Soldier One's eyes burned crimson, as if he had become a demon of war itself. After cutting down a Wakandan warrior who had rushed him, he charged forward at blistering speed.
So fast, in fact, that no one could react in time.
The Wakandan fighter he suddenly closed in on didn't even have a chance to defend himself—Soldier One's vibranium dagger came down in a single savage strike, splitting his skull clean in two before he ripped the blade free.
Gritting his teeth, ignoring the agony racking his body, Soldier One pushed himself harder, killing as many Wakandans as he could.
This sudden, berserk assault stunned everyone.
The warriors raised their vibranium spears, unleashing beams of searing light in a volley to strike him down from range.
But thanks to the heart-shaped herb, Soldier One's senses had been heightened beyond human limits.
To him, those deadly beams almost seemed sluggish. His body twisted and darted with superhuman speed, slipping past every shot.
Yet… the Wakandans weren't just ordinary fighters.
Shaped by their tribal traditions, their training was utterly unlike anything in America. Each one was a hunter capable of taking down wild beasts on the plains alone.
When they saw the towering, two-meter-tall Soldier One charging at them, they quickly abandoned long-range combat. They even discarded their spears, drawing blades like his to meet him head-on.
"Wakanda forever!"
Their low, guttural cries echoed across the battlefield as they rushed him, blades flashing.
Without the super-soldier serum and the herb's power, Soldier One would not have lasted three exchanges against them.
But now—despite his seething rage—his mind was sharper and clearer than ever. He could feel the endless fury swelling inside him, transforming into raw, violent strength. Strength that dulled his pain, letting him keep fighting.
If he had taken even a moment to notice, he would have realized something else—
the bleeding from his severed arm had slowed, almost stopped.
Another gift of the herb.
It wasn't regeneration, not yet—but it was enough to keep him from bleeding out and dying on this battlefield.
And so, even drenched in blood and fury, looking every bit a monstrous demon, Soldier One fought on.
But the Wakandan warriors did not falter. They did not retreat, nor did fear take root in their eyes.
To them, stopping the invader from trampling their homeland was the greatest honor.
And to Soldier One, this was vengeance.
Vengeance for the comrades who had already fallen.
Both sides had their reasons.
It wasn't a matter of good or evil.
It was only that each side's bottom line had been crossed.
Meanwhile, the six soldiers who had sacrificed themselves earlier could no longer aid him. They couldn't even get close.
Just as Soldier One cut down another five Wakandan warriors with blood-soaked ferocity, a thunderous blast erupted nearby.
Boom!
The explosion rippled outward in waves of force.
But the power of the blast wasn't nearly enough to kill the Wakandan fighters. Their vibranium cloaks absorbed the shockwave with ease, leaving them unharmed.
The six men's sacrifice had achieved nothing.
They had died in vain.
The blast nearly knocked Soldier One off his feet instead. He stumbled, struggling to stay upright.
And the Wakandan warriors wasted no time.
Seeing his moment of weakness, they lunged with their spears.
Shhk! Shhk! Shhk!
Three strikes landed, impaling him in multiple places.
They drove forward together, trying to unbalance him, to bring him down. If Soldier One fell, the battle would be finished. He—and all the other intruders—would perish here.
But then he remembered.
The dying words of his comrades, their desperate plea.
Ross's orders. Maverick's command.
Power surged through him once more.
Again, the strength of the heart-shaped herb burned within his veins.
He stopped dead in his tracks, muscles locking against the spears.
With a roar, he hurled his vibranium dagger.
Whrrr—!
The blade spun through the air and buried itself directly in a warrior's face, killing him instantly.
The others froze, shocked for the briefest heartbeat.
That instant was all Soldier One needed. He unleashed his strength, shoving them back with brute force.
Even as vibranium spears pierced his body and jutted out from his back, he didn't care.
He had to live.
Not for himself—
but for the brothers who had died, for the duty they had entrusted to him.
The two warriors pressing against him faltered, stunned. No matter how hard they fought, they couldn't overcome his monstrous strength.
"This man—why can he still move?"
"What kind of will is driving him forward?"
"It's impossible…"
"Stop him! Quickly!"
Confusion flickered across their faces. They had lived their entire lives in Wakanda, surrounded by vibranium's power, convinced their world was superior. They couldn't understand what they were seeing now.
"Out of my way!"
Soldier One bellowed, slamming them aside. He yanked a spear from his own body and drove it into their hearts.
Then, spinning, he hurled it into the distance.
Not stopping there, he ripped free every small explosive still strapped to him and hurled them all at once.
He didn't expect these attacks to kill anyone.
The vibranium cloaks were too strange, their defenses beyond his understanding.
But at the very least—they might buy him a few moments.
With that thought, he turned and charged at the weakest point in the encirclement.
He tore a final spear from his body, killing another enemy.
The cost: his arm was pierced clean through. It hung limp at his side, useless.
Both arms were gone now.
No defense. No offense.
All he had left—was to run.
And when he did… something unexpected happened.
The moment his legs carried him forward again, he felt as if he had become one with the wind.
His speed surged—faster than a cheetah, faster than anything he had ever imagined.
The Wakandan warriors realized something was wrong and gave chase, but the distance between them only widened.
They couldn't catch him.
Breaking free at last, Soldier One sprinted with everything he had, racing toward the USS Stennis.