Chapter 169: The Abominable Fist That Turned Against God

Garou keeps swinging at Saitama and keeps getting overpowered. His most violent strikes still ripple across the planet, distorting Earth's magnetic and gravitational fields, which Blast detects from another dimension. Fearing a breach in the seal that holds God back, Blast and his allies rush to shore it up.

Saitama batters Garou down until his monstrous form falls apart, leaving the Hero Hunter defeated and hollow. Lenticular clouds then form overhead, a voice calls to him, and an enormous figure descends. Wearing Bang's stolen face, the entity grants Garou new power, and he rises transformed into Awakened Garou: Cosmic Fear Mode.

On the boats, Lightning Max has the heroes hunt for Tareo, while Waganma mistakes a floating Pig God for a corpse. Garou rains punches on Saitama, who deflects them one-handed, and the mounting gratitude of people he accidentally saved fills Garou with self-loathing. His Extreme Fa Jin drives them both into a mountain, sending shockwaves through the mantle that lift land on the far side of the world and rescue a stranded passenger plane.

Saitama replies with Consecutive Normal Punches, blasting Garou out of the mountain and obliterating it. Garou reflects that Sage Centipede's phrase, the abominable fist that turned against God, must have meant Saitama. Another colossal punch drives Garou through several mountains and into the drained sea, and a final blow shatters his monster form as the strange clouds appear.

On land, Pig God has sheltered many people in his stomach, and Mumen Rider reunites with Tanktop Master. A giant thundercloud-wrapped foot descends, then another, and the walking figure confronts Garou. When it turns to reveal Bang's darkened form and extends a hand, God's massive face emerges from the clouds and gifts the Hero Hunter his new power. Garou, now a void of stars and galaxies, declares himself Awakened Garou: Cosmic Fear Mode.

The chapter released May 12, 2022, then returned redrawn on May 24, 2022, growing from 43 pages to 55. The original version had Saitama talk Garou down and agree to an impromptu therapy session before the ending changed. Its volume title is The Abominable Fist That Turned Against God, which Viz Media prints as Hateful Fists That Wrong the Gods. Part of the Monster Association Arc and Volume 33, it adapts parts of webcomic chapters 90, 91, and 92, and a bonus page shows a dark, skeleton-strewn sea.