"We've infiltrated the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom."
"We've infiltrated the Secretary-General of NATO."
"All we need now is to infiltrate the White House or Russia…"
"And we could trigger World War III at any time!"
Gravik's eyes gleamed with madness.
"Let nuclear bombs bloom across the world."
"Their cities will become ruins."
"Their civilization will turn to ash."
"The atmosphere will be choked with radioactive dust."
"The Earth will become a living hell."
"Humanity will scream and die in the radiation of nuclear winter…"
"And when they're extinct…"
"This irradiated Earth will become our New Skrullos!"
"This is our home!"
"We don't have to search for it!"
"We don't have to beg for it!"
"It's already beneath our feet!"
ROAR—!
The speech was electrifying.
For a race that had wandered the stars for too long—forced to hide, humiliated and hunted—the temptation to finally rise as masters was irresistible.
"GRAVIK! GRAVIK!"
At first, only a few voices shouted.
Then more joined.
Soon it became a roaring tidal wave.
"Kill the humans! Take Earth!"
"Long live Gravik!"
"You've lost your mind!"
Talos rushed forward and grabbed Gravik by the collar.
"That's genocide!"
"Have you forgotten how our people ended up like this?!"
"So what?!"
Gravik shouted back.
"If it means giving our people a good life…"
"I'm willing to become a devil!"
Watching the chaos unfold, the silent Nick Fury finally moved.
He stepped slowly to the front of the platform.
His single eye locked onto Gravik.
Then swept across the frenzied crowd.
Fury slowly began to applaud.
"Bravo."
"What a wonderful speech, Gravik."
"I used to believe the reason your species lost your homeworld…"
"…was because of the cruelty of the Kree Empire."
"Because you refused their rule."
"I thought you were victims."
Fury turned toward Talos.
His eye now carried a bone-deep chill.
"But now…"
"I realize I was wrong."
"Talos."
"Tell me the truth."
"The destruction of Skrullos…"
"Was it really only because you rejected the Kree Empire?"
"Or…"
Fury pointed toward the cheering crowd.
"…because your people tried to do the exact same thing to other civilizations?"
"Trying to infiltrate and replace them…"
"And eventually picked a fight with someone stronger?"
Talos's body trembled.
His lips moved.
He wanted to deny it.
But he couldn't.
Instead, he lowered his head and avoided Fury's gaze.
Silence.
And silence…
Was the answer.
Fury laughed.
A bitter, self-mocking laugh.
"Ha…"
"So I wasn't just blind."
"I was a fool."
"I tried to save a race that wants to exterminate my own."
"And I even…"
"…invited you into my home."
Something inside Fury began to change.
The calm shell of the King of Spies started to crack.
Something darker rose from beneath it.
Hellfire.
"If this was my mistake…"
"Then I'll be the one to fix it."
"Talos."
Fury looked at his old friend one last time.
"For the sake of the past twenty years…"
"Take anyone willing to follow you…"
"…go to Homelander and confess."
"Or leave Earth."
"And never come back."
"As for the rest of you…"
Fury turned to face Gravik and his followers.
"…since you're so eager for radiation and hell…"
"I'll send you to the real one."
The atmosphere inside the hall tightened instantly.
Talos looked between Fury and Gravik, agony written across his face.
"Anyone willing to come with me…"
"Stand behind me."
The crowd began to shift.
Older Skrulls…
Families with children…
Those who had seen war before…
Slowly stepped behind Talos.
But the majority—
Especially the younger generation—
Gathered behind Gravik.
They glared at the others with hatred.
"Cowards."
"Let's go."
Talos couldn't bear to look any longer.
He turned and led roughly two thousand Skrulls toward the exit.
"You can go, Talos."
Gravik pointed toward Fury.
"But he stays."
"He knows our plan."
"He's not leaving here alive."
"Gravik! What are you doing?!"
Talos shouted.
"What I should've done a long time ago."
Gravik waved his hand.
"Kill him."
"Kill—!"
Several Skrull warriors who had been waiting eagerly tore away their human disguises.
Their powerful green bodies emerged.
They roared and lunged at Fury with razor claws.
Talos tried to step forward—
But Fury shoved him away.
"Take your people and go, Talos."
Fury's voice had changed.
It sounded like burning charcoal grinding inside his throat.
"What happens next…"
"…won't be pleasant."
"Fury… what are you—"
Talos froze.
He saw the change.
"GO!"
Fury roared.
His face suddenly cracked apart.
His flesh burned away into black ash.
BOOM—!!
Blazing orange hellfire erupted from his skull.
The flames illuminated the dark hall.
"I can't promise… Talos…"
The flaming skull spoke.
"…that once I start enjoying this…"
"…I won't burn the rest of you too."
Talos felt a chill crawl down his spine.
"Everyone!"
"Retreat!"
He didn't hesitate any longer.
He rushed toward the exit with the small group that chose him.
Gravik watched them flee.
He didn't stop them.
Instead, he studied Fury with fascination.
The fully transformed Ghost Rider.
"Interesting."
Gravik nodded slowly.
"So this is your trump card?"
"Looks like it packs quite a punch."
The only response he got—
Was Fury's roar.
"YOU ARE GUILTY!"
He raised his hand.
Hellfire burst from his palm.
The first two charging Skrull warriors were instantly swallowed by flames.
Their screams echoed as they turned into burning corpses.
Others were blown back by the shockwave.
Rolling across the floor, their bodies caught fire.
Fury stepped forward.
Each step left charred cracks in the ground.
"You wanted hell?"
The Ghost Rider growled.
"I am hell."
He grabbed a hanging iron chain nearby.
Hellfire spread across it instantly.
The metal transformed into a burning whip.
CRACK!
The chain lashed out like a venomous serpent.
It wrapped around a Skrull trying to ambush him.
The flames raced along the chain.
"AAAAAAAH—!!!"
The Skrull burned into blackened ash within seconds.
"Everyone!"
"Open fire!"
At Gravik's command, a squad of Skrull soldiers raised portable energy rifles shaped like scepters.
Dozens of laser blasts rained down on Fury.
But the attacks only sparked against his flaming skeleton.
They couldn't harm him at all.
Fury walked forward through the barrage.
Straight toward Gravik.
His burning skull tilted slightly.
"Now…"
"It's your turn."
--------------
T/N:
Access Advance Chapters on my
P@treon: [email protected]/PokePals