The air was eerily quiet; you could hear even your own breathing clearly in the entire space.
The Avengers stood frozen in place, their hearts filled with mixed emotions, a feeling of tightness and unease they couldn't quite describe.
Just now they were righteously stopping Rimuru, saying he was too extreme and too cruel.
But after hearing that tragic future that no one could change, everyone fell silent.
Yes, they are concerned about the lives of hundreds of thousands of people from other races, and they have moral principles and bottom lines.
But from beginning to end, what is truly destined to perish is the entirety of human civilization.
Steve gripped the shield strap tightly, his eyes filled with complex emotions.
He upheld justice and principles throughout his life, and abhorred Carnage and disorderly tyranny.
But at this moment, he needs to Carnage another race to preserve his own civilization.
Hydra is an internal traitor who stirs up trouble and harms its own people; naturally, everyone has the right to kill it.
But he was at least human.
The Skrulls are alien invaders who came to replace humans and devour the Earth.
The two are fundamentally different.
Bucky stood silently to the side, but his eyes turned cold.
He had witnessed the darkest aspects of war and knew all too well what it meant to condone evil.
If you show leniency towards intruders, the innocent ordinary people will ultimately pay the price and suffer a terrible fate.
Tony pursed his lips, unusually refraining from arguing or refuting.
His mind raced, reviewing Rimuru's entire vision of the future.
The original Avengers will eventually meet their end, and with no one to take their place, Thanos is watching with predatory eyes.
Add to that the hundreds of thousands of Skrull spies who could ignite civil unrest at any moment...
This is not a crisis; it is clearly a densely packed, layered deadlock.
Banner sighed softly, completely calming down.
Science is all about probability, and now all the probabilities of risk point to the worst possible outcome.
Hawkeye and Black Widow exchanged a glance, both seeing guilt in each other's eyes.
They had just joined in criticizing Rimuru, thinking he was too Coldblood.
Looking back now, he was the only one who was truly clear-headed and willing to take the blame from beginning to end.
The person who was most upset in the entire game was actually Nick Fury.
He stood in the corner, his face dark, feeling both ashamed and admiring.
This huge scapegoat was originally entirely his, and belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D..
For decades, the Skrulls to take root and infiltrate the earth.
He should have been the one to bear all the consequences for creating such a huge mess.
But now, it is Rimuru who has stepped forward and taken all the blame and dirty work.
Rimuru doesn't care about right or wrong, fame, or being misunderstood by the world.
He just wanted to forcefully reverse this doomed future.
Fury took a step forward, breaking the deathly silence of the entire arena.
His tone was calm and steady, with an unprecedented solemnity.
" Rimuru, S.H.I.E.L.D.. and I are fully responsible for this matter."
"It was my negligence before, and I take full responsibility."
"From now on, we'll cooperate exactly as you arrange things."
Without hesitation or reservation, they openly took sides.
Rimuru glanced at everyone, his expression remaining calm.
He didn't blame everyone for their earlier objections; he genuinely understood.
These Avengers are people who grew up upholding the light and the rules.
They have never witnessed the destruction of a civilization, nor have they experienced the despair of genocide.
It's perfectly normal to be soft-hearted, conflicted, and morally upright.
Rimuru quietly observed the complex expressions on the faces of the people before him, his heart at peace.
He didn't blame the Avengers for having reservations, after all, the vast majority of them lived in peace and protection.
They had never witnessed the collapse of civilization, so naturally they were reluctant to break their moral bottom line.
But he's different.
Although he only personally experienced the apocalypse of a civilization's destruction once, that memory was etched into his very bones, and he could never forget it for the rest of his life.
That was a wasteland after Skynet's rampage, the most desperate hell on earth he had ever witnessed.
He still remembers that scene vividly.
The once bustling and brightly lit metropolis has been completely reduced to a desolate ruin.
The high-rise building collapsed with a roar, exposing its steel frame, which was covered with cracks and rust.
The ground was littered with ruins, devoid of smoke and life, and even the slightest breeze seemed particularly desolate.
The vast world was devoid of any sign of life, utterly desolate and barren.
The surviving humans dared not show themselves, and could only huddle in dark underground corners, cautiously eking out a living.
They lived a humble and difficult life, suffering from fear and hunger every day.
Those dilapidated buildings, broken roads and bridges, and desolate streets and alleys.
What was once a city is now a cold tombstone of old human civilization.
Rimuru slowly closed his eyes, and the scene from back then reappeared in his mind.
At that moment, he stood atop Galactron, looking down over the entire wasteland.
As far as the eye could see, there was only desolation and utter silence.
The entire land was devoid of life and sound, leaving only devastation and ruin.
Even though he ultimately took decisive action and completely wiped out the rampaging Skynet.
But the human civilization in that world has long since been completely wiped out and completely severed.
Even if a small amount of Spark remain, what then?
The old civilization, order, and traditions have long since vanished.
Everything they rebuilt afterward was built upon the bones of the old civilization.
Whether we can rebuild our homes and continue the Spark of civilization has always been an unknown.
No one can guarantee whether the surviving humans will be able to endure the endless darkness and live to see the day of rebirth.
He had also seen Cybertron in ruins, a planet far more powerful and prosperous than humanity, and that was only the result of the Cybertron Civil War.
Now the Skrulls are even planning to incite a civil Civil War among humans and then take their place.
He also witnessed Cybertron rise from ruins. Cybertron was undoubtedly lucky; a civilization that was almost extinct was reborn. Rimuru didn't believe that humanity would be so lucky.
It was this brief yet profoundly memorable experience that was etched into Rimuru's heart.
He knew better than anyone that the destruction of a civilization was always more devastating than so-called "murderous crimes."
After hearing Rimuru's firsthand account of the apocalypse, the last trace of resistance in everyone's hearts completely vanished.
No one is dwelling on so-called mercy anymore, and no one is spouting empty moral bottom lines.
Everyone knew perfectly well that compared to the lives of hundreds of thousands of alien races, no one could afford the cost of the complete annihilation of human civilization.
Steve was the first to let go of his last bit of stubbornness.
He upheld justice, but what he protected was not rampant soft-heartedness, but the future of humanity.
Now that the pros and cons were laid bare, he nodded silently, which was considered his complete acquiescence to the plan.
Bucky had no objections whatsoever.
Having emerged from the flames of war, he knew best that showing mercy to invaders was tantamount to being cruel to one's own people.
Tony let out a soft breath, completely abandoning his previous attempt to dissuade him.
After rapidly weighing all the risks in his mind, he had to admit that Rimuru saw further than anyone else.
Banner, Hawkeye, and Black Widow all composed themselves and nodded silently.
They no longer felt Rimuru cold-hearted; instead, they felt only admiration for him.
Everyone else was afraid of being infamous and of getting blood on their hands, but Rimuru was willing to step forward and take all of it on.
Finally, Nick Fury appeared extremely calm.
He expressed his agreement directly through his eyes, indicating 100% cooperation.
At that moment, no one objected, and no one raised any further questions.
Everyone present tacitly agreed to Rimuru's plan of action.
Seeing that everyone's mindset was completely unified and there were no more disagreements.
Rimuru began to explain his plan.