You could cut the tension in the emergency shelter with a knife as Bang called out the Association officials on their incompetence, and declared that the S-Class heroes would personally test the new recruits themselves. Well, two people appeared unconcerned with the tension.
"So does this mean we didn't fail?" Saitama asked curiously.
"No, you did not. This buffoon was simply too ignorant to recognize actual strength. I mean, who watches someone smash a punching machine to pieces, and then gives them a zero for it? It makes no sense to me." Bang stated with his irritation still evident.
He was especially incised as a martial artist, so he knew the amount of effort one needed to put in to make themselves as powerful as the duo before him presumably were.
"My name is Bang, also known as Silver Fang of the S-Class heroes. What are your names?"
"I am Saitama, a guy that until now has been a hero for fun." Saitama readily introduced himself.
"And I'm-"
"MASTER!"
Before the burly, beautiful, man with the tail could introduce himself, a certain cyborg suddenly ran up to Saitama with a sense of urgency.
"I heard there was a commotion over here, and came to investigate! But as expected of you Master, to have already captured the attention of the S-Class heroes!" The cyborg declared with praise at the accomplishment of his Master.
"Oh? And who are you?" Child Emperor asked as he looked the cyborg up and down with interest.
"I am the cyborg Genos. I came along with Master Saitama to participate in the Hero Association entrance examination today, but due to my mechanical parts I was exempt from the physical evaluation. Instead, I merely had to provide a record detailing my physical parameters." Genos explained hurriedly and dutifully.
"Interesting..." Child Emperor muttered as he put on a pair of glasses and continued analyzing Genos with interest.
"I'll say. Did Saitama build you?" Sekingar asked curiously, even as he quietly had the Association run a background check on Saitama. Curiously, despite him claiming to have acted as a hero until now on his own, there was no record of him ever assisting the heroes of the Association, or even of him fighting monsters. Just how had he remained unknown for all this time?
"No, master Saitama did not build me. I come from a village that was destroyed several years ago by a rogue cyborg, and was only able to survive thanks to the amazing doctor Kuseno. Master Saitama saved my life several days ago, and I have become his disciple to better learn what makes him such an amazing hero." Genos hurriedly explained.
"Wow Genos, you actually managed to limit yourself this time." Saitama commented with pride, as Genos usually had a tangent to go on and ON when explaining something.
"I see..." Sekingar muttered quietly as he also requested a background check on this doctor Kuseno, as they had already been tracking Genos before he applied to officially become a hero.
All eyes then turned to the only other person who was an unknown, the in ordinarily beautiful man with a monkey tail.
"Well then, my name is Alexander D. Morningstar. Alternatively, I am known as the Dragon Emperor who rules over the land of Asora." Alex stated as he finally introduced himself to the heroes present, before stunning them all as his arm extended unnaturally as he pulled Tatsumaki close to him while her face turned bright red.
"I'm also dating the number 2 hero, Terrible Tornado. Or Tatsumaki as she's properly known."
"""!?!"""
No one knew how to react to THAT, especially considering the size difference between the couple.
"Humph! There's no reason to think too deeply about it!" Tatsumaki declared in a haughty tone to hide her embarrassment, before she flipped over Alex to rest her arms atop his right shoulder casually.
"Ha ha. You're so cute when you're embarrassed." Alex told her with mirth, making Tatsumaki turn even redder.
"Baka...." She swore under her breath while looking away pointedly.
"Do we even need to test this guy? I mean, he even managed to tame THAT brat!" Atomic Samurai muttered quietly to Sekingar, who silently found himself agreeing. But they still needed to see what Alex and Saitama were both capable of.
"If we are going to do this, then I think a change in venue is going to be necessary." Alex stated suddenly, before all of them suddenly found themselves standing in what appeared to be a barren wasteland covered in red soil and rocks.
"W-where are we?!" Darkshine asked as he looked around worriedly.
"Mars." Alex answered casually, before flicking his hand as a massive membrane stretched out over the entire planet.
"H-how can we BREATHE?!" The association official, who had also been transported along with EVERYONE within the emergency shelter, demanded worriedly, even as everyone else tried to wrap their heads around suddenly being in space.
"I created a bubble around us when we teleported here, and then expanded the bubble to encompass the entire planet. We can go completely wild without any concern for innocent civilians now." Alex explained as if it were the most normal thing.
"But let's up the stakes a little..."
As Alex said that, several floating cameras appeared out of thin air that were pointed at all of them intently. And unknown to them, the cameras started broadcasting a live feed back to earth that over took every single electronic with a screen.
"Greetings to every man, woman and child of earth!" Alex declared as he looked directly into the camera pointed right at him.
"I doubt any of you know who I am, so I shall do some introductions. I am Alexander D. Morningstar, alternatively known as the Dragon Emperor. I am broadcasting this to the entire world to declare that I will be taking over the entire planet as your new tyrannical dictator!"
"""!?!"""
Understandably, the S-Class heroes along with the Hero Association officials grew tense when they heard Alex's plans, with the only exceptions being Saitama and Tatsumaki.
Alex however appeared completely unconcerned as he continued, "to show you all the futility of trying to resist, I have gathered the majority of your S-Class heroes to fight on your behalf! Before they fight me though-"
*Shish!*
Whatever Alex had been about to say was cut off suddenly, as Flashy Flash moved faster than anyone else, other than Saitama, could follow before removing Alex's head from his shoulders.
"That was quite rude." Alex's decapitated head said lightly, shocking them all further as said head reattached itself to his body like nothing had happened.
"Now then, as I was saying before I was so RUDELY interrupted! Before the S-Class heroes fight me, they will have to get through my own fighters! Here they are now!"
With a dramatic flourish of his hand, Alex summoned fifteen figures that stood between him and the S-Class heroes with their heads raised high.
"Introducing Kuroka Toujo, Rias Gremory, Yue, Shia Haulia, Moka Akashiya, Erza Scarlet, Yaegashi Shizuku, Grayfia Lucifuge, Kurumu Kurono, San Otanoshi, Yami, Lala Satalin Deviluke, Lucy Heartfilia, Mirajane Strauss, and Yuna!
"These lovely ladies are some of the most powerful and devoted amongst my MANY wives and lovers, and if the S-Class heroes wish to protect the earth from my tyrannical takeover, then they must defeat them to earn the right to challenge me! Let the battle for the future of the earth begin!"
Declaring such, Alex proceeded to sit back on a throne he conjured from nothing as each of the S-Class heroes began to move.
Again, Flashy Flash darted at Alex with his sword raised, intending to instead cut him into a few hundred pieces to see if that would work.
*Clang!*
Instead, the sound of metal hitting metal rang out as the pony-tailed girl blocked his attack with a small blade he recognized as a tantō.
The woman made his eyes widen slightly in shock, as Flashy Flash hadn't even seen her move, let alone draw her blade to deflect his own.
Around the barren wasteland the same thing was happening as several S-Class heroes tried to go directly for Alex to cut the head off the snake, but instead found their way blocked by several of the girls as they defended him.
And not even all of them had started fighting!
While Alex was lounging on his throne, Kuroka, Rias, Grayfia, and San joined him as they began pampering him in some way, with Rias massaging his shoulders, Grayfia bringing him some grapes and wine, and San sitting in his lap.
"You know, you should participate as well, Tatsumaki." Alex told the esper as she continued floating in the air beside him.
"Why?" She asked him irritably. After all, she knew Alex well enough to know he wasn't going to actually become a tyrannical dictator like he had declared to the world. He only said so to make the S-Class heroes serious.
"Because it'll show just how strong we are, and people will just say that I brainwashed you or something so we wouldn't have to fight you." Alex answered, before taking a sip of wine that Grayfia offered him.
"Fiiiiiiine." Tatsumaki groaned while rolling her eyes in annoyance, before she began to battle against Yue.
"So are you actually trying to take over the world?" Asked another voice, belonging to one of the only two people not fighting, Saitama and Genos.
"I don't want to. But my wives and people are pretty fanatical about spreading my influence. Even if I didn't do this now, some of them would still find ways to increase my influence within your world while also building my wealth, until I was effectively your ruler regardless. I'm just expediting the process while also providing some entertainment."
As Alex said that, Moka delivered a heel-drop right in front of Tank Top Master that missed his body, but shredded his tank top and split the ground beneath them.
*SHHHHHHHRRRRR!*
A terrible tearing noise filled the air as a chasm opened up in the ground beneath them from her attack, of which Moka stood on one side while Tank Top Master collapsed on the other, completely pale as he held the shredded remnants of his tank top in his hands.
"Let's see you get through MY muscles!" Darkshine declared as he rushed Moka, completely confident that the conditioning of his body would defend against her attacks.
"Hmph. Know your place." Moka sneered at him as she spun around, and planted her foot right in the middle of his chest with her full force.
Normally this would be enough for her to reduce anyone to a mere red stain on the surrounding rocks. But, since they didn't come here to actually kill anyone, Alex used his own abilities to stealthily hold Darkshine together as the speedo-clad hero was sent flying back into the mountain range behind him, a hundred miles away.
What neither Alex nor Moka knew was that, with Darkshine still experiencing the pain of Moka's attack, all of his will as a hero was shattered permanently. After today, the S-Class hero would never fight on behalf of humanity ever again.
Tank Top Mater however was charging against Moka while wearing a brand new tank top, incised that she had apparently shredded his favorite one.
Meanwhile Flashy Flash was having a horrible time against the pony-tailed girl as they traded hundreds of blows within a matter of three seconds. Each one was him trying to get through her defenses, and each time she casually deflected his blade as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
Seeing this was going nowhere, Shizuku decided to end the fight as she flashed forward suddenly with her tantō, slicing cleanly through ALL of Flash's equipment as she did so.
His prided sword, armor, clothes, and even hair all fell to Flash's feet in a pile of scrap, leaving him naked and disarmed in the middle of the battlefield.
"This is my win." Shizuku stated as she dispelled her tantō, while Flash glared at her irritably.
"I'm a hero. This isn't over until either you kill me, or I kill you." He stated defiantly while kneeling down to collect the pieces of his armor and sword, not out of sentimentality, but to use as weapons if need be.
"Haaa... If you insist." Shizuku answered as she conjured a length of near invisible wire from her inventory.
The next thing Flash knew, he was tied up in an embarrassing pose that left him completely exposed to both the heroes and women around them, and the cameras, while Shizuku casually sauntered back to Alex's side.
"Do you think I went a little too far?" She asked Alex worriedly while glancing back at Flash.
"Nah. The main point of this is to show off how strong we are, and to give their egos a reality check." Alex said without concern, before sipping some more of the wine Grayfia brought him.
He then turned his attention towards Yuna, who was fighting both Metal Bat and Watchdog Man at the same time, alternating between the Berserker and Yankee Dresspheres as she did so.
As a Berserker Yuna was dressed in numerous animal pelts that came complete with several horns and fangs, while actual claws adorned her hands and feet. In her Yankee attire though, Yuna was wearing a school uniform jacket that hung from her shoulders, while a band of cloth was all that covered her breasts and a long skirt covered her legs all the way down to the ankle.
In her hands was a wooden bokkon,which more than made up for its lack of an edge through durability and strength. Enough so that Yuna was leaving numerous dents all over Metal Bat's metal bat, easily warping beyond recognition.
The only problem Yuna had with the Yankee Dressphere was that it did not give her any panties beneath her skirt. Instead, all she received a single bandaid for some reason.
Even as Yuna handled her two S-Class opponents with ease, Child Emperor was currently curled up in the fetal position as he faced his first ever existential crisis, courtesy of his own opponent. Lala.
No matter what inventions he tried to use to defeat her, Lala would simply use the power of her Gasha Gasha no Mi to disassemble them in order to see how they worked, before reassembling them with her own modifications and improvements. All while talking to Child Emperor and making her own suggestions about future inventions.
Child Emperor was easily one of, if not THE smartest person on the planet when you take his age into consideration.
When also taking into consideration his numerous roles within the organization in analyzing monsters, toxins, upgrading their software and tech, and his own numerous gadgets that he employs when he does go out into the field, Child Emperor was also one of the most important amongst the S-Class heroes alongside Metal Knight.
However he was now calling EVERYTHING he had ever done into question thanks to the pink-haired monster before him.
"What was it all for? What was it all for? What was it all for?" He muttered over and over again, recalling as he did so the numerous advancements he'd made over the years, the innumerable hours and days he'd spent going to cram school, and all of his efforts as a hero.
*Clang!*
*Clang!*
*Clang!*
In another area, Atomic Samurai was busy trying to get through the defence of a scarlet-haired woman attired in a pair of loose-fitting pants with flames embroidered on them, and a band around her breasts while she welded a pair of regular katanas. Erza Scarlet.
No matter what he did though he could not get through at her, all while Erza merely used a single one of her katana to deflect his attacks with no visible effort.
'This woman...' Atomic Samurai thought to himself as she deflected his latest attack with the very tip of her blade.
'I cannot even break through her defenses... Is there anyone amongst the swords masters who would be able to?!'
The woman before Atomic Samurai felt like an unscalable mountain, one whose peak resided within the very clouds with sheer cliffs that were impossible to climb.
"It is time to end this." Erza stated suddenly, drawing him out of his thoughts as both of her katanas disappeared.
Atomic Samurai's first thought was that she was saying that she didn't need them to fight against him. But then another blade appeared in her grip, another katana by the looks of it, one that was significantly longer and was sheathed in an ornate fur sheath.
"One attack each." Erza declared as she held the sheath in one hand to her side, and placed the other on the hilt of the katana. It was the perfect stance for an Iaido.
"Very well." Atomic Samurai responded, sheathing his own katana and getting into a stance that mirrored hers.
Iaido was a technique that sacrificed defence for one instantaneous attack. If he was going to be able to defeat her, this was his chance to.
For a beat neither of them moved, even as numerous battles raged around them. Then...
"..."
Without Atomic Samurai even realizing it, Erza appeared behind him instantly with such speed that she had left an after image in her original place.
"Guh..." He groaned weakly, blood trickling from his mouth, before the samurai dropped to the ground as numerous slashes appeared throughout his body.
Upon her opponent's defeat, Erza reverted to her usual armor/skirted attire and slowly walked back to her Lord's side, her eyes sweeping the battlefield as she did so. For the greatest defenders this world could muster, the majority of S-Class seemed pathetically weak to her.
The man known as Zombieman for example appeared to just be an ordinary man, who possessed the ability to regenerate infinitely so he could continuously fight regardless of his injuries. Yet Yami had him tied up by the strands of her hair to immobilize him.
Puri Puri Prisoner seemed like a titanic hulk with strength akin to a Rook, except Yami also took care of him almost instantaneously due to his perverseness. All she needed to do was hit him a few times with her hair transformed into fists.
Kurumu was fighting the one known as Sweet Mask, and now had him crawling on the ground begging for mercy after conjuring an illusion of the most grotesque and ugly thing Erza had ever seen.
Lucy was walking away from a defeated Pig God, a man who could seemingly eat anything and everything. Only she had summoned Ifrit to roast the man alive to the point of unconsciousness.
That just left Bang and Tatsumaki, who was only fighting them to say she also participated at Alex's request.
Bang was doing....surprisingly well for a regular human at his age. Then again, Shia WAS holding back by not fighting against him directly.
Instead, the bunny-girl was picking up handfuls of Martian sand and throwing them at Bang while using the power of her Moa Moa no Mi. Not only did this increase each grain of sand to the size of cannonballs, but it also increased their speed by a hundred times.
On the receiving end, Bang's hands were moving as fast as he could make them as he used his Fist of Flowing Water Crushing Rock to divert the enhanced grains of sand. He was succeeding so far, but his energy was not limitless while his hands were also sustaining significant damage the longer he kept this up.
On her end, Tatsumaki was starting to struggle as she battled against Yue in a match of Telekinesis versus magic.
Yue when Alex met her was already a force to be reckoned with due to her immortality, significant mana pool, and ability to use all forms of magic from her home world, Tortus.
Now however, her abilities could be considered on the cusp of divine due to not only drinking Alex's blood every day, receiving his Bishop piece, and gaining access to his status/job system, but also because she had recently received the Vampire Progenitor Bloodline from Alex upon his return from the HOTD world.
Tatsumaki on the other hand had not fought against an evenly matched opponent for several years, let alone someone who so obviously outclassed her.
Even as Tatsumaki created several tornadoes, moved entire mountains, and pulled Continental sized meteors from space onto her, Yue dealt with them all with ease of swatting a bug. And the more she pushed herself, the faster Tatsumaki was exhausting herself at the same time due to being unused to using so much of her power at once.
"Sleep..." Yue then said, her hypnotic voice echoing throughout the battlefield as not just Tatsumaki, but every single S-Class hero present that was still awake collapsed into a deep slumber.
Even King, who had slipped away unnoticed by his fellow heroes, and was hiding behind some boulders in fear.
"All the S-Class heroes....have been defeated." Genos stated in a factual tone, though there was obvious shock there as well.
"Well, not ALL of them." Alex stated, even as the petite Yue approached him, before climbing into his lap and straddling him as she sank her fangs into his neck.
"There's still Metal Knight and Drive Knight to consider, on top of the number one, Blast. But even if they HAD been here it would have made no difference." He continued as if he didn't have a certain vampiress sitting in his lap and sucking his blood while grinding her hips against his suggestively.
Even as he said that, Alex looked up suddenly as he sensed something occurring back on earth.
"Tch. And now they appear." Alex snorted irritably.
Understandably, the people of earth had grown terrified upon seeing their greatest heroes being defeated one after the other, all while their opponents didn't even appear winded from their respective battles. And at the same time, the Hero Association was desperately trying to control the situation while also trying to mobilize the aforementioned Metal Knight and Drive Knight, along with contacting Blast.
Unfortunately for them, the people of earth weren't the only ones watching the broadcast that Alex had aired.
Upon seeing the defeat of the S-Class heroes, numerous hidden factions of nonhumans had started to mobilize in a bid for global dominance.
From the oceans, thousands of aquatic figures were rising on behalf of their liege, the Deep Sea King, in a bid to take control of the surface world as well as the oceans.
From the skies, an army of winged figures were descending on behalf of the Sky King to also stake their claim up on the surface world.
Most frighteningly though, was the fact that hundreds of monsters were also flooding the streets from underground access points in a coordinated effort against the remaining heroes, especially A-Class.
They were the Monster Association.
The Monster Association was a group of monsters that organized in an attempt to defeat the hated S-Class heroes and show the humans their rightful place, as nothing more than their cattle.
Terror spread throughout the entire world as all three groups appeared simultaneously, their primary goal being the destruction of the Heroes Association now that the S-Class heroes were no longer available.
"You've got to be kidding me..." Alex groaned irritably as his fun was interrupted, and he waved his hand impatiently as each of the S-Class heroes suddenly awoke while being filled with vigor, and their injuries healed.
"Huh? What happened?" Bang muttered as he awoke, before his gaze landed on Alex.
"YOU-!"
"We don't have the time right now." Alex cut him off impatiently as any other sounds that would have come out of Bang's mouth were silenced.
"The earth is under attack right now by three different groups of monsters."
"""!!!"""
Anything anyone else was about to say was silenced as they all locked in from what Alex told them. Well, all of them but King and Darkshine, while Child Emperor still appeared dispirited from facing Lala earlier.
"Now when I said I wanted to take over the earth, I was kidding. I mean, it'll probably happen, but I'm not that interested in doing so. I only said that to get you all to fight against us seriously.
"Now however you all need to lock in here and deal with this. I'll send you all back right now, and even give some of you some equipment that is even better than the stuff you were using before."
Even as Alex continued speaking, said equipment appeared out of thin air in front of Metal Bat and Flashy Flash, equipment that was far superior to anything they had used before.
"Alright, now I'll scatter each of you across the world so that you get right to it. NOW!"
The second he finished speaking, Alex conjured a Gate for each of the S-Class heroes that transported them randomly throughout the world, allowing them to start fighting the rampant monsters as soon as they arrived.
He also sent back the Association employees, and the other exam takers that he had brought with them.
"Us too?" Shizuku asked curiously as she and the other girls crowded around Alex.
"Of course. This is another chance for us to show off how strong we are." Alex answered as if it were only natural. He then opened the Chatroom while Gating them to earth as well.
[DING!
Alex: exp farming event going on now! Get them while they're hot!]
The second Alex sent that message to the Chatroom, nearly all of the women connected to it began to mobilize as they rushed to try and get as much exp for their respective Jobs as possible. And leading the charge was both Hancock and Azula, the two of them competing to outdo the other.
"What about us?" Saitama asked, making Alex look up from the numerous responses he was receiving from the announcement. Now it was just him, Alex, and Genos present on Mars.
"Well, I can send Genos as well if he wants to participate. But I have some business with you." Alex said as he put his full attention on the baldy.
"I would like to go and help the others, if that is ok with you Master." Genos immediately decided.
"Sure. Knock yourself out." Saitama readily replied, and Genos promptly vanished as Alex used another Gate on him.
"So, what do you want with me? And are you sure they can handle all of that by themselves?" Saitama asked casually, as if earth wasn't currently facing an apocalyptic event.
Then again, if he NEEDED to fight, then Saitama could just launch himself through space to get back. It might take him a few minutes, but Saitama was sure he could aim properly as he glanced at the tiny dot that was the earth.
"I want to fight you of course." Alex stated as if it were obvious.
"Oh?" Saitama muttered while cocking a brow. "Should we really be doing that right now?"
"They're fine. I have complete trust in my wives to deal with whatever comes up while we're busy. And if they can't, I'll know and will drop the fight to go help them. So what do you say?"
"Hmm..."
Saitama hummed as he contemplated Alex's offer for a moment.
Truthfully, he was interested in fighting Alex after seeing what he could do during their entrance examination. But, he had also learned after numerous disappointments not to get his hopes up about finding a good challenge.
Saitama had met numerous monsters that would go on and on about how strong and unbeatable they were, only for him to punch them once and turn them into paste. It made the fights boring, and he had ended up losing a lot of the excitement that came with the early battles from when he first started as a hero.
"How about this." Alex suddenly said, making Saitama look up at him. "Give me a serious punch, just one. And if I survive, then we'll have our fight."
"And if I accidentally kill you?"
"Don't worry, I won't die even if I'm killed. So how about it?"
"..."
Saitama continued looking Alex up and down as he considered the proposal of a fight between the two of them, before making his decision.
"..."
"!!!"
Even as his Observation Haki went off, Alex was unable to even consider dodging as Saitama suddenly appeared before him, his fist a mere inch away from his face.
"Semi-Serious Series: Semi-Serious Punch."
The next thing Alex knew something had hit him right in the middle of his face, and he was flying backwards before crashing into a mountain. And then another. And then a third. And a fourth.
It was only a few mountains later that Alex finally came to a stop, buried halfway through it with blood gushing from his broken nose as he tried to blink away the tears.
"Dafuq?! He didn't even use any Haki!" Alex sputtered in disbelief, even as he healed his nose and focused on the exact spot where Saitama was still standing.
"To break the nose of a man who's made of rubber.... How exciting!" Alex declared before he launched his counter attack.
"Well, I guess that was it...." Saitama muttered dejectedly as Alex flew away, feeling foolish that he had, once again, gotten his hopes up.
He then turned around and prepared to launch himself back to earth, when he sensed something behind him.
"..."
"!!!"
Turning around, Saitama was greeted with sight of a fist that was less than an inch away from his face, before it hit him on the jaw.
Sound couldn't even keep up as Saitama was sent flying away from the force of Alex's punch, far enough that he actually exited Mars' atmosphere and crashed into a whole different terrestrial body. Phobos, the largest of Mars' two moons.
Buried deep within the moon, which had been launched out of Mars' orbit by his hit, Saitama tasted and felt something in his mouth that was unfamiliar, until he spat it out and saw his own tooth and blood.
'Blood...?' Saitama though, his mind stalling slightly as he looked at the red substance.
'When did I last see my own blood?'
Saitama's mind reeled as he came to terms with the pain in his jaw, which was possibly fractured, the tooth he had just lost, and the blood that he could taste and now see with his own eyes.
'I'm bleeding...'
'I'm bleeding!'
'I'M BLEEDING!'
A massive grin appeared on Saitama's face as he realized that, for the first time in a long time, someone had actually managed to injure him.
There was no hesitation in his actions as he readily shattered Phobos, sending chunks of the moon flying in every direction throughout space, and kicked the empty space behind him with enough force that he launched himself back to Mars to continue his battle with Alex.