After dealing with Psykos and the Monster Association, Zuke left.
From now on, the Monster Association would continue to develop systematically. Under the banner of being an "organization for monsters," it would undoubtedly attract many more to join.
And once they joined, they would become part of Zuke's "King's Army," forced to obey his commands with no chance of leaving freely.
In a way, this was even more binding than a slave contract—after all, these monsters had never even met Zuke, yet they were now bound to serve him just for joining the Monster Association.
But neither Tatsumaki nor Psykos cared about how the monsters felt.
Most of them were anti-human by nature, and if Zuke could repurpose them as useful tools, Tatsumaki was more than happy to see it happen.
As for Psykos, though she also had sociopathic tendencies, she had never cared about the lower-ranked monsters to begin with—they were just expendable pawns. If Zuke wanted to control them, so be it.
The only thing that bothered her was that she had also fallen under Zuke's control, meaning she could no longer act against his will.
---
"Why are you still here?"
After watching Zuke leave through the massive hole in the ceiling, Psykos turned to glare at Tatsumaki—even though Zuke was gone, Tatsumaki was still lingering.
As an S-Class hero, Tatsumaki naturally earned no goodwill from Psykos. One of the reasons she had founded the Monster Association was her ideological clash with Fubuki, and Tatsumaki was Fubuki's older sister.
Even if Tatsumaki clearly didn't recognize her, that didn't stop Psykos from treating her with hostility.
"Watch your tone. If Zuke hadn't ordered you kept alive, I would've snapped your neck already."
Tatsumaki wasn't any more polite—Psykos was the founder of the Monster Association, an entity heroes were sworn to eliminate.
The only reason she hadn't killed Psykos yet was because Zuke had claimed her. Otherwise, did Psykos really think she'd last more than a minute against her?
As for why Tatsumaki had stayed behind alone… she had questions.
"What exactly did Zuke… do to you earlier?"
That's right—she was still hung up on whatever had happened between Zuke and Psykos. The way Psykos had looked after losing consciousness was far too suggestive.
But a part of Tatsumaki still held out hope. What if she'd misunderstood?
Weren't there plenty of scenes in manga that implied something risqué had happened, only for it to turn out completely innocent?
"Huh?"
Psykos froze at the question, then quickly realized what Tatsumaki was asking. A faint blush spread across her face as she recalled what Zuke had done to her.
At the same time, she finally understood why Tatsumaki's attitude toward her had worsened after capturing Homeless Emperor.
She had initially wondered if Homeless Emperor had offended Tatsumaki, causing her to take it out on her… but now, the truth was clear.
The realization stirred complex emotions in Psykos—anger at being forcibly taken by Zuke, but also a strange thrill at Tatsumaki's jealousy.
"What's wrong? Jealous? With a body as tiny as yours, even if you wanted to do that with Zuke, could you even handle it?"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!?"
Tatsumaki exploded, her eyes burning with rage as if she wanted to tear Psykos apart with her mind.
"That kind of thing… can be solved with psychic power! Don't underestimate the flexibility of the human body!"
She didn't even deny wanting to do that with Zuke, which only made Psykos' expression grow even more peculiar.
But just as Psykos was about to push Tatsumaki's buttons further, Tatsumaki's phone rang.
Normally, there'd be no signal at 1,500 meters underground, but Tatsumaki's phone was a custom Hero Association model—it could receive special transmissions even without standard reception.
She pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and answered without caring that Psykos was right beside her.
"Hello? Child Emperor?"
Psykos immediately shut her mouth.
Zuke had ordered her not to interfere in important matters concerning him or Tatsumaki.
Clearly, a conversation with another S-Class hero qualified as "important." No matter how much she disliked it, she had to stay silent.
"Tatsumaki? The Hero Association higher-ups asked me to help remove something from their brains."
Child Emperor's voice came through the phone—quiet, but audible to Psykos.
"I heard it was caused by someone you brought in… Is there a problem? Any special reason for this?"
"Hmph. Just as Zuke predicted."
Tatsumaki smirked. Zuke had already foreseen that the executives would turn to Child Emperor or Metal Knight for help removing the foreign objects in their brains.
"Don't mind me. Just do what they ask."
This was exactly what Zuke wanted.
No matter how thoroughly Child Emperor or Metal Knight examined their brains, they wouldn't find anything—and they certainly wouldn't be able to extract "Black Bird: Lovers."
Once the higher-ups exhausted all options and realized it was futile, they'd have no choice but to submit to Zuke completely.
Then, the Hero Association would also fall under his control, ready to be absorbed into the "King's Army."
---
After leaving the Monster Association, Zuke first checked on Fubuki.
Before awakening her Stand, Fubuki had told him where she lived, so he could visit directly.
Finding her still unconscious, he checked her energy levels to confirm she was at least alive—no risk of death.
As long as she wasn't dying, the Stand awakening was proceeding normally. She just needed time to wake up.
With that settled, Zuke prepared to leave this mission world.
He still had no leads on Garou's whereabouts, and he wasn't about to waste time searching aimlessly.
Though the 8-hour gameplay limit no longer applied (he'd still gain rewards even if he exceeded it), his nighttime hours were precious.
"But I still have some time left… Might as well check the Dragon Ball world again."
Before logging out, he decided how to spend the remaining hours.
With a few hours left before morning, it was the perfect opportunity to train in the Dragon Ball universe.
He had already acquired Saitama's "Limit Breaker" ability—his growth rate was now on a completely different level.
To be continued…