On the surface, Saitama, Flashy Flash, and Garou arrived at the edge of the Sacrifice Light.
Staring at the colossal pillar of light that completely covered the hole created by Tatsumaki, Saitama reached out curiously, intent on touching it. "What is this thing?"
"Hey! Don't just go touching things with your hands, you idiot!" Flashy Flash swatted Saitama's restless hand away, lecturing him, "Didn't you learn anything at Hero's Starting Ground? You can't just go putting your hands on eerie stuff like this to test it."
"I never went there for classes," Saitama muttered, though he did refrain from reaching out again.
"Hmph. No wonder your basics are so poor." Flashy Flash patted his shoulder and said, "Fine, I'll give you a lesson right here. Your physical stats are excellent, but your technique is a mess. If you become my disciple, you might actually surpass me and become the strongest hero."
"But didn't I almost beat you earlier?"
"Shut up! That was because my weapon was broken!" Flashy Flash snapped irritably. "Do you know how many people beg to be my disciple? I've rejected them all. You're the first one to earn my recognition, so cherish this opportunity, got it?"
"Not really. It sounds like a huge pain," Saitama rejected him once again.
"You brat! You're learning whether you want to or not! Don't let your talent go to waste."
With that, Flashy Flash ignored Saitama's look of disgust and continued to drone on. "In a situation like this in the field, it's best to first use a rock to test if it's corrosive. If you can find a small animal, that's even better..."
"Um, it looks like he already touched it with his hand," Saitama interrupted, pointing toward Garou.
"What?! That bastard!" Flashy Flash spun around only to see Garou patting the light pillar, his palms making a rhythmic thud-thud sound.
Flashy Flash felt like Garou's hand was slapping his own face. Fuming, he said loudly on purpose, "Letting another moron try it out first is also a good choice; it's easier to avoid risks that way."
Garou's expression was grim as he ignored Flashy Flash's provocation. He sensed a massive amount of energy emanating from the pillar before him.
This energy gave him an incredibly ominous feeling.
His eyes narrowed. Without a word, following his internal survival instinct, Garou directly unleashed a Monster-Slaying God-Killer Fist.
A violent shockwave of air followed his fist into the light pillar. A series of cracking sounds rang out as a large gap instantly appeared in the pillar.
However, the gap was repaired almost immediately.
"It can actually block my fist? Interesting." Garou's excitement surged. Treating the pillar like a punching bag, he began relentlessly hammering it with his Monster-Slaying God-Killer Fist.
"Huh?" Saitama said curiously. "Did he find something? Maybe we should go help him out?"
"Don't be in such a hurry." Flashy Flash stopped Saitama. "When encountering an unknown entity like this, we must observe patiently. We cannot act blindly. Garou is just fooling around; let him scout the path for us."
"Oh," Saitama responded flatly.
For him, if there was an option to solve a problem without having to move a muscle personally, that was obviously the best choice.
After a while, a bored Saitama couldn't help but yawn. "It's been a while. It should be fine now, right?"
Garou was still vigorously pounding the light pillar, looking like a robot that never tired.
"Hmm. Based on the current situation, the light pillar itself isn't hazardous. Therefore, it must serve some other function," Flashy Flash said, rubbing his chin. "Our priority is to discover its purpose and then apply the right remedy. As for using brute force to destroy it, heh, we'll leave that to the barbarian."
"Mm, sounds like you might have a point." Saitama nodded half-heartedly. "So, what do we do next?"
"Simple. We wait!" Flashy Flash said with full confidence. "We keep waiting until a variable appears."
"Huh? We're still waiting?" Saitama was losing his patience.
"Of course. Waiting for the right moment is a compulsory lesson for every ninja."
"But I'm a hero, not a ninja."
"Stop talking. All paths lead to the same destination."
"Sigh." Saitama let out a long breath, feeling mentally exhausted. He just wanted to go back and have a nice meal.
At that moment, the earth trembled violently once again.
Flashy Flash's eyes lit up. "The variable is coming!"
"Isn't it just an earthquake?" Saitama yawned again, uninterested.
"No, this is different from a normal earthquake." Flashy Flash said excitedly, "There's a vibration with a completely different frequency mixed in. This is a man-made earthquake!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the magnitude of the tremor increased several times over. The ground near the light pillar collapsed abruptly, the destruction spreading toward Saitama.
Garou frowned, leaping nimbly across the debris to escape the danger zone.
Saitama and Flashy Flash moved simultaneously, retreating to a safe distance.
Once several kilometers of ground had splintered apart, a pitch-black, giant arm reached out from the cracked earth. In the blink of an eye, it extended high into the air, blotting out the sun and casting a heavy shadow over the trio.
"What on earth is that?!" Looking at the arm that seemed to cover the sky, Flashy Flash felt his scalp go numb. "If the arm is this big, how terrifying must the main body be?"
"Is this the opportunity we were waiting for?" Saitama looked up at the sky, his expression becoming incredibly serious.
"Yes." Flashy Flash nodded. "It clearly isn't anything good. We'll strike first. While its whole body hasn't emerged yet, we'll cut off that arm!"
With that, Flashy Flash accelerated, darting forward like a bolt of lightning.
Even faster than him was Garou, who had already set off. "That's right... it's that guy!"
"Hey, wait for me!" Saitama followed behind, running with a look of focus.
BOOM!
The giant arm bent downward, its palm slamming heavily into the ground. A massive hurricane of dust and debris erupted, forcing Flashy Flash and Garou to a halt.
Simultaneously, a second arm broke through the earth and emerged.
No, we can't delay any longer! Flashy Flash gritted his teeth and launched several Flashy Kicks, cutting through the storm as he charged ahead.
Garou used a similar method, reaching the arm at the same time as Flashy Flash.
Up close, the two arms were like iron Great Walls looming before them, even more breathtakingly massive.
But they had no time to be awestruck; a bizarre, horrifying head had already begun to push out of the ground.
"Flashy Kick!"
"Monster-Slaying God-Killer Fist!"
The two unleashed their current strongest moves simultaneously, aiming for the arm's elbow joint.
THUD!
The force, capable of easily leveling a mountain, poured into the arm but felt like a feather falling into a mire. There was no feedback; it was as if the impact had vanished into thin air.
"A strange sensation."
Neither Garou nor Flashy Flash were ones to give up easily. Seeing that a single strike had no effect, they pressed forward again, their fists moving like phantoms.
Yet their attacks did nothing. The giant's head had fully emerged from the ground, its eyeless face radiating an eerie aura.
It didn't seem to notice Garou or Flashy Flash at all. Propping its hands against the ground, it struggled to pull itself out of the depths.
Just then, a roar came from the sky: "Get back underground!"
The Beast Emperor descended from above, his hands clenched like heavy hammers. The phantom behind him was more solid than before, a lion-man that shared his likeness.
The phantom of the Beast Emperor, as large as the giant's fingers, slammed into the giant's head with a world-shaking crash.
However, the giant's head didn't budge. It did seem to sense the Beast Emperor's presence, briefly lifting its head before lowering it again to continue its climb.
Another section of its upper body emerged.
"Tch, it didn't work?" Looking at the scalp beneath his fist, which remained as smooth as ever, the Beast Emperor couldn't suppress a flicker of frustration.
"Then try this move on for size!" As a battle-hardened warrior, the Beast Emperor quickly regained his composure. He pulled his hands back and unleashed the ultimate technique he had used earlier: "Sundered Heaven!"
Space splintered again. Black ripples crashed into the giant's scalp, erupting into brilliant red sparks.
"It's working!" The Beast Emperor's spirits lifted, and he continued to spam the move.
Seemingly due to the pain, the giant finally reacted. It threw its head back and let out a long howl. The resulting soundwaves turned into physical force, warping space and blowing the Beast Emperor, as well as the nearby Flashy Flash and Garou, far away.
The two caught in the crossfire each coughed up a mouthful of blood as their bodies were flung uncontrollably through the air.
After flying over a hundred meters, they were caught by the arriving Saitama.
"Whoa, are you two okay?"
"I'm fine." Flashy Flash struggled to stand.
Garou said nothing, but after being injured, his aura became even sharper and more powerful.
"You say you're fine, but your faces are covered in blood," Saitama said. "You guys should rest for a bit."
"Quiet! The enemy hasn't fallen; how can I rest?" Flashy Flash staggered forward, only to be given a light push by Garou, sending him back down.
"I don't need you. I can handle it myself!" With that, Garou ran off without looking back, his speed reaching a new peak.
His body had long ago been verified by Aomori; any attack that didn't kill him would only make him stronger.
"Dammit! How is that guy perfectly fine?" Flashy Flash said indignantly.
"You can't compare one person's physique to another's. Stop trying to be a tough guy." Saitama picked up Flashy Flash and carried him away.
The giant's roar had similarly wounded the Beast Emperor, sending him tumbling through the air until his arm was caught by the suddenly appearing Aomori, preventing further injury from the fall.
"Aren't you supposed to be strong? I was only gone for less than a minute, and you're already in such a sorry state?" Aomori teased while flying further up.
"It's you?" The Beast Emperor looked at Aomori's profile and said, "God's physical body is the hardest substance I've ever encountered. Even my space-rending moves only leave a tiny scratch. You'll have even less luck. Perhaps only Blast, with his control over spatial power, can deal effective damage."
"We only need to delay it. There's no need to destroy it entirely, right?"
"True, but if our attacks don't pose a threat, how can we delay it? It can just ignore us. Besides, it probably lacks consciousness; it's acting solely on its attraction to the soul. For it, reuniting with the soul is its only goal."
"Don't worry, I have a trick up my sleeve," Aomori said with a smile. "Just watch from the sidelines."
He released the Beast Emperor's arm and vanished, reappearing directly above the head of God's physical body.
Aomori actually had a few options.
The first was to exploit the body's lack of a soul by injecting his own soul. He might be able to seize control of the body, but the risk was too high to consider for now.
The second was to use the Hobby-Hobby Fruit ability to shrink it and erase its existence. This might sever its connection to the soul, making it an independent entity.
This method had lower risk, so it became Aomori's first choice.
"Sora, give me some power." He pulled the 13 Totem Pole from his system inventory. Holding it in its staff form, he slammed it downward. "Hobby-Hobby Fruit, Maximum Output!"
BANG!
Where the staff met the scalp, a massive amount of red lightning erupted. Aomori clearly saw a layer of red light appear on the surface of the body, surging from all parts of the giant to resist the power of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit.
"As expected, it won't be that simple." Sensing Sora's suppressed groan of pain, Aomori sighed and lifted the 13 Totem Pole.
Once contact was broken, the red lightning vanished.
After a careful inspection, he saw no obvious damage to the staff and let out a sigh of relief.
At the same time, the physical body of God let out another long howl. Having prepared himself, Aomori vanished.
The giant lifted its head and stared at the 13 Totem Pole in Aomori's hand. A voice like rolling thunder drifted into Aomori's ears: "La... ws..."
"Rules?" Aomori thought thoughtfully, guessing: Is the power of the Hobby-Hobby Fruit a type of Rule? And is that layer of red light on God's body also a manifestation of Rules? That's why it's so terrifyingly strong and can tank so many attacks. That's why it can resist the Hobby-Hobby Fruit and avoid being turned into a toy.
His intuition told him this was the truth.
But the question remained: how to break through this layer of Rules?
Aomori thought for a moment and decided to play his trump card.
He flashed to Saitama's side. Glancing at the heavily injured Flashy Flash, he grabbed both of them and flashed back to the position directly above God's physical body.
By now, the giant's body had almost completely emerged onto the surface, revealing its full form to everyone.
"No time to explain! Saitama, go! Use your full-power strike!" Aomori grabbed Saitama's arm and threw him toward God's physical body below.
"Wha—?!!" Saitama looked bewildered. "I don't really get what's going on, but I just have to punch it really hard, right?"
As the dark shadow in his vision grew larger, Saitama's expression became serious. He clenched his fist and, using every ounce of his strength, slammed it into the cheek of God's physical body.
BOOM!
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NOTE: This fic has been completely translated. If you want to read the whole story head over to my p-atre-on: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]