Chương 104: Chapter 97: The Silver Titan

"Ah, there you are." The freezing, salt-laced wind howled across the rocky shoreline of Argus, whipping through the wreckage of the crashed Manta airship. Yang, Weiss, Blake, Team JNPR, Qrow, Oscar, and Maria, stood utterly frozen in place. They stared blankly at the snowy embankment leading down to the beach, their exhausted, battered brains entirely failing to process the casual, mundane voice that had just cut through the apocalyptic tension.

Trudging slowly down the icy slope, his red boots crunching loudly in the snow, was Saitama. In his left hand, he delicately held a plastic hanger, upon which his pristine, immaculately dry-cleaned white trench coat was draped perfectly inside a clear plastic garment bag. In his right hand, he held a cloth bag containing his folded yellow hero suit, along with a plastic grocery bag brimming with convenience store snacks.

Walking right beside him, entirely unbothered by the freezing temperature or the towering, half-petrified sea monster groaning in the bay, Neopolitan twirled her pink-and-white parasol, a smug, highly entertained smile resting on her lips. Saitama and Neo reached the bottom of the slope, casually stepping over a piece of burning debris to join the huddled, battered vanguard. They came to a halt right next to where Team JNPR was supporting the unconscious Ruby.

"Seriously?" Saitama asked, his voice echoing with profound, deadpan annoyance.

"I leave you guys alone for about three hours to do laundry, and you're fighting a Kaiju?" The absolute silence on the beach held for exactly two seconds.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Yang, Blake and Weiss shrieked in absolute, synchronized fury, their voices echoing off the cliffs.

"We almost died!" Jaune yelled, throwing his arms up in exasperation, his armor clanking.

"That giant mech blew us out of the sky, and then a Leviathan showed up!" Saitama flinched slightly, holding his dry-cleaning up defensively as if to protect it from their shouting.

"Hey, don't blame me! The line at the laundromat was incredibly long! There was this lady with like, twelve baskets of towels, and she kept arguing with the cashier about fabric softener. It was a whole ordeal."

"You... you stood in a laundry line..." Qrow stammered, dragging a calloused hand down his face as he let out a laugh that sounded more like a dry sob.

"While a giant robot was trying to vaporize my nieces."

"Speaking of which," Saitama tilted his head, looking past the group to the smoldering, crashed Manta airship embedded in the snow.

"How did your 'Grand Theft Aircraft' operation go?" Qrow sighed, gesturing weakly to the flaming debris.

"As you can see, baldy... it didn't go well."

"If you had just stayed at Saphron's house instead of obsessing over a grease stain, this entire heist could have been successful! With the illusionist's help, none of this would have happened!" Weiss hissed, pinching the bridge of her nose as her aristocratic composure completely unraveled. Neo looked at the furious Schnee heiress. She simply offered a careless, elegant shrug, clearly communicating that it couldn't be helped when dealing with the bald man's priorities. Saitama ignored the yelling.

His gaze drifted down to the snow, resting on the unconscious form of Ruby Rose. He then looked out toward the bay, his eyes traveling up the colossal, jagged, petrified stone surface of the Leviathan. He remembered seeing a massive, blinding flash of white light cresting over the cliffs just as he and Neo had reached the coastline.

"Huh," Saitama muttered, connecting the dots with surprising ease.

"It truly is much bigger than the one when I first came to this world." He pointed a red-gloved finger at the stone monster, then at the unconscious girl.

"Did the red kid do that?"

"Yes," Pyrrha confirmed, her voice filled with quiet pride despite her exhaustion.

"She unleashed the power of the Silver Eyes. She saved us." Saitama raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Cool." CRACK. The casual atmosphere shattered instantly. A massive, jagged fissure suddenly split down the center of the Leviathan's stone chest. The petrified shell enclosing the beast's left arm violently burst open, sending massive boulders crashing into the freezing surf. The exposed, leathery black flesh beneath the stone writhed as the monster let out a furious, muffled shriek, its massive claws twitching and flexing as it began to tear itself free.

"It's breaking out!" Oscar panicked, gripping The Long Memory tightly as he stepped backward.

"Get ready!" Ren yelled, raising StormFlower, though his hands shook from sheer exhaustion. Neo's smug smile instantly vanished. Her heterochromia eyes widened in genuine alarm as the colossal beast began to roar, ripping more of the petrified stone from its jaws. Saitama, however, merely let out a long, heavy sigh, maintaining his absolute deadpan expression.

"Look!" Blake suddenly pointed toward the dark, turbulent sky over the ocean. The situation had just escalated from catastrophic to utterly hopeless. Breaking through the cloud cover in the distance, flocking toward the city of Argus like a swarm of locusts, were hundreds more Manticores and Sphinxes. The Atlas forces in their Manta aircraft were still desperately engaged in brutal dogfights high above the bay, completely unable to break off and intercept the new wave.

"More of them?!" Nora cried out, dropping Magnhild into the snow.

"We can't fight all of that! We don't have any Aura left!" The group fell into a frantic, desperate panic. They looked at the encroaching swarm, then turned their eyes toward the man in the yellow suit standing on the cliff.

"Saitama, you have to do something!" Jaune pleaded.

"Wait, it's too risky!" Qrow argued, stepping in front of the students.

"If he takes action out here in the open, the entire city of Argus and the Atlesian military base will see him! It will completely compromise his whereabouts! The public and the enemies will immediately know the 'Hero of Vale' isn't in Sanus!"

"Uncle Qrow is right," Yang gritted her teeth.

"Even if he moves at the speed of light, the sudden, inexplicable destruction of a Leviathan and hundreds of Grimm by an 'invincible force' will raise far too many questions. They will deduce he is here." Yang's eyes darted toward Saitama. And then her gaze locked onto the small girl with the parasol standing beside him.

"Wait," Yang gasped, a sudden, brilliant spark of realization hitting her.

"Neo! When we were in Upper Mistral, she masked his presence! She used an illusion of a giant robot to cover up what he was doing!" The group turned to Neo with desperate hope.

"Neo, you have to help us mask his actions again!" Oscar pleaded. Neo let out a silent sigh. She pulled out her scroll, her thumbs flying across the glass screen, and held it up with a flat, unimpressed glare. [Takes too much energy.]"Please!" Oscar begged, taking a step forward.

"If you don't help us, Argus will fall! Thousands of innocent lives will be lost!" Neo crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. She gestured lazily with her free hand, rubbing her thumb and forefinger together in a universal sign. What's in it for me? If it were just for her and Saitama, she would have done it without question, as he was her reliable meat-shield.

But burning her Aura to the absolute limit for the sake of these Huntsmen, even if Ozpin had promised to help her find Cinder Fall, required proper compensation. Saitama let out a frustrated groan.

"Come on, umbrella girl. Just do the magic trick so I can punch the big fish." Neo simply raised an eyebrow, waiting.

"Fine," Saitama grumbled, digging into his pocket.

"I will buy you three pieces of premium, three-flavored cake. If you agree to help." Neo paused. She tilted her head, tapping her chin thoughtfully. Then, she raised both of her hands, bringing her fingertips together to form a large, wide circle in the air. Saitama's dotted eyes widened in sheer, comical outrage.

"You want the whole cake?! Absolutely not! That's way too much sugar! You're being greedy, and it's terrible for your health!" Neo dropped her hands. She stuck her tongue out at him, simultaneously dragging her right lower eyelid down with her index finger, delivering a flawless, incredibly mocking Akanbe face. I don't care.

"You brat," Saitama sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. The Huntsmen and Huntresses were practically pulling their hair out. The Leviathan was tearing massive chunks of stone off its torso, the roars growing deafening, and the two anomalies on the beach were currently arguing over bakery portions.

"Enough!" Weiss shouted, stepping forward with absolute, aristocratic authority. Weiss glared at the illusionist.

"If you help us right now, I will personally petition General Ironwood to clear your criminal records in the Atlesian military database so you can wander around Atlas without having to disguise your appearance." Neo's ears perked up, her heterochromia eyes shifting toward the heiress.

"I cannot guarantee that the General will grant the request," Weiss clarified sharply, "but I will guarantee you unrestricted access to the luxury, heated penthouse we secured for Saitama." Neo's eyes sparkled. A massive, wicked smile spread across her face. She gave a firm, enthusiastic nod. Deal.

"Ugh, great," Saitama groaned, his shoulders slumping.

"Now I have to listen to your ridiculous demands in the penthouse, too."

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Ren yelled over the roaring ocean.

"Do we use the giant robot illusion again?"

"No, that won't work!" Jaune realized, shaking his head frantically.

"We're right next to Atlas territory now! If we use the Atlesian super-mech illusion, the military base is going to track its movements! They'll wait for it to land in Solitas, and when it just disappears, they'll know it was a fake! It will completely ruin the cover story!"

"He's right," Blake agreed, her amber eyes wide.

"We need something else. Something completely unexplainable." As the group desperately tried to brainstorm, the cracks on the Leviathan's body spread like a spiderweb. The colossal beast wrenched its right arm completely free from the stone, its massive, bone-plated jaw snapping open as it prepared to unleash another devastating beam of atomic energy. The new flocks of Manticores and Sphinxes blotted out the fractured moon. Panic seized the beach.

"Whatever you're planning, we gotta do it now!" Maria said frantically. Saitama, who had been staring blankly at the sky, finally raised a finger. He leaned down, whispering something quietly into Neo's ear. Neo paused. She slowly pulled her head back, looking at Saitama with a profound expression of utter, absolute bafflement. Seriously?

"Hey, it makes much more sense than a dragon," Saitama defended himself flatly.

"At least back in my universe, this is a classic." Neo let out a long, heavy sigh, rolling her eyes so hard they nearly stuck in the back of her head. She tapped on her scroll and showed it to Saitama. [Get ready.] Saitama smirked, giving her a confident thumbs-up. Qrow, Oscar, Maria, and the students exchanged deeply confused, highly nervous glances, entirely unsure of what the bald man had just requested. Neo stepped to the very edge of the shoreline. She closed her eyes, taking a deep, shuddering breath.

She drew upon absolutely every single ounce of Aura in her body, pushing her limits far beyond, like what she had done in the Upper Mistral. Her Semblance flared to life with a blinding, kaleidoscopic brilliance. She reached into Saitama's memory, pulling forth the image he had requested, and projected it on a massive, apocalyptic scale. Saitama gently set his plastic hanger, his cloth bag, and his groceries down in the snow near the unconscious Ruby.

"Look after my belongings," Saitama called back to the group.

"This won't take long." Saitama turned to face the ocean. The Leviathan broke the last of the stone around its chest, roaring furiously as the winged horde descended. Qrow, Oscar, Maria, Yang, Weiss, Blake, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren braced themselves, waiting to see what the invincible hero would do.

At the Atlesian Military Base, absolute terror had taken hold. Inside the command center, soldiers scrambled frantically over their consoles, screaming as the radar screens filled with hundreds of incoming hostile blips. Stolen story; please report.

"More Manticores and Sphinxes approaching the perimeter!" a technician yelled, his voice cracking.

"The shields are completely down! We have no anti-air defenses left!"

"May the Gods help us," an older officer whispered, removing his hat as he stared at the monitors tracking the Leviathan's movements. Out in the city of Argus, the civilian populace wept in despair. The streets were choked with people trying to flee the coastline. Saphron Cotta-Arc held her son, Adrian, tightly against her chest, tears streaming down her face as Terra wrapped her arms around them both.

"Terra, what do we do?!" Saphron sobbed, watching the horrific winged monsters diving toward the rooftops.

"Just hold on to me!" Terra yelled back over the sirens, her own voice trembling with fear. Out in the bay, trapped inside the cockpit of her crippled, frozen Colossus, Special Operative Caroline Cordovin stared up at the sky in absolute defeat.

"It's over," Cordovin whispered, her pride entirely broken as that creature reared its massive head to incinerate the city. Suddenly... The clouds above the ocean parted. Something was falling from the upper atmosphere of Remnant. A colossal, blazing streak of light plummeted from the heavens. With a deafening, earth-shattering THOOM, a giant figure landed squarely in the shallow ocean waters, directly in front of the roaring Leviathan.

The impact sent a localized tidal wave crashing against the cliffs, the ground trembling violently beneath the city streets. The Atlas forces, the fleeing citizens, Saphron, Terra, and Cordovin all stopped. They stared out at the bay, their eyes widening in sheer, unadulterated shock. Baby Adrian pointed a chubby finger at the ocean, his eyes sparkling with pure awe.

"Ba!" Standing in the freezing water, towering high above the waves, was a humanoid giant. The entity's entire body was a gleaming, metallic silver, accented with stark, flowing red geometric lines across its chest and limbs. Embedded perfectly in the center of its broad chest was a glowing, round blue light that pulsed with rhythmic energy. The giant's face was smooth and featureless, save for a pair of massive, glowing, milky-white oval eyes that radiated an otherworldly calm.

"What... what is that?!" an Atlas soldier screamed, pointing at the base monitors.

"Is it an Atlesian prototype?!"

"No!" a technician replied frantically.

"Radar says it isn't mechanical! It's... I don't even know what it is!" In the city, the civilians stared in absolute bewilderment.

"Is it... is it an alien?!" Terra gasped, clutching Saphron's arm as they stared at the towering, silver figure.

"I don't know, Terra," Saphron breathed, her tears halting as she stared in wonder.

"It looks like a superhero from an old comic book." Inside the Colossus, Cordovin's jaw hung open in stupefied silence.

"What insolence! Who authorized this... this silver freak?!" The Silver Titan slowly turned its massive head, facing the Leviathan that was about to unleash its atomic breath, and the endless flocks of Manticores and Sphinxes diving from the clouds. The Titan moved with deliberate, dramatic flair. It raised its right hand vertically, pointing its fingers toward the sky.

Then, it brought its left hand across horizontally, resting it precisely against its right wrist, forming a flawless, glowing "+" shaped arm-crossing stance. ZCHHHHHOOOOOOM! A blinding, devastatingly powerful beam of pure, incandescent white light shot violently from the vertical edge of the Titan's right hand. The beam struck the towering Leviathan square in the chest. That colossal, ancient sea-monster didn't even have time to roar.

The sheer, overwhelming destructive force of the light completely obliterated that creature, reducing its armored scales, its bone-plating, and its atomic core into microscopic, evaporating ash in a fraction of a millisecond. Without breaking its stance, the Silver Titan fluidly swept its arms horizontally across the sky. The massive beam of light tracked across the clouds, slicing directly through the descending flocks of Manticores and Sphinxes.

Every single winged Grimm caught in the beam's path instantly detonated, evaporating into dark mist. In a matter of seconds, the sky was completely, utterly clear.

On the rocky shoreline, reality looked entirely different. Because Qrow, Oscar, Maria, Yang, Weiss, Blake, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren, were standing directly inside Neo's projection area, they did not see the Silver Titan. They saw exactly what was truly happening. Saitama didn't cross his arms. He simply bent his knees, leaving two massive, smoking craters in the snow on the beach, and jumped. He launched himself across the bay, covering the vast distance to the Leviathan in a microsecond.

As he reached the colossal beast, suspended perfectly mid-air while the flock of Manticores swarmed around him, Saitama casually pulled his right fist back.

"Consecutive Normal Punches." Saitama's arm became an absolute, terrifying blur of sub-atomic motion. He unleashed a barrage of rapid-fire strikes that completely bypassed the laws of physics. He didn't just punch the Leviathan. He casually, effortlessly pulverized the remaining petrified stone, the impenetrable bone-armor, and that monster's entire cellular structure.

Every single shockwave generated from his punches radiated outward like explosive artillery shells, expanding in a massive dome of kinetic force that instantly ripped the surrounding Manticores and Sphinxes to absolute shreds. The sky tore open from the air pressure. The ocean water was violently pushed back for miles, creating a dry crater in the middle of the bay.

The students and the veteran Huntsmen stood on the beach, the violent gale of displaced air whipping their hair and cloaks as they watched the apocalypse be casually deleted. Even though they knew his capabilities, seeing the raw, unadulterated devastation with their own eyes again left them paralyzed with shock.

Oscar and Maria, who had never witnessed Saitama's power firsthand, stared with their mouths hanging wide open, completely unable to process the absolute, terrifying gap between humanity and the man in the yellow suit.

"By the gods..." Maria said, being astonished.

"I-Incredible..." Oscar muttered with amazement. Jaune Arc lowered his shield. He watched the massive clouds of black ash raining down over the ocean, his blue eyes filled with profound, breathless awe. Can I... can I ever reach that level someday? Jaune wondered silently, his grip tightening on his sword. With his momentum spent, Saitama fell from the sky, splashing lightly into the freezing ocean waters. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a fast-moving, splashing blur approached the shoreline.

Saitama was literally running on top of the water. His boots slapped the surface tension with impossible speed, kicking up a trail of sea foam before he casually jogged back onto the rocky beach, coming to a halt in front of the awestruck group. He dusted off his red gloves, his face returning to a flat, bored oval.

"Done."

Once again, from the perspective of the Atlesian soldiers, the citizens of Argus, Saphron, Terra, Adrian, and the bewildered Caroline Cordovin. The Silver Titan slowly lowered its arms, the devastating beam of light fading into the night sky. The city of Argus was enveloped in a stunned, deafening silence. Then, the reactions erupted.

"It wiped them out!" a soldier cheered from the command center walls, waving his rifle in the air.

"The Leviathan is gone!" In the streets, the panic dissolved into weeping joy. Citizens fell to their knees, hugging one another as they stared at the towering giant in the bay. Saphron let out a massive, shuddering sob of relief, burying her face into Terra's shoulder.

"It saved us," Saphron wept.

"Whatever it is... it saved Jaune. It saved all of us." Terra hugged her wife tightly, staring in absolute wonder at the alien savior.

"I don't know where it came from... but thank the Gods it was here." Inside the frozen Colossus, Cordovin stared at the Titan, her eyes wide, her jaw completely slacked. Her entire worldview of Atlesian supremacy had just been thoroughly, spectacularly humbled by a glowing silver alien. The Silver Titan stood proudly in the shallow waters. It slowly tilted its massive, smooth head upward, looking toward the starry expanse of the night sky. It raised its arms high into the air.

"SHUWATCH!" The massive, echoing, completely bizarre alien battle cry boomed across the city. With a blinding flash of light, the Silver Titan launched itself directly into the heavens. It flew straight up, breaking the sound barrier instantly, and completely disappeared into the outer atmosphere of Remnant, leaving the city of Argus safe, secure, and profoundly, utterly confused.

Back on the rocky shoreline of Argus, the kaleidoscopic, shattered-glass illusion of Overactive Imagination flickered and died. The massive, reality-bending projection that had shielded the city from the truth instantly evaporated into the freezing coastal wind. With the illusion severed, Neopolitan's knees buckled. She collapsed heavily onto the snowy beach, her chest heaving as she gasped desperately for air. Her Aura, pushed to an unprecedented, continent-spanning limit, was completely and utterly depleted.

Her pink-and-white parasol slipped from her trembling fingers, clattering against the frost-covered rocks as she caught herself on her hands and knees, shivering from the sheer, agonizing exhaustion.

"Neo!" Yang called out, jogging over with the rest of the group. Yang, Blake, Weiss, Oscar, and Team JNPR gathered around the fallen illusionist. Despite the fact that she had been their bitter enemy just a few months prior, the teenagers looked down at her with expressions of profound, unshakeable gratitude.

"You did it," Jaune breathed, his blue eyes filled with absolute relief as he leaned on his sword.

"You completely covered for him."

"Thank you, Neo," Pyrrha said softly, offering a deeply respectful bow.

"Yeah, seriously! That was incredible!" Nora cheered weakly, leaning her weight against Ren, who offered Neo a solemn, appreciative nod. Blake and Weiss exchanged a look, before Weiss spoke up, her voice entirely devoid of its usual aristocratic edge.

"You saved this entire city from a panic, and you protected our mission. Thank you." Neo didn't have the breath to offer her usual mocking curtsy. She just remained on her hands and knees, panting, until a pair of bright red rubber boots stepped into her field of vision. Saitama stood over her, looking down at the panting, exhausted girl.

With a casual, entirely mundane gesture, he reached out with his right wrist, being careful not to drop his groceries, and gently patted the top of her bowler hat like a proud big brother.

"Good job, kid," Saitama said flatly. Neo looked up at him. Her breathing steadied, and a familiar, mischievous spark returned to her heterochromia eyes. She sat back on her heels, crossed her arms, and thrust her hands outward toward him, her fingers making a demanding, grasping motion. She puffed her cheeks out into a massive, comical pout. Saitama let out a long, heavy sigh that made his shoulders slump.

"Are you serious? You want a piggyback ride again? I'm holding my dry-cleaning." Neo didn't budge. She simply intensified her pout, pointing at her exhausted, trembling legs, and then aggressively pointing at his broad back.

"Ugh, you're such a brat," Saitama sighed, turning around and dropping to a slight crouch.

"Hop on." With a silent, victorious smirk, Neo scrambled up. She wrapped her arms securely around Saitama's neck and draped her legs over his back, immediately letting her head rest heavily against his shoulder. Within seconds, her eyes fluttered shut, entirely comfortable and completely at peace as she let the invincible hero bear her weight. Qrow walked over, dragging Harbinger behind him, his crimson eyes squinting at the bald anomaly in pure, unadulterated bewilderment.

"Alright, baldy, I gotta ask," Qrow muttered, pointing his thumb up at the empty sky.

"What in the world were you whispering to her about? What kind of illusion was that supposed to be?" Oscar, Weiss, and Yang leaned in, equally curious about what had just transpired outside the illusion barrier. Saitama simply adjusted his grip on Neo's legs, a small, highly uncharacteristic, and comically proud smirk touching his lips.

"You'll be seeing it on the news," Saitama stated mysteriously, entirely satisfied with his directorial choices. Before Qrow could interrogate him further, a terrifying screech echoed across the bay. The group whipped their heads toward the ocean. Emerging from the dark, swirling clouds in the far distance was another flock of Manticores and Sphinxes.

Their numbers were not that many compared to the apocalyptic wave Saitama had just vaporized, but to the completely exhausted Huntsmen on the beach, it was still a major threat.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Yang groaned, her fists dropping to her sides.

"We can't ask him to take action again," Blake whispered, her amber eyes widening in dread.

"Especially not with Neo exhausted like this." Several leading Sphinxes, who were in closer distance to the shoreline, broke from the pack and began a rapid, screeching dive directly toward the vanguard. BOOOOOM! The earth violently shook. A colossal, gunmetal gray hand erupted from the shoreline. It swung in a devastating, horizontal arc, swatting the leading Sphinxes completely out of the sky like annoying flies. The group gasped, stumbling backward. It was the Atlesian Colossus. It had stood back up again.

Its right side was heavily scorched, the massive arm cannon entirely detached and ruined from Ruby's internal explosion, leaving a jagged, sparking stump. But it stood firmly on the beach in front of the group, facing toward the incoming last wave of Manticores and Sphinxes. Inside the command center of the Atlas military base, the mood shifted from sheer terror to erupting joy.

"The Special Operative is back online!" a soldier cheered, waving his headset in the air.

"The Colossus is defending the coast!" Down in the city of Argus, the terrified citizens who had initially thought it was a rampaging mech now burst into cheers as they saw their own military engineering rising to protect them.

"Look!" Terra pointed toward the cliffs.

"The military is fighting back!" Saphron watched with stupefied expressions alongside her wife. On the snowy beach, the Colossus's external acoustic projectors hummed to life." I'll take it from here!" Special Operative Caroline Cordovin's voice boomed across the coastline. The Colossus's massive left hand began to whir. The articulated fingers folded inward, locking into a specialized combat configuration before the entire forearm began to spin. It transformed into a gigantic, terrifying mechanical drill.

Cordovin drove the mech forward, thrusting the colossal drill directly into the chest of two approaching Sphinxes, destroying them into black mist in a shower of sparks. With the immediate threat repelled, the Colossus slowly turned its towering torso around to Qrow's group. The heavy, hydraulic hiss of the cockpit unlocking echoed over the crashing waves. The reinforced glass shield slid open, revealing Caroline Cordovin standing within the pilot's bay.

She looked exhausted, her uniform slightly rumpled, but she stood in a stern, absolute military manner, staring directly down at the group.

"The Atlas military can handle the stragglers," Cordovin announced, her voice echoing clearly over the wind without the aid of the speakers. The group stood frozen in confusion. Jaune took a hesitant step forward, his brow furrowing deeply.

"What, uh... What are you saying?" Cordovin smiled softly down at them.

"I'm saying... I don't think anyone would notice if one more ship went missing in my lengthy report," Cordovin replied smoothly. She glanced up at the empty sky where the projection had vanished.

"Besides, it seems we have already been granted a miracle. I owe a debt to that mysterious silver giant alien." The collective jaws of Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Oscar, and Qrow hit the snowy ground.

"What?" Weiss blinked in utter shock.

"Silver giant alien?!" Yang gasped, her head whipping around to stare at Saitama and Neo. Saitama just offered that same, insufferably proud little smirk.

"She's... she's letting us go?" Blake whispered, her amber eyes wide in absolute disbelief. Maria Calavera adjusted her cybernetic goggles, entirely surprised by Cordovin's change of heart. The bitter rivalry between them made this concession nothing short of miraculous.

"That's great and all," Yang yelled up to the cockpit, gesturing frantically toward the smoking, ruined trench in the snow behind them.

"But our Manta is completely destroyed! We don't have a ride!" As if on cue, the sleek, mechanical whine of fresh turbine engines descended from the clouds. A brand-new, pristine Atlesian Manta airship broke through the snowfall, hovering gently before touching down on the shoreline just a few dozen yards from the group. The side hatch doors hissed open.

Standing perfectly at attention in the doorway were the two eccentric, hyper-disciplined Nubuck Guards who had previously been thrown out of the sky by Weiss's glyphs.

"One airship for the Huntsmen and Huntresses!" Nubuck Guard 1 announced loudly.

"You may take this to Atlas!" Nubuck Guard 2 echoed.

"Oh, thank the Gods," Qrow exhaled a massive, shuddering breath, rubbing his temples in relief.

"Thank you, boys." Saitama, dressed sharply in his black suit and bowler hat with Neo resting heavily on his back, stepped forward. He leaned down, carefully scooping the unconscious Ruby up into his two arms, carrying her bridal-style.

"Hey," Saitama said flatly, gesturing with a nod of his head toward the plastic hanger, the cloth bag, and the crinkling grocery bag he had carefully set down in the snow.

"My hands are full with the kids. Can you guys help carry my belongings to the ship? The coat is dry-clean only." The two Nubuck Guards didn't even blink at the bizarre, mob-boss-looking man carrying two teenage girls. They completely failed to notice the legendary hero suit folded within the cloth bag.

"Yes sir!" they shouted in unison. The two heavily armored soldiers scurried down the ramp, carefully grabbing Saitama's white trench coat, his groceries, and his yellow suit bag, hauling them securely onto the ship. While the group was entering the airship, Maria Calavera hobbled up the ramp last. She turned around, leaning heavily on her cane as she laughed playfully up at Cordovin in the Colossus.

"You know, you should have done this from the start, Cordo!" Cordovin's polite smile vanished, instantly replaced by her signature, irritated scowl.

"This doesn't change anything between us, Calavera! Do not push your luck!" Inside the cabin, Weiss Schnee walked up to the two Nubuck Guards as they gently placed Saitama's belongings onto a passenger seat.

"I am... deeply sorry for what I did to the two of you," Weiss apologized sincerely, her face flushing slightly with guilt. The two guards immediately straightened up, answering in their rigid, guard manner.

"Do not fret, Miss Schnee!" Nubuck Guard 1 boomed.

"This whole thing never happened!" Nubuck Guard 2 finished flawlessly. Team JNPR gathered near the open hatch, looking up at the towering mech.

"Thank you, Miss Cordovin!" Jaune called out.

"Just go! Before I change my mind!" Cordovin barked back, waving a dismissive hand from the cockpit. The heavy hydraulic glass of the Colossus sealed shut. The massive machine turned its back on the departing Huntsmen, raising its drill-arm and wading bravely into the freezing surf to join her men in taking down the remaining Manticores and Sphinxes. The whole group entered the airship. Maria Calavera immediately claimed the pilot's seat, with Qrow dropping heavily into the co-pilot's chair beside her.

"Next stop..." Qrow muttered.

"Atlas." The Manta's thrusters roared to life. The sleek vessel lifted off the rocky shoreline as the two Nubuck Guards stood on the snowy beach, giving a perfect, synchronized salute. The airship banked smoothly over the ocean, leaving the beach and Cordovin's mech that ran off to join her men in taking down the remaining Grimm, as it rocketed upward into the sky.

Far away, tucked into the serene, upscale residential tiers of Argus, the chaos of the coastal battle felt like a distant memory. From the balcony of a beautiful, two-story home with traditional Animan architecture and a sweeping view of the frozen coastline, a lone figure watched the sky. Mrs. Nikos leaned against the wooden railing, her wire-rimmed glasses catching the faint, flashing lights of the distant dogfights. She pulled her thick woolen shawl tighter around her shoulders against the biting winter wind.

She tracked a single, sleek Atlesian Manta airship as it broke through the clouds, flying high and fast, cutting a straight line toward the northern continent. A warm, profoundly peaceful smile touched her lips. Her heart, once heavy with the terrifying burden of her daughter's fame and loneliness, was lighter than it had been in years. Pyrrha was no longer fighting the darkness alone. She was surrounded by friends, led by a boy who loved her enough to walk through hell for her. Mrs.

Nikos whispered softly to the freezing wind, her heart swelling with maternal pride.

"Safe travels, Pyrrha... Jaune..."