New York, above Manhattan. The scene looked like the end of the world.
Millions upon millions of tiny flying robots had gathered together, forming a massive "Steel Hive" that constantly shifted shape. In an instant, they could merge into gigantic mechanical arms to smash buildings. They could become energy shields to block attacks. They could even mimic parts of certain superheroes' abilities—firing energy beams or moving at extreme speed.
Tony Stark's latest Iron Man armor was fighting for its life inside the swarm. His repulsors and micro-missiles could wipe out robots by the hundreds, but the hive's numbers seemed endless, and its learning and adaptation were terrifying. One mistake—and the swarm instantly broke apart and reassembled like a tide, swallowing Tony whole. With a metal-on-metal grinding noise that made people's teeth ache, the outer components of his armor were rapidly dismantled and stripped away, falling as scattered fragments.
"JARVIS! Damage report!" Tony burst out from the partially collapsed swarm, looking battered. Multiple sections of his suit were sparking.
"External armor down 37%. Weapons systems efficiency reduced by 60%, sir. They are imitating your attack patterns and countering them."
Tony looked up—and saw the swarm condensing into an steel dragon right in front of him. Its scales were distinct, its eyes glowing with a dangerous red light. Its jaws opened, and a high-energy reaction began to build inside its mouth.
"Damn it…" Tony tried to evade, but with his suit damaged, he was just a bit too slow.
At that moment, a yellow figure appeared atop a nearby skyscraper.
Saitama.
He was still wearing his iconic yellow suit and white cape—though the cape flapped awkwardly in the violent wind. He glanced at the sky-darkening swarm, then at the steel dragon taking shape, and his expression didn't change much.
When a massive mechanical arm formed by the swarm slammed down toward the rooftop where Saitama stood, Saitama simply swung his fists left and right, throwing punch after punch.
The movements looked plain. He didn't even seem to touch a single robot.
But every time he threw a punch, the air in front of him warped violently—forming invisible, destructive shockwaves!
Boom boom boom boom—!
Wherever the punching wind passed, hundreds upon hundreds of micro-robots were struck like they'd been hit by an unseen sledgehammer, instantly pulverized into dust. They burst apart into a sky full of glittering metallic particles. Saitama stood at the edge of the rooftop, punching again and again, smashing apart every approaching hive-formation—clearing out patches of brief vacuum-like emptiness in the swarm.
The hive finally seemed to realize how terrifying this new threat was. It abandoned its attack on Iron Man. All units converged at high speed—the steel dragon fully formed, letting out a silent roar as it dove down toward Saitama with an overwhelming, crushing presence! Its mouth opened wide, and inside was a highly compressed energy core.
Saitama watched the incoming giant dragon. He bent his knees slightly—then kicked off hard and leapt up! The concrete rooftop cratered under his feet. He shot upward against the dragon's diving momentum, charging straight into the gaping jaws.
At the instant he met the dragon's head, Saitama threw a simple, direct punch—driving it through the densest part of the energy core!
Bang!
There was no explosion—only the crisp crack of the core program chip being shattered by absolute force.
The entire steel dragon collapsed as if its skeleton had been yanked out. It disintegrated instantly, reverting into countless powerless micro-robot parts. Like a dense meteor shower glittering with metallic light, they rained down from the sky.
(End of Chapter)
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