Nine colossal gods stood in majestic silence. The nearly hundred-meter-tall pyramid could no longer contain their expanding forms. As their bodies swelled, the ancient structure groaned beneath the pressure before great slabs of golden stone and clouds of dust rained toward the earth.
Renzo didn't hesitate. He shot into the air, avoiding the endless cascade of debris. With the Space Stone protecting him, any rock he failed to evade would simply be torn apart by spatial distortions and scattered into cosmic dust.
Rumble!
The pyramid, which had stood in Egypt for thousands of years and been revered by generations of priests and pharaohs, was more than a royal tomb.
It was a miracle—a monument to human civilization.
Renzo watched that miracle perish before his eyes. In the blink of an eye, the magnificent structure collapsed into rubble beneath the overwhelming power of the gods. Like a natural disaster, its destruction shattered the resolve of those who still dared resist.
Their massive bodies eclipsed the sun, plunging Egypt into darkness. Wind and sand swept across the land. Crimson mist stained the sky as dust and blood covered the battlefield, leaving behind only desolation.
"This is my gift to you!" Wanda laughed, looking almost insane. Her long hair hung wildly across her face, unable to conceal the hatred and satisfaction in her voice. "An early Valentine's Day present. Do you like it? Enjoy it... the final battle hasn't begun yet."
She waved a hand, and her figure scattered like drifting dust, vanishing without a trace.
"What a gift."
Renzo's eyebrow twitched as he looked up at the nine towering figures blotting out the sky. Every one of them radiated power comparable to Thor's—perhaps even greater than Thor wielding Stormbreaker.
Just imagine it: nine mountain-sized warriors appearing at once, grinning down at you before raising enormous axes to split your skull open.
The thought alone was enough to make anyone shudder.
These were the Nine Pillar Gods of ancient Egypt, the oldest and highest-ranking deities in their pantheon. Their status rivaled Odin's among the Norse gods, though their actual strength clearly did not. Even combined, they were probably only comparable to Odin himself.
Ra threw a massive punch.
Renzo sidestepped effortlessly before driving a counterpunch into the sun god's forehead. Despite his enormous size, Ra stumbled backward several steps, nearly crashing into the ruins of the shattered pyramid.
The gods were furious.
Though their minds were under another's influence, their divine pride remained untouched. They had ruled ancient Egypt for ages, worshipped by countless generations. To them, humanity had always been nothing more than servants—ants beneath their feet.
In the distant past, humans had lived and died at their whim. No one dared resist. Those fortunate enough to survive would only fall to their knees, trembling as they begged for forgiveness and offered richer sacrifices.
Everything changed after the birth of that mutant.
One by one, the Nine Pillar Gods had been sealed inside the pyramid by that extraordinary being and his followers. Trapped for ages, they could only glimpse the outside world through the occasional unfortunate soul who wandered into their prison.
Over the decades, the seals had gradually weakened. Ever since that mutant died, they had dreamed of escaping, reclaiming the world, and ruling once more through bloodshed and fear.
They would remind humanity who its masters were.
Looking down at Renzo, who was no larger than an insect in their eyes, the gods laughed.
One human daring to challenge all nine of them?
Even if Odin or Zeus stood before them, they believed they could avoid defeat.
That was how confident they were.
Renzo stared at them in silence.
These idiots were almost as bad as Thor. He honestly couldn't understand what was so funny.
"Human!" Ra's booming voice shook the heavens. "Kneel and become my servant. Do so, and I shall spare your life. Your offenses will be forgiven."
Every god fixed mocking, arrogant eyes upon the tiny green figure suspended in the sky.
A mere mortal dared oppose gods?
How laughable.
Ra smiled proudly before extending his enormous hand, casually swatting toward Renzo. A human wasn't worthy of standing at the same height as a god.
Boom!
To the gods' astonishment, Ra's palm slammed into the ground.
His wrist ended in a perfectly smooth stump.
Even Ra froze, the triumphant smile still lingering on his face.
"Aaaagh!"
A heartbeat later, agony surged from his severed wrist through his entire body. He roared so violently that nearby pyramids trembled, threatening to collapse beneath the shockwave.
Before they could crumble, Renzo ended his suffering.
A golden beam flashed through the air.
Ra's head was severed cleanly.
The blazing sun god's body collapsed like a fallen giant, while his head disintegrated into golden dust that scattered across the ruined pyramid.
The earth shook violently as his enormous corpse crashed to the ground.
"You... you killed... Ra..." Seth stammered, his voice shaking.
"Yeah. He was surprisingly easy to kill." Renzo rolled his neck. "I thought gods would be tougher. I fought a guy named Chthon once. He was much more impressive. You should learn from him."
He smiled faintly.
"Sorry. Maybe I hit a little too hard. But you remind me of someone else."
"As in... Thanos."
Before the words had even finished echoing, space split apart around Shu.
Cracks of azure light tore through his colossal body, ripping him into countless fragments before swallowing every piece into the void.
Silence.
The remaining seven gods finally understood what they were facing.
The tiny human before them had effortlessly slain both Ra and Shu—the two strongest among them.
"Face judgment!" Tefnut roared.
Dark clouds rolled across the desert, swallowing half the sky.
Beside her, Nut unleashed her own divine authority. Together, the goddess of rain and the goddess of the sky transformed the arid wasteland.
Violent winds howled.
Thunder roared.
Rain poured from the heavens.
Renzo barely reacted.
Rain was still just rain.
Even the fiercest storm couldn't truly threaten him.
He wasn't exactly an ordinary person.
Ordinary people didn't have three Infinity Stones embedded in their bodies.
"Boring," he muttered.
Then his expression changed.
"So heavy..."
Each raindrop weighed at least ten times more than ordinary water.
That genuinely surprised him.
The Nine Pillar Gods were more capable than he'd expected.
Nut and Tefnut poured out their divine power without restraint, attempting to flood the desert and forcibly reshape the landscape itself.
Whether it harmed Renzo or not, such reckless manipulation would permanently devastate the region—possibly affecting the surrounding continents as well.
He couldn't allow that.
A beam of psychic energy burst from his body.
Yet the gods showed no concern.
A circular magical barrier intercepted the Mind Stone's attack.
The one casting it was naturally Isis, goddess of magic.
Despite her gigantic stature, her elegance remained unmistakable. Dark skin adorned with magnificent jewelry gave her an imposing beauty as she looked down upon Renzo with cold disdain.
"You show no respect for the gods," she declared. "Such disrespect for life deserves judgment."
She folded her arms before her chest before slowly raising them toward the heavens.
"Your life... shall be taken."
A green radiance engulfed Renzo.
His body wavered in the air beneath the storm and the divine light, as though he might fall at any moment.
Isis smiled with contempt.
So this mortal had only seemed dangerous because Ra and Shu had been disappointingly weak.
As the goddess of life, her authority surpassed theirs.
She should have led the Nine Pillar Gods from the beginning.
She had always looked down on every form of life besides herself—even the other Egyptian gods.
Only she was worthy of ruling.
The corruption within her magnified those thoughts without limit.
Once the gentlest and most compassionate among the gods, she had become the cruelest.
Her growing resentment fueled her strength.
Now she stood as the strongest of the Nine Pillar Gods.
Beautiful.
Wise.
Powerful.
She smiled serenely, emerald and crimson energies intertwining around her garments to emphasize her ethereal elegance.
Even the remaining gods stared at her in shock.
Like a tiger hidden beneath harmless appearances, she had finally revealed her fangs.
Praise me, insignificant mortal.
Isis spread her arms proudly.
Far away, the surviving humans could only stare in terror at the towering deities. Each one dwarfed even the greatest monsters imaginable.
"It's... not that impressive."
A voice suddenly came from her shoulder.
Isis lowered her head.
Renzo was standing there.
Hands on his hips, he leaned forward, peering curiously toward her chest before clicking his tongue in disappointment.
"Tsk. It's a bit lacking. Barely acceptable, I guess."
"How... how are you..." Isis stared blankly.
She should have stripped him of his life.
Why was he standing there unharmed?
"Actually, there are two things I should tell you."
Renzo raised two fingers.
"First, strictly speaking, I don't really qualify as a living organism in the normal biological sense anymore. My energy comes from the Infinity Stones, so abilities like yours don't work very well on me."
He nodded thoughtfully before adding,
"Second... my wife's figure is better."
Thinking of Wanda, Renzo immediately lost all interest in making comparisons.
He shrugged.
"Oh, one more thing."
"If there's a next life, try being born a little luckier."
A violet light erupted.
It exploded like a missile, swallowing everything within fifty meters.
Rain.
Wind.
Sand.
Everything vanished beneath the overwhelming brilliance.
Two seconds later, the purple light faded.
Renzo floated calmly in the sky.
Isis's upper body was gone.
Only her legs remained standing where she had been.
This was the first time Renzo had truly unleashed the Power Stone.
It felt incredible.
Compared to the Mind Stone and the Space Stone, raw destructive force simply resonated differently.
Power was the simplest answer to every obstacle.
The lingering violet energy drifted back into his body, repairing the damage he'd sustained.
It was one of Vision's body's unique abilities.
As long as the system itself remained intact, it could repair most damage automatically. Of course, catastrophic injuries—like the wound Corvus Glaive had once inflicted—were another matter entirely.
Renzo could feel himself growing stronger.
Or perhaps these gods were simply weaker than he'd expected.
Either way, he still had to find Khonshu.
Once the Moon God's power faded, Marc would finally return to normal.
Divine contracts really were troublesome.
The gods insisted on making "equal" agreements with their avatars, only to end up betrayed by them.
Renzo couldn't help thinking that a stricter arrangement would have been much harder to break.
His gaze swept across the remaining gods.
Though he wasn't even the size of one of their fingers, a single glance from him left them unable to breathe.
A humiliation no god could accept.
"So..."
Renzo smiled.
"Who's next?"
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