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Chapter 4 - Chapter 4: The Zombie Heroes… Were All Starving

Who was it that suppressed the million-sun explosion inside Zombie Sentry and extinguished it before it could erupt, thereby saving the sun itself?

Did that even need asking?

Naturally, it was Roland.

With the most dangerous zombie—Zombie Sentry—dealt with, it was time to return to Earth and clean up the remaining zombie heroes. Even a planet-busting monster like Zombie Captain Marvel was, to Roland, nothing more than a flying insect he could crush at will.

At this very moment, less than ten minutes had passed since Roland had dragged Zombie Sentry away from Earth.

For beings as powerful as Roland and Zombie Sentry, battles never lasted very long. Both possessed extreme super-speed movement. On Earth, they might not be able to unleash their full velocity—but if the battlefield was in space...

then everything would be over in an instant.

"The hardest one's taken care of. Time to head back to Earth and grind the rest of those disgusting things into dust, one by one."

"I dealt with Zombie Sentry so quickly that those bastards probably haven't had time to spread the virus yet. As long as that idiot Magneto doesn't pull anything stupid, this should all wrap up smoothly."

A relaxed smile tugged at Roland's lips as he turned toward Earth, still some distance away, then leaned forward and shot through space at tremendous speed, closing in on the planet in no time.

At the same time, he did not forget to glance at the livestream.

After all, he had made the scene this grand precisely to see everyone's reaction.

And in the stream, they were indeed stunned by the way he had finished off his enemy. The spectacle had been enormous—so enormous that none of them had ever imagined such a scene before, and even if they had, they would never have been capable of pulling it off.

Throwing someone into the sun?

They would have been roasted away long before even getting close, probably before reaching Mercury's orbit.

Absurd.

Utterly absurd.

A battle fought with the cosmos itself as the stage could never possibly be ordinary.

[Hero Time!]: Honestly, even I have to admit it—this newcomer's strength is absolutely outrageous...

Even Ben Tennyson had to admit that much.

He raised his hand and looked at the Ultimatrix on his wrist, which still held the DNA of Alien X from the recalibrated Omnitrix era.

That said, using Alien X at his current stage was an enormous, enormous hassle. If he could avoid using it, he would. He would only pull it out if things truly reached the point where he had no other choice—if he ran into an enemy he absolutely could not beat.

As for the others in the group, there was even less need to mention them.

Before this, Ben—with Alien X in hand—had been the strongest person among them. If even he thought Roland was frighteningly powerful...

[Princess of the Moon]: Newcomer, you truly are astonishingly strong. With power like this, if you plowed through my world, I fear no one would be able to stop you. Still, I believe you would never do such a thing.

Although Kaguya was equally shocked, she remained comparatively relaxed.

She had essentially treated Roland's battle against Zombie Sentry as a movie. Riding the thrill of that grand spectacle, she even tipped him a hundred points. Her world was practically a retirement home anyway, and points were not especially useful to her. At most, she could trade them for game consoles and video games to pass the time.

Kaguya did not believe Roland could cross worlds and come rampaging into hers.

Come on—how could any human or youkai possibly have that kind of power? Even Yukari Yakumo, that old—

Kaguya thought to herself, marveling at Roland's strength while also considering how best to build a closer relationship with the newcomer.

[Loves Taking Pictures]: Fighting with a star...? I just asked someone on my side, and they said only the highest-level Emanators or an Aeon could do something like that. People on that level are incredibly rare in the universe.

[Loves Taking Pictures]: I think it has to be the former. An Aeon? There's no way someone could reach that level with a mortal body, right? That just doesn't seem possible.

[Loves Taking Pictures]: But even if the newcomer—ah, no, I mean Multiversal Variant—is only at the level of an Emanator, that's still terrifying enough!

March 7th could never have imagined that Roland's current strength was far beyond even her wildest guesses. The things she thought impossible were, for Roland, entirely achievable.

When the chat group found Roland, it had truly latched onto an enormous thigh.

As far as Roland was concerned, the group's only purpose was to entertain him.

As for Mark Grayson, his father Nolan had just returned home, so Mark had already gone to ask him about the sun.

For example—could Nolan operate near the sun?

The answer had been simple.

"Mark... even as a Viltrumite warrior—even as one of the elite among Viltrumites—I can't do that."

Though Nolan found the question baffling, he thought it over and answered patiently in the end.

"I see... Then what if someone could do it?"

Mark was clearly deep in thought, but he still could not help pressing the matter.

"Then that person would have to be a terrifying opponent stronger than every Viltrumite alive. But that's impossible."

"Mark, you need to understand—among the races of the universe, we Viltrumites are the mightiest conq—I mean, protectors."

Nolan almost let the truth slip, but caught himself just in time.

He did intend to tell Mark the truth about the Viltrumites someday, to make him understand that responsibility and mission—

but not yet.

That said, there was one thing Nolan was very curious about, and he could not help asking:

"But Mark, why are you asking this?"

"Wait... have your powers awakened already?"

When he asked that second question, Nolan's expression suddenly turned complicated.

But the answer he received made him relax.

"No. Not yet. Though I really wish they had."

Mark shook his head with a trace of disappointment.

Even though his powers had not awakened yet, he was not far from turning eighteen. Mark was still full of hope for what was to come.

Soon enough, he shifted his attention back to the livestream.

[Invincible]: I confirmed it. Even my dad can't do that, and he's Earth's greatest hero.

[Invincible]: So just how strong is Multiversal Variant?

Before the livestream began, everyone had been calling Roland "newcomer."

After the livestream, they all addressed him directly by name, with a great deal of respect.

Roland was fairly satisfied with that. Wasn't this exactly what he had wanted to see when he decided to go live?

That said, the appetizer was over.

What came next would probably disgust several of the group members.

Zombie faces alone were one thing—anyone who had watched zombie movies could handle that.

But what about zombies eating people?

The image of zombie heroes with bright-red intestines hanging from their mouths...

Roland had to wonder whether someone might actually throw up.

...

Earth, New York—

Beneath the endless curtain of night, the prosperous city of steel had turned into a hellscape beyond description. Blood and mangled flesh covered the streets. Gnawed skeletons lay everywhere, stripped clean to the bone. Agonized screams rang out one after another, piercing the heavens and filling the air with terror.

Everyone was fleeing in blind panic, adrenaline surging, their legs pumping faster than professional athletes. Death was right behind them, and if they were even one step too slow, they would be torn apart alive.

The heroes who had turned into zombies hesitated not at all as they reached for the nearest people within their grasp.

They were all starving.

Join here to read ahead. 

In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)

Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 120)

Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 100) 

Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 100)

TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter89)

Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter86)

"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter63)

I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter75)

Can Playing Games Save the World? 53

Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 57

From Junkman to Wasteland 35

Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 26

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