"Oh? Someone's not afraid of death?"
The Monster, Deluxe Ramen, who had just finished a rampage of destruction, swept his gaze over Han Sen and the young female employee behind him, finally settling on the man in the corner.
"Oi—! You bastard human over there!"
"How dare you sit there so arrogantly in the face of my might! You're very arrogant!"
"Hurry up and stand, and come over to die, you bastard!"
Thump—!
Thump-thump—!!
Thump-thump-thump—!!!
A dull drumming sound suddenly grew from faint to loud. Deluxe Ramen turned his noodle-bowl body in confusion, looking around: "Eh…? What's that strange sound?"
Thump-thump-thump-thump—!!
Thump-thump-thump-thump—!!
Thump-thump-thump-thump—!!
In just a few breaths, the rhythm of the drumming grew faster and faster, and the sound became even more passionate!
The air in the entire ramen shop seemed to tremble with the drumbeats!
Amidst the dull, dense roars, the man in the baseball cap in the corner slowly stood up and turned to face the ferocious ramen Monster.
Boom—!
It seemed the Monster's previous attack had damaged the gas pipes in the back kitchen. A huge blaze and explosion came from behind the counter, and a hot, fiery blast of air blew off the man's baseball cap, revealing a stern face with three scars running across his left eye.
"Are you calling me?"
The man's voice was deep, carrying an undeniable authority.
"Uh…"
Stared at by the man's indifferent gaze, as cold as an arctic wind, Deluxe Ramen's momentum weakened, and he involuntarily took a half step back.
For some reason, when it saw the man's face, its noodle-bowl chest cavity seemed to resonate with the war drum roars filling the shop, beating violently with "thump, thump, thump" sounds!
That terrifying oppressive feeling made it almost gasp for breath!
The human face on the noodle bowl turned pale, its pupils suddenly constricted, and its legs felt soft, almost instinctively kneeling down!
"Damn, damn it!!"
Seemingly realizing that it had exposed its weakness to the hateful human, Deluxe Ramen roared, and the ramen in its bowl, soup and all, boiled and churned as if it were alive!
"Who do you think you are! You hateful bastard!"
"Eat my 'Super-Hot Soft-Boiled Egg Bomb' attack!"
As soon as the words fell, several scalding soft-boiled eggs shot out from the surging noodle soup, whistling like cannonballs towards King!
Boom boom boom boom—!!
…
…
Time rewound to when the Monster first appeared.
Gulp… (sound of swallowing)
King's face, hidden beneath his baseball cap, was ashen, and a bead of sweat the size of a bean slowly trickled down his temple. The good mood he had felt from successfully clearing his favorite character in the game completely plummeted.
—So, so scared…
—I'm actually not strong at all, just a 29-year-old shut-in who doesn't work and stays home all day.
—Because my heart beats dozens of times louder than others due to being more timid, it was even named a special move, 'Emperor Engine'… It's just too stupid!
—Brutal Monsters always appear in front of me, and by the time I open my eyes, the Monster is already defeated by someone else…
—Similar coincidences happened so many times that the Hero Association inexplicably sent me an S-Class Hero certificate, saying I was the strongest newcomer on Earth… What a joke!
—Although it was my fault for not denying it, I don't want to keep being targeted by Monsters!
—Damn it! I really… really don't want to be a hero!
Rumble rumble—!!
As the Monster rampaged, fewer and fewer people remained in the ramen shop.
King, who was originally sitting in the corner eating noodles, had a string of thoughts running through his mind, and his back was already drenched in cold sweat, but his body didn't move an inch.
It wasn't that he didn't want to leave, but his weak legs felt like they were filled with lead, utterly unable to move.
The frantic "thump-thump-thump" of his heart sounded deafening to him, almost drowning out all external sounds.
When the Monster turned its attention to him, he sighed deeply in his heart.
—Still can't escape…
Under the threat of death, the body's weakness seemed to be instantly shielded. King suppressed the fear in his heart, put on his practiced expression of cold indifference, stood up, and skillfully asked in a deep voice.
"Are you calling me?"
—Bluff it! Please, please, please bluff it out of here—!
…
…
The timeline returned to normal.
"It's King! It's Lord King!!"
Seeing the man's face with the three scars, the young female employee behind Han Sen peeked out her head, her face full of excited adoration: "There's no mistake! Those iconic scars, that explosively powerful aura! Our ramen shop is even named after Lord King! So I absolutely won't be wrong!"
"This is great, customer, we're saved! Lord King will definitely be able to defeat it!"
Han Sen: "…"
(・_・?)
Heh, women.
Just now you were throwing yourself at me, and now your eyes are only on your idol, aren't they?
Your reaction just now wasn't like this!
On the other side.
Feeling the scorching heat wave and the whistling "egg bombs" coming at him, King's face remained cold and expressionless, but inwardly, he was drenched in desperate sweat, screaming frantically.
—Oh no!! I'm going to die, I'm going to die… This time I'm really going to die!!
"W-wait…!"
Death was imminent. Whether to block or to beg for mercy, King instinctively raised his hand.
"Look! Lord King is about to make his move!"
The young female employee watched her idol's movements with anticipation, holding her breath, her eyes sparkling, but she didn't notice the complex look that flashed in the man's eyes in front of her.
"He hasn't shown up for so long, Saitama is most likely not in M City today."
"Oh dear, oh dear… So King's good luck today is running into me?"
Whoosh—!
At that instant, a scorching white meteor flashed past.
"Ah ah ah ah! What's going on…!!"
Crack-crack-crack—!!
At this moment, the sound of shattering porcelain and the Monster's scream occurred almost simultaneously!
The incredibly fast, scorching white light, like an arrow, shot through and exploded the soft-boiled egg bombs attacking King, while its momentum undiminished, it pierced through the ramen Monster's face, gushing out large amounts of scalding ramen broth!
No one noticed Han Sen's movement. He didn't even stand up, merely casually raising his right hand, and an ultra-miniature Scorching Heat Bullet had already been instantly fired.
The next second, the scream abruptly stopped.
The Monster, its bowl-body shattered, collapsed to the ground as if its main artery had been struck, its massive body toppling over and slamming face down onto the ground.
Splash—
Ramen, ingredients, and soup instantly flowed all over the floor. The ruins were immediately enveloped by spreading steam, and the Monster fell silent.
Killed on the spot!
[Killed Tiger-level Monster 'Deluxe Ramen', gained Origin Points × 68!]
As expected of a Monster born from distorted will in the human world!
Judging by the Origin Points, this bowl of ramen actually had strength close to an upper Tiger-level, equivalent to three useless Slime Octopuses!
(Slime Octopus: ???)
"S-Sugoi!" (Amazing!)
Hearing the young female employee's exclamation from behind, Han Sen calmly curved the corner of his lips.
Instant-firing Scorching Heat Bullet from his fingertips was a new move he developed after his overall strength increased. It consumed little energy, was fast, and although its power inevitably decreased, it was more than enough to instantly kill a Tiger-level Monster.
As for why he developed it…
Because the style of his mouth-cannon attack was just too villainous!
However, Han Sen hadn't been happy for long when the young female employee's next words almost made him stumble.
She had stars in her eyes and praised him with enthusiastic admiration: "As expected of Lord King, he just slightly raised his hand, and his powerful psychic abilities defeated the Monster!"
"How wonderful! Lord King's power is simply unfathomable!"
King: "…Huh?"
(⊙０⊙)
—W-was it me who did it?
Han Sen: "…"
—No, when did you go blind?
(눈~눈)