Smack!
A loud, resounding slap came out of nowhere.
A burning pain spread across his face. Star-Lord suddenly jerked upright, eyes wide, the gums at the corner of his mouth throbbing as they twitched slightly. Even so, he instinctively muttered, "Gamora... no, don't leave me..."
"Sigh... poor heartbroken fool," came a soft murmur. "Wake him up."
Smack—
Another sharp slap.
His vision was knocked to the left. As his pupils slowly refocused, Manti... face came into view, her two glowing antennae trembling gently. Just as Star-Lord dazedly breathed out, "Gamo—"
Smack!
His head snapped back the other way. "You..."
Only then did he finally recognize his situation. Someone was gripping his collar. Directly in front of him, beneath a gleaming double-headed eagle insignia, a stern, upright face stared down at him without expression.
The officer's sharp eyes looked down coldly. "Have you calmed down, Mr. Peter Quill?"
He released Star-Lord's collar, straightened and smoothed the tattered clothing that was hardly better than a beggar's rags, then stepped aside.
"Love can make a galaxy-renowned thief, legendary mercenary, and leader of a vigilante organization this fragile... Humans, ah, Lord Star-Lord and I are both of mixed heritage... mm, emotions truly are a wonderful thing."
A teasing chuckle echoed across the wasteland piled with Chitauri corpses, wrecked vehicles, and fallen Leviathan bio-ships. Two meters away from Star-Lord stood a strikingly handsome man in a white cloak, silver hair flowing, delicate features like a painting. He held a staff and wore a playful smile.
"Who are you? Where's the Master Chief?"
"Sigh, why do you always miss the point? I am Merlin, merely a humble court mage."
Merlin spread his hands lightly and shook his head before his gaze sharpened. "For the moment, consider me one of the persons in charge stationed at Earth's tax territory by the Master Chief. Mr. Quill, now, explain. Who exactly is this Gamora?"
"Her background. Her value. Who she has provoked. What she knows. What she possesses."
The questioning was blunt and rigid. Noticing Star-Lord's rising anger, Merlin softened his tone slightly.
"Based on the friendly cooperation between the Guardians of the Galaxy and our side, whether you answer honestly or conceal anything will determine our stance. Whether we deploy forces for punitive retaliation."
"..."
Flighty as he was, Star-Lord was not an idiot. His thinking was simply unconventional. Enduring the throbbing heat in his swollen cheek, he took a deep breath.
"Thanos. Gamora's father is Thanos..."
...
As the heavy conversation dragged on, a thunderous roar suddenly exploded from above the clouds. Accompanied by a chain of sonic booms, a colossal creature dove down—a biomechanical interstellar hybrid resembling a cross between a shark and a marine iguana, clad in heavy armor.
The several-kilometer-long monstrosity plummeted toward the recently devastated small city like a meteor. Friction ignited blazing trails across its hull, dragging streaks of burning clouds behind it—far more intense than any so-called 9/11 spectacle.
Just as people on the streets, still conducting rescue operations, screamed in terror and prepared to scatter once more, ready to reenact the chaos of a disaster film—
"Look, someone's there!"
"It's him—our savior!"
"It's Superman! The white-robed Superman!"
"We're safe! Superman will save us!"
The crowd pointed beneath the descending bio-ship, cheering and weeping with relief.
Boom—crash!
Just before the bio-ship could smash into the city, it suddenly shifted smoothly, redirected by some unseen force, and was flung toward the barren outskirts beyond the urban area, slamming into the wilderness of the Midwestern plains and shaking the earth.
Buzz.
With a casual wave of his staff and a gentle push, invisible power spread outward, dispersing the dust across several kilometers. Merlin stepped forward toward the yellow-clad figure gleaming in reflected light.
"Yo, Saitama, that was quite the perfo—"
"Gamora! Did you bring Gamora back?!"
Star-Lord suddenly dashed forward.
He recognized that figure.
When the massive brute Gamora had called Black Dwarf first appeared—leading a Chitauri army—there had been no time for awkward banter or argument. A single earth-shaking swing of his enormous axe had flattened that unfortunate Michelin-starred restaurant, knocking both him and Gamora down in moments.
Then Gamora was seized, dragged back to the ship, jumped to hyperspace, and gone in one seamless motion.
By the time Star-Lord fought his way out of entanglement with the foot soldiers, only the Chitauri forces remained wreaking havoc across the sky.
His teammates weren't by his side. His equipment was incomplete. He had nearly been overwhelmed by Chitauri cannon fodder. It was this white-caped, yellow-suited hero who descended with hope.
One punch obliterated a Chitauri Leviathan. One kick shattered a Chitauri mothership. Surrounded by concentrated fire from Chitauri vehicles, bio-weapons, and warships, he strode through them as if walking through empty air. Nearly alone, with nothing but his fists, he beat the Chitauri into panicked retreat.
He even pursued them into the sky, turning the horizon into a fireworks display. Ship after ship exploded and fell, blasted apart all the way beyond Earth's orbit.
Clutching the red glove of the bald hero in white and yellow, Star-Lord looked at him with desperate hope.
"Gamora—did you save Gamora?"
"Who's Gamora?"
Saitama looked completely lost.
Who was this bruised and swollen white guy in front of him?
He hadn't even remembered the Guardians of the Galaxy the Master Chief had mentioned, let alone one of their members. Saitama blinked and asked, "Is she one of ours?"
He glanced at Merlin. The silver-haired mage smiled and shook his head.
"She's—"
The words died in Star-Lord's throat. After a few seconds, he slowly let go of Saitama's hand.
"Sorry... I meant, did you catch that ring-shaped ship? The one that looked like a donut?" Though dejected, he forced himself to gesture and explain.
"Donut? No." Saitama thought for a moment, then shook his head. "They were all these armored space shark or whale ships..."
He pointed toward the massive Leviathan he had dragged back.
Star-Lord didn't know whether to laugh or cry. But he exhaled in relief.
If this bald superman didn't even know who Gamora was and hadn't brought anyone back, then at least if she had been taken by Thano... men, she was likely still alive for now... Surely Thanos wouldn't be in such a hurry to kill his own daughter.
Because if she had been reduced to paste by one of Saitama's punches—ship and all—there would have been no tears left to cry.
"Saitama."
At that moment, spiraling sparks of gold and red expanded outward as Doctor Strange—with his long face and slightly curly short hair—stepped through, leading Wong and a group of Kamar-Taj sorcerers. Armed with spears and short staffs, they surged forward, immediately fussing over Saitama.
"So you really are Superman..."
The future Sorcerer Supreme glanced at the devastated cityscape, then at the several-kilometer-long Chitauri bio-ship, his face filled with disbelief.
He had only just emerged from the grueling discipline of the Ancient One's teachings. Upon hearing that Earth had once again been invaded—again by the Chitauri—and seeing Saitama depart, he had persuaded Wong to come along.
Then, the moment Doctor Strange stepped out of a Sling Ring portal and painstakingly killed a squad of Chitauri soldiers with conjured weapons, he looked up—only to see Saitama punch apart a biomechanical warship.
This...
Strange touched his own face. During their sparring match, he had severely underestimated him. That hadn't been mere restraint. It had been overwhelming mercy.
"It seems you've basically mastered the bio-force field the Sorcerer Supreme mentioned. With your already monstrous physical strength, you won't even need a Sling Ring anymore. Crossing the cosmos is no longer a fantasy for you."
The plump sorcerer circled Saitama in amazement.
Before coming to Kamar-Taj, Saitama couldn't even fly properly. Like the Hulk, he relied on kicking off the ground with sheer recoil. Now, not only could he maintain prolonged flight, he could extend that biological force field to other objects. The Leviathan bio-ship was proof.
Several kilometers long, supported by just 0.1 square meters of contact from Saitama's two hands. He had pushed it alone—at supersonic speed—into the atmosphere. Compared to that, it was like using a needle to prop up a massive block of tofu. And yet the bio-ship had not been torn apart or pierced through and disintegrated.
At this point, Strange—who did not yet wear the Cloak of Levitation—naturally lacked Wong's depth of insight.
"...Still a bit rusty."
The excitement fading, Saitama returned to his usual blank, droopy-eyed expression and scratched the back of his head. Then, as if remembering something, he slapped away Strange's hand, which was still poking around his forehead, and squeezed out of the crowd.
"Merlin... didn't you say Washington was negotiating peace with them?"
"Ah, that."
Looking as if he truly didn't know, Merlin rubbed his face and glanced up at the sky. "Clearly, the negotiations failed. Not entirely a bad thing, I suppose... After this tragedy, perhaps they'll learn their lesson."
"Is that so."
Saitama nodded. I believe you, Merlin.
He waved his hand. "Let's head back. Strange... Wong... why did you come too? Didn't the Ancient One forbid you from interfering in external world affairs? Ugh... there's still so much homework... According to the schedule, aren't we supposed to visit some dimension to see the 'Vishanti' next...? What a pain..."
Muttering to himself, Saitama lightly stepped toward the Sling Ring portal.
"..."
As he walked, his gaze drifted toward the city.
He stopped.
He stared at the smoke-shrouded, devastated district. Among the rubble, people ran through the ruins, crying, shouting helplessly.
"Saitama?" Merlin tilted his head.
Without a word, Saitama bent his knees and leapt, turning into a streak of yellow and white as he flew toward the disaster-stricken city.
Strange and Wong exchanged a glance and chose to follow.
Stepping out of a portal, they saw Saitama lifting an entire collapsed apartment building with his immense strength, signaling the stunned residents—who had momentarily forgotten even how to cry—to move the dead, the injured, and their valuables out.
He didn't stop moving.
He pulled survivors from crushed trucks, lifted overturned cars, cleared fallen construction materials, and dug open a passage to an underground subway parking lot with his bare hands. He rescued people and pets from the tops of unstable buildings, then braced and straightened a leaning skyscraper on the verge of collapse, shouting for survivors inside to evacuate.
Big or small, whenever he heard a cry for help—if he could save them, he did.
Taking it all in, Strange fell silent for a moment. Then he formed the opening gesture of a spell.
Zzz—
With a gentle push, the spell spread outward. A mild magical storm swept across the district, extinguishing the burning sections of one building after another.
"Strange..."
Wong turned to face him.
Strange met Wong's eyes and spoke solemnly. "This is my choice."
Perhaps when he had been a genius neurosurgeon, he would have felt nothing. He might even have laughed. But after experiencing rock bottom—and losing everything—he had changed.
If even the genius 'battle mage' Saitama could do this without caring about pride or burden, what was he clinging to?
"A hero for fun, huh."
Sitting cross-legged in an open area with a clear view, the white-haired nightmare propped his chin on his hand and smiled faintly.
"Though I do love the human world the most, if you ask me to personally get involved... Well, what was it again, that thing, hmm! Never mind. I think this is just fine!"
"Fuuu—"
A pure white creature with upright ears—something between a cat and a dog—with purple eyes appeared from nowhere. It looked up at the nightmare observing the crowd and let out a low, ambiguous growl.
"Why are you here! Hey, hey, Cath Palug, I'm one of the officials in charge of the Divine Empress Order's tax territory on Earth. Show some respect."
The white-haired big brother barked with false bravado.
"Fu? Fuuu~"
A disdainful little growl.
The creature kicked off with its short legs and leapt onto Merlin's smooth white hair, kneading it a few times like a cat making biscuits before flopping down—clearly treating it as a nest.
"Hey, Cath Palug, you—" Merlin was about to complain indignantly when a cool, spring-like female voice drifted through the Servant network constructed from cosmic magical particles.
"Lady Gorgon. What are your instructions?"
Seizing the opportunity, Merlin plucked the equally attentive Fou—whose ears had perked up at the name—from his head, made a shushing gesture, and held him in his arms.
"Regarding the Guardians of the Galaxy. Intervene, but do not over-intervene. You understand what I mean."
Not rescue?
A trace of contemplation flickered in Merlin's eyes. "Gamora is the adopted daughter of the cosmic overlord Thanos. She possesses knowledge of the location of one of the Infinity Stones—the Soul Stone," he said.
"I know."
"Then?"
Elsewhere, beyond the galaxy, on the Kree Empire front lines in the Andromeda Galaxy—
Under the escort—or rather, supervision—of a group of blue-skinned Kree, Selene casually tossed the information card for claiming the bounty after completing the commission onto a table in the room.
"You don't need to worry about it. Go handle matters related to the 'Sentinel Program.' Go personally. I need to ensure things unfold exactly as I expect. Before I return."
Her vertical pupils flickered with heart-stopping red light as she transmitted the order wordlessly.
"As you command, my lady."
Ending the communication, Selene began surveying the massive Kree war fortress she currently occupied.
"How generous... gifting away entire star systems with fully developed industrial foundations without hesitation. Still... the central spiral arm of the Andromeda Galaxy, near the Greater Magellanic region adjacent to Shi'ar neutral territory... prime real estate indeed."
She toyed with the bounty verification card in her hand and let out a soft laugh. "Quite the clever calculation."
"I say, gentlemen, aren't you tired yet? Why not let me pass? What are you waiting for? Or is someone intending to see me?"
—
—
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven