"Ghost-Spider, can I have your autograph?"
A young police officer looked at Gwen with admiration, his eyes sparkling with excitement. Compared to the male Spider-Man, the female Spider-Man had more fans, with the majority being male.
"Of course."
Gwen took the paper and pen handed to her by the officer and fulfilled her fan's small request. After signing, she returned to the corner where she had been earlier, picked up the handbag she had retrieved, and handed it to the officer.
"This is the stolen money taken by Sandman. Please check it."
"Understood. Thank you for your hard work!" The officer took the bag with gratitude and sincerity.
However, no one noticed that the sand around the construction site was trembling, gradually being drawn into the tornado. At first, everyone was too focused on discussing how to deal with Sandman. But as the tornado grew uncontrollable, the once-stable column of wind began to shake violently, and the howling winds became increasingly sharp.
"He's coming out. You all need to leave, now."
As soon as Gwen spoke, a ten-meter-tall sand giant broke free from the tornado, sending powerful gusts of wind sweeping through the area, kicking up dust in all directions.
"I told you, give me back my money!"
The sand giant roared, raising two massive fists high into the air before slamming them down. A colossal shadow instantly enveloped Gwen and the officers, radiating a suffocating sense of oppression. The police officers, witnessing the terrifying scene, trembled, their faces turning pale. They wanted to run, but their bodies refused to move.
Gwen could escape with ease. With her abilities, she could flee in an instant. But the officers beside her would undoubtedly be crushed into pulp under the impact of those massive fists.
"I hope this doesn't hurt too much."
She crouched slightly, channeling power into her legs, and then launched herself into the air with explosive force. A gust of wind formed beneath her, accelerating her ascent. Like a cannonball, she shot toward the sand giant towering above.
As Gwen closed in on the massive fists, she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, bracing for the impact.
"Honestly, you should take better care of yourself."
A voice filled with helplessness reached her ears. Gwen suddenly felt an arm wrap around her waist, and a gentle force dissolved the momentum of her charge.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion echoed through the sky as the enormous fist shattered into countless grains of sand. The violent shockwave sent scattered sand flying into the distance, forming a blinding sandstorm.
The force of the blast threw the sand giant off balance, causing its massive body to collapse backward, slamming into a half-constructed building. A dull thud rang out, followed by a rising cloud of dust.
"Kino!"
Gwen exclaimed in delight, her eyes filled with joy and excitement.
On the ground, the officers stared up at the sky, their mouths slightly agape, their eyes filled with awe and reverence. A golden cape billowed wildly in the wind, resembling burning flames. A suit of armor bearing an "S" insignia glowed with an icy brilliance, showcasing unparalleled strength. His chiseled features looked as if they had been sculpted by the gods themselves.
Even though they had never seen his face before, they knew exactly who he was.
"The Demon King!"
One of the officers couldn't help but shout his name, his voice trembling with fear. Unlike Spider-Man, Kino, with his ability to summon demons and his near-destruction of a nation, was someone most people only feared.
Kino descended slowly from the sky, landing gently. He loosened his grip, smiling as he looked at Gwen, who was still leaning against him, his gaze full of affection.
"How about we head home so you can lean on me all you want?" Kino teased, his voice soft and magnetic.
"That sounds—wait, no! When did you come back?"
Gwen instinctively responded before realizing what she had said. Her cheeks flushed red as she quickly pulled away from Kino's broad, warm embrace.
"I returned yesterday. We'll talk later. This isn't over yet," Kino said as he turned his attention to the recovering sand giant.
Absorbing the surrounding sand, the sand giant rapidly restored its body. Freshly escaped from prison, he had no idea who "The Demon King" was.
"Why are you all stopping me!? I only took some money! Not all of it!"
The sand giant roared in frustration, his voice filled with resentment and unwillingness.
"I don't care about that. I care that you almost hurt my girl," Kino said, his eyes glowing with intensity.
HUM!
A pair of scorching red beams shot out. The blinding heat vision sliced through the sand giant's body, instantly turning the sand into molten glass.
"AAAAHHH!"
Flint Marko screamed in agony, desperately forming a wall of sand to shield himself while attempting to regenerate. However, as the construction site's sand ran out, he was forced to use his own body's sand as a shield. His massive form gradually shrank in size.
Pools of red-hot molten glass spread across the construction site, radiating unbearable heat. The surrounding officers wiped sweat from their foreheads but didn't dare to leave.
Soon, Flint Marko had shrunk to less than five meters in height.
"Penny… Daddy is bringing money for your treatment!"
A desperate and determined glint flashed in Flint's eyes. He left himself with barely a meter of sand, using the rest to fuse with the molten glass, forming a shield. Step by step, he pushed forward against Kino's heat vision.
Penny?
Kino's super hearing caught his words. He recalled that in one version of Sandman's story, he had robbed banks to pay for his daughter's medical treatment.
As Flint's shield melted away and despair set in, the heat vision suddenly ceased.
"An opportunity…"
Flint tossed aside the nearly liquefied glass and tried to charge forward. But his body gave out, and he collapsed into a pile of sand. He had reached his limit.
"Is money really that important to him?"
Gwen muttered, feeling a sense of sorrow. Although he was their enemy, his fearless charge toward death was still moving.
Kino said nothing. He simply looked at the pile of sand, picked up a pendant from the ground, and opened it. Inside was a photograph.
"Family, huh?"
In the next moment, he disappeared.
Before Gwen could ask where he had gone, Kino reappeared, holding several bags of sand, which he poured onto the ground, forming a new sand pile.
Moments passed in silence, as if Flint was truly gone.
"Don't you want to see your Penny again?"
Kino's voice rang out.
Flint's consciousness had been slipping into darkness, but those words jolted him awake.
Penny!
I need to bring money home!
That thought burned in his mind, reigniting his will to live. His near-fading consciousness reassembled, driven by his obsession with his daughter.
The sand pile began to tremble, slowly reforming into a human shape. The process was rough, with collapses in between, but in the end, he succeeded.
"Why did you save me?"
Flint asked, his expression complicated as he looked at the man who had nearly killed him but had now chosen to spare him.
"A parent's love is the strongest force in the world—it can make a person fight against fate itself."
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