Crack!
The Chitauri Soldier, still frozen in an attacking stance, had his head instantly twisted ninety degrees. His pair of fly-like compound eyes glowed a ghostly green as he stared at Hawk standing before him, seemingly unable to believe it.
How had he suddenly appeared behind me?
The Chitauri Soldier did not understand.
But he no longer needed to understand, because that was the last thought of his life. The moment it crossed his mind, endless darkness instantly swallowed him.
The Chitauri Soldier's body collapsed weakly onto the rooftop, and the energy weapon in his hand slipped free and fell with a smack.
"That's it?"
"Heh."
Hawk looked at the Chitauri Soldier whose neck he had snapped and let out a soft laugh.
The next second.
He felt it. Within the Cosmo born after the Big Bang, a warm current suddenly appeared in his body with the Chitauri Soldier's death. As that warmth surged in, it felt as though a star had been lit within his Cosmo.
At the same time, along with the lighting of that star, a piece of information was transmitted to Hawk.
Within his Cosmo, the phantoms of the forty-eight Bronze Constellations flickered in and out of view after the first star was lit.
Hawk closed his eyes and absorbed the information conveyed by his Cosmo.
Grow through countless battles.
Ascend through endless battles.
After all...
Cosmo Cultivation had been born for war, for holy wars. It was a method of battle, a method of Saint Seiya.
"So."
"If I want to light up my own constellation within my Cosmo, I need to fight—keep fighting?"
In the setting of Saint Seiya, the awakening of one's Cosmo was deeply connected to one's constellation, but it was not a simple one-to-one correspondence.
If the awakening of Cosmo was liquid, then one's constellation was the container.
Constellations were symbols of a Saint Seiya's identity and vessels for their power.
The bad news.
Saint Seiya simply did not exist in the Marvel Universe, so if he wanted constellations of his own, he had to light up each of his constellations himself.
The good news.
Since Saint Seiya did not exist in the Marvel Universe, theoretically speaking, Hawk could awaken all forty-eight Bronze Constellations.
Unlike the Saint Seiya from his memories, where countless people had to cross a single-log bridge, with tens of thousands fighting over one constellation and only one person emerging as the final winner.
After all, in his memories, there were few constellations and many Saint Seiya.
But things were different here.
He was the only one who had awakened Cosmo.
So...
He could be a Pegasus Saint Seiya, or he could be a Phoenix Saint Seiya, as long as he could light up those constellations within his Cosmo.
That was...
Awesome.
How did that saying go again?
Children had to make choices. Though he was only seventeen and still a minor, mentally, he was already an adult.
He wanted them all.
Wait.
If he could choose to have all forty-eight Bronze Constellations, what about the twenty-four Silver Constellations?
And the twelve zodiac constellations?
Hiss!
As Hawk suddenly considered this, he could not help sucking in a breath.
Just then.
He sensed the wind outside. His eyes snapped open, and he saw two Chitauri Soldiers riding flying vehicles. Upon seeing the Chitauri Soldier's corpse at his feet, their gazes instantly locked onto him, and without a word, they pulled their triggers.
Bang, bang, bang!
Perhaps the sight of their companion being killed by a weak human had enraged the two Chitauri Soldiers. They kept pulling their triggers, venting their fury across the rooftop.
Under the two Chitauri Soldiers' barrage, the already unstable rooftop finally gave out.
Amid the wails of constant explosions, the apartment rooftop collapsed.
The entire apartment building began to teeter as well.
Soon.
As the two Chitauri Soldiers circled the apartment rooftop and continued firing, the building itself began to collapse, caving in from top to bottom.
The ground itself seemed to tremble. As a massive cloud of dust rose, the five-story apartment building was reduced completely to ruins.
Some residents had rushed out before the apartment building collapsed but had not yet gotten far. As they watched their apartments crumble amid the dust, they stood there in a daze, mouths hanging open.
But they quickly came to their senses.
Because the two Chitauri Soldiers had descended and entered their sight.
They finally reacted. Looking at the Chitauri Soldiers, who did not look human in any way, they screamed and turned to run.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
Their orders from headquarters were to kill Earthlings, so upon seeing these humans trying to flee, they pulled their triggers again without hesitation.
Energy rounds burst without end.
Bystanders died without end.
In the blink of an eye, this already impoverished and unprosperous street had become like a street in war-ravaged Iraq.
After clearing out the humans here, the two Chitauri Soldiers stepped down from their flying vehicles, drew the energy weapons strapped to their backs, and aimed their muzzles at the apartment building that had become a pile of rubble.
Because they had discovered that the life signal of the human who had killed their companion was still there.
And not only had that life signal not weakened, it was even growing stronger.
Stronger and stronger.
The two Chitauri Soldiers exchanged a glance.
The next second!
Boom!
The rubble burst apart, and an afterimage flashed past.
The Chitauri Soldier on the right vanished from where he stood. After a deafening crash, the Chitauri Soldier who had just disappeared was plastered against the wall of the apartment building opposite like a mural.
Ghostly green blood spilled across the ground.
The remaining Chitauri Soldier stared wide-eyed at his companion, who had suddenly been sent flying.
Unfortunately, his eyes were too small. No matter how wide he opened them, they still looked no bigger than mung beans.
The Chitauri Soldier instinctively ran toward his wall-mounted companion to provide support, but before he had taken more than a few steps, his vision blurred, and his entire body was sent flying backward.
Only then did a tremendous boom ring out beside his ears.
Boom!
Bang!
The Chitauri Soldier's chest burst apart in midair. Like a rag doll, he crashed into the apartment ruins below.
His corpse bounced once atop the rubble like a rubber ball before falling into the ruins.
Motionless.
Slap.
Slap.
Slap.
Hawk appeared where the Chitauri Soldier had just been sent flying from. As he brushed the dust off his body, he curiously looked around.
He had killed one Chitauri Soldier, and then two more had come.
Now that he had killed two Chitauri Soldiers, three should come next, right?
With that thought, Hawk looked toward the Leviathan descending through the space portal above Manhattan...
His eyes burned.
Eager to try!
Before you continue