" I am."
Renzo swung the spear, and its sharp tip almost touched Wanda's nose, leaving behind a tiny scar. More importantly, the small wound actually drew blood.
Renzo was overjoyed when he saw it. "It seems you're not completely invulnerable."
He had originally thought Wanda would be like Sithorn, constantly replenishing herself with the surrounding chaotic energy to maintain a stable state.
But at present, it seemed Wanda had not yet mastered that trick.
This also allowed Renzo to breathe a sigh of relief. If she could recover her body without restriction like Sithorn, it would be impossible for Renzo to capture Wanda. He had clearly witnessed how terrifying that man was. If Renzo had not run fast enough, he probably would have had to pay for it with his life.
The upper limit of Chaos Magic was too high, and even its lower limit was terrifying. Even if an ordinary person were merely contaminated by a small amount of Chaos Magic, their strength would already surpass that of at least half of all superheroes. Wanda had already reached a level beyond the Heavenly Father realm. Even if Odin and the Ancient One were resurrected, they might not gain any advantage against her.
However, Renzo still believed that, at the very least, the two of them working together should be able to take Wanda down.
The spear in his hand moved like a swimming dragon, disrupting the airflow within the scarlet space. It hissed as it climbed along the spear shaft like a poisonous snake, only to turn into blood in an instant and merge with the weapon.
Within a few seconds, several bright crimson patterns appeared on the pitch-black spear for no apparent reason, vivid and lifelike.
The power of the Black Lantern Ring was not inferior to Chaos Magic, and the energy radiating from the spear was far denser and more substantial than the scattered energy drifting through the surroundings. It was like a game of big fish eating small fish—the strong devouring the weak. It was only natural.
Wanda also realized that continuing to allow this would only strengthen her enemy for no reason. She waved her hand, dispersing the chaos energy wandering through the space and solidifying the sealing spell. Then she parted her red lips slightly.
"Fall!"
This move again!
Renzo remained indifferent. Reality-altering words had no effect on him at all. That kind of power could barely even touch him, much less affect him.
Renzo leaned forward, preparing to finish Wanda in one decisive strike. High attack and low defense was a common weakness among mages, and even Wanda was no exception.
Boom!
A tremendous sound came from above his head, and Renzo was slightly startled. He instantly felt an enormous weight pressing down on his back, as though a thousand-ton boulder had landed on him, pinning him in place.
In fact, a boulder the size of a bus had fallen directly onto him.
"Damn it! When did she send the stone into space?"
Renzo was slightly surprised. Wanda had clearly realized that her words had no effect on him, so she had begun acting on other things—things that could not be directly touched by human hands. It was like encountering a hot iron pot: inserting a wooden handle into it suddenly made it much easier to manipulate.
Although Renzo had used the Space Stone to create a separate space where no one else would interfere, that did not mean he possessed absolute authority over it. To put it simply, it was like building a public restroom. He had created it, but that did not mean he was the only one allowed to use it.
Wanda had realized this as well. She opened another space within the existing one, then used her reality-altering magic to create several weapons exclusively for herself out of thin air.
For this kind of nested-space trick, Renzo could only shout, "666!"
"Smart girl."
Renzo could not help admiring her. She had extracted so much information from such a short confrontation. Wanda's combat intelligence was no lower than Steve's.
"Looks like I need to take this more seriously."
Black light gradually emerged from Renzo's dark body. This time, even his facial features were covered and disappeared completely. If Wanda wanted to analyze the battle by watching his expression, she would no longer have that opportunity.
The purple patterns unique to the Egyptian God of Death slowly emerged against the dark background, and the aura surrounding Renzo grew increasingly cold. The chill was almost unbearable, stronger than anything radiating from a refrigerator.
The spear in his hand decomposed and transformed into a long sword. Its blade was pitch-black, while the hilt was carved with the heads of a crocodile and a dog. The blade itself followed the appearance of the legendary Sword in the Stone. During his time in this universe, Renzo had already absorbed information about all the superheroes here into his mind. Creating a sword with the same appearance was not difficult.
Renzo struck head-on, and the distance between him and Wanda seemed to disappear in an instant.
The woman was stunned for only a moment, but that did not mean she would simply stand there and let him cut her down.
Wanda thrust both hands forward, and a shield formed from Chaos Magic suddenly appeared in front of her face.
But that level of defense could not stop the Black Death Sword. In the blink of an eye, the shield shattered. Seeing the blade approaching, Wanda fired a burst of Chaos Magic with her other hand, striking the sword and deflecting Renzo's attack by several centimeters. The blade grazed her shoulder, shaving away a thin layer of flesh.
"He really wants to kill me! Doesn't he recognize my face?"
Wanda was shocked. From her memories, their daily life together had been warm and sweet. They should have been deeply affectionate. Why...
Wanda did not know that people could change.
In truth, Renzo had been influenced by the Black Death Emperor within the Lantern Ring, and his consciousness had been flooded with countless things that did not originally belong to him. The sheer amount of information caused his brain to nearly collapse, leaving only his combat instructions functioning perfectly.
Everything else had been buried beneath a vast sea of irrelevant information. Even Wanda's face had been lost within that dark ocean.
This was not merely a battle between Renzo and Wanda. It was also a confrontation between the entities hidden behind them.
The Black Death Emperor and Sithorn supported their respective vessels, but their purposes... remained unknown.
Renzo and Wanda exchanged several more blows. Although Renzo was physically stronger than Wanda in every aspect, the intensity of Chaos Magic could not be overcome so easily.
Wanda could not directly alter Renzo's reality, but she could continuously alter the environment around him, creating temporary disruptions.
It was not particularly damaging, but it was extremely troublesome.
Renzo dodged meteorites, cars, planes, Deadpools, and all sorts of other things that kept flying toward him.
It seemed something strange had gotten in.
For a time, the two fought to a standstill, their strength evenly matched.
---
Outside.
With Eric's large-scale clearing operation, the heroes' counterattack gradually began to show results.
Peter lay on the ground, surrounded by densely packed corpses of infected people. His red-and-blue Spider-Man suit was stained with blood, which clung to his face and made him feel sick.
Killing was still too difficult for Peter to accept. The name "Spider-Man" was never supposed to be associated with killing. If Peter ever had to kill someone, it would be more believable to expect the Sinister Six to kill him first.
But he had still done it.
It went against everything Aunt May had taught him about protecting life. He felt as though he were drifting farther and farther from the boy who had once refused to take a life.
The little boy stared blankly at the sky. No matter how extraordinary his strength was, he was nearly exhausted.
What kind of infected person? What kind of superhero? What kind of Spider-Man?
Right now, Peter only wanted to lie peacefully on the ground, in case some crazed infected person suddenly came along and cut off his head.
"I'm sorry... Aunt May. I couldn't do what you told me."
A tear quietly slipped from the corner of Peter's eye.
"With great power comes great responsibility."
Before today, Peter had engraved those words deeply into his mind as his life's guiding principle.
But now...
He wished he could forget them as quickly as possible. They lingered in his mind like a cruel taunt.
"Kid! Cheer up! Don't get yourself killed."
Moon Knight Mark threw a crescent dart, piercing the chest of an infected person who had tried to sneak up on Peter.
The boy seemed not to notice. He continued lying on the ground like a corpse. If Mark had not sensed Peter's strong vital signs, he might really have thought the kid had died here.
To be honest, Mark did not want him to die. Peter was a simple, kind-hearted boy. He could be a little talkative at times, but overall, he was an incredibly good person. Even among superheroes like them, it would be extremely difficult to find someone more upright and kind than Peter.
Mark casually flipped Mr. Negative over, then ran to Peter's side and reached down to pull him up.
"Don't worry about me. I don't have any strength left. Let me rest for a while..." Peter said weakly, his chest rising and falling slightly to prove that he was still alive.
"At this level, you're getting pretty weak. Be careful, or your little girlfriend might run off with someone else."
Mark half-joked, hoping to make Peter smile and get some energy back.
Apparently, his plan failed.
Peter continued lying there listlessly, his bright eyes gradually losing their light.
"Seriously..."
Mark really wanted to punch that young face until it woke up.
This was war!
It was not the game of house Peter used to play on the street. People were dying!
"Steven... it's your turn."
Steven's personality emerged, and the Moon Knight state changed into the Moonlight Gentleman state. Two short sticks appeared in his hands.
"Huh... huh..."
Steven looked around in horror.
"Why did you call me out in a place this dangerous? I don't want to die!"
The man grabbed his head and crouched down in fear. It was the first time he had witnessed such a brutal scene.
Although he and Mark's personalities had reconciled, both could see what was happening outside whenever the other controlled their body. Still, some things could be avoided.
Steven had simply been hiding in Mark's mind. Usually, he chatted, told jokes, watched Mark pick up women, and occasionally did a little of it himself.
But when it came to fighting, Steven hid himself as deeply as possible. Out of sight, out of mind.
He was not good at this sort of thing, so it was best to leave it all to Mark.
Steven hesitated for a moment, looked at the tragic scene around him, then slowly approached Peter and lay down beside him.
From a distance, the two looked like two thin dogs, one white and one red, sprawled across the ground.
Mark was furious.
I told you to persuade him to get up, not to lie down with him!
He wanted to switch back with Steven immediately.
But Steven refused. Although the war was raging outside, it was at least being held back beyond the defensive perimeter. The two of them were still in a relatively safe position.
They had finally gotten some fresh air.
Steven was unwilling to switch back with Mark.
Scott pushed Charles's little yellow car slowly through the sea of people. The laser beams from his eyes broke apart and melted every infected person who came too close to Charles. Chunks of flesh fell to the ground and turned into pools of pus, filling the air with a pungent stench.
The man unleashed his anger without restraint. His blue eyes blazed across the battlefield, as though he wanted to burn everything within his sight.
He could not forget the way Jean had died in front of him.
The girl's long hair had flown around her, burning like the sun, like a dying star about to fall. That beautiful golden light had shone across the man's chest, while the wounds across his abdomen spilled deep-red blood down his body and onto Scott's legs.
The flames in the girl's eyes had gradually gone out. Along with that dazzling red hair, the light in her eyes had faded before everyone.
That had been the angriest Scott had ever been.
He hated that the Phoenix had been parasitic within Jean's body. He hated that Logan had killed Jean. Logan's claws had still been dripping with Jean's blood.
He hated the unfairness of it all.
Why had Jean been forced to suffer such a fate? Why did someone as good as her have to die like that? She had been so important, so full of hope for all mutants...
Scott transformed all the anger and grief he had received from Jean into the power driving this battle.
He raised his head and looked toward the narrow crack high above. A faint red aura spilled through it. His eyes swept across the battlefield, but the beam was blocked and reflected back into the crowd.
The two ancient gods would never allow anyone else to interfere in the battle between their successors.
Surrounded by the Avengers, most of the hundreds of thousands of infected people had been eliminated within four hours. Tens of thousands still struggled, however.
Aside from particularly powerful figures such as Eric and Balder, the others were essentially exhausted.
"Why have they been fighting for so long? If you don't know how to make firewood and keep the fire going, you might as well just enjoy yourselves in there."
Deadpool casually chopped off a head and kept banging it against his own mouth. His immortal body allowed him to throw himself into a crowd of infected without worrying about injury. Even if he were torn to pieces, he could return to his original form in the blink of an eye...
Wait a second!
"Fuck! Wade! When did you get infected?"
Stone Man Ben's shout immediately attracted the attention of everyone nearby.
No wonder Wade had been wandering so leisurely among the infected, with none of them attacking him.
"Want to try it? It feels pretty good. So cool!"
Wade raised his arms and shouted, laughing as he yelled.
Everyone on Earth knew how insane Deadpool could be. No matter how badly he was hurt, he could not die, so no one paid much attention to him and simply let him do whatever he wanted.
He enjoyed the sensation of being eroded by Chaos. It was as if he had swallowed three kilograms of paraquat, had mercury poured into his brain, then had his bones smashed apart and made to dance across the edge of a charcoal grill.
The more absurd it was, the more excited he became.
Ben was speechless and abandoned his urge to slap Wade into pieces.
The man, stubborn as stone, also looked toward the crack in the sky.
Many others did the same.
They felt...
The battle up there seemed to have subsided.
__________________________________________
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