"The business with the giants was handled haphazardly, and now this global anomaly has occurred. Does your S.H.I.E.L.D. still want funding for the next quarter?"
The roar coming from the office made the windows vibrate, showing just how angry the speaker was. The President was currently panting as he looked at Nick. Although his rage had gone to his head, he still maintained a bottom line. At this time, only S.H.I.E.L.D. could help him. Even so, he had to pressure Nick; these matters had to be handled quickly. If they weren't, rumors would fly, affecting his next election. No matter what, he needed a result—a satisfactory explanation for the general public. Otherwise, his position as President would soon be gone.
"This matter must be explained to everyone. Don't make it too far-fetched."
Picking up a water glass from the side and taking a sip, he finally calmed down. He then completely handed the investigation of this matter over to Nick. Nick, who had been letting the words go in one ear and out the other, instantly understood the President's meaning upon hearing this. His single eye met the President's, and they seemed to exchange some strange signal. After Nick nodded to show his understanding, he turned and left, leaving the President to watch his retreating back.
"I finally have it—the Time Stone."
Unaware that she had caused more trouble for Nick, Artoria was currently sitting in a sealed training room, looking at the stone glowing with green light before her, feeling exceptionally excited. Now, the true power of the Infinity Gauntlet could be displayed. Artoria had waited for this moment for far too long. With such a divine artifact, no one could stop her from destroying the world... ahem! Saving the world. As long as Thanos dared to appear before her, Artoria planned to turn him to ash in a second. Suppressing her excitement, Artoria summoned her Spirit Gear. By now, Artoria could confirm that the Infinity Gauntlet seemed to have perfectly fused with her Spirit Gear. She didn't know if the metal used by the dwarves was assimilative or something else, but at least this way, Artoria didn't have to worry about losing the Infinity Gauntlet. As long as the Infinity Stones weren't plucked out, no one could take the Infinity Gauntlet from her.
"Next is the exciting moment."
Holding the Time Stone in her right hand, Artoria slowly placed the Infinity Stone into the empty slot. With a crisp click, the Time Stone fit snugly into the Infinity Gauntlet. All six Infinity Stones lit up together, and then the power of the six stones began to surge, merging together. It extended from the gauntlet to Artoria's arm and poured into her body. Although it was somewhat painful, Artoria could endure it. The massive, rampaging energy met Artoria's cells; the cells, which were already lacking energy, were like starving dogs seeing meat after seven days—they began to devour the energy. Artoria's body began to grow larger and then smaller; it seemed the Pym Particles had been triggered.
"Ugh! This is so uncomfortable."
Artoria knelt on the ground, gritting her teeth. Her fingers easily left deep claw marks on the floor. Due to the pain, she broke into a fragrant sweat, but Artoria did not deactivate her Spirit Gear or choose to pass out. She knew that if she didn't pull through, the Infinity Stones would no longer recognize her as their Master. Having spent so much time with them, how could Artoria not know that the Infinity Stones actually possessed consciousness? They chose who their Master would be. Red Skull was an example; without powerful strength, the Infinity Stones would not acknowledge a Master. A Master who couldn't bear their power was better off not having them at all.
"Thanos, I really underestimated you. And Hulk! This thing actually hurts this much."
She punched the ground repeatedly, smashing pits into the floor. Artoria attempted to use this method to distract herself from the pain in her body. She now felt as if the bones in her entire body were being crushed by a press, slowly being turned into powder bit by bit. The pain brought tears to Artoria's eyes. In all these years, this was the first time Artoria had felt such pain. No one had ever been able to break her defense, yet she had sought Death by making herself so miserable. After struggling for nearly two hours, Artoria suddenly felt her body lighten considerably, causing her eyes, which had been tightly shut due to pain, to snap open instantly.
"This power is so swelling. I feel my body heating up and expanding."
Moving her wrists slightly, Artoria found that it indeed no longer hurt. She immediately stood up from the ground. Checking her physical condition, she found no changes and breathed a sigh of relief. During the pain earlier, Artoria had activated the power of the Pym Particles, allowing her to Master the power of shrinking. With a thought, Artoria's body instantly shrank to the size of a figurine. Because it was her first time, Artoria didn't dare to become too small; what if she entered the Quantum Realm and couldn't get out? Later, Artoria felt very off. It wasn't about growing larger, but her body temperature was still rising, and she felt a sense of expansion within. This feeling didn't make Artoria uncomfortable; instead, it felt very pleasant, so Artoria stopped controlling that sensation.
"Roar!"
Feeling more and more comfortable, Artoria couldn't help but let out a groan, but the sound coming from her mouth was not a charming, seductive one, but rather the cry of a wild beast. Artoria looked at her hands as her entire body began to undergo changes. Massive golden wings began to grow from behind her, and a Tail appeared at the same time. Artoria's entire body began to transform. Under the massive energy, the Dragon Blood Factor was fully revealed. Artoria turned into a giant golden dragon. Unlike the legendary evil dragons, Artoria's Dragon Body possessed a holy aura. The golden Dragon Scales made the originally somewhat ferocious dragon head look majestic, and the branching horns on her head looked like a crown.
"Holy crap."
At this moment, Artoria's inner self was collapsing. It was one thing to turn into a woman, but why turn into this now? It's true that King Arthur possessed dragon blood, but not to the point of turning into a real dragon! She completely failed to realize that she had courted Death by researching the serum, purifying the bloodline, and then activating it with massive energy. Under such conditions, the dragon bloodline in Artoria's body was completely activated. So, one shouldn't court Death; otherwise, one truly has to pay for their actions.
"Fortunately, I can still change back."
She had thought that if she retracted her Spirit Gear, the Infinity Stones would also be retracted, but Artoria actually found that the Infinity Stones appeared on the dragon's neck, embedded in the dragon's body in place of six scales. Artoria controlled the Infinity Stones and found it was actually very easy—even smoother than in human form. Under Artoria's operation, the Dragon Body began to emit a dazzling golden light. When the golden light dissipated, Artoria's devilishly alluring figure was exposed to the air, all white... well! Very white and very large. Feeling the chill on her body, Artoria quickly put on her Spirit Gear and returned to her normal size before stopping this miraculous experiment. Artoria was also glad she had shrunk at the beginning; otherwise, she would have definitely left this training ground unrecognizable.
"This can be considered a life-saving trump card!"
Artoria recalled the state of her Dragonification; that surging power was truly intoxicating, but it was merely a thought. If she were to truly use the dragon body, unless it was a last resort, she would rather die than transform into a dragon. Perhaps many people would wonder what was wrong with pursuing such powerful strength, but Artoria felt that if she remained in her dragon form for too long, she might never be able to maintain a human heart again. Artoria clearly understood what kind of power could be touched and what could not; otherwise, one would become someone who only pursues power and would slowly lose oneself. The dragon-slaying warrior eventually becoming the evil dragon is not just a story; such things happen too often, and Artoria did not want to become like that.
"How quickly she activated the bloodline in her body. This child is worthy of being chosen by me, don't you think? Gugu."
"Meow~!"
When Artoria activated the bloodline within her body, an old man sitting on the Astral Express, reading a newspaper with a cute orange cat nestled in his arms, stared at the newspaper in front of him and spoke, seemingly talking to no one, just muttering to himself.
However, that orange cat raised its head to look at the old man and meowed. Such an interaction strangely didn't wake the white-collar worker sleeping nearby.
The old man petted the orange cat and continued reading the newspaper; this strange combination continued their previous actions without any abnormalities.
The train sped off into the distance, and the world was still so peaceful.
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