Rogers... dead?
After witnessing Richard decapitate Captain America with the Masamune and telekinetically hurl the headless body away, both Natasha and Hawkeye stood frozen in disbelief.
Though Richard had clearly stated his intention to kill Captain America, they had clung to the hope that his threats were merely posturing—that he only wanted to send a warning to Captain America and S.H.I.E.L.D., not actually commit to such a drastic action.
They had been gravely mistaken.
Among the original six Avengers, Richard harbored the deepest hatred for Captain America—the self-proclaimed paragon of righteousness whose hypocrisy Richard found intolerable. Even without a mission from the Template System, as long as Captain America stood as his enemy, Richard would have eliminated him without hesitation.
Unlike Natasha and Hawkeye with their expressions of shock, Hulk displayed no particular reaction to Captain America's death. Though technically an Avenger himself, he had never considered Rogers a friend.
In the current Avengers lineup, Hulk acknowledged only one true friend: Natasha, the Black Widow. As for Captain America, Hawkeye, Tony, and Thor—they were Banner's friends, not his. In Hulk's simplistic worldview, Captain America was nothing more than an occasional acquaintance. He saw nothing particularly troubling about Richard killing someone who meant so little to him personally.
Richard ignored the stunned Natasha and Hawkeye, instead focusing on the system's description of the Yamato. Although the explanation provided by the system was characteristically brief, Richard didn't need an extensive breakdown to understand the weapon's capabilities.
He didn't immediately summon the Yamato. Instead, he closed the information panel and addressed the still-shocked Natasha and Hawkeye.
"Return to Nick Fury with a message: if he doesn't want S.H.I.E.L.D. to share the Department of Mutant Affairs' fate, S.H.I.E.L.D. would be wise to stop interfering in matters that don't concern them."
His voice was cold, deliberate. "Also, tell him to inform those in the White House that if they want me to stand down, they must meet three conditions."
He held up one finger. "First, I want all warrants and charges against me erased."
A second finger joined the first. "Second, return all property originally belonging to the Wesley family to me, with interest. Including compensation for psychological damages, the total comes to three times the original value." He shrugged slightly. "Payment in cash or other assets is acceptable."
A third finger rose. "Third, release my father."
Richard's eyes narrowed. "They have twenty-four hours to decide whether they'll agree to my terms. If they refuse, I'll ensure the Department of Mutant Affairs and everyone who supported the Mutant Restriction Act ceases to exist."
His lips curved into a dangerous smile. "Of course, they're welcome to try stopping or eliminating me, but they can't say I wasn't clear about the consequences. If they choose to become my enemies, I won't hesitate to become what they'd call a 'terrorist'—and I'll destroy American cities at the rate of one per day."
Having delivered his ultimatum, Richard dismissed Natasha and Hawkeye from his attention. He approached Hulk and patted the green giant's massive arm.
"Don't waste your time with S.H.I.E.L.D.," Richard advised. "They have no future."
"Hulk not belong to S.H.I.E.L.D.," the behemoth replied quickly. "Hulk only help Natasha."
Hearing this, Richard smiled and shook his head knowingly.
Under the watchful eyes of Hulk, Natasha, and Hawkeye, Richard activated his telekinesis, causing the shattered vibranium shield fragments scattered around Captain America's body to float toward him.
Next, he conjured a spherical water bubble one meter in diameter, enveloping the blood-stained, damaged vibranium shield pieces within it. He manipulated the water to swirl chaotically for several seconds, cleansing the blood and grime from the fragments before storing them in his system space.
Only about half of the original shield remained intact. Richard planned to keep it as a trophy. As for the smaller fragments, he intended to use them to test the "Crushing" power he had absorbed from Todd.
As Richard prepared to teleport away, Hulk's gruff voice interrupted him.
"Aren't you going to fight Hulk?"
What?
Hulk's question stunned not only Richard but Natasha and Hawkeye as well. Then Richard remembered—after their previous battle, he had told Hulk he saw potential in him and hoped to see improved combat skills when they next met.
Evidently, Hulk had not only remembered those words but had interpreted them as a promise for a rematch at their next encounter.
"Not today," Richard replied. "Perhaps next time. It's only been a few days since our last sparring match. You should train longer. When you've made significant progress, we'll fight again."
"Oh..." Disappointment was evident in Hulk's expression.
"I'm leaving now. Until next time."
With those parting words, Richard teleported away, vanishing instantly from their sight. As he departed, the floating water bubble disintegrated, its contents splashing to the ground under gravity's pull.
New York—or more precisely, an undisclosed forest in the outskirts of the city.
Richard hadn't immediately returned to Emma Frost's luxurious Manhattan apartment. Instead, he had transported himself to this secluded woodland.
Upon arriving, Richard first retrieved several fragments of the vibranium shield from his system space.
Crush!
Without hesitation, he activated his newly acquired power. Vibranium, renowned throughout the world for its extraordinary strength and durability, instantly crumbled into fine powder when subjected to the Crushing ability's atomic bond-severing properties.
Examining the vibranium dust in his palm, Richard intensified his focus, pushing the Crushing power further. This time, he completely destroyed all atomic connections.
In an instant, the ultrafine vibranium powder vanished as if it had never existed, dispersing into nothingness.
Having tested the Crushing power to his satisfaction, Richard turned his attention to summoning the Yamato. With a mere thought, the sword and its scabbard materialized in his hand.
In the Devil May Cry games, the Yamato's appearance had undergone several design iterations. This version featured a white handle with black trim and paired hexagonal guard. Complex golden infinity patterns adorned the hilt, intertwined with an oriental dragon motif.
Richard recognized immediately that the Yamato he'd received matched the version from Devil May Cry 5. The first-generation Yamato had possessed an octagonal blade, while those in Devil May Cry 3 and 4 featured oval blades. Only in the fifth installment did the blade adopt its distinctive hexagonal cross-section.
Richard cared little about these aesthetic details. He gripped the scabbard with his left hand in the reverse grip traditional to iaijutsu. His right hand closed around the hilt, and in one fluid motion, he drew the blade from its sheath.
"Judgement Cut End!"
Without hesitation, Richard unleashed the Judgement Cut End.
A massive tree dozens of meters away was instantly targeted by the technique. A crescent-shaped wave of energy surged forward, cleaving the trunk into more than ten perfect segments.
Though Richard had performed Judgement Cut End many times before, he had always wielded the Masamune for the technique. This marked his first time executing it with the Yamato.
The moment he drew the blade from its scabbard, his keen senses detected the subtle difference between the weapons. Performing Judgement Cut End with the Masamune had been no different from a normal sword swing, with no need to return the blade to its sheath.
With the Yamato, however, Richard instinctively resheathed the sword in a lightning-fast motion after drawing it.
To an ordinary observer, it would appear as though Richard had barely drawn the Yamato at all—merely exposing a small portion of the blade before returning it to its scabbard. The reality was far more impressive: he had completely unsheathed the Yamato and returned it with such blinding speed that it transcended the limits of human perception.
Though the Yamato's version of Judgement Cut End required this additional motion, Richard found it not only effortless but deeply satisfying.
Stylish!
To be precise, incredibly stylish!
Drawing and resheathing his sword faster than the human eye could follow, releasing an unstoppable Judgement Cut End of devastating power—the technique wasn't merely effective, it was the epitome of cool.
After performing the standard Judgement Cut End, Richard transitioned into the advanced version of the technique.
Beyond the basic Judgement Cut End lay three more powerful variations of the technique!
SWISH! SWISH!
His hand moved in a blur, resheathing the Yamato four times in rapid succession. The tree trunk, which hadn't yet fallen to the ground, was further reduced to hundreds of perfect slices. Satisfied with the display, Richard ceased his demonstration of Zanshin.
After returning the Yamato to his system space, he teleported back to Emma Frost's luxurious Manhattan apartment.
Without waiting for her to inquire about his activities, Richard—in high spirits—swept up Emma Frost from where she sat on the living room sofa. Her white minidress perfectly showcased her long, shapely legs as he carried her toward the bedroom.
Soon, passionate sounds indicative of life's most primal activity echoed from behind the closed door.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Triskelion Headquarters Director's Office
Nick Fury regarded Natasha, Banner, and Hawkeye with grave intensity, maintaining a lengthy silence as they sat on the sofa before him.
Captain America's body had been transported back to headquarters and promptly delivered to the S.H.I.E.L.D. laboratory. While Rogers was alive, Fury would never have dared request him to participate in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s experimental procedures. Now, however, he had not only sent Captain America's remains to the lab but had ordered S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists to analyze the body extensively, hoping they might reverse-engineer Dr. Erskine's super-soldier serum.
After more than ten seconds of silence, Fury finally spoke.
"I've just been in contact with the White House. They've given me their response to Richard's demands."
He paused, his single eye studying their reactions. "They can only meet two of the three conditions."
Two?
Natasha and Hawkeye immediately frowned upon hearing this. Though Richard had never targeted innocent civilians before, after witnessing his decisive execution of Captain America, they doubted his threat to destroy one city per day was mere bluster. Given Richard's temperament, if the White House couldn't satisfy all his conditions, he would likely interpret it as America's decision to continue hostilities.
"Which condition can't they meet?" Natasha asked directly.
"The third one. They can't release Roy Wesley," Fury replied, resignation evident in his voice.
"Why not?" Natasha pressed. "Wesley is just a Beta-class mutant with common enhancements—super strength and durability. Even if released, he wouldn't pose any significant threat."
"Because he's dead," Fury stated flatly. "There's no releasing the dead. And to complicate matters further, Roy Wesley's body was cremated."
Upon hearing Fury's explanation, Natasha and Hawkeye finally understood why his expression had been so grim. Though they didn't know the exact nature of Richard's relationship with Roy Wesley, they were certain of one thing: this situation was heading toward the worst possible outcome.
Compared to dropping the S-class warrant from the Department of Mutant Affairs and returning the Wesley family's property with interest, releasing Roy Wesley was clearly far more important to Richard.
It wasn't surprising that Natasha and Hawkeye would reach such a conclusion. From their perspective, everything Richard had done was ultimately to rescue Roy Wesley.
They couldn't possibly have imagined that the current Richard and the original Richard were two entirely different people. Not to mention, unless Richard himself revealed it, no one could know he was a transmigrator who had taken over the original body.
In their assessment, Roy Wesley's death would cause Richard to completely lose control and follow through on his threat to systematically destroy the United States.
In reality, the situation was far less dire than they imagined.
Rescuing Roy Wesley had never been Richard's primary objective. If it had been, after concluding the operation at the Los Angeles branch, he would have continued assaulting other branches of the Department of Mutant Affairs until Roy Wesley was freed.
Instead, he had methodically focused on increasing his power. For Richard, rescuing Roy Wesley represented merely a karmic payment for occupying the original body—not an imperative.
From the beginning, his attitude had been to save Roy if possible. If not, then Roy Wesley's fate was simply unfortunate.
"How do the people at the White House intend to explain to Richard that his father is dead?" Natasha asked, her brow furrowed in concern.
Fury immediately responded, "They plan to tell him the truth directly. If he requires additional compensation, they'll attempt to accommodate him." He paused, giving Natasha a meaningful look. "They also believe you're the most suitable person to contact him."
"You've encountered him twice now—you're the official representative who's had the most interaction with him. Furthermore, you emerged unharmed from both meetings, which suggests he might hold a favorable impression of you."
Though Fury's words were diplomatically phrased, Natasha and Hawkeye instantly grasped the subtext of his suggestion—Banner, however, remained oblivious.
The beauty plan. In other words, using feminine charms as leverage.
Natasha first glanced at Banner, confirming he hadn't caught Fury's implied meaning, and exhaled with relief. Though she had frequently employed her appearance as a tactical asset during her career as an agent, the situation was different now.
For one thing, she hadn't known Banner back in those days.
Turning her attention back to Fury, Natasha replied sharply, "Are those White House officials complete idiots? What evidence suggests Richard has any attraction to me?" She shook her head firmly. "I have no intention of committing suicide. This is a problem of their own making—let them contact Richard themselves!"
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