Was that Knull? The so-called God of the Symbiotes?
No. Of course it was not that simple.
If it were only Knull—an inferior, weakened version of him, one possessing merely twenty-five percent of the original Knull's power, only a quarter of the real thing—the Watcher would not have been this troubled.
But a closer look revealed more.
A black figure was guarding the cocoon, circling it without pause. Its body was wrapped in a layer of black symbiote matter, and beneath its feet rode a board covered in the same flowing darkness.
It looked extremely dangerous.
And its very existence proved that things were far more complicated than they seemed.
"Galactus consumed by darkness. The fastest herald in the universe turned into a puppet. This universe is on the brink."
Staring at the image on the screen, the Watcher muttered to himself:
"The zombie virus was only the prelude. Once the cocoon hatches and that terrifying existence descends upon this world, the surviving heroes on Earth will face their true calamity. Will that mysterious Sentry be able to defeat such a powerful enemy? Let us wait and see."
"Sentry, who broke the cycle... I'm looking forward to what you'll do."
…
"Well, at least he knows when to back off."
Roland nodded in satisfaction. Only after sensing that the big-headed Watcher had stopped observing him did he decide not to pursue the matter any further. Instead, he turned his gaze toward another point in the sky.
The Watcher was not the only one watching him.
There was also a helicarrier.
A flying one.
Roland did not possess X-ray vision, so he used his abilities to grant himself an immediate form of enhanced super-vision, piercing through the helicarrier's optical cloaking and spotting Nick Fury inside the control room.
At this very moment, Nick Fury still had no idea that Roland had already set his sights on him. He was still staring at the surveillance screens, his expression complicated.
On one hand, the zombie crisis had been resolved smoothly.
On the other, Roland had killed those zombie heroes. Even if they had become zombies, that did not erase everything they had once done for humanity and for Earth. In life, they had still been great heroes.
They should not have ended that way.
"How did things turn into this…"
Nick Fury's mood was heavy. But a moment later, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent suddenly appeared behind him and interrupted his thoughts.
Nervously, the agent asked, "Sir, we've followed your orders and begun gathering every hero we can reach, but... we've lost contact with Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Should we send someone to investigate? Or dispatch one of the Avengers to check it out? The only message we received was that Xavier's School had just captured Deadpool and seemed to be preparing to attempt some kind of psychic treatment on him."
Nick Fury slapped a hand to his forehead and let out a long sigh.
"One problem after another. This is getting ridiculous."
He had not even had time to mourn Captain America, Captain Marvel, and the other fallen Avengers before the next crisis arrived on his doorstep.
His head ached.
As far as the mutants were concerned, he could have ignored them.
But he could not.
His instincts told him that whatever Xavier and the X-Men were facing was unlikely to be any better than what the zombie heroes had caused.
"S-Sir?"
But just as Nick Fury was thinking over what to do next, applause suddenly sounded behind him, accompanied by the trembling voice of the agent calling for him.
"What is it? Can't you see I'm in the middle of—"
Nick Fury frowned. Already in a foul mood, he turned, ready to snap at the clueless agent.
Instead, the moment he looked back, he saw Roland—the very man who ought to have still been on the surveillance screen.
"It's you!"
A jolt ran through Fury. He immediately turned back toward the monitor, only to find it empty.
Roland was gone.
Dear God.
This ship was nearly ten thousand meters above the ground.
And yet Fury had only been distracted for an instant, not even a few full seconds. In that tiny gap of time, Roland had gone from the street below to standing behind him?
Was it teleportation?
Or speed so great it might as well have been?
One thought after another flashed through Nick Fury's mind.
Before he could recover enough to say anything, Roland stopped clapping and spoke in a calm, almost leisurely tone.
"You look troubled, Nick Fury. Don't worry. I mean you no harm. Otherwise I wouldn't have stepped in to help you deal with this zombie crisis. You should know that if I hadn't interfered, every human in this world would have been eaten within twenty-four hours."
"Twenty-four hours... Aren't you underestimating us a little too much, sir?"
Nick Fury frowned and answered with his hands clasped behind his back.
"We still have plenty of surviving, uninfected heroes on our side—some even stronger than Captain Marvel. We may not necessarily lose. We also have minds like Iron Man and Mister Fantastic. Give us enough time, and I believe we could develop a cure."
He did not even bother dwelling on how Roland knew his name despite them never having met. Leaving aside how widely his identity and reputation circulated among organizations and heroes, Roland clearly had the power to destroy the entire helicarrier before Fury could even turn around. The fact that he was willing to speak patiently already suggested that he was not necessarily their enemy.
The problem was simply that Nick Fury had far too much confidence in himself, in this world's superheroes—and above all, in Reed Richards.
He really ought to have seen his own face back when the helicarrier fell into the zombies' hands, when he stood alone against a whole pack of zombie heroes. The terror on his face then had been downright humiliating.
Roland gave a faint laugh.
"You really are confident. But what if I told you that, under normal circumstances, Quicksilver gets deceived by a zombified Mystique and ends up infected? You, more than anyone, should know what it means for a speedster to become a zombie."
"Oh, and if you don't believe me, have a look at this."
Roland remained completely at ease, speaking as casually as if he were discussing the weather.
Then he raised a hand and used his reality-warping power to create a floating panel in midair, something like a suspended screen.
Displayed on it was—
the control room they were currently standing in.
Except unlike the still relatively orderly room around them now, the control room shown on the screen was littered with the severed remains of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
But that was not even the most important part.
"That's... me? What is this supposed to be? What are you trying to show me?"
A bad feeling welled up in Nick Fury's chest. After glancing at the version of himself on the screen, he lifted his head to look at Roland and, suppressing his unease, asked in a tense voice.
The Fury shown in the image no longer wore his usual composed expression.
His face was full of panic and fear.
One hand gripped the pistol at his waist, aiming it at something beyond the frame. His arm was trembling uncontrollably, and cold sweat covered his brow.
Even an old fox as calculating as Nick Fury had things he feared—
especially when faced with a pack of ravenous zombies, moments away from being ripped apart and eaten alive.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 120)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 100)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 100)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter89)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter86)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter63)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter75)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 53
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 57
From Junkman to Wasteland 35
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 26
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 27
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