The song faded into the woods, and the last vestiges of warmth sank into the damp, cold earth.
The brief peace, like a fragile bubble, was burst by a soft "click".
The Kraven the Hunter stopped tearing at the fish, his Beast -like eyes snapping open as he looked through the layers of tree canopy to the dark night sky.
Almost at the same time, Cyclone Lei Ling, who had been quietly leaning against the tree trunk with her eyes closed, also opened her eyes. Three black dots falling from the sky were reflected in her icy blue pupils.
"Up there!" she whispered.
Everyone immediately went on high alert.
Steve picked up the two triangular shields from the ground, Amadeus stood in front of Seol Hee and the White Fox, while Moonstone floated up, its body shimmering with golden light.
Three figures landed slowly on the open ground not far from the fire, without stirring up a speck of dust.
The leader wore a green Cloak, and his full-body metal armor reflected a cold gleam in the firelight. Every survivor present recognized his iron mask.
Doctor Doom, Victor von Doom.
Behind him, an exceptionally burly boy with pale purple skin grinned, twisting his thick neck with a crisp "crack" sound, his eyes filled with a thirst for battle.
The other was even more bizarre; it was a skeleton draped in a tattered black Cloak, with Symbiote writhing wildly across its body.
Young Thanos and Black Skull.
The three members of the Masters of Evil League: Doom Supreme.
" Doctor Doom..." Luna Snow looked at that familiar iron mask, a faint glimmer of hope flickering in her despairing eyes. She glanced at her teammates beside her, her voice uncertain.
"He's back... Is there any hope for us?"
"This guy's got bad intentions." The Kraven the Hunter lowered his body, like a cheetah ready to pounce, a deep growl escaping his throat as he stared intently at the Young Thanos who was rubbing his hands together in a fierce fight.
Hope is poison; in this messed-up world, anything that suddenly appears can only bring deeper despair.
Young Thanos was clearly impatient. He clenched his fist, which cracked like a firecracker, and was about to warm up this group of seemingly weak "rats" when the sky suddenly darkened.
A deeper, more complete darkness descended, as if the light source had been directly swallowed up.
A biting wind swept through the forest without warning, blowing away the fire that everyone had worked so hard to build, leaving only a few wisps of smoke.
Then, to everyone's horror, countless undead skeletons clad in tattered armor emerged from the ground, from the shadows of the trees, and from the air. They densely covered the entire forest, yet made no sound.
They knelt down in unison, on one knee.
It was as if they were welcoming their king.
This grand and bizarre scene caused both sides, who had just been at loggerheads, to stop their actions.
Doctor Doom's iron mask lifted slightly, the fanatical smile on the Young Thanos's face faded, and even the Symbiote on Black Skull twitched violently.
A figure slowly descended from the sky amidst the worship of thousands of skeletons.
She wore dark green, form-fitting armor with black and green patterns flowing across it as if they were alive, and a skull burning with ghostly flames floated on her shoulder.
Beneath the dark green cloak surged a ghostly green death energy.
He wore a sharp crown of death, and in the center of the crown, a golden gem radiated a bewitching light— the Mind Stone.
On her chest and shoulder armor, the five Infinity Stones— Space, Reality, Power, Time, and Soul Stone —were prominently displayed, each gleaming with a deadly radiance representing the origin of the universe.
Hela, the Goddess of Death.
Her gaze swept across the room, lingering briefly on Doctor Doom before settling on Steve Rogers and his group, her eyes looking at them like they were a few rats huddled in a corner, barely clinging to life.
"You tenacious rats," her voice was cold and arrogant, carrying the indifference of a god looking down upon ants, "I will grant you one last act of mercy."
"Surrender, or death?"
Steve Rogers looked at her, at that face he'd fucking wanted to punch the crap out of.
Tony's reactor flickered wildly on his chest, and Peter's Silk-Shooter were still stained with dried blood.
That fleeting warmth, that momentary peace, was all crushed by this bitch's own hands.
"Pooh!"
He spat a mouthful of phlegm onto the ground.
"You son of a bitch!" Steve's roar tore through the deathly silence. He pointed his shield at Hela in mid-air, his stubble-covered face contorted with madness.
"If you've got the guts, kill me! Stop your fucking bastard talk!"
Hela's face showed not a trace of anger, only a faint annoyance at being provoked by the insects.
"Very well, you've successfully angered me."
She casually raised her hand, grasped the Nightsword, and swung it forward with a flick of her wrist.
There was no earth-shattering display, only a pure black energy wave, seemingly capable of devouring all light and sound, like a moving void rift, blasting straight towards the survivors on the ground.
Faced with that energy wave, everyone felt a tremor from the depths of their Soul Stone, as if they would be completely erased in the next second, leaving not even a trace of their existence.
"Damn it!" Amadeus Zhao cursed, not even having time to calculate, his body had already reacted instinctively.
" Hulk--!"
The boy's slender body swelled instantly with a roar, his emerald green muscles ripping through his clothes. A green giant, larger and angrier than ever before, rose from the ground, his arms crossed in front of him, and with his indestructible chest, he rammed head-on into the black energy wave.
"Boom--!!!"
At the moment of impact, there was no sound, only absolute silence.
Immediately afterwards, a terrifying energy storm exploded outwards from Hulk, tearing away layers of the ground beneath his feet and uprooting massive trees around him, instantly reducing them to dust.
"Ugh!"
Amadeus let out a painful roar, his massive body slid backward for over a hundred meters, carving two deep furrows in the ground before he finally came to a stop.
He knelt on the ground, his body emitting black smoke. On his skin, which was strong enough to withstand any physical attack, a deep wound that exposed bone had appeared. Black death energy, like a maggot clinging to bone, was constantly eroding his body.
He blocked it, but at a heavy price.
However, at that moment, a discordant voice, filled with fanatical fighting spirit, rang out.
"You... are a suitable prey!"
The Young Thanos looked at Hela, who was floating in the air, and at the six shining Infinity Stones on her body. Instead of fear, his eyes burned with unprecedented excitement.
He pushed off the ground with a sudden burst, his entire body like a purple meteorite, shooting straight towards Hela with a sonic boom that tore through Hela air.
Hela didn't even bother using her sword; she simply raised her left hand impatiently, and the purple light of the Power Stone flashed by.
She slapped the charging Young Thanos as if he were a fly.
"Smack!"
A deafeningly clear and extremely loud bang.
The once arrogant Young Thanos, without even touching Hela's clothes, was slapped squarely across the face. He was sent flying back at ten times the speed he had come from, turning into a shooting star and disappearing instantly.
The entire venue fell into a deathly silence.
Both the survivors and the Black Skull were stunned by this overwhelming scene.
That's Thanos! Even if it's just a teenage version! And he just... got slapped away like that?
"Useless." Doctor Doom looked in the direction the meteor had disappeared and let out a disdainful snort from beneath his iron mask.
He slowly turned to the Black Skull beside him and said in an unquestionable commanding tone, "Those guys on the ground are yours."
After saying that, he ignored everyone and slowly rose into the air, facing Hela, who held the Six Infinity Stones.
"This woman," Doom's gaze pierced through the cold mask, meeting Hela's sinister emerald eyes, "Is mine."
He opened his arms, and a dense, dark green magical energy, completely different from Hela's death power, began to gather in his palms. The air was filled with the smell of sulfur and decay, and countless twisted vengeful spirits appeared and disappeared around him.
"Necromantic magic?" Hela finally showed a hint of interest, scrutinizing Doctor Doom. "Interesting. Let's see how long mortal magic can struggle against me."
"Mortals?" Doctor Doom laughed, his laughter amplified through the metal mask, becoming distorted and grating. "Goddess, you will soon understand that before Doom, you are no different from those ants!"
Before he finished speaking, he thrust his hands forward with a sudden burst of energy, and the surging necromantic energy transformed into countless roaring skeletal pythons that devoured Hela.
Hela merely smiled dismissively. The Time Stone, and the oncoming magical attacks quickly decayed, disintegrated, and vanished the moment they approached her.
Thus began a battle between gods.