"Again?"
Although Garou didn't quite understand, just as he'd said earlier, since it was Zuke's request, he'd comply.
He closed his eyes and began praying to the black cube in his mind—his wish was actually quite simple: he wanted to become stronger.
He'd already stopped obsessing over becoming stronger than Zuke, but he felt he should at least be stronger than those Saiyans on Planet Sadala, right?
The next moment, Garou's prayer indeed received a response—the voice of "God" rang out once more, its sinister tone echoing in the ears of all three people in the room:
"What you desire is too vague."
Garou froze for a moment. Judging by the sound, this voice should be the true identity of this black cube—meaning the owner of this voice could provide him with power?
But it said "what you desire is too vague," which left Garou somewhat confused. Was wanting to obtain power really that hard to understand?
"When you were praying for power, did you think of something else?"
Sayomaru could also hear "God's" voice, so it asked Garou.
Garou finally understood what "God" meant—it was probably because when he prayed, he hoped to gain power stronger than the Saiyans on Planet Sadala.
But for "God," it didn't understand what Planet Sadala was, nor did it know what race the Saiyans were, which is why it said Garou's request was too vague.
Thinking of this, an expression of disdain involuntarily appeared on Garou's face.
He hadn't held much hope for this so-called "God" to begin with, and now that this guy didn't even know what Saiyans were, he had even less faith in it.
After all, didn't this prove that this so-called "God's" vision was just so-so? It didn't even know about the existence of other worlds.
After losing hope in "God," Garou's prayer became casual—as long as he could get a bit stronger, any amount would do.
He thought such a prayer should get some response, but the next moment, "God's" voice made his brow twitch:
"You are located in an evil place that opposes God... I cannot grant you power."
Hearing this, Zuke's expression became thoughtful—in the original work, the "Centisennin" revived by "God" also spoke of "eliminating the evil fist that opposes God" when it appeared.
In the original work, that "evil fist that opposes God" should have referred to Saitama. Unexpectedly this time, Zuke himself was also identified by "God" as one who opposes God?
Come to think of it, previously Zuke had let Psykos freeload a wave of "God's" power, and "God" still hadn't been able to reclaim the power from Psykos's body.
"God" wasn't some unconscious machine—it obviously had its own thinking ability. Under these circumstances, if it still stupidly granted Garou power, that really would be foolish.
"This guy is quite cautious."
Zuke said with a laugh to Garou.
"Then Garou, go pray outside Monster Association Headquarters and see what power this 'God' can give you."
Before long, Garou stood in the ruins outside Monster Association Headquarters, holding the black cube Zuke had given him, an expression of displeasure on his face.
However, since it was Zuke's request, Garou still complied—now that he'd already come outside Monster Association Headquarters, he prayed once more to the black cube in his hand.
"It's fine now, right? I need stronger power. Hurry up and give it to me."
Although he couldn't hear "God's" voice, Garou felt as if "God" was also somewhat speechless.
However, since Garou was already outside Monster Association, it meant that even if Garou obtained power now, it could reclaim his power at any time.
Moreover, if Garou showed even the slightest intention of escaping back into Monster Association Headquarters, "God" could preemptively extract his power and life before he entered Monster Association Headquarters.
So this time "God" didn't say much more, and directly granted Garou "divine power"—it didn't even need to contact him in an illusion.
The next instant, terrifying power was injected into Garou's body. Intense pain instantly spread throughout Garou's entire body, every cell madly wailing.
"Ghh...!"
Garou bent over somewhat painfully, groaning uncomfortably from his mouth, faint light flickering back and forth within his body.
Just as Garou hunched over in agony, Zuke also walked out from the entrance of Monster Association Headquarters and came to the clearing of ruins where Garou was located.
He watched as Garou's body began to undergo a transformation—not only was new power involved, even Garou's original abilities were resonating and fusing with it.
In the original work, after Garou accepted "divine power" and awakened "Cosmic Fear Mode," he successfully integrated all the techniques he'd previously seen, transforming them into his own techniques.
This time, Garou hadn't only learned techniques from One Punch Man, he'd also learned the Turtle School.
Although this Garou hadn't transformed into a monster like in the original before directly receiving "God's" power, perhaps his strength would be even greater than Starry Sky Garou from the original work.
Soon, under Zuke's gaze, Garou's agonized groans gradually faded, and his trembling body calmed down as he knelt there half-kneeling on the ground.
"How do you feel, Garou?"
Zuke narrowed his eyes, looking at the motionless Garou. He could faintly sense that Garou's "ki" had undergone another massive change.
"I... feel very good, better than I've ever felt before."
Garou answered Zuke's question while slowly standing up, then turned to look at Zuke.
His face no longer bore those somewhat fierce features, but instead resembled a starry sky, filled with the radiance of stars and galaxies.
This was Garou's "Cosmic Fear Mode."
A very chuunibyou name, and also precisely one of Zuke's special mission world objectives this time.
"Master, there's a voice in my body telling me that I've become very strong now, that even you... might not be without a chance to fight."
Garou slowly raised his hand, that starry sky-like face looking directly at Zuke, then speaking in a somewhat eerie tone.
"This should be 'God's' words, right? It wants me to take you down."
"So, what's your decision...?"
Zuke's face bore a calm smile as he looked at Garou, waiting for his answer.
To be continued…