Chapter 27: Miracles
Tok.
The tip of the cane-sword touched the ground. The tall blind man didn't spare a glance at Savin, whose bones creaked under the crushing gravity. Instead, he lifted his head slightly, the cross-shaped scar on his face "gazing" toward the sky.
The moment he arrived in this unfamiliar world, something called a system flashed across his mind.
[Welcome to the "Marvel World," Player Issho Fujitora.]
[Alignment: Guardian.]
Strange terms. Strange rules. But he didn't have time to delve into them. Because his Observation Haki, powerful enough to perceive everything, had already "heard" the disaster that was about to erupt.
He caught the violent surge of energy inside the man moments before he exploded. He heard the faint whimper of glass right before it shattered. He heard the frantic rhythm of hundreds of terrified hearts.
As a Marine Admiral, upholding "benevolent justice," he could never stand idly by.
So, he took action.
The explosion's shockwave had faded, but a new problem hung overhead. Thousands upon thousands of frozen glass fragments hovered in the sky, each one like a sword of Damocles over the heads of the panicked crowd.
"My, my… quite a troublesome mess," Fujitora murmured.
He slightly raised the hand holding the staff sword, brought his index and middle fingers together, and gently waved them toward the glass-filled sky.
A resonant chime followed.
A sound like countless wind chimes ringing in unison drifted through the Hollywood night.
Every suspended shard began to move. They flowed, gathered, and shifted like glittering streams, converging above the theater from every direction.
Small fragments chased larger ones. Razor edges smoothed away as they collided, turning to streaks of light.
On the ground, everyone forgot to breathe. They tilted their heads back, watching the incredible spectacle. Siren sounds grew louder from afar, but the police who arrived at the scene stood frozen by their cars, just like ordinary people, watching the miracle in the sky.
The river of glass spiraled, compressed, and gathered.
Finally, hundreds of meters above, it formed a giant, flawless glass sphere more than ten meters in diameter.
Its surface gleamed like polished crystal. Inside, it reflected the countless lights of Los Angeles, like a colossal jewel plucked from myth and hung against the night sky.
"Wh… what is that?" a tourist whispered, raising their phone with trembling hands, unable to even keep the camera in focus.
"Is it God? Or… aliens?"
Fujitora ignored the commotion. With his eyes closed, he "looked" at the city through Observation Haki, quickly pinpointing a long stretch of concrete riverbed cutting across Los Angeles.
He planted the cane sword once more, then stepped forward.
"Gravity Blade."
He didn't draw the sword. He simply pushed its tip in the direction of the glass sphere.
No sound followed.
The giant glass sphere began to drift toward the Los Angeles River, east of the city, at a steady and graceful pace.
It passed silently above skyscrapers and over weaving highways. Thousands watched in awe as it slid across the skyline like a slow-moving meteor.
Minutes later…
Splash!
A huge splash of water erupted in the river, and the beautiful glass ball sank to the bottom, never to harm anyone again.
Only then did Fujitora return his attention to the man crushed beneath him.
He lowered his head toward Savin, still pinned under gravity strong enough to flatten a tank. Every bone in Savin's body seemed ready to split.
"Gamblers always think they've won before the cards are revealed." Fujitora's voice remained calm.
"But your wager should never have involved innocent lives."
The tip of his cane sword lightly tapped the ground.
A sharp crack followed.
Savin let out a suppressed groan of pain, feeling an invisible force crushing his shoulder blade downwards, dislocating it.
This was just a warning.
Fujitora ignored him and turned to walk toward Happy Hogan, who was lying on the steps, barely breathing.
His Observation Haki had already "seen" the condition inside Happy's body.
Seven broken ribs, one piercing the lung. His abdomen was a battlefield of ruptured tissue, blood pooling dangerously. The flame of life flickered like a candle in the wind.
"This man is gravely injured."
Fujitora turned to face the shaken crowd. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried to every ear as clearly as if he were standing beside them.
"Is there a doctor here? He needs immediate treatment."
The onlookers snapped out of their daze.
"Call 911, now!"
"Over here, we need an ambulance!"
In the commotion, a blonde woman in her thirties, wearing a professional suit, squeezed through.
"I'm a doctor! Let me check."
She hurried to Happy's side, dropped to her knees, opened his suit jacket, pressed her ear to his chest for a moment, then checked his eyes. Her expression tightened with alarm.
"He's bleeding internally. His consciousness is fading and his pupils are dilating. This is extremely bad." She looked up at Fujitora, her voice rising with urgency.
"His lung may have collapsed. He needs surgery right away. If we wait any longer, he won't make it."
Surgery on the spot? Fujitora frowned. He could transport Happy to a hospital with his ability, but the risk, not to mention the impossible explanations this world would demand, made it complicated.
While he weighed his options, a soft but clear voice piped up from the crowd.
"Um… excuse me."
Everyone turned.
A girl who looked around sixteen or seventeen was squeezing her way out of the crowd. Her long orange hair shimmered in the light, and her figure drew more than a few startled looks, which clashed amusingly with her gentle, slightly spacey expression.
She stepped forward, nervous but determined. Her gaze drifted from the blood pooling beneath Happy, to the towering Fujitora, then to the doctor.
"If it's healing… I might be able to help."
The doctor blinked, confused, then frowned, convinced this was just some starstruck kid acting out at the worst possible moment.
"Sweetheart, this isn't the time. He's dying."
"I'm not joking."
The girl's tone became more firm. She crouched down, extended her hands, and hovered them over Happy's chest.
The pair of pale blue flower-shaped clips in her hair glowed softly.
"I reject."
The girl whispered the words.
Two tiny figures dressed in bright orange popped out from her clips like miniature sprites. They stretched a golden, translucent shield between them, enclosing Happy's upper body.
"Twin Sacred Return Shield."
The doctor and everyone around them froze in disbelief. Was this a trick? Some unknown tech? A hallucination?
What happened next completely overturned their understanding.
Under the warm golden glow, the crushed section of Happy's chest began to rise back into shape. His paper-white complexion slowly regained color. His ragged and fading breaths turned steady and strong.
It was as if unseen hands were putting him back together piece by piece, rewinding the damage and erasing the very fact he had ever been hurt.
The doctor reached out on instinct, but her fingers bounced off the shield with a gentle pushback. She stared, stunned, her mouth hanging open.
A decade of medical training couldn't explain any of this.
This wasn't treatment.
This was a miracle.
Even Fujitora's usually placid face showed a hint of surprise for the first time. His keen Observation Haki picked up every change inside Happy's body. Torn organs were knitting together. Broken bones reconnected. Life energy surged back in waves.
This girl… her ability was extraordinary.
After several minutes, the glow faded. The little sprites slipped back into her hair clips.
Happy Hogan jolted with a cough and blinked awake. He sat up, patting his chest, his ribs, his stomach.
All intact.
Aside from the blood stains and tears in his clothes, he didn't feel even a trace of pain. He felt better than before the fight.
"W-where am I? Did I die?" Happy stared around in confusion at the doctor, at the tall blind man beside her, then at the orange-haired girl kneeling in front of him.
She smiled gently.
"I'm glad. You're okay now."