The Helicarriers' Plunge Crisis, a Stalemate over the Final Blow
Inside the escape pod, the air seemed to have solidified into glass.
Alexander Pierce could clearly hear the frantic pounding of his heart in his chest, a sound that drowned out everything—the hissing of colliding energies outside the window, and the uncontrollable chattering of his teeth.
He was stuck in mid-air.
An escape pod, priceless, absolutely secret, and a testament to the pinnacle of human technology, has now become the most ridiculous and pathetic birdcage.
And he was that trembling bird in the cage.
Three streams of light, three deities, surrounded him in the center.
The Scarlet Chaos Magic, like a poisonous vine, choked off his hope of escape. Wanda hovered directly in front of him, a cruel smile on her lips, as if she were admiring a toy about to be dismantled.
On the left, pitch-black Death Energy surged and condensed into Hela's proud and indifferent figure. On the Night Sky Sword in her hand, it seemed as if countless dead souls were wailing. In her eyes that looked down on all living beings, only the word "destruction" was written.
On the right, Dark Gold flames raged, and Jean Grey's figure appeared and disappeared in the flames. The violent Phoenix Force almost burned holes in the space itself. Her eyes were the most complex, showing both a morbid obsession with Lynn and an extreme greed for the "final trophy" before her.
A three-way standoff.
Three terrifying energies, each capable of easily wiping out a city, formed a delicate yet deadly balance around this small escape pod.
He is mine.
Wanda spoke first, her voice carrying an undisguised air of pride and possessiveness, a result of being praised by her master.
"Lynn... he acknowledged my accuracy."
"Precision?" Hela scoffed, her laughter as cold as a gust of wind blowing from Niflheim. "Catching a scurrying rat, you call that 'precision'? True art lies in the Ending! In making him experience the ultimate despair, turning him into a handful of ashes offered to his master! Get out of here, little Witch, don't defile this sacrifice with your lowly tricks!"
"Fly Ash?" Jean Grey's voice echoed eerily, carrying a strange, penetrating power on a spiritual level. "Too merciful, too boring. Hela, your methods, like your aesthetics, are filled with the stench of the dead. His brain, his current fear, is the most delicious delicacy. I will turn him into a living instrument that can only scream, to play the most magnificent symphony of terror for Lynn."
Every word they said was like a red-hot Steel Needles, piercing Pierce's eardrums and penetrating his soul.
He is not a spoil of war.
He was a tool they used to compete for favor!
"Attack!" Pierce roared inwardly. He would rather be killed instantly by any one of them than endure the torment of being stared at by three prehistoric Beast at the same time, his soul being crushed inch by inch.
However, no one made a move.
Because whoever lands the "final blow" determines the ultimate victory in the competition.
Neither side was willing to back down.
The stalemate was pushed to its extreme at this moment.
Wanda's Scarlet eyes narrowed slightly, and the Chaos Magic wrapped around the escape pod suddenly tightened!
"Crunch--Crunch--"
The escape pod's outer shell groaned under the strain, and visible twisting cracks began to appear on its alloy armor. She was going to assert her dominance through action!
"Presumptuous!"
Hela was enraged, seeing Wanda's actions as a blatant provocation. The Night Sky Sword swung down fiercely, dozens of dark Death Energy transforming into sharp tentacles that, disregarding spatial distance, lashed out at the Chaos Magic!
Jean Grey's reaction was even more direct!
Buzz--!
The Dark Gold Phoenix Force erupted suddenly, no longer a mere intimidation, but transformed into a raging sea of fire, attempting to devour Wanda's Chaos Magic, Hela's Death Energy, and the pitiful escape pod in the middle!
If she can't have it, then nobody else can!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The three energies at the Skyfather-level completely spiraled out of control in that instant!
They held nothing back, no longer had any tactics, only the most primal, frenzied clash of jealousy and anger!
Scarlet magic distorts reality, pitch-black energy Oblivion life, and dark gold flames burn souls!
Above Washington, D.C., the three-colored sky seemed to have transformed into a giant, chaotic mixer. The Spatial Barrier trembled violently, emitting mournful cries of unbearable strain, and tiny Spatial Rift appeared and disappeared uncertainly at the center of the energy collision.
The aftershocks of this energy spread outwards like a tsunami.
The first to be hit were those three colossal Helicarrier that Wanda had locked in the air!
Sizzle... Sizzle sizzle!!!
A deafening crackling sound of electrical activity echoed through the sky!
On the surfaces of the three Helicarriers, countless energy lines and electronic components burst into dazzling sparks one after another under the violent energy Impact!
Wanda's altered "Zola Algorithm"Underlying Logic was inherently in a highly unstable state. Now, under the repeated onslaught of three distinctly different top-level energies, the entire system has completely collapsed!
On the control panel, countless Scarlet garbled characters flashed wildly, and finally, all the screens went completely black!
It lost the forced lock of the Chaos Magic and also lost the support of its own power system.
The three steel Beast, which resembled floating islands, trembled violently in mid-air.
Immediately afterwards, their massive hulls began to slowly tilt at an extremely terrifying angle.
Beneath the ship, the massive Antigravity Engine, which had been emitting a ghostly blue light, went out completely after letting out a final, mournful wail.
Dead silence.
A suffocating silence that lasted for several seconds.
Then...
Come down!
Three Helicarrier, laden with high explosives and nuclear fuel, crashed down upon the brightly lit city below, like three mountain ranges wiped from the Sky Dome by the hand of God, carrying unparalleled weight and destructive force!
"Oh My God..."
On the top floor of Triskelion, Nick Fury, hiding in the ruins, suddenly had his pupils dilate to their maximum size.
Through the enormous hole, he saw three shadows that were rapidly expanding and obscuring the entire sky.
He saw the end of the world.
An absurd apocalypse triggered by the jealousy and quarrels of three women.
High in the sky.
Hela, Wanda, and Jean also noticed this sudden change.
Their energy clash paused briefly due to this unexpected crisis.
For the first time, a look of astonishment appeared on their faces.
Destroy a city?
For them, it was just a matter of a snap of the fingers.
But... not in this way!
This was not a splendid sacrifice, not a perfect performance! This was... an ugly, out-of-control accident caused by their infighting!
This will... upset Lynn!
This thought, like ice water poured over their fervent heads, instantly cooled their anger by more than half.
The rules of the competition quietly changed at that moment.
Who can clean up this mess? Who can win back their master's approval amidst this impending destruction?
The three men's gazes clashed fiercely in the air, and a new stalemate formed once again.
No one wanted to be the first to lift the Helicarrier, because that would mean handing over the ultimate prize, "Pierce," to the other two.
But no one dared to let the Helicarrier crash, because that would mean all three of them would become the culprits in this failed performance.
In those few seconds of hesitation and maneuvering, the three Helicarriers had transformed into three black meteors, their massive shadows completely enveloping Capitol Hill. The piercing sound of air being torn apart was clearly audible to every desperate citizen on the ground.
Destruction is just a breath away.
Negative Zone.
Lynn sat atop the Bone Throne, his deep eyes reflecting the three crashing Helicarrier.
The playful smile that had always graced his lips had vanished without him noticing.
He let out a soft, almost inaudible sigh.
That sigh carried a hint of helplessness, a hint of disappointment, and... a faint annoyance at having his fun interrupted by mischievous children.
"He's such a worry."
He muttered to himself.
It seems it's time for him, the director, to personally call a halt to this farce.