The Pilot in Command of the aerial behemoth, a professional to the core, wisely cut the aircraft's engines. In this moment, the thrust was not only useless to the Dawn Knight, who was bearing the entire responsibility for their safety, but an active obstruction. For his own life, he dared not continue such a counterproductive action.
The massive plane finally achieved a momentary stability. Although Zhou Yi was pouring every ounce of physical strength into the controlled descent, he still had to dedicate a portion of his Mental Energy to the damaged engine on the wing. The flesh-and-blood monster was still inside, and he couldn't guarantee it would remain quiescent.
Zhou Yi's divided attention was obvious to the woman in his arms. Women are peculiar in their focus on a man's concentration, especially when that man is exceptionally attractive. They always prefer to be the sole recipient of that attention.
"What are you looking at?" the woman asked, sensing the immediate danger had passed.
"I'm looking at the source of the calamity," Zhou Yi replied, his voice completely steady, a testament to his unbreakable resolve. "If you need someone to blame after we land, you can point fingers at it. Though I doubt any court can pass judgment on what it is."
"What is that? What exactly happened?" The woman was perplexed. Sitting in first class, all she knew was that a Superhero called the Dawn Knight had suddenly appeared to fight some evil. Before she could process the details, disaster had struck.
"I was chasing a dangerous individual, but I didn't expect him to transform into an actual monster. That monster caused this disaster, and right now, it's hiding in that engine."
"Are you serious?" The woman was skeptical of "movie monsters," leaning more toward a sophisticated terrorist attack. "How can there be... monsters in this world?"
Before she could finish, reality delivered a brutal shock.
The powerless turbine was no longer a threat to the flesh-and-blood monster. As its energy reserves depleted, it decided to leave its temporary habitat and seek immediate food.
Its inability to think meant it had no long-term memory. The chaotic, weak collective will had quickly forgotten the being who had harmed it and forced it into the dark corner. Yielding to primal instinct, foraging became its only goal.
Refined by the engine's turbine, the monster's tissue had been repeatedly shredded and repaired, strengthening its constitution by several degrees. Its wild tentacles easily tore through the engine's thick metal armor, and using the new anchor points, the monster pulled its main mass out, slowly crawling toward the plane's fuselage.
Seeing the terrifying creature reappear, the passengers erupted in panic. Fear, confusion, and raw terror burst forth. For the flesh-and-blood monster, which perceived the world through Mental Energy fluctuations, this chaos was a clear signal of where the food was.
"Damn it!" Zhou Yi cursed, watching the creature adjust its path toward the most panicked area of the cabin. All his strength was currently committed to supporting the colossal plane, leaving nothing to spare for the foraging monster.
The woman beside him clearly sensed the hero's predicament. She empathized, her lake-blue eyes darting quickly, a nervous but intelligent look on her face.
Suddenly, a flash of insight crossed her expression. She had an idea.
"Can you still use your ability?" the woman shouted over the rushing high-altitude airflow, momentarily abandoning her ladylike composure. "I mean, the one that shoots rays!"
The Dawn Knight's public abilities were known for his flight, teleportation, and, most famously, his heat rays that could cut through anything. His super strength was often overlooked.
Listening to her, Zhou Yi was puzzled. If he could use that ability, he would have done so already, but at the cost of the plane's safety. He was about to explain, but the woman's next words opened a new path.
"The plane's engines are already off! Whether those two wings are there or not makes absolutely no difference. Cutting them might damage the cargo hold below, but no passengers will be hurt. On the contrary, you can reduce a huge portion of your burden!"
Zhou Yi quickly activated his Super Vision to assess the situation. She was right, perhaps even more so than she realized. Removing two eighty-meter wings would significantly reduce his physical load and have minimal impact on the passengers. Crucially, severing the wings would send the monster plummeting with them. Once separated from the plane, he could incinerate the creature without risk to the aircraft.
He acted instantly. A dazzling, brilliant light burst from the center of his helmet. A thigh-thick beam of light instantly pierced the plane's bottom armor, then began cutting along the root of the wing.
Aerospace metal was less than paper against a highly focused heat ray exceeding 100,000 C; it was sliced effortlessly. To the passengers, two beams of light briefly streaked across the plane, and then, as the light vanished, the colossal wings, carrying the monster, plummeted into the void.
The monster, driven solely by its collective will, had no idea what happened. It merely followed its instinct, unaware it was falling away from its target and descending into the abyss of destruction.
When the wing detached and reached a safe distance, invisible flames enveloped the massive structure. Zhou Yi, filled with cold determination, used the maximum temperature he could control; flames exceeding 30,000 C were colorless to the naked eye. These deadly, invisible flames easily consumed the entire wing and the monster upon it, reducing both to nothing in an instant.
At such a temperature, even metal evaporated. The monster vanished without a scream. People couldn't see the flames, only the scorching heatwave radiating hundreds of meters away and the stinging sensation in their eyes. Many suffered minor burns and temporary vision damage—injuries the airline and insurance companies would gladly cover.
Zhou Yi slightly straightened, shielding the woman in his arms from the heatwave. His Mental Energy was fully focused on the plane, so he could only use this physical shield to express his gratitude.
The woman smiled, protected but still feeling the scorching heat. His cape covered most of her, but not her face. "Thank you," she whispered.
The woman was about to speak again, but Zhou Yi cut her off.
"Careful, we are landing now."
She looked back instinctively, seeing the azure sea rushing toward them. They were less than two hundred meters above the surface. Zhou Yi abruptly withdrew his full psychokinetic power, wrapping the woman in his arms with the last vestiges of his Mental Energy.
The plane dropped sharply. With its load significantly lightened, the colossal aircraft was now within the range of his Divine Power. He held up the massive fuselage like Heracles holding the heavens, slowly lowering it onto the sea.
The immense weight and volume slammed into the ocean, creating a churning roar and giant waves. Hundreds of tons of seawater were displaced, surging outward in expanding ripples across the calm, blue surface.
In the distance, under the golden glow of the morning sun, ships from the Britain Coast Guard were rapidly approaching.
Every passenger was safe. Truly safe.
But this time, no one cheered. They silently rushed to the narrow windows, gazing out at the broken cabin or the clear sea, waiting for the one person who mattered. Without him, any celebration would be meaningless.
A question, heavy and terrifying, arose: Where was the protagonist? They held their breath, some clasping hands, others praying. This should be a perfect ending, not the tragedy of a fallen hero.
As if hearing their collective prayer, a black figure tore through the calm surface, rising from the deep water. The golden sun shone on him, illuminating the emblem on his shoulder and the long hair of the woman in his arms.
A surging cheer erupted. This was the ending they demanded.
Slowly descending onto the top of the floating fuselage, Zhou Yi suddenly felt a dizzy spell, his head swimming from the exhaustion of his Mental Energy. He had almost passed out as he lowered the plane, and only the woman in his arms had woken him—her method, though, was a bit unconventional.
Gently placing her on the ground, he offered a sincere, though strained, "Thank you."
The woman rubbed her reddened palms. Her slender hands had struck his hard helmet to keep him conscious—a strange, painful act she didn't regret. She unfastened the cape and handed it back.
"I should be the one saying thank you. Thank you for your cape."
"Keep it as a souvenir," Zhou Yi said, managing a smile. "I think it holds some meaning now." He turned. Normally, he'd linger, but now he had a score to settle. He glanced at the approaching ships, shot up, and flew toward the far side of the ocean.
The woman reached out, catching nothing but air. Hugging the black cape, she watched the knight disappear. What lingered in her thoughts was the flash of gold revealed beneath the damaged black armor.