Suddenly, the fog to the side churned. A black shadow lunged at the back of Saitama's neck at blazing speed!
It was a creature shaped like a skinny, mangy hunting hound—but made entirely of shadow, with claws and teeth glinting coldly.
Saitama didn't even turn his head. He threw a backhand punch.
Splatt!
The shadow hound burst on the spot into a puff of black smoke and vanished.
Right after that, the fog surged from all directions. Dozens of red-glowing eyes lit up at once!
Shrill chittering echoed out as dozens of small monsters—each with a different shape but all made of shadow—
Shadow Beasts—
emerged from the fog and pounced at Saitama like they'd gone mad!
They were incredibly fast, and they excelled at hiding in the fog and launching sneak attacks.
But to Saitama, it meant nothing. He didn't even need to look.
"Quite a lot of you," Saitama said as he started walking forward. He didn't bother chasing them down—he simply swung a casual punch or flicked out a kick whenever a monster entered his range.
Bang! Splatt! Pff!
Every single strike guaranteed one Shadow Beast would explode into black smoke instantly.
His movements were smooth and effortless, like he was taking a stroll, while those ferocious Shadow Beasts were nothing more than bubbles hurling themselves into his fists and feet, popping one after another.
While clearing out the fodder, he kept walking toward the densest part of the fog. Wherever he passed, the powerful airflow from his punches actually blew the gray fog away, carving out a brief, relatively clear corridor.
Before long, he crossed the swallowed town streets and reached the outskirts. Here, the fog density hit its peak, and the aura of dark energy was at its strongest.
Ahead, the silhouette of an abandoned, rusted factory appeared and vanished within the fog.
The source of the energy was inside that factory.
"Found the nest…" Saitama quickened his pace and headed for the factory gates.
Inside the abandoned factory, the air reeked of heavy machine oil and rust. But unlike the gray fog outside, the air within was actually clearer.
At the center of the plant, an open space had been cleared out. A complex machine made of unknown metal and flickering crystals was humming with a deep, low rumble.
At its core was a constantly rotating energy nucleus that continuously released the gray fog, spreading it outward through the factory's vents and broken windows.
On the ground around the machine, intricate energy-guidance runes had been carved.
A man in black high-tech combat gear stood beside the machine, operating a control panel with a vicious grin on his face.
He was the villain scientist who called himself "Nightshadow."
He was obsessed with studying fear energy, believing it to be one of the strongest forces in the universe.
"Perfect… absolutely perfect!" Nightshadow stared at the rapidly soaring energy readouts on the panel, his eyes blazing with fanaticism. "Human fear ferments and grows inside the fog—then through my converter, it becomes the purest energy! Just a little more, and I'll possess power enough to rival a god!"
Just then—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion rang out from the factory's sealed front gates. The entire thick steel door twisted and buckled, then flew inward and slammed onto the ground with a massive crash.
Saitama walked in through the doorway, patting nonexistent dust off his hands.
"Hey. Are you the one who released this fog? It's really in the way."
Nightshadow jolted and whirled around. But when he saw it was just a bald guy wearing a ridiculous costume, the panic on his face turned into a mocking, disdainful sneer.
(End of Chapter)
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