One-Punch DxD: NEO
Chapter 62: Battle of The Strong

Just to let you know guys, for those who want to see the next chapter already, as well as my NSFW side story, feel free to check p a treon . com (slash) Ahsoei

[Blazing Inferno of Scorching Flames] + [Reduce (Poison of Eternal Destruction)] + [Roaring Aura Sky Ripping Fist]

Garou's power was now fully unleashed.

Every supernatural being, Genos, Serafall, Diehauser, Azi Dahaka, Crom Cruach, Balor, Sirzechs, Ajuka, Falbium - everyone sensed it.

Cao Cao and the others felt like they were buried in the deepest depths of the world. Literally crushed under the weight of the world despite being far above the source of that power, a suffocating power of a being that transcended above Gods, above the limits of reality.

Serafall's territory was not that far so she immediately flew in to investigate, having been recovered by the Phoenix Tear.

Azazel and the others arrived in the Underworld just in time to witness the battle of the strongest. Issei was busy recuperating with Kiyome's Stjarna as… the damage was really, really bad.

Not even Asia could regenerate lost limbs with her Twilight Healing and Asclepius combo. Issei lost his eyes and most of his flesh was burned off, so Stjarna was now busy restoring Issei's lost body parts with his own flesh and DNA, according to Kiyone, using the metamorphosis method.

Issei would live through it all, and they would not have to face the wrath of Saitama in the process.

Azazel did not expect to see the divine white flame and poison of eternal destruction dancing in a spiral hurricane in the distance, the height reaching above the clouds and the diameter almost encompassing their periphery.

"Impossible…"

Azazel was high in the air with Vali.

Lavinia and the others were flying with the help of Le Fay's magic, Mitsuya and Magnus dropping their jaws at the sight of toxic and flaming white consuming the land in the distance.

They arrived at Ajuka's territory.

They could still see the destructive energies in the distance, in the Sitri territory's direction.

[Isn't that…?!]

Albion shouted from Vali's Armor.

"The Poison of Eternal Destruction…" Azazel uttered. "That is your sealed ultimate technique. And that is the Blazing Inferno of Scorching Flames, Ddraig's ultimate flame of destruction. I can't mistake those moves you two used to wipe out our armies. Why am I sensing those techniques? Did someone steal your and Ddraig's powers?"

[What? No! I still have it! It's… I don't believe it! Someone else is using our skills!]

"Who?!" Vali shouted, unable to believe what he was hearing.

The cyclone of destruction traveled towards their direction as something flew out.

With their keen sight, they could distinguish Saitama flying out, his clothes undeterred by the mystic poison and flame as a demonic creature chased after him, battling with the strongest man.

If it were his normal clothes, they would have been vaporized instantly. However, his clothes were enchanted by the Three Factions to be sturdy enough to take the harshest punishments.

"Saitama...?" Azazel and the others watched.

The unknown demon now had something else under his sleeve.

[Thousand Boosts in One]

[WHAT?! He used Boost a thousand times in one go?!]

Albion shouted with complete disbelief.

"Wait, he can do that?!" Vali shouted.

[Not normally! That many Boosts would kill anyone! You can't just Boost like that more than once in one go! Even Ddraig would be burned alive with his own power if he even used two Boosts in one go!]

Albion shouted back.

"Why is that?!"

[We Boost and Divide in single increments for our safety by maintaining the influx of power. Our powers would become maliciously erratic if used like that!]

"Then why is he spry as hell and not dead?!" Bikou shouted, feeling the power spiking enough to distort the space around them.

[I don't know!]

[Explosion] + [Thousand Hole Layer] + [Transfer]

A very large crimson sphere surrounded Saitama instantly.

"That is the Hole Ability of the Abaddon clan!" Azazel shouted.

[No, there are countless more Holes within that Hole! It's a multi-layered Hole!]

Albion shouted with utter disbelief. Everyone watched as the demon transferred the power.

[Compression Divider]

The demon raised his crystal-armored hand at Saitama... And then clenched his fist.

The Hole ability could not spawn a Black Hole phenomena. It was a harmless ability meant to transport matter and energy, not destroy it.

However, the stranger somehow managed to trigger one in front of their very eyes as the moment the Hole Ability activated, a literal black hole was summoned atop of the Underworld's crust, a pure black sphere of annihilation in front of them.

"He… he summoned a black hole!"

Serafall could not believe what she was seeing in the distance, the land, air, and even light was being sucked inside of the singularity that was growing at a massive rate.

[Dimensional Collapse]

The flaming skull demon unclenched his fist as the black hole collapsed instantly and ignited a furious explosion so bright that it overwhelmed everything around them for miles, covering the entire half of the planet with cosmic light.

However, what happened next left everyone's jaw hanging.

Right in the heart of the black hole - Saitama was seen standing, literally holding the edge of the hole with his bare hands, before he also literally brought the rest of his body out of the hole, before he forcefully closed the black hole itself by clasping his palms together.

"Okay, okay. I will say this - you've definitely improved during the years." Saitama admitted as he turned to Garou.

"We're not done yet!" Malacoda shouted.

In Garou's hand was a wicked demonic spear that fit his size.

"I am Barbariccia!" A different, authoritarian voice spoke from the spear. "I am the Demon that Rejects the World! That Commands the World! I am the desire to defy the laws of reality! To take control of it!"

Garou twirled the spear in a masterful display of martial prowess, entering a stance as runic symbols lit the obsidian shaft to the white tip.

[Ten Thousand Boosts in One] + [Explosion] + [Power of Destruction] + [Blazing Inferno of Scorching Flames] + [Reduce] + [Tear] + [Transfer]

Power explosively generated within that one spear. The spike in power spiked everyone's fears.

[Mystic Art: Sky Splitting Spear Arts] + [Spear of Barbariccia: Destroy Saitama.]

Barbariccia's powers allowed him to strike and destroy anything, even negate phenomena and manipulate reality to an extent.

Air, gravity, space, it all depends on what was written on the spear in the demonic language.

The more specific the words, the more potent the ability becomes. It could even ignore physical matter if it wished if it was not within the target specification of the words.

"Everyone, disperse!" Azazel shouted as the skull demon swung down.

Everyone was engulfed in its range of destruction. It traveled across the crust, an omnidirectional wave of obliterating crimson energy.

Something with that much power would have skinned the world to the point of exposing the core of the planet to the surface air. Everyone on its path should have been erased from existence, their souls sent to Oblivion without excuse, even Azazel and his company that was caught in the aftermath.

However, to everyone's surprise…

Nothing was erased.

Azazel, Vali, Le Fay, Kuroka, Bikou, Arthur, Lavinia, Tobio, Magnus, and Mitsuya were fine.

They blinked as they patted their bodies.

"...What just happened?" Bikou asked.

"Did we survive?" Kuroka asked.

[...That was more than enough power to wipe out both Ophis and the Great Red at the same time.]

Albion gave his opinion.

Everyone turned to the two, seeing Saitama… naked.

He was fully naked this time.

"...That actually rattled my bones, I admit." Saitama rolled his shoulders.

"Not even Barbariccia's power can do it... Even so!"

Garou landed as he prepared many more attacks.

"Nah, it's my turn." Saitama appeared before Garou, a cloud of dust exploding from where he was before as he struck.

Serious Series: Consecutive Serious Punches

Saitama unleashed his true power. He knew when a man could withstand him going serious.

[Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist] + [Platinum Unscrupulous Rings]

However, Garou's demon tail spun a triskele barrier in front of Saitama and deflected all of Saitama's punches, the shockwaves tearing apart the land.

Saitama blinked at the counter, "Wow… not bad." Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ NƟvelFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

He was genuinely impressed. His fists were flawlessly redirected, and so effortlessly at that.

"...Alright, since you want to play this game, how about this?" Saitama smirked.

Boost

Saitama copied the Boost ability to everyone's shock. Saitama saw it more than enough times from his own son that he technically should be able to pull it off.

Serious Series: Serious Strike

"We saw this coming!" Malacoda shouted as Garou deflected the serious strike back at Saitama's face with his tail.

Everyone's heart skipped a beat when they saw the demon sending Saitama's fist right back into his face, forcing the latter to crane his head upwards.

"...No way." It was the first time Vali, anyone, saw someone contending with Saitama like this.

The shockwaves of the attack razed the land behind Saitama, a cone of unstoppable force erasing the trees and the mountains as far and wide as the eyes could see.

"...Huh." Saitama blinked at the space above him as Garou appeared before him.

[Libicocco: Flames of infinite passion] + [True Fa Jin]

Garou followed it up with a two-handed Fa-Jin right into Saitama's elbow, adding much extra force to the serious punch.

Libicocco's power was to accelerate the increase of power of herself or her wielder to exponential heights. However, it was a dangerous power that threatened to burn her own existence if overused.

But Garou instantly mastered that technique. The razed land behind Saitama immediately turned to powder as far as the eye could see as Garou unleashed every form of attack.

[Perfect Duplication]

Another skull demon, a reflection appeared behind Saitama.

[Ten Thousand Divides in One] + [Ten Thousand Boosts in One] + [Explosion] + [Serious Series: Consecutive Serious Punches] + [Roaring Aura Sky Ripping Fist] + [Draghignazzo: Baleful Inferno of Obliteration]

Garou and his doppelganger attempted to drain Saitama's power ten thousand times, but realized that the Divide ability did not affect Saitama. So they magnified Garou's power ten thousand times more, then explosively multiplied his own power as he unleashed a two-pronged mirror assault.

His fists flared with the demonic power of the dragon of the Malebranche.

Draghignazzo's power was like the Longinus Smasher of Ddraig, only it was heavily cursed in power aimed at nothing but the pure destruction of the world.

With Libicocco's accelerating fire that further increased Garou's power, their mirrored assault sandwiched Saitama as the shockwave and fire this time threatened to consume all of the underworld, spreading extremely far and wide as the Underworld quaked with rising intensity.

The air was violently vibrating, blurring the sight of all into abstract forms. Then the very air started to ignite and explode.

The power of the Roaring Aura Sky Ripping Fist was at a level that it could turn every form of matter into pure energy, the energy of creation released, atomic bonds and even the quantum particles transformed into the undiluted energy of creation.

It was the birth of a new technique, a new fist Garou instantly memorized with every fiber of his being - the Fist of the Great Unmaker.

"Scatter!" Azazel shouted when the epicenter of the chaos was now engulfed in a pure energy of creation, the explosive range reaching even the clouds as they ascended to avoid complete destruction, the sound of beyond nuclear level explosions overlapping each other at faster-than-light speeds.

Then Garou and his doppelganger sent Saitama flying towards the Ajuka's territory, another massive explosion igniting in that direction as Garou and his clone chased after him.

Within Garou's mind, he was facing Saitama once again.

Ever since that day, ever since he nearly struck down GOD, Garou wanted to face the baldy again if he could to see where he stood now. He was in his demonic form once more… it was a nostalgic form.

This time, he could assume it at will.

Every technique he learned from Shangri-La, every trick he copied from his battle against the Gods of Olympus, even Indra and… the person he considered a friend.

To think he would resort to threatening children just to coerce him into willing imprisonment.

He was in a landscape he did not recognize. He was using many combinations of powers he witnessed and more… he did not know where some of these techniques came from. He did not question it as he continued.

He took the skies as he decided to resort to another mystic art.

Mystic Arts are a series of Senjutsu based on a certain style, which Garou mastered so proficiently that the monks in Shangri-La were amazed.

He taught the kind monks everything he knew so they could raise a heroic champion amongst them in case he was missing, and to see if one of those little tykes there could reach his level.

He learned a lot from the monks, even the forbidden techniques there that involve death and the raising of the dead.

But he needed the best mystic arts he could think of to even scratch the Baldy.

[Penetrate]

Garou needed this. He did not use it that much because he did not want to erase everything completely, or kill Saitama. The baldy was ridiculously invulnerable as usual, though.

[Mystic Art: Sword of the Heavenly Demon]

Garou took to the skies as a giant sword fell from the heavens.

Normally, the swords would be formed from pure ki, but with Garou's knowledge of creation, he could instantly form physical swords from cosmic dust, imbued with great power. Every sword he made could surpass even the greatest swords crafted in all of the nine realms.

The perfect clone he summoned flew into the sword and entered it, all of Garou's entire power now one with that sword.

[Calcabrina: The Destroyer of Heaven and Earth]

He did not know the name, but he knew the power.

His size grew and grew, becoming larger and larger as he grabbed the heavenly jian as he flew higher, his size growing so large that his head could poke through the stratosphere.

He could see the shock on Saitama's face, seeing how he grew to such a ridiculous height. He swung it down on Saitama, the power of his obscenely enlarged sword enough to cleave the Underworld in perfect two.

However, the baldy planted his feet to the ground when he swung and threw his fist up when the giant jian made contact.

Again, despite the augmentations, the baldy managed to bounce the blade back to the sky as the vibrations crackled the space of the Underworld and shattered stone and glass for miles.

Garou knew that he must be creative if he could even harm the baldy.

He returned to his normal size, still holding the heavenly sword containing an exact equal measure of his power, and summoned the demonic spear and threw it heavenward, right into a hyperspace gate with all of his might.

The hyperspace gate appeared in the orbit of the sun, falling into another hyperspace gate, in a perpetual falling loop that would continue to accelerate for as long as he wished, generating infinite accelerating velocity.

The words, Pierce Saitama, were written on the spear in a language that he somehow understood.

It was time to show the baldy what he could truly do.

[Fist of the True Godslayer]

Garou inhaled, summoning his awakening breath. No, his Divine Breath.

[One Hundred Thousand Boosts in One] + [Explosion] + [Ultimate Technique: Downfall of the Cosmic Heaven] +...

Garou descended, his hand clad with the move he used to sunder GOD back in his realm. He clad his fist with every single power he knew as he descended like a bolt of lightning. The Baldy raised his arm to defend against the ultimate karate chop.

However, that was a feint.

Underneath Saitama's feet, a hyperspace gate yawned when the impact landed.

Saitama was sent falling in a perpetual fall, between two Hyperspace Gates while he was still confused. Garou ascended to the Underworld's orbit as he summoned Saitama into atmospheric entry, the baldy falling like a meteor much, much faster than the speed of light.

Barbariccia's spear was not far behind, though Saitama caught the spear before it struck his throat.

The shockwave that exploded burned the land, a growing bright dome of eradication, and scorched much of the buildings of the Ajuka's territory along with some stray evil spirits.

Then Garou landed atop of the spear with the same ultimate technique with stronger output, his hand clad with every power in his knowledge, attempting to ram that spear into Saitama with all of the force and power he could muster.

This time, a fissure traveled across the Underworld, crossing almost all of the way across this planet, a chasm, an abyss, showing the magma veins underground for all to see, even a glimpse of the planet's core.

Are you seeing this… Saitama... Old man... Everyone. Do you see how far I've come?

Everyone in the Underworld sensed it.

Kokabiel even sensed it, despite being shackled and confined within Grigori's headquarters.

Baraqiel, Shamazai, and the others went to investigate.

Tannin, the former Dragon King, flew to the source.

Diehauser Belial, King of the Rating Games.

Bedeze Abaddon, second rank of the rating games.

Roygun Belphegor.

Matilda Furfur.

Riser Phenex.

Sirzechs Gremory and Ajuka Astaroth went to see.

Even Tiamat from her familiar forest took to the skies.

The destruction was even reaching her home, countless terrified creatures taking shelter within a cave, as she arrived at the scene in the skies from a safe distance.

She saw the other Devils, Tannin, Fallen Angels, and even Crom Cruach in his dragon form.

Sirzechs and Ajuka arrived, joining them.

"Garou…" Crom uttered, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"Do you know the man that is threatening my home?" Tiamat asked with a tinge of venom.

"...A friend of mine."

The Chaos Karma Dragon blinked once, twice at the reply she received before replying, "...I certainly did not expect that response from someone like you. To think Crom Cruach has a friend. Though I must ask, why is your 'friend' destroying the Underworld? Who is your friend, anyways? He is too strong for… What is he?"

There were so many questions that she must ask. She was extremely concerned when seeing the magma core of the Underworld exposed like yolk through the cracked white shell.

"He… is currently enslaved against his will. Shiva threatened to destroy those under his protection to coerce his cooperation. I am trying to free him." Crom Cruach answered.

"The Destroyer did that?" Sirzechs was shocked.

"...Yes." Crom nodded.

"How do you plan to free him?" Tiamat asked.

"...I don't know. I didn't think he was this powerful. My instincts are roaring to stay away." Crom answered.

"Why is he so strong? How come we haven't heard of him before?" Ajuka asked as more and more devils joined, Roygun Belphegor, some curious dragons from Dragon Mountain, Bedeze Abaddon.

"He prefers to keep to himself… but our world dragged him into its troubles." Crom grimaced as Garou's tail held the jian sword he forged from cosmic dust and imbued with his might and thrust it down at Saitama's eye.

Saitama rolled away just in time, throwing the flaming skull demon off him.

Banishing his spear, Garou landed on his feet as Saitama got up.

[Hundred Thousand Boosts in One] + [Explosion] + [Power of Destruction] + [Kankara Formula] + [Cognazzo: Defile Perfection] + [Ciriatto: Energy Drain]

Cognazzo's power allowed him to force weaknesses onto his victims. He could give a dragon a tremendous weakness to fire, bypassing all of its defenses. He could even worsen the weaknesses of the devils to the point of them being vaporized under sunlight alone.

Ciriatto allowed the wielder to drain the energies, the power of everything, the Dimensional Gap, Life Force, his range can extend across an entire world, even the cosmos if he desired. The catch was that the energy taken could permanently weaken his victims, lowering their levels as well.

[Impossible!]

Sirzechs and Ajuka watched as the stranger used both of their signature techniques, a completely dominated crimson stream of corruption consuming Saitama.

Saitama blinked as he was lifted by the corruption.

Saitama saw what appeared black corruption spreading from his feet, as if he was being drowned into a black pool. He glanced around and noticed that their fight had garnered many eyes from the distance.

"Uh-oh…" Saitama muttered. As much as he wanted to see the full extent of Garou's current martial power, he could not afford to endanger the audience any longer.

However, he was suddenly being spun around, Saitama spinning like a top and a wheel, under the motion of a gyroscope that was spinning faster and faster and faster to the point of Saitama being a bit nauseous.

The corruption fused with the power of Erasure and Drain encircled Saitama into a sphere.

[Hundred Thousand Layer Hole]

Then Saitama was trapped inside an energy sphere once more.

[Transfer]

Garou transferred the power he accumulated into the sphere.

[Compression Divider]

Now an even stronger black hole was generated into existence, shocking every except Azazel and his group.

[Dimensional Collapse]

Saitama was within another black hole as the singularity explosion covered the entire planet in cosmic light, forcing every devil to cover their eyes.

Some of the devils above, Roygun Belphegor and Matilda Furfur, were even burned by it, screaming and hissing from the pain.

All of the Evil Spirits instantly vaporized this time. Unfortunately, the stray civilian devils caught by the light instantly perished, charred or vaporized while the rest smoked within the evacuation shelters or within the buildings.

Sirzechs, Azazel, and Ajuka knew that if this battle escalated, not only the Underworld, but almost all of the Devils would perish.

"This world cannot handle this fight anymore! Should we move in to provide support?!" Sirzechs shouted, blocking the light.

"This fight is beyond our control! This Garou fellow is too strong for those like us! We'll only get in Saitama's way!" Ajuka shouted

Saitama immediately climbed out of the black hole same way as before and closed it.

But Garou's palm pressed against his back.

"Return to Oblivion!" Malacoda shouted as Saitama instantly disappeared within the gateway to absolute nothingness.

Saitama shuddered upon being here. It was like being in the darkest, most creepiest place he could not imagine.

It was not something words can describe other than 'I must get out of here at all costs or else I would disappear.' He could not see anything in this void. He could not sense anything. His thoughts were even in danger, disappearing before he could fully register his own mind.

Color does not even exist here. There were no words to describe having absolutely no color. At least black was a color, yet here there is not even a blackness or a whiteness.

Flawed, SERIOUS Copied Technique: Busted Gate of Oblivion

It was extremely hard to pull this incomplete technique off as Saitama continuously punched the void hoping to set it off.

Then he managed to break something.

"Yes!" Saitama cheered as he seriously punched his way through the gate, returning to existence.

Only to see Garou throwing an extremely overcharged fist.

[Serious Strike] + [White Hole Buster]

When there is a black hole, there is always a white hole. After all, the energy generated within a black hole must go somewhere, and Garou had been storing all of that energy consumed by the black hole.

"Right, sorry, but I guess we gotta wrap this up for now."

"...Eh?"

The Demons of Malebranche were caught off-guard yet again.

Garou threw his punch, but Saitama actually used the Water Stream Rock Smashing Fist. One arm was vertical, hooking Garou's white-hole fist, then Saitama, with his other hand, redirected the fist back into Garou's chest.

Saitama had fought against Garou before, and he had seen and experienced the water stream more than enough times to know how to pull off the basics with some of his own hard-style approach.

It was something started to pick up on during his fight against GOD before the creature banished him. He just never bothered to polish his ability because… his might had been more than enough.

All of the energy Garou generated was thrusted back into him instead with a peripeteia, a shocking reversal. An eruption of the purest energy exploded from Garou's back and devoured a good chunk of the planet's surface with cosmic fire.

Crom Cruach sniffed the air.

"...The atmosphere is turning poisonous." Crom Cruach warned as he watched the white hot cosmic fire burn as far as the eye could see behind Garou.

Tiamat and Tannin sniffed the air, widening their eyes.

"This is bad…" Tiamat warned. "If this Garou continues to unleash more of his devastating techniques, he would render this world truly uninhabitable."

Every Devil, Fallen Angel, and Dragon widened their eyes. Azazel's group were even more shocked that a battle could escalate things this far.

Garou kicked Saitama away, seemingly unfazed as he growled. The martial artist then squatted down, planting his fingers into the dry soil.

Saitama instantly recognized that technique. If he fully unleashed it, it would destroy the upper and middle layers of the Underworld. He then also squatted down in return and dug his fingers into the ground.

[Serious Series: Serious Table Flip]

Serious Series: Serious Table Flip

Most of the Underworld's crust was saved. But the area around two the Awakened Gods touched orbit instantly, stone, dirt, powder, everything.

For those above, all they could see was a tide of black rising and submerging them in a strange darkness. They could not avoid the launched debris, most carried by the crust and mantle of the Underworld until they were high enough to see an army of demon jesters surrounding the planet in a bounded field.

Everyone could not see anything else outside the veil of darkness, like they were trapped inside an isolated realm where they could not even see the world at the bottom or the skies above, a strange sense of vertigo that numbs the sense of direction.

However, Serafall was not one of them. She was at the very edge, seeing a circular chasm leading to the Underworld's molten core, the chunk of earth launched into orbit.

And she saw the state of the Underworld.

"No…" Serafall's heart fell when she could see how much of the Underworld was destroyed from orbit.

White cosmic fire blanketed the canvas of the world, many of the lands losing their color, burning scars danced across the verdant fields of the Underworld. It was only a matter of time before their world, their home, transformed itself into a wasteland.

Within the cluster of uprooted stone, dirt, and otherwise, the two beings fought.

They danced, jumping from debris to debris, the light trails they left behind forming a geometric cluster connecting lines between every broken piece of uprooted earth, black and white clashing for supremacy.

Garou and Saitama battled, fists were exchanged, both refusing to stand down.

The Alichino Clones ascended higher to expand the bounded field as the others watched the constantly shifting geometric pattern.

The pattern ended when the two landed, both standing across the giant crater they made while the debris of the world landed around them like rain, the magma of the core bubbling within the abyss.

Garou stood on one half of the fractured Underworld while Saitama stood on the other.

"It seems we are at a stalemate…" Malacoda growled.

They used almost every combination of attacks they could think of that could harm the baldy, the strongest combinations. In manners that would not destroy this world more than what they did.

If that was not enough…

Garou assumed his stance.

Then they needed to do more, more power, more everything.

Garou's power started to rise even higher, his emotions triggering another explosive growth of strength as his aura leaked baleful potent energies from his demonic frame.

"Stop!"

However, a voice called out from a distance.

"Who dares to interrupt our battle!?" Malacoda turned to the voice, seeing Serafall flying towards them, tears streaming down her eyes.

There was a familiar voice calling out to him.

"Stop fighting! Stop, you two! You're destroying our world! Our people are dying! Please, stop!"

Garou could not see the person. Why? Should they not be alone?

No, they should be alone.

The witch pest is triggering our host's awareness! He is regaining his senses. The shock disrupted my hold over him!

There was an annoying voice somewhere.

Garou started to focus on the voice as he squinted in the direction with all of his concentration.

Hold him, Farfarello!

I can't hold him! His power has grown too much! He's too strong!

He rubbed his eyes.

He saw…

"...You?"

Garou blinked.

The blurry wasteland he saw before was replaced… by absolute ruin.

"...Aren't you that girl…?" Garou asked Serafall to her surprise.

His voice was warped, demonic, befitting his current appearance.

The voices in him somewhere remained silent as he tried to recall what had happened.

I can only make sure he's still in a dream. I can't do much more…

Garou looked around.

He looked up at the sky, seeing many people there.

"Ah… there are people."

Garou was still in a daze. However, he did not want to fight Saitama in a world where there were still people descending from the skies.

They were weird, most of them had wings while dragons mingled amongst them.

"I shouldn't fight in a place like this... Damn, the damage I caused."

Saitama blinked as he asked, "Hey, Garou, you there?"

Garou did not hear him this time.

"...I have much to do."

Garou summoned the Spear of Barbariccia.

We cannot disobey…

He is our wielder…

I can't do much more than this.

It doesn't matter, Farfarello. This is not the end for us. There is always another time.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Saitama asked.

There was only one thing left to do. After that, he should apologize to the people here for the trouble.

[A Million Boosts in One] + [Explosion] + [Transfer] + [Spear of Barbariccia: Undo all damages]

Barbariccia had the power to manipulate reality depending on what was written on the spear in the demonic language.

However, it was the first time Barbariccia was used to heal an entire world. Even more so when Garou bestowed Barbariccia a lot more power, obscenely above what was necessary to fulfill his intent.

Garou twirled the spear and stabbed it into the soil of the Underworld.

Everyone above, when they broke out of the spell and saw the Underworld, they witnessed… a miracle in the making.

Destroying a world was one thing that many Gods and supernatural beings can boast of, despite not one world being destroyed by one. In truth, it was all hot air. It was another matter to see someone repairing a world at the brink of collapse as all of the Underworld felt a… sacred power imbued into the world.

The crust of the Underworld trembled as the mighty abyssal chasm that spanned across nearly the entire diameter of the Underworld closed, the land quaking as the sacred power glowed and overwhelmed the firmament, the very stratosphere.

It was not enough. There were people that probably died…

Garou activated another ability.

[Brightness of Supremacy] + [Time Reversal]

"Isn't that…?" Azazel shouldn't be surprised, but the demon god surprised him.

It was something Garou witnessed a certain fool, a selfish fool that terribly went the wrong way by choice, used against him. Garou understood the flow of energy, the power to bend the world to the will of the wielder, a similar power like the Spear of Barbariccia, but more abstract.

A… warm, gentle energy that the Devils, Dragons, Fallen, and otherwise could not describe.

Crom Cruach sniffed the air as mystical light of energy started to fall around them like snow.

"The air… it's detoxifying."

"What is he doing…?" Bedeze Abaddon asked as his hand outstretched, catching one of the 'snowflakes' feeling a warm course of power flowing into him through his palm.

"He's performing a miracle…" Azazel uttered, amazed. Not even his father could do what Garou was doing.

For the landscape, it was as if time was rewinding, buildings vaporized, scorched, or finely triturated rebuilt themselves.

The damage Garou had inflicted onto this world was being undone by his hand.

Saitama was amazed as… verdant life, plants started to bloom around him in waves, the air smelling much fresher as flowers, grass, then forests and new jungles sprouted around the planet, wastelands replaced with life.

New life.

Garou remembered his time with Gabriel.

He recalled her teaching him how she blessed others…

The only catch he did not like was that he needed faith.

He did not need something in return for something like this as he removed the spear, looking at his work.

The world was now renewed, repaired, blessed, in his own image.

The buildings in the Ajuka's territory were now covered in colorful life, vines and leaves and trees covering and blooming from the concrete stone in symbiosis, colorful fruit even dangling from the vines.

Serafall landed on the ground in awe, her feet landing on the supple fresh grass, seeing the wasteland turning into a vibrant meadow of flowers and green.

Those that even died around the Underworld, the innocent, murdered by debris, collateral damage, vaporized by the cosmic energies, they returned to existence one by one, brought back from clutches of Heaven, those harmed during the chaos healed as the devils of the Underworld felt… warm.

Others felt overwhelming joy upon seeing their loved ones brought back to life.

It was something Garou could only do once… why did he know that?

Alichino knew that. It was a taboo to revive the dead by decree of the Gods of the Dead, after all, especially on such a massive scale. It would only be a matter of time before the Gods of the Dead ward the Veil to prevent the souls of Heaven from returning… until Garou decides to break said wards.

"This is… Wow." Serafall had no words to describe what he did.

"Incredible..." Tiamat was shocked to see this level of divine blessing. It was one thing to bless an individual, but to bless an entire world…

He turned the Underworld into something new, something… with the potential to be better.

Saitama took in his surroundings, seeing all of the damage reversed. The world was pristine, lush with vivacious life.

"...Huh. Even after all these years, you know how to be more awesome than I am when it comes to this." Saitama admitted, smiling at Garou's actions.

"...Our host has decided to end the battle." Malacoda's voice spoke from Garou's mouth.

"...Is he awake?" Saitama asked.

"No. More aware, but still dreaming." Malacoda answered otherwise.

"...Tell me something. If you're something like Ddraig… aren't you supposed to at least work with him or something?"

"Yes. But we made a deal with Cao Cao. He offered Garou to us in exchange that we follow his will. We will not go against our word until our host is freed by someone other than us."

"Ah… so it is that kind of promise." Saitama understood. "Then I'll do it for you." Saitama raised his fist.

However, a white mist shrouded Garou. Saitama blinked when Garou was gone with the mist.

"...Georg…" Saitama grimaced, knowing the mage's work as he was already too late to do anything.

The bounded field surrounding the entire Underworld was gone. Everyone landed around Saitama and Serafall.

The dragons inhaled the air.

"The air… it smells good." Tannin commented.

"I feel refreshed breathing it in." An ice dragon commented.

Devils, Fallen Angels, Dragons, and others embraced the air of the revitalized world. There was… life, a newfound surge of vitality that wasn't there before.

Sirzechs and Ajuka approached Saitama.

"...Yo," Saitama greeted.

"...Aren't you aware that you are naked as the day you were born?" Ajuka asked with a wry smile.

Saitama looked down. "...Do you have any clothes?" He asked as he did not even bother to cover himself.

Ajuka and Sirzechs smirked as Azazel joined them.

"That… was one hell of a battle. You were awesome… and ridiculous. You're like the western Loony Toons a little." Azazel snarked. His smile fell when he saw something he did not expect.

"...Your nose is bleeding." Azazel pointed out.

Saitama blinked at the word. He touched his nose. His fingers felt something flowing.

He looked at his fingers, seeing red for the first time.

"...You really have improved over the years." Saitama found himself grinning.

Not that he felt the pain… but he could not remember the last time he bled. It was a refreshing development - a sign of hope that one day, there would be someone that could defeat him.

Now, Saitama's eyes were wide as saucers.

Within Azazel's mansion, within the labs underneath the mansion in the Underworld, they were seeing a cocoon with a translucent membrane with the shadow of someone inside the dark red fluids.

"...What the hell am I looking at?" Saitama asked.

Azazel looked away.

Vali was there.

Rias and Sona were there, worried for Issei.

Yuuto, Tsubasa, Ravel, Koneko, and Akeno were there.

Asia, Irina, and Xenovia were there.

Millicas was away to visit his family back in the Underworld after hearing about their defeat and the hostage situation with a demon known as Alichino.

Tsubasa was worried, looking like she could spring at any moment.

Kiyome was busy working on the cocoon, inspecting it. Kiyome was… different for some reason.

Her hands were covered in a thick shell and were weaving something inside the cocoon.

"...It is Issei."

Saitama stared at the cocoon again.

"...Ise?"

"Yes. Issei. He is currently… recovering inside the cocoon." Azazel answered.

"Recovering? From what?"

"...He lost his eyes. And his ears… plus most of his skin and some muscles." Azazel awkwardly answered. "He was like roast pork. Kiyome had Stjarna make the cocoon on the fly so that he could replace Issei's missing body parts. He will be out in a week or so… Kiyome is taking over Stjarna's role as nurse since his body parts have mostly regenerated. Kiyome is busy stabilizing the connection between Stjarna's DNA with Issei's. so-"

"...What were you doing?"

Everyone flinched when Saitama turned to Azazel, his head creaking into his direction.

Vali sweated when he saw the serious expression on Saitama's face, the very masculine expression of anger.

Then the familiar aura of rage made everyone flinch in the room.

No longer was the casual, goofy father of one, replacing him was a monster holding his fury back on a leash.

"I… I'm sorry." Azazel backed a step on reflex. "I will take full responsibility. We… weren't prepared for what's inside the base."

Saitama seriously stared at Azazel.

"...My son better come back by the end of next week. I cannot stall Haruka for long." Saitama warned.

Azazel smiled weakly.

"Yeah… I'll make sure of that." Azazel sighed.

"...Why not use those healing potion things, though?" Saitama asked.

"Phoenix tears? It is recommended that those that undergone… surgery must wait for at least a month or so before using it. There is risk of cancer or other defects if used too early. The same case goes for healing magic." Azazel explained.

"Ah..." Saitama understood most of it.

"...By the way… how's Earth? Are there still zombies and ghosts around?" Saitama asked.

"From what I heard from the Vatican HQ, yes." Azazel replied with a sigh.

"The other Pantheons are responding accordingly to the rise of undead across the world. Most of them were eradicated but… they then popped back into the fray. Seriously, we should've kept track of how many wicked souls are in Hell."

"Why not send them to Oblivion instead of Hell in the first place?" Saitama asked.

"Well… the concept was Father's invention. Why do you ask?"

"I was sent there. Twice. The guy, Malacoda, said that nothing comes back from there. Well, I did but… Thinking about it, it is not a good idea to keep that many bad people just so they can come back."

Azazel and the others stared at Saitama as they pondered the flaw of having an afterlife where the damned are constantly punished.

"...Um…" Rias raised her hand. "Sorry for interrupting but… what do you mean you've been sent to Oblivion?"

"You seriously should've seen it." Vali interrupted. "My god, the guy Saitama fought. He was awesome! He used literally the best of every skill imaginable! Hell, he could've gone all further! I mean, he used Ddraig's Boost a THOUSAND times in one go. In one go! I didn't know we could do that!"

[You would normally die if you tried.]

Albion reminded.

"Yeah, but that guy survived! And he cranked it up to a million times in the end! That's awesome!"

Everyone sweat-dropped at Vali's antics.

It was the first time Vali was out of character, the way he praised someone else other than fanning the flames of his own ego.

"But shouldn't no one be able to come back from Oblivion?" Irina asked.

"This Baldy did." Azazel smirked. "Garou sent Saitama to Oblivion using a secret technique… Which is supposed to be very forbidden now that I think about it."

"Can someone actually open a direct door to Oblivion normally?" Ravel asked.

"No, you can't connect it with modern magic. It is the literal void. The absolute essence of nothingness." Azazel answered.

"...But Garou did it somehow." Akeno pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. Tell me, what's the place like?" Azazel asked.

Saitama pursed his lips at the question.

"...I cannot put it into words. It's like… well, imagine a place where there is no color. There is absolutely no sound. I can't feel anything, I can't smell… I had a chill that if I stayed there too long I would disappear."

"Like a black empty space?" Koneko asked.

"No. There is no 'black'. Or 'white'. There is absolutely no color. None. I cannot put it into words." Saitama shook his head.

"...How'd you get out?" Tsubasa asked.

"I had to use the same concept of the technique to punch my way back." Saitama sighed. "Honestly, I couldn't come back without it. It is very hard to pull off."

"That would make you the first man to be able to come back from there, then. Honestly… It's quite an accomplishment."

Everyone turned silent for a pause.

"I also heard that this person…" Sona spoke.

"Garou." Saitama answered.

"Garou… defeated my sister instantly. Who is he?"

"Someone I know where I am from, and he is in trouble. Turns out… some other people I know are now making him do bad things." Saitama sighed. "Don't know how to find them though. Georg is such a big pain in the ass…"

"The Hero Faction, right? What kind of people are they to throw themselves to the dark side?" Azazel asked, curious.

"...A bunch of people who wanted to be heroes but went about it the wrong way, from the looks of it." Saitama sighed again. "I didn't think they would turn out like that when I left them… Need to give them a piece of my mind later on."

"What should we do, though?" Vali asked. "They have a guy that can fight against the frickin Baldy. A guy that can destroy the Great Red and Ophis. What can we do against him?"

Everyone paused.

Sona and Rias saw the video recorded by one of the Devils. It was a grand scale battle, the Underworld almost torn into two because of it. Words could not describe the scale of power and destruction… and the miracle that ended the fight, all the damage inflicted onto the world undone, all of the evil spirits erased.

The magicians, evil dragons, and the other living invaders fled through the strange portals in the chaos.

"Good question… might need to work on a way to undo whatever seal he's in. That way, you can defeat him without landing a scratch on him." Azazel muttered as he scratched his head.

"Anyways, since you're good here, how about you head to Earth and help everyone clean up? We can take over from here, and I need to study what Garou did to the Underworld. The atmospheric composition is suffused with a lot of… new divine energies. There are even reports of new flora and fauna as well."

"Meaning...?" Rias asked.

"We're looking at the possibility of new species and life forms popping around the Underworld. Expect new potential familiars and strange plants. Seriously… that is true God tier magic right there." Azazel confessed. "Not even my father can bless an entire world like that. It would kill him to try…"

Everyone remained silent as they imagined what the Underworld would be like now.

There was a knock on the door to the underground lab.

"Yes?"

"It is Amaros. We… have an unexpected visitor."

"At this time? Who is it?"

The door opened.

Everyone was surprised to see Gabriel entering the room with a look of concern.

The holy woman walked up to Saitama with worry decorating her mien.

"...I came as soon as I heard about Garou." Gabriel spoke as she looked at Saitama with worry. "Is he… alright?"

Saitama remained silent.

"He is in a bad place." Saitama admitted. "Somehow, there are people using him against his will."

"Wait, you know that guy?" Azazel quirked an eyebrow.

Gabriel looked down with sadness.

"Yes…"

Vali was confused.

The others were more shocked when they recalled something.

"...No way…" Rias widened her eyes. She suddenly understood as she remembered the archangel's request to Saitama in the household after the Kokabiel Incident. "He is the person you were talking about, isn't he? The one man you fell… the man you fell for?"

Irina, Xenovia, and Asia widened their eyes when they recalled Gabriel's first visit to the Hyoudou household. Asia cupped her mouth with a rosy red, Irina's ears blew steam, while Xenovia felt her face growing the reddest while her composure broke down like a falling house.

Sona, Akeno, Koneko, Yuuto, Azazel, and the others turned to Gabriel. Even Amaros was shocked with confusion as he turned to the strongest most beautiful woman of heaven.

There was a furious red blush on the archangel's cheeks.

Saitama did not expect the 'love' part since he was not there.

Vali, Sona, and Ravel weren't there as well.

"...Yes. I requested Saitama to help him…" She bashfully answered.

"Wait, what? What do you mean?" Vali asked.

"Yes, some of us don't know." Ravel and Sona nodded.

Rias, Irina, and Xenovia whispered in their ears.

Ravel, Vali, and Sona widened their eyes, their eyes almost popping out at Gabriel,

"...Oh my dead God." Vali dropped his jaw. "Of all the men in the world you could've picked, the heroes in the thousands of years since you were born… you fell for the most badass demon god of fucking demon gods. Wow. I never knew you were that kind of woman under all of their maiden innocence. You've completely fooled us all."

Everyone nodded in response.

"W-What?! N-No! I-I mean, he's a human!" Gabriel furiously defended herself to everyone's amusement. "I mean, I did not know he could… transform into that scary form…"

"It's honestly an inherent trait of his at this point." Saitama commented. "You saw the recordings?"

"...Yes." Gabriel admitted. "...He looked… so different. Perhaps terrifying, even. Yet the man I know is still there."

Azazel could not believe it, "You… him… What… HOW?!" he shouted.

Azazel did feel a bit heartbroken seeing the most beautiful woman of heaven falling for… that kind of person. Her taste in men was much sharper than everyone thought.

"Um… it's a long story." She looked away bashfully.

They decided to hound Gabriel later for this, the girls in particular.

"Well, I don't know what to do to find him, though. Georg is an annoying ass. As long as he's around, tracking Garou down would be a total pain. He would just move him like anywhere in the world in a blink."

"I still have a lot of questions, like how in the world the celebrity amongst our kind fell for a mortal… If he is a mortal… but first, what do you know about your… former companions, Saitama?" Azazel asked.

"Met them during a trip overseas. Stayed with them because I thought they were fun. We met when I punched some giant black fur thing in Ireland. Traveled with them a bit, bonded with them… then they took a questionable turn. I left when they started getting political."

"Define 'political'." Azazel asked.

"Humans shouldn't be at the bottom foot or should be at the top or something like that. Don't know what they did after I left, but I am going to give them a piece of my mind. Garou might give them a bigger piece of his mind, though."

They imagined the enraged flaming skull demon god unleashing the wrath of the apocalypse on them for enslaving him.

"Yeah, I can imagine that. But what can they do, specifically, is the question?" Azazel asked.

"Well… Cao Cao told me he had a magic spear made by your God. The one with the angels and all that, True Long-anus or whatever."

They did not know if Saitama mispronounced that on purpose.

"All I know is that it's a magic pointy stick. Siegfried is a swordsman that can grow extra arms. Jeanne is also a swordswoman that can summon more swords. Leonardo can make monsters with his imagination or something. Hercules is an easy-going guy. He has something that blows things up and stuff. Georg… well, he is a magician. He told me he was the descendant of that one guy that made a deal with a devil called Meph - Mefi…? Fuck, I forgot, but yeah."

Everyone sweat-dropped at the baldy's slight amnesia problem.

"He is basically the group's taxi. He can summon a magic mist that can teleport people anywhere. It's extremely convenient, I didn't have to run to Japan every time. Sad to see Georg use it to play keep away, though."

"So they are all Sacred Gear users?" Azazel summarized.

"...Yeah."

"Alright. I can conjecture three of the sacred gears being Longinus Types. Dimension Lost, Annihilation Maker, and the True Spear of Longinus, the weapon that pierced Jesus Christ on the cross." Azazel nodded. "The others are a mystery but I think we'll find out in no time."

"There are more people there… but I kind of forgot about them, honestly." Saitama rubbed his bald head.

"Of course you did." Vali rolled his eyes.

Azazel perked as he summoned a magic circle to his ear.

"Yes, what is it, Baraqiel? What? Of course, send them down. Yes, you are authorized to use teleportation to bring them here."

Azazel spoke through the message spell.

In a moment, a magic circle appeared on the floor.

Everyone blinked when they saw Sirzechs and Ajuka appearing with Baraqiel.

"I apologize. They said they have something urgent to discuss with you." Baraqiel said as Sirzechs turned to Azazel.

"Azazel… is this a good time?" Sirzechs asked.

"Well… what do you need? Is it about taking the soil samples?"

"...How long have you known?"

Azazel remained silent.

"...About the demons?"

Vali and the others were confused.

Baraqiel and Amaros grimaced.

Azazel inhaled deeply and exhaled, closing his eyes as if bracing for this day.

"So you found out…"

Ajuka and Sirzechs remained stoic.

"How much do you know?" Azazel asked.

"Enough to know that Lucifer was once a human that stole the grace of an angel. Why did you keep it from us?"

They did not sound angry, but their tone was demanding, though they furthered the confusion of the others, Saitama included.

"...I am sorry. We did not think you could handle the truth of your origins." Azazel answered.

"And… we are also equally ashamed for our part in their suffering." Gabriel added.

"...Gabriel?" Sirzechs asked the Seraph.

The archangel looked sad.

"She wasn't as involved with the Demons." Azazel answered.

"...Father assigned me to help with the humans. The only parts in violence I had were when I had to smite the truly wicked, including Devils that threatened innocents."

Sirzechs and Ajuka understood.

"...How much damage did our ancestors sow?" Sirzechs asked.

"More than you know. If you even attempt to reach out to them, I'm not sure what they would do to you. For the short version of what they truly are, they were once a peaceful race, natives before the majority of the current sentient races, but when pushed past the limit, they can become monsters more terrifying than dragons…"

Every angel in the room, both fallen and pure, wore a face of regret..

"...What did our ancestors do? What did your kind do?" Sirzechs asked.

"...My Father… he is not from this world. I don't know where he came from, but he was adamant in learning everything. So he decided to invade the Demons and took their land, their wealth… their knowledge. They survived against both assaults from God and Lucifer for a reason, Sirzechs. They… are powerful. Their rage has pushed them to harness heights of power that we did not think was possible at the time."

"...How did they survive?" Ajuka asked.

"Through extreme means." Azazel grimaced.

"My spies told me all of the gruesome details. They grow more powerful from consuming the raw flesh of their victims. It is where the Chimeras got their ability from." Azazel answered. "They had no experience in warfare back then… but they were adaptable. They developed large scale anti-army tactics and turned our own numbers against us while they fed on our dead and grew stronger. Their skills in necromancy… I don't want to tell you how they enslaved both angels and devils to murder their own. Then they took to torturing anyone that dares to attack. Azrael, the archangel of death… once led an invasion with Michael in their new home, more than seven billion angels at their beck and call. Azrael didn't survive… and Michael returned traumatized."

Ajuka and Sirzechs remained stoic, but their hearts were stunned. Hearing about a species surviving against the billions was… not something they expected to hear.

Rias, Sona, and the three angel girls could barely follow the conversation.

"...Are we really cursed?" Ajuka asked. "I tried every method I know to confirm any form of magical alterations. I did not find anything to-"

"The curse techniques of the Ordog tribe." Azazel interrupted. "It's not a normal curse. The curses we know are like a disease or a parasite, something we can remove with the right skill and knowhow. Their curses, when pushed, can fuse with your very essence at such a level that you cannot sense or remove it without losing everything that you are. Their curses can affect causality and Warp reality, the origin of curses is to bend the laws of the world to their malice. They can even curse your very destiny without you knowing it. The only way to undo a curse of that level… is by a member of the Ordog Tribe with equal or greater power than that of Ophibian's. The angels apparently weren't as affected as the devils. God was cursed to suffer a fate worse than death in the end… though he did die."

The Satans were silent. Ajuka and Sirzechs shared a glance.

"What they sealed for you, is access to their true demonic power. You cannot awaken or use their true magics. Weaknesses to holy elements and silver are amplified to lethal levels, just like us to the Cursed and unholy. The only other difference is that your kind is cursed to become Chimera." Azazel continued.

"...Did you know because God tried to undo it and failed?" Ajuka asked.

"Yes. Not even God can undo the curse. Trust me, he went above and beyond to remove it… but failed." Azazel nodded. "And he created the Sacred Gear system… Hah. I even tried to no avail. Kokabiel managed to free himself from the curse via ascension somehow. I theorized that the hold the demons had on us is through our grace, the grace that God used to 'shackle' us."

"Is there a way for us to contact them?" Sirzechs asked.

"Don't you even try." Azazel warned. "The bridges are burned beyond repair, trust me. We are constantly looking out for the demons in their realm in case they decide to return to Gaia. All attempts to spy into their current state are useless. They will kill any one of us on sight if we dare to trespass their territory. I once tried to go to their realm to invite them for the peace conference. Their current Overlord turned us down… He looked calm, but he said that his people still haven't forgotten."

Sirzechs grimaced at the seriousness in Azazel's tone.

"Um…" Rias raised her hand. "I do not entirely follow. I understand that there are Christian Demons in this world from your conversation but…"

"...I will explain later. Hah, it's been… a very stressful and interesting day for us." Sirzechs sighed.

"Yes. You did take a hell of a beating from a demon clown." Azazel grinned.

"A transforming demon clown that can turn into Saitama and multiply 666,666 times." Sirzechs sternly corrected.

"And a member of the Malebranche…" Ajuka interjected. "...The one called Garou is their wielder, isn't he?"

"Yeah." Saitama confirmed.

"They are ridiculous. How did Lucifer and the others come up with them, I have no idea… I don't know how they even made them so powerful in the first place." Sirzechs grimaced. "...On another matter, Saitama. I have something for you."

Sirzechs summoned a package and handed it to Saitama.

Saitama blinked and took it.

"What's inside?" Saitama asked.

"Your reward for a good day's work. Think of it as a tip of sorts." Sirzechs smiled.

"Eh? I didn't do much. Garou fixed everything in the end." Saitama unwrapped the package.

Within the package was what looked like a solid gold bar and a stack of fancy envelopes.

Saitama blinked as he placed the gold bar and envelopes on a nearby table. There was a wax seal on each of them.

"What's this? A check?" Saitama opened an envelope.

"No… they're invitations." Sirzechs smiled weakly. "Your performance attracted a lot of attention from the Devils now. They're offering you to join a Peerage if you're interested."

Saitama blinked as he looked through the envelopes, opening them one by one as he skimmed through each paper.

"...Huh. Not interested." Saitama replied as he simply dropped the papers on a nearby table.

"...Wait, what's this one?" Saitama saw something that looked like a bill, only in a different language.

"...The bill for the damages." Sirzechs smirked.

"...Huh?" Saitama turned to Sirzechs.

"Some of the nobles are complaining about the outcome that left their homes in… a tattered state. And overrun with 'weeds and vermin'." Sirzechs informed.

Saitama frowned, his face no longer amused.

"Can I just… threaten them or something?" Saitama asked.

"Er, we will have to check… I will see what I can do. Back to the matter at hand, what are our plans now, Azazel? We cannot handle another battle of this scale anymore," Sirzechs asked.

"I know. We will need some god-tier magic to contain the damage from this point on. But right now, we must be ready for our enemies' next move," Azazel sternly answered. "All we can do is wait and clean up the undead mess they left behind and hope they don't have any more surprises for us."

Cao Cao and the others were in their secret hideout in America, under a warehouse in the brink of night.

They were staring at a sword laid on a metal table.

It was the sword Garou forged during his battle with Saitama, a spoil of the battle.

It was a sword of cosmic metal, the colors constantly glimmering through the flat surfaces, the edges black as night, the jian sword of the heavenly demon.

Leonardo had to stand on a stool since he was too short.

"...Do you want to wield it?" Cao Cao asked Jeanne.

They took this sword from Garou. The skull demon god let it go, but the Malebranche warned them that it was powerful.

However, it was also a good time to train themselves.

What better way to test their worth than to conquer a sword that could bleed Ophis and the Great Red, according to Malacoda?

"I'm tempted, but I prefer rapiers and sabers." Jeanne admitted.

"Still want to try? You can gloat over Siegfried if you wield it."

"Hey." Siegfried frowned a little.

Jeanne giggled at his attempt at humor.

"Shouldn't we scan the sword first?" Georg asked.

"It is smart… but it would spoil the fun." Cao Cao confessed.

"It is a sword made by Garou to bleed Saitama. And we know how ridiculously invulnerable Saitama is." Georg retorted.

It was the first time they saw a grand battle that rivaled the end times written in the book of revelations, armageddon made manifest through the battle of two beings that made the Gods they know look like children playing with powers wasted on them.

"Alright, fine. Just tell us if it's safe to try it out. Don't spoil it." Cao Cao bargained.

"Good enough."

George raised his hands over the sword. Magical circles of various systems layered over the weapon forged through transcendent means.

"Okay… the aura signature is perfectly identical to Garou…" Georg blinked. "Wow… if I am correct, this sword can do whatever Garou could do. A reflection of him in the form of a blade."

Cao Cao, Leonardo, Hercules, Jeanne, and Siegfried stared at Georg.

"...How do you know that?" Jeanne asked.

"Trust me, I'm a magic expert. Plus, this is all conjecture. I mean, Garou did fuse the sword with a perfect duplicate of himself." Georg explained.

Cao Cao whistled.

"But a sword this powerful should not be that easy to wield… right?" Jeanne asked unsure.

"True. Who wants to go-"

BOOM!

Lightning blinded their eyes, the room flashing white in a swift second.

Everyone blinked the whiteness out of their vision.

They smelled something burning. Georg looked slightly cooked, his glasses dangling to the side. His white hair was now an afro, sparks dancing across his follicles.

Georg coughed before he collapsed.

"...Georg?" Cao Cao immediately knelt and placed a finger on Georg's neck.

"Is he alive?" Jeanne tilted, peeking at the unconscious mage.

"He's breathing… though…"

Everyone looked back at the sword.

For some reason, they had an eerie conjecture that the sword struck the mage for some reason.

Siegfried reached out and grabbed the blade's mineral hilt.

"Uhhhh, I don't think that is a good idea." Hercules voiced his concern.

"I've dominated four legendary cursed swords. If there is a time for me to prove my worth, then let me be the Arthur Pendragon to this excalibur." Siegfried inhaled and focused his will into the sword, linking himself to the aura of the cosmic blade.

[...You attempted to kill children.]

Everyone froze when a demonic voice spoke from the sword.

[Ah, I know you… one of those who hold my true owner's leash. You took his freedom. Now, I take from you.]

Siegfried swung his arm, but his fingers did not let go of the blade. Then the sword plunged into Siegfried's chest to everyone's horror.

Siegfried cried out in pain.

"It's… tearing something out from me!" Siegfried cried as he tried to resist, but the sword was too strong.

Cao Cao immediately summoned the Holy Spear and raised it high.

"Clench your teeth!" Cao Cao shouted as he swung at Siegfried's sword arm, but the spear froze in place. Everyone stared at the holy spear then at Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was not moving. No, his eyes were moving. He blinked as his eyes rolled around in confusion. He was stuck, as if he was frozen in time.

[Too late. Ahahahahahahaha!]

The sword started to laugh before it yanked itself out of Siegfried, extracting a loud scream out of the swordsman as it took something out of him.

Everyone stared at the gauntlet held at the tip of the sword.

"...Isn't that Twice Critical?" Jeanne asked as the gauntlet turned into an orb of light before it sunk into the sword.

[This does not cover your debt.]

The sword demonically warned before Siegfried finally felt control of his arm again.

Siegfried immediately threw the sword to the ground, the blade piercing the concrete floor with ease, now standing diagonally.

Siegfried panted as he looked at himself and patted his chest.

"...There's no wound." Siegfried felt something missing in him. "No… no no no no no. That's impossible."

Siegfried called out his sacred gear. There was no response. He closed his eyes to feel for Twice Critical.

Cao Cao wheezed as he could move again, whatever force that froze him gone.

"S-Sieg! Are you alright?!" Cao Cao asked.

"...I… I can't call out my Sacred Gear." Siegfried uttered with dread and disbelief.

They couldn't believe it.

Everyone knew that extraction of a Sacred Gear meant death to the former wielder.

"...How are you alive?" Jeanne asked.

"I… I don't know." Siegfried shook his head.

"...Then that means…" Hercules, Jeanne, Leonardo, Cao Cao, and Siegfried turned to the sword.

"...Shit." Cao Cao cussed.

Everyone stared at the sword with newfound fear.

"...If you're listening to me, return Twice Critical now or…" Cao Cao warned the sword as he aimed his spear at it.

[Ahahahahahahahahahaha.]

The sword laughed with ridicule and confidence.

[Or what? If you want it back, free my maker. You complicitly took his freedom. Why should I listen to you? Try to destroy me if you dare.]

Everyone grimaced as they prepared themselves for combat. Sweat poured out of their pores as they readied their weapons, Siegfried summoning Balmung with trepidation.

"...What will it take for you to return Twice Critical?" Cao Cao asked.

[Is there a reason why I should listen to slavers?]

Cao Cao had a hunch that the Malebranche knew this would happen.

Even so… they did not expect a sword with that level of individuality to exist. Or with the power to take Sacred Gears as well.

"Yeah… I get it. But still."

[Then try and take it from me. Prove your worth.]

Everyone exchanged glances with each other. The sword was too powerful and aware. There wasn't a sword in recorded history that could strike back and toy with the living like this.

They do not know if they should try and hold it after what they saw with Siegfried.

And now they were negotiating with a living talking sword.

Siegfried inhaled as he walked towards the sword and grabbed the hilt.

"H-Hey." Jeanne called out as Siegfried took the sword's mineral hilt and yanked it from the floor.

"...You said that my debt hasn't been paid yet?" Siegfried asked.

The sword remained silent as Siegfried swung it a few times.

[Do you think you can truly wield me, false hero?]

The sword then cackled as Siegfried grimaced.

"...I see. Then I shall be your holder until then. It's not like you have anything better to do."

[There is. Freeing my maker.]

Siegfried froze at the sword's words.

Then the sword started bashing Siegfried's jaw and then his nose.

Siegfried cursed aloud as he held back his dominated arm, but lightning zapped the swordsman, frying him as his hair went statically afro.

Siegfried coughed before the sword swung down, firing a blast of aura that shattered the floor as Siegfried fell.

"...Oh, crap." Cao Cao and the others immediately jumped into the crumbled hole in the floor.

The sword, using Siegfried's arm as its puppet, continued to destroy the floors underneath until they landed away from the circle of meditating Malebranche demons, Garou standing in the center.

Siegfried landed on his head unceremoniously before he was forced up by the sword, the weapon pulling the body towards Garou.

"Dogpile it!"

Cao Cao shouted as he, Leonardo, Hercules, and Jeanne bodypiled the sword one by one, stopping its advance.

[My creator.]

The Malebranche stirred.

"Ahahahahahaha. Look at them go!" Alichino commented as they all turned to the aspiring heroes, watching them all waging a tug of war against the unnamed cosmic jian.

"Don't… Just… sit there! Help us!" Cao Cao shouted at the demons.

"What? You did say you want to 'pull your weight', in modern terms?" Libicocco cheshirely teased.

"Not… the point!" Cao Cao really didn't like them when they were like this, but at least they weren't planning to murder them behind their backs.

Everyone was pulling against the sword's direction, except Leonardo since he was too short.

Then Leonardo created the herculean cyclops with Annihilation Maker, the constructs moving in to help his friends.

The sword then turned to the creatures and fired a laser at each of them, destroying them one by one before Leoardo jumped and ran as the sword shot at him until the boy ran towards the stairs.

[Ahahahahahaha! Fools! I was made to bleed a true god! The truly lower castes have no right to wield me!]

Then the sword started dragging everyone towards Garou.

"O… bey… me!" Siegfried exerted all of the will he could muster over the sword.

To Cao Cao's surprise, Siegfried stopped sliding as Siegfried breathed in and out with heavy intakes of air.

"I… am Siegfried Sellzen! I am the descendant of the legendary dragonslayer!" He grit his teeth as he attempted to seal off the personality within the blade.

"I have conquered four demon swords! I refuse… to be wielded by-"

The sword's hilt struck his jaw.

"OW?!" Siegfried held his jaw.

The sword then grew two cosmic arms and grabbed Siegfried by the hair, pulling it up as the sword started punching him in the face repeatedly to the dumbfoundment of his friends.

"Hahahahahahahaha." Malacoda laughed. "I like it's…style. That is the correct word, yes?"

"Help-ack! Me!" Siegfried demanded as the sword continued punching him.

The others weren't sure if they should intervene. They've never dealt with a sword like this and, at this point, they might lose a limb or two if they continue.

Or a chunk of their dignity.

The rest of the demons started laughing one by one, each with amusement in their throat.

"Why should we? The sword is yours. Claim it and wield our host's power for yourself." Barbariccia snarked with sophism.

"Hihihihihihi. What do you offer if we do stop it?" Farfarello asked.

"Really-Ack?! Now!?" Siegfried shouted at them as he was uppercutted.

"Uhhhh, what do you want?" Jeanne asked.

"Freedom of our host?" Malacoda offered.

They all shook their heads instantly, even Siegfried whose face was black and blue with sores. They've a terrible image of what Garou would do to them once he was free.

"Let us the freedom to travel. We like to experience the world outside." Malacoda bargained. "It can be… boring staying in the warehouse all day. It is no better than being sealed in statues."

"That's negotiable! Alright, do it!" Cao Cao shouted.

Farfarello reached out with his imp hand.

The sword then started to scream out, roaring.

"Give up. You are powerful, but your mind is still fresh!" Farfarello cackled as he clenched his hand.

The sword then dangled in Siegfried's hand.

Siegfried collapsed to his knees, panting as he lost strength in his legs, the others falling on their butts with a sigh of relief. Leonardo poked his head out of the stairs.

"...Are you entertained?" Cao Cao asked, heaving with mental exhaustion. "And you knew this would happen, didn't you?"

"Of course. You wanted to conquer challenges as heroes, correct?" Farfarello cackled.

"Ooooo hooo hooo. The sword is a separate entity birthed by Garou's power as a byproduct. By the way, the sword is now dormant." Alichino pointed at the sword made of cosmic dust. "The sharp edge is yours, but its true powers will elude you. If you want to extract it, well, figure it out yourself. True heroes can overcome any challenges no matter what."

Siegfried grimaced at the demon jester's words.

"...That's within my power."

He looked at the sword that took his Twice Critical.

His power was taken… and now he must take it back with interest.

Garou Ex Machina, baby! Yeah!

Regarding Saitama's bleeding nose... Remember that it was his very own fist that hit him.

Looking at the chapter title... I think there is an OST for Fate Zero with a similar name. Look it up. ;)

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