Boom!
Hawk was hammered from the sky by Ikaris' fist, his body crashing against a floating mountain with a thunderous impact.
The petrified crust shattered off the mountain's surface.
Hawk flickered, reappearing at Ikaris' back, his fists blazing.
Cosmos burned bright, his punches bursting out in a deadly barrage, wings of a phoenix unfolding in a storm of blows.
"Phoenix Wings!"
Boom—!
Ikaris was blasted away, smashing into another floating mountain. The force knocked the entire mass drifting sideways until it collided with a neighboring mountain with a deafening crash.
Hawk vanished, reappearing above him.
His hands spread, cosmos surging to the peak. Behind him blazed a radiant phoenix avatar, wings stretching wide.
"Phoenix Rising Wings!!"
The fiery bird dove, shrieking as it descended upon Ikaris.
But his golden eyes narrowed. In a blur, Ikaris darted clear.
Boom!
The floating mountain below took the full force, shuddering and groaning before tearing loose from its suspension, plummeting into the lost world below.
The ground split open, golden magma geysering skyward.
And still—
Ikaris was unharmed.
"As I thought…"
"No wonder heroes like Ultraman or Saints hold back their finishers till the end."
Hawk clenched his fists, lips quirking wryly.
Used too soon, a killing move wasted its edge. If Ikaris had been weakened, that strike would've maimed him. But at full strength? It meant nothing.
So be it.
His eyes gleamed.
"Again!"
"Die!"
Ikaris' gaze turned cold. Golden beams burst once more from his eyes.
But Hawk only scoffed.
"I told you—against a Saint, the same move never works twice."
Boom!
He blinked aside, flames flaring as his leg whipped around. A blazing kick smashed Ikaris through the air, his taunt ringing after.
Excitement surged in Hawk's veins.
For Saints, battle was life. But since breaking into the Seventh Sense, few foes could stir his blood like this.
This was why he sparred with Thor on Mars every week.
He craved combat.
And Ikaris—Marvel's so-called Superman—was giving him that thrill again.
Gentlemen—I love to fight!
"Hah!"
"Shit!"
Ikaris swore under his breath as Hawk's fist came on again, and he shot upward.
Boom!
Hawk's punch tore into another adamantium mountain, sparks flying, before he tilted his head up at Ikaris streaking above.
A heartbeat later—
Boom!
Ikaris crashed down on him like a meteor, driving Hawk into the ground.
Their battle raged across the hidden world—blazing across floating mountains, skimming treetop canopies, cracking open molten fissures.
Ikaris drew on the very air, the adamantium-rich energy of this realm fueling his power, his speed, his strength.
Hawk's cosmos burned like a star, inexhaustible, inexorable.
Each strike was lethal.
This was no sparring match.
This was life and death.
And the beasts of this lost world paid the price.
Winged horrors screeched and scattered, caught in shockwaves that vaporized them mid-flight. Creatures crashed, crushed, melted, swept away by forces meant for gods.
Ikaris' eyes narrowed.
"You're one of Ajak's agents?"
Hawk snorted, appearing behind him in a flash, his kick cracking across Ikaris' ribs. "So that's it. You're afraid Ajak will learn you've been keeping Deviants chained here?"
Snarling, Ikaris twisted away, then slammed forward with a sonic boom, his arms locking Hawk's waist. Together they plummeted, a comet toward the rainforest below.
"Phoenix Feathers!"
Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh!
From Hawk's flaming wings rained countless burning feathers, harder than steel, a storm of fiery blades shredding Ikaris' blue-gold armor to tatters.
But Ikaris only roared.
"Ahhh!"
Boom!
The two slammed into the earth like an asteroid impact. The land heaved, cliffs snapping, forests toppling in shockwaves that thundered across the lost world.
Blood-red birds fell dead from the sky. Winged serpents wailed, tumbling into molten rivers below.
Ikaris rose, battered, his once-proud armor little more than rags, golden blood streaming down his frame.
Hawk emerged too, no better—Phoenix Cloth cracked and fractured, its glow fading, blood trickling from his brow.
They locked eyes, chests heaving.
Then—
Boom!
Their fists collided once more, shockwaves ripping apart ancient trees that had stood for millennia.
Wham!
Ikaris flew back, spine cracking against another mountain. Gold spattered from his lips.
Hawk too reeled into a peak, grunting as his back struck adamantium.
Ikaris wiped the blood from his mouth, staring coldly at the smear on his hand.
Hawk steadied himself, hovering once more.
On Skull Island—
Peter and Felicia, sleepless and waiting, sat outside their stilt house, eyes fixed on the valley.
"Peter."
"Yeah?"
"Did Hawk say when he'd return?"
"No…"
"Should we go look?"
Peter shook his head fast. "I'll go. Not you."
"Why not?"
"It's too dangerous."
Felicia smirked, eyes sly. "Did you forget? When your powers cut out, I was the one who scared off that swamp beast."
Peter's mouth twitched—but he still refused. "You can't. You're pregnant. I'll go."
Her smile softened. "Forget it then. Let's wait. And don't you go either."
"…Alright."
Because he trusted Hawk. Completely.
No one else could stride through Kong's Gorge untouched.
So they waited.
Their eyes turned back to the cliffs—
Then the world exploded.
A blue-gold figure blasted skyward from the gorge like a missile, ripping a sonic boom in his wake. Golden blood dripped as he fled, streaking straight into the raging storm that circled Skull Island.
A heartbeat later—
Boom!
Hawk appeared where Ikaris had stood, Phoenix Cloth splintered, eyes narrowing as he caught sight of the Eternal vanishing into the multicolored lightning storm.
In seconds, the man's presence was gone—utterly erased.
Hawk stared, face unreadable.
Ikaris had fled with his tail between his legs.
And Hawk could not pursue.
Because his Cloth—
Was broken.
…
(End of Chapter)
[Check Out My P@treon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!!][[email protected]/euridome]
[Thank You For Your Support!]