An overwhelming shadow instantly engulfed the entire continent, preventing even a sliver of the blinding sunlight from penetrating.
Above the sky was a body so enormous that it exceeded the limits of human comprehension.
Arishem hovers outside Earth's orbit, and the half of its face that is visible is wider than the entire Earth.
Six cold, emotionless eyes swept across the blue planet beneath their feet as if looking down at ants.
At that moment, all of humanity on Earth stopped moving.
Pedestrians in the bustling city, soldiers stationed at the border, and ordinary people hiding in their rooms all clearly heard that voice.
It did not spread through any medium, yet it resounded directly in the minds of every living being, carrying an unchanging divinity and majesty, cold and devoid of any warmth.
"Mortals, you are attempting to obstruct the Emergence of the Celestial and disrupting the established order of the universe."
"Sacrificing a life-bearing planet to give birth to new Celestial and create new stars and life for the universe is an immutable rule."
"Your actions are a provocation against the cosmic order and a blasphemy against the will of the Celestial."
"Today, I, Arishem the Judge, will deliver the final judgment upon this rebellious planet."
Tony looked up at the colossal giant that blotted out the sky with a serious expression, and silently sheathed his sword.
He addressed his teammates, his tone deliberately relaxed, but everyone could hear the underlying seriousness in his voice:
"Guys, does anyone here have megalophobia? To be honest, this thing is really scary."
Steve gripped his shield so tightly it creaked, his brow furrowed deeply, and said in a deep voice, " Tony, this is not the time for jokes."
"What else? Old Popsicle, do you think I'd cry for help?" Tony rolled his eyes, his gaze fixed on Arishem in the sky.
Arishem's voice continued, still reciting the same set of cosmic rules and judgment declarations.
Tony raised his hand, and nanoparticles instantly converged. The pulse cannon in his palm lit up, and a short beam of light exploded in the void in front of Arishem, abruptly interrupting his words.
"Stop, stop, stop reading your lousy script, it's annoying to listen to." Tony raised his chin, his tone full of arrogance.
"Sorry, starting today, Earth is closed. Your rule of sacrificing a planet for the development of the universe doesn't work here."
To put it bluntly, our tiny, run-down planet doesn't really welcome uninvited guests like you who are oversized.
As soon as he finished speaking, Tony suddenly waved his hand, and a huge circular portal instantly appeared behind him.
A series of ear-piercing mechanical whistles rang out as pieces of red-gold armor, each several meters tall and gleaming with a cold, hard metallic sheen, hurtled out and precisely meshed and assembled in mid-air.
In just a few seconds, a ten-meter-tall Hulkbuster Armor was formed.
The mask opened, Tony leaped in, and the mask closed instantly.
" JARVIS, unlock all the high-powered weapons."
"Sir, all weapons are unlocked. Target locked on Arishem the Judge."
The thrusters on the soles of the Hulkbuster Armor burst into blinding flames, shooting straight into the sky with a devastating force, heading straight for Arishem.
The next second, a dense barrage of missiles, trailing plumes of flame, erupted from the muzzle. The Arc Reactor on his chest was powered at full capacity, and a thick pulse beam tore through the darkness. Following closely behind were antimatter projectiles that Tony had specially developed to deal with cosmic-level threats.
All the attacks were aimed at Arishem's enormous eye.
However.
An attack that could easily level an entire city fell on Arishem and didn't even cause a ripple.
Not to mention dents and scratches, not even a spark flew; it was like a pebble thrown into a boundless ocean, not even a ripple appeared.
Tony's pupils contracted sharply in mid-air; he didn't even have time to react.
Arishem didn't even raise his hand, but the gazes of all six eyes swept slightly in his direction.
An irresistible force, immense and beyond imagination, slammed into the Hulkbuster Armor in an instant.
It was like an invisible giant hand pinching an ant and slamming it hard onto the ground.
boom--!!!
A deafening roar erupted, Hulkbuster Armor, like a kite with a broken string, crashed back to the ground at ten times the speed it had taken off, creating a massive crater tens of meters deep in the hard earth, sending dust billowing into the sky.
" Tony!"
Steve's expression changed drastically, and he charged forward with his shield raised.
Wanda raised her hand and used Chaos Magic to sweep away the dust. Sersi and the others subconsciously followed. Even Ikaris, who had just been threatening, was now ashen-faced and unable to utter a word, with no will to resist whatsoever.
This is the power of the Celestial!
At the bottom of the giant crater, the Hulkbuster Armor was completely deformed, its outer shell cracked everywhere, and the Arc Reactor on its chest flickered, on the verge of going out.
Steve used his shield to pry open the deformed mask, revealing Tony covered in blood, with a deep, bone-revealing wound on his chest, barely breathing, and on the verge of death.
He struggled to open his eyes and saw Steve's contorted face, a forced smile revealing blood-stained teeth, his once white teeth now stained crimson.
"Don't worry, Old Popsicle... he's just badly injured, he's not going to die... why are you making such a long face?"
"Shut up, don't say a word." Steve gritted his teeth and carefully pulled him out of the shattered armor.
He only realized when he touched Tony's body that Tony's gruesome wounds were healing rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Fortunately, Tony had injected himself with a modified version of the Extremis Virus, which saved his life at the critical moment.
Natasha and Clint stood at the edge of the pit, looking at the enormous object in the sky, their hands gripping their weapons tighter and tighter, unusually silent.
They were all enhanced by Tony using the Extremis Virus and the Super Soldier Serum, and their physical abilities far exceeded the limits of ordinary people.
But in the face of an existence of this caliber, the guns and arrows in their hands are no different from toys.
Even Tony's painstakingly Hulkbuster Armor couldn't inflict any damage; sending them up would only be suicide.
Even so, neither of them retreated an inch.
Just then, two figures rushed out one after the other.
Vision's Mind Stone on his forehead burst forth with a dazzling yellow light, and his body blurred as he passed through layers of space, heading straight for Arishem.
On the other side, Jane Foster raised Mjolnir, and lightning gathered around her, forming a pillar of lightning that pierced the heavens and the earth, striking down at Arishem with overwhelming force.
"Ugly freak! You have no right to judge the Earth!"
Jane's roar exploded with thunder, but the next second, Arishem made no extra move, simply raising his hand casually, and an invisible barrier stood between the two of them.
Vision's Mind Stone beam collided with it and vanished instantly; Jane's lightning struck it, but didn't even cause a ripple.
Immediately afterwards, the barrier exploded, and a shockwave slammed into the two of them.
puff--
Both men coughed up blood at the same time, crashing back to the ground like kites with broken strings, sliding dozens of meters across the ground.
Mjolnir flew from his hand, forcing Vision's body into a ethereal state. The gem on his chest dimmed, and he completely lost his fighting ability.
One move.
With just a casual move, two top-tier combatants, who could roam freely on Earth, were completely rendered incapable of resistance.
Arishem's six eyes swept across the crowd on the ground once more, his gaze still devoid of any emotion, yet exuding an overwhelming sense of oppression capable of crushing everything.
He slowly raised one hand.
The surrounding space began to distort wildly, time seemed to stand still, and the power of the laws of the universe began to converge.
The moment that hand falls, everyone present, and even the entire Earth, will be completely wiped out in an instant, leaving not a trace.
Ikaris collapsed to the ground.
He had always believed in the will of the Celestial, but only now did he truly understand just how terrifying the power of the Celestial was.
Just when everyone thought they were doomed, a scarlet figure suddenly stood in front of them.
It was Wanda, dressed in a scarlet robe.
She raised her hand to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth, and the pendant on her chest opened with a click, revealing a Reality Stone inside that emitted a dark red light, which instantly burst into a dazzling brilliance.
Boundless Chaos Magic surged forth from her body, perfectly merging with the power of the Reality Stone's laws, erecting a massive crimson barrier in front of everyone.
boom--!
Arishem's power of law slammed heavily onto the barrier.
The entire Earth trembled, and the ground beneath Wanda's feet shattered instantly. She groaned, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth again, but the hand supporting the barrier did not waver in the slightest.
For the first time, Arishem's voice showed a hint of emotion, no longer the cold, emotionless tone it had before:
" Chaos Magic... and the Infinity Stones. I never imagined that someone like you would exist on this tiny planet."
Chaos Magic is a power that transcends the rules of the universe.
Even though Wanda has only just entered the Highfather Level and is far from the peak, with the support of the Reality Stone, she actually managed to block Arishem's attack.
"Earth is not a place you can come and go as you please, or destroy as you please."
Wanda's voice was icy, her eyes showing no fear. The Chaos Magic within her surged once more, its crimson light illuminating half of the shadowy sky.
Seeing this, Arishem finally became serious.
He raised his hand again, and an even more powerful force of law surged forth, crushing towards Wanda.
Boom boom boom-!
Wanda held on for several full minutes, single-handedly protecting the entire Earth for the time being.
Her legs were deeply embedded in the shattered ground, blood was seeping from her seven orifices, her vision was blurring, her magic power was almost completely drained, and even the light of the Reality Stone was beginning to flicker.
But she didn't back down an inch.
Even when she was on the verge of her limit, even when every second she endured was excruciatingly painful, she still gritted her teeth and persevered.
With her remaining magic, she tirelessly repaired the shattered barrier, using the power of the Reality Stone to soothe the wounds of her teammates and counteract the escaping power of the laws.
She knew very well that if she withdrew, everyone behind her, and the entire Earth, would be instantly reduced to ashes.
Unfortunately, the difference between the two is simply too great.
With a click.
The scarlet barrier eventually developed cracks.
Arishem's power surged in instantly, and Wanda could no longer hold on. She was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground and losing consciousness completely.
The Reality Stone rolled out of her loosened hand, its light dimming.
Arishem's gaze fell once more on the crowd on the ground, and his raised hand was finally about to fall.
At the critical moment.
A golden portal suddenly opened in front of everyone.
Inside the portal, the Ancient One, dressed in her signature yellow robes, gazed calmly at Arishem in the air.
" Arishem, Earth isn't a place you can destroy as you please."
"My protected kingdom is not a place for a Celestial like you to act so presumptuously!"
On the other side, Odin, clad in the Destroyer Armor and wielding the Gungnir Spear, unleashed a dazzling golden light from his single eye, releasing his terrifying divine power at the peak of the Highfather Level without reservation.
The two attacked simultaneously.
Gungnir Spear, imbued with invincible divine power, and carrying the Ancient One's thousand-meter-tall Sword of Vishanti, formed a golden pillar of light that pierced the heavens and earth, crashing fiercely into Arishem.
boom--!!!
Two forces powerful enough to shake the universe collided, and for the first time, Arishem's massive body was forced back a fraction of an inch.
The light in his six eyes finally turned serious, and he fixed his gaze on the Ancient One and Odin.
" The Sorcerer Supreme Ancient One; All-Father Odin —you dare to interfere with the judgment of the Celestial?!"