Force field collapse, Susan's absolute defense at the cost of her life
It was an absolute coldness, as if rejected by the universe itself.
Gwen Stacy Stacy knelt on the ground, one hand gripping Charles's wheelchair tightly, the other bracing against the gravel floor. The excruciating pain in her back almost made her faint. But at this moment, all the physical pain paled in comparison to the gaze fixed on her.
In the center of the plaza, the Red-haired Woman enveloped in Dark Gold flames, Jean Grey, slowly turned her head.
Her eyes, which once burned with destructive flames, no longer held the madness she had shown when confronting Wanda; only a pure, furious rage remained, like that of prey being ravaged by ants.
"You... you're asking for death!"
The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a chilling wind from the deepest Abyss, each syllable carrying a temperature that could burn away the soul.
The moment the words fell, the Dark Gold sea of fire that had been clashing violently with the Chaos Magic suddenly contracted! All the flames abandoned their entanglement with Wanda and Hela, and converged and compressed at an unprecedented speed!
"Uh--!"
A silent, piercing scream echoed deep within everyone's soul.
That ball of flame transformed into a gigantic Firebird with a wingspan exceeding thirty meters, its entire body composed of pure Dark Gold flames!
Every feather of the Firebird was burning, dripping golden magma powerful enough to melt space itself. Its eyes, composed of destruction, were fixed on the distant white figure, cradling a wheelchair and appearing as insignificant as dust.
It's over.
Only those two words remained in Gwen Stacy's mind.
Her Spider-Sense was no longer screaming, but wailing and collapsing. Under the Firebird's lock, she felt every cell in her body trembling, as if she would be completely erased from existence at any moment.
She had just used all her strength to snatch back the spoils of war ordered by her master from the melee of three Skyfather-level powerhouses.
Before she could even savor that morbid satisfaction, the shadow of death loomed over her.
I'm not reconciled.
I'm really not willing to accept this.
It didn't matter if she died, but she didn't want to die so miserably and meaninglessly in front of Lynn.
"Boom!"
The Dark Golden Firebird moved.
Without any unnecessary movements, it simply flapped its wings, and its entire body transformed into a Dark Gold meteor that pierced the heavens and earth, hurtling straight toward Gwen Stacy!
Everything along the way—air, dust, twisted metal—was vaporized and Oblivion the moment it came into contact with the meteor.
That was not an attack.
That's erasure.
It is a cosmic-level force, the most unreasonable dimensional Dimensionality-Reduction Strike against lower beings!
Gwen Stacy instinctively shielded Charles's wheelchair behind her, using her own small, battered body to face the destructive light that seemed capable of swallowing everything. She closed her eyes, awaiting death.
However, the anticipated Oblivion did not occur.
"Buzz--Buzz--Buzz--!"
A series of strange buzzing sounds, so dense they almost formed a continuous chorus, suddenly rang out in front of her!
Gwen Stacy suddenly opened her eyes.
Before her, a semi-transparent barrier composed of countless pale blue hexagonal energy squares had appeared out of nowhere.
Then came the second piece, the third piece... the tenth piece... the thirtieth piece!
Thirty layers of Force Field Shield, radiating a ghostly blue light and intricately connected by a complex structure, instantly formed an impregnable Bastion in front of her, like layers of Hive!
Each layer of Force Field shimmers with the boundless energy radiance originating from the Negative Zone!
"Susan?!"
Gwen Stacy gasped in shock and turned around in disbelief.
Not far away, on the broken wall, Susan Stone stood with her arms outstretched, palms facing her.
The former mistress of the Baxter Building was now as pale as a sheet, with veins bulging on her forehead, and her body was trembling violently from excessive energy exertion.
Her eyes were bloodshot as she stared intently at the Dark Golden Firebird rushing towards her. There was no sympathy or pity in her eyes, only a near-mad obsession with preserving the "victory" at all costs!
"Idiot!" Susan gritted her teeth, her voice forced out through clenched teeth, filled with suppressed rage. "You think you've won just because you got the spoils? If this crazy woman destroys them, we'll all be punished along with you!"
She wasn't saving Gwen Stacy.
She was trying to preserve this "team asset" that she could use to curry favor with Lynn!
Gwen Stacy, that damned Spider Woman, stole the credit in a way that Susan utterly despised and bordered on suicide, which had already set Susan's jealousy ablaze.
But now, they face a common enemy.
That new, arrogant, red-haired madwoman who wants to burn everyone alive!
If Dark Phoenix were to kill Gwen Stacy and destroy Charles right in front of her, it wouldn't just be Gwen Stacy's defeat, but a collective and humiliating defeat for this group of "old folks" in front of Lynn!
This means they won't even be able to keep a single piece of their spoils!
This means that their value is even less than that of a newcomer who has just arrived!
This is something Susan absolutely cannot tolerate!
"Negative Zone Matrix... Energy output power... Three hundred percent!"
Susan let out a suppressed roar as the Negative Zone energy within her body was squeezed out with unprecedented frenzy, continuously pouring into the thirty layers of Force Field through her body!
"Warning! Warning! Baxter Building Main Energy Matrix is overloaded!"
"Backup Energy System overload!"
"The Energy Network is about to collapse! Repeat! The Energy Network is about to collapse!"
On the top floor, Natasha's monitor screen, which displayed the energy supply data for the entire building, was instantly flooded with a glaring red alarm!
The Baxter Building, the "heart of New York," is self-destructively channeling all its energy, without reservation, to the woman standing atop the ruins!
At this very moment.
The Dark Gold Firebird has finally arrived!
"Boom--!!!"
A deafening roar that defies description.
That wasn't an explosion; it was a head-on collision of two extreme energies!
The Dark Gold meteor of destruction crashed violently into the dark blue Hive Bastion!
The first layer of Force Field, upon contact, did not even cause a ripple, just like thin paper burned through by a red-hot iron, silently Oblivion!
Second floor! Third floor! Fourth floor!
The Force Field shattered at a speed too fast for the naked eye to perceive!
"Puff!"
Susan suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, her body swayed violently, and she almost fell over.
Crimson blood slowly seeped from the corners of her mouth, nostrils, and even the corners of her eyes and ear canals.
Blood is flowing from all seven orifices!
This is a fatal injury caused by the combined effects of the body's explosive energy backlash and the excessive exploitation of its potential!
But her hand remained firmly held up.
Her bloodshot eyes were fixed on the front, the obsession and madness in them even overshadowing the excruciating pain in her body!
She can't back down!
She had to prove to Lynn that she was the most valuable!
Wanda possesses Chaos Magic, Hela possesses the Death Force, Gwen Stacy possesses the fearless drive to act.
And she, Susan Stone, possesses the entire Baxter Building, an inexhaustible source of Negative Zone energy! In terms of "foundation" and "logistical value," no one can compare to her!
"Hold on...!!!"
Susan let out Beast- like roar, and more blood gushed from her mouth, staining her clothes red.
Under her relentless pressure, the speed at which the Force Field collapsed finally slowed down slightly.
The fifteenth floor!
The surface of the Force Field began to tremble violently, and countless spiderweb-like cracks spread wildly!
With a loud "bang!", the entire Force Field shattered!
The twentieth floor!
The Force Field lasted for less than a tenth of a second before it twisted and deformed under the burning of the Dark Golden Flame, eventually turning into countless points of light!
The twenty-fifth floor!
The violent clash of energy caused unstable folds to appear in the surrounding space. Gwen Stacy was thrown backward by the escaping high-temperature airwaves, and could only cling tightly to her wheelchair to barely keep herself from being blown away.
Her face was filled with shock.
She never imagined that Susan, who usually acted like an arrogant mistress and only knew how to use scheming and tricks to exclude them, would unleash such a resolute and crazy power in order to protect her "victories"!
At this moment, they were no longer competitors.
They were kindred spirits, desperately fighting for the approval of the same man, in Extremis...
On the other side of the square.
Wanda and Hela also stopped what they were doing and watched the scene with different expressions.
Wanda's eyes were filled with undisguised jealousy and murderous intent. The value Susan was displaying at that moment made her feel intensely threatened.
Hela crossed her arms, a cruel sneer playing on her lips, as if watching an amusing gladiatorial contest. In her eyes, the struggles of these mortal women, no matter how intense, were nothing more than the tearing apart of ants, childish and laughable.
The top floor of the Baxter Building.
Lynn stood in front of the broken French windows, holding a wine glass, coldly watching everything that was happening downstairs.
Susan's relentless efforts, Gwen Stacy's decisiveness, Wanda's obsession, Hela's arrogance...
Everything was laid bare before his eyes.
He was like a supreme Deity, watching the most magnificent yet bloodiest drama, a drama of love and jealousy, that he himself had instigated.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The Force Field at the twenty-sixth, twenty-seventh, and twenty-eighth layers shattered one after another!
Only the last two floors are left!
The light from the Dark Golden Firebird almost penetrated the thin Force Field, illuminating Susan's bloodied and mangled face.
"Ughhhhh--!"
Susan let out a final, desperate roar, pouring in the last ounce of strength she had left!
The thirtieth layer of the Force Field, the last line of Defense Line, let out a mournful cry of unbearable strain under the sharp beak of the Dark Golden Firebird. A glaring crack started from the point of impact and quickly spread to the entire shield!
The defenses are about to collapse completely!
Susan's vision went black, her body swayed, and she finally couldn't hold on any longer, collapsing to one knee. Blood gushed out like a fountain, staining the ground beneath her red.
She has reached her limit.
However, the Dark Gold Firebird, still carrying the will to incinerate everything, pressed down fiercely!
Just as the crack was about to completely burst open, and the light of destruction was about to engulf everything.
On the top floor, Lynn, who had been observing coldly, finally slowly put down his wine glass.
His gaze pierced through layers of obstacles, not landing on Gwen Stacy, who was about to be killed, nor on Susan, who was fighting with all her might, but instead locking onto the Dark Golden Firebird that represented cosmic-level destructive power...
That look in his eyes was cold and indifferent, yet it carried a hint of... annoyance at being offended.
"Have you gone crazy enough?"