"Damn it, this guy—watch out!"
Lying on the ground and staring at the stones being gathered by the Graviton, Tohka adjusted her energy and raised her hand, forming a barrier in front of her.
"Waaah!"
Having just become a Spirit and still affected by her magic run-amok, Miku Izayoi hadn't yet cast off her human sensibilities. Terrified, she curled up in Tohka's arms.
Fortunately, since the Graviton's target was Tohka, he didn't apply gravity to Miku. Otherwise, with her powers currently gone, the physical stress of suddenly increased weight would've seriously injured her—ordinary human bodies couldn't withstand that.
"Die!"
As the Graviton's words fell, the massive stone above them dropped like a meteor from the sky, crashing downward.
"Waaahhh!" Seeing the boulder descending from the sky, Miku Izayoi let out scream after scream. But sadly, screaming couldn't change anything—the meteor still came crashing down upon them.
"Boom."
A deafening explosion rang out, and Miku's vision went dark. Just as she thought she was done for, she realized she hadn't suffered any injuries. She hurriedly opened her eyes and looked anxiously at Tohka.
She knew Tohka had protected her before, but she couldn't imagine how someone with a body as small as Tohka's could withstand such a massive impact.
Whew. But to her relief, this time Tohka didn't block the attack with her body. In front of them was a purple barrier, glowing faintly in the dark. Tohka didn't say a word but coldly stared ahead. For some reason, Miku thought this version of Tohka looked really cool.
"This guy is seriously asking for it." A
fter taking the meteor impact, Tohka felt the gravity weighing her down suddenly lift. Her right hand tightened around Sandalphon, which reappeared in her grip. The shattered throne returned, fusing with the weapon. Her final sword, over ten meters long, emerged once again.
"Break."
With a snort, Tohka held Miku with one arm and the final sword with the other. Her spirit energy burst outward, smashing the surrounding stones to clear space, then she slashed forward with a massive wave of force.
"Hmph."
Outside, thinking he'd killed Tohka, Graviton was scanning the surroundings for Nick Fury. But just then, he suddenly felt a chill and instinctively tilted his body. A purple blade of energy swept past him and vanished into the sky.
"Ugh."
Even in his increasingly deranged state, Graviton broke into a cold sweat. Tohka's attack was terrifying—if he'd been hit, he would've been sliced in two.
What shocked him most was that the meteor had also been cleaved in half, slowly toppling to either side. Then, from the gap purple figure shot out from the wreckage.
"Die!"
The Graviton had a very limited vocabulary, but his attacks were far from restrained. He hurled cars, streetlamps, and debris toward Tohka.
"Are you Graviton or Magneto?"
Raising her hand to form a barrier, the objects exploded against it without harming her. Unfortunately, since she was still holding Miku, she didn't have a free hand to counterattack.
"Hey, over here!"
While Graviton continued his barrage, another voice called from the opposite side. He turned to see a red-and-gold Iron Man floating midair, palm glowing with energy. Reacting quickly, Graviton summoned several stone slabs to shield himself from the blast.
But what happened next surprised even Tony. Instead of retaliating from afar, the Graviton charged straight at him and punched him square in the chest. The next thing Tony knew, he was flying like a rocket.
"What the hell, JARVIS?!"
Hurtling upward, Tony realized he was breaching the atmosphere. He quickly activated his armor's emergency flight mode and thanked himself for having the foresight to install high-altitude gear.
"Sir, the opponent appears to have altered the polarity of your armor. You and Earth's gravity are now repelling each other. Please wait while I correct the alignment."
JARVIS's voice rang out. Tony furrowed his brow. This guy might be even more troublesome than Magneto.
"This Tony is a bit too useless."
Watching Tony get knocked away in a single blow, Tohka didn't know what to say. That guy clearly messed with Tony somehow—otherwise, he wouldn't have flown that far. And who knows when he'd be back. Plus, with Miku in her arms, she couldn't go all out either.
"Hmph."
Watching Tony fly off, Graviton snorted and turned his gaze back to Tohka and Miku. A fierce glow suddenly flashed in his eyes—clearly, he was preparing another big move.
"Hold on tight—I'm going to try to lose this guy and get you to safety. I won't be able to protect you and fight at full strength at the same time."
Seeing Graviton lock onto her, Tohka turned her head and warned the girl in her arms.
"Okay."
Miku nodded. She realized that as long as she stayed with Tohka, the latter couldn't fight properly. And she had no idea just how strong the enemy was. Since he had been targeting Tohka and she had always shielded Miku, she hadn't felt the danger firsthand.
"It's coming—brace yourself."
With her massive final sword in hand, Tohka prepared for an all-out attack.
But just then, a flash of lightning tore through the clear night sky. Both Tohka and the Graviton instinctively paused and looked up.
There, descending from the heavens, was a red-caped figure holding a war hammer.