a moment. But it was enough. When I abruptly pulled my hand back — applying Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist technique to avoid damage — a wave of energy I had sent was already traveling along the monster's arm. In a single instant, that sharp and incredibly lethal attack severed Vaccine Man's wrist, forearm, and ultimately everything below the shoulder joint.
Having given everything I had, I had managed to deprive the monster of another limb. And since his regeneration hadn't restored it yet — that meant the earlier regrowth had been a one-time effect from the transition into his new form. In that case...
Already feeling my hands beginning to tremble from overexertion, I drew in a lungful of air and prepared to strike again. This time, taking advantage of the monster's obvious confusion — he was already screaming something about an Apostle of the Earth being unable to lose to a human — I was aiming to leave him without a head. But suddenly... he managed to do that without my help.
Literally. His neck twisted, and his head with bulging eyes only managed to babble some fresh nonsense before falling to the ground.
Already suspecting what I would see there, I looked up at the sky. Of course — it was her. The number two of S-Class, Fubuki's older sister — the world's most powerful esper, Tatsumaki.
Despite being a little over twenty-five years old, the heroine looked more like eighteen. A slender body, bright green eyes, equally green hair with curled ends. Her outfit — a form-fitting black dress with a V-neckline, high collar, long sleeves, and four slits at the hips that exposed her slender long legs and covered her underwear by what could only be described as unknown magic... although looking up at her from below, one might conclude that Tatsumaki wore no underwear at all...
Having crushed the headless monster body with her power and turned it into a meat ball for some reason, the girl finally settled down and, folding her arms across her petite chest, looked in my direction.
"Hey, down there." — a smug yet on the whole surprisingly friendly smile crossed her face. "Not bad for A-Class. But you could have dealt with him faster — then I wouldn't have had to fly all the way here from another city!"
Before I stopped wondering whether she actually wore underwear or not, and before I could gather my thoughts to respond, Tatsumaki's head turned somewhere to the side and her expression noticeably darkened. Muttering something under her breath, she immediately flew off in the direction where I had left Fubuki some time ago... right, time to get out of here. God forbid my partner be foolish enough to let slip that I was the one who brought her to this dangerous place...
I could already picture the scene:
"So you're the one who put my little sister in unnecessary danger?!"
And then my head separates from my body just as easily as Vaccine Man's skull had. Scene over.
No, in reality it would all be somewhat less gory. But knowing Tatsumaki's volatile temperament and the sheer scale of her power — it was safe to count on ending up in the hospital for at least a week if things developed that way.
And I couldn't afford the risk. I still needed to train and grow stronger! Even if today's fight had shown I could handle Dragon level, Dragons came in different varieties. This one was clearly a little weaker than Asura's Berserk mode — or maybe I had simply grown a bit stronger? I ought to test myself in the simulation again...
With those thoughts, I made my way home. Along the way I contacted the Association and confirmed that Fubuki and the other heroes were still busy clearing the rubble. But they would be free before long, since another S-Class hero — Genos... no, Metal Knight — would soon be sending his robot army here. Incidentally, getting properly acquainted with Saitama hadn't worked out again. He appeared to have vanished into the sunset even before Tatsumaki showed up. Well, no need to fall behind the best!
The next day I received a call from the Hero Association's main headquarters asking me to come to the office. When I arrived, I was greeted personally by Sitch — one of the heads of the Association's executive council and apparently a close acquaintance of my teacher. Having thanked me for yesterday's work, he informed me that my candidacy had been approved for promotion to S-Class. Accepting his offer, I received a great many additional rights and privileges that I frankly couldn't care less about. The only thing I asked for was a dedicated manager who would keep my refrigerator stocked on time. Since at the moment, given how constantly occupied I was, that task had fallen to Fubuki — and it infuriated her. Compared to the requests of many heroes, this was such a trivial ask that the man didn't even initially understand I was being serious.
From that day on, I became an S-Class hero ranked seventeenth. Last on the list for now — but under my own ordinary name, Garou, without any silly and often frankly ridiculous hero aliases.
On top of that, I soon also claimed sixth place in the unofficial popularity ranking of heroes. With commentary from the publication that compiled the list along the lines of: "A promising young genius who became an S-Class hero at just seventeen. A martial arts master who burst onto the hero scene at a meteoric pace. Prevented the destruction of City A! Will he attempt to surpass his legendary mentor, or will he find a rival in his own age group?..." and similar nonsense.
"Yeah, one thing you can't take away from S-Class is the public's love — and their fondness for digging through your laundry, not always dirty but laundry nonetheless... maybe I made a mistake signing up for all this. Should have stayed in A-Class with Fubuki and quietly kept training." — I kept thinking this again and again when, a couple of days after joining the league of the strongest heroes, I couldn't step outside without running into yet another newly minted fan asking me to sign their shirt. Well, at least there were quite a few girls among them too...