While Ada was being cool, our main character had also run into some aliens—and was fighting side by side with Spider-Man.
"Liu, I didn't expect you to be this agile! You're as good as any top agent." No wonder he could marry Ada. Turns out Liu A'dou wasn't just smart—he could fight too.
"I've always said, a real man should be good both inside and out," Liu A'dou said proudly after knocking out an alien, not even pretending to be humble.
Spider-Man gave him a thumbs-up. Yep, this guy had moves.
The alien grunts weren't hard to deal with, so Liu A'dou hadn't even gone all out. He just used basic combat skills. Spider-Man would take down the enemy ships, and Liu A'dou would handle cleanup. The six aliens they fought were knocked out cold—but the real challenge was still ahead.
A distant explosion echoed from the highway. At the concert, Ben suddenly felt a jolt of dread, like something important had just been lost. It was a sense only shared among those with Green Elf blood. When one of their relatives was in danger, others could feel it. "Uncle?!" Ben pushed through the crowd toward the exit.
Smoke from the blast drifted in. Liu A'dou glanced at Spider-Man. "Spider-Man, get to higher ground. See what's going on."
Spider-Man nodded and fired a web, launching himself to the rooftop. What he saw made his eyes widen—a massive flying fish was chasing a car. The explosions had come from the wrecked vehicles left in its path. "Whoa! Is that an alien too? It looks like a flying whale—huge!"
"What do you see?"
"A really weird aircraft."
"It has to be chasing the Elf Princess. We've got to help." Liu A'dou knew even if he didn't say it, Spider-Man would still jump in.
"I'm on it." Spider-Man took a deep breath. This enemy was a big one. Good thing his web cartridges were still full. "I'm going!" Using the streetlights as anchors, he swung forward, moving faster than the car itself.
Liu A'dou figured that since the aliens were targeting the Elf Princess, the concert should be safe. Might as well go see what was happening. But first, he needed to stash these unconscious aliens somewhere.
He headed to his car in the parking lot and came across a nervous-looking teenager.
Ben couldn't find his car. That meant his uncle had been here—but didn't come looking for him. Instead, he left alone. What happened? The uneasy feeling in his chest grew stronger. Ben was panicking.
Liu A'dou noticed something. The teen's life energy had a strange signature. Another alien? But the kid looked like just another concertgoer. So he was the reason all this chaos had started.
Because he came to the concert, the princess had followed with her pursuers. Liu A'dou decided to make contact. "Hey, need help?"
Ben looked like he'd just found a lifeline. "Yeah. My car's gone. Can you help me get back to Long Island?"
"Hop in."
"Thanks." Ben got in, but he couldn't stop worrying.
They didn't get far before trouble reappeared. Up ahead, the flying fish swam through the sky, tearing up the road. Cars were crushed in seconds.
But Spider-Man was on the scene now. He landed on the creature's back and started firing webs toward the ground, trying to pin it down.
There were no tall buildings here, so he had to anchor the webs to the road. But that made the tension uneven, and the flying fish's strength couldn't be fully transferred to the ground through the webs. Spider-Man couldn't kill the creature—he could only try to trap it.
"It's just like bullfighting. The bull never listens to the matador, but in the end, it's usually the matador who wins," Spider-Man muttered as he fought, firing more and more webs. From above, it looked like the flying fish had grown white sails on its head—except these sails didn't make it faster, they slowed it down.
"Come on!" Spider-Man gritted his teeth. His arms were cramping as he clutched a bunch of webbing, trying with everything he had to hold the flying fish in place.
All the cars nearby had come to a halt. Casualties were heavy. Ben spotted his family's car—smashed against a streetlight. The entire back half was flattened. At first, he didn't even recognize it. The damage was too severe.
"Stop the car!" Ben shouted.
Liu A'dou glanced outside. As he suspected, the boy was connected to the Elf Princess too.
"Uncle—Jason!" Ben rushed toward the wrecked car, stumbling along the way. He was terrified of what he might see. But he wasn't fast enough. Liu A'dou got there first.
There were two people inside. The princess didn't seem to have visible injuries—probably just unconscious. The middle-aged man, though, was in bad shape. A piece of metal had pierced his abdomen. The bleeding was massive. Even Ripple couldn't save someone in that condition. Pulling the shard out would mean instant death.
Liu A'dou felt for a pulse. It was nearly gone. He shook his head with regret.
"Uncle…" Ben's worst fear came true. The sight was brutal. His uncle was dying. The man who had always been there for him was slipping away. "Uncle, please don't die. I'm calling an ambulance."
Jason opened his eyes one last time and looked at Ben. If he had the choice, he wouldn't have wanted to place such a burden on his nephew. He would've wanted Ben to keep living freely in the forests of their homeland. But the kingdom had fallen. Someone had to take responsibility. Jason had protected Ben until now. From here on out, Ben would have to stand on his own. "Ben…"
"I'm here, Uncle. Don't talk. The ambulance is on its way."
"Ben… remember—your home is in Alfheim. Bury me in the forests of our homeland…" Guilt filled Jason's heart, but he had no choice. He needed his so-called 'useless' nephew to rise up, protect the princess, and take back their land. 'I'm sorry.'
His breath stopped. A single tear of regret fell from his eye. That was Jason's final act—shifting an impossibly heavy burden from his shoulders to Ben's.
Liu A'dou checked again. No pulse. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"Uncle... Uncle…" Ben couldn't hold back anymore. To him, Jason had been like a father—always taking care of him. Now he was gone. Ben couldn't accept it. The tears kept flowing. Grief surged up like a hammer pounding on his chest, again and again, until he could barely breathe.
Liu A'dou thought, 'This is war. No one is immune. No one is bigger than it.'
He looked up at Spider-Man, who was still struggling to stop the flying fish. The webbing was stretched tight, pulling against the road. The tension was so high, it looked like it might snap. But the fish slowed down—until finally it crashed to the ground.
Spider-Man's arms were shaking, nearly useless, but he moved fast. He flipped onto the creature's back and kept firing webs, working to bind the beast completely.
He looked like a Gulliver's Travels Lilliputian, trying to tie down a giant. Up and down he went like a tireless bee, using up every last bit of web fluid until the monster was tightly bound.
But as Spider-Man stood there, looking back at the ruined highway behind him, he couldn't feel happy at all.