"You really didn't disappoint me... Lexon." Standing in the gradually collapsing Root Dimension, Saitama still held his fist forward, speaking to the Lexon before him with a gentle expression. "You're truly strong..."
Saitama praised Lexon because, at this moment, his glove had already torn open, and the skin of his exposed fingers showed faint traces of slight abrasions.
This was an injury he hadn't sustained in a very, very long time.
That was why he offered such praise.
"Stop lying." Lexon, who had already closed the distance to Saitama, replied as their fists pressed against each other.
At this point, he had already been forced back to his normal state due to excessive exhaustion.
Yet, even after the clash of their techniques had fully subsided, Lexon's body remained entirely without injury.
"I was looking forward to a heart-pounding battle, but the result was that none of my attacks could even take effect on you. In fact, you still had enough strength left in the end to protect me." Lexon stated the reason.
A serious look appeared in his eyes as he stared at Saitama and continued, "Is this kind of battle really the one you were hoping for?"
"Saitama... are you... really satisfied? Truly... not disappointed?"
"..."
Faced with Lexon's question, Saitama fell silent.
He seemed either unsure of how to respond or... he was already admitting it through silence.
"Let's head back. It's about time to eat."
After a long silence, a smile finally surfaced on Saitama's face as he spoke to Lexon.
"..."
Lexon didn't say a word, simply continuing to stare at him.
Then, he released his pressed fist, withdrew it, and let it hang by his side.
*Crack...*
The sound of spatial fragments falling continued without interruption.
The collapse of the Root Dimension was now an unstoppable trend.
"Actually... I was a little disappointed." Suddenly, Saitama's voice rang out alongside the sound of the fragments.
Lexon's expression did not change.
"Being invincible is a good thing. When I'm being a hero and eliminating monsters, I don't have to worry about my strength being insufficient, and I don't have to worry about failing to save lives..."
Saitama spoke with a serious expression and a steady tone.
"Enemies that others find difficult to deal with, I can kill in one punch before their shocked eyes... it's very easy.
But I don't like it.
I'm not saying it feels bad to be a hero this way.
It's just that... as time accumulates day by day, I've found that... my emotions seem to be growing more and more detached.
I've lost that intense passion for many things I do... I can clearly feel that many of the emotions I should have are gradually disappearing...
If this keeps up, will I become a robot with invincible strength but no feelings?
At that time... will I even be considered human?
If I have no feelings... will I still be able to be a hero for fun? Will I be able to possess invincible strength without doing anything out of line?
I hate that. I don't want that, and I don't want to become that."
Saitama was being this honest with someone for the first time.
These were the thoughts and ideas buried deep in his heart.
Wouldn't a person who suddenly became invincible and gradually lost their emotions feel anxious?
It was undeniable that Saitama was a human with incredible mental fortitude, so strong that other humans couldn't even compare.
That was why only he had opened his Limiter while others couldn't.
But at the end of the day, no matter how strong a person is, are they still not human?
They are.
That was a certain and fixed answer.
So even Saitama had his own anxieties.
And what he was describing now were the anxieties unique to him.
"So I look forward to a heart-pounding, evenly matched battle where I can release everything. It's not just because I want to experience that feeling, but also because such a battle should be able to awaken my fighting passion and help my fading emotions recover."
As the final words fell, Saitama's heart-to-heart ended there.
"But you aren't certain if the battle you're looking forward to can actually make your emotions recover, right?" Lexon's point of focus was clearly a bit unusual as he posed a different question.
Saitama couldn't help but be stunned after saying so much only for Lexon to ask something like that, before responding, "Ah... true."
He really couldn't be one hundred percent sure that his emotions would recover after such a fight.
It was just how he felt in his heart.
"Then let's test the truth of that theory." Lexon's voice, carrying a hint of a smile, was mixed with the sound of the spatial fragments shattering.
Hmm?
What did that mean?
Looking at Lexon's clearly weak and pale face, Saitama expressed confusion at what he had said.
But in the next moment, Saitama's face was filled with shock.
"Lexon! ...! You??!!"
The startled words echoed through the collapsing space.
As strands of black hair drifted down, Lexon, whose head had gradually become as bald as Saitama's, said with a smile, "Come on. The warm-up is over. The real battle starts now."
Since Saitama had been so honest, Lexon wouldn't withhold a proper response to this hero.
Saitama's shock smoothed out, and in an instant, it transformed into a deep look of excitement.
He didn't bother thinking about why Lexon had suddenly become bald like him or why he had hidden it until now.
An indescribable, heavy fighting spirit simply radiated from his entire body, and he responded heavily and from the bottom of his heart with a single word...
"Good!!!!!"
The real battle starts now!
Since the Root Dimension was about to collapse, Lexon first swept his arm, sending the spectating Genos, Fubuki, and Mumen out of the space. Then, he teleported himself and Saitama to one of the other sub-worlds within Amenominaka.
Having just arrived in the Ice World, the two, brimming with battle intent, lunged forward.
They slammed together with immense force.
Their fists met, blasting out a fierce, invisible shockwave.
The vibration spread outward like a blast wave, crushing countless snow-capped mountains and even causing the freezing blizzard to stall.
It was clearly just a testing clash.
Yet the impact it caused was unexpectedly massive!
"As I thought, Lexon, you're just like me now!" Saitama's tone didn't hide his excitement; the fighting spirit radiating from him grew even more intense.
"So you can't hold back now," Lexon replied warmly.
What did it feel like to be invincible?
Saitama, who had broken his Limiter and donned the 'invincible' setting in this world, must have experienced it for a long time.
But for Lexon, this was the first time experiencing such a feeling.
This sensation that he could shatter anything if he just applied enough force...
Even ethereal things like space or souls...
The feeling that nothing was unbreakable if he willed it...
For some reason... it had an intoxicating charm...
In Lexon's view, Saitama had definitely been holding back during their fight just now.
Because based on his current firsthand experience...
If he willed it... ten of his previous selves wouldn't have been enough to face him!
No wonder Saitama was disappointed.
But now...
Lexon threw another punch, clashing with Saitama's once more, triggering a violent surge of energy.
It would be impossible for Saitama to be disappointed now.
Vaguely, Lexon felt his own fighting spirit starting to flare up as well.
The smile on his face didn't fade; instead, it began to curl upward even more.
'Invincible' versus 'Invincible'!
In these countless, evenly matched exchanges, Lexon gradually began to feel what Saitama was feeling right now.
That thorough...
That indescribable...
Absolute sense of liberation!!
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]