One Punch Man: Heroics Start with Dual Kamui

Chapter 123: The Panicked Loris

On the same day the Dark Matter Pirates incident ended, Shinji and Boros first went to the spaceship, since many low-level combatants were still inside.

When they arrived at the compartment where those fighters were gathered, a group of strange-looking aliens rushed toward them.

"Lord Boros! Did we win?"

It was only then that they noticed the human standing at Boros's side. Because they had been kept inside the compartment the whole time, they knew nothing of the battle that had taken place, and naturally didn't recognize Shinji.

"No…" Boros gave a slight nod. "I lost. He is the true victor."

As he spoke, Boros looked toward Shinji beside him.

"What?!"

"Lord Boros… how is that possible…?!"

"This human… he actually defeated Lord Boros?!"

"...So, he will be the father of my future children?"

The low-level fighters were stunned, unable to accept the reality before them, and the last one lost all hope.

Lord Boros was the Cosmic Overlord, undefeated ever since his followers had tracked him across the stars. Nobody had ever imagined they would see the day he was defeated. And if Boros was beaten, didn't that mean they too would face his fate?

In the cruel universe, the losers were always purged.

Realizing this, fear instantly spread across their faces.

"We're doomed! It's over for all of us…"

"They'll wipe us out completely! Do we even have a chance to escape?"

"If even Lord Boros couldn't win, there's no way we can get away."

"Mom… I just want to go home…"

Seeing them in despair, convinced their lives were over, Shinji finally spoke. "You don't need to panic. As long as you don't cause trouble, I won't kill you."

"Huh? Really? You won't kill us?" The alien fighters stared in disbelief.

"Of course it's true. I'll let you live, but you'll stay on Earth and work honestly. Do you understand?" Shinji said plainly.

"Understood!"

The aliens all nodded at once. Being spared was already more than they could hope for. None of them dared to complain.

"Then… what about Lord Boros?" one of them finally asked.

"I intend to join the Hero Association, the same organization Shinji belongs to," Boros replied. "From now on, his commands are my commands. Do you all understand?"

"Yes, understood!" The aliens nodded furiously.

After that, Shinji gave them their first assignment: guard the spaceship and repair the damage from the recent battle.

After such an event, there would surely be many who coveted the ship.

Metal Knight, for instance…

Though, Metal Knight probably wouldn't stoop to outright banditry.

The real concern was the [Organization], the group responsible for creating the "Machine God" series. Little was known about it beyond its ominous name, "the Organization."

While the Hero Association and the Monster Association were locked in battle, Metal Knight had stayed out of the fight because he had a more troublesome enemy in his sights, namely the Organization.

If Metal Knight had invested his dragon-level mecha production into that battle, it would have made things much easier for the heroes. Since the Organization also focuses on machines, it was only natural for them to be interested in Boros's ship.

That was why Shinji assigned those low-level fighters to both repair the ship and guard it.

"By the way, Boros." Shinji turned to ask, "Does your ship have any stealth functions?"

"Stealth… If you mean the kind that prevents detection by certain devices, yes. If you mean being completely invisible to the naked eye, then no." Boros answered.

"Hmm. In that case, forget it. Just leave the ship parked here." Shinji said, raising his shoulders.

They were in an uninhabited area far from A-City and the other cities.

Originally, Shinji believed that if the ship could cloak, they could hover it above the headquarters tower or over the uninhabited zone of Z City, and then no one would want it. But since the ship had no visual stealth, they had no choice. A vessel tens of thousands of meters long hovering over Z City's wasteland would be visible to almost everyone and would cause panic. That was out of the question.

As for above the headquarters tower, that might be possible, but only after the ship was fully repaired.

With the low-level fighters assigned, Shinji returned home. Boros had nothing pressing to do, so he followed Shinji.

The headquarters was still in chaos, so Boros would have to wait a couple of days before applying to join the Hero Association. Only the headquarters could grant him unconditional entry. If he applied at another branch, Boros would have to take the hero certification exam, which would be humiliating for someone of his stature.

If Boros actually took the exam, he might even produce absurd answers like Saitama did on the written test and end up ranked C-class. That would be worse.

"As I have said earlier, this planet is called Earth. Since you are new here, I'll show you around." Shinji led Boros inside and spoke as they entered. But he had apparently forgotten something.

"Yes, there are many things I have not seen before." Boros nodded slightly. When he first walked into the uninhabited zone of Z City with Shinji, he felt a strangely familiar presence, but he could not place it and did not ask.

At that moment, Shinji's phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Get over here now!"

Shinji heard Loris's voice. Her tone was urgent, but she deliberately kept it low.

Hearing Loris, Shinji suddenly remembered what he had forgotten. He hung up and told Boros, "Sorry, something came up. Wait here for a bit."

"I am not a kid, so you can go."

Boros did not pry. Because of his height, he nearly bumped his head entering the house. After pondering for a while in the living room, he sat on the sofa.

Shinji teleported to the higher-floor room where Loris stayed. Seeing Shinji appear out of nowhere, Loris grabbed his collar with both hands, panic written across her face.

"Why did you bring my brother here?! I just saw him through the window. If I had not reacted quickly and hidden, he almost would have noticed me!"