When Malrick appeared beside Tony, the billionaire was in the middle of detonating his seventy-third suit of armor. Each blast briefly distracted Alioth, buying Tony a few seconds to breathe.
The monstrous storm had chased him for over ten minutes. Even Tony had to admit, not even his poolside pursuit of long-legged models had ever required this much stamina.
During the chase, he'd witnessed entire groups of mutants—those who had escaped earlier—devoured by Alioth, swallowed whole in a crackle of thunder. Not even the red-skinned teleporter survived.
Still, there was a silver lining. The farther Alioth chased him, the farther they got from Wanda's battlefield. He still had plenty of armor in reserve, enough that J.A.R.V.I.S. could detonate one every ten seconds for hours if needed.
Tony checked his HUD, monitoring the beast's distance. He hadn't realized Malrick had been flying alongside him until a voice cut through the comms.
"Planning to feed it with your suits?" Malrick asked calmly. "Each one costs billions of dollars. Pepper's going to love that."
Tony nearly jumped out of his skin, his thrusters wobbling. "Malrick?! Do you ever enter a scene like a normal person?"
"You were focused on Alioth."
"Focused? Try terrified! One of these days you'll give me a heart attack, and then my old man will drag me out of the urn personally."
Malrick smirked. "How did you and Wanda end up here?"
"Looking for you, obviously. What is this place?"
Malrick gave him the rundown. Within minutes, they had shared intel, both hovering in the ruined skies.
"You're not seriously planning to fight that thing?" Tony asked, still eyeing the storm. "I've tried everything—firepower, chemicals, tech. Nothing works."
"What about magic?"
Tony hesitated. He had studied a little, but offensive spells weren't his specialty. "So you think magic can stop it?"
"Not exactly," Malrick answered, lifting his hand. His mind reached out, wrapping Alioth in a wave of telepathy. "Illusion will."
For a creature like Alioth—part of the very fabric of the Void—force wasn't the answer. Control was. Sylvie had proven that much.
Malrick cast an illusion: a new world collapsing into the Void. Alioth immediately swerved, its stormy mass tearing away in the opposite direction like a hound chasing fresh prey. Within seconds, it was miles away.
"Done," Malrick said, patting Tony's armored shoulder.
Tony blinked. "That's it? You just… distracted it? What did you show it?"
"Something it couldn't resist." Malrick was already angling away. "I'll check on Wanda. Stay here."
The battlefield ahead was chaos.
Wanda and Cassandra clashed in midair, their power tearing the ground to rubble. Cassandra's body was soaked in the pulsing glow of the Reality Stone. Energy coursed through her veins so violently it threatened to burn her alive, yet she endured.
A giant red sphere surrounded them—partly the warped shimmer of the Reality Stone, mostly the crimson blaze of Chaos Magic. The two forces battled, deadlocked, neither yielding.
Malrick entered the sphere. At once, the dense Chaos Magic tore at him, erasing particles of his body atom by atom. He expanded his bio-field, stabilizing himself until he stood unharmed at Wanda's side.
"Leave her to me," he said, resting a hand on Wanda's arm. Energy shimmered from his side as two Infinity Stones—the Time and Space Stones—flared to life.
Wanda's exhausted eyes widened in relief. "Malrick… you're here." She didn't question him, didn't argue. She simply let go, collapsing back as he stepped forward. She trusted him completely.
Her magic might have been endless, but her mind was not. Fatigue had dragged at her for too long. She needed this reprieve.
"You rest," Malrick told her.
He took control, his Stones pressing against the Reality Stone's power. Cassandra tried to rally, but before she could react, Malrick moved. With speed like a meteor, he pierced her defenses.
His fist slammed into her gut.
There was no counterstrike. No second chance. Cassandra's body detonated into a cloud of blood and energy, devoured instantly by the dark tendrils of Malrick's blacklight construct.
The Sling Ring and the two glowing Stones fell free. Malrick caught them effortlessly.
"Time and Reality Stone," he muttered. "Didn't expect that."
He tucked them away, then froze. A sharp tingle prickled the back of his neck—his senses warning him. He closed his eyes, projecting into the astral plane.
The Spirit Realm unfolded around him.
There, Cassandra's soul raged, screaming promises of revenge. Her face twisted with hatred—until she saw him. Recognition dawned. Panic followed. She bolted.
Malrick didn't hesitate. He chased, struck, and drove her soul out of the astral plane. In reality, the blacklight tendrils lashed out again, impaling her spirit. She screamed once, then dissolved, consumed utterly.
Back in his body, Malrick steadied himself. "So the blacklight can devour souls," he murmured. The implications were staggering.
But there was no time to dwell. He turned, flying back toward Wanda and Tony, ready to return them to the others.
Cassandra Nova was gone. For good this time. And Malrick felt no guilt. Some enemies weren't meant to be spared.
_____
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