Marvel: Starting as a Time Criminal, Stealing Powers

The anger in Apocalypse's eyes was almost overflowing. He glared at Magneto and roared:

"You betrayed me, mutant!"

As he spoke, he manipulated the molecules in his body to enlarge himself, trying to suppress the energy that was constantly destroying him.

But it was useless.

Whether he grew larger or smaller, the cracks covering his body only deepened, glowing brighter and brighter.

Magneto felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

Staring at Wanda, who was slowly walking forward, he demanded furiously:

"Who are you!?"

If he couldn't tell that this woman wasn't really his daughter, then he would have lived in vain.

But the DNA tests… why didn't they expose the truth?

Wanda sneered.

"People in the real world are so stupid."

"Didn't Mephisto teach you about mental possession before? Forgotten already?"

Hearing this, Captain America, who was lying on the ground pretending to be dead, felt his scalp go numb.

He wanted to get up and run.

But thinking about how ridiculous it would be to run in front of something this terrifying, he simply buried his head deeper into the sand.

Black Widow and the other agents also played along, pretending they had been killed by Magneto.

Whether anyone else believed it or not, they believed it themselves.

Magneto looked like he'd been struck by lightning, muttering in disbelief:

"Impossible... That magician clearly defeated you. How could you return so soon?"

He had suspected there was something wrong with this 'daughter' who had come to him of her own accord. But he assumed it was just some self-serving plot.

He hadn't expected it to be something this terrifying.

The way she casually mentioned Mephisto was far too natural to be faked.

There was no doubt now: this being was at least on the same level as Mephisto.

In this moment, he suddenly regretted not listening to Professor X's warnings.

But regret was meaningless now. He raised his hand, summoning shattered car parts from all around. They buzzed violently as they shot toward the fake Wanda.

"Naive."

A cold voice sounded.

Black flames erupted on the flying metal shards, and within seconds, they melted into pools of molten iron, raining down uselessly onto the desert sand.

'Wanda' looked at Magneto with pure contempt.

"What a waste… controlling magnetism, yet you settle for controlling metal."

"Damn you!"

Magneto roared, raising his hand again. A ball of black fire formed, transforming into an arrow that shot forward!

But before it even reached 'Wanda', Magneto's head suddenly exploded like a watermelon.

'Wanda' froze momentarily, then turned her head sharply to look at the sky.

A man cloaked in an apricot-yellow sorcerer's robe, faint white light radiating from his body, floated silently in midair, the edges of his robe fluttering gently in the night breeze.

It was Russell.

He glanced at Jean Grey and Apocalypse, who were still locked in battle, then casually snapped his fingers.

With a ripple, both were dragged into the Mirror Dimension.

Looking at 'Wanda', Russell said with mild surprise:

"Good catch. I didn't expect to fish out such a big one."

The smile vanished from 'Wanda's' face, replaced by cold confusion.

She asked angrily:

"As the new Sorcerer Supreme… why are you here, instead of hiding in Kamar-Taj!?"

Russell's pupils flashed white for a moment as realization dawned.

"I was wondering why I didn't smell the stench of hell… So it's you."

"Chthon."

He laughed suddenly.

"Interesting. Very interesting."

"So Mephisto told me he obtained black magic dimension energy from a 'deal', and you followed him to this world."

"None of you dimensional devils are honest."

The disguise dropped completely now.

'Wanda's' eyes glowed blood red—the unmistakable mark of Chthon.

Yet instead of rage at his failed plan, Chthon merely sighed with regret.

"So, you've been watching Apocalypse all along."

"What rotten luck. I thought the Ancient One's death meant my chance had finally come. Seems fate isn't on my side this time."

Russell calmly admitted that luck played a part today.

He hadn't expected Chthon to be this treacherous.

"But tell me, how did you avoid the Ancient One's detection?"

Chthon answered almost lazily, clearly in no rush to leave.

"When the Red Skull summoned dimensional energy, I was present."

"He would never have noticed."

"Wanda was marked with Hades' Seal long ago. The moment a sliver of my consciousness arrived in this world, it could instantly hide within her mind, without emitting any power fluctuations."

"To be honest, if Mephisto hadn't been so stupid and exposed himself, I'd have seized the real world quietly."

As he spoke, a black flame gathered in his palm, surging ominously.

The Lord of the Black Dimension made his offer:

"Since I've failed, there's no need to keep fighting."

"But... I propose a deal."

"Let me take this woman's body back, and I'll give you the source of this black magic flame as compensation."

"It's just a human body—you'd be making a fortune. If you're worried, we can even sign a contract. The flame contains no hidden will or corruption."

Russell wasn't surprised at all.

He simply sighed.

"Why do you think I can't see through that trick?"

"And besides… if I kill you, it's mine anyway."

As he finished speaking, Russell's pupils erupted in white light, shooting out two focused beams that pierced the void itself.

A muffled groan sounded.

'Wanda'—Chthon's puppet—fell from midair, crashing to the ground.

Wanda's original body collapsed into shadows, dissipating in black flames, disappearing completely.

At that moment, thunder rumbled.

The space itself trembled.

Captain America, who couldn't help but glance upward after Russell appeared, saw something he'd never forget.

A lightning bolt, at least a hundred times larger than anything he'd seen before, split the night sky.

It looked as if a colossal tree had sprouted backward from time itself.

Countless lightning branches spread outward, then converged into a single, massive trunk—a pillar of pure lightning.

The massive bolt struck the possessed woman from the sky, drowning her in blinding light.

Night itself was banished in that moment. The world shone as bright as day.

Everyone at the scene fell into stunned silence.

Their minds went blank.

It was as if they were witnessing divine judgment itself.

At that moment, Russell raised his head slightly, sensing something unseen.

He snorted coldly.

Then clenched his fists toward the heavens.

Instantly—

Hundreds of flaming swords rained down from the sky.

At the same time, a roar came from within the lightning pillar, and shadowy claws reached out, trying to grab Russell.

But just as these spells formed, they were pinned to the ground by flames!

The lightning pillar then dissipated—Wanda's body had already been charred black!

Russell liked beautiful women, but he wasn't obsessed with them.

At this moment, Chthon's descending consciousness had to be eliminated first. Otherwise, Wanda would be as good as dead.

But suddenly, crimson energy flared in the night sky. When it faded, Wanda reappeared intact, standing where she had been before.

Alter Reality.

The power of the Chaos Magic had rewritten reality, restoring Wanda's body as if she'd never been attacked.

Russell wasn't surprised. After all, Chthon had come precisely for this.

Even though Wanda hadn't fully awakened yet, in Chthon's hands, she could do much more.

That was also why Chthon had completely abandoned using black magic dimension energy when sneaking into this world.

Concealment was only part of the reason.

More importantly—the Chaos Magic itself was powerful enough.

"You Sorcerer Supremes are so annoying!"

Chthon roared. The crimson energy in his hands slammed into the earth!

Instantly, a massive crimson barrier erupted into the sky.

Everywhere the crimson wave passed, reality itself began to change.

The desert turned into black, corrupted soil. A sticky river, like corpse oil, flowed slowly across the land.

Captain America and Black Widow were horrified to find themselves transformed into rotting corpses, hanging from grotesque dead trees. Two-headed crows circled above, pecking at their decaying flesh.

There was no pain—but that made it all the more terrifying.

Black Widow struggled to raise her pale, corpse-like eyes toward the sky, hoping to beg Russell for help.

But all she saw was the red energy writhing across his body. His skin was turning pale, corrupted wherever it spread.

Her expression collapsed into despair.

If even this powerful magician couldn't resist, then it was truly over.

At that moment, Chthon laughed triumphantly.

Staring at Russell—now transformed into a ghoul—he sneered:

"You're far weaker than the Ancient One."

"I was cautious for nothing. This Earth now belongs to me!"

But the ghoul didn't lose control or start devouring rotting flesh. Instead, it spoke calmly:

"I'm starting to doubt whether you're really a dimensional Mephista."

"Is your perception that bad?"

Hearing this, Black Widow was stunned.

A tiny glimmer of hope sprouted amidst her despair.

The next moment, dazzling milky-white light rippled out from Russell's body, spreading in waves!

A faint, sacred chorus echoed through the air.

The crimson corruption still stained the world, but wherever the white light touched, all distortions were frozen—and reality was restored!

Divine Power.

It erased all anomalies.

Including curses.

And even Altered Reality.

On the ground, Black Widow and the others stared blankly at the holy scene in the sky.

Compared to the thunder from earlier, this was even more shocking.

"…God…"

An agent murmured, falling to his knees.

Even Captain America—once a firm atheist—felt his convictions shatter.

If this wasn't God… then what was?

He felt his soul washed clean by the holy light… and silently vowed never to call Nick Fury a slur again.

Tears rolled down Black Widow's cheeks.

She didn't understand why, but her heart felt an overwhelming peace she had never known. She wanted nothing more than to embrace the holy light.

But Chthon was suffering.

Wanda's scarlet, pupil-less eyes flickered with traces of white. Pained groans escaped her lips as her mind fought to return.

Then—a crisp voice rang out.

"Break."

Russell raised his finger and pointed forward. In an instant, the crimson barrier shattered under the crushing force of his telekinesis.

It dissolved into countless invisible threads, locking Wanda in midair.

The space itself cracked open.

In the next second, Russell appeared directly before Wanda.

Their gazes met.

The power of the white light poured directly into her soul, flooding through every corner of her being, drowning the shadows within.

Everyone clearly heard a scream.

But strangely—the voice wasn't filled with anger.

It was laughing.

Laughing hysterically.

"You fell for it!"

"You finally fell for it, Sorcerer Supreme!"

"Did you really think I didn't know you've been watching Magneto and Jean Grey all along?"

"Did you really think I came for the Phoenix Force… or that broken mutant?"

"Did you really think I came for Wanda?"

"Let me tell you something… I showed up on purpose. I wanted you to find me."

"And do you know why?"

"Because besides Wanda… there's another person in this world who's already been corrupted by me."

"Come on… fight me here. Just one minute… that's all I need."

As Chthon laughed maniacally, black runes lit up across Wanda's body.

They were dark curses—runes Chthon had prepared at enormous cost using his original power.

As the black light surged, the surrounding space completely sealed off.

Russell tried to shift his consciousness, but black smoke twined around his perception itself, binding his "sight."

Chthon was ecstatic:

"It's done! It's done!!"

"This world belongs to me now!"

But then, he noticed something wrong.

The Sorcerer Supreme before him wasn't panicking.

Russell's expression remained calm… no, indifferent.

A disguise? An illusion?

No. Useless.

This magic was unbreakable. He just needed to hold him here for one minute.

No—thirty seconds would be enough.

Aside from the Sorcerer Supreme at Kamar-Taj, the rest of Earth's secret magicians were nothing but insects.

Thirty seconds was all he needed to corrupt the real dimension's barriers.

But at that moment—

Russell suddenly laughed.

"I finally understand why that guy died."

"You're finished, Chthon."

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