Even though his hair was gray, Eric's solemn expression seemed carved into his face. With a single movement of his hands, he disrupted the magnetic field across the entire battlefield. Metal and steel twisted together, forming a massive Sword of Damocles that suddenly swung down from the sky.
A sword!
Hundreds of infected were chopped into pulp. The ground cracked beneath the old man's full-force strike, and a rift appeared, exactly like the one above Baxter Base in Mississippi.
Eric seemed like a supreme god at that moment. Renzo and Wanda were no weaker than either of them had been during their confrontation. Even the aura they had accumulated over decades seemed to pale beside his.
Magneto stretched out his hand, and tens of thousands of pieces of metal transformed into needles, shooting toward the towering goddess.
Yet they were all blocked by Chaos.
Ordinary physical attacks did not even require Wanda to defend against personally. With nothing more than a thought, she stopped Eric's assault.
"It really doesn't work..." Eric sighed. "I thought Nick Fury was lying to me. That little guy has so many tricks. Who would believe him?"
The old man hovered in the air with the aid of the magnetic field, and Renzo finally realized that the Eric before him was not on the same level as the Eric he had encountered before.
That Eric had also been very strong and could even manipulate helicopters and submarines, but that had been his limit.
The man before him...
Renzo could tell that he was at least stronger than every superhero present.
And he was ridiculously strong.
If Eric wanted to, he could overturn an entire building in an instant, crush a ship into a steel ball, or casually throw an airplane. Anything containing iron was practically a toy in his hands, completely subject to his control.
"You old bastard, do you know how hard I had to work to find you?" Nick Fury smiled and cursed.
The situation below was still under his control. His single eye slowly scanned the battlefield before meeting Hill's gaze.
"My adjutant. You're not looking too good."
"Maria clearly killed you. She personally held your head up and verified it. My eyes don't make mistakes."
Hill spoke coldly, but the voice that came from her mouth belonged to Wanda.
Multitasking was easy for someone at this level. Even while fighting Renzo, Wanda could separate part of her consciousness and control other people. Her mental strength was terrifying.
Charles, meanwhile, could barely invade other people's minds while simultaneously maintaining control of his own body.
"It's a clone."
Another elderly voice echoed through almost everyone's ears.
"Old man!"
Hill was furious.
Charles's power silently controlled thousands of infected. Like lambs waiting to be slaughtered, they stood motionless, allowing the Avengers to cut through them.
A trace of blood flowed from the corner of Charles's mouth. Controlling so many violent, irrational creatures was an enormous burden even for him. An ordinary person would have collapsed long ago.
"Qin used this trick when she killed me, too. She transferred her consciousness into an empty body. It's an old trick from more than a decade ago."
Charles laughed loudly, his smile open and genuine.
It was the first time he had laughed so freely in years.
Nick Fury did not deny it.
In fact, he had understood cloning technology even earlier than Charles and had already prepared numerous clones of himself. They were unconscious substitutes, kept inside nutrient tanks and maintained by dedicated personnel. They existed so that he could resurrect himself at critical moments.
Phil Coulson: *Achoo!*
Who's talking about me?
The one-eyed man smiled, looking particularly pleased with himself, as though he were delighted to have managed to fool Wanda for once.
"You damn bastard!"
Hill was so furious she nearly lost control. The veins on her forehead bulged as she clenched her fists, wanting nothing more than to punch the man in the face.
"Hill... this is the first time I've seen you this angry."
Nick Fury did not waste any more time. He immediately issued an order to the Helicarrier.
Several Quinjet fighters launched from the deck and opened fire on the infected below.
"Wait! They can still be saved!"
Reed immediately shouted, "As long as Renzo can buy us enough time, everyone here might be able to return to normal!"
He was not lying. If Renzo could cure the imprisoned superheroes, then naturally, he could save these ordinary people as well.
"No, Reed."
Charles stopped him and shook his head.
"That's the limit. Renzo and I have reached our limit. Being able to save dozens of people from the devil is already an incredible achievement."
Charles had never felt so exhausted before. It was even more painful than when he had fought Apocalypse for control of his own body.
The Mind Stone was simply beyond what humans could safely control.
Reed lowered his hand in despair.
Seeing this, Nick Fury immediately gave the order, and the bloody massacre began.
The pilot of a Quinjet looked down at the massive army of infected below and could not help feeling a surge of fear.
"Zombie siege? I'm pretty sure this isn't Raccoon City!"
But there was no time to hesitate.
Flames erupted from the fighter jets, covering the entire battlefield.
The Ancient One was also desperately opening portals and leading the Kamar-Taj sorcerers onto the battlefield.
The same was true of Balder.
Asgardian warriors arrived wielding hammers and swords, some riding unicorns or winged horses, charging toward the monsters covered in red mist.
With weapons of mass destruction joining the battle, the Avengers were no longer defenseless.
They finally began pushing back.
"Wanda... see that?"
Renzo dodged the scarlet tentacles.
"Human power."
The Space Stone enveloped the two of them, creating an isolated battlefield.
This way, no one else would be affected by their fight, and the connection between Wanda and the Black Tower could be severed.
Although Renzo only knew the Black Tower's function, everything connected to Wanda was dangerous.
He had to be completely prepared.
If he made even one mistake, the entire universe could fall into Wanda's kingdom. Another Scarlet Dimension would be born, and another Sithorn could emerge.
The Five Gods of Creation would never allow that to happen.
But by then, the fate of the universe would no longer be in their hands.
The most important thing was...
Renzo narrowed his eyes.
A powerful wave of energy radiated from his body, and it was not limited to the power of the Infinity Stones.
He had never allowed himself to be dominated by the power of the Infinity Stones, and this time would be no different.
This time...
The divine power of the contract between Anubis and Amit spread throughout his body.
Lines and words representing the ancient Egyptian gods were engraved across his flesh. A golden skirt and shoulder armor appeared over his dark body, making him resemble a pharaoh, while gray bandages wrapped around his arms in layers.
The power of death and the Black Lantern Ring merged perfectly.
At that moment, Renzo surpassed his three-Infinity-Stone state and reached the level of power he had possessed when fighting Infinite Ultron.
If necessary, he would even borrow Mordo's Eye of Agamotto to restart this timeline before everything failed.
Although doing so would cause irreversible damage to his soul, sacrifice was necessary for victory.
Ever since entering the Marvel universe, Renzo had been prepared to die.
Who had ever said he was anything more than a manufactured weapon?
But...
*Poof!*
Renzo suddenly burst out laughing.
If he won this battle, the plan buried deep within his heart would finally come true.
The man could not help looking forward to that future.
Wanda was so angry that she felt as though her head were about to explode.
This man could actually laugh while fighting her.
How could he look down on her like this?
Her anger caused her to unleash her magic.
Eight enormous walls suddenly shot out from the ground—
No.
There was no ground in this space, only endless emptiness and a blank starry sky.
Yet the walls still appeared.
Just as when she had faced Akasha, Chaos Magic sealed the two of them inside an even smaller space. Enormous black magical incantations suddenly appeared from every direction. They were obscure and incomprehensible. An ordinary person would probably go insane after looking at them even once, and even someone like Charles, whose specialty was telepathy, would find them unbearable.
"Don't be angry. I'll feel sorry for you."
Renzo spoke seriously.
His blurred facial features made it impossible to tell whether he was smiling or not, but Wanda had a distinct feeling that he was laughing at her.
"Ah!"
Wanda roared furiously.
Her gentle voice became somewhat ferocious, making her sound less like a woman and more like a madman being toyed with.
The spell condensed terrifying Chaos energy, swallowing the surrounding space. The dim world seemed to collapse inward, forming countless whirlpools.
A gigantic hand of Chaos aimed at the man and slammed down.
Wanda knew that no matter what she said, words would have no effect.
Only physical attacks could have even the slightest impact on this man.
Renzo merely avoided Wanda's continuous attacks without fighting back.
The atmosphere between them was not like a life-or-death battle. Instead, it was almost like an angry wife chasing after and scolding her husband while he deliberately teased her.
Wanda wanted to tear the man apart with her own hands.
The memories had been abandoned by her.
No matter how sweet they were, no matter how profound they might have been, what was not hers would never truly belong to her.
Renzo sighed.
A spear suddenly appeared in his hand.
It was formed from the Black Lantern Ring and the power of death. Its strength was no weaker than the Death Blade.
It was also the only weapon Renzo truly knew how to use well.
Compared with knives, swords, and guns, Renzo still firmly believed in the principle that every inch of additional length meant an additional advantage.
The atmosphere between the two suddenly became tense, as though they might erupt into another fight at the slightest disagreement.
"Will you be sad?"
"?"
Wanda was confused.
She was not used to Renzo's leaps in thought and could not keep up with the strange direction of his thinking.
If it were the Wanda from Earth-199999, perhaps she could.
But this Wanda could not.
Some things could only be understood through experience.
How could someone whose mind was filled with the mundane concerns of family life—food, work, and the everyday burdens of living—possibly understand?
That peaceful life had long since betrayed her.
Only by keeping herself busy could she keep her troubles buried deep inside.
Dark pupils stared coldly at the woman, devoid of warmth, as though he were looking at a complete stranger.
The Black Lantern Ring had taken control of Renzo's body, while Renzo controlled his own mind.
This was his only trump card capable of competing with Wanda.
"Like a lonely bird that never falls in its lifetime. With a battered body and an exhausted mind, the human brain has limits. You simply can't withstand that much information."
Renzo's body suddenly flashed behind Wanda.
The woman was still immersed in his nonsensical question and froze for a moment.
It was during that brief and almost imperceptible instant that a spear grazed her waist.
She barely escaped at the last moment, gritting her teeth.
"You're bluffing!"
"It's not a bluff. It's an educated guess."
Renzo fired another spear with his backhand, but Wanda blocked it with a shield condensed from Chaos.
His tone remained cold, as though he were looking at a dead person.
"The brain of an ordinary human cannot withstand such an enormous flow of information without modification. The so-called 'geniuses' who can do it are people whose brains have developed far beyond ordinary humans."
"Tony Stark, Stephen Strange, Reed Richards, Charles Francis Xavier... The names of these people represent true geniuses. Their mental capacity is far beyond that of ordinary heroes. Even among superheroes, they stand at the very top."
"The name Wanda Maximoff is obviously not among them. If you want to accept that level of information flow, then I'm afraid... there must be someone else hiding inside your head."
Wanda's delicate body trembled.
She did not know whether to confirm or deny his words.
"Sithorn? Or another personality born under the influence of Chaos?"
Renzo chuckled.
"It shouldn't be Wanda from Earth-838 controlling this body now, should it?"
"I know my girl. No matter which universe she comes from, whether she is a child or an adult, she is essentially the same silly, clumsy girl. She rushes forward with that stubborn determination, protects the people she loves, and can't even bring herself to kill a chicken. How could she possibly do something like this?"
"But I suspect it's another personality. Sithorn's arrogant nature would never allow his vessel to be discarded so easily. I know his character well enough to recreate it."
The man threw another spear.
Wanda raised her hand to block it, but just as she was about to touch it, a spatial vortex suddenly appeared between them.
"Oops!"
Wanda was startled.
Her head dropped suddenly, and the next moment, the dark spear passed through where her head had been. Two strands of red hair drifted down.
"This guy... can he use the Infinity Stones like this?"
Shock filled her heart.
Controlling the Infinity Stones was difficult enough, yet the man before her could manipulate their power with the same precision she possessed over her own abilities.
That should have been impossible.
Even the Celestials relied on technology and weapons to fully control the power of the Stones. They could not instantly cast their power without preparation or movement.
This level of control was terrifying.
Wanda glanced coldly at the man.
Stark Industries' supercomputer was no weaker than the Baxter Foundation's.
"Dodged again?"
Renzo looked slightly disappointed.
"This move is a special technique. I thought it would pierce your head in one shot."
In the past, he could never have said something like that.
With such absolute indifference, he would not have hesitated to kill even someone standing beside him.
He was not him, either.
Wanda suddenly realized it.
Then she shouted,
"Who are you?! You're not Vision!"
Renzo remained silent.
The light of the Black Lantern Ring grew brighter and brighter.
The skeleton holding the crescent-shaped scythe...
finally smiled.
__________________________________________
You can read early chapters on Patr*on. If you enjoy my work and would like to support me, consider becoming a patron. My Patr*on username is Renzo28557.