"Don't worry about your friends," Wanda said, her tone almost mocking.
Renzo remained silent and simply shook his head, staring at the woman before him. "As long as we defeat you, they'll be fine."
Wanda smiled when she heard this, like a blooming rose—beautiful and dangerous. "Are you really that confident you can defeat me? With the Infinity Stones? You can't be that stupid, right?"
Wanda did not believe the so-called Infinity Stones could match the power of Sithorn, the god of the underworld. She hated that man. Even though he possessed a noble status and tremendous strength, this was Wanda's territory, not Sithorn's Scarlet Dimension. If he wanted to break into the universe like last time, the price he would have to pay now was simply something he could not afford.
After being seriously injured by Renzo, then by the Phoenix, and finally being used as a battery by Wanda to continuously absorb his power, Sithorn's current strength had fallen drastically. If he weakened any further, even the Five Gods could easily control him.
So no matter what the situation was now, Sithorn refused to show himself. As for the power Wanda absorbed from him... he simply tore off a clone and used it to accept the witch's sacrifices on his behalf.
But his main body did not know that it had gone deep into the universe to recover.
Wanda did not care where Sithorn went, as long as he continued giving her strength.
The witch grinned wickedly. An indescribably evil and dark aura shrouded the sky, making the scarlet heavens even darker, almost as though they were being forcibly suppressed. The darkness continued spreading outward.
The American government was a bunch of idiots. For the sake of so-called dignity, they had abandoned their people, causing countless lives to be lost for nothing.
At least seventy percent of Americans had died in this disaster. They had not only been transformed into infected creatures but had also fallen victim to human greed.
Wanda did not think it was her fault. To her, it was a kind of merit.
She had shown everyone the hypocritical face of the world. A neighbor who had once been friendly might shove you aside at the most critical moment. A subordinate who once respected you might kick you when disaster struck. Even relatives connected by blood might kill one another for the slightest hope of escape.
Countless black undead covered the sky, their horrifying wails drifting unpredictably through the air like demonic whispers in their ears.
Renzo frowned, feeling slightly irritated.
These black things flew everywhere, far too noisy, like swarms of crows hovering over the devastated city. They occupied the church, clinging tightly to the cross with their two claws as if announcing that the world was about to change hands.
"It's impossible..."
Renzo was painfully aware of this. He did not want to attack this woman no matter what, because she looked exactly like his girl.
How could he hurt his girl?
The man took a deep breath and said nothing more. Words were useless now. Only his fists could convey the truth.
"I only need one word to defeat you."
Wanda smiled indifferently, not taking the man seriously at all. So what if he had the Infinity Stones? So what if he possessed that mysterious ring? In the face of Chaos Magic, he could not resist the power to rewrite reality.
"Fall!"
The woman spoke.
Renzo suddenly felt his body become incredibly heavy.
It was not the sensation of carrying some enormous weight. It was his own weight that had changed.
It was as if a piece of cotton had suddenly been replaced by an iron block of equal volume, dragged downward by gravity.
But it only lasted for a moment.
Renzo swayed slightly before stabilizing himself. His nearly limitless power allowed him to adapt to various physical forces. Even if he were given a body from the Celestials, its extraordinary energy supply would make his body as light as a swallow.
Wanda was slightly startled.
This man really did possess considerable strength. He was clearly different from the ants below. His strength had already reached an incredible level, even approaching her own.
But Wanda would never admit that anyone was stronger than her.
She was the queen, the sole host of the power of chaos, and the entire sky seemed to cheer and mourn for the moment she ascended the throne.
How could a truly strong person be stopped by another?
They were always moving forward, always indifferent, and always alone.
"Die!"
Wanda did not want to waste any more time with him. That would be too risky. The Infinity Stones were a hidden danger, after all.
Renzo did not dodge. Even if he did, it would be useless.
This sure-hit spell was like a maggot clinging to bone, firmly attached to his body. It would bite away pieces of flesh until death.
Scarlet words appeared coldly and struck the man's body. His cold flesh almost condensed into ice crystals, billowing with red mist.
Renzo's eyes turned white, and even his body became gray. Green, red, gold... everything turned gray, like withered leaves.
Hum!
The three gems erupted with light. Purple, blue, and gold radiance once again enveloped the man's body, instantly filling it with vitality.
Renzo blinked. His previously vacant pupils shone brightly once more, even more intensely than before.
"It seems your reality manipulation can't affect me. Do you want to try again? I can give you three minutes. You can do whatever you want to me."
After hearing this, Wanda could no longer maintain her calm expression. Her face twisted with fury.
No one had ever dared to speak to her like this.
He was basically telling her to attack him as much as she wanted, as though he did not take her seriously at all...
It nearly drove the woman mad.
"You will pay for those words!"
Unfortunately, Wanda's anger was met only by the man's calm gaze.
Renzo had been fully preparing for a desperate battle. Tricks and abilities were nothing in the face of an overwhelming difference in strength.
Every day, Renzo had rehearsed the battle in his mind, constantly simulating a duel with Wanda. Night after night, the stars and gems shone together, as bright as the stars in the sky.
He smiled every night because he could see the girl.
Although she was not her, and she was not the girl he remembered, he was still happy.
Even Renzo himself could not help but curse himself for being so pathetic.
Sure enough, he was attracted to another person's body.
But when they finally stood face-to-face, Renzo calmed his thoughts, suppressed the throbbing in his heart, and calmly looked at his beloved girl, as though stars and seas were hidden within his eyes.
Pure chaos collided with the complexity of chaos.
Compared to the woman's monotonous black and red, the man seemed to wear a rainbow: the gold, blue, and purple of the three Infinity Stones; the pitch-black Black Lantern ring; the deep purple of Anubis and Amit; and countless other blessings and curses bestowed by the gods.
Wanda could even sense Sithorn's extreme disgust toward the man. It was so clear that she could almost see it.
The girl was stunned.
For the first time, she truly saw the full extent of the man's power.
Positive and negative, monotonous and complex... all of it appeared within him at once, shocking Wanda.
After all, she was not the girl in Renzo's mind.
She had never lived a life with Renzo. She had never shared the same wavelength with him, never watched the sky with him, never spent Christmas with him, and never slept in the same bed with him.
The memories in her mind did not belong to her. They had been forcibly implanted because of Sithorn's jealousy and anger.
She knew nothing about this man's inner struggles or hidden secrets.
Comparing them to birds and fish did not seem appropriate.
Perhaps they were more like two creatures that had nothing to do with one another: cockroaches and zebras, sparrows and crocodiles, whales and geese.
They were animals with no natural relationship, creatures that should never have crossed paths.
Wanda possessed incomplete memories, but she had no understanding or emotional connection to him.
He was like a neighbor who lived in the same building. She recognized him, but she could not even remember his name.
The two solemn auras collided, but Renzo was not at a disadvantage. He even managed to overpower Wanda while she was distracted.
Wanda was both shocked and furious.
"You won't defeat me..." Renzo lowered his head, as though speaking to the woman and to himself at the same time.
The black tower released a chilling roar. The towering structure shook like the body of a giant.
The sky was clearly hot, yet the wind howled with an icy chill.
The golden cloak scattered the darkness, preventing the evil ghosts wrapped in scarlet blood from approaching Renzo.
Black, viscous liquid froze across the man's body, revealing his faint facial features. The shadows of the swallowed Osiris and Tephytis seemed to appear over Renzo's body as the blessings of the gods emerged one after another, dazzlingly shattering the crimson darkness.
This was the entirety of his strength.
And it was the courage he needed to break Wanda.
The girl raised her hand.
Undead souls poured from the sky. The ground cracked open, and corpses buried beneath it crawled out one after another, placing considerable pressure on the other heroes.
Balder swung his sword, killing an ungrateful snake. Even the Asgardians' powerful physiques could not avoid injury against these relentless enemies. Blood trickled down their cheeks, while cracks in his sword grew more severe with every attack.
The continuous swings of his blade eventually shattered the weapon, and blood splattered across the bodies of the others, but they paid it no attention.
Deadpool desperately swung his two swords, throwing out dirty jokes in an attempt to make his companions laugh.
In the next second, the Black Knight severed his arm.
Sam took advantage of the high altitude and continued firing, but eventually the bullets ran out, and so did Redwing's energy.
The wings were shattered by gunfire, and he fell into the crowd.
The infected surrounding him swarmed forward, ruthlessly tearing his body apart.
The Thing always charged at the front, using all his strength to resist the enemy and lighten the burden on the comrades behind him, even if only a little.
...
Every soldier waved the weapon in their hands at the risk of their lives, killing enemies both visible and invisible.
They could be in front, behind, or above.
If they were not careful, they would be reduced to a pile of broken remains.
But the difference in strength and numbers could not be overcome by dozens of superheroes.
Of roughly fifty superheroes, nearly ten had died in just one hour. Hundreds of thousands of infected could overwhelm them through sheer numbers alone, and there was an entire army of powerful enemies whose numbers continued to increase.
Everyone could not help but feel a sense of despair.
Even the normally optimistic Peter was no exception. He had run out of web fluid.
Without his web fluid, what kind of Spider-Man was he supposed to be?
Reed was scratched once again. The Space Stone in his hands continuously teleported infected people away, sending them to glaciers or deserts.
"Susan! Behind you!"
The rubber man's arm blocked his wife's back, and the Sabretooth's claws tore open the scientist's flesh.
Even the most stoic man in the world could not endure that kind of pain, but fortunately, his beloved had not been injured.
Reed roared and swept his arm around the rough man.
Logan jumped from behind, full of wolfish ferocity. He roared and chopped off his brother's head, sending it rolling several times across the ground.
"Watch your back," Logan warned the two of them before roaring and charging toward another battlefield.
"We can't hold on anymore."
Susan was beginning to break down.
There were simply too many enemies. She could not even help. Instead, she had nearly hurt her husband.
Fighting was clearly not suited to her. Perhaps she had never been meant for this.
Maybe it would be better to die here.
"Franklin is still waiting for his mother to come home."
Reed pulled his wife into his arms, his expression solemn.
"We'll go home alive. Believe me. Believe in him."
The badge on his chest continued shining with golden light. His specially made suit was in tatters, exposing the body beneath.
Susan was held tightly in his arms, wrapped around and around like a rice dumpling.
Buzz!
Boom!
A violent sound erupted from the sky, like the roar of dozens of fighter jets. It shook the heavens and earth, pounding against everyone's hearts like a war drum.
Reed's eyes filled with tears.
The stupid, conceited man had finally done the right thing.
"Ultron... Ultron? It's Ultron!"
Someone shouted excitedly.
Large "clouds" flew through the distant sky, densely packed like swarms of bees. The roar of metal machinery echoed through the distance as the "clouds" rapidly approached.
The Ultron army swept into the battlefield like a tiger charging into a pack of wolves, engaging the infected masses alongside the Baxter Building's drones and relieving considerable pressure on the Avengers.
Fire suppression was the tactic of this era.
But this was not over yet.
A massive aerospace carrier broke through the barrier of red mist and appeared arrogantly before everyone.
Renzo recognized it at a glance.
It was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier, exactly like the one from *Avengers 2*. He had even boarded that aircraft carrier himself. It could be said to represent the pinnacle of what modern technology could achieve.
"Nick Fury!"
The face of a one-eyed Black man was projected into the air, his expression solemn and stern, with a hint of a sneer, as though announcing his return.
Even Renzo was at a loss.
He remembered burying his head beneath the wreckage of the Helicarrier that had crashed in Mississippi.
How could he have come back to life?!
Was this universe really so absurd?
But S.H.I.E.L.D. was not the only one to arrive.
An old man wrapped in a red robe and wearing a helmet rushed out from the carrier. He raised his thin arms slightly.
Suddenly, the entire city began to shake.
Steel bars hidden within walls, roads, cars, signs, cups... every piece of iron was lifted into the sky in a mighty torrent.
Charles could not hold back his tears as he stared at the figure of his old friend in the sky.
He murmured to himself,
"I knew you weren't dead... Eric!"
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