Wanda and Pietro moved at the same time. Even Scott picked up a baseball bat, ready to give Darren, who was attacking Hope, a vicious whack.
However, before anyone could make a move, dazzling yellow lightning erupted from within Darren Krauss's body. He had only been conscious for three seconds.
The next second, his entire body began to twist and shrink unnaturally, as though a miniature black hole had appeared inside him. His limbs and torso collapsed inward, while the sound of muscles twisting and bones breaking into pieces made everyone stop in their tracks.
Everything happened extremely quickly. To an outsider, it might have lasted no more than the blink of an eye, but to the people standing so close by, with nearly all their attention focused on Darren, the scene seemed to slow down several times over.
That incredibly narrow window of time left Darren no chance to scream. Half his head collapsed into his chest.
His entire body was like a lump of modeling clay being kneaded toward the center by a pair of giant hands. In an instant, it became a ball before being sucked into the black hole and vanishing without a trace.
In the span of one second, Darren, who had just risen and was preparing to attack, disappeared into midair. Not even a scrap remained. His entire body had vanished.
Vaguely, everyone seemed able to see Darren's twisted, agonized expression, along with the faintly lingering, yet never-released, scream of unbearable pain in the air.
"Was that Leo's doing?"
Scott still felt shaken as he stared at the empty space. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
"These should be the shrinking particles from the Shrinking Gun Darren had earlier. But they seem to have been enhanced—or perhaps struck with a much