"Mghmm..."
Fubuki lay prostrate below, her mouth stuffed with a large hot dog that she was laboriously chewing.
Aomori kept his eyes half-closed, reaching out to stroke Fubuki's head as if he were petting a cat.
They had played a two-person game of poker all night yesterday, and now they were having breakfast to recover their stamina.
After a while, Fubuki choked on the large hot dog and hurriedly took a large gulp of soy milk.
As she was cleaning the white residue from the corner of her mouth, Aomori opened his eyes and spoke abruptly: "Your sister is coming over."
"Ah?!" Fubuki's face instantly paled. She sprang up and began pacing frantically: "I have to hide, quickly!"
Spotting the wide curtains swaying by the floor-to-ceiling window, her eyes lit up. Wiggling her shapely hips, she dove behind the curtains like a gust of wind and held her breath.
Unfortunately, even the largest curtains couldn't conceal her curvaceous figure; even a fool could easily spot that something was off.
Aomori shook his head and gave a casual wave of his hand, placing a seal there to mask her presence and distort visual perception.
Just as the seal was set, a little girl radiating murderous intent smashed through the door and barged in.
"Aomori, you huge bastard! You—you, you, you..."
Tatsumaki's face quickly flushed crimson as she turned her head away, stammering, "Y-you guy! Why aren't you wearing any clothes?!"
"In my own home, I'll wear whatever I want. Who told you to barge in without a word?" Aomori leaned back against the headboard unhurriedly, allowing his perfect physique, as if carved by the hands of God, to be exposed to the air.
"Then hurry up and put some clothes on!"
"I don't want to. It's like a steamer out there; wearing clothes is too hot."
Hearing this, the veins on Tatsumaki's forehead instantly bulged.
"You? Afraid of the heat? Who are you trying to kid?!"
Her curly hair began to flutter as Tatsumaki unleashed her esper powers at the slightest provocation. "Since you don't want to wear them, let me help you!"
However, the moment her telekinesis left her body, it was suppressed back inside by an even more powerful force.
Immediately, Tatsumaki let out a cry of surprise as she was yanked up by that telekinetic force and tossed onto the soft bed. A familiar face occupied her vision.
"W-what do you think you're doing?! Let me go this instant!"
"You just saw my entire body; shouldn't you offer some compensation?"
"I..."
An incredibly familiar voice drifted into the ears of Fubuki, who was hiding behind the curtain, causing her to bite her lip and blush furiously.
"Nng~"
Her eyes became like pools of spring water, shimmering with emotion. Her long legs were pressed tightly together as her consciousness gradually blurred.
Suddenly, the curtain was pulled back. A large hand grabbed her and yanked her out.
The room was soon filled with the sound of a beautiful, melodious song.
…
While Aomori was snacking on two pieces of pickled pepper chicken feet, Garou was surveying his unfamiliar surroundings.
"Dammit! That big wolf-dog with the cannons on its shoulders is that Aomori guy's pet, right? What did it want, throwing me here?"
He was in a long, narrow corridor. All around were pipes intertwined like old tree roots, adorned with oval beads emitting a soft purple light, serving as lighting fixtures.
"Hmph, one look at this taste and I know it's nothing good. I'll just go drag the boss of this place out."
Garou flashed a sinister smile, shoved his hands into his pockets, picked a random direction, and strode away.
Soon, he ran into a group of strangely-shaped people.
"Monsters? Aliens?" Garou was puzzled. "Well, whatever. They're clearly up to no good anyway."
He smiled coldly and charged into the crowd of armed men like a tiger among sheep. His fists swung like the scythe of the Grim Reaper; anyone he touched died.
In less than a second, he was the only one left standing.
With a look of slight disgust, he shook the strange fluids from his hands and continued forward.
Following that, wave after wave of enemies came, but all were easily dealt with, until a mud-monster with five heads appeared.
"Who are you? How dare you run wild on our ship?!"
"A ship? I heard an interesting word." Garou tilted his head and rubbed his chin. "Who I am is none of your business. If you want to fight, let's fight."
"Hmph, ignorant fool! I am completely different from those low-level combatants!" The hot-tempered Melzargard roared. Tentacles sprouted from all over his body, lunging at Garou with lightning speed.
BOOM!
Along with the outstretched tentacles, Melzargard's entire body collapsed into sand.
"Tch, doesn't look that different to me."
Garou turned and walked a few steps, then suddenly raised an eyebrow and swung back to shatter a thick arm.
Watching Melzargard's body gradually recover, Garou finally took a bit of interest. "Heh, so this is your trump card?"
"Hahaha! I am immor—"
Before he could finish, his body turned to dust once again.
This time, Garou didn't give him a chance. Countless fists smashed every remaining scrap into powder until not a single speck was left.
The supposedly immortal Melzargard was now as dead as could be.
Like a video game level, Garou defeated two more mini-bosses of similar strength to the five-headed one before finally meeting the ultimate boss.
"Interesting. It has been a long time since anyone could defeat them and stand before me. You are worthy of my intervention." The one-eyed man in heavy armor slowly rose from his throne, flashing an excited smile as he walked toward Garou. "Come. Hit me."
"?" Garou had never heard such a ridiculous request. He immediately delivered a heavy punch square to the man's face.
The immense force sent him flying like a cannonball for nearly a hundred meters, embedding him into the thick wall.
"Hahaha, that's the feeling! You possess the power I have so desperately craved to fight against!" The one-eyed man stood up as if nothing had happened, his armor shattering into pieces.
A terrifying power that made one tremble began to awaken. The heavy pressure made Garou's expression turn grave.
"My name is Boros, leader of the Dark Matter Thieves. I originally intended to go to Earth to find an opponent who could rival me, but I didn't expect you to appear right in front of me. Before I kill you, I grant you permission to state your name."
Seeing Boros acting even cooler than himself, Garou snorted coldly and said, refusing to be outdone, "I am Garou, a regular human from Earth. You should be glad you didn't reach Earth, or you'd be so ashamed you'd end your own life."
As he spoke, two towering figures surfaced in his mind, the "cheat" existences that always made him feel powerless.
"So there are that many strong people on Earth? Even better." Boros wasn't intimidated; instead, he became more excited. "After I defeat you, I will go to Earth and strike down everyone there!"
"Hmph, sorry. You won't be going to Earth anymore."
The two locked eyes, their battle intent soaring like a rocket.
Suddenly, they charged at the same time, turning into two streaks of light as they collided.
The aftershocks of the battle shattered the ship, ground stars to dust, and even made the sun grow dim.