Above ground.
Groribas leaned against a massive piece of spaceship wreckage, the intense pain in his chest making every breath feel like a knife's edge.
The sword strike from Atomic Samurai contained a terrifying sword intent that continued to destroy his cellular tissue, almost killing him outright.
He survived solely due to the powerful life force of his cosmic race.
However, the physical pain was nothing compared to the indignation and shock in his heart at this moment.
The battle… was over?
He struggled to lift his head, looking towards the distance.
The elder known as Silver Fang stood with his hands behind his back, at his feet was the mangled corpse of Melzargard.
The man wielding the almost completely rotted Metal Bat, the peculiar pervert in a prison uniform, and the swordsman who had dealt him a heavy blow and nearly taken his life, all stood upright.
What he found most unacceptable was Superalloy Darkshine.
He had done nothing, had clearly been scared witless by his acid, yet now he stood on the battlefield like a victor.
"What's going on… Where is Geryuganshoop? Where is his invincible psychokinesis? Why isn't he coming to provide support? Could it be…"
Groribas mumbled to himself, a terrifying thought rising in his mind.
The three strongest combatants, all defeated by the natives of this planet in such a short time?
How was this possible! They were powerful warriors who had followed Lord Boros in conquering countless star systems!
Just then, a deep and violent tremor came from the colossal spaceship above them, which blotted out the sky.
"Boom… Rumble…"
Deafening explosions came from above, as if two unimaginable monsters were engaged in a fierce battle inside the spaceship.
"This tremor… it's Lord Boros!"
Groribas trembled all over, the weakness brought by the intense pain swept away, replaced by a zealous reverence stemming from his bloodline.
It was submission to absolute power, faith in the universe's overlord.
"Lord Boros has made his move! The invaders have reached the throne room!"
He struggled to stand up, roaring with all his might:
"You lowly natives, feel it well! This is true despair! You will soon understand that what you just defeated were merely Lord Boros's combatants!"
The S-Class Heroes on the ground also felt this anomaly, all looking up at the colossal steel object, their faces filled with unprecedented solemnity.
"What… what's happening up there?" Metal Bat gripped his dented bat, his palms slick with cold sweat.
He could feel that just the aftershocks of this battle were a hundred times more terrifying than Melzargard's full-power attacks earlier.
"The aftershocks of this energy… it's too terrifying." Silver Fang's brows furrowed tightly, his battle-hardened senses screaming warnings.
Even the slightest aftershocks of the battle leaking from inside the spaceship made his heart palpitate.
Suddenly, a dazzling white light erupted from the top of the spaceship, shooting into the deep night sky like a meteor at an imperceptible speed!
The speed of that white light was beyond everyone's conscious reaction, almost instantly disappearing at the edge of the horizon.
"It's over!"
Groribas let out a weak but zealous laugh, green blood continuously gushing from his mouth, but he paid it no mind.
He recognized that light; he had been fortunate enough to see it once on another rebellious planet.
That was Lord Boros's full-power attack in his "Meteoric Burst" state, an attack meant to kick the enemy off the planet!
Even in the universe, only a handful of strong individuals could withstand this attack.
"You natives of this planet are finished." He looked at the stunned S-Class Heroes, mocking them with his last ounce of strength.
"Your strongest warrior has been kicked off this planet by Lord Boros! This is the consequence of defying the universe's overlord!"
Kicked off this planet?
Atomic Samurai, Silver Fang, and others gasped at his words.
However, Groribas's laughter had not yet faded before it abruptly stopped.
He stared intently at the night sky where the white light had vanished.
There, a new "star" had appeared.
No, that wasn't a star!
That was a streaking light even more dazzling than before!
It was "falling" towards Earth at an incredible speed!
"No… impossible…"
Groribas's jaw began to tremble uncontrollably, "He… he jumped back… from another planet?!"
"Rumble——!!!!!"
A deafening roar echoed through the sky!
That humanoid meteor, with an unstoppable momentum, slammed back onto the spaceship!
A massive shockwave transformed into visible white air currents that furiously spread from the sky, tearing a huge hole in the thick clouds.
The spaceship, under this brutally unreasonable impact, began to slowly tilt to one side.
The heroes on the ground were blown off their feet by the wind pressure, the slightly weaker Sexy Prisoner was even blown away, rolling several times on the ground before stopping.
Everyone stared dumbfounded at the wailing spaceship in the sky, their minds blank.
——————
Meanwhile, on the spaceship.
"Consecutive… Normal Punches."
As Saitama lightly called out, countless Fist Shadow landed on Boros's body.
In an instant, the body of the universe's overlord was pulverized into a sky full of bloody mist.
"Sigh…"
An indescribable disappointment and emptiness once again welled up in Saitama's heart.
He had thought that his opponent, having unleashed his power, might bring him even a shred of surprise, but it was still the same outcome.
He turned around, preparing to check on Lin Mo, who had been blown away by the shockwave; this farce should be over.
However, the moment he turned, a faint but incredibly resilient energy fluctuation reignited from the swirling blood mist and dust behind him.
"Hm?"
Saitama's steps halted, the perpetually blank expression on his face showing a trace of genuine surprise for the first time.
He turned his head back, only to see Boros's energy particles now frantically converging inward, centered around a single point.
In the air, countless scattered light particles began to gather; it was pure life energy, the final roar of the universe's overlord, unwilling to meet his end just yet.
Light particles converged, flesh reborn.
In just a few seconds, Boros's figure reappeared in the center of the hall.
However, at this moment, he could no longer be called a complete "being."
His body was in a semi-energetic state, countless cracks bursting open on his skin, from which dazzling pure white light erupted.
In his single eye, there was no longer zeal or excitement, only a resolute determination to burn everything he had.
"You… are indeed very strong."
Boros's voice became hoarse and hollow.
"You are the first, and only, opponent I have encountered in thousands of years of conquering the universe, one that requires me to stake everything."
He slowly raised his arm, aiming it at Saitama.
All his energy, all his life, all his glory and dignity as the universe's overlord, began to converge towards his chest.
"The prophecy… was not wrong."
Boros's body began to disintegrate inch by inch, unable to withstand the immense energy, turning into light particles and dissipating, but he paid it no mind.
"There truly is a battle here that can satisfy me… But, the prophecy was also wrong… This is not an evenly matched battle at all!"
"You… are too strong. So strong… like a myth."
"So, take this last move of mine! This strike, which gathers all my life and energy, is enough to completely erase this planet, along with its surface, from the universe!"
"Star Roaring Cannon!!!"
A furious roar echoed through the sky!
A blue-white energy beam, too thick to describe in words, burst forth from Boros's chest!
In that instant, the entire world lost all sound and color.
Light!
Light capable of swallowing everything!
This cannon blast was enough to utterly destroy Earth!
Facing this world-ending ultimate attack, the disappointment and emptiness on Saitama's face vanished.
In its place was an unprecedented seriousness.
Whether it was to respond to the universe's overlord's all-burning attack, or for the sake of the Earth behind him, he could not let this attack go unchecked.
He could not dodge.
Nor did he need to dodge.
"Then I suppose I'll get a little serious too."
He slowly raised his right fist, the one wearing the red glove.
He adopted a standard punching stance, his body sinking slightly, all his strength mobilized in an instant.
"Killer Move · Serious Series…"
His voice was soft, yet it clearly overpowered the energy roar that could tear the sky apart.
"Serious Punch."
It was still that unremarkable, seemingly ordinary straight punch, like a normal person throwing it, but this time, Saitama's face was unprecedentedly serious.
Fist and energy beam collided with a thunderous impact ten thousand meters above the ground!
Time, at this moment, seemed to stand still.
The "Star Roaring Cannon," capable of destroying everything, upon contact with Saitama's fist, seemed to turn into an ordinary stream of water.
It was split apart!
Saitama's fist, in a completely unreasonable manner, forcibly split the extremely condensed energy torrent in half!
The two separated energy torrents grazed Saitama's body on both sides and shot into deep space, eventually disappearing at the end of the distant star sea.
And the invisible "Serious Punch" pressure, after splitting the "Star Roaring Cannon," continued unabated.
It passed through Boros's body, which had already turned into light and shadow.
It passed through the last remnants of the Dark Matter Thieves' colossal spaceship.
It passed through the atmosphere.
A gigantic gap, stretching from one end of the horizon to the other, appeared in the global cloud cover.
High in the sky.
The light of the "Star Roaring Cannon" completely dissipated.
Boros's final body also lost all energy; his body had almost completely turned into light particles, leaving only a blurred outline.
Only his final voice remained, echoing through heaven and earth with endless emotion and relief.
"You… lied…"
His last, fragmented words echoed through heaven and earth with a sense of liberation.
"You clearly… still held back…"
"This… isn't… even a battle at all…"
"The prophecy… indeed… was…"
The voice abruptly stopped.
The overlord of the universe, the leader of the Dark Matter Thieves, Boros, his consciousness completely vanished.
Saitama slowly retracted his fist, still with that blank expression.
He looked at the entire sky that he had split with a single punch, then looked down at the unharmed city.
He scratched his shiny bald head, and in his eyes, that profound emptiness and loneliness, deeply ingrained, reappeared.
The battle was over.
Yet, the passion that could make his blood boil had not appeared for even a second.
——————
Just as Boros gathered all his energy, intending to flatten the entire surface, on the ground——
"This is…" Silver Fang's voice trembled uncontrollably, "This planet… is going to be destroyed…"
"It's coming… it's coming!"
Groribas's body trembled violently from extreme excitement and fear, green blood continuously gushing from the wound in his chest, yet he seemed oblivious, screaming with his last breath.
"Lord Boros's ultimate technique! The Star Roaring Cannon… powerful enough to turn everything on the surface into ashes!!!"
No sooner had he spoken than a blue-white energy beam, too thick to describe in words, burst forth from the bow of the spaceship!
In that instant, the S-Class Heroes' faces were filled with despair.
They were humanity's protectors, the top combatants on Earth.
However, facing this planet-destroying attack, they didn't even have the thought of resisting.
They could only watch helplessly as doomsday arrived.
However, just as that world-ending energy was about to swallow everything, an even more powerful shockwave surged upwards from the center of that apocalyptic beam!
"Boom—!!!!!"
The beam, which Groribas called the "Star Roaring Cannon," was forcibly split in half from the middle!
The sky, in an instant, fell into complete silence.
The planet-destroying Intimidation vanished.
The colossal spaceship that blotted out the sky began to develop a massive crack running across its entire hull, starting from the middle.
Immediately after, this invading weapon from the cosmos began to slowly collapse and disintegrate on both sides.
It was all over.
On the ground, all the heroes remained in their sky-gazing postures, unable to recover for a long time.
They were saved, Earth was saved, but there was no joy in their hearts, only confusion.
"Impossible… impossible… Lord Boros… is the overlord of the entire universe… how could he possibly…"
Groribas knelt on the ground, utterly distraught; he could no longer feel that familiar and powerful life aura.
The overlord who shone like a sun, illuminating the entire Dark Matter Thieves, leading them to conquer countless star systems, had vanished from this universe forever.
In the last moment before his consciousness plunged into eternal darkness, only one question remained in his mind, a question he couldn't comprehend.
"Who… exactly… defeated Lord Boros?"