Deadpool landed with a flip, laughing like a maniac.
Four bullets. Straight through Ryuuto's skull.
"Headshot! Boom! Game over!" Deadpool whooped, twirling his pistols like he'd just cleared a stage boss.
But before he could finish celebrating, Ryuuto's body twitched. Slowly, deliberately, he turned around.
Deadpool froze.
The bullet holes in Ryuuto's forehead were closing. The skin regenerated before his eyes.
"Wait, what the— You're supposed to be dead! I saw brain matter!"
Ryuuto blinked lazily. "Guess you're not very observant."
Before Deadpool could process it, Ryuuto's blade cut through the air.
The crimson arc split Deadpool clean in half.
BOOM!
Deadpool's body hit the floor in two pieces, yet his eyes were still darting around like he'd just been inconvenienced.
"I probably should've mentioned this earlier," Ryuuto said casually. "I've got regenerative healing too."
[Ding! Host just flexed superiority on a walking meme.]
"Not the time, Shion," Ryuuto muttered.
[Heh~ come on, that was cool. You basically just out–Deadpooled Deadpool.]
Deadpool gurgled as he tried to talk, but his throat was half-severed. Pressing both halves of his torso together, he groaned, "You—cheater…"
Ryuuto just watched, arms crossed, as the mercenary forced himself back together like a fleshy jigsaw puzzle.
On the sidelines, Tony and Banner stood frozen.
Tony's voice broke the silence. "Did… did that just happen?"
Banner swallowed hard. "His head exploded, Tony. And he's fine."
Neither had known about Ryuuto's healing factor. Even Wolverine kept quiet about it.
"Two immortals in one room," Tony muttered. "Just what the hell did Fury recruit?"
Once Deadpool was whole again, he grinned beneath the mask. "So you can't die either, huh? Cursed by Thanos too?"
"Not quite," Ryuuto replied. "There are other ways to get healing. Yours just came with extra insanity."
"Hey! My insanity is earned!" Deadpool protested.
Ryuuto tilted his head. "Honestly, I should kill you now. You'd probably join the X-Men and accidentally slice yourself in half during training."
"Can you even kill me? I'm basically invincible!"
"Then let's test that theory."
Ryuuto raised one hand, a faint white glow forming between his fingers. A cube of pale light appeared, humming with power.
Deadpool tilted his head. "Ooooh. Glowy anime cube. You gonna trap me in that?"
"Not quite." Ryuuto smiled thinly. "I'm going to erase you. Down to your molecules."
Deadpool crossed his arms. "...Okay, you're hot when you talk sciencey, but also, that's kinda terrifying."
Ryuuto thrust his palm forward.
Dust Release: Primordial Stripping Technique!
The cube shot forward, expanding midair and swallowing Deadpool whole. Inside, mist churned like a storm.
Banner and Tony flinched from the blinding light, unable to see what was happening.
When the fog finally cleared, there was nothing left. No body. No blood. Not even ash.
Ryuuto lowered his hand, expression unreadable.
"Guess that's that."
[Target successfully decomposed. Molecule count: zero. Host, congratulations on your first disintegration kill!]
"Shion, that wasn't a kill. It was pest control."
[Same thing, different energy.]
Ryuuto glanced at the cracked ground, confirming there was truly nothing left of Deadpool. Then he turned away.
The Primordial Stripping Technique's power scaled with his energy output. At full charge, its blast radius could stretch nearly ten kilometers—twice the reach of a tactical missile. Combined with his regeneration and life potion reserves, Ryuuto knew he'd become something terrifying in his own right.
And yet… his gut told him there were beings out there who could erase planets like sandcastles.
He clenched his fist. I can't stop here. Not yet.
Tony's voice snapped him out of it.
"Yo, Red Mirage. Deadpool's… gone, right?"
"Decomposed," Ryuuto said bluntly. "On a molecular level."
Tony stared. "You're seriously just walking around with abilities like that?!"
"I can test it on you if you don't believe me." Ryuuto turned toward Banner. "Actually, I've been wondering—how tough is Hulk's skin compared to my technique?"
Banner stepped back immediately. "Nope. Not volunteering. Ask Tony."
Tony raised both hands. "Pass. Last time I checked, 'getting atomized' wasn't in my contract."
Ryuuto smirked. "Fine. I'll test it on an enemy next time."
They headed back toward the base—Hall 067—where they were supposed to regroup. It was 9:30 PM. The planned ambush by Abomination wasn't until midnight.
Sitting around waiting for a fight was boring, so after a while, Ryuuto wandered off alone. His mind kept returning to Deadpool.
"Cursed by Thanos, huh…" he murmured. "If that curse kept him alive through that, I'll need to double-check."
He walked back to the site of the battle. The ground was still scorched, faint traces of mist lingering.
If he really survived that, Ryuuto thought, then he's officially beyond reason.
His fingers brushed the back of his head, where the bullets had hit earlier. Smooth. No wound, no scar. Relief settled over him.
Still, the memory of that instant—when his brain was pierced—lingered.
It was like the world blinked out. Total nothingness. Then, suddenly, consciousness again.
He realized then that when his brain was destroyed, his awareness ceased. Only after regeneration did he return.
So that was his weakness. His "off switch."
Good to know, he thought grimly. Even immortality has blind spots.
....
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