Crane Lady's side has run into trouble.
The Wood Clone was eliminated.
However, Crane Lady isn't dead yet.
Lexon reached this conclusion because the seal he had placed on her remained unbroken.
'Hmm... what should I do now? Should I go to the House of Evolution or head over to Crane Lady?'
Lexon pondered for a moment.
'Let's head to the House of Evolution.'
Without much hesitation, he quickly made up his mind.
After all, Crane Lady wasn't particularly important to him. The resurrection seal could just be placed on another creature. It was a hassle to waste time trying to save her when success wasn't even guaranteed.
Stashing the communicator back in his pocket, he returned to the house and signaled Saitama and the others that it was time to move out.
Then, he used Kamui to release the gorilla.
"What is this...?" The gorilla appeared completely bewildered after being inexplicably sucked into the empty Kamui dimension and then dumped in this unknown location.
Lexon, however, had no intention of explaining. He simply said, "Lead the way."
Hearing that voice, which felt as if it were carved into his very soul, the gorilla couldn't help but shudder. "Yes, sir!" he replied instinctively.
Under the gorilla's lead, the group hurried toward the location of the House of Evolution.
"Whoa, an armored gorilla..." On the way, Saitama, whose legs were moving so fast they left afterimages, looked curiously at the gorilla leading the way.
"Is it a cyborg, Mr. Lexon?" Genos asked Lexon, who was flying alongside him.
"No, that's just an armored suit. Inside is a gorilla that's been genetically modified and enhanced," Lexon replied.
'So he wasn't a cyborg...'
Genos felt a twinge of disappointment.
He was constantly searching for the cyborg responsible for destroying his hometown, seeking any scrap of information.
It was only natural for him to feel this way after learning the gorilla was purely biological.
"By the way, how come you guys can all fly...?" Saitama spoke up again. He looked up at Lexon, Genos, and Fubuki hovering in the air, his tone sounding a bit disgruntled.
After all, it felt a bit much that he was the only one running on the ground while the others traveled together.
"Don't worry, there are far more people in this world who can't fly than those who can," Lexon consoled him with a smile.
"I guess that's true." Saitama was remarkably easy to appease.
While chatting, the group arrived at a large building hidden deep within a dense forest.
"This is the House of Evolution," the gorilla said, pointing at the building.
"Nothing else you want to tell us?" Lexon asked, a pleasant smile on his face as he looked at the gorilla.
"Ah... right, I remember now..." The gorilla shuddered and quickly added, "The Doctor is always underground, so the basement is the real facility. The floors above are probably all traps."
"Thanks for the tip," Lexon said with a smile.
Suddenly, Lexon appeared in the air outside the building. With a wave of his arm, a massive zipper opening manifested, completely encompassing the entire building below within its range.
Then, he ceased his levitation and allowed gravity to pull him down.
As he descended, his fingers pulled the wide zipper opening down with him, dragging the entire building straight into the void within.
With another wave of his arm, the zipper snapped shut.
The building that had stood there moments ago had completely vanished, as if its existence had been nothing more than an illusion.
"And that's that." Lexon clapped his hands together.
Normally, Genos or Fubuki could have easily handled this... but Lexon was currently a bit low on Reincarnation Points and plot rewards. He didn't mind stepping in himself when he had the chance.
"Mr. Lexon, what was that...?"
"Lexon, you sure have a lot of tricks up your sleeve..."
Fubuki had seen Lexon use this ability before, so she wasn't particularly surprised, but to Saitama and Genos, who hadn't, it was an entirely new sight.
Genos especially; he had assumed Mr. Lexon's strength was limited to his swordsmanship...
He hadn't expected the man to be an esper as well.
After brushing them off with a few vague words, Lexon looked at the entrance in the ground. "Let's go. Time to pay the Doctor a visit."
Then, his gaze shifted to the gorilla, who was trying his best to go unnoticed. "You lead the way."
"..."
He had no choice. When you're under someone else's thumb, you have to bow your head.
The gorilla reluctantly took the lead.
The four humans and one gorilla made their way through the tunnel, advancing deeper into the facility.
From time to time, other genetically modified monsters from the House of Evolution emerged to block their path.
However, the Armored Gorilla took care of all of them.
Although the gorilla was significantly weaker than Lexon and the others, he was still the third strongest in the House of Evolution. Thrashing the rest of the genetic monsters was no trouble at all for him.
Furthermore, since he had surrendered to Lexon with record-breaking speed, he hadn't sustained any injuries.
His combat strength was at its peak...
...
"Damn it! Why has the gorilla turned traitor!?" Deep underground in the control room, a man in a suit and glasses, with hair covering half of one eye, slammed his fist onto the console as he watched the monitor showing the gorilla bashing his former allies.
He was the founder of the House of Evolution, the genius scientist dedicated to researching powerful new species: Dr. Genus.
"The Beast King went with the gorilla... but now the Beast King is missing... the gorilla has switched sides, and the targets are following him... The House of Evolution has no way left to stop them..."
Dr. Genus muttered through gritted teeth.
"What do we do, Original!? They're getting closer!"
"We're going to die... we're all going to die!"
The clones around Genus, all dressed in lab coats, cried out in a panic.
The control room was filled with their frantic chatter, making it as loud as a bustling marketplace.
"Shut up!" Dr. Genus snapped, unable to tolerate their noise any longer.
The clones immediately went silent, as quiet as cicadas in winter.
The Original held immense authority; after all, he controlled all of their lives.
"Release... that thing..." Dr. Genus said in a low voice after silencing the clones.
The clones' expressions changed instantly upon hearing those words.
"No, Original! We can't control it at all! It'll kill us all!" one clone shrieked in terror.
"Go! Now!" Dr. Genus commanded with a twisted expression.
Seeing the Original in such a state, the clones had no choice but to comply.
They obediently headed toward the room holding 'that'... the strongest creature of the House of Evolution: Carnage Kabuto.
...
Something's not right...
The gorilla stared into the long, dark tunnel, suddenly struck by an ominous premonition.
They were almost at the bottom. Knowing the Doctor's personality...
He would definitely release the beetle...
Inside his armor, the gorilla's body broke out in a nervous sweat.
As a member of the House of Evolution, he understood all too well how powerful Carnage Kabuto truly was.
It was a being that not even a hundred of him could defeat.
Danger!
Suddenly, his animal instincts screamed a warning.
"Saitama-sensei! Mr. Lexon! Miss Fubuki! A high-energy life form is approaching at high speed!" Genos, relying on his advanced sensors, had also detected something rapidly closing in through the dark tunnel and urgently called out a warning.
According to the sensors, the intruder was an unmatched entity for him.
Perhaps only Mr. Lexon could hope to stand against it!
BOOM!
Just as Genos finished his warning, the Armored Gorilla, standing at the very front, was struck as if hit by a literal mountain. His steel outer armor shattered instantly, blood spraying from the gaps. His entire body was sent flying backward, soaring over Lexon and the others before crashing into the ground with a violent explosion.
In a single instant, the third strongest member of the House of Evolution had been completely incapacitated.
A total one-shot.
The result was beyond question.
"This..." Fubuki and Genos were both stunned.
Before the two could react, two fists the size of boulders, carrying massive force, swung directly toward their heads.
If those fists landed... they would definitely be crushed into paste!
A terrifying premonition of death surged through both of them.
They couldn't dodge... they couldn't block...
That was the only thought remaining in their minds.
"Hey, don't hit my disciple right in front of me..."
"I was the one who agreed to bring her along. It would be a bit awkward if she died right next to me."
Two calm voices spoke up simultaneously.
In that same instant, a hand from both the left and the right reached out, firmly catching the incoming fists.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]