Skye nodded firmly. "Don't worry. You can do this."
Wanda's expression turned solemn as she faced the dense swarm of Chitauri soldiers descending from the sky.
"Haa—!"
She exhaled sharply and snapped her eyes open. Scarlet energy instantly replaced the natural color of her pupils. The magnetic field around her erupted, and countless fragments of rubble rose into the air.
Under the rampage of Chaos Magic, Wanda slowly lifted off the ground. Anything that came into contact with that power was erased outright—no dust, no residue, nothing left behind.
Suddenly, the Chaos Magic surged outward like a raging tornado. The violent energy swept straight toward the Chitauri ahead. Wherever it passed, silence followed. Everything was annihilated—Chitauri soldiers, wrecked vehicles, collapsed debris, even the asphalt beneath the rubble. In the blink of an eye, the entire street was wiped clean, leaving behind ground that looked as though it had been plowed anew.
The Chaos Magic in Wanda's eyes did not weaken—instead, it grew denser, spreading in all directions. Everything around her vanished in an instant.
"This is bad!"
Skye glanced at the subway entrance behind them. As the Chaos Magic surged closer, she thrust both hands forward. A powerful shockwave erupted, forcibly blocking the advancing energy and diverting it away from the subway station.
For a moment, Skye and Wanda were locked in a stalemate. Wanda could not control the unleashed power, while Skye could only keep countering it with continuous shockwaves.
But for everyone behind them, this meant salvation.
Within the range of Wanda's Chaos Magic, nothing dared to approach. No matter how many Chitauri arrived, the moment they touched that power, they were instantly erased—completely removed from existence.
High above, as more and more Leviathans poured through the rift, the pressure on Lucas grew heavier. Around the spatial tear, violet lightning rained down without pause, yet more and more enemies slipped through. The Chitauri forces seemed endless.
Inside the Quinjet, Natasha looked toward the beam of light atop Stark Tower.
"This can't go on," she said grimly. "We have to shut down the portal."
With that, she steered closer, switched the Quinjet to autopilot, and leapt out, landing directly near the Tesseract.
Loki noticed her at once. He could not allow anyone to interfere with the portal and moved to intercept her.
"ROAR—!"
Before he could take more than a few steps, Hulk suddenly burst upward from below and slammed into him. Loki was sent flying several meters, crashing hard into a wall.
Before he could even stand, Hulk grabbed him by the leg and smashed him repeatedly against the ground like a rag doll. Finally, he slammed Loki straight into the floor and added one more brutal punch before stopping.
Natasha reached the Tesseract platform. Dr. Erik Selvig had regained consciousness and stared blankly at the devastation around him. He never imagined New York could be reduced to such ruin.
Before Natasha could speak, Selvig spoke first.
"Loki's scepter—only that can shut down the Tesseract."
Natasha leaned over the edge. The scepter lay on the lower platform.
In the skies, as the Chitauri numbers continued to swell, more and more slipped past the lightning barrage. Lucas scanned the battlefield—everyone was fighting desperately, but the sheer numbers made it impossible to hold them back indefinitely.
"Tony," Lucas said calmly, "tell everyone to clear out within a hundred-meter radius of the portal. Now."
Tony immediately activated external communications.
"All units, evacuate immediately! Clear out within a hundred meters of Stark Tower—move!"
At Tony's broadcast, everyone instinctively retreated. Even the soldiers and police on the ground began pulling back. At this point, the only ones they could place their faith in were these super-powered individuals.
Tony then glanced at Lucas, suddenly realizing something.
"My building was just finished," he said dryly. "Any chance you can leave me a little of it?"
Lucas turned and smiled faintly. "I'll do my best."
Tony laughed aloud and immediately withdrew. He knew exactly what Lucas was about to do.
Sure enough, once Lucas confirmed that everyone had retreated, the lightning in the sky abruptly vanished. Yet the dark clouds above New York only grew thicker, denser, until the once-bright sky dimmed as if dusk had fallen.
Across the city, countless people looked up at the lone figure suspended in the sky. Something vast and terrifying was gathering around him.
Lucas closed his eyes. Violet lightning coiled around him like massive dragons.
In an instant, overwhelming pressure descended.
All airborne Chitauri were slammed into the ground. The Leviathans roared in defiance, but their massive bodies were pinned in place, unable to move.
"Ramuh!!"
Lucas's eyes flew open. Violet energy surged across his entire body as countless bolts of lightning converged on him. A world-shaking bolt descended from the heavens. Within a hundred-meter radius of Lucas, everything was swallowed by lightning and erased.
"Th-this…!"
Thor stared blankly at the sky. In that moment, he no longer knew who truly deserved the title of God of Thunder. This lightning was far beyond anything he could withstand. Compared to Lucas, he felt unworthy of the name. If anyone deserved to be called the Thunder God, it was Lucas.
At the New York Sanctum, the Ancient One also raised her gaze skyward. Her instincts were never wrong. That dangerous, savage power had appeared again—utterly different from any force she had encountered before, raw and primordial.
As the lightning faded, a colossal figure nearly a hundred meters tall manifested before everyone. Just looking up at it made breathing difficult.
It was a towering giant clad in violet robes, holding a staff like a gnarled tree branch. A snow-white beard flowed down to its chest. Its eyes glowed with purple light, and endless thunder crackled around its body.
The moment Ramuh appeared, lightning rained down across the skies of New York. Each bolt seemed to have a will of its own—every strike claiming the life of a Chitauri soldier.
"Is… is this Lucas's true power?" Steve murmured in awe.
His knowledge of Lucas came from mission files provided by Coulson. They described Lucas's abilities, but nothing compared to witnessing them firsthand.
Thor felt a deep sense of helplessness rise within him. Before Lucas, even he—the God of Thunder—felt insignificant. It was as if he were standing before his father, Odin himself, unable to muster even the thought of resistance.
Loki saw it too—the form Lucas had taken.
At that moment, he realized coming to Earth had been a grave mistake.
All he wanted now was to leave this place and return to Asgard with Thor as quickly as possible.
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