Chapter 786: Fubuki's Choice
Fubuki lay flat on her back, her face buried deep into a plush feather pillow. She pressed the sides tightly against her ears, desperate to muffle the sounds bleeding through the walls. But the highly penetrating, rhythmic noises from the living room refused to be ignored.
"How did it come to this..." she muttered, her voice muffled by the fabric.
Pulling the pillow away, she stared blankly at the ceiling. Her pristine apartment, her personal sanctuary, had been completely taken over. The sheer helplessness of the situation gnawed at her pride. She had no choice but to feign ignorance, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to focus inward on her own abilities.
She reached for that well of strength... and froze.
A sudden chill washed over her. The overwhelming, god-like power she had wielded just hours ago was gone. She immediately flared her psychokinesis. A faint, pathetic green aura flickered around her fingers before stabilizing into her usual, meager output.
Silence filled the bedroom.
That intoxicating sensation of absolute supremacy, the feeling that she could tear the very earth asunder with a mere thought, had vanished without a trace. In the blink of an eye, she had crashed back down to reality. She was just Fubuki of the Blizzard Group again—a weak B-Class hero who had to surround herself with subordinates just to feel secure.
She stared at her trembling hands. A hollow, aching emptiness clawed at her chest.
There was an old saying: it is easy to go from rags to riches, but agonizing to return to rags. Fubuki was living that agony right now. Her entire body felt wrong, as if a vital organ had been surgically removed while she slept.
"How... how do I get that strong again?"
Her brow furrowed in deep frustration. She and her older sister shared the exact same psychic mutation, yet Tatsumaki sat upon an unreachable throne, a monster in human skin. Having finally tasted that exact same tier of power thanks to Ren, the impossible mountain between them had never looked so clear.
The absence of that borrowed strength left her skin crawling with discomfort. And the continuous, unmistakable sounds echoing from the living room only made her blood run hotter.
"Whew..."
Exhaling a long, shaky breath, Fubuki pushed herself off the bed. She needed a shower to clear her head.
Even as the hot water cascaded over her shoulders, her mind raced in circles.
Half an hour passed. She reached out and twisted the faucet shut.
Fubuki stood frozen in the steamy enclosure, letting the heavy droplets trace paths down her ample curves.
'Talent?'
The word struck her like a physical blow. Was the vast chasm between her and Tatsumaki truly just a matter of innate talent? Did she simply lack the genetic lottery ticket required to ever stand on equal footing with her sister? If that were true, it perfectly explained why her psychic output had stagnated for years despite her relentless training.
Her mind spiraled into chaos. If it were merely a lack of effort, she could lie to herself, promise to train harder, and keep hoping. But if the answer was a fundamental lack of talent, she was doomed. She would never step out of Tatsumaki's shadow.
Wrapping a white bath towel tightly around her chest, she stepped out of the humid bathroom. Her bare feet padded softly against the hardwood floor.
She paused in the hallway. To her left, the quiet, safe sanctuary of her bedroom. To her right, the corner leading to the chaotic, sin-filled living room.
She stood there for a long time, the silence of her internal debate deafening.
Finally, Fubuki bit her lower lip. She took a step.
Not toward the bedroom.
Her damp feet carried her down the corridor, straight into the living room.
Ren sat comfortably on the sofa, thoroughly enjoying a taste of sweet milk. He did not even bother to lift his eyes at the sound of Fubuki's approaching footsteps. A faint, knowing smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.
Vivi, who had been occupying his lap, obediently shifted to the side, wiping her mouth and clearing his line of sight.
"It seems you have made up your mind," Ren said, his voice smooth and casual.
Fubuki's gaze darted away, a furious blush painting her cheeks all the way down to her neck. Her knuckles turned white as she clutched the hem of her towel. She ground her silver teeth together, forcing the words past her lips. "You... you will truly give me that power? Permanently?"
She refused to experience that agonizing loss again. She wanted strength that could never be stripped away.
"Heh."
Ren let out a low chuckle. After taking a brief mental inventory to ensure that Nameless—who was currently busy pulling weeds in Egypt—was completely out of the picture for the moment, he moved.
In a blur of motion, he vanished from the sofa and materialized mere inches in front of Fubuki.
Fubuki stiffened, too intimidated to look down. A quick, nervous glance from the corner of her eye sent her heart hammering against her ribs. The sheer presence of the man terrified her.
Ren casually reached out, hooking a finger under her chin and tilting her face up to meet his gaze.
"If you are willing to be mine forever, I can give you far more than just that."
The phrasing sounded dangerously close to being kept as a pet. Yet, Fubuki did not pull away. Instead, she lifted her chin higher, putting up a front of unyielding pride.
"There will only be one man in my entire life," she declared, her voice trembling but resolute. "And that is the man to whom I willingly surrender my purity."
Despite her modern aesthetic, she held deeply traditional values. Besides, her impression of the man who had just saved her life from an alien invasion was far from terrible—even if he was unapologetically lecherous.
"Then it seems that man can only be me."
Ren grinned, leaning in and capturing her lips without another word.
Fubuki slowly fluttered her eyes shut. The moment their lips met, a torrential flood of raw, god-like energy violently surged back into her veins. The green aura erupted around her, wild and untamed. She was back. She was the Fubuki who could finally rival the Tornado of Terror.
This was the path she had chosen.
"Horrifying! Powerful and Invincible Alien Monster Descends Upon Z City!!!"
"Holy Crap! The World's First God-Level Disaster Appears in Z City!!!"
"Shocking! More Than a Dozen S-Class Heroes Defeated by the Alien Threat!!!"
"Stunning! The Strongest Man on Earth, King, Saves the World Again!!!"
Today, the entire globe was thrown into an era of unmatched shock. The media networks were working overtime, broadcasting the catastrophic events surrounding Boros and King's supposed miraculous victory.
Despite the media's blatant narrative of elevating King by stepping on the reputations of the other S-Class heroes, the defeated elites offered zero complaints. In their minds, King had literally resurrected them from the dead using some beyond understanding, divine ability. Many of them had already developed a deep, borderline religious worship for the man. Even those who did not outright worship him felt they owed him their lives, rendering the media's slander completely irrelevant.
Only two individuals held a different perspective.
The first was Genos.
Compared to the public's blind faith in King, the cyborg trusted his master, Saitama, above all else. Genos firmly believed that his humble, unassuming teacher was the one who had truly eradicated the alien threat. As for the mysterious mass revival... he lacked the data to draw a conclusion. But the bottom line remained unchanged: his master was unmatched.
The second dissenter was Tatsumaki.
"Tch. How annoying."
Floating in the Hero Association headquarters, Tatsumaki glared at the broadcasting screens. Knowing the actual truth behind the battle, she found the fawning faces of the executives and the media absolutely repulsive.
After enduring the circus for a little while longer, her patience snapped. She wrapped herself in a vibrant green aura and blasted straight through the ceiling, leaving the Hero Association behind.
The staff barely blinked. It was standard operating procedure for the Tornado of Terror to leave without a word, and no one dared to question her.
Rather than wasting time with bureaucrats, Tatsumaki wanted to check on her little sister. Ever since Fubuki had been caught up in that bizarre, unknown phenomenon during the invasion, Tatsumaki's chest had been tight with worry.
Pushing her psychic output to the maximum, she tore through the sky, flying rapidly toward Fubuki's apartment.
"Fubuki, I'm back!"
Tatsumaki phased straight through the open window she had used to leave earlier, landing lightly on the living room floor.
Then, she froze.
Her jaw dropped. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers.
Her precious little sister was currently locked in an incredibly compromising, utterly shameful posture on the sofa—and Ren was the one orchestrating the entire display.
"Fubuki... Ren..." Tatsumaki's voice hitched, her brain completely short-circuiting. "What... what is going on here?!"
Fubuki clamped her teeth shut, her face burning with the heat of a thousand suns. She was absolutely terrified to speak, knowing that the moment she opened her mouth, whatever dignity she had left in front of her older sister would instantly evaporate.
Ren, completely unbothered by the sudden intrusion, merely flashed a relaxed smile. "Nothing much. This is just a friendly exchange between us. And, of course, a small agreement."
"Agreement?!"
Tatsumaki's entire body began to tremble, her green aura flaring wildly around her out of pure shock and rising fury.
"What kind of agreement is it?!" she shrieked, desperate to make sense of the madness unfolding in front of her.
Ren casually pulled Fubuki's hands toward him, his thumb brushing over her knuckles. "Fubuki, should I tell her?"
"Ugh... I..." Fubuki squeezed her eyes shut, her pride warring with her embarrassment. Finally, she took a sharp breath. "I'll say it!"
She had made her choice. Now, she would have to explain the tangled, bitter jealousy and the desperate hunger for power that had driven her to this point.
[Inorin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/InorinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/InorinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]