More than a month had passed since the legendary fight between Saitama and Boros, but the whole world was still talking about it.
On the huge TV fixed to the wall of the living room in Louis's fancy villa in City Z, a replay of that final battle was playing again.
The living room was full of different sounds:
the TV, the clicks of game controllers, some nervous breathing… and some calm breathing that didn't fit a dangerous world like this.
Louis was sitting relaxed on a leather sofa.
Next to him sat Saitama, wearing his usual home clothes, and on the nearby chair sat Genos, busy checking his own body like always.
In the corner of the room, on a small sofa not too far away, was Tatsumaki. Her face was as grumpy as ever. She was floating just a little above the sofa, legs crossed, holding a comic book in her arms, and every now and then she would secretly look at Louis.
These days, Tatsumaki's visits to Louis's villa had become almost normal. No clear reason, no invitation. She just appeared suddenly… then sat in silence, like she owned the place.
On top of that, there was another guest today: King.
He was the man whose heart shook under the smallest pressure, but without Louis's interference, the whole world would see him as "the strongest hero."
He was sitting on the floor next to Saitama, in front of a second TV used for games, holding a game controller with slightly shaking hands. The "King Engine" in his chest was beating loudly with every moment of stress.
Louis felt King's glance. In that look, there was confusion mixed with gratitude.
Louis knew inside that he carried a heavy responsibility toward this man. He was the one who had, indirectly, stolen from him the title of "the strongest." He also knew very well that this image wasn't true. And now that he knew his time in this world was almost over, he decided to at least do one small thing: bring King and Saitama closer, connect them with a simple bond… gaming buddies.
Saitama and King were now busy with another round on the game console. The sounds of the game were loud:
"K.O!"
"Round 2!"
At the same time, Louis opened his system interface in front of his eyes, a screen only he could see.
A transparent window appeared in his sight:
[ Main Quest 3: Countdown to unlock 00:00:00 ]
[ Quest Target: Defeat the strongest enemy in the time you have left in this world. ]
[ Time remaining: 9 months. ]
[ Quest Rewards:
1- Get the perfect evaluation SSS.
2- Become the absolute master of this world. ]
[ Do you accept: Yes / No ]
Under these lines, a small warning message appeared:
[ Warning:
1- Once you accept the quest, you will not be able to return to the real world until your time in this world ends.
2- If you choose not to accept, your time in this world will end. ]
Louis narrowed his eyes slightly as he read.
'As expected, the last main quest is just as I guessed.'
He read the quest lines again.
'They give me 9 months to defeat that being called "God"…?'
Louis sighed inside. A heavy feeling settled in his chest.
He remembered what the system told him before: the maximum time to stay in this world was three years… and more than two years had already passed.
'Looks like it's time to end this.'
He closed the system interface for a moment and raised his head to look at everyone in the room.
Saitama was focused on the game, his eyes half-open, his face not showing at all that he was the strongest being in this world.
King was sweating quietly, pressing the buttons in fear as if he was fighting a final boss in a life-or-death battle.
Genos was watching the big screen showing the fight between Boros and Saitama, his mechanical eyes glowing as they kept analyzing.
As for Tatsumaki, she acted like she didn't care, but her eyes were not missing a single movement in the room.
Louis looked at them all in silence for a few seconds, then suddenly spoke in a calm but firm voice:
"Everyone… it's time for me to leave."
The game sound lowered a bit as King stopped pressing the buttons for a brief moment. Saitama, however, didn't look away from the screen. He just said:
"Leave? Go where? Isn't this your house already?"
Louis smiled lightly, with a mix of sadness and satisfaction:
"No… this house is yours now, all of you."
He paused for a moment, then continued:
"As for me, it's time to go on a trip around the universe again."
His words fell into the room like a stone dropped into still water.
At almost the same moment—
A soft but clear cracking sound rang out.
Without noticing, Saitama had pressed the game controller in his hand too hard. The plastic shell cracked and the buttons popped out.
Saitama raised his hand a little, looked at the broken controller, then at Louis:
"The universe? Wait… can you take me with you?"
King immediately turned to the broken controller in Saitama's hand, his eyes widened a bit, then he sighed in defeat and gently put his own controller on the ground, giving up the round as if it wasn't worth risking his life… or his device.
Tatsumaki stared at Saitama for a moment, then moved her gaze to Louis. On her face, there was a mix of surprise and annoyance that she tried to hide.
Genos stopped his analysis of the TV completely and focused all his attention on the conversation.
Louis looked straight into Saitama's eyes and said:
"I'm sorry… but this is not the right time, Saitama."
Saitama frowned a little:
"You said the same thing last time."
A short silence filled the room.
Louis lifted his hand slightly, as if to calm the air:
"It's the truth, Saitama."
He looked at him more seriously now:
"Recently, the Monster Association has become more active, and that enemy Blast is investigating… has started to move. Your strength is needed here, to protect this world."
He paused, then added with a small smile:
"Once that threat is over… I promise I'll take you on a tour around the whole universe."
Saitama thought for a few seconds, then shrugged lightly:
"Hmmm… okay… if you say so."
He put the broken game controller aside like he had already forgotten he broke it. But there was something different in his eyes now—a certain depth that Louis clearly noticed.
Louis smiled and moved his gaze to the others one by one.
When his eyes reached Genos, he saw respect and curiosity that had never left the cyborg since they first met.
When he looked at Tatsumaki, his gaze stopped a bit longer.
She was staring at him silently, lips pressed together, her expression not showing what was happening inside her.
Maybe she was annoyed at the idea of him leaving, or just angry without reason, or maybe it was something more complicated that even she didn't want to admit.
Louis felt all of that, but he didn't comment.
He only kept a calm smile, then looked again at the empty air in front of him. The system interface appeared again, visible only to his eyes:
[ Main Quest 3: Do you accept?
Yes / No ]
His eyes narrowed slightly.
In his mind, he already knew the answer.
He could barely stand in front of one punch from Saitama.
So how could he face that being… called "God"?
He didn't hesitate.
With just a thought… he chose the option:
[ No ]
At that exact moment, he heard the cold voice of the system inside his head:
[ Main Quest 3 has been rejected. ]
[ Ending your remaining time in this world… ]
Louis didn't have time to say anything else.
Suddenly, right in front of everyone's eyes, his body disappeared.
There was no bright light, no energy vortex, no dramatic effect.
He was there one moment… and gone the next.
Saitama blinked twice as he looked at the place where Louis had been sitting:
"Huh?"
King froze in place, his heart beating fast, looking at the empty spot with wide eyes.
Genos jumped up from his seat, the energy flowing through his mechanical body as he activated all his sensors:
"Emperor?!"
Tatsumaki slowly stood up, her feet touching the ground this time, a faint aura of power around her. She didn't say anything. She just stared at the empty space, her eye trembling a little.
At that moment, it wasn't just this villa that was in chaos.
The whole world felt something… in the minds of every "player" living inside it.
The system's voice echoed again, this time not in Louis's head, but in the minds of all players:
[ Congratulations to player L.K!! ]
[ In the stage world "One Punch", he has completed two out of three main quests and received an excellent SS evaluation. ]
All around the world, players stopped what they were doing, lifted their heads in shock, their minds full of questions:
"An excellent SS evaluation…?"