'Still alive...'
Genos and Fubuki were dazed, realizing they hadn't been smashed into mechanical scrap and meat paste.
"Saitama-sensei..."
"Mist Swordsman..."
Even as they gave thanks, they looked toward the creature whose punch had been caught by Saitama and Lexon together.
It was a massive, brownish-yellow rhinoceros beetle with a human face. Its carapace gleamed, its muscles were bulging, and its expression was bizarre beyond belief.
The aura radiating from the creature made their hearts tighten.
Lexon and Saitama were certainly stronger than Carnage Kabuto, the top-ranked experiment of the House of Evolution, but neither of them projected an intimidating presence. Consequently, Carnage Kabuto was the most powerful being Genos and Fubuki had ever seen.
'Only my sister could handle an opponent like this...'
Fubuki couldn't help but think to herself.
'But... as long as he's here... nothing should go wrong...'
'Even if they can't win... they'll find a way...'
Her gaze shifted to Lexon, who had caught the opponent's fist with a calm, indifferent expression.
"What kind of punks are you?" Seeing his punch caught, Carnage Kabuto withdrew his fist, picked his nose, and asked with an incredibly punchable face.
"Ah... I'm a hero for fun, Saitama." Saitama introduced himself with his arms crossed.
"Where is Genus?" Compared to Saitama, Lexon wasn't nearly as keen on self-introductions.
He cut straight to the point.
"That guy? He was a pain, so I blew him up! Haha!" Carnage Kabuto struck a bizarre pose, standing on one leg with a finger extended from each hand, pointing at Lexon as he laughed.
This was Carnage Kabuto's personality: eccentric, unpredictable, and volatile. It was for this very reason that he was considered a failed genetic experiment.
'Dead, huh...' Lexon murmured.
He expanded his perception, covering the entire underground facility, and quickly found his target within a massive space.
Heavily injured.
But not dead.
From his perception, Lexon got the result he wanted.
As long as he wasn't dead, it was fine.
Though even if he had died, Lexon could have just brought him back anyway.
Even in death, the man would have to work for him...
Lexon's role as a capitalist was basically confirmed now.
"You two... seem pretty strong..." Carnage Kabuto's massive body leaned closer to Saitama and Lexon, his head lowered before he suddenly acted playful. "But you're not as strong as me! Hehehe!"
"Watch out for him... Carnage Kabuto's strength... is incredibly high!" At that moment, the bleeding Armored Gorilla leaning against the wall gave a weak warning.
He wanted Lexon and the others to stay alert.
"Saitama-sensei... Mr. Lexon... the energy fluctuations from that creature are indeed absurdly high... Please be careful." Genos also warned them.
"'Mist Swordsman'... This creature is at least a Dragon-level threat. We must be cautious... I'll use my communicator to notify the Association and call for S-Class support right now!" As someone skilled at teamwork, Fubuki naturally knew when to seek reinforcements.
"Right now, Carnage Kabuto is only in his base form... He still has a 'Carnage Mode'... In that state, his power will increase drastically!" To ensure the sword-wielding monster of a man and the fist-catching baldy took this seriously, the gorilla revealed even more critical information.
"You sure know a lot! Hehehe, I really am quite strong!" Carnage Kabuto's face was full of pride and arrogance.
"Your turn or mine?" Saitama looked at Lexon.
"I'll handle it," Lexon replied.
Neither of them showed even a hint of seriousness; they were completely casual.
'Don't just ignore everything we just said!'
The gorilla, Genos, and Fubuki all shouted in their hearts simultaneously.
"What are you two babbling about?" Carnage Kabuto said, picking his nose again.
"Ah... don't worry about it." Lexon smiled and pulled his Nichirin Sword from his storage ring.
He raised it slightly.
But the moment he made this move, Carnage Kabuto's expression changed instantly as if he had sensed something terrifying. His translucent wings fluttered, and his massive body suddenly retreated dozens of meters. He watched Lexon with a face full of tension.
'What's going on?'
The thought crossed the minds of the gorilla, Genos, and Fubuki. They didn't understand what had happened.
'Did you realize it? The fact that you're about to die.'
Lexon gripped his Nichirin Sword and looked at the beetle, thinking to himself.
He remembered that in the original story, even when Saitama looked harmless, the beetle had sensed danger right as it was about to attack...
As an insect, Carnage Kabuto's danger perception was naturally very strong.
"You bastard! Why! Why are you so strong!" Standing dozens of meters away, Carnage Kabuto shouted at Lexon in a panic.
For a moment, the gorilla and the others shifted their gaze to Lexon.
"I have more important things to do... Could you get out of the way?" Lexon raised his blade, the smile on his face still very kind.
"You..." Carnage Kabuto heard the contempt in his words, and rage instantly boiled over. "In that case... then..."
The next moment, his muscles ballooned, veins bulged, and his brownish-yellow skin turned purple. His horn grew longer, and he emitted a cruel, terrifying aura.
This was the manifestation of absolute power!
The peak state of Carnage Kabuto!
"CARNAGE MODE!!"
By using this move, his overall power would increase by a massive margin, but once the mode ended, he would fall into a weakened state, completely unable to fight back.
At the mercy of others.
Trading absolute power for absolute consequences!
"It's no use... we can't run! We're dead!" the heavily injured gorilla cried out pessimistically.
"The creature's energy fluctuations have exceeded the detection limit!" Genos said grimly.
Fubuki felt the aura radiating from Carnage Kabuto and couldn't say a word.
It was a level of power she had never experienced!
'There's absolutely no way to—'
Thud.
That was the sound of Carnage Kabuto's head falling and hitting the ground.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The gorilla, Genos, and Fubuki... the three of them watched the headless body of Carnage Kabuto, which was still standing. Their thoughts seemed to come to a standstill.
Their minds were completely blank.
"Let's go." Lexon sheathed his Nichirin Sword and looked back, speaking casually.
"Okay," Saitama replied, following Lexon.
'These two... just what...'
Watching the two men walk forward without any visible emotion, the three of them were utterly bewildered.
Everything that had just happened made them feel like they were in a dream.
Soon, they hurried to catch up with Lexon and Saitama.
...
"Didn't Carnage Kabuto run into you? Did that mental wreck run outside... Hmph, he really was a failure..." Slumped in a corner, Genus looked at the intruders, spitting blood from the corner of his mouth. "Fortunately for you, you didn't meet him, otherwise you would have been torn to pieces, with nothing left..."
"Doctor..." The heavily injured Armored Gorilla stepped forward, seemingly wanting to say something.
"Shut up! You traitor! As I thought, you're a failure too!" Genus looked furious at the sight of the gorilla.
"..." The gorilla silently retreated.
"The beetle you mentioned has already been dealt with by me." Lexon stepped forward and crouched down to look at Genus.
"What?" Genus frowned, refusing to believe it. "Impossible! With your strength, you couldn't possibly stand against Carnage Kabuto... He was the ultimate lifeform!"
"Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter to me," Lexon said with a shrug.
"You..." Before Genus could say anything else, he saw the eyes of the man in front of him suddenly turn blood-red.
Kotoamatsukami.
The ocular technique was activated, and the visual power was transmitted.
It shot into Genus's mind, forcibly overwriting and changing his thoughts and spirit.
Branded with the mark of loyalty.
From that moment on, Genus had become Lexon's subordinate.
"Lexon..." Saitama's voice suddenly came from behind. He seemed to have vaguely sensed something and asked in confusion, "Did you do something?"
"No, I just wanted to give him a bit of treatment." Lexon replied with his back turned.
Soon, Yang power flowed from Lexon's palm into Genus's body, restoring his heavily injured frame to its original state.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]