"You can actually use Kamehameha."
Theo's eyes twitched slightly as he watched Lucien's movements, clearly startled by what he was seeing.
Lucien gave no reply. The blue energy sphere in his hand radiated more than ten brilliant rays, flooding the sky and the land with blinding blue and white light.
"Next time we meet, we'll rely on our own abilities."
Theo fell silent for a moment. The intent to continue fighting faded from his expression. He knew he could not kill Lucien quickly, and dragging this battle out would only put him at a disadvantage. His true objective remained the six Infinite Gems.
As long as he completed this mission, he would gain access to abilities like infinite lifespan, time reversal, and future prediction.
From what he had seen so far, both Darkness and the Reincarnator were overwhelmingly powerful, far too difficult to eliminate. Compared to them, collecting the Infinite Gems was the more achievable path. Besides, Theo still felt uneasy about Zhou Tianyu's presence on Earth.
His body slowly broke apart into countless particles of light. Their eyes met one last time before Theo vanished completely.
Shrinking Earth into an Inch Talisman, a one time consumable, allowed the user to drastically shorten distance and reach a destination at incredible speed.
Lucien stared at the empty space where Theo had disappeared, his expression darkening.
The Kamehameha in his hand erupted.
It transformed into a golden white beam that shot forward like a radiant comet, tearing through the cold vacuum of space as it sped away from Neptune toward Earth. A long trail of light stretched behind it, cutting across the endless darkness.
Moments later, the attack struck the comet Theo had left behind.
A massive explosion followed.
Blinding light swallowed everything as Neptune trembled under the force. The planet began to collapse, losing nearly half of its mass in a violent chain reaction. Countless meteor fragments burst outward in every direction, scattering like dazzling fireworks across the void.
Even at Lucien's incredible speed, traveling from Neptune to Earth would still take time.
Theo, however, with the aid of his talisman, had already cut that time in half.
---
At S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, the situation was far from calm.
Nick Fury, Stark, Thor, Coulson, and the others had all returned. Most of them were covered in bandages, bearing the marks of recent battles. Loki had already been captured and imprisoned.
The Helicarrier hovered high in the sky, over a thousand meters above ground, cloaked within the clouds and invisible to the world below.
Inside the tense conference room, the atmosphere felt heavy.
Present were Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow, and Hawkeye. The core members of the Avengers had gathered, their attention fixed on the Cosmic Cube and the Mind Stone scepter resting on the table.
Above them, four holographic projections floated in the air, displaying images and limited information about Whitebeard Theo, Sword God Zhou Tianyu, Savior Lucien, and the Supreme Mage, the Ancient One.
Nick Fury had already briefed everyone on the situation. Now, the weight of that knowledge pressed down on them all.
Stark leaned back in his chair, his face pale, his chest wrapped tightly in bandages. He looked worse than anyone else, his condition drawing uneasy glances.
Thor, in contrast, had largely recovered. He stood firm, his presence steady, while even Hawkeye, despite his broken arm, seemed in better shape than Stark.
"Does anyone have any opinions?" Nick Fury asked, his voice calm but heavy.
Banner frowned deeply. "You called me here to deal with those four? If everything you said is true, that's no different from sending me to my death."
Frustration was clear in his tone. These individuals were on an entirely different level. They could destroy planets with ease. Facing them was not a battle, it was suicide.
"I think I need to go back and recover," Stark added, coughing lightly. For once, even he did not try to mask his unease.
The gap in power was simply too great.
"Are we just going to sit here and wait to die?" Nick Fury asked.
Silence filled the room.
This was no longer a threat limited to a single person or organization. It was a crisis that involved the entire Earth. No one could escape it.
Natasha finally broke the silence. "Are those legends about the Supreme Mage real?" she asked, gesturing toward the projection of the Ancient One.
"We're still confirming," Fury replied. Though he personally believed it, he forced himself to remain cautious.
"Then maybe our only chance lies with these two," Natasha continued, enlarging the projections of Lucien and the Ancient One.
So far, they were the only ones who had shown even the slightest hint of goodwill.
Thor and Stark exchanged glances, both recalling the Ancient One's warning.
"You can trust Savior two parts. Whitebeard and Sword God, only one part."
Even at full trust being ten, those two barely reached a fraction of that.
"You're suggesting we rely on them?" someone asked.
"Do we have any other option?" Natasha replied.
Banner raised his hand. "I'm confused. If all of them are after the Infinite Gems, then why not just send these things away?"
He pointed directly at the Cosmic Cube and the scepter.
"If they're not on Earth, then there's no reason for those people to stay here. We could just throw them out of the Solar System. Simple solution."
His gaze shifted toward Nick Fury, his distrust of S.H.I.E.L.D. evident.
The room fell silent again.
The logic was sound. If the gems left Earth, the danger might leave with them.
Stark exhaled. "This guy," he said, nodding toward Thor, "came here for his brother, and he said the Cube belongs to Asgard. Why not take both of them back with you? I don't have a problem with that."
All eyes turned to Thor.
Thor remained calm on the surface, but doubt lingered in his mind. Bringing such dangerous objects back to Asgard could invite even greater threats. Zhou Tianyu alone had already proven how terrifying their enemies were.
Nick Fury said nothing, his face unreadable.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had been using the Cosmic Cube for weapon development. Letting it go was not a decision he took lightly. Yet, if removing it meant saving Earth, the choice became harder to ignore.
"Director, we have new developments!"
The conference room doors burst open as Maria Hill rushed in.
With swift movements, she activated the holographic display, replacing the previous projections with a new image.
"This is Neptune."
Everyone froze.
On the screen, the distant planet was visibly collapsing, half of its mass already gone. A massive explosion radiated outward, and a storm of meteor fragments surged through space, heading toward the inner planets, including Earth.
"What happened?" someone muttered. "Neptune doesn't just explode."
Hill zoomed in further.
At the forefront of the destruction, a golden white streak tore through space like a blazing spear. Though blurred, its form was unmistakable.
"Savior," Fury said immediately.
The others recognized it just as quickly.
"Was that caused by a fight between him and Whitebeard?" Stark asked.
"Most likely," Fury replied.
"How did they even get to Neptune?"
"Ancient One," Thor answered quietly.
A heavy realization settled over the room.
These beings were not bound by Earth, or even by atmosphere. They could fight and survive in the vacuum of space itself.
Stark suddenly stood up, his patience gone. "Alright, hammer guy, take the Cube, take the scepter, take your brother, take everything. Just get them off this planet."
No one argued.
At this point, there was no time left to hesitate.
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