Hero For Lust

"You should slow your pace for a while. Look how fast everything's progressed over the past couple of days." Psykos said as she finished dressing.

Caspian had taken them to Fubuki's spacious apartment, where they continued their lovemaking in the shower.

"You didn't seem to mind my pace."

Her words were correct, though. The world's pacing indeed skyrocketed when he took semi-serious action. As though he was fast forwarding the progress of all things.

Psykos combed her fingers through thick, wavy locks, sculpting the front into its signature elevation. "Speaking of... Let me spoil something that came about from our actions today."

She approached with measured steps and drew him into her soft arms. "I'm carrying our first child."

"I—"

"Overjoyed, aren't we? So cute to see you speechless in person." Psykos pushed him back, then spun him around. "Fifteen seconds until you're late. Don't keep them waiting. Tatsumaki's mood is very fickle today for a particular reason. Can you guess why? Now go!"

Caspian, blissfully dazed as she described, summoned a gate and vanished.

¤ ¤ ¤

Me, a mother... The reality settled as Psykos relaxed in Fubuki's office chair.

Not too long ago, the idea was impossible.

Madness had held her in a stranglehold ever since she first used 'Third Eye.' Its clutches vanished only when she used Caspian as a conduit for the ability. It was an endeavor she had thought pointless, a desperate act at her lowest point after such an effortless defeat.

Yet in the end, it had set her free.

Free to live a new life: one where her mind was no longer destined to break.

Did the speed of her new future bother her? No. She had once decided all of humanity should vanish in an instant; this journey toward a 'Perfect End' would progress as fast or slow as needed. Time would soon cease to be a limiting factor after all.

Psykos leaned back, closed her eyes, and let her emotions settle into serenity.

The short time since he'd rescued her had allowed her feelings to solidify; for him and for the others. It was an overwhelming phenomenon. One moment, she hated them, especially Caspian, more than anything; the next, she had experienced a literal eternity of beatitude shared between them all.

Yet her 'Third Eye' didn't unveil everything. There was a blind spot: an umbral existence, a point of view she couldn't unravel. Still, she could tell this presence was a positive force, one that would help them. She was confident this same presence sped up the other women's emotions initially. Those feelings would have surfaced, just at a far slower pace.

She was certain of one other thing about this entity: it wasn't 'God.' For she saw his intentions with perfect clarity.

A rushing noise like a mixture of wind and electricity saturated Fubuki's office.

Psykos didn't need to open her eyes to know this office's owner had returned.

"What is that scent? Ah! My desk! You two—in my office?!"

¤ ¤ ¤

During this period, in A-City...

A glass-walled elevator ascended to an upper floor within the monolithic Hero Association's headquarters.

Outside its confines, the world stretched to a hazy horizon: a stark landscape. Distant roads stretching out in various directions; the buildings below were mere specks.

Within the elevator's interior were three individuals.

"Empty Void has revealed himself. And now that he has, we must take this opportunity to free him from 'God's' hands."

Busho stood behind Blast and Sitch, listening intently.

The Rank 1 S-Class Hero continued. "As long as he's hidden, he cannot be found because of the special barrier he deploys. Even the 'Village' could not be found because of it.

If he disappears into the shadows again, we will be lost."

Bip

A transparent panel projected from Blast's glove, displaying an image.

Sitch tilted his head. "An abandoned building?"

"'That man' will show up here. I've tracked a ninja group targeting Flashy Flash. To succeed, they'll use 'The End,' the 44th Graduation Class's only survivor, as a means to draw him out. They should've made contact with him already.

Now about that other matter. Have you located 'the other man?'"

"Busho." Sitch turned and nodded toward him.

Right. This was why he was here. 'The other man,' the 'Outsider.' He had tracked the multi-named individual since Lady Shibabawa's prophecy, and in his mind, it could only be one person: Caspian.

Caspian; or, as he was legally known, 'Saitama.'

Why the change? Why appear from nowhere, performing feats and displaying a knowledge of the future with an accuracy that dwarfed even Lady Shibabawa's predictions? The timing of his arrival, the prophecy of this 'Outsider': how much could truly be a coincidence?

He cleared his throat and raised the tablet. "The 'Outsider,' 'That Man,' 'Saitama,' 'Caspian'... he's come to be called by many names. From everything I've heard, seen, and uncovered points to him: a being that seems to exist outside the constraints of logic."

Blast took the tablet, swiping through the documents before his brow furrowed. "Why are there so many images of women? Fubuki, Tatsumaki..."

"Yes," Busho confirmed. "Besides them, there seems to be a group of monsters under his command. One, in particular, is suspected of being responsible for the alien attack that destroyed A-City."

"Alien..."

"He also has close connections with Mumen Rider, Sweet Mask, and King."

"King..." Blast's posture stiffened.

A dash of surprise swept over Busho. Even the world's number one hero reacted to that name.

Sitch interjected, "His connection to Sweet Mask is significant. The A-Class idol has been using his pull to rocket the 'Caped Baldy' up the rankings, claiming he is the 'Ideal Hero.' There was also a recent incident where an unidentified group of monsters coordinated attacks on several cities, and he—"

"'Ideal Hero,' huh...?" Blast cut him off, handing the tablet back. "I'll look into this 'Caped Baldy' personally."

Busho sensed the number one hero was withholding something, which was hardly surprising. Who, after all, doesn't have information they keep to themselves?

Even after all this time; your true aim eludes me, Caspian...