Krypto, the super dog, bared its teeth behind Liu A'dou, flashing its fangs and ready to pounce at any moment.
Liu A'dou hadn't noticed a thing. He was too dazzled by the endless array of crystals, picking and choosing like a kid in a candy store. These crystals were like the Fortress of Solitude's potted plants—varied in color, shape, size, and thickness—countless in number. He checked left and right, rejecting those that were too thick, too thin, too long, or too short. Only the ones that caught his eye made the cut.
But Krypto finally had enough. This guy was clearly stealing, totally unforgivable. Woooo… woof!
In the dead silence of the fortress, the sudden bark scared Liu A'dou so bad he jolted and spun around—only to see a white dog in a red cape flying straight at him, jaws wide open. That's right. Flying. The dog was paddling its legs in the air like it was treading clouds.
"Damn!" Liu A'dou hadn't expected Krypto to be here. Superman was so dazzling, he made everything around him fade into the background. Krypto had always been overlooked—and Liu A'dou had totally forgotten he even existed.
Dodge! A'dou yanked his backpack and rolled aside to avoid the strike.
"Woof! Woof!" It sounded like the super dog was filing charges against him for theft.
"Easy, doggie! I'm only borrowing some of your crystals for a good cause. You've got so many, your owner won't even notice a few missing," Liu A'dou said sincerely.
Grrrr… Krypto locked eyes with Liu A'dou, then lunged again.
Crap. The super dog was fast. It didn't strategize or predict moves, but its raw speed alone made it dangerous. Liu A'dou could dodge—for now. But no matter how far he ran, Krypto was on him like glue.
Suddenly, A'dou felt a surge of heat behind him and panicked. He sprang into the air, three stories high, just as a red beam sliced through the floor beneath him, melting a massive hole in the wall.
That was Krypto's heat vision. Way too dangerous. If it hit his clothes, they'd be toast.
"Woof, woof!" Krypto barked below him, watching Liu A'dou cling to a hanging crystal far above. The dog growled as if declaring that this was its domain.
"Bad dog! Who told you it was okay to use heat vision like that?" Liu A'dou shouted.
But the dog clearly wasn't here to negotiate. It leapt up and aimed right for Liu A'dou's butt. He barely managed to lift his rear just in time. Krypto missed and sank its teeth into Kaitou Kid's cape instead—and once it had a grip, it didn't let go.
The cape was soaked in slobber as Krypto tugged with terrifying strength, nearly pulling Liu A'dou down. Knowing he'd lose the tug-of-war, Liu A'dou quickly unfastened the clasp on his shoulder and let the cape go.
Krypto, now proudly clutching the cape, landed back on the floor.
Liu A'dou dropped a few tear gas grenades and made a break for it. He had enough crystals. If he didn't leave now, he might not get the chance.
Krypto's favorite game was fetch. Superman would hurl a frisbee toward the moon, and Krypto would go after it. That was the kind of ridiculous strength it had. Liu A'dou knew he couldn't subdue the dog without hurting it, and he wasn't about to hurt Superman's pet. Not unless he wanted Superman coming after him next.
Say what you will, but fighting a dog means you're fighting its owner, too. Liu A'dou could hurt Krypto if he wanted, but the problem was Superman. He didn't want to pick that fight—not over a few stolen crystals. Superman might let the theft slide, but if he found out someone hurt his dog? No way he'd let that go.
So Liu A'dou ran, using the fastest speed he could muster. Krypto was still behind him, surrounded by smoke—but it didn't matter. With x-ray vision, the dog could see everything.
"Woof! Woof! Woof!" Krypto burst out of the smoke and chased him down.
Liu A'dou turned and saw the dog gaining fast. He really was being chased by a dog. He ignited his Microcosmos, pushing his legs to their limit. His whole body rocketed forward like a missile—faster than ever before. Being chased really brought out his full potential. He was evolving.
Truthfully, the Saint Seiya were incredibly powerful. Take Shiryu's Rozan Shō Ryū Ha, for example. It could send two people hurtling toward the sun in seconds. Light takes eight and a half minutes to reach Earth from the sun. If Rozan Shō Ryū Ha could beat that, it meant not just punches, but people themselves were moving at light speed. Of course, that move was meant for mutual destruction, and only those who'd awakened their ultimate Microcosmos could fully wield it.
Even without flying, Saint Seiya could still move fast. But Liu A'dou hadn't learned how yet. He leapt up and immediately fell down again, tracing a perfect arc through the air and crashing headfirst into an ice ridge.
Ice shards flew everywhere. The ridge lost its peak. Liu A'dou tumbled through the air. Without any armor on, the impact hurt like hell. But with Krypto chasing him like it was life or death, he had no time to deal with the pain. He got up and jumped again.
Krypto could fly. If Liu A'dou didn't figure it out soon, he'd definitely get caught. "Up!"
His Microcosmos flared. His body felt weightless, like it was dissolving into the air. Humans weren't meant to fly. Even with the power of Microcosmos, even with the potential for flight, Liu A'dou had never actually learned how. Sure, he'd picked up Rozan Shō Ryū Ha Phantom Mirage Devil Fist, and Lightning Speed Punch, but flight? Nope.
He'd planned to master a few more moves before tackling that. But clearly, that plan was scrapped now. Once again, he fell. And once again, Krypto forced him to leap for his life.
Only by jumping further and faster could he keep ahead of the dog. Every bark behind him was scarier than a siren. Each jump went farther than the last. Slowly, Liu A'dou began to feel it. The key wasn't brute force. It was letting his Microcosmos connect with the greater universe—becoming part of nature, not just a being in it. To transcend the self.
Boom—
Another leap. Flight never came without crashing first. Learning to ride a bike meant scraping your knees. "Up!" A crater formed where he launched. His Microcosmos burned at full force. He felt the universe pour into his veins, into every cell. His whole body breathed, taking in the energy of the cosmos.
He rose—higher than ever before. Through the clouds, into the blue sky. Wrapped in golden light, Liu A'dou had done it. He could fly.
"Woof?" Krypto tilted his head. Just a second ago this guy had been flopping around like a duck trying to take flight. Now he wasn't falling anymore. But no matter what, the thief had stolen something from the fortress. He had to be stopped. Krypto lifted his snout and continued climbing into the sky.
Liu A'dou had to admit—he respected Superman and his dog. Seriously, was it really necessary to be this petty over two—no, three... well, seven crystals?
Fly. Liu A'dou kept going, burning his Microcosmos for maximum speed. The golden glow around him blazed brighter. He tucked in his limbs and looked ahead. The sky changed around him. 'I can't just keep running from this dog forever,' he thought. 'I need a way out—fast.'
Then he got an idea.
In Krypto's confused gaze, the weird man suddenly dropped from the sky again—smashing into an ice ridge. The dog hovered in place, eyeing the figure hidden in the snow fog.
"You want this?" Liu A'dou rose slowly from the icy mist, shaking a backpack in his hand.
"Woof! Woof!" Krypto knew exactly what that was. The crystals were inside. He couldn't let them be stolen. He barked and bounded through the air like, well, a very angry dog.
"You want it? Then go fetch!" Liu A'dou threw the backpack with all his strength. It shot into the sky and vanished almost instantly.
"Woof!" Krypto rushed after it.
Liu A'dou let out a deep breath. 'Knew it. He's just trying to recover stolen property.' If that was the case, now was the perfect time to bail. He raced back toward the Archimedes transport plane and took off at top speed, heading out of the Arctic.
Krypto caught the flying backpack at supersonic speed. But it had been thrown too hard—his bite tore it instantly. A few chunks of ice tumbled out and rolled to the ground.
Krypto was confused. If this was the bag of stolen crystals, why was it full of ice?
Turns out Liu A'dou had him beat in one area—brains. Not that it was much to brag about, tricking a dog. Still, it worked. In that split second, he'd swapped the crystals for ice blocks and tossed the decoy to mislead the hound.
By the time Krypto returned, Liu A'dou was long gone.
This time, A'dou won. Sure, he lost his backpack and his cape. But he learned how to fly. He got away with seven crystals. The whole thing just wasn't very dignified. He'd been chased the whole time and only escaped thanks to a trick.
As for the fact that he'd just outsmarted a dog—yeah, Liu A'dou planned to take that to the grave. Way too embarrassing.