Chapter 312: Chapter 13: Sword Light Descends
"Where are the monsters?! Where’s the monster wrecking the city?!"
After Saitama rushed out, back at home—
Genos, who had just undergone another performance upgrade and mentally prepared himself for what was to come, stared intently at the contact displayed on his phone screen. His eyes narrowed slightly before he finally pressed the call button.
"Moshi moshi. Are you free today...?"
...
At a dessert café.
Wearing a baseball cap, Ron lazily spooned a bite of his high-end parfait into his mouth, smiling as he spoke into the phone, "I’ve got nothing going on. When and where?"
"Today at 3 PM. Z-City, the abandoned district."
"Got it."
Click.
The call ended.
Ron glanced at the time—just 1:30 PM.
No rush.
He went right back to leisurely enjoying the dessert in front of him.
"Oh, right..."
Something crossed Ron’s mind.
He pulled out his phone again, tapped a quick message with one hand, and sent it off.
——
At that moment—
Fubuki was leading the Blizzard Group on a patrol mission near Z-City, currently within the bounds of F-City.
Among the 74 members of the Blizzard Group—each a B-Class hero—stood a girl in a black suit with a single ponytail, known as Lily of the Three Section Staff. She held Fubuki’s coat in her arms, watching her leader issue commands with the poise of a queen. Her eyes brimmed with admiration.
Suddenly—
The coat in Lily’s arms began to vibrate.
A phone.
Lily fished it out, took a look, then called out, "Captain!"
"Thanks."
Fubuki strode over and took the phone from her. One glance at the screen and her eyes sharpened slightly.
"Three o’clock... and it’s already 1:40."
"Lily, how long would it take to get to Z-City’s abandoned district from here?"
Lily blinked in surprise, thought seriously for a moment, then replied, "If we take the train, it’ll be about two hours. Driving... maybe an hour and a half at best."
"Let’s go!"
Without hesitation, Fubuki grabbed her hand and sprinted toward a black sedan parked nearby.
"C-Captain?!"
Eyelashes and Mountain Ape—ranked second and third in B-Class respectively—rushed over, flustered. "What’s going on? Where are you going? What about the situation here?!"
"I’ve got something to take care of. Mountain Ape, Eyelashes, I’m leaving this place to you!"
Without another word, Fubuki and Lily vanished down the road, leaving the rest of the Fubuki Group standing around in complete confusion.
——
2:30 PM.
Z-City.
The Abandoned District.
"So this is the so-called ’Ghost Town’ of Z-City’s abandoned district, huh... sure is desolate and falling apart."
Spring Mustachio, Hero Association Rank 33 in A-Class, stroked his curly mustache as he looked around.
"Well, considering how often monsters pop up here, it’d be weird if anyone still did live here."
Golden Ball—Rank 29 A-Class, wearing a white cap—had a lollipop in his mouth and both hands in his pockets. "Let’s get this investigation over with."
The two heroes strolled through the eerie streets, chatting as they walked.
"Z-City’s monster activity is way above anywhere else. It’s been getting worse over the years. Especially high-level monsters—tons of residents moved away once things got out of hand."
"Yeah, that’s why only the basic utilities like water and electricity are still running in this area. It’s basically become a ghost town."
"Bet the land prices here are dirt cheap now."
"Hah, quit joking. Haven’t you heard the rumors? Supposedly, there’s a terrifying monster that lurks around here. Real horror movie stuff."
"Of course I’ve heard. That’s probably why the Association sent us to check it out... We’re about to hit the inner zone. Stay sharp."
"I know."
As they delved deeper into the abandoned district, the buildings around them grew more dilapidated, covered in scars of past battles and destruction.
"For monsters to appear here so often... there’s got to be some kind of secret hidden in this place."
"Yeah, that’s the mystery. People have all kinds of theories..."
Spring Mustachio suddenly trailed off mid-sentence. His face went rigid.
Golden Ball’s expression changed too.
They’d sensed it—a presence.
In the blink of an eye, both heroes dropped into fighting stances, eyes locked on a shadow up ahead.
"That... was that a monster just now?!"
"Not sure yet... But it’s hard to imagine any civilians still living here. Let’s go check it out."
Without hesitation, the two heroes dashed toward the source of the disturbance.
What they found was—
A hulking figure, soaked and dripping, its entire body covered in strands of slick, seaweed-like tendrils.
Their expressions hardened.
"Monster!"
"Oh? Humans?"
The seaweed-covered creature blinked in mild surprise at the two approaching heroes.
——
2:45 PM.
Ron arrived at the abandoned district.
The scene he stumbled upon: the seaweed monster had just knocked Golden Ball unconscious and left Spring Mustachio beaten, bruised, and bloodied. His prized sword lay shattered beside him. Meanwhile, the monster didn’t have a single scratch on it.
"So that’s why no one wants to live here... monsters like this just hanging around? Yeah, I’d move too."
Spring Mustachio gasped for breath. Just before he lost consciousness, he managed to glimpse a figure walking slowly toward them from the far end of the street.
A young man.
Wearing a baseball cap.
"A... a civilian?!"
Spring Mustachio’s eyes went wide in alarm. Summoning the last of his strength and willpower, he shouted toward the figure:
"Don’t come any closer! Run—RUN!!"
The monster scoffed. "Boring. So boring. Humans, heroes... you’re all so weak. I’m sick of this game. Why don’t you all just die already?"
With a flick of its arm, a steel-hard strand of seaweed lashed through the air like a whip—aimed straight at the approaching figure.
Spring Mustachio’s pupils shrank in horror.
But then—
The young man raised his head.
Beneath the brim of his cap, twin sapphire-blue eyes glowed faintly—within them, a flash of crimson sword light.
SHHHING!
That strand of seaweed exploded into a storm of glimmering slashes, shredded into a thousand pieces in an instant.
And then—
A crimson sword light, thick as a water tank, descended from the sky like divine punishment.
"Huh?"
The seaweed monster blinked, confused.
Before it could react, its entire body was engulfed and erased by the radiant slash.
When the light faded, all that remained was a massive crater in the middle of the street—its depth unmeasurable.