"Nothing special," Han Yu replied calmly, his polite smile showing no arrogance. The gap in power was simply too vast to take the situation seriously.
Dragon-level? It was merely a label relative to the heroes of this world. If every hero started at Han Yu's level, so-called monsters would just be odd-looking cosplayers—nothing to fear.
"This… this is impossible! How could all my bats just die like this?!"
The Bat King let out a low growl of disbelief. These bats were his painstaking creation, bred over a long time. Tens of thousands of them, each carrying a paralyzing and rapidly spreading venom, their wings modified to withstand firearms.
He had planned to wreak havoc with them, yet it had all ended in less than thirty minutes.
Han Yu ignored him, continuing his lighthearted conversation with Saitama. Enemies who refused to accept their defeat were nothing new to him—he didn't find them worth his attention.
Meanwhile, the "black dome" that had trapped Flashy Flash shattered, and the civilians, previously ensnared by the bats, scrambled away in terror, fearing the bats might revive.
Flashy Flash, seeing that the bats had truly lost their vitality, collapsed to one knee.
Spurt!
A mouthful of blood burst from his lips, tinged with streaks of purple—a clear sign of poisoning. His body bore numerous thin cuts, likely inflicted while he had been trapped in the "black dome."
Barely holding on, Flashy Flash had managed to suppress the venom's effects until now. But with the bats gone, the poison began to spread unchecked. His face turned purple, and vivid violet veins bulged along his temples and forehead.
Smiling Man inspected Flashy Flash's wounds. The ambulance hadn't arrived yet, and the venom's rapid spread was evident in his worsening complexion. Without immediate treatment, it could be life-threatening.
"You damned bastard! Where's the antidote? Hand it over!"
Smiling Man grabbed the Bat King by the collar. Without his swarm of bats, the Bat King was nothing more than a diminutive, powerless figure, incapable of posing any threat.
"Hahaha! Give it up!" The Bat King laughed maniacally. "This is my modified Bat Venom-B. Just one milliliter can paralyze a grown man within a minute, leaving them immobile. Within five minutes, they'll be dead—completely incurable! Taking an S-class hero down with me is a worthy trade!"
The Bat King's crazed laughter echoed as if the situation were already settled.
Smiling Man clenched his fists, his hand trembling as he prepared to punch him. But then he noticed the gathering crowd of civilians. "There are too many people here. I can't lose my temper in public. Damn it! If there weren't anyone watching, I'd beat this guy to a pulp!"
Heroes were bound by a code of honor. Striking down an enemy who had clearly lost their ability to fight would tarnish their reputation.
"Don't worry… I can still hold on. Focus on helping the wounded first…" Flashy Flash's voice was weak, and his words were followed by another violent cough of blood. The amount of purple venom in his blood was visibly increasing, indicating that the Bat Venom-B was spreading further in his body.
Genos approached to assess Flashy Flash's condition. With his cybernetic brain, he quickly calculated the spread of the venom.
"The toxin has spread to about 20% of his bloodstream. Once it reaches 25%, it will cause significant harm to his body."
"This guy wasn't bluffing," Genos concluded grimly. "Simply put… he's as good as dead. There's no saving him."
The Bat King laughed even more wildly, pushing Smiling Man to the brink of losing his temper.
Unable to restrain himself, Smiling Man glanced at Genos. Genos stepped aside, creating a blind spot in the crowd's view. Taking advantage of the moment, Smiling Man delivered a punch squarely to the Bat King's face.
Despite taking the blow, the Bat King didn't calm down. Instead, he chuckled mockingly, fueled by the hero's frustration. "I love seeing that angry expression on your faces. It's absolutely delightful. Watching your comrades die before your eyes while you stand powerless to help… how does that feel? Terrible, isn't it?"
The Bat King's twisted psychology was evident in his taunts, which made Smiling Man's fists clench tighter. If not for the people around, he might have already ended the diminutive villain's life.
"Oh, Bat Venom-B sounds so impressive… or maybe not," Han Yu said with a casual laugh.
The Bat King snapped his head around, glaring at the young man who had so effortlessly taken down his bats. Hatred burned in his eyes, only intensifying at Han Yu's dismissive comment. "Hmph! Talk big all you want. I don't believe you have a solution!"
"Still acting tough, huh?"
Han Yu's smiling face betrayed no malice as he slapped the Bat King hard across the face. Han Yu wasn't a hero in this world and had no reason to uphold their image. His actions were swift and decisive, leaving the Bat King utterly dazed.
The slap drew gasps from the onlookers. Heroes were supposed to refrain from attacking foes who had already lost their combat capabilities. But upon closer inspection, the crowd realized they couldn't identify Han Yu from any known hero rankings.
Han Yu, however, couldn't care less about their opinions. After all, these were the same people who overlooked Saitama's efforts, leaving him stuck as a C-class hero despite his feats. They misattributed Saitama's accomplishments to others simply because he didn't look like someone capable of defeating dragon-level threats.
"A trivial poison like this is hardly worth mentioning."
With a flick of his fingers, a pink flame appeared in Han Yu's palm. He gently snapped his fingers, sending the flame into Flashy Flash's body.
Almost immediately, tendrils of purple mist began to rise from Flashy Flash. His dark purple complexion quickly returned to a healthy, rosy hue, and the numbness in his limbs faded as his senses returned.
The Bat King stared in disbelief, watching his potent venom neutralized so effortlessly. He dared not speak a word. The man before him wasn't like the other heroes. Han Yu possessed overwhelming power and cared nothing for public perception, as evidenced by slapping him in front of the crowd.
"Thanks, brother. I owe you one," Flashy Flash said, taking a deep breath as he stood and approached Han Yu.
Han Yu smiled nonchalantly. "It was nothing."
He had stepped in to save Flashy Flash because he saw the latter's potential. Despite having the strength to defeat the Bat King, Flashy Flash had avoided direct attacks for fear of harming the civilians trapped in the "black dome." His selflessness was enough for Han Yu to lend a hand.
As they spoke, a sharp gleam flickered in Han Yu's eyes. His gaze shifted toward a woman standing on the street. Upon noticing his attention, she began walking toward him.
"That was quite the battle," the woman remarked, her voice calm and measured. "It's my first time seeing someone blend ice-based superpowers with swordsmanship so seamlessly. And you seem to have fire-based abilities as well?"
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