Saitama nodded and looked at Vivian.
Seeing him up close again, Vivian felt her heart thumping wildly.
"I think the reason Megatron hasn't fully taken Earth," she said, "is that he can't draw out the AllSpark's full power."
Then she told them about Merlin's staff.
She repeated the story the Decepticons had forced her to recite—about King Arthur, the wizard Merlin, and the crusading secrets they believed pointed to the staff's resting place.
"I think Merlin's staff is the key to all of this," she finished. "If this sounds absurd to you… you can treat it like a joke."
She gave an awkward little laugh. She'd told that tale hundreds—thousands—of times, and still blushed saying it in public.
But her words stunned everyone present.
Of course. Up to now, they'd been trapped in fear—of Megatron's strength, of becoming "human cattle overnight." None of them had stopped to think this far ahead.
A prompt pinged in Saitama's "system":
"Because the host has interacted with the original heroine, the 'Transformers 5: Ultimate Save-the-World' quest is unlocked!"
"Quest hint: Find Merlin's Staff, then use it to defeat the Mother of Machines—Quintessa!"
"Quest Success: Large experience reward; attribute increases."
"Quest Failure: Earth will fall; host will be transferred to another world."
"Earth will fall?!"
Saitama blinked. Back in the One-Punch world, things had stayed "normal enough" mostly because he existed. After the system sent him to the Marvel world, it actually got better—what with Captain America, Black Widow, Thor, and the rest.
This warning was the most nerve-tugging alert he'd seen.
"If the quest fails… what happens to Earth?"
He opened the failure screen—and flinched.
The nightmare wasn't "humans reduced to machine slaves."
"Earth's geothermal energy will be siphoned entirely into Cybertron…"
"Stripped of its heat, Earth will become a dead star."
"All life on Earth will turn to ash."
"Under Quintessa's command, the Decepticons will maximize their offensive doctrine; every living world will bow beneath Cybertronian terror."
Saitama felt the clock start ticking.
A hero does what needs doing. He would get these people out of danger.
"Um… Vivian," he asked, "you told us about Merlin's staff—do you know where it is?"
The sudden question startled her. "I was just… thinking out loud. You actually believe me?"
"I believe every word you say," Saitama replied.
The air warmed.
Vivian already liked him a little; now her heart rocketed skyward—past the moon, out of the galaxy, into the glittering dark.
"U-uh… yes. I might know where to start," she said, cheeks turning pink. "Those Decepticons kept saying I'm Merlin's descendant. If that's true, I should have some connection to it. Give me a bit to think—where it might appear. Until now I thought it was only a myth."
Saitama nodded, but worried that "thinking" might waste time and go nowhere. He offered a nudge.
"Vivian, one person's wisdom might spot a clue—but this is Merlin business. Maybe we should ask the king of Arthur's country, right?"
"Oh—the king? You mean the British prime minister?" she said, and then realized her own tunnel vision. "Right—why am I wracking my brain when we could just ask the sitting PM?"
"Then let's hurry to Britain and—"
A voice cut in from above. "None of you are going anywhere."
A formation of fighter-jet mechs streaked into view and halted over City One's rim.
Two bots hovered to the fore.
Solar Wind.
Direct Current.
They were fliers from the Decepticon air wing, and they locked onto Saitama.
"So you're the one making a mess of City One," Solar Wind drawled. "Saitama—the one Megatron himself marked for elimination."
"Perfect," rumbled Direct Current. "We'll raze City One and kill Saitama, and present both to Lord Megatron."
They bantered as if neither Saitama nor the city mattered.
It wasn't stupidity. They'd done their homework and reached one conclusion:
Saitama couldn't violate physics and just take off from the ground.
All they had to do was stay high. He couldn't reach them.
"Heh. He looks strong, but he's got a weakness," Solar Wind laughed, watching Saitama gaze up from street level. "End of the day, he's human. He can't compare to Cybertronian kind."
"We're about to pocket some easy merit," Direct Current added, voice thick with smugness. "Sorry in advance, Decepticon command—about stealing the credit!"
That last bit sent fury crackling through the Decepticon intranet.
"Them? Stealing MY credit?!" snarled the Decepticon commander monitoring the feed.
His support AI cut in. "Commander, Solar Wind and Direct Current did not act without orders. They accepted a task posted to the Decepticon network."
A mission card appeared:
"Eliminate Saitama and receive immediate promotion—directly under Megatron."
(End of Chapter)
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