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*****
The magnificent Burst Stream of Destruction was like a beam of death. Before many Chitauri could even process that something was wrong, they were reduced to ash, vanishing into the vacuum of space.
In a mere instant, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon had wiped out hundreds, if not thousands, of Chitauri!
Fini didn't have time to check his experience points. Even the dim-witted Chitauri realized there was a problem after such a blow and immediately began to retaliate. Their limited intelligence couldn't fathom why, after opening a portal to invade, it felt as though they were the ones being invaded.
Even if the Chitauri were the "worst army in the universe," they were still a space-faring military force. A dense swarm of energy bolts rained down, making even Fini's scalp tingle at the sight.
Fortunately, while the Tesseract was powering the portal, it didn't stop Fini from opening his own. With a flick of his wrist, a sparking orange portal snapped open, swallowing the incoming fire and sending it elsewhere.
Truthfully, if he were stronger and could keep a larger portal open longer, he could have just opened one right in front of the spatial rift to intercept everything, matching the Tesseract's output with his own.
The portal expanded rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it was large enough to accommodate the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. At the same time, Fini noticed several Chitauri Leviathans detaching from the mothership and heading toward the rift.
He didn't hesitate. He commanded the Blue-Eyes White Dragon to charge through the portal and into deep space. Protected by "Incursio," he didn't need to worry about surviving the vacuum for a short duration. As for the dragon, Fini had tested it on Vormir—as long as it had oxygen before entering, it could handle the vacuum just fine.
The reason he charged into space was simple: it was the only place he could unleash his full power.
Without the restrictions of Earth's Three Sanctums, "Ars Magna" could reach its maximum potential. Furthermore, the Chitauri Mothership was still a distance away; if he wanted to give them a truly "resounding" greeting, he needed to get closer.
"Burst Stream of Destruction!"
Fini ordered another blast, clearing a massive path ahead. Then, he immediately began preparing his true "greeting."
Standing on the dragon's back, Fini held his breath. His mind was split three ways, focusing simultaneously on "Ars Magna," "Breathing Styles," and "Explosion Magic."
Five months ago on Vormir, he had threatened the Soul Stone with "Explosion Magic." Back then, he hadn't realized "Ars Magna" was no longer restricted and nearly unleashed the most powerful "Explosion" in history. But the Soul Stone had stopped him, and he never got to witness its true peak. In the months that followed, though he practiced daily and fought the Red Skull, he had never truly gone all-out.
Now, despite the fatigue from his fight with Loki, he was significantly stronger than he had been five months ago, and he had his seventh skill: "Breathing Styles."
He decided the Chitauri would take the place of the Red Skull and the Soul Stone. They would have the honor of witnessing a mage's ultimate offensive spell!
"O evil and wretched invaders, you shall remember this moment forever!"
Fini's low voice echoed—impossibly—through the void. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon wove through the incoming fire. Even when a few energy bolts struck "Incursio," Fini's outstretched hand didn't tremble, stabilized by the power of his breath.
"I am the sole practitioner of Explosion Magic on Earth!"
"This is my welcoming gift to you. In the name of a mage, I grant you the blessing of death!"
"Darkness blacker than black and darker than dark,"
"I beseech thee, combine with my deep crimson."
"The time of awakening arrives."
"Justice, fallen upon the infallible boundary,"
"Appear now as an intangible distortion!"
"Dance, dance, dance!"
"I desire for my torrent of power a destructive force: a destructive force without equal!"
"Return all creation to cinders,"
"And come from the abyss!"
"Explosion!"
A gargantuan magic circle, larger than any he had ever summoned, manifested in the void. It glowed with a blinding crimson light in the deep reaches of the universe. With the amplification of "Ars Magna," the mana from Kamar-Taj, and the energy replenishment from "Breathing Styles," a terrifyingly hot aura radiated from the circle before the spell was even cast.
As he finished the chant, Fini's palm shook. He was the one who could best feel the sheer magnitude of the power he was about to release.
"EXPLOSION!"
The brilliant red light filled the entire starfield. There was nothing but fire.
Fini didn't know how terrifying Earth's most powerful nuclear weapons were, but today, he learned just how terrifying his "Explosion Magic" could be. He recalled the System's description: There is nothing a single 'Explosion' cannot solve. If there is, just use a few more!
Fini didn't have the energy for a second one. After the release, he collapsed onto the dragon's back, unable to move a muscle. He was thankful he had summoned the dragon; otherwise, he wouldn't even have been able to maintain "Sky Dance."
But a second shot wasn't necessary.
Watching the Chitauri Mothership erupt in a chain of fiery explosions, Fini finally felt like he possessed the aura of a true powerhouse. Wiping out a capital ship single-handedly was a feat that surely commanded respect across the galaxy.
However, the "one-shot-and-done" nature of the spell left him a bit discouraged. If an all-out strike like that failed to kill an enemy, he would be at their mercy.
As the mothership exploded, the Chitauri soldiers nearby who hadn't been hit by the blast suddenly went limp, drifting toward the portal. Their exoskeletons and flyers were controlled by the mothership's core; with the command center gone, they lost all functionality.
Worried that Erik Selvig might shut the portal early, Fini didn't linger. He immediately ordered the dragon to fly back. Before leaving, he had the dragon fire one last "Burst Stream of Destruction" to accelerate the mothership's demise.
At this point, it didn't even matter if the portal stayed open. Fini hadn't expected his full-power "Explosion" to be this devastating. He had only intended to kill as many as possible to farm some XP and leave, but he had accidentally wiped out the entire fleet.
If I'd known it would be this easy, I wouldn't have tried to stop Loki from opening the portal in the first place. This was basically a delivery of free experience points!
Thinking of how badly he had beaten Loki earlier, Fini felt a twinge of guilt. He decided to give Loki a "Sumire's Special Fried Chicken Roll" as compensation once he got back.
Stark Tower Rooftop
Since the portal expanded, aliens had been falling through—some were corpses Fini had killed, others were stragglers trying to sneak through. Erik Selvig watched from below, his heart nearly stopping from the tension.
He considered ignoring Fini's instructions and closing the portal immediately for the sake of Earth's safety, but he felt he would be betraying Fini if he did. Fortunately, he didn't have to agonize for long. A thunderous dragon roar announced Fini's return through the rift.
Without hesitation, Selvig thrust the Scepter into the Tesseract.
After a surge of clashing energies, the Tesseract powered down, and the portal finally vanished.
(End of Chapter)