Chapter 314: The War Ends, and John Smith Departs
"Not bad at all for a junior." Kaito, one hand resting on his new trophy — Corvus Glaive's scythe — watched Ethan blazing away in the sky with visible admiration.
Even after crossing through countless worlds, Kaito still found himself genuinely impressed by the sheer power Ethan had just put on display — especially considering he'd pulled it off without even bothering to transform.
"He's not just powerful. What matters more is that he's got people around him he can actually trust," Tsukasa said, raising his pink camera and snapping a quick photo, capturing Ethan's imposing silhouette against the sky — as if trying to preserve the moment.
Then he glanced over at the cluster of Ethan's allies gathered at the edge of the battlefield — Harry and Tony, both capable of transforming into Kamen Riders, alongside a whole assortment of superheroes with their own varied powers.
For a moment, Tsukasa felt a strange wave of déjà vu — as if he were watching some echo of his old team-up battles from the Heisei-era Riders, back when they all used to fight side by side.
"Being young really is something else," Tsukasa murmured, glancing down at the blurry photo he'd just taken.
Wonder when I'll finally find a world that's actually mine. Every photo Tsukasa took, in every world he visited, always came out blurry — the only pictures that ever developed clearly were the ones of his own original world. And that particular world had been destroyed a long time ago.
With that thought, Tsukasa opened a Dimensional Gate.
"Leaving already? Not even gonna say goodbye?" Kaito asked, watching Tsukasa prepare to head out.
"Nah. We'll cross paths again. My journey's not over yet." Tsukasa turned back for one last, lingering look at Ethan in the sky, a faint smile crossing his face.
Then he raised a hand in farewell and stepped through the Gate.
"Well then — see you around. This world's got a ton of treasures, I'll definitely be back. This scythe doesn't really suit me anyway, so it's yours now. Next time, I'll actually learn that magic trick myself." With that, Kaito planted the scythe in the ground and walked off.
He raised a hand to his forehead in a mock salute, aimed toward Ethan, as his own farewell.
"Wait up, Tsukasa!"
What Tsukasa never noticed was that the photo he'd left behind, after he'd already gone, slowly grew a little sharper — a little clearer.
「DING!」
「Congratulations, Host! Tsukasa Kadoya's Friendship Level has risen to ★3!」
「Congratulations, Host! Dark Decade Driver acquired.」
「Congratulations, Host! Kaito Kumon has successfully added Host as a friend!」
「Congratulations, Host! Gift received from Kaito Kumon: the Tablet of Life.」
「Congratulations, Host! Special Bond activated: World Breaker and His Little Wife.」
At the string of notifications, Ethan glanced back toward the spot where Tsukasa and Kaito had just been standing.
Gone already, huh. Seniors really do things their own way, Ethan mused privately.
Was gonna invite them both back to Hell's Kitchen for a proper meal, too. Ah well — we'll cross paths again soon enough.
The ground forces were cleared, the black hole overhead had been sealed shut — all that remained was mop-up in the sky.
Ethan turned his attention to what little was left of the Chitauri fleet.
By now, real fear had crept into the surviving Chitauri soldiers. Their only thought now was escape.
The Chitauri had originally been one of Thanos's elite legions — a force meant to march fearlessly into death itself, without hesitation.
But with the Black Order down, and staring at an enemy this overwhelming, morale had utterly collapsed.
Facing Ethan felt, to them, no different than facing Thanos himself. Completely, hopelessly outmatched.
So a handful of Chitauri soldiers made a desperate attempt to flee — piloting their ships, trying to break free of Earth's gravity and escape back into the depths of space.
What they didn't know was that even with the black hole sealed shut, Ethan had already cut off their retreat entirely.
Ethan didn't bother pursuing the fleeing ships himself — he already knew that even if they made it off Earth, they wouldn't escape Asgard's reach. Thor, Prince of Asgard, had already stationed a formidable force deep in the cosmos, waiting for exactly this. These fleeing Chitauri were destined to become Asgard's prey, one way or another.
As for the remaining enemies still in the sky, Ethan simply chose to go on offense himself. Using his magnetic power, he crushed one Chitauri warship after another with ease.
In his hands, those warships crumpled like flimsy toys, utterly defenseless.
Every Chitauri soldier who fell from the wrecked ships was cut down without mercy by Ethan's shadow legion below.
It was a battle with no suspense whatsoever left in it.
Between his overwhelming strength and his sharp tactical mind, Ethan wiped out the remaining Chitauri forces entirely.
When he finally descended back to street level, the whole city fell into a hushed, breathless silence.
People stared at this man — a figure who now stood among them as nothing short of a hero — hearts full of awe and gratitude.
Then, all at once, the Big Apple erupted into noise. People cheered, shouted, celebrating the victory that had finally arrived. They knew, without question: they'd survived. They'd beaten back the invaders from beyond the stars.
Their homes lay in ruins, but hope and courage burned bright in their hearts all the same.
"It's over! It's finally over!" people shouted, their voices echoing through the streets.
"We're alive!" someone cried out, joy and pride ringing in every word.
"Alive, sure — but I don't think I have a home to go back to anymore," someone else murmured, a note of grief and helplessness in their voice.
"Doesn't matter. Being alive is what matters most!"
"If Ethan had just stepped in a little sooner, maybe we wouldn't have taken this much damage."
"Exactly. Damn Ethan — taking his sweet time before finally lifting a finger."
"Bullshit. Did you not SEE what he was dealing with before? That was clearly one of their generals he was fighting. Did you miss the Illuminati and Captain America getting flattened?"
"Somebody saves your life and you're still complaining? If you're so tough, why didn't YOU go beat these things yourself?"
"I actually saw this guy hiding in a storm drain the whole fight."
"No wonder his mouth's running that hard! Anyway, I'm genuinely grateful to the Lord of Hell's Kitchen and every one of Hell's Kitchen's heroes."
But rising above all that noise, one chant rang out louder than any other: "ETHAN'S THE BEST! HELL'S KITCHEN'S THE BEST!"
And it wasn't just the people of the Big Apple shouting themselves hoarse. All across the world, everyone who'd witnessed this battle unfold was already deep in frenzied discussion of their own.
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