The walls of Shelter 17 were thick, reinforced by the Hero Association's highest standards. A massive Circular Complex designed to hold thousands, it buzzed with quiet fear.
Families huddled together beneath the fluorescent lighting, children clinging to parents. Rows of civilians lined the metal benches, some praying, others silently watching the emergency broadcasts on mounted screens. The space was packed—nervous chatter filled the air, but tension kept most voices low.
A cluster of C-Class, B-Class, and one A-Class hero stood near the entrances—nervous, sweaty, and tense. Their numbers weren't impressive, and they knew it. They weren't S-Class. If something actually breached the shelter… they were dead men walking.
The ground trembled.
First a subtle vibration, like distant thunder.
Then silence.
Everyone looked up.
A horrifying stillness blanketed the shelter.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!!
The ceiling erupted in an explosion of concrete and steel.
A deafening roar filled the space as debris showered the crowd. The earth cracked beneath the weight of the impact. A monstrous figure dropped into the center of the room like a meteor from the sea.
The Deep Sea King.
Rainwater dripped off his hulking frame. The light above gleamed against his enlarged, soaked body—nearly four meters tall now, his oceanic muscle bloated with monstrous power. His fins bristled. His scaled flesh shimmered with malice. His yellow eyes scanned the shelter.
"Found you," he said, as his tongue licked his salivating lips.
Screams tore through the shelter as civilians fled in all directions. Heroes rushed forward—but none made it two steps before freezing, paralyzed by fear. The Sea King's aura was crushing. Suffocating. The stench of salt and death filled the air.
He flexed his claws.
"So much food?!" he sneered. "Come here, lay down so I can eat you faster."
Suddenly—
A golden blur rocketed from the sky.
FWOOOOOSH!
Genos blasted down through the still-smoking hole, jets flaring as he landed in a crater of his own, between the Sea King and the terrified crowd.
His glowing eyes locked onto the monster.
"You've done enough," he said coldly.
The Deep Sea King sneered. "Another toy. You'll break just like the others."
"I am not like the others," Genos replied, raising his arms.
A pulse of plasma ignited in his palms.
"INCINERATION CANNON!"
A blinding stream of molten energy tore through the air. The beam struck the Sea King dead-on, engulfing him in a roaring explosion. The blast illuminated the shelter like a star—heat washing over the crowd, forcing civilians to shield their faces.
The Sea King roared.
Smoke filled the room.
Genos narrowed his eyes, scanning through the haze—
Too late.
The Sea King burst from the smoke, unharmed, eyes burning with rage.
"Not bad," he snarled, "but not enough!"
Claws swung—Genos blocked with both arms. Metal screamed. Sparks exploded. He was flung backward, crashing through a wall. His sensors scrambled—but his mind remained locked on the crowd behind him.
He surged forward again, blasting through debris.
Genos unleashed a second barrage—missiles, plasma, rapid-fire shots—but the Sea King weaved through them, faster than before.
Then—an opening.
Genos darted around to the monster's blind side and fired a concentrated plasma bolt—
But he didn't check his own.
A massive clawed hand slammed into him.
"Gah—!"
The Sea King yanked Genos by the arm and hurled him like a ragdoll. He smashed through a support column and slammed into the far wall, cratering it with bone-crunching force. Smoke and dust erupted in a wave.
The Sea King bellowed, charging forward like a maniac.
Genos groaned, systems rebooting.
"Why… do I never learn?" he muttered, rising slowly. "Watch your blind spots…"
Then he vanished.
The Sea King blinked.
So did the crowd.
Genos had activated his optical camouflage—his body bent light around him, rendering him nearly invisible.
Silence.
Then—
BOOM!
From nowhere, a plasma-charged kick exploded across the Sea King's face, sending him flying across the shelter. His body tumbled violently, skidding across the floor before slamming into a column. A gaping hole tore through his cheek, bioluminescent blood spraying.
The Sea King froze—still, stunned. Slowly… he tilted his head back toward Genos.
"Hmmm…"
CRACK.
The jawbone slid back into place with a sickening pop.
"I… felt that," he growled.
Rain dripped from the open ceiling, striking his skin. Slowly, impossibly, the wound began to shrink. His body began healing—scales knitting together, flesh re-forming.
Genos, panting, watched in disbelief.
"Even that wasn't enough…"
Then he heard it.
A small voice.
"Go, Demon Cyborg! You can do it!"
His eyes widened.
A little girl in the crowd stood with a teddy bear clutched in her arms. She cheered, completely unaware of the monster's gaze now locked on her.
The Sea King grinned. His tongue slithered between rows of sharp teeth.
He turned his head toward the girl.
Genos saw it.
"No…"
A low, guttural growl escaped the Sea King's throat. Then—
FWOOOOSH!
A massive glob of acid launched straight at the girl.
The crowd screamed while running away. The girl stuck standing, clutching her teddy bear.
Genos's sensors screamed: LETHAL BIO-ACID DETECTED.
He didn't think. He didn't hesitate.
MOVE!
A golden black blur—he dashed forward with everything he had. Propulsion flared.
He made it.
He spread his arms wide, shielding the girl.
SPLASHHHHHHHH!!!
The acid struck.
But…
There was no pain. No burning. No screams.
Genos blinked.
He felt no corrosion. No damage. The agony he'd anticipated—it never came.
The girl behind him opened her eyes, trembling, unharmed.
The acidic venom had stopped inches before touching them… as if frozen mid-air.
A soft, shimmering distortion flickered in front of them—barely visible, like a transparent ripple in reality.
A barrier.
Then—
WHOOOOM!
The suspended acid recoiled as if launched from a slingshot, flung backward with tremendous force.
The Sea King raised his arms too late—
SPLAAAASH!!
The venom splattered across his own chest, sizzling against his reinforced scales. He snarled, arms extended to shield his face, acidic smoke hissing from the impact.
The shelter fell silent.
Then—the Sea King looked up.
Toward the hole.
There he was.
Floating above the wreckage of the ceiling, suspended in the air like a god from another world. Cloak fluttering in the rain-soaked wind. A soft blue bio-electric glow danced across his figure, illuminating the edges of his suit like a living storm.
His red eyes burned through the mist, locked onto the Sea King.
Damian.
He hovered calmly, not saying a word. His body framed by the storm clouds swirling behind him—his presence drowning the room in overwhelming pressure. The lower class heroes and civilians below looked up in awe, their fear shifting into hope.
Genos looked back, still shielding the girl.
His optical HUD blinked. Then zoomed in...
"Damian!" he shouted with absolute relief.
The rest of the shelter was silent—thousands of eyes staring up at the glowing figure floating in the rain-soaked light.
Then someone from the crowd broke the silence.
"It's Sky God!"
Another voice followed, louder, panicked and awestruck. "Sky God's here! We're saved!"
A wave of murmurs swept across the civilians like a rising tide.
The Sea King twitched.
His eyes flared with hatred. His gills flexed. His muscles tightened with rage.
"You dare…" he growled.
He turned to the man who had shouted and lunged—charging toward the civilians with bloodlust in his eyes.
"You DARE call that puny thing a god?!"
He barreled forward, claws raised, ready to crush.
Then—
WHOOSH!
A streak of blue light blurred through the air.
The Sea King halted—his fist frozen inches above the screaming crowd.
Damian stood before him.
One hand raised.
One finger extended.
Touching the Sea King's knuckles.
The monster's entire body vibrated, momentum dead-stopped.
Then—
BOOOOM!!!
With a calm flick of his palm, a wave of telekinetic force erupted—an invisible blast that crashed into the Sea King and launched him like a missile across the shelter.
He smashed through the far wall, soared across the street beyond, and vanished in a storm of concrete, asphalt, and ego.
Silence.
Dust swirled.
Then—
The civilians erupted!!!
Damian still stood with one arm extended, fingers just beginning to curl back into a relaxed position. Behind him, the shelter's civilians cheered, voices echoing across the reinforced chamber.
Lowering his hand slowly, Damian descended, boots touching the shattered ground with quiet precision. The glow around his body dimmed slightly, but the weight of his presence didn't fade.
He turned toward Genos and the little girl, his voice calm and composed. "I'm glad I got here in time."
Genos turned to him, one hand still shielding the child, his frame battered and cracked, smoke trailing from exposed wiring. Despite the damage, there was a faint smile on his face—grateful and just a little exhausted.
"Thank you, Damian… but… is he actually down?"
Damian turned toward the gaping hole in the shelter wall. Smoke and rubble still cloaked the outside street in thick gray layers—but his eyes narrowed.
His vision shifted.
Through thermal scans, then to X-ray overlay. He could see the Sea King.
Still alive.
Sprawled out on the cracked pavement beyond the shelter, his enormous body lay twisted awkwardly, steam hissing from his scaly flesh. His chest heaved violently—ribs caved in like shattered armor plating. Damian focused further.
"His ribcage is demolished," he said quietly. "Every bone looks fractured. He won't be getting up for a bit."
Genos exhaled, wincing from his own injuries. He gave a reluctant but genuine nod of relief.
"That's good news. But… the data I gathered during our fight—he has high-speed regeneration. His recovery rate accelerates with moisture exposure."
Damian nodded thoughtfully.
Then his fingers touched his chin.
A slow grin began to form.
His blue eyes sparkled with red energy.
Genos noticed the shift in his expression and tilted his head. "Damian?"
But the Kryptonian didn't answer at first. He was thinking—rapidly connecting ideas. Calculating... Genos didn't know what, but he could tell Damian had an idea...
Outside, amidst the wreckage of the street beyond Shelter 17...
The Sea King lay in a ragged heap, growling lowly as tendrils of pain snaked through his broken body.
His gills flared weakly, sucking in the humid air. His tongue lolled from his mouth as he tried to prop himself up on one elbow, failing once before groaning and collapsing again.
Bones cracked.
Twisted cartilage began sliding back into place.
His ribs popped one by one, audibly resetting.
"What… was that thing?" he wheezed. "That wasn't a man. What kind of monster is this Sky God…?"
Rain continued to fall, slowly rejuvenating him. His strength trickled back—painfully, but steadily.
Back inside the shelter…
"Hey, where's Master?" Genos asked suddenly.
Damian blinked, snapping back to the moment. "Oh. Right—he's on his way. I raced him here the second I saw the association threat-level update and your pinged location."
He turned back to Genos, his confident smirk returning.
"Actually… that reminds me. Before Master Saitama arrives… I need your help with something."
Damian smirked with a mischievous grin...
Genos slowly stood, mechanical joints hissing and sparking. Despite the burns across his armor and the fractured plating, his eyes still burned with purpose.
"What is it you need help with?" he asked, stepping beside Damian.
Damian turned toward the center of the shelter, his voice rising confidently over the scattered murmurs and cheers.
"All available heroes," he called out, "I need you to take charge of the crowd. Get everyone calm and organized while Genos and I take care of the Sea King."
The lower-class heroes—C-Class, B-Class, and even a few remaining support staff—perked up at the command. The voice of the Sky God was something they couldn't ignore. He didn't bark orders—he gave them with calm precision and gravity, like a general that expected victory and inspired it in others.
"And," Damian continued, "I want everyone lined up in groups of 100. Single-file."
The heroes blinked.
One of the C-Class heroes raised his hand. "Uh… line them up? Why?"
Damian didn't answer. He just smiled, then turned to a particular face among the gathering.
"Snek, right?"
The Class-A Hero Rank 37 blinked in surprise, adjusting the collar of his clean black suit. "Y-Yeah, that's me. You… you know who I am?"
Damian smiled, blue eyes softening. "Of course. I try to keep track of all the great heroes on the rise."
Snek's jaw went a little slack, cheeks coloring faintly. "T-thank you, sir—uh—Sky God, I mean—what can I do to help?"
"I need you to help organize those lines of 100," Damian said, pointing toward the crowd. "Also, contact the Association. Let them know Sky God and Demon Cyborg are handling the Sea King situation. Resolution will be underway shortly."
Snek gave a firm, almost military-style nod. "You got it! Leave it to me!"
He turned immediately and started barking orders with the confidence of a man freshly blessed by a literal demigod.
Genos leaned over toward Damian, one brow raised. "I have to ask… why are we lining them up?"
Damian cracked his knuckles and turned toward the hole in the wall where the Sea King had been launched.
"You'll see."
He gave Genos a grin that was equal parts mischievous and confident.
"Come on," he said, floating off the ground, cloak fluttering. "We've got fish meat waiting for us."
They soared through the hole and into the open sky.
Outside, the Deep Sea King had begun standing himself upright—his mangled form slowly reassembling in the rain. But then—
BOOOOOOM.
He was flattened again. An invisible pressure, heavier than a mountain, slammed him back into the asphalt. It felt like a building had landed on him… only worse. And it wasn't letting up.
His body creaked. The pavement cracked. His back dug deeper into the earth, and he screamed.
Genos and Damian hovered above, watching.
"See?" Damian said, folding his arms. "I could end this now. But like you said—he heals fast."
He released the pressure.
The Sea King gasped, eyes wild, body flattened into the concrete like a cartoon. A perfect outline of his body remained imprinted into the pavement.
"Okay—OKAY! I give up!" the Sea King wheezed. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!"
Damian tilted his head and addressed Genos. "So here's my idea: he's regenerating… it's still raining… and Master loves seafood."
Genos stared.
Then blinked.
Then smiled.
"…You're serious."
Damian laughed. "Oh, I'm dead serious."
Now in perfect sync, the two heroes stared down at the broken creature below.
To the Sea King, these weren't heroes. They were demons from some cosmic hell.
Still regenerating, he began to float upward—slowly, limbs twitching, suspended several feet in the air by Damian's telekinesis.
"L-Let me go! I can't take it anymore! Just kill me!" he cried.
Damian smirked, then,
Twin beams of red-hot heat vision sliced through the air, cleaving both of the Sea King's newly-regenerated arms clean off.
Before the severed limbs hit the ground, Genos caught them effortlessly.
Looking to Damian, he asked, "So what now?"
Damian hovered in place, voice calm but resolute. "Take them to the shelter. Have the other heroes carve the meat and distribute it to the civilians. They've already lined up, so this should be quick. A lot of people lost their businesses, friends, and loved ones. Let's at least send them home with something to help them recover."
Genos gave a warm smile. "Understood."
With a golden blur, he zipped off toward the shelter.
45 minutes later… and many arms later…
The entire crowd at Shelter 17 now held neatly wrapped cuts of fresh Sea King meat—several shop owners stepped up to offer sealed bags, and lower class heroes portioned the meat out to everyone. Cheers echoed off the walls, gratitude flowing like a tide through the dome. Many called out to Genos with appreciation…
But most were shouting for only one name.
"SKY GOD! Thank you, Sky God!!"
Damian, still floating outside and holding the now barely-conscious Sea King in his grip, listened quietly.
His gaze shifted upward.
The storm clouds had begun to fade. The rain was stopping. Light peeked through.
He narrowed his eyes. "Hmph… guess harvest time's over."
The Sea King twitched in his grasp. Only one arm had regenerated—barely. The other was a malformed stump. His body was limp. His scales dulled.
He was done.
Damian sighed.
His eyes glowed once more.
ZSSSSHT!
One last arm, freshly regrown, was sliced off with precision. Genos, as if expecting it, darted in and caught it.
Damian called out, "Keep that one for Master!"
Genos gave a thumbs-up. "Got it!"
Then—
All eyes turned skyward.
Damian, suspended in the air, held the once-mighty Deep Sea King by the throat like discarded trash. The king's body was shriveled, trembling, drenched in trauma. His razor-sharp teeth no longer bared with pride, but chattered in fear.
Without another word, Damian hurled him high into the air—like a javelin launched into the heavens.
Then—
FWOOOOOM!
Damian vanished into the sky like a comet.
A half-second later…
CRACKBOOOOOM!
A blinding white explosion lit up the clouds—followed by a thunderous shockwave that rippled across the entire region. The clouds split. The rain stopped completely. The sky cleared instantly, as if the atmosphere itself had been punched apart.
One mile away…
Saitama jogged along an empty stretch of ruined road, arms loose at his sides.
"Man, I should've brought my phone," he muttered. Then a big stomach growl..."And I'm starving now, too…"
Then—BOOM!
He looked up.
A massive burst of light shimmered through the clouds in the distance.
He squinted, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"Heh… that's probably Damian."
He casually adjusted his cape and veered toward the blast site.
Back in the sky…
Nothing remained.
Not a scale. Not a tooth. Not even a trace of vapor.
Every molecule of the Deep Sea King had been vaporized—obliterated by Damian's full-power punch. A blow so fast, so violent, so concentrated… it fractured light and sound barriers simultaneously. The resulting heat wave measured at the temperature of the sun, igniting the surrounding air into an invisible inferno and disintegrating everything within its radius.
Damian floated in the center of it all, eyes calm, cloak fluttering in the golden sunlight.
He looked down at his own fist.
Then toward the blazing sky.
"I'm strong," he said to himself. "Stronger than almost every monster and hero in this world."
"But compared to Master Saitama?"
He clenched his fist tighter.
"I'm still nothing."
"Even with all this power… I could be wiped out by a stronger foe. Magic, a red sun, kryptonite—any one of them could be the end of me."
His eyes narrowed.
"I'm still too damn weak. I need more power…"
And then—
DING!
A soft chime echoed in his mind as his system interface flickered to life in front of him.
[Main Mission Quest: Stop 2 Dragon-Level Threats or Higher – 100% COMPLETE][Would you like to collect your lottery tickets? Yes or No?]
Damian smirked, already reaching toward the "Yes"—
—but paused.
His super-hearing caught a familiar voice from behind.
"Hey Genos... why are you holding an arm?"
Damian snorted a laugh and slowly descended, landing with a confident thud beside the others as he met Saitama's gaze.
"You finally made it," Damian said, still grinning.
"Yeah," Saitama replied flatly. "I got lost until I saw your little 'sky-splitting punch.' Real subtle."
Damian didn't even try to deny it. He just smiled.
They both turned to look at Genos—who stood there silently, clutching a massive, severed Sea King arm like it was a family heirloom.
Saitama blinked. "Sooo… what's that for?"
Genos answered without hesitation, voice completely serious.
"Oh, this? That's dinner."
To be continued...