- This article is about the chapter. For the volume, see Volume 22.
"Light" (光, Hikari, Tonari: 141 + 142) is the one hundred third chapter of the One-Punch Man manga series.
Short Summary
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Long Summary
The impact of the attack releases a massive amount of water, sweeping away both Saitama and the child hero. Child Emperor attempts to rescue Saitama, but at that moment, Phoenix Man reappears, now transformed into Phoenix Penguin Mode. In this form, he gains the ability to control ice and uses the Phoenix Antarctic Iceberg Attack to launch the hero through another floor, which turns out to be the burial site of the Subterranean People.
Child Emperor releases Waganma so that he can share the barrier with Saitama, whom he assumes is just an innocent bystander. Meanwhile, Phoenix Man fires an energy blast at Child Emperor. The hero tries to counterattack, but Phoenix Man declares it is useless and drags Child Emperor into the Phoenix Space. There, the monster presents the corpses of the Subterranean People as an example of a group whose downfall came from disunity, in contrast to monsters in costumes who share the same spirit. Using their mental link, Phoenix Man reveals dark secrets about the Hero Association and exposes what the higher-ups have been doing behind the scenes.
He then recounts his own backstory, how he was once a mascot who was unfairly fired, continued wearing the costume, and eventually could not remove it, causing him to transform into a monster. Child Emperor is disturbed and nearly swayed by Phoenix Man's words, tempted to accept his offer to gain true glory as a monster. But just then, Saitama suddenly appears, stating that becoming a monster does not grant any glory at all.
Then, Zombieman contacts them through the communicator, updating Child Emperor on the situation. He confirms that the weaknesses Child Emperor predicted about the enemy robots were accurate and thanks him on behalf of all the heroes. Zombieman expresses his appreciation and says he is glad the child is with them, which brings tears to Child Emperor's eyes. Zombieman then offers to get milkshakes after the battle and checks in on him. Child Emperor replies that everything is fine and wishes Zombieman well before turning back to face Phoenix Man.
Phoenix Man then fires beams of light that reanimate the corpses of the Subterranean People, as well as Gale Wind and Hellfire Flame. All of them begin attacking Brave Giant. Phoenix Man attempts to force Child Emperor into becoming a monster by sliding a Monster Cell into the cracks of his suit. Child Emperor spits it out and responds that while the monster's speech was amusing, being a hero is not about wearing a costume, it comes from within. Enraged by the child's rejection of his "peaceful" offer, Phoenix Man threatens to slurp out the boy's brain as punishment.
As a last resort, Child Emperor activates his Gigavolt Smash, releasing a surge of electricity that shocks Gale Wind and Hellfire Flame back to their senses. Brave Giant is destroyed, and Child Emperor is hurled toward Phoenix Man, who tries to finish him off. However, Saitama stops the attack. Phoenix Man mocks Child Emperor for abandoning his suit before time ran out, but the child fires back, saying the monster is the one who depends too much on his own suit. Phoenix Man laughs, claiming the child cannot win without Brave Giant and notes that his earlier attack only scratched his eye.
Suddenly, Phoenix Man erupts in hysterical laughter. Child Emperor reveals he planted a Tickle-Tickle Bug between Phoenix Man's face and beak. He tells the monster that removing the bug would require taking off the suit, which Phoenix Man refuses to do. Suddenly, Phoenix Man's body begins to glow and then explodes. When the dust clears, Phoenix Man is revealed to have reverted into Monster Chick Man, a tiny and extremely weak chick-sized monster. The battle concludes, with Child Emperor emerging victorious.
After the fight, Saitama praises Child Emperor for his courage and determination, calling him a good hero. Child Emperor thanks Saitama, but soon remembers who he is and begins to grow suspicious that Genos may be a traitor, as Saitama was found deep within the enemy base. At that moment, Gale Wind and Hellfire Flame, now back to their senses thanks to the electric shock, attempt to take Child Emperor hostage to lure Flashy Flash. However, Saitama knocks both of them out before they can react. Child Emperor looks up their information and discovers they are S-class criminals, and is impressed that Saitama defeated them both with ease. Child Emperor then offers to escort Saitama and Waganma to the surface. Suddenly, Underdog Man appears, having survived his battle with G5. The group climbs onto Underdog Man's back and leaps toward the surface. While flying upward, they are pursued by some of Orochi's dragons, but Saitama effortlessly annihilates them and wonders if they were the ones causing the strange noises under his house. Child Emperor asks Waganma if there are any other hostages. Wanting to escape as quickly as possible, Waganma lies and claims there are none. The group continues their escape to the surface.
Summary
Phoenix Man revives himself again, and displays his newfound powers by reanimating the corpses of the Subterranean People, Hellfire Flame and Gale Wind. While Child Emperor deals with the undead army, Phoenix Man takes Waganma and starts flying away. Child Emperor finishes off the army and races after him, launching an all-out energy beam on Phoenix Man. Confident in absorbing the energy beam, the monster attempts to absorb the attack.
Phoenix Man withstands the energy beam, and his costume changes again, gaining withered patches on half of his body. He remarks that Child Emperor did well despite being a kid and calls for him to leave his robot. Child Emperor refuses, taunting Phoenix Man and draws him in for an attack. He then opens the robot's emergency hatch and has the little braves close it on Phoenix Man, trapping him. The monster easily rips the mecha apart but Child Emperor managed to sneak in a tickling robot within Phoenix Man's costume while he was trapped, stating that the robot would tickle him until he died of asphyxiation. Phoenix Man hastily attempts to get rid of the tickling robot by ripping his costume. With the costume ripped, Phoenix Man loses his powers and Child Emperor proceeds to kick him in the groin before tearing off the rest of the costume to ensure he doesn't revive himself again. Phoenix Man lies defeated as Child Emperor turns to Waganma asking him if there were any other hostages. Waganma decides not to tell Child Emperor that Tareo was taken too and proceeds to leave.
Characters in Order of Appearance
- Phoenix Man
- Saitama
- Child Emperor
- Waganma
- Subterranean People
- Sitch (Mentioned)
- Sekingar (Mentioned)
- Pig God (Vision)
- Zombieman
- Gale Wind
- Hellfire Flame
- Genos (Mentioned)
- Orochi
- Tareo (Flashback)
- Royal Ripper (Flashback)
Gallery
