8 The House of Evolution

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

Noises

(Asahi POV)

"So in other words, my boss has become very interested in your bodies," Armored Gorilla summarized his reason for being here after a long backstory of Dr. Genus.

"Let me guess, your boss seeks to study our bodies to help with his research on evolution." I said.

"Yes," he replied.

This is different. If I recall correctly, Dr. Genus originally only sought after Saitama's body. My presence here is already changing things. That fight with Mosquito Girl must have irked him about me.

"If we don't do something, I'm sure he'll try again. We cannot allow him a free hand. Our move should be to attack him," Genos butted in.

"Sure, let's go," Saitama walked off, and I followed suit.

"Huh… Now?!" Genos was surprised.

"Yeah, there's a sale tomorrow. Can't do it then," Saitama flashed his coupons for the supermarket.

"I'd rather just get this over with. I don't want to worry about home attacks." The fact is, I am going to have to find some way to repair that wall. Any construction company will take their time repairing my home. They can't just get away with that attack.

Genos stayed behind to further interrogate Armored Gorilla. As I walked down the street with Saitama, something became very clear to me. He has no idea where he's going.

"You don't have any clue on where this House of Evolution is, do you?"

"Uhh. No, but it can't be too far away."

With a sigh, I turned to head back to Armored Gorilla and get some directions to this place.

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"I didn't think we'd be running the whole way," Genos commented as we dashed across the forest toward the House of Evolution.

"How else are we gonna get there?" Saitama retorted.

"I was sure that one of you could fly or something."

"Humans can't fly, you know."

"Are you sure about that?" At that moment, I transformed into a ray of light, streaking over the hill, leaving them behind.

"Master, can you fly as well?" Genos turned to his master, expecting a response, but Saitama remained silent.

'Flying will never cease to be fun'. My body soared over the hill, revealing a tall modern building in the distance, standing out amidst the lush forest. I set my course toward the entrance.

Reaching the building, I landed right at the entrance. The eight-story structure boasted small, wide windows and distinct mossy coloring. 'So this is the House of Evolution. I should probably wait for them to arrive.' After a short while, Genos and Saitama touched down next to me.

"This is the place Gorilla told us about."

"So this is the House of Evolution," Genos and Saitama completed each other's sentences.

"One, two, three, four, five, six… Looks like it's about eight stories high-" Saitama was suddenly cut off.

Genos lowered his body, charged up an attack, and released a fiery blast straight from his arms.

BOOOOOOOOM!

The explosion instantaneously obliterated the building, extending several kilometers into the forest. Large clouds of smoke covered the entire area and obstructed my vision. But the smoke quickly subsided.

"Uh…what was that all of a sudden?" Saitama asked.

"Yes. I decided it would be most efficient to destroy them all in one swoop" Genos replied.

"Well, that's true but we could have seen what the bad guys had in store for us. That was kind of mean" Saitama scolded him.

"And pointless too, there was no one in the building so, all it did was let the enemy know we're here" I explained to Genos.

I walked over to where the building once stood. Scanning the destroyed area until I spot what I am looking for. Then, I found the burnt metal trapdoor, and lifted the corner peeling back the metal.

"It leads underground" Saitama commented.

"Forgive me, Master I was reckless with my attack and alerted the enemy of our whereabouts." Genos bowed towards his master.

"It's fine,just don't go blowing up buildings like that" Saitama shrugged it off.

"Yes, Master!"

"Now, let's see what Dr Genus has in store for us" I lead the way as the three of us walk down the steps into the dark basement, ready for what comes next.

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Bang! Bang !Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The dark room echoed with hundreds of gunshots as a single clone fired relentlessly at a massive creature. His terrified screams cut short by a powerful blow that ended his life in an instant, scattering blood across the floor where several other clones lay dead.

The creature, resembling a brown rhino beetle, let out a long sigh. Footsteps approached as a man in black clothing walked up to the towering monster, its back dwarfing the human figure.

"Hey, Carnage Kabuto. Are you well? It appears you've killed a bunch of my clones again. Satisfied?" The man, Dr. Genus, spoke, visibly sweating as he faced the monster.

"Huh, Fool! Why would I be satisfied? I've been kept locked up deep beneath the Earth. ME! The strongest warrior in the entire "House of Evolution" Carnage Kabuto snapped his collar chain, showcasing his strength.

"You are mentally unstable. We couldn't control you. There was no choice" Dr. Genus explained.

"Control? You moron! I am the culmination of the "New Human" you guys have sought for so long. My intelligence and physical strength and your own are incomparable. You should be the ones obeying me" He mocked the doctor.

"Go ahead, kill me. Plenty of clones could take my place."

"Huh" The creature was stunned.

"But I have a favor to ask first…There's two specimen I must have"

A green interface popped up, displaying an image of three individuals entering the base: two humans adorned in brightly colored clothing and a cyborg.

"The first two are extremely strong, Only you can defeat them. I want you to catch at least one of them…Dead or Alive"

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"This basement is huge! I'm kinda getting fired up" Saitama said eagerly.

Genos suddenly gasps, stopping dead in his tracks. Saitama was surprised by the sudden stop. But I already sensed two entities approaching us through my observation Haki.

"Ah, you sensed them too, Genos" I remarked to the cyborg.

"Master, two of them are approaching" Saitama turned around to look at the long hallway. Loud bangs echoed as a large monster sprinted through the hall, shattering the roof lights by its sheer pressure.

'That must be Carnage Kabuto', I thought, waiting for the beetle-like monster to draw nearer. The loud noises grew as he dashed toward us, carrying Dr. Genus in his hand.

"Which one is it" The monster asked the doctor.

"The ones on the right" Dr. Genus told him.

"In that case, you don't need the one on the left!"

Carnage Kabuto immediately slammed Genos into the wall, dropping Dr. Genus to the ground. He slid behind me and Saitama. Genos had his face mushed into the wall and wasn't moving. 'That must have hurt. Man, I love having a Logia,' I winced at the thought of Genos's pain.

"I am Carnage Kabuto! We got a combat experimentation room. Let's do this in there"

"You turned Genos into a piece of modern art. Fight's on"

"You guys go ahead, I'll help out Genos" I said to them.

Both of them headed to fight while I tried to extract Genos from the wall without causing further damage.

"Come on buddy, you don't want to leave your sensei alone"

Genos remains silent as I pull him out of the wall, most likely due to the pain. I put my arm over his shoulder and we walked to the combat room.

After a short walk, we reached the combat room entrance. The entire room was gleaming in a bright white. 'This place is massive.' Multiple apartment complexes could fit inside this room, with Saitama and Carnage Kabuto standing apart from each other in the center.

Just as the two were about to start their fight, Genos shot a fire blast at Carnage Kabuto. Although the flames surrounded him, he seemed unfazed.

"Oh, still alive, huh?" Carnage turned, surprised at the attacker.

Genos bolted towards Carnage with a complete lack of self preservation.

"Genos, You Idiot!" I yelled out to Genos.

He ran circles around Carnage, continuously throwing fire at him. However, the creature remained still, shrugging off all the attacks. Then, Genos leaped high into the air, aiming to punch Carnage Kabuto.

"Machine Gun Blows!"

A flurry of strikes rained down on Carnage Kabuto. They were so quick that it appeared as if dozens of punches landed simultaneously.

Bam!

Ignoring the punches, Carnage Kabuto smashed Genos to the ground, sending him tumbling backward into Saitama's arms.

"He got me. Let me…take him" Genos spoke weakly.

"Your face is all cracked. Don't push yourself" Saitama warned him.

With a final effort, Genos unleashed his strongest attack—a massive wave of fire towards Carnage Kabuto. When the flames neared, Carnage puffed up his chest and blew a strong gust of wind.

Whooosh

The powerful gust sent the fire straight back at the pair. The flames engulfed both of them but quickly dissipated. While Saitama was fine, Genos was another story.

"Genos, you okay?" Saitama yelled in distress.

"Yes" Genos weakly spoke.

"No you're not! Look at your head"

The fire had puffed up Genos's hair into an afro. 'I'll admit, that doesn't look half bad.' But laughter broke my thoughts as Carnage Kabuto taunted Saitama, edging him into the fight.

"You've gone and gotten my hopes up." Saitama's face became more detailed, signaling his readiness to fight.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Saitama, but he is not as strong as you think." I interrupt the two.

Both of them suddenly remembered my presence there. I slowly walked toward Carnage Kabuto, hoping to get a chance to fight him before Saitama did.

"Hehe, I almost forgot about you. The Doctor was interested in you, but all I see is another weakling"

'I ain't afraid of you.' From a quick glance, he is noticeably weaker than Vaccine Man. It's been some time since that fight, and I already feel more prepared this time. In the short time since then, I have adapted more to this power that flows through my veins. Carnage Kabuto hasn't realized he's already lost.

"Say, Carnage Kabuto ever been kicked at the speed of light" I say with a toothy grin.

Before he could say anything, I was already right next to him with my leg raised. My foot struck his right side, creating a shockwave that threw him to the wall of the large room.

Baaaaam!

Carnage Kabuto slammed into the wall, leaving a massive crater. Slowly pulling himself out, he lacked his usual creepy smile. I turned to face Saitama and Genos.

"I know you wanted to fight him, Saitama but I would like to test how strong he is" I said.

"Okay, I hope he doesn't disappoint. He's supposed to be this place's ultimate weapon." Saitama replied.

Immediately, my senses alerted me. Carnage Kabuto flashed behind me, ready to punch me into the ground. His attacks hit the floor as I leaped over his fists. With his face exposed, my index finger coated with armament Haki, I aimed straight for his left eyeball.

'Shigan!'

A wet noise was heard as my attack pierced his eyeball, causing the surrounding area to bleed. Carnage Kabuto stepped back, instantly covering his now-missing eyeball. Feeling the blood, his anger intensified, loosing his control.

"I have underestimated your strength, but your strength is nothing against me!" He screamed in rage.

His body began to change. Veins popped up all over, muscles growing larger. The brown carapace snapped off due to his increasing size.

"No! Stop! You'll go on another rampage!" The bloodied Dr. Genus pleaded from behind me.

The room turned red, alarms blared. Carnage Kabuto continued transforming, taking on a shade of purple with bright green accents. His horn doubled in length, his overall size doubling.

"I'm going to annihilate you!...CARNAGE MODE!" Carnage Kabuto roared, finishing his transformation.

"Bring it on." I took my stance, ready to win this fight.

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Author's note

Well, I have been busy, but I should be back to normal updates.