Looking at Rojo, who had deliberately knocked herself unconscious, Four Arms' mouth twitched in speechless disbelief. Still, his advance slowed to a halt, and he decided not to waste energy pursuing her further.
His gaze swept across Times Square.
In the vast plaza, only he remained standing, along with Kevin still clutched in one of his massive hands, Ben in his armored suit, and the scattered remains of combat drones littering the ground.
"Ben, stop playing around. Let's finish this quickly!" Four Arms called out with a bold grin.
"Got it, Asher! I was just getting used to all the functions in this suit!" Ben's voice sounded slightly muffled through the armor's speakers. He glanced at the Mechadroid circling him, then stopped holding back.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ben's fists hammered into the robot's head with precision strikes, causing its visual sensors to glitch and malfunction. Then he kicked upward, sending the mechanized opponent flying high into the air. With a powerful leap, Ben soared over the airborne robot, clasped both armored fists together like a sledgehammer, and swung down with devastating force!
BOOM!
The Mechadroid crashed into the pavement like a spiked volleyball, but unlike a ball, it didn't bounce. Instead, it smashed straight through the ground and exploded into fragments!
"Beautiful work, Ben!" Four Arms raised one of his free hands, giving his cousin an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
"Whew~ All done." Ben's palm pressed against the arc reactor on his chest. He triggered the release mechanism with a hard press, and the armor rapidly disassembled and retracted. His sweat-soaked body practically collapsed onto the ground as he gasped for air like he'd just run a marathon.
That had absolutely exhausted him.
But even though his body felt completely drained, his heart soared with exhilaration. Just like Four Arms, he'd finally vented all that pent-up frustration and anger.
"Kevin, it's time to deal with you. Your death is coming."
Four Arms slowly brought Kevin up to eye level, staring fiercely at the boy clutched in his grip. A rare killing intent toward a human flickered in his eyes.
Kevin and Vilgax had crossed his bottom line.
What's more, Kevin had committed far too many evil acts, far worse than countless other criminals. He needed to be punished.
Just as Four Arms prepared to strike,
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two small mechanical figures descended rapidly from the sky above, more of Vilgax's combat drones!
One hurtled straight toward Ben, who sat defenseless and unarmed on the ground. The other flew directly at Four Arms!
"A choice between two again?!" Four Arms reacted with incredible speed, instantly understanding Vilgax's intentions.
It was nothing more than forcing him to choose: deal with Kevin or save Ben!
But Vilgax wasn't even giving him a chance to decide!
If Four Arms refused to release Kevin and simply smashed the drone flying toward him with one punch, Ben would die. On the other hand, if Four Arms released Kevin to rush toward Ben, he still wouldn't reach his cousin in time!
Did Vilgax hate him to such an extent that he didn't even care about losing an ally like Kevin anymore? Was killing Ben really his only priority?
Aboard Vilgax's Spaceship
"Lord Vilgax, are you certain Asher can understand your intent?" The crimson robot deputy leaned closer and asked cautiously. "I mean, under normal circumstances, Asher could definitely decipher what you're doing. But in this critical moment, with only a few seconds, perhaps even less, to think, can he really react in time?"
"It doesn't matter," Vilgax rumbled in a low, menacing voice. "That boy named Ben Tennyson is also a threat. Even if we eliminate him instead, it won't be a loss. As for Kevin... while he has his uses, he's ultimately untrustworthy."
Times Square
"I understand exactly what you mean, Vilgax!!"
Four Arms' mind blazed with sudden clarity, and he instantly realized the hidden strategy!
Without hesitation, he lifted Kevin high and hurled him directly at the Mechadroid flying toward Ben!
"Ahhhhh!"
Kevin's body spun through the air like a football, rotating so rapidly he nearly vomited. He tumbled end-over-end, transformed into a screaming humanoid projectile.
WHAM!
The Mechadroid attacking Ben abruptly halted its assault on the younger Tennyson. Instead, it raised its mechanical limbs to catch Kevin flying toward it.
Skreeee!
But catching Kevin wasn't exactly smooth sailing.
The sheer power behind Four Arms' throw was absolutely terrifying!
The moment the robot made contact with Kevin, it was sent hurtling backward dozens of meters. It could barely manage to slow down the impact of Four Arms' throw, and its frame groaned under the stress, nearly shattering completely!
Fortunately, it managed to stabilize its hovering position, grabbed Kevin securely, and quickly ascended into the sky.
"BOOM!"
Four Arms raised one enormous palm and caught the Mechadroid flying toward him mid-air. His fingers clenched inward, and the entire robot was crushed into a compacted sphere of twisted metal, completely deformed!
Whoosh!
Unwilling to leave it at that, Four Arms cocked back his arm and hurled the compressed ball of scrap metal with all his might. The projectile became a tiny dot vanishing into the night sky. Whether it hit Vilgax's ship or not... well, he'd never know.
"Those bastards are so underhanded!" Four Arms glared at the sky for a long moment, then stomped his foot in frustration. The ground cracked open beneath his sole, forming a massive crater filled with broken concrete and gravel.
"Scared the hell out of me! How many robots does Vilgax have?! Is he secretly piloting some kind of super-massive Titan mech?" Ben wiped cold sweat from his forehead, his voice still trembling with lingering fear. His mind raced with wild speculation about Vilgax's true capabilities.
Four Arms couldn't help but chuckle.
Vilgax?
The warlord with a head shaped like an octopus and a powerfully built body? Oh, Four Arms really wanted to see who would prove stronger in a direct contest of raw power!
Wooooooo~
The long, wailing bells of approaching police sirens rang out from beyond Times Square.
"Alright, we should go too." Four Arms heard those sounds and stopped lingering. He hurried to Ben's side and, as casually as picking up a convenient shopping bag, gently lifted his exhausted cousin.
Whoosh!
With Ben secured in one arm, Four Arms leaped out of Times Square in a single bound.
Times Square itself, aside from the numerous potholes caused by Four Arms' devastating punches and Rojo lying unconscious on the ground, returned to its calm appearance.
It seemed Vilgax wouldn't be sending any more robots. His plan had been completely shattered.
"Report, report! The suspects are all gone, only one person left behind! Times Square was destroyed like this... it must have been those guys!"
"Don't even think about it. Those massive craters were all made by that damned robot. It's absolutely outrageous. If we catch them, we're making them pay for every bit of damage."
Police officers who had just entered the plaza wandered through the square, their voices crackling through walkie-talkies.
The culprit, Four Arms, was already completely at ease, having grabbed Ben and landed together in the previously chosen open area.
The surroundings were quiet. Max and Gwen's shadows had disappeared.
"That's strange... where are they? Were they taken?" Four Arms, who had just set Ben down, looked around with a puzzled expression on his face.
"It's us, Ben and Asher!"
At that moment, from behind an abandoned building in the distance, Gwen's voice rang out.
She and Max emerged from behind the structure one after another. After spotting Four Arms and Ben, they waved enthusiastically and rushed over.
To be cautious, they'd hidden behind the building. Unless Asher or Ben came to get them personally, they would never come out on their own, just in case they got captured and turned into hostages again.
"Grandpa, Gwen, everything's over." Four Arms spoke softly to them both, a relieved smile spreading across his face.