Seeing the skyscraper flying toward her, Tohka instinctively grabbed her greatsword, ready to slice it in half and finish off Graviton. But just then, two voices interrupted her action.
"Tohka, stop! If you swing that sword, things will get messy!"
This was Tony's voice—clearly, he'd been monitoring Tohka's battle.
"Rescue them, now!"
This one was even simpler. As director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury rarely wasted words. He used the most concise language possible to avoid delaying critical orders.
"Hmph."
Tohka let out a cold snort and forcefully stopped her swing. It wasn't just because of those two—it was also the screams and cries from inside the building that reached her ears.
At that point, even without their warnings, it would've been difficult for her to go through with the attack. She could only glare resentfully at Graviton, who had only one arm left and looked ready to flee, and withdrew her sword.
"Phew."
Seeing Tohka put away her weapon, Graviton also let out a breath of relief. He had clearly seen earlier that Tohka was planning to chop the whole building along with him, so he didn't dare provoke her again. If he did and drove her into a corner, it would only end badly for him.
With a resentful glance at Graviton, Tohka retracted her greatsword and turned toward the building, and unleashed her full spiritual energy.
As a brilliant purple aura burst around her, she looked like a Goddess standing tall in the powerless Manhattan skyline—capturing every eye on the ground.
Without pausing for applause, she caught the falling building midair.
Then, surging spiritual energy surged through the structure. The building, which was nearly on the verge of collapse due to Graviton's rough treatment, stabilized again.
Against the backdrop of the towering skyscraper, Tohka looked tiny—but it was that small figure that held the entire structure aloft. Controlling her energy, she slowly moved the building toward a beach on the outskirts of the city.
"..."
Silently watching Tohka holding up the building, Graviton knew this was the best chance.
So, he immediately turned and prepared to flee the area. He could worry about getting revenge on Nick Fury later. As for Tohka—he no longer considered her a viable target.
But as he turned to bolt—WHAM!—Thor's hammer slammed into him from above.
"AGHHH!!"
Even with a last-second energy shield, the Graviton was smashed to the ground. Before he could get up, CLANG!—Captain America's shield hit him squarely in the chest, followed by THWIP!—a spider web bound him tight.
"Hmph."
But even so, Graviton didn't give up. He radiated light from his entire body and tore the webbing apart. Then, he casually caught Captain America's shield and threw it back toward its original owner. Immediately afterward, he released his power again, and all the debris around him lifted off, blasting everyone away.
But as he turned to escape again—KRACK-BOOM! Lightning flashed across the sky. Thor floated above, spinning Mjolnir as energy arced wildly from it.
"Hmph."
Realizing that getting hit now meant certain death, Graviton's brain finally kicked into high gear.
Using his remaining arm, he flung broken pieces of buildings to knock everyone away, then flew into another skyscraper—clearly intending to use it as cover.
"Hmph."
Seeing that, Thor had no choice but to cancel his attack. But there was no way he'd let Graviton go that easily. He immediately flew in after him. At the same time, Iron Man, Captain America, and others followed.
"Phew… got it down safely."
Having placed the skyscraper on the beach, Tohka let out a breath. She didn't bother checking inside—she knew there had to be casualties, but at least most people had survived.
Now free, she soared upward, scanning the area—and caught sight of the Graviton darting into that building. Her rage reignited.
He had interrupted her protection of Miku, and now, she was done playing nice.
Inside the tower, light flashed and explosions rang out. The others were engaging him—and the Graviton, after all the prior fights, was reaching his limit.
Soon, he was blasted from the building and sent flying through the air—
Right into Tohka.
With no hesitation, she summoned her greatsword midair and swung.
The Graviton tried to block her attack with levitated slabs of concrete—but they may as well have been made of paper. Her ten-meter sword beam shredded through his defenses and slammed him into the ground.
"..."
As Tohka's strike landed, the surrounding air fell silent. The atmosphere of violence and chaos vanished, and the night returned to calm.
"Whew, it's finally over. Tough bastard though—Tohka's strike should've split him in two. Oh—he's still alive."
Iron Man landed beside her, scanning the battered enemy. The Graviton lay broken in a crater, bloodied and barely conscious. The might he once displayed—gone.
"Hm, that guy's been surrounded by a special force field the whole time. It helped absorb a lot of attacks... but it couldn't block Tohka's slash."
Tony activated his scanner and reported Graviton's condition. He also silently resolved to design a new energy shield—his armor was just too fragile without it.