A thick, heart-stopping torrent of destructive energy—like a roaring dragon wreathed in flame—slammed into the Deep Sea King's massive body just as he prepared to unleash his atrocities!
"BOOM—!!!"
The deafening explosion was followed by a guttural cry of pain! Violent flames swallowed half his form, and the terrifying heat instantly evaporated the rain around them, birthing waves of blinding white mist.
The Sea King's mountainous frame staggered back under the sudden onslaught. Each retreating step gouged deep pits into the mud. His scaled chest was charred black, smoke trailing up from the burns.
The scorched stench, fishy and bitter, filled the air. His body shriveled slightly, retreating back to its earlier stage.
Kaito landed lightly on the drenched ground. In his arms, Mumen Rider's body was weak, his blood soaking Kaito's chest. The C-class hero stirred faintly, fighting to open his eyes one last time.
Through his blurred vision, he caught Kaito's sharp jawline and the three scars that marked his face. His exhausted nerves finally eased.
"King…" Mumen Rider's lips quivered, his voice barely a whisper. "…I'm counting on you…"
Then, his head slumped, and he slipped fully into unconsciousness.
Kaito's voice was low, steady, almost grim.
"Saitama."
"Hmm?" The bald hero landed nearby, raindrops glistening on his shining head.
"Hold him."
Carefully, Kaito transferred Mumen Rider into Saitama's arms. His movements bore unusual solemnity, a silent acknowledgement of the rider's unwavering spirit.
Though Kaito himself was not one for fearless sacrifice, he deeply revered those who lived and bled for it.
His gaze shifted past Saitama, locking onto the silhouette within the mist—Deep Sea King, still staggering, still howling in rage.
"We can't let this arrogant bastard…" Kaito's words cut like a blade, heavy with killing intent, "…die so easily. I'll make him regret ever crawling onto land."
Saitama glanced down at Mumen Rider's battered body, then at the monstrous figure rising once more. A rare shadow of sharpness flickered in his usually dull, dead-fish eyes.
He nodded slowly and stepped back with the wounded hero in his arms.
"Yeah. One punch would be too merciful."
"More heroes rushing to die?" Deep Sea King sneered, shaking off charred scales as fresh tissue writhed grotesquely beneath. His roar cracked through the storm, shaking the air itself.
"No matter how many come! The result is the same! You will all be corpses beneath this King—stepping stones to my reign over land! ROAR—!!!"
At the shattered shelter entrance, survivors huddled together. Rain and tears blurred their faces as whispers rose in terror.
"It's King! S-class King is here!"
"Can he really win…? So many heroes already fell…"
"It's hopeless. That thing isn't a monster… it's a calamity."
"We should… run… but where can we go?!"
"Mom! I don't want to die!"
Their voices of despair slithered through the air like venomous snakes.
Yet Kaito's steps never faltered.
He strode across blood-soaked mud, past fallen heroes, past the gazes fixed desperately upon his back—gazes woven with faint hope and deep despair alike.
Thump… thump… thump…
The low, thunderous rumble of the Emperor Engine reverberated in his chest. Like war drums resurrected from ancient battlefields, each beat grew heavier, deeper.
Dark red murderous aura surged from beneath him, magma-like, scorching with oppressive heat. Rain hissed as it evaporated within a hand's breadth of his body, leaving a strange, waterless zone around him.
The aura thickened, dark and heavy as congealed blood, glowing faintly in the dim storm.
An invisible field—distorting the very air—spread outward within ten meters. Raindrops fell into its grip, slowing unnaturally as though drowning in tar.
"Tricks!" Deep Sea King roared, his fury stoked by the oppressive field and the heartbeats hammering like drums of war.
With a blast of speed belying his size, the Sea King lunged forward, scales flashing, fist raised like a mountain poised to crush. The air shrieked beneath its force.
Kaito's eyes gleamed with sharp resolve.
Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist—Deflection!
At the moment the massive fist descended, Kaito's body slid sideways at an impossible angle, riding the razor edge of the strike.
The Sea King's colossal power, enough to split stone and shatter mountains, was swallowed whole—guided, redirected, and neutralized by the flowing currents of Kaito's "Hard-Soft Field."
"What?!"
Deep Sea King's colossal punch carved through empty air, his raw power wasted. Momentum carried his massive body forward, leaving his defenses open. For an instant, surprise flashed in his eyes.
Old strength gone. New strength not yet gathered.
Kaito struck.
Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist—Penetrating Strike · Rock Smashing!
His palm landed against the Sea King's scaled waist. The contact was almost gentle—no thunderous roar, no explosive blast—just a dull thud, like a hand pressing against hardened leather.
But beneath that deceptively soft touch, a storm was unleashed.
A concentrated, high-frequency shockwave surged out like an invisible serpent drill, bypassing the Sea King's armor. It ignored the thick scales, worming its way into the weak flesh beneath—then tore savagely into his abdominal cavity!
"Pfft—!!!"
Deep Sea King's massive frame convulsed. His torso arched violently as if struck by a sledgehammer from within. His blood-red maw gaped, vomiting a torrent of foul green ichor mixed with shredded viscera. The putrid mess splattered across the ground, sizzling as it ate through the mud.
Excruciating pain!
A pain he had never known before ripped through his nerves, a tsunami of agony from organs crushed and churned to pulp.
"GRRRAAAHHH!!!" His roar split the storm, raw fury blazing in his bloodshot eyes.
"DAMN BUG! THIS KING WILL RIP YOU TO SHREDS!"
Rage swallowed reason whole. His body bulged hideously, surging back into his second stage. With a bestial roar, his massive claws ripped through the air, aiming straight for Kaito's skull in a frenzy of killing blows.
But Kaito did not flinch.
His gaze was glacial, colder than an endless winter. Inside the distorted aura of his deterrence field, his body slipped like a phantom, each step and sway eluding the monster's storm of strikes.
And then—
"THUMP—!!!"
The Emperor Engine roared louder than ever. But this time, it was not merely sound.
The thunderous beat became a shockwave of spirit, an invisible resonance hammering down on Deep Sea King's mind. A crushing pressure of fear.
The monster froze mid-swing, his colossal body locking up as if seized by unseen chains. His consciousness buckled beneath the invisible weight.