Upon seeing Thanos, Charlie, having broken through the altar, didn't stop his actions.
"More."
His voice boomed like a thunderous bell, echoing through the space. Scott could only toss out another Pym Disc.
Buzz~
Under the influence of the Pym Disc, Charlie's size swelled once more.
Rumble!!
Immediately, Charlie's right fist swept across, shattering the stone wall of the altar space where Thanos stood. The neighboring altar space echoed with a tremendous crash, leaving Tony, who was forging iron, frozen in place.
"What a big bug."
As Tony stood stunned, Charlie continued his destruction.
Rumble!
Bang!
With a single kick, he smashed through the altar's stone wall, sending debris flying. An Ultron robot, in the midst of repairing its parts, was crushed to pieces under Charlie's massive foot.
Charlie: "."
Oops.
No big deal.
There were plenty of souls from other universes in the altar space—one less wouldn't matter.
He went on to wreak havoc, and under the horrified gazes of the audience, Charlie finally tore down the "barriers" of the entire altar space, gathering a group of rather interesting individuals.
In the vast ruins, rubble occasionally fell from above.
Charlie had returned to his normal size by now. Beside him, the moment Infinite Tony locked eyes with Thanos, a dangerous tension began to spread.
Caught in the middle, Scott felt a chill down his spine.
He instinctively stepped back, accidentally bumping into a young Steve.
"Oh, Captain, sorry, I didn't mean to step on your foot."
Scott hurriedly apologized, but Steve frowned.
"I know you, you vile, shameful little thief. Next time, I'll kill you and unload on your corpse."
Scott: "!!!!"
"Captain, you're swearing!!"
"Sh*t, I'm not the Captain—I'm Human Torch!"
"Huh?"
Scott's eyes widened. "What's Human Torch?"
"The Fantastic Four."
"Never heard of it."
"It's a meme," Charlie whispered in explanation.
He then turned to Wade, who had suddenly appeared.
"How'd you get here?" he asked, puzzled.
Wade, cradling baby Kingpin, occasionally flicked the infant's tiny… Kingpin.
"There's a door." He pointed to the half-broken stone door in the altar ruins, the exit leading to the Hell Volcano.
Charlie raised an eyebrow. "You seem awfully familiar with this place."
"Yeah, Mephisto invited me to check it out. We're pretty tight."
Charlie: "."
On the other side, Venom Parker was rummaging through the rubble.
"No, why aren't there any bodies? So many guys died under Spider-Man's foot—where are the corpses? I'm starving!!"
The writhing demonic face roared, but Venom Parker soothed it, "Relax, we won't starve to death."
Clearly, the Peter Parker Thanos was about to face was this guy.
And Venom Parker seemed unaffected by Venom now.
More accurately, he wasn't planning to slack off anymore.
He glanced at Charlie and gave a slight nod.
Charlie returned a smile.
No wonder he was the only contestant this time—turns out Mephisto had intercepted all the reserve players.
Bold move.
So this Resurrection Match was set in Mephisto's Hell.
With that thought, Charlie scanned the other challenged souls present.
"Where's Morlun?" Charlie recalled the Inheritor he'd killed earlier.
"That bat?"
Infinite Tony glanced at Charlie. "He was too cocky, so I obliterated his soul."
"You did good."
Charlie gave a thumbs-up, then rallied the group.
"So, what's the verdict?" he asked the crowd.
Venom Parker stepped forward. "I'm in, no problem."
Infinite Tony shrugged. "Me too."
Scott raised a hand. "If we're talking multiple people crossing the Quantum Realm, I'll need time to build a traversal device."
"I can help," Infinite Tony offered.
Scott looked puzzled. "You know about Pym devices too?"
Infinite Tony glanced at Thanos. "Using Pym Particles to travel through time—that's something I've done. So I studied Pym Particle devices on the side."
"Really?" Scott scratched his head. "I don't quite get what you're saying, but it sounds impressive."
Thanos narrowed his eyes. "So you traveled through time, went back, and stole the Infinity Stones, is that it?" In an instant, he pieced together what Tony was implying.
This was a provocation.
Infinite Tony met Thanos' gaze. "Purple sweet potato, you guessed it. Thor chopped off your head, and I sent the past you packing."
Yet Thanos didn't get angry—he laughed.
"Hahaha, not bad for a human cursed by knowledge. I didn't expect to lose to you, but it doesn't seem all that surprising."
Infinite Tony shrugged. "Well, with you acting like that, I almost feel bad saying anything more."
Meanwhile, Human Torch Steve crossed his arms, scrutinizing Charlie and the others.
"What the hell are you weirdos talking about? What's this Quantum Realm? You'd better explain, or the great Human Torch won't help you ugly freaks—ow!"
With a scream, the foul-mouthed Human Torch Steve was knocked out by Charlie's punch.
"How did Ultron lose to this guy?" Charlie asked Wade.
Wade shook his head. "Midday match. This guy lost, knelt, and begged Ultron for a retry, so his soul wasn't shattered."
Charlie: "."
"Alright, we don't need comic relief for this mission."
He glanced at the time.
"Time's almost up. We'll pick this up next time."
With that, his vision went black, and he returned to the Cosmic Web, his soul strength enhanced once more.
…
Tenth Resurrection Match.
With limited time, he entered the altar space and tasked Wade with bringing Old Steve and the others.
Charlie gathered Thanos, Infinite Tony, Scott, and Venom Parker.
"I need time to build the traversal device," Scott said.
Infinite Tony stepped forward. "I can help."
"Oh, that's unexpected."
"No time for surprises—let's move."
At Charlie's urging, Infinite Tony used nano-metal to assist in crafting the traversal device.
But time was too tight.
Even with Scott and Infinite Tony working together, it would take at least three hours to complete the device.
So, as Charlie waited anxiously, the mission timer ran out, and the traversal device remained unfinished.
…
Eleventh Resurrection Match.
"If we can't build the traversal device in time, is there another way to enter the Quantum Realm?" Charlie asked.
Scott frowned. "In that case, I'd be the only one who could enter the Quantum Realm. That's no different from suicide—I won't agree to it."
"Just you?"
Charlie's expression shifted. "Because of your Ant-Man suit?"
Scott nodded. "Yeah. It's a custom suit built by Dr. Pym. Without it, the journey to the Quantum Realm is filled with unknown dangers we'd have no way to handle.
Most importantly, without a traversal device, the process of entering the Quantum Realm puts you under terrifying pressure. An ordinary person would lose themselves instantly—no buffer, no chance."
Hearing this, Charlie let out a breath.
"So even without a traversal device, it's possible to enter the Quantum Realm, right?"
"Of course, but are you sure?"
"Yeah. Everyone here has their own armor. We can protect ourselves."
At that, Infinite Tony tapped his chest, and his nano-armor assembled instantly.
Venom Parker focused, and black symbiote armor enveloped his body.
Thanos: "."
Gripping his double-edged blade, he said expressionlessly, "I don't need that flashy nonsense."
He had absolute confidence in his body.
Soon after, Wade brought Old Steve into the altar space.
"Mr. Stark!" Peter Parker exclaimed.
Hearing the familiar voice, Infinite Tony's body trembled.
"Peter."
Their eyes met, but before emotions could take over, Charlie raised a hand. "Time's tight. Let's handle the mission first."
He briefly outlined the plan. The group was shocked but trusted Charlie enough to set aside their doubts for now.
"Let's do this!" Charlie said to Scott.
Scott nodded and turned to Infinite Tony.
"I need to borrow your virtual computer to adjust the particle release output of the Pym Discs."
"No problem."
Infinite Tony raised his hand, and nano-metal slithered, enveloping the Pym Disc Scott handed over.
Scott's adjustments were quick.
He glanced at Barton and Natasha, hesitating.
"You guys…"
"Don't worry, we're not going."
Natasha shrugged helplessly. "The Supreme Sorcerer will take me and Barton back."
"Please take care of this little guy."
Wade handed baby Kingpin to Natasha. "Look after him for a bit. I'll come for him when I can. As for diapers and formula money…"
He turned to Charlie. "Got any cash?"
"Nope."
"Well, I'll owe you then."
Natasha: "."
"Wait."
Scott suddenly realized something. "If the Supreme Sorcerer can take you two, why not all of us?" he asked.
Barton shook his head. "Because we entered Hell through Strange's magic circle. You guys signed contracts with Mephisto—your souls are bound. Even the Supreme Sorcerer can't interfere."
Scott's face fell.
Looks like they'd have to go to the Quantum Realm after all.
He sighed inwardly, then handed the adjusted Pym Discs to Charlie and the others.
"It's starting. Ready?" he asked.
The group took a deep breath.
"Ready."
"Let's go!"
With Charlie's words, Scott slammed the device's button. The Pym Discs in their hands glowed faintly, and in a flash of light, their bodies rapidly shrank.
In an instant, Charlie and the others vanished.
Natasha, holding the baby, looked at Barton. "They'll make it, right?"
"Hope so."
"We can head back now."
…
Meanwhile, as they shrank at breakneck speed, the world in their eyes transformed dramatically.
At first, the altar ruins loomed like massive mountains, with Barton and Natasha appearing as mythic giants holding up the sky.
As their bodies continued to shrink, air particles became like colliding, floating planets. The rough surfaces of dust grains came into view.
Then, as they shrank further, a single dust particle became an entire world. They plunged into a dazzling universe of molecular structures, witnessing breathtaking, otherworldly scenes that left them in awe.
But with the shrinking came an immense physical burden.
"No!!"
Between molecular structures, Venom Parker instinctively shot webbing to latch onto molecules, but his shrinking body crashed through an invisible, colorful glass wall in an instant.
"This sucks~"
The black liquid writhed, the demonic face roaring in agony.
The next moment, a red-and-blue figure broke through the barrier, slamming into Venom Parker.
"Oh, sh*t, you hit me!" Venom cursed.
"Sorry, didn't mean to!"
Peter Parker and Venom Parker clashed briefly before plummeting into the endless molecular abyss.
On the other side, nano-armor jets flared as Infinite Tony tried to stabilize himself.
As a purple, hulking figure flashed past, Infinite Tony blinked.
"He's faster than me? Not on my watch."
He accelerated downward but couldn't catch up to Thanos ahead.
In a blink, they crashed into a coral-like molecular forest.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Charlie noticed Infinite Tony's actions.
"I'm gonna outpace him."
Before Charlie could respond, Scott, zipping by, said, "Oh, Mr. Iron Man, calm down. You're just wasting your armor's energy—this isn't a race."
At that, Thanos' descent slowed. Infinite Tony shot past him, only to crash headfirst into an urchin-like unknown substance.
Boom!!
His armor flared, but it was no use.
Infinite Tony smashed into the "urchin," his body shrinking to atomic size.
Buzz~
As if breaking through a membrane, his armor soared through a vibrant sky for a moment before a golden mini-sun blasted him down.
"No, no, no!"
Boom!!
The nano-armor plummeted at an angle, jets flaring just before impact. Infinite Tony skimmed over green anemone-like structures, landing safely.
Click~
His nano-helmet retracted, and Tony looked up at the bizarre, kaleidoscopic world, his face full of shock.
"This is the Quantum Realm that little ant was talking about?"
Buzz~
The next moment, a muscle-bound devilish figure streaked across the sky like a meteor.
"Stark, catch me!!" Old Steve shouted.
Infinite Tony scratched his brow. "Sorry, too far."
"Oh, motherf—!!"
Old Steve cursed as he crashed into the green-lit forest below, soft green tendrils swallowing him instantly.
"Captain, your swearing sounds familiar."
Infinite Tony dug at his ear, exasperated.
Young Steve rarely swore, but he found the older Steve oddly endearing.
He liked old kids.
Then, a purple streak crashed down, smashing a golden mini-sun along the way. Golden tendrils rained down as Thanos landed steadily.
At his feet, a pit formed, with urchin-like spheres squealing and rolling away.
Surveying the strange surroundings, Thanos frowned.
"The Quantum Realm… interesting." He smirked.