The Sky Between Kingdoms
Transportation: Spatial Portal (Finral Limit Break)
"HURRY UP! PUSH PAST THE LIMITS!" Yami's voice screamed over the comms device.
Finral Roulacase was sweating blood. Literally. Veins popped on his forehead as he held the portal open from the Heart Kingdom all the way back to the Black Bulls base.
"I can't!" Finral wheezed. "It's too far! The spatial tearing... it feels like I'm running a marathon backwards!"
"Just open it!" Asta yelled, his anti-magic arm gripping Finral's shoulder. "I believe in you, Finral-senpai!"
"Calculation," Genos interrupted, calculating wind speeds. "At this velocity, the portal is unstable. Warning: Passengers may experience nausea."
Saitama stood in the boat (which Finral was teleporting along with them). He adjusted his new blue cape.
"Is the toilet really flying?" Saitama asked.
"YES!" Finral shrieked. "Fallen Angel's Gate: MAX OUTPUT!"
ZWOOP.
The boat vanished from the jungle river.
Black Bulls Base - Ruins
The base wasn't really a base anymore. It was a floating pile of rocks held together by gravity magic.
Dante Zogratis hovered above the destruction. He looked bored. He had beaten Gauche (mirror eye shattered). He had crushed Vanessa's cat (Rouge ran out of mana). He had turned Henry into a pile of Lego bricks.
And Grey... poor Grey stood trembling, transformed into a large rock to hide.
"Humanity's true nature is malice," Dante lectured smoothly, stroking his goatee. "Why do you resist? Embrace the darkness. It feels... freeing."
Yami Sukehiro stood on a chunk of floating debris. He was bleeding from a dozen gravity-crush wounds. He panted, katana heavy in his hand.
"Malice this, darkness that," Yami spat blood. "You talk too much for a guy who looks like a failed magician. Where's my toilet, you gravity-freak?"
"The toilet?" Dante chuckled. "It is debris. It is meaningless."
"MEANINGLESS?!" Yami's dark aura flared. "That was porcelain! Imported!"
"Die, Yami Sukehiro. And surrender your darkness to the tree."
Dante raised a finger. Gravity Magic: Heavy Infighting.
The gravity multiplied by fifty. Yami's knees buckled. The debris groaned.
Then, space tore open.
A wooden boat flew out of a green hole in the sky.
It sailed through the air, defying gravity purely because of momentum.
"INCOMING!" Asta screamed.
The boat smashed directly into Dante.
CRUNCH.
Wood splintered. The keel of the boat hit Dante's chest. The impact knocked the supreme villain backward, spinning him through the air.
The boat crashed onto the floating base, skidding to a halt.
"Everyone out!" Asta leaped from the wreckage, Black Divider sword huge and ready. "Captain Yami! Are you alive?!"
"Barely, kid," Yami grunted, standing up as the gravity lessened. "Took you long enough."
Genos deployed his thrusters, hovering mid-air. His new Rune Tattoos glowed bright blue. "Enemy Target Identified: Dante Zogratis. Host of Lucifero."
Saitama climbed out of the boat debris. He had a banana peel stuck to his shoe.
He looked around. The base was in chunks. His room—the one Gordon lent him—was missing a wall. His stash of emergency crackers was likely scattered to the winds.
Saitama frowned.
"My room," Saitama stated.
Dante dusted sawdust off his immaculate suit. He floated back up, looking annoyed. The mark on his forehead glowed—Lucifero was agitated.
"HIM," Lucifero's voice hissed in Dante's mind. "KILL THE BALD ONE. HE MOCKED ME."
Dante raised an eyebrow. "Lucifero? You sound... irritated. Who is this?"
Dante looked at Saitama.
"No mana," Dante noted. "A peasant? Did you throw the boat?"
"You broke the roof," Saitama pointed at the ruin. "And the bathroom. Yami said that was imported porcelain."
"Who cares about bathrooms?!" Dante roared, his composure cracking slightly due to Lucifero's screaming in his head. "Gravity Magic: Gravity Singularity!"
A black hole formed. A swirling sphere of infinite density. It erased the light around it. It flew straight at Saitama.
Yami's eyes went wide. "Baldy! Dodge! That thing eats dimension cuts!"
Saitama looked at the black hole.
"Again?" Saitama sighed. "Everyone uses these. It's unoriginal."
He kicked it.
Like a soccer ball.
His foot connected with the event horizon. Physics cried.
THWUMP.
The black hole was kicked sideways. It flew past Asta (who ducked), past Genos, and slammed into a nearby mountain.
SLUUURP.
The mountain vanished, sucked into the redirected black hole.
Dante stared. "He... redirected a singularity? With a kick?"
"Body Magic?" Dante guessed. "Physical reinforcement?"
"Leg day," Saitama corrected. "100 squats."
The Clash: Flesh vs Fist
"Fascinating!" Dante laughed. His chest ripped open, revealing red, pulsating flesh. Body Magic. He grew two extra arms. He looked grotesque. "If gravity fails, I will use flesh! I am immortal! I cannot die!"
He charged. Four arms swinging wild punches.
"I will tear out your heart!"
Saitama stood his ground.
Dante punched.
Saitama blocked.
Clang.
Dante punched again.
Saitama ducked.
Dante unleashed a flurry—a rapid-fire assault of punches reinforced with 80% Devil Power. Each hit could level a city.
Saitama did the Serious Side-Hops.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh.
Saitama wove through the punches, looking utterly bored.
"You're open," Saitama said.
Smack.
Saitama slapped Dante's face.
Dante's head spun 360 degrees. His neck broke with a sickening crack.
He flopped to the ground.
Asta cheered. "GOT HIM!"
"Not yet," Genos warned. "Regeneration active."
Dante stood up. He grabbed his own head and twisted it back into place. Crunch-click.
"I told you," Dante grinned, blood pouring from his mouth but his eyes glowing with manic joy. "I am immortal! My body magic heals all!"
"I hate regenerating guys," Saitama groaned. "They just waste time."
"Make me despair!" Dante screamed, his body bulging, turning into a hulking beast of muscle and gravity. Devil Percentage: 100% (Attempted). (Lucifero hesitated, but Dante pushed it). "SHOW ME YOUR MALICE!"
Dante lunged, huge fist crashing down.
Saitama didn't dodge this time.
"Genos," Saitama called out.
"Yes?"
"Hold my banana."
Saitama tossed the banana peel to Genos.
Saitama caught Dante's fist. He gripped the giant, regenerating knuckles.
"You want malice?" Saitama asked. "I'll give you annoying."
Killer Move.
Saitama jumped, dragging Dante with him into the air.
"Serious Series: Serious Pinball."
Saitama punched Dante.
BAM.
Dante flew down.
Saitama moved faster than Dante fell. He appeared below him.
BAM.
He punched him up.
Saitama appeared to the left.
BAM.
Saitama appeared to the right.
BAM.
To the naked eye, it looked like Dante was trapped in a geometric box of shockwaves. He was bouncing around the sky at Mach 500, being hit from every angle instantly.
"ORARARARARARARA!" Asta yelled instinctively.
Dante wasn't screaming. He couldn't breath. His regeneration couldn't keep up. Every time he healed a bone, it was broken again milliseconds later. He was a slushy of evil meat.
SLAM.
Saitama appeared above Dante for the final spike.
"Ground," Saitama said.
He hammered Dante into the earth.
The impact shook the entire Clover Kingdom. A crater the size of a stadium formed in front of the base.
Dante lay in the center. He was... mostly liquid.
"M... Ma... Malice..." Dante gurgled.
Saitama landed on the rim of the crater.
"I call that 'Tenderizing'," Saitama said.
The Smash and Grab
"We did it!" Asta collapsed, breathing hard. "The Zogratis guy is toast!"
"Capture successful," Genos noted. "We should restrain the biomass."
Yami limped over, holding his side. "Not bad, Baldy. You turned him into spaghetti sauce. Now, let's..."
RUMBLE.
The air pressure shifted again.
But it wasn't gravity. It was Spatial Magic. Bone Magic.
A portal opened directly behind Yami.
Zenon Zogratis stepped out.
Zenon had been busy. He had already captured William Vangeance. He saw Dante defeated. He saw the anomaly Saitama.
He didn't hesitate. He was a soldier, not a maniac like his siblings.
"Mission priority: Yami Sukehiro," Zenon whispered.
His bones shot out. Massive, sharpened ribs made of mana.
Saitama moved to intercept. "Hey, boney guy—"
CRACK-BOOM.
The floating base—the massive chunks of rock that Dante had been levitating—suddenly lost the magic holding them up (because Dante passed out).
Thousands of tons of rock plummeting toward the unconscious Black Bulls (Grey, Gauche, Vanessa) below.
Saitama froze.
If he punched Zenon, the rocks would crush the squad.
If he caught the rocks, Zenon would act.
Saitama looked at the squad. The "Family" Asta talked about.
"Dammit," Saitama swore.
He turned away from Zenon. He jumped under the falling base.
He caught the entire building.
One hand on the foundation.
"Ugh, heavy," Saitama grunted, holding up the Black Bulls' home.
Zenon seized the second.
His bones wrapped around Yami.
"Captain!" Asta lunged, but Zenon's spatial mana pushed him back.
"Dante failed," Zenon said coldly, holding Yami in a bone cage. "But the Qliphoth requires two keys. We have them both."
Zenon grabbed the unconscious blob of Dante with his other hand.
"Wait!" Yami roared, struggling. "Baldy! Catch!"
Yami threw something. Not a weapon.
His katana.
Saitama, balancing the entire base on one shoulder, looked up. The katana spun through the air.
Saitama caught it with his free hand.
"Hold onto that for me," Yami smirked, even as he was dragged into the portal. "Don't let Asta rust it. And tell Julius... he still owes you money."
ZWOOP.
The portal closed.
Zenon, Yami, and the remains of Dante vanished.
Silence fell over the crater.
Saitama stood there, holding a castle on his back and a katana in his hand.
Asta fell to his knees. "Captain... Yami..."
Saitama gently lowered the base to the ground. Thud.
He looked at the sword. It was heavy. Black steel. Smelled like stale tobacco.
"He got taken," Saitama said quietly.
Genos walked up. "Master. Tactical error. The falling debris forced a defensive maneuver."
"Yeah."
Saitama gripped the katana handle.
"I saved the house," Saitama said. "But the landlord got kidnapped."
Asta screamed at the sky. A sound of pure frustration and vow. "I'LL SAVE YOU! I SWEAR IT!"
Nacht (who had been hiding in the shadows the whole time, analyzing) stepped out.
"They have him," Nacht said coldly. "In three days, the Qliphoth opens. If it does, seven gates of hell open. Yami and Vangeance die."
Nacht looked at Asta, then at Saitama.
"We have three days to prepare a raid team," Nacht said. "To invade the Spade Kingdom."
Saitama tied the katana to his waist (using a piece of rope Noelle found). It looked clunky next to his suit.
"Three days?" Saitama asked.
"Yes."
Saitama cracked his knuckles.
"Genos."
"Yes, Master?"
"Look up the weather in the Spade Kingdom. If it's cold, pack soup."
Saitama turned to Asta. He put a hand on the crying boy's head.
"Hey, shrimp. Stop crying. We're going to go get your Captain back."
Saitama's eyes narrowed.
"And I'm gonna teach that bone guy that it's rude to interrupt a fight."