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"Comicman! You're not getting away this time!"
A guy in a sleeveless vest jumped out from the crowd, yelling at Ethan.
"Oh, it's you," Ethan said, sounding almost bored.
"That's right—it's me! I'm B-Class hero Vest Black Hole! You sneaky bastard—only got your ranking because you're clinging to S-Class hero Genos! I've seen through your act completely!"
Vest Black Hole's voice carried loud and clear, echoing down the street. He made sure to project it so half the block could hear him. Within moments, curious bystanders gathered around, whispering and glancing between the two heroes.
Seeing the crowd, Vest Black Hole smirked triumphantly.
"The one who destroyed this town—it's you, isn't it?! Unbelievable! Look around you, at this disaster! Doesn't it bother you at all? Or are you just smug, thinking you're some kind of savior because you 'helped' the people who live here? Is that why you're out here, walking around like you own the place?"
"So many people lost their homes and jobs because of your failure! If you couldn't handle it, you should've just let other heroes deal with it from the start! You call yourself a hero? What a joke—"
Splat!
A rotten tomato exploded across his face. Then came an egg, dripping down his cheek.
Ethan blinked, expression shifting as he raised a hand to wipe his face—
"Hey! What the hell are you people doing? Comicman's over there! You're throwing at the wrong guy!" Vest Black Hole sputtered, covered in food waste.
"You're the jerk here!" someone in the crowd shouted back. "How dare you talk like that about Comicman!"
"Yeah! That's too much! He's worked harder than anyone!"
"Exactly! When that meteor came down, most of the heroes ran away! It was only Comicman and a few others who stayed to protect this town, even risking their lives!"
"You went too far!"
"How dare you slander our Comicman!"
"Apologize to him, you piece of trash!"
More and more tomatoes and eggs flew through the air, until Vest Black Hole was completely drenched and filthy from head to toe.
The irony? After the meteor incident, Ethan had been bored out of his mind. Just to kill time, he'd posted some stuff online—casual posts about how dangerous the event had been, how he fought hard to protect the town, and so on. He hadn't meant anything by it—he was just that bored.
But somehow, those posts blew up. He gained a ton of followers overnight, and many of them turned into full-blown superfans. Then one day, he uploaded a sleepy selfie right after waking up—hair messy, eyes half-open. Fans thought he looked tragically remorseful, like he couldn't forgive himself for not saving everyone.
And just like that, his reputation skyrocketed.
So when Vest Black Hole decided today was the day to drag Ethan's name through the mud… well, he couldn't have picked a worse time.
"Damn it! You're all idiots! Stop it or I'll kill you—do you hear me?!" Vest Black Hole roared, trembling with rage. Things weren't going at all how he'd planned. The last time he'd tried something like this—using public shaming—it had completely wrecked Saitama's reputation. But somehow, with Ethan, the outcome was the exact opposite.
The humiliation burned him from the inside out.
"Hero Vest Black Hole! Please control yourself!"
A voice rang out, and a figure on a bicycle skidded to a stop between them—it was none other than C-Class hero Mumen Rider.
He'd heard Black Hole threaten to kill civilians and couldn't stand by. Anger flashed in his eyes as he confronted him.
"Heroes are supposed to protect people, not hurt them! Have you forgotten what it means to—"
"Shut up!" Vest Black Hole snapped. "You? A mere C-Class hero, daring to lecture me? I'll crush you with one punch!"
He swung, and Mumen Rider was instantly knocked to the ground.
Now that was a mistake.
Mumen Rider might've been weak in combat, but he was beloved—respected for his courage and moral strength. Thanks to a popular comic Ethan had drawn about him, Mumen Rider's popularity had soared even higher than Vest Black Hole's.
So when people saw him get punched, the crowd erupted.
They didn't dare physically attack an A-Class hero, but the verbal assault was brutal—shouts, insults, curses flying nonstop.
Vest Black Hole's face darkened completely. Regret churned in his gut. If he'd known things would turn out like this, he never would've tried this stunt. Not only had he failed to discredit Ethan, but now he was the one whose reputation was about to crash and burn.
He could already picture the headlines.
"It's all your fault! Yours!" he bellowed, glaring at Ethan with bloodshot eyes. "Die, Comicman!"
Muscles bulged, energy surging through his body as he lunged forward, fist cocked for a killing blow—
SMACK.
Ethan didn't even move much. Just one slap.
Vest Black Hole hit the ground so hard he left a person-shaped crater in the pavement.
"..."
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