Amid the biting gale, Tatsumaki lowered her gaze at King, who was likewise soaring through the air on psychokinesis. Undisguised shock flashed in her eyes.
This guy can actually use psychokinesis too… Is he an esper as well?
The straight-talking Tatsumaki didn't bother hiding her thoughts and asked outright:
"Hey! KING, how come you can use psychokinesis? Are you an esper as well?"
King glanced at her, his tone flat; that steady voice still betrayed no emotion:
"Just comparatively strong mental power, that's all."
Tatsumaki froze, not expecting that answer, and gave a cold snort.
"Hmph! Mysterious show-off! No matter how much you're hiding, I'm still going to blow you to bits today!"
The two of them arrived in the wilderness, confirmed that there was no one within a hundred kilometers, and landed.
It's worth mentioning that in the One-Punch Man world, all continents had merged into one colossal landmass.
Humanity had built twenty-six cities, each the size of a country, named from City A to City Z.
Beyond those twenty-six metropolises lay endless wastelands and harsh environments.
No matter how wildly they fought, human society wouldn't be affected—giving King and Tatsumaki the perfect battlefield.
On the desolate plain, the two faced each other.
Neither chose to strike first. King, maintaining his trademark calm, naturally waited for the opponent to move before countering.
As for Tatsumaki, though her tone dripped with disdain, inwardly she still felt some caution toward the legendary Strongest Man on the Surface of the Earth.
Both waited for the other to act, and during the standoff, the system's notification rang in King's ears again.
"Ding! Rewards issued in advance."
"Congratulations, Host: Random High-Level Ninjutsu ×1, Automatic Martial Arts Training Card ×2."
"Congratulations, Host: Full set of Eight Gates."
Instantly, all the Eight Gates' essentials surfaced in King's mind, fully mastered as if etched into muscle memory, ready to deploy at any moment.
Well, well, quite considerate—handing out rewards early.
Still, drawing the Eight Gates surprised him.
So you're telling me, with my body already permanently in the Death Gate state, I've now reacquired the Eight Gates… can I open Gates One through Seven again and even stack another Death Gate on top?
The Eight Gates' boost scales with the user's physical condition.
The stronger the body, the greater the amplification the Eight Gates provide.
Say Gate Seven grants a 3× multiplier. If the user's base physique is 3, that's 3×3=9.
But if the physique is 100, it's 100×3=300—the gap is obvious.
One gains only 6 extra points, the other gains 200—no comparison at all.
Since he'd obtained such overwhelming power, it was time to break the deadlock.
King stepped forward on his own initiative. Tatsumaki's eyes sharpened, a cold smile tugging at her lips:
"Finally moving, Scar-face? Get up!"
Fierce psychokinesis burst out, piercing the air and wrapping around King, trying to lift him bodily.
With a single thought, King flooded his meridians with surging blood; white steam erupted from his body, and his skin flushed slightly.
Eight Gates, Seventh Gate—Gate of Wonder, OPEN!
His already formidable physique skyrocketed, and thanks to his exceptional base condition, the Seventh Gate hardly burdened him.
Facing the encroaching psychokinesis, he simply punched. Terrifying force tore the air with sonic booms, shattering the surrounding psychokinesis outright.
The sensation was odd—like smashing paper-thin glass with no visible shards.
Sensing her psychokinesis fail to control the man, Tatsumaki was stunned—this was the first enemy she couldn't manipulate.
Immediately, the proud esper-queen grew more excited; vast mental power erupted like an ocean:
"Not bad! Then try something bigger!"
Her mental force turned into an invisible tsunami, surging toward King.
The ground underfoot shattered in an instant; several kilometers of earth were ripped up, turning into a storm of rubble that surrounded him.
A sphere of stones encased King, glowing green with psychokinesis, and Tatsumaki hurled it sky-high.
A hundred meters aloft, veins bulged on her forehead as she kept compressing the rock sphere.
Several kilometers in diameter, the meteor-like ball shrank with cracking sounds; at its center, King endured crushing gravity few could imagine.
So he's got no resistance left—those so-called achievements were just hype after all!
Tatsumaki poured on more psychokinesis; the multi-kilometer rock sphere was crushed to a few dozen meters, its density reaching a terrifying level.
Then, in the next instant, a voice cut clearly through the noise into her ear:
"Nice psychokinesis—still a bit weak, though."
What?!
Tatsumaki's pupils shrank to pinpoints; before she could amplify her output, an explosive roar came from above.
The sphere she'd compressed burst into countless fragments, and King—wreathed in white steam—blinked to her at near-invisible speed.
Not a scratch marred him; only that suffocating, fearsome aura rolled off him, accompanied by an engine-like rumble in her ears.
"Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!!!"
Tatsumaki's face paled as she heard the engine-thunder that seemed to make heaven and earth tremble together.
So this is the Emperor Engine… She realized not only had she gotten serious, KING before her had entered battle mode as well.
If external force can't crush you, forget external force—just control your body directly!
With that thought, Tatsumaki locked vast psychokinesis onto King, surrounding him in a faint green glow.
Die!
She twisted her wrist, her face reddening with effort, green curls whipping in the raging psychokinetic storm.
The power acting on King intensified; even the hardest metal on Earth would twist into a pretzel the instant it touched that force.
Any Dragon-Level monster short of top-tier would be wrung into meat paste.
Yet against that overwhelming psychokinetic strangle, King didn't budge—as if the attack didn't exist.
He tilted his head, and the solemn, composed face finally showed a trace of puzzlement:
"That's it?"