"Wrath's innate ability is simple: the angrier he gets, the stronger his body becomes. And let me assure you, you've definitely made him angry now."
Pride's voice subtly shifted from a neutral tone to a distinctly feminine one. It was only then that Deadpool and Ant-Man realized she was a woman.
Not that they could be blamed about that.
After all, the Carl Family members all wore identical battle suits, paired with their signature demon masks, and often used voice modulators when speaking. It was hard to distinguish gender in a brief interaction.
""What a pity, she's flat-chested." Deadpool couldn't resist a snarky remark, and Ant-Man nodded in agreement. They were surprisingly in sync on this one.
"What are you two talking about?""
Pride's tone turned icy, but before she could act, Wrath let out a low growl. With a mighty heave, he lifted the transport truck high into the air and hurled it violently toward Deadpool and Ant-Man.
"Take it back!"
As the truck's shadow closed in and engulfed their bodies, Deadpool glanced sideways at Ant-Man and yelled, "Hey! Hurry up and shrink that thing back into a toy car!"
"Sorry, can't do that. It was a one-time magnification device," Ant-Man admitted.
"Then why are we still standing here? Are you waiting to get squashed?"
The two seemed to have a delayed reaction, darting to the side at the last moment. The massive truck crashed into the flower field, flipping several times before erupting in a low explosion, cauding dirt and flowers to splatter everywhere.
Half of the nearby flower field was engulfed in flames.
"That was close," Deadpool muttered, rolling to his feet as he grabbed his twin katanas.
The sharp sound of wind whistling past his ears made him instinctively lean back just in time to avoid a powerful blow.
It was Wrath.
His mask had long since been torn off, revealing a rough, angry face with bulging veins snaking like worms across his forehead. His muscles strained against his black combat suit, and each swing of his fists carried enough force to shatter bones.
As Deadpool ducked to avoid the blow, his hands were not idle. With a quick slash, one of his katanas aimed for Wrath's neck.
But Wrath did not flinch. Instead, he lunged forward, his massive arms reaching out to grab Deadpool.
CRACK!!
Deadpool's blade connected with Wrath's neck, but it felt like hitting solid metal. The sword barely scratched the skin, leaving a shallow cut that did not go any deeper. The clean decapitation Deadpool had imagined was a far cry from reality.
"No way," Deadpool muttered, eyes wide as Wrath caught him effortlessly, lifting his body like a baby.
"My physical strength and resilience are now beyond anything you can imagine," Wrath growled, grinning down at Deadpool. "Your feeble blows won't even penetrate my defenses. There's nowhere for you to run."
Deadpool looked up at him, unimpressed. "You think I'm surprised my blade didn't cut your throat? No. I'm surprised that even a monster like you... has a human, specially a man's weakness."
"Huh?" Wrath froze, his instincts kicking in. Glancing down, he saw Deadpool's other blade partially embedded in... a very vulnerable spot.
"What the...?"
In the audience, male spectators collectively jumped, some instinctively crossing their legs.
Meanwhile, in the Watchtower-
"Crude and shameless on the outside, but in reality, this is a mortal's way of fighting against supers. Ruthless efficiency," Kyle remarked with a chuckle, gesturing to the projection of Deadpool. "That guy—where did he come from, anyway?"
"Master, wasn't he one of your creations?" Logan replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Was he?" Kyle looked confused.
Logan nodded. "From what I've heard from the family, when you stored some items in the family vault a few years ago, you also left behind a box containing a severed head. An older member used his points to trade for the box."
"Ah... now that you mention it, that does sound familiar," Kyle mused.
With so much happening over the decades, he'd nearly forgotten about the random assortment of items he'd drawn from the Card Space.
Among them, it seemed, was Deadpool's severed head. He hadn't expected it to heal itself, let alone regenerate his entire body.
Logan continued, "That elder took the box to Imperial Japan. He recently reported that a person named Deadpool emerged from it and asked to return under the Carl Family Banner."
"Interesting."
Kyle nodded slightly, his eyes revealing a hint of deep insight. He had long suspected that the items or lifeforms drawn through the Sacrificial Card Drawing System might come from other dimensions or timelines.
The existence of Deadpool was irrefutable proof of this theory.
In other words, the Sacrificial Card Drawing System could have an inexplicable, unfathomable connection to other dimensions and timelines.
It was a hypothesis that needed further validation. For now, Kyle turned his attention back to the projection screen showing the battle in progress.
---
In the virtual Ego Planet Park:
"You bastard, die already!"
Wrath's fury had reached its absolute peak. His face contorted grotesquely as he wrapped his arms around Deadpool with a terrifying 'crack'.
The sound of shattering bones echoed as Deadpool's arm and waist collapsed under the pressure.
Bright red blood seeped through Deadpool's suit and dripped into the flower field below.
As Deadpool's body finally crumpled into a lifeless, bloody mess in Wrath's arms, his head lolled to the side, completely broken. Wrath tossed Deadpool's limp body aside, dropped to his knees, and wordlessly pulled the katana from his lower body.
Fresh blood trickled down Wrath's legs, pooling on the ground beneath him.
"Wrath, take a rest. I'll take care of this little worm myself," Pride said, stepping past Wrath. Her sharp gaze swept the endless field of flowers, searching for the now-shrunken Ant-Man, who had vanished without a trace.
"Come out!" Pride shouted, but there was no response.
"Yeah, that's not happening," Ant-Man muttered from a patch of flowers about ten yards away. Using the blossoms for cover, the miniature hero crouched down and carefully studied Pride, the injured Wrath, and Deadpool's discarded body.
"Sorry, buddy. I couldn't save you back there," Ant-Man whispered regretfully, trying to devise a plan to get around Pride and finish off the wounded Wrath.
"Not coming out, are you?" Pride sneered coldly. She crouched and pressed her palm to the ground. "Then you can just stay hidden forever."
"What are you going to do? Turn over the entire flower field?"
Ant-Man scoffed quietly, but climbed to the top of a flower to get a better view of Pride's actions.
Then he saw it.
As Pride placed her hand on the ground, the sinister spirit behind her materialized. Moments later, the flowers and grass beneath her palm began to turn to stone.
Yes, stone.
As the mysterious force spread outward at an alarming rate, the flower field quickly petrified, the wave of stone creeping toward Ant-Man's hiding place.
Without a second thought, Ant-Man turned and ran, shouting to the sky, "ANTHONY! HELP ME!"
'(To be continued...)'
I have finished translating this fanfic, IMUC (I Am In Marvel With Unlimited Cards) and have posted all the advanced chapters on Patreon (Last Chapter -- 706). (https://www.patreon.com/c/marvel6395). You can read all the advanced chapters there.