"Huh?"
Garou's expression completely froze.
Even when he witnessed KING's world-shattering blow just now, he hadn't shown such an expression.
"Interest?"
Garou's voice was filled with disbelief.
To become the "Absolute Evil," he had abandoned everything human, bearing all the infamy.
But he didn't regret it, because he believed he was fighting against the "Justice" that represented this world.
As a result, this S-Class Hero in front of him was just treating this as a hobby?
"Don't joke around..."
Garou lowered his head, his shoulders shaking violently.
"Just because of interest, you can possess this kind of power?"
"Then what does my resolve, my life-and-death struggle, my all-out battle, count for?"
"Is it a ridiculous farce, self-directed and self-acted?!"
Saitama looked at the emotional Garou, scratching his head somewhat helplessly: "It's not so bad, is it? Everyone has their own hobbies."
"Just like some people like playing games, and some people like rushing to buy things on supermarket sale days."
"Shut up!!"
Garou suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot. "You, who treat fighting as a child's game, don't understand at all!"
Just then, a steady series of footsteps slowly approached.
Thump, thump, thump.
Garou, who had been hysterical moments ago, suddenly held his breath.
He stiffly turned his head, looking in the direction of the footsteps.
KING.
The strongest man on earth, who had just pierced through dimensions with a single blow, was walking over with his hands in his pockets, his expression indifferent.
Although the roar of the Emperor Engine had stopped, an oppressive Intimidation still emanated from him.
Lin Mo walked up to Saitama, stopped, and looked at Garou kneeling on the ground.
He was quite satisfied with that strike; the God clearly suffered injuries from it.
This was evident from the eighty thousand energy points it provided.
Garou stared intently at KING.
Since that bald guy was a weirdo who only acted on interest, then this man, known as the strongest man on earth, this existence representing the pinnacle of the Hero Association, must have a noble reason, right?
Whether it was to protect justice or maintain order, even if it was for the sake of a hypocritical slogan like "love and peace," it would at least make his defeat seem a little more dignified.
"KING..."
Garou gritted his teeth and asked the same question:
"That bald guy said it was for interest, what about you?"
"Is it to protect the future of humanity? Or to uphold some supreme justice?"
Tell me!
At least let me feel that I didn't lose in vain!
At least let me feel that I was facing a heavy resolve!
Lin Mo came back to his senses, looking down at the blood-stained young man at his feet.
He fell silent.
Actually, Lin Mo felt a little helpless inside.
Why?
There aren't so many whys.
At first, it was just to avoid exposing the fact that he was a weakling, so he had to bite the bullet and keep up the pretense.
After many experiences, he became strong to this extent and began to take on responsibility.
KING's silence, however, became profound contemplation in Garou's eyes.
Finally, Lin Mo spoke.
He slightly raised his head, looked at the vast starry sky, and slowly said:
"It's... a matter of luck, I suppose."
"?"
Garou was completely dumbfounded.
He opened his mouth wide, his entire body like petrified stone.
Even Saitama next to him was stunned for a moment, turning to look at Lin Mo, thinking: "So it's because of luck? That's pretty similar to me."
As for Garou, he felt the whole world spinning, all his values collapsing.
Saitama was for "interest."
KING was because of "luck."
How absurd!
How ridiculous!
He was like a clown on stage, shouting himself hoarse, sacrificing everything for his ideals, roaring at the heavens to break injustice.
Yet these two at the pinnacle, one treated it as a game, the other attributed it to luck.
"A matter of luck..."
Garou laughed miserably, tears streaming down his face, his body twitching from laughter.
"There is no fated nemesis, no ultimate showdown between good and evil."
"What I'm fighting against is merely a passerby 'acting out of interest,' and a transient 'by chance.'"
If that's the case, what does my persistence count for?
What does my suffering count for?
All the blood and roars along my path seem so cheap and insignificant in the face of these two casual phrases!
"Hahahaha! Damn it! What a damn world!"
Garou violently pounded the ground, venting the emotion in his heart, which was a mix of sorrow and self-mockery.
Just then.
"Found the target! Over there!"
"That Monster is done for!"
A flurry of footsteps and shouts came from a distance.
Immediately after, several figures broke through the dust and arrived at the center of the ruins.
Leading them was the A-Class Rank 1 Hero, Sweet Mask, who had just recently woken up.
Behind him were several B-Class and C-Class Heroes.
"Mr. KING! And... One-Punch Man?"
Sweet Mask saw the two standing there, first greeting them, then his gaze instantly locked onto Garou kneeling on the ground.
Upon seeing Garou's weakened state, Sweet Mask's face erupted with intense killing intent.
He strode forward, veins bulging on his forehead, and shouted:
"Since you've subdued him, why haven't you acted yet?!"
"Mr. KING, this scum who has fallen into a Monster must be executed immediately! This is a hero's duty!"
Several heroes behind him, who had been hunted by Garou, also shouted:
"Kill him!"
"Don't let him go!"
"Execute the Monster!"
Countless malicious voices surged like a tide, as if the judgment of justice was about to descend.
Garou knelt on the ground, listening to these noisy voices, his heart filled only with ashes.
This was the "justice" he was fighting against, a mob of people using the banner of justice to vent their personal grudges.
But after witnessing KING's transcendent power, he no longer had the strength to refute Sweet Mask.
"Do it," Garou murmured, closing his eyes. "Anyway, this boring farce should end now."
Lin Mo frowned.
He didn't dislike justice, but he disliked Sweet Mask's extreme kind of "justice."
Just as he was about to say something.
An old yet powerful voice cut through the clamor, overriding all the shouts of killing.
"Wait."
The crowd automatically parted.
An old man with a hunched back and numerous scars walked over.
S-Class Hero Rank 3, Silver Fang, Bang.
"That's my disciple."
Bang walked step by step to the front of the crowd, standing between Sweet Mask and Garou.
"Silver Fang?" Sweet Mask frowned, his tone unfriendly. "What do you mean by this?"
"Are you going to protect this Monster who has severely injured countless heroes? Don't forget, all of this is due to your inadequate teaching!"
"Precisely because of that."
Bang's voice was low, carrying unconcealed weariness and heartache.
"This old man has the responsibility to personally put an end to it."
He turned around, his back to the crowd, and looked at the figure kneeling on the ground.
That was once his most proud and most hopeful disciple.
The young boy who used to sweat profusely in the dojo, with stubborn yet clear eyes.
"Can you leave him to this old man to handle?"
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