269 You’re Surrounded!

"You still planning to resist, Pietro Maximoff?"

Kagura had one foot pressed down on Quicksilver's back.

From the weapon module on her right forearm, a sleek railgun crackling with arcs of electricity morphed into shape, its muzzle pointed squarely at Pietro's face.

"If you stand down now, we can still talk this out peacefully."

While Pietro was still processing what just happened, a familiar voice echoed nearby—Wanda's.

"Peace?! You invade our home, hurt our family, and then have the nerve to talk about peace?!"

The Scarlet Witch had regained consciousness. Seeing her brother pinned down only fueled her rage.

"Fine. I'll show you what real peace looks like!"

A surge of chaotic magic exploded from Wanda's body, painting the sky in ominous crimson.

It was as if hell itself had descended darkness swallowing everything.

Red and black swallowed the world in front of Kagura.

The overwhelming pressure felt like a tsunami crashing down.

Her Infinite Concept Skill System screamed with warning alerts, while Wanda was actively warping reality itself.

The situation was quickly spiraling out of control.

"Oh boy... this is really getting out of hand, huh?"

Pouting slightly, Kagura looked frustrated and a little wronged.

"You guys started this fight! Why does it feel like I'm the bad guy now?!"

In the next moment, the scarlet chaos surged toward her like a tidal wave.

It was a storm of raw magical energy seething crimson mist and streaking tendrils of chaos magic shaped like dragons, ready to tear her apart on the spot.

'Well, you wanted a fight. I was all for a peaceful talk, remember?'

Kagura's golden eyes narrowed.

Sure, the situation was complicated.

There were misunderstandings between the Maximoff siblings and the Avengers.

But if they were dead set on treating her as a villain who needed to be eliminated, then she wasn't going to just sit there and take it.

The battle had already gone on for quite some time.

With every use of her concept skills, her core energy slowly drained.

Sustained combat was one of Kagura's known weaknesses and running out of juice mid-fight was definitely not ideal.

As a workaround, her White Moon battle suit came equipped with a temporary recharging system.

[Core Energy Remaining: 42.6%]

I will get a bit hungry, but manageable!

Wanda's chaos magic was strong—but not unbeatable. Especially in her current state, where she hadn't fully mastered her powers.

[Energy Conversion: Activated]

In an instant, the chaos magic engulfing Kagura from all sides transformed into dazzling arcs of electricity.

This was the move she used earlier—converting chaos energy into electromagnetic force using "Energy Conversion," then chaining it into her next skill:

[Targeted High-Energy Electromagnetic Pulse Discharge: Activated]

A roaring streak of electric-blue light burst through the crimson chaos, launching directly toward Wanda.

But Wanda, in a blind fury, wasn't going to just sit and take it.

Her hands surged with power, and she unleashed a blast of magic energy to meet the attack head-on—a scarlet beam equal in power to Kagura's electromagnetic cannon.

'BOOM—!!'

Blue and red beams collided mid-air.

The ground shook violently. Stone, steel, and reinforced tech from the nearby fortress shattered and scattered like confetti in an apocalyptic storm.

Debris flew in all directions.

The sky lit up like it was the end of the world.

The shield protecting the fortress flickered erratically, struggling to absorb the massive shockwaves.

It looked like it could burst at any second, radiating an uneasy tension.

But powered by the Mind Stone itself, the shield held firm—at least for now.

The energy clash didn't last long.

With a massive boom, both attacks canceled each other out and vanished into smoke.

'VMMM—!!'

"Is that all you've got? I wasn't even trying yet."

With a swing of her vibranium blade, Kagura cut through the lingering smoke.

Her golden eyes glowed with intensity, her beauty now framed with a sharp, intimidating edge.

As the radiant wings of her White Moon armor spread wide, Kagura slowly levitated off the ground like an unstoppable angel of destruction.

"I'll say this one more time—Wanda, Pietro. I don't want to hurt you. But if you insist on standing in the way of our mission to protect the world... then I won't be holding back either."

"Lies! You invaders!"

Wanda dropped to one knee, clutching her chest. Her eyes, though tired, burned with hatred as she glared at Kagura.

"I hate you… I hate the Avengers… I hate Tony Stark! You took my family from me… and now you want to take our home too?!"

"I'm not here to take anything from you, Wanda," Kagura said clearly, every word cutting through the air.

"We came to protect you. HYDRA is a global threat. You were just pawns in their plans."

"Your hatred—your love for your home—it's all very human. But that's exactly what HYDRA exploited. They twisted your kindness and turned you into weapons."

"Ahahahaha! Well said! That's why you're the Avengers' fan favorite—'Flashblade'!"

A voice suddenly echoed from the castle's speaker system, Baron Strucker.

"Miss Flashblade, you may not know me… but I've been watching you for a long time!"

"Just to be clear, this war between HYDRA and the Avengers—it's not personal. At least not entirely."

He chuckled coldly.

"But from the moment you sliced my mech in two at Hammer Industries, you've been haunting my nightmares."

"I've spent years, burned through countless resources and tech—just to wipe you and your precious Avengers off the map."

"Sounds pretty personal to me, Baron," Kagura said dryly. "But sure, let's see if you've got anything better than empty threats."

"You think defeating those two enhanced experiments means victory?" Strucker scoffed.

"They were just a test run. Failures. Disposables!"

"Wow. Way to motivate your team."

Kagura cast a glance toward Wanda—who, as expected, looked absolutely crushed.

"Beating my 'failures' isn't worth celebrating, Miss Flashblade," Strucker continued.

"These, on the other hand, are the real game-changers."

The ground shook as dozens of silver-white robots emerged from hidden compartments in the walls and ramparts.

They looked similar to Iron Man's suits—but these weren't suits at all.

They were fully autonomous machines, each powered by AI derived from the Mind Stone.

"Drop your weapon, Miss Flashblade. You're surrounded."

Strucker's voice brimmed with pride.

"These warbots have combat skills rivaling Captain America himself. You? Don't stand a chance."

"Oh? That so?"

Kagura's lips curled into a smirk.

"Then come on. Let's see what you've got."