With Goddess Hephaestus and Hestia now gone, the once lively hotel room felt strangely quiet. Only Yami and Goddess Artemis remained.
The sudden shift to silence was a bit unsettling.
"Yami, where are we going next?" Artemis asked softly, her eyes resting on Yami. "Should we stay here?"
"No, there's no reason to stay any longer," Yami responded. "If the Shinomiya Consortium could find us, so can others. In fact, they might already be on their way."
"There's no point dealing with these meddlesome forces. We've accomplished our main objectives, and there's no reason to waste time squabbling with all these factions."
Yami's expression grew thoughtful.
There was no need for further involvement with the Hero Association. Any attempt to reach an agreement with them would be futile, and such efforts would be a waste of time. Instead, it was better to focus on going city by city, challenging the remaining S-Class heroes, and then dealing with the Monster Association.
By then, the evaluation for his simulation mission should be more than satisfactory.
In the One Punch Man world, there were plenty of valuable opportunities to seize. Even a figure like "God" existed.
Yami wasn't sure whether this world's "god" was stronger than the gods of Orario, but any entity bearing the title of "god" couldn't be underestimated.
To grow stronger, acquiring the powers unique to this world was the best course of action. If he could break his own limiter, he would undoubtedly become stronger in the shortest time possible.
If he managed to break his limiter, he wouldn't need to keep training or grinding through dungeons.
After all… once someone surpasses the limiter, like Saitama, their current self would always be significantly stronger than their future self could ever be through training.
Yami found himself longing for this kind of exponential growth.
The thought made his heart race with anticipation.
"Artemis, we need to leave now to avoid being cornered by other factions."
"As you wish, Yami. I trust your judgment," Artemis replied calmly.
She had little understanding of this strange new world, so she wasn't about to make suggestions. Simply being by Yami's side was enough for her.
"Then let's go."
With those words, Yami took a few steps forward and gently grabbed Artemis's arm. A moment later, the space around them fluctuated, and their figures vanished.
As for where they would go next, that depended on how things unfolded.
After all, most of the S-Class heroes were now targets for Yami, and eventually, he would face them all in battle.
Of course, King might be an exception.
Then again, who knew? Perhaps he'd run into that man next.
---
A Few Hours Later
Not long after Yami and Artemis left, the hotel saw the arrival of a new group of 'uninvited guests.'
The leader was Sitch, who had come all the way from the Hero Association's headquarters in City A, accompanied by several staff members.
Among the crowd, an unexpected figure could be seen.
"What? They've already left? When did this happen?" Sitch's voice grew more agitated as the questioning went on, and his expression noticeably darkened.
The hotel lobby manager, who had already been pestered numerous times today, recognized the group but kept his posture tense, forcing a stiff smile.
"We don't know the exact details," the manager replied. "However, we can confirm that the esteemed guests did not exit through the hotel's main doors. They simply vanished from their room."
The manager's words trailed off, but the implication was clear: the guests were extraordinary beings, and regular humans like them had no means of tracking such powerful individuals.
Sitch caught the unspoken meaning and forced himself to remain calm. Even so, he couldn't help but feel the weight of disappointment.
"What a shame to miss them like this," he muttered.
"According to the information we received from the association, the head of the Shinomiya Consortium, Gan'an Shinomiya, was here a few hours ago and stayed at the hotel for a while."
"Could it be… that the mysterious powerful individual has already been recruited by the Shinomiya Consortium?"
As that possibility crossed Sitch's mind, a sense of urgency gripped him.
It was no secret that various financial groups were trying to win over heroes from the Hero Association. Everyone in the know was aware of these dealings, but there was little opposition to it. After all, it didn't seem to matter which side the heroes aligned with, as long as they continued to fight monsters.
Besides, even if the Hero Association wanted to intervene, they lacked the power to do so. Many professional heroes only became heroes due to the association's subsidies and the high rewards they earned after defeating monsters.
There were mutual interests at play, but not much loyalty.
Still, Sitch hadn't expected that a mysterious figure capable of defeating both Watchdog Man and Tatsumaki (Tornado of Terror) would be poached by the Shinomiya Consortium.
It was almost too unbelievable.
No S-Class hero had ever been successfully recruited by a consortium before.
"Mr. Bang, what do you think?" Sitch turned to the thin, silver-haired old man standing beside him.
This elderly man was none other than Silver Fang, one of the S-Class heroes from the Hero Association!
Normally, Silver Fang remained at his dojo, training his disciples. But after hearing the shocking news that both Watchdog Man and Tatsumaki had been defeated, the martial arts master was stunned.
That's why he rushed to the Hero Association headquarters, intending to get to the bottom of the situation.
But then, he received a request from Sitch, dragging him to City D halfway through his investigation.
Now, having come all this way only to miss their quarry, Silver Fang couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.