Prelude to Ragnarok, the Roar of Four Beams

At the center of the church, the air was so scorching it seemed capable of setting lungs ablaze.

Ultron, blasted away by Jetray's attack, had not fallen. Only a scorched mark remained on its Vibranium body, and it soon returned to normal under the effects of its self-repair system.

"You people are truly annoying."

Ultron rose from the ruins of the altar. The calmness in its red electronic eyes was gone, replaced by hysterical madness.

Faint purple energy particles floated around it—it was attempting to imitate the cosmic energy it had glimpsed through the Mind Stone. Though crude, it was enough to raise its defense by another level.

"Whoosh—boom!"

With a roar from his thrusters, Iron Man, Tony Stark, landed heavily beside Jiang Li, his repulsors glowing faintly.

Right after that, Thor descended while swinging his hammer, Captain America, Steve, guarded the flank with his shield, and Hulk roared as he leaped back onto the battlefield. Natasha, Hawkeye, Vision, Gwen, Pietro, Wanda...

Everyone had gathered at this moment.

They formed a circle, protecting the still-humming Vibranium core at its center.

It was a scene worthy of being recorded in Marvel history. Gods, monsters, agents, enhanced humans, alien visitors, girls from other dimensions... They stood back-to-back, facing the overwhelming mechanical army outside the church.

"All right."

Thor shook the motor oil from his hammer and looked at the dense swarm of robots outside, a wild smile curling across his lips. "Is this all it can do? I thought this so-called 'destruction of humanity' would make for a bigger spectacle."

Steve gave him a helpless glance. "Thor, did you really have to ask that?"

As if answering Thor's provocation.

"This is the answer I have for you."

Ultron spread its arms and howled toward the sky.

"Clank, clank, clank—"

All of Sokovia was trembling. From every corner of the city—from sewers, between the floors of buildings, and even deep underground—countless Ultron Sentries surged forth like hornets from a disturbed nest.

There were ten times as many as before!

They blotted out the sky like a tsunami forged from steel, pressing toward the core at the center of the church.

"Oh my God..." Gwen sucked in a breath, her eyes wide beneath her mask. "This is basically the robot version of World War Z."

"This is the battle we have to fight."

Steve tightened the straps on his shield, his gaze unwavering. "Hold the core! As long as even one person hasn't evacuated, we don't give an inch!"

"Jiang! We need fortifications!" Natasha shouted, the stun batons in her hands trembling. "This damn church is open on all sides. We can't protect Hawkeye!"

"Leave it to me."

Jiang Li canceled his Jetray form and rapidly turned the Omnitrix on his left wrist.

"For this kind of defensive battle, no one is more suitable than him."

"It's Hero Time!"

Brilliant yellow-green light flashed.

An alien composed entirely of indestructible Petrosapien crystal appeared in his place. Under the sunlight, he refracted rainbow-colored light like a moving mountain of diamonds.

Petrosapien—Diamondhead!

"Diamond Barrier!!"

Jiang Li slammed both hands onto the ground.

"Rumble—!"

The earth shook as countless enormous crystal pillars burst from the church floor! They did not grow at random, but rapidly intertwined and fused, forming an indestructible ring of translucent crystal walls around the core. They firmly protected the vulnerable Hawkeye, Natasha, and the Vibranium switch inside, leaving only firing ports.

"That's much safer."

Jiang Li rose to his feet, and both hands instantly transformed into sharp crystal Gatling barrels.

"Now... let the target practice begin!"

"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—!!"

Countless sharp diamond fragments shot toward the incoming robotic horde like a torrential downpour. Every shard easily pierced robot armor, and the ammunition was endless—no reloading required!

"Fire!!"

All the Avengers unleashed their power.

Tony's repulsors and missiles, Thor's lightning, Vision's Mind Stone beam, Hulk's fists, Gwen's webs, Wanda's magic... Multicolored energy erupted around the church, like a dazzling and deadly fireworks display.

The robots fell like wheat before a scythe, but even more rushed in to replace them.

"I'll crush... every last one of you!"

Ultron entered the fray personally.

Braving the concentrated firepower, it relied on the unbeatable defense of its Vibranium body to force its way through the line. It grabbed Thor, who was unleashing lightning, and violently hurled him away.

"For that Vision!"

Ultron charged toward the core.

"In your dreams!" Vision shot into the air and braced both hands against Ultron. The two smashed through the church's ruined walls and soared into the sky.

"Even without this body... I'm still stronger than you!"

Ultron roared, and the strange purple energy around its body erupted, briefly overpowering Vision in raw strength.

"Its energy is increasing!" Vision said with some difficulty. "It's using the Vibranium core for resonance! My beam can't penetrate that shield!"

"Knock it down!" Tony flew over and hovered in midair.

Thor came charging back as well, hammer in hand, lightning flickering in his eyes.

At this moment, the Avengers' three powerhouses—Captain America was still on the ground clearing robots—along with Vision, faced Ultron head-on.

"Melt it down!!" Tony shouted.

"Bzzz—!"

The Mind Stone on Vision's forehead fired a golden high-energy beam.

The focused cannons in Tony's chest and hands fired at full power simultaneously.

Thor summoned his strongest lightning and focused it through Mjolnir.

Three beams converged on Ultron's chest!

Gold, blue, and orange energy intertwined, producing unimaginable heat.

"Arghhh!" Ultron howled in agony, but it did not collapse immediately. That thin purple energy membrane actually held firm beneath the triple assault.

"This tin can is too tough!" Tony gritted his teeth as warning lights flashed madly inside his helmet. "Power output is at maximum! We're just short!"

"Then let's add more fuel to the fire!"

On the ground, Jiang Li had just driven a crystal spear through a robot's head. He looked at the stalemated battle in the sky, his eyes narrowing.

"Everyone, get behind my crystal wall! Hurry!"

Jiang Li roared and slapped the Omnitrix again.

"Physical attacks aren't enough against a metal like Vibranium. What we need is... the temperature of a solar core."

"It's Hero Time!"

A dull metallic impact rang out.

Jiang Li transformed into a short, stocky alien clad in heavy dark-green radiation-proof armor.

Prypiatosian—NRG!

"It's too cold in here. Let me warm this party up."

Jiang Li's deep voice, as though muffled inside a can, rang out.

Then, he made a mad move—he reached for the valve on his helmet and gave it a violent twist.

"Crack!"

The armor restraints capable of withstanding a nuclear explosion were voluntarily opened!

"Boom!!"

Blinding crimson light instantly illuminated the entire church ruin, and every Avenger involuntarily shut their eyes.

From within the once-heavy armor emerged a red humanoid creature composed entirely of radioactive energy, like a miniature sun.

The surrounding air was instantly ionized, and the diamond fragments on the ground began to soften.

"Take this—Nuclear Shockwave!!"

NRG opened his mouth and gathered energy in both hands. He deliberately controlled the direction of the radiation, compressing it into a straight line.

An incomparably massive crimson nuclear beam, like an erupting solar flare and carrying heat capable of destroying everything, directly joined the battle in the sky!

The original triple beam instantly became a quadruple beam!

"What is this?!" Ultron stared at the red light in terror.

The instant the nuclear energy joined in, the balance was broken.

That purple shield shattered like a soap bubble.

"No... that's impossible! I am eternal!"

Ultron let out one final scream of despair.

Before that four-colored torrent, powerful enough to burn through the earth's crust, even Vibranium could not endure.

"Bzzzz—splat!"

Ultron's body no longer glowed red-hot; it began to flow like a candle. Its arms, armor, and core were directly vaporized beneath the four beams, while the remaining parts melted into an unrecognizable lump of scrap metal and crashed heavily to the ground.

The four of them stopped at once.

Jiang Li quickly sealed himself back inside the heavy armor, returning to the appearance of a short, stocky metal can to prevent the radiation from accidentally harming Natasha and the others, who had begun to peek out.

"Whew... done." Jiang Li patted his scorching helmet. "The oven temperature was perfect. Medium-rare."

"Remind me." Tony opened his faceplate, looking at the smoking, shapeless lump of scrap on the ground before glancing at Jiang Li with lingering fear. "Never to play a 'who's hotter' game with you again. My sensors nearly got fried."

"Is it dead?" Steve walked over and kicked the scrap metal.

"This body is destroyed." Vision descended, the gem on his forehead somewhat dim. "But I can sense that one fragment of its consciousness escaped. Over there."

He pointed toward the depths of the forest.

"The last robot."

"I'll go," Vision said. "This is an ending I must bring about myself."

"Before that."

Jiang Li did not cancel his transformation. Instead, he looked toward Sokovia, which was still slowly falling.

"We haven't won yet. The civilians haven't all evacuated, but this city is about to give out."