Hero For Lust

On the outskirts of…

"Ain't no way this is Z-City."

After making his way across a set of mountain ranges, Caspian now stood in a grassy field outside of a large city. Whose roads were but one large traffic jam.

THUD!

"What was that?"

Caspian scanned the cityscape's edge, finding nothing unusual.

Frankly, the cacophony of tens-of-thousands of car horns blaring in unison started to drive him mad. To a normal person outside of the city, the sounds of the horns would be faint, but with Caspian's ever enhanced senses it's as though he's standing in the center of it all.

¤ ¤ ¤

Currently, miles away from Caspian.

"Big bro, where are we?"

"We're nearing D-City. Soon the world shall witness the might of the Brain and Brawn Brothers!"

With every step, Marugori covered a great distance. It didn't take long before a series of mountain ranges came into his view.

"Big bro, should I test out my strength on this mountain?"

Fukegao, standing on his little brother's right shoulder, pointed ahead and said, "No, walk right over it. D-City is dead ahead."

THUD!

The Brain and Brawn Brothers had nearly reached their destination.

THUD!

Fukegao shook in excitement. "That's it! Just walk right through the city. You'll claim so many lives with a single ste—woah!"

Before he could finish his sentence, his little brother came to a sudden halt, causing him to nearly fall.

"Big bro I'm stuck."

Fukegao couldn't believe it. "What do you mean you're stuck? What could halt your movement?"

Marugori looked down toward his feet and his massive eyes widened.

"B-bro, someone is holding down foot."

"What! Then shake them off."

He obeyed his brother, flailing his massive form around, intent on fulfilling the command.

Much to Marugori's relief, his foot came free. "Haha! Big bro, no one can stop us." Glancing over to receive his brother's praise, his expression twisted.

Marugori's eyes widened in horror as he realized his erratic movements had hurled his helpless big brother to his death. The weight of his mistake shattered his mind.

"Big bro!"

"How did this happen?! I just wanted to be strong!"

Marugori fought back his tears with clenched fists.

"And I finally am the strongest man, but…!"

Marugori's bloodshot eye landed down in front of his foot.

"I don't know who you are, but it's your fault my brother is dead!"

Unfortunately, Marugori never got the chance to avenge his big brother. The last thing he saw was a man in a yellow jumpsuit delivering to him a devastating right hook.

"Having overwhelming strength is…pretty fun."

Caspian remained airborne long enough to watch the gargantuan corpse fall away from D-City.

"Bye Beefcake."

¤ ¤ ¤

"How many lives did I save between D-City and B-City? Oh well, it will help makeup for my future decisions."

Caspian, after defeating the Brain and Brawn Brothers, was running across a barren landscape trying to find his home, to the east side of Z-City.

With the entire city in chaos from Beefcake's rampage, he couldn't find a single person to ask for directions. Did King mess up? How far did he need to run? And run he did, his current speed making him feel like a speedster straight out of the comic books he loved as a teenager.

He still couldn't make sense of it all. Why did he have perfect control over this new body? Would Saitama's soul and will ever return?

The thought that this might all be a dream—or worse, that he was in a coma—crossed his mind. But he refused to entertain the idea of such a trash ending.

What troubled Caspian even more was "God." Why couldn't he have transmigrated a few years later? He had no clue how powerful "God" truly was.

Still, he had a few ideas on how to prepare for the inevitable showdown, though it felt too soon to set them into motion.

He shook his head, trying to clear the chaos from his thoughts. "I need to get out of my head and pick up the pace if I want to make it home before nightfall."

In an instant, his body blurred forward, kicking up a dust storm in his wake.

¤ ¤ ¤

A purple evening sky crowned an expansive, derelict neighborhood.

In a rundown alley, Caspian stood, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"How many cities did I end up running to?"

After an entire afternoon and an unknown number of miles traveled, he had finally reached the Z-City Ghost Town. To his annoyance, however, he still had no clue where his apartment building hid among this maze of a neighborhood and was scouring every street and alley for even a semblance of a clue.

Clang

Up ahead in the alley, Caspian noticed a large humanoid figure crouched in front of a destroyed car. The mysterious being appeared to be pulling out the engine piece by piece.

Mreeeow!

Caspian continued forward only for a cat to run past him in fear. He let out a small 'ah' as a memory flashed through his mind.

That 'ah' didn't go unheard as the Mysterious Being's bloodshot eye locked onto Caspian.

"Vroom. Vroom. Kehehe."

"No sense running if you saw me."

He looked up at the mysterious being with a tight-lipped smile.

"I"m Super Custom YO649Z Mk. II!"

"I Love—"

Caspian didn't hesitate to interrupt him with an uppercut. Blowing the monster's upper half into pieces.

"Like I'm going to give you a chance to make fun of my big headlight."

Caspian turned toward the setting sun and resumed walking. "Thank you, Super Custom YO649Z Mk. II. At least now I know I'm getting closer."

Nothing noteworthy happened after, so Caspian continued his exploration, methodically expanding his search area.

The sun dipped below the horizon, mirroring the decline of Caspian's mood.

Caspian's gaze swept over the endless rows of buildings. "This neighborhood's size is ridiculous."

The urge to obliterate everything around him crossed his mind, but when he rounded the corner, his heart leapt.

Up ahead stood that signature apartment building. In his previous life, he had always wished to visit the real-life location in Tokyo that the building was based on. But how could he care about such a thing now?

"Finally! I've been trying to find you all day. Now that I've found you…I'd really like to go to bed."

Caspian walked around the front of the apartment building until he found the entrance.

He hurried up the stairs. "His room was on the third floor, right?"

After 'opening' the doors to several rooms, he found one that was unlocked.

He pushed down on the handle, pulled the door open, and stepped inside.

In front of him stretched a small hallway. He kicked off his boots and stepped onto the hard floor. The first door on the right led to the toilet and bath, the next door after that opened to the kitchen.

Not sparing a second glance at either, he headed straight for the living room-bedroom combo.

Caspian scrunched his eyes and nose at the sight of the room.

Though he didn't feel exhausted, the floor futon called to him.

Just as he was about to lie down, something important crossed his mind.

"I almost forgot to lock the door."