As Marcus approached the mansion, its eerie atmosphere intensified, and it seemed to loom more, covering the blue moon behind its maroon rooftop.
The doors were intricately carved, seemingly designed to ward off unwanted visitors. The ancient engravings formed a strange pattern symbolizing the Japanese word for Death, "Shi."
Marcus quickly stopped near the torn door, tiny droplets of salty sweat forming on his forehead.
"I wonder what kind of monsters await us inside." He muttered, swallowing nervously before cautiously stepping into the spooky manor.
The entire mansion was awfully dark, adding to the eerie atmosphere. Marcus's legs trembled, resisting the command to take another step. His hands shook occasionally, and his heartbeat fastened.
Above all, the mansion was totally silent. The racing heartbeat of Marcus echoed in his ears, further tormenting him.
THUMP! THUMP!
THUMP! THUMP!
"I've always hated spooky places, but I think I have to move on to find Mister."
"He's the only one who can save me if a ghost suddenly appears."
After mustering a surge of courage within his heart, Marcus forced his legs to move, driven by the sole purpose of finding Saitama.
"M-Mister?" He tried to shout, but his voice gave in.
As Marcus picked up a little pace, the floor beneath him emitted weird creaking sounds as if the wooden floor were to break at any moment.
Suddenly, the sound of someone talking emerged out of thin air.
"Where is the switch to turn the lights on?"
Upon listening carefully, Marcus noticed that it was the voice of Saitama, so he quickly rushed towards that direction.
"Mister, I finally found you!" He cried tears of joy as he subconsciously lunged towards Saitama.
"Oh!" Saitama turned around. "Marcus, do you know where the light switches are?"
Marcus stopped midway and made a startled face. "I wish I knew that..."
"But didn't you tell me that you were a native here?" Saitama started to clean his ear using his little finger.
"Uhh..." Marcus scratched his head, pondering about the mansion. "I don't think this mansion was here when I was last in this town."
"Then we'll have to smash through," Saitama gave a wide grin as he prepared his punch.
BSHOOM!
The strike intensified the air pressure, devastating everything in its path through force alone. The shockwaves further created cracks in the floor, adding to the many that were already present.
"Monsters, come out, or I'll destroy the entire mansion," Saitama yelled as he glanced around, preparing another punch.
Suddenly, the dark atmosphere lightened up, and a low-pitched demonic voice responded, "How dare you threaten Arplesis themselves?"
The light showed a spooky scene and gave off a futuristic feel. The mansion seemed like a typical haunted house but with strange humanoid robots scattered on the wooden floor, lifeless near the walls.
"You've become quite famous, baldy," the voice stated. "We were about to send our top creation to annihilate you anyway. So, thanks for saving us a lot of time and pain."
In response, Saitama clenched his fists but remained silent.
On the other hand, Marcus glanced around in awe, trying to analyze the mysterious robots.
"We got reports that you lost control after our centipedes at Location FG called you a baldy, but it doesn't seem true." the voice started to laugh. "Fine, have a taste of this planet's greatest technology, the humanoid robots."
BUZZZ!
BUZZZ!
The robots' eyes abruptly lit up in a vivid red hue. Their metallic limbs stirred, and one after another, they rose to their feet. These humanoid machines wore golden hair, human facial features, and attire reminiscent of a scientist's.
Suddenly, one of them lunged at Saitama with a punch directly aimed at Saitama's torso.
BLAM!
After the collision, the metallic robot's arm shattered into countless pieces, rendering their live wires visible.
"GRR!" It grunted before melting as if hit by an acid spray.
As the other robots watched their ally melt, they also lunged at Saitama at the speed of sound.
The remaining robots shifted their focus onto Marcus but, for some reason, decided to lunge at Saitama instead.
BLAM!
BOOM!
The other robots also melted on impact until none of them were left standing on the ground.
"Wait, is that it?" Marcus murmured, his eyebrow furrowing in confusion.
Suddenly, the splintered wooden floor began to break and shake violently. In a matter of moments, a multitude of robots emerged from the floor, repeatedly lunging at Saitama and then resetting to melt again.
"HAHAHA!" The voice laughed heinously. "These are our endless robot variants, also codenamed acid-o-mons."
Infuriated by the voice's loud talk, Saitama asked, "You call these robots the greatest technology on this planet?" His voice gradually loudened. "I was waiting for them to do something special, but I think they are just wasting my time."
BOOM!
Saitama stomped on the ground, instantly vaporizing the robots near him while the force repelled the others to collide with the walls.
After a brief pause, the voice replied. "We knew you were powerful, but this is beyond what we imagined. I think it's time that I join this fight."
BLAST!
One of the walls exploded into pieces, and a white-coated, old-aged man came into view. He had a green rifle in his hand.
With a smile on his face, he yelled. "Robots, activate unlimited bullets."
The man aimed his gun at Saitama, his hand placed on its trigger, and within the blink of an eye, he pressed it.
BRRR!
The countless bullets created light sparks of fire on impact, creating a cloud of smoke around Saitama.
However, the bullets weren't able to leave a single scratch on Saitama's toughened body.
"How are the most powerful bullets unable to harm a sapohuman?" He growled, confusion visible on his face as he slowly looked around. He noticed Marcus and asked. "Is that your companion?"
Slowly, he moved his hands away from the trigger, his face painted with shock. "T-That guy-"
BLOOM!
Before the mysterious man could finish his sentence, Marcus pulled out his gun and instantly murdered him.
TO BE CONTINUED...