Spider-Man and The Esper

43. A Hero or Monster? Part 3

Now that there are only the three of them, Spider-man lands on ground a few yards away from Garou who got up from the rubble, "You say that you hunt down heroes to complete your goal and yet you helped out Metal with fighting the Centipede to make sure the people on the helicopter made it out to safety. That proves my point that you're better at being a hero than a monster because it's not working for you if you keep fighting us. I've had my fair share of helping out villain's in need because it was the right thing to do."

"Meathead was just in the way. I was simply using him. If I don't focus on the efficiency to work alone, I'll never reach my goal."

Fubuki lands beside Spider-man, "Your 'absolute evil' goal? What will that accomplish in the end, you're just wasting your time looking for some cosmic answer in victory where the monster wins. Big deal. There will always be a hero who wins in the end even when the chips are down."

"What was that!?"

"You're no villain Garou, I've met a few villains that turn into what they are for a price or wholesome reasons and they still chose not to abandon their humanity." Spider-man said, "Besides, Tareo has a point on what he's saying about you turning over a new leaf. Anyone can easily do that. That kid does have some guts to look up to you and didn't even try to run at the first sight of you. You should consider his feelings. I can also tell that you and him share some similarities. Both were bullied and you care for one another. I had my fair share of bullies back in the day and it didn't corrupt me to become a villain."

Fubuki smirks as she raises an eyebrow, "He has a point you know. Want me to get you a snickers bar cause you're not you when you're hungry." Fubuki covers her mouth trying to keep it together even Spider-man starts to shake a little bit trying to hold in his laughter.

Garou angrily charges at Spider-man and Fubuki, "SHUT UP!"

He manages to parry a punch from Spider-man, using the other hand he hand-chops him in the left side of Fubuki's face before elbowing her in the stomach, all done very quickly which launched Fubuki into a building.

When Spider-man grabs Garou's arm, Garou performs several lock-on moves that he eventually hits Spider-man with a hard punch in the hip.

Garou proceeds to use his God Slayer Instant Attack, slamming Spider-man into ground with a flurry of punches and hand-strikes. However; Spider-man soon emerges nearby after digging underground and throws a big rock at 

Garou while asking the Hero Hunter if he keeps avoiding his punches with martial arts, which Garou confirms while shattering the rock by rotating both his arms.

Garou attempts a barrage of attacks on Spider-man, but the hero manages to dodge, prompting him to remark that Spider-man has amazing reflexes and agility like an actual spider but lacks skill and still has plenty of openings. Claiming to be able to read all of Spider-man's moves, Garou declares that the hero will lose due to his lack of technique and being a complete amateur before sending him crashing into several buildings with his God Slayer Ascending Attack.

Garou quickly catches up to Spider-man and uses his Great Instant Attack crashing him through the buildings, ultimately pulverizing them and generating dust smoke. Believing he has won, Garou states that Spider-man may have incredibly tough skin and bones but he cannot train his internal organs, which Garou believes to have been damaged by his attack.

"Try that on for size Spider-man. At the end of the day, you will never work as hero ever ag-"

However, to his surprise, Spider-man and Fubuki emerge completely unharmed dusting themselves off, Garou could only have an expression of wide eyes showing how shocked his face is.

It is then shown that Garou, in destroying the buildings, accidentally saved five Hero Association staff members who have been inside an underground shelter trapped in the rubble, "We're saved!"

"Yes! It opened!"

Spider-man turns to them, "You guys alright?"

"Ah, a hero!? We're the staff members in charge of the underground shelter!"

"We were checking to see if there were any stragglers after the emergency evacuation warning and we got trapped!"

A young female staff member also tells her side as tears of gratitude fall down, "It was pitch black, and we couldn't call for help! We thought we were done for!"

Fubuki guessed what solved the situation they were in, "Oh, looks like when the buildings were demolished, all the rubble on top of the shelter door was blown away as well so that the door can finally open."

"We don't know how to thank you both."

Spider-man just answered honestly, "Oh well actually, you don't have to thank us because if it hadn't been for this guy, you guys wouldn't have found." He replied as he patted Garou's forearm.

The staff members gave him a perplexed look before they look again to see Garou who also gave a confused look as the staff members were merely staring at Hero Hunter in fear at first but bowed in respect, "Thank you very much for your gratitude!" They all save in sync before they run off to find somewhere else that's safe. The young female staff member turns around once more to bow at Garou before running once again.

A moment of awkward silence passed by while both Spider-man and Fubuki look at Garou with smug looks, well except for Spider-man since it's a little tough to see because of his mask since his emotions are expressed from his eye lenses while Garou himself simply looks away from them.

"(Snickers) Man, you sure are good at saving people. And that's one of the first signs of being a hero. For that, you get an A+" Spider-man said as his shoulders were shaking.

Fubuki wanted to do the same since she sees the opportunity, "Awe, your learning."

Garou began to shake in frustration. Enraged, Garou attacks them again and soon evolves further, taking on a demonic form with a pair of wings and longhorns, "ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME?!"

While defending against an onslaught from him, Spider-man states that Garou has improved a little, which angers the Hero Hunter, who with a punch, knocks them into a soon-to-erupt volcano.

Garou immediately charges at his opponents and strikes them with both of his open palms, causing the mountain behind to shatter due to the powerful impact, "HOW ABOUT THIS!"

After the attack, Garou is on his knees and panting while an unharmed Fubuki simply punches him away. 

Recovering his balance, Garou is impressed that the couple could withstand the attack that destroyed the volcano behind him. In destroying the volcano, Garou has accidentally saved a city from being covered by its lava flow, which catches Spider-man's interest who comments that Garou has great hero instincts even without even realizing it.

'This is insane! They are tougher than a damn mountain!' Both of them stood heroically behind the mountain as shadow covered their body.