The Weary Kratos and the Hilarious Adam

Washington, D.C.. - Post-War Ruins

Tony's armor cleaved through the gray sky, its thrusters spewing eerie blue flames, leaving a clear trail in the downpour. JARVIS's voice was clearly projected onto his HUD:

"Sir, according to the energy scan on the Watcher Platform, the energy fluctuations from the battle have subsided."

"Finally..." Tony murmured, his brows furrowed beneath his visor. His armor suddenly accelerated, and he flew into the skies above the District of Columbia. He looked down at Washington District D. C.—no, it could no longer be called a "district" now.

The entire city seemed to have been devoured by some ancient behemoth. The once bustling streets, towering government buildings, monuments... were all razed to the ground, leaving only scorched lava pools, vitrified craters, and countless collapsed building ruins.

"JARVIS, scan for vital signs."

"A wide-area scan has been performed; no human life signals were detected except for Kratos."

Tony's throat tightened slightly. Although Batman's advance warning had allowed the vast majority of civilians to evacuate, many military personnel and reckless internet celebrities had remained behind, and now, their bodies were nowhere to be found.

The combat boots landed heavily on the scorched earth, the ground still burning hot to the touch, even through the boots.

He looked around; rainwater washed over the ruins, creating a hazy mist. In the distance, a tall figure sat motionless on the edge of the lava pool.

--Kratos.

Tony took a deep breath and walked over.

"Boss, I suggest we stay vigilant," F.R.I.D.A.Y. reminded him.

"I know," Tony replied softly, but didn't stop walking.

Kratos seemed to sense his approach and slowly turned his head.

Dried bloodstains still remained on his face, and the red tattoos stood out even more vividly after being washed by the rain.

Kratos at this moment had lost the frenzy he displayed during battle, and instead resembled a weary old man.

"Stark." Kratos's voice was low and hoarse.

"You know me?" Tony raised an eyebrow.

Kratos simply nodded, his gaze returning to the distance.

Tony paused for a moment, then walked to his side and looked at the ruins as well.

"You win."

"Um."

Tony's visor slowly opened, rainwater immediately soaking his face. He gazed at Kratos, his voice solemn. "Thank you."

Kratos pushed himself up on his knees, his bones cracking under the strain.

"You're welcome," Kratos said in a muffled voice. "I was just following orders."

Kratos lifted the Leviathan Axe with one hand, skillfully slung it over his back, and turned to walk out of the city. His steps were heavy, each one leaving deep footprints on the scorched earth.

Tony didn't understand Kratos's situation; the fervor and fearlessness he displayed in the recent battle, through the Watcher Platform, had all been demonstrated in the safe zone.

Why does Kratos now resemble a frail old man?

"Wait!" Tony instinctively took a step forward. "Where are you going? Aren't you going to wait for Chen Tian to come back?"

Kratos didn't turn around, but merely turned his head slightly. "Find a quiet place to spend the rest of your life."

Tony watched Kratos's retreating figure, rain streaming down his face. He suddenly called out, "Wait!" Kratos stopped, but didn't turn around.

"How about..." Tony carefully chose his words, "Don't rush off yet? I can arrange a place for you that's absolutely quiet and no one will bother you."

Kratos slowly turned around, his eyes eerily calm, as if the earth-shattering battle that had just taken place had never happened.

"Friday," Tony said to the AI, "Check my properties, the most remote kind." He glanced at Kratos and added, "Preferably deserted."

After a brief silence, F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s voice rang out. "Boss, you own a seaside villa on the coastline of Northern Norway. It's 120 kilometers from the nearest town, with an average annual temperature of 5°C, and it's currently uninhabited."

Tony looked at Kratos: "There's a fireplace over there. Don't worry about supplies; I can deliver them to you using drones. The most important thing..." He paused, "... quiet."

Just then, the roar of the Silverwing Fiendstar's engines pierced the rain as it landed vertically on the charred ruins.

2B leaped lightly from the cabin, heading straight for Kratos.

"Mission accomplished." Kratos's voice was deep. He looked at 2B. "I'm going to—"

"Norway, we can go now," Tony immediately replied.

Kratos nodded silently, turned, and boarded the plane. Before the cabin door closed, Tony saw him remove the tomahawk and lean back in his seat with incredibly gentle movements.

With a roar of its engines, the Silverwing Fiendstar took off. Tony walked over to 2B and asked, "Just who is this guy?"

2B watched the departing aircraft, her voice almost drowned out by the rain. "A war god who slaughtered countless gods." She paused for a moment, "And also... a middle-aged man weary of war."

Tony stared at the sky until the aircraft became a tiny black dot in the rain.

He suddenly remembered something, turned around and asked, "Wait, what did you mean by 'countless gods'?"

2B didn't answer, but simply watched silently in the direction the Silver-Winged Ferocious Star had flown away.

The rain poured down even harder, washing over this place where gods had fallen.

On Titan, Sinestro's head was trampled under Dante's foot, the Yellow Lantern Ring dimmed completely, turning into an ordinary piece of metal, and Vergil sheathed his sword, coldly sweeping over the remains of the Yellow Lantern Corps scattered on the ground.

"Hey bro, you're stealing monsters too?" Dante said with a grin.

"If you're too slow, don't blame others." Vergil lifted his trench coat and sat down on a Taiseki nearby.

After Kiana and Saitama dealt with the remaining Yellow Lantern Corps Warrior, they sat on a floating boulder, swinging their legs and looking up at the sky—where a gold and a red trajectory were still colliding fiercely, each impact causing spatial tremors, and the shockwaves even causing the surface of Titan to shake slightly.

"How much longer are they going to fight?" Kiana muttered, puffing out her cheeks.

Chen Tian stood beside her, chuckled upon hearing this, and reached out to ruffle her hair. "What's wrong, bored?"

"Mmm!" Kiana nodded vigorously, her blue eyes filled with grievance. "I want strawberry pudding! Or cake will do!"

"..." Chen Tian paused for a second, then reached his hand into the distorted air, and when he came out, he had a strawberry cake in his hand.

"Wow! Strawberry cake!" Kiana happily took it from Chen Tian's hand, took a delicious bite, and looked completely satisfied.

Chen Tian's hand was still resting on Kiana's soft hair. The girl looked up at him with a bright smile, her face still covered in cream.

"Eat slowly," Chen Tian said with a smile, but the next second, his smile froze, and his gaze shot towards the sky like a sharp arrow.

"Those guys from Sovereign..." Chen Tian narrowed his eyes, letting out a disdainful sneer, "Why are they so eager to court death?"

Following his gaze, everyone saw a golden star approaching at an astonishing speed at the edge of the shattered sky.

A golden meteor streaked across the shattered sky of Titan, and the Adam Warlock, radiating a dazzling energy, crashed to the ground like a burning meteor.

He shattered the rocks with his bare feet, and golden energy formed a perfect spherical force field around him, pulverizing all the surrounding rocks.

"Chen Tian! Surrender!" Adam's voice boomed like thunder, echoing across the entire battlefield, his golden eyes fixed on Chen Tian.

Kiana had just put down the cake and was about to get up to fight when a red cloak swept past her sight even faster.

"Leave this to me." Saitama's voice was a little lazy, but also a little excited. Finally, an interesting guy had arrived.

"Boom--!"

The moment the two forces collided, the shockwave ripped up the ground within a radius of one kilometer.

Adam's golden energy clashed head-on with Saitama's fist, creating visible ripples in the air.

"Who are you?" Adam frowned, not expecting that this bald man could block his energy attack with his bare hands.

"A hero driven by interest," Saitama said, throwing another straight punch.

Adam quickly retreated, crossing his arms in front of his chest to form an energy barrier. However, the power of this punch far exceeded his expectations. The barrier shattered instantly, and he was knocked back hundreds of meters, carving a deep trench in the rocky ground.

"Interesting." Adam wiped the golden blood from the corner of his mouth, his fighting spirit intensifying. He suddenly spread his arms, and countless golden energy threads stretched out from behind him, attacking Saitama like living creatures.

Saitama stood still, simply throwing a few punches. Each punch precisely shattered a thread of energy; the movements were simple yet incredibly efficient.

Dante, watching from afar, whistled. "Dude, this guy's even cooler than you."

Vergil snorted coldly, but kept his eyes fixed on the battlefield.

Kiana took another bite of cake and mumbled, "Brother Chen Tian, can Saitama win?" Chen Tian watched the two locked in fierce combat and chuckled, "He's guaranteed to win."

In the center of the battlefield, Adam suddenly changed tactics. He clasped his hands together, and golden energy condensed in his palms into a miniature black hole-like sphere. "Try this!" He slammed the energy sphere toward Saitama.

Saitama's deadpan expression changed—he opened his eyes wide, revealing a childlike curiosity. "Oh?" The energy ball exploded the moment it touched Saitama, and blinding golden light engulfed the entire battlefield. The shockwave even forced Chen Tian and the others in the distance to raise their hands to shield themselves.

When the light faded, Adam was astonished to find Saitama still standing in the same spot, only his yellow battle suit was somewhat damaged.

"That was a good move," Saitama dusted himself off. "Want to try it again?"

Adam's golden face froze completely.

Saitama's dead fish eyes sharpened, and he slowly assumed a standard punching stance, instantly transforming his entire aura.

"If you don't have any other moves..." Saitama's voice was deep, "Then I'll do it."

Before Adam could react, Saitama had already vanished from the spot.

The next second, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen— Saitama's fist had sunk deep into his abdominal armor. Adam's golden pupils contracted sharply as he stared incredulously at the dented armor in his abdomen, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"This... is impossible..." Adam managed to squeeze out a few words.

Saitama gave him no chance to catch his breath. With a light leap, he appeared in front of Adam, pulling his right fist back to gather power.

Adam instinctively wanted to defend himself, but his movements appeared as slow as stillness to Saitama.

"Normal Punch."

As Saitama calmly announced, in Adam's eyes, a gigantic red fist slammed towards him, and in front of the fist was a huge "Death" (either the Chinese character for "death" or the English character for "death," you can use your imagination).

Saitama's fist stopped abruptly just one centimeter from Adam's face. The violent wind from the punch blew Adam's long golden hair straight back, and his facial muscles twisted and deformed under the impact of the airflow.

When the force of the punch subsided, Adam dared to open his eyes. He saw Saitama slowly retract his fist, and Saitama tilted his head, looking confused. "Are you... crying?"

Adam instinctively touched his face, his fingertips brushing against the cold liquid. He then realized that, without him noticing, tears were already streaming down his cheeks uncontrollably.

"I didn't cry!" Adam shouted like a child caught lying. He wiped his face haphazardly, only to find that the more he wiped, the more tears flowed.

Saitama pursed his lips, his face clearly saying, "Who are you kidding?"

He turned and walked away towards Chen Tian.

"I'm not crying!!" Adam shouted, trying to grab Saitama, but his legs suddenly gave way and he collapsed to his knees. Only then did he notice the strange sound coming from behind him—the rumbling of rocks collapsing.

He turned his head stiffly, and the sight before him made him gasp for breath.

A massive ravine, thousands of meters wide, stretched out from behind him, reaching all the way to the horizon.

The already shattered surface of Titan was completely torn apart by the aftershock of this punch, and all the hills and ruins along the way were crushed into dust.

The rock walls on both sides of the ravine were as smooth as mirrors, as if they had been vaporized in an instant.

Adam's lips trembled uncontrollably. He finally understood that if that punch had actually landed, he probably wouldn't even be left with an atom.

In the distance, Dante whistled exaggeratedly. "Wow, that destructive power... Dude, can your Dimension Slash do that?" Vergil didn't refute, but silently tightened his grip on the hilt of Yamato.

Kiana jumped up and down excitedly. "Saitama- sensei is so cool!!"

Chen Tian chuckled and ruffled her hair, "That's why I said it was a sure win."

In the center of the battlefield, Saitama had returned to his companions, reverting to his usual lazy demeanor. "Ah~ when do we wrap up? So boring."

Adam knelt on the edge of the ravine, watching Saitama's departing figure, and tears welled up uncontrollably once again.

This time, he didn't wipe it anymore. Instead, like a bullied child, he raised his head and cried loudly.

Far beyond the stars, in the command center of the Sovereign mothership, there was a deathly silence. High Priestess Ayesha stared at Adam kneeling on the ground in the holographic projection, her face deathly pale beneath the golden mask.

"Immediately... immediately evacuate this system." Her voice lacked its usual arrogance. "Full fleet, high alert."

Just as the Sovereign mothership turned around, intending to retreat, Ayesha discovered that a gigantic body had appeared behind the mothership, blocking their retreat.

"This... this is..." Ayesha was so surprised she couldn't speak.

The colossal bodies passed through the Sovereign mothership like phantoms, and in Ayesha's sight, five giants of different colors slowly flew towards Titan.

"The entire Celestials... they've all come out?" Ayesha said incredulously.

On Titan, Chen Tian looked up at the starry sky beyond Titan and sneered, "It seems those stone golems of the Celestials can't sit still anymore."

He turned to look at Bayonetta beside him. Bayonetta had finished feeding the magical beast and was idly playing with the end of her hair with her index finger. When she saw Chen Tian looking at her, she chuckled and said, "Arishem is very alert and runs very fast."

Chen Tian pursed his lips, then stood up, stretched, and said, "Once we've dealt with these stone golems, Goku should be done soon too."

Saitama's eyes lit up when he heard Chen Tian's words. "Can I have one this time?"

Chen Tian grinned. "Go all out!"

(This storyline is nearing its end; the battle between Goku and Superman will be at the very end. I've been looking for power levels for Goku and Superman these past few days, and I came across DEATH BATTLE [a show that analyzes multi-dimensional characters and compares them to determine the winner; some of the information in it is quite detailed]).

(In the Death Battle, the ultimate winner is Superman. Even Goku with Ultra Instinct and Kaio-ken is no match for the Superman of the Main Universe. The information explained later is also reasonable and well-founded. The Superman of the Main Universe is terrifyingly strong. The two are evenly matched in many aspects. The only difference is that Superman has some advantages that Goku cannot match. The information is fairly reasonable and well-founded, but there are some biases in some parts, so you can go and check it out~)

(P. S. The Superman here is not the Superman from the Main Universe, but the Injustice.)

(I was so busy today that I forgot it was the Dragon Boat Festival. Thank you all for your blessings. Here, I, the author, wish all my readers a happy, peaceful, and joyful Dragon Boat Festival, may you enjoy wealth and longevity.)