Golden Soul, Merciful Release

Whoosh!

Turbid yellow liquid surged from the earth. The dark Gate of Life and Death flew open, and amid the shrieks of countless yin spirits, Fubuki and the others several hundred meters away instantly turned pale.

She was about to be drowned by that aura of death.

Saitama extended his hand and watched as his glove seemed to cross countless years in an instant, becoming tattered and decayed. The moment he unclenched his fist, the glove crumbled into dust and scattered away.

The ground around him likewise turned gray, all life already extinguished.

Saitama looked at the opened Gate of Life and Death and the surging torrent of death. His figure abruptly vanished. The next moment, the people around him disappeared one after another. At a speed utterly impossible to follow with the naked eye, Saitama sent every one of them away.

By the time he returned to his original spot, both the ruptured entrance to the Spirit World and the Gate of Life and Death had vanished.

Saitama looked at the pool of radioactive blood on the ground, as well as the corpse still standing there. After a moment of silence, he turned and left.

"Mercenary Tao… is it…"

At some moment when that punch had come at him, he had felt a flicker of excitement and exhilaration. Mercenary Tao was certainly no strong opponent. Among the monsters he had fought, he probably did not even rank near the top.

But he had a feeling that Mercenary Tao had potential. Unfortunately, he was a madman.

After confirming that the bodies emitting white light at the scene were merely standing stiffly in place without any reaction, Saitama bent his knees and then leaped fiercely.

With a crack like the earth splitting apart, Saitama shot into the clouds in an instant, then picked a direction and descended.

He was going to clear out every one of those people who had turned this world into such a mess!

"Saitama…"

Fubuki’s chest rose and fell violently. Looking at herself and the car, which had somehow been moved to the outskirts of the city, she finally truly understood Saitama’s power.

That indisputably overwhelming strength left her unable to even feel fear.

Lilith also weakly stepped out of the car. Pressing her lips together, she looked into the distance at the corpse that had only its lower half left, still standing in a walking pose. That half-body no longer sprouted disgusting flesh buds as it had before. There was no sign of recovery.

"Mr. Mercenary Tao…"

Lilith stretched out a hand, then let it fall weakly. Fubuki held her shoulder, her own expression no better.

Even though Mr. Bang had told her that Mercenary Tao was most likely a vicious man from another world, and that everything he had done before had merely been to win their trust—

Fubuki still felt that he and Lilith saving her had not been false.

Did she have to distinguish from now on whether someone was sincere or insincere when saving others?

Heroes… were so complicated.

In a black-and-white world, there were no dimensions of time or space. There was no up or down, no left or right. What the naked eye saw and what actually existed did not correspond at all.

It was a completely twisted world.

Yet this world was peaceful.

Within the shadow of the giant broccoli, Bai Cangshu suddenly opened his eyes. He saw a pair of eyes—hollow eyes in which no pupils could be seen.

Bai Cangshu wanted to retreat, but his body remained where it was, completely motionless.

That familiar question began echoing around him again: "Why?" Those spirits who had died unjustly in great numbers in Seasoning City still could not rest in peace, asking day and night why they had to die.

"Do you know the answer?"

Shigeo Kageyama crouched before Bai Cangshu and asked him this.

Bai Cangshu suddenly realized that his perspective was very low. Shigeo Kageyama was currently of normal human size, so why did he have to crouch down to meet his gaze?

The next moment, as Bai Cangshu’s gaze shifted, he saw that less than half of his body remained. He immediately looked at the Space Panel, only to find that a great deal of information had long since refreshed.

EX051, you have suffered a Concept-level Attack: Serious Punch

Immunity check failed

Cellular activity lost. You have entered a near-death state.

Soul shattered. EX051 is about to die...

Psychic energy infusion detected. Converting life form...

Conversion failed. Special physique detected: Myriad Tribulations Yin Spirit Yellow Springs Physique. Reincarnator EX051 cannot be converted into a spirit-form lifeform.

EX051 is about to die. Data extraction commencing...

Special material detected. Golden Soul Fragment extracted.

EX051, special environment detected. You have entered: Artificial Divine Kingdom: Spirit World Revelation

...

"You saved me. Why?"

Bai Cangshu lowered his head and examined himself. At this moment, less than half of his body remained, as though someone had drawn a circle in front of him that happened to encompass most of his body, and then everything within that circle had vanished.

Only less than half of Bai Cangshu’s body remained, even most of his head gone.

The Serious Punch had not only utterly destroyed his cellular activity; it had also nearly shattered his very existence—his soul.

The psychic energy around Shigeo Kageyama’s body slowly subsided. Looking at this man who was so indifferent even toward his own death, he felt pity.

He lowered his head and gathered up the other’s fragmented spirit.

"I want an answer, Mr. Bai Cangshu."

Bai Cangshu focused his gaze on Shigeo Kageyama. This guy had indeed undergone some kind of change. No wonder the Space had issued a special kill order—the World Main Storyline.

This person defined as the Spirit World Evil Lord had actually glimpsed his true name. That should have been impossible, but Bai Cangshu then realized that his soul was nearly shattered at the moment, while the other party possessed some powerful ability of prophecy.

If the Space had lost its ability to interfere with him, then the other party truly could obtain this information.

Shigeo Kageyama then gently tossed Bai Cangshu’s spirit upward. Golden soul fragments wrapped around it, preventing it from sinking away.

"I can’t save you. He saved you."

Bai Cangshu felt a warm presence enveloping him.

This was… the reward he had received from that mission after Corey died—the fragment of the Golden Soul?!

The Space had designated the Golden Soul Fragment as a special material, but Bai Cangshu had never found a way to use it. The Fairy Master had guessed that it could be used to forge certain powerful items, or employed in some powerful abilities.

But he had never expected it to take effect in this way.

Shigeo Kageyama extended a hand, and the golden soul quickly took shape. As though molding clay, he restored Bai Cangshu’s body.

Bai Cangshu stood once again, feeling the tangible sensation of standing upon something.

"So, can you give them an answer, Mr. Bai Cangshu?"

Bai Cangshu frowned, unable to understand what Shigeo Kageyama meant. Moreover, the other seemed to be deliberately emphasizing his name.

In his eyes, Bai Cangshu should have been Fatalism.

Before Bai Cangshu could think further, the voices of the surrounding spirits grew louder and louder, becoming like crashing mountains and roaring seas.

What was it like when hundreds of thousands of people roared at once? The giant broccoli began to tremble and collapse in an instant.

Shigeo Kageyama staggered as well. Bai Cangshu noticed that the enormous black shadow behind him, which had previously seemed to connect to the Spirit World itself, had vanished.

He recalled the black shadow shattered beneath Saitama’s punch. So it had been the part of Shigeo Kageyama’s power that took that blow?

"You have no answer…"

Shigeo Kageyama seemed disappointed, but the aura around his body rapidly became unstable. Looking at the Divine Kingdom that was beginning to collapse and fall apart, he knew that having lost that power, he could no longer bring peace to these hundreds of thousands of spirits.

The Divine Kingdom was about to shatter.

Shigeo Kageyama suddenly turned his head and reached for Bai Cangshu with one hand. Psychic energy erupted, and Bai Cangshu was immediately seized by the throat, his soul trembling violently.

Shigeo Kageyama looked at Bai Cangshu, who remained calm and did not struggle, then raised his other hand as well.

"Resist, Bai Cangshu. Otherwise, I’ll kill you, then become the new ultimate evil spirit, and then…"

Pfft!

Bai Cangshu’s left hand shot out, instantly piercing the shōnen’s chest.

Shigeo Kageyama’s body trembled twice, but Bai Cangshu instead lifted him up.

Bai Cangshu looked at Shigeo Kageyama. For the first time when killing, there was not a trace of cruelty in his eyes.

He understood clearly that the other was begging him to kill him.

This was… Merciful Release.