In the sky, War Machine relentlessly chased Shuri.
Having just shaken off Wakanda's air force, Colonel Rhodes had chased her into the mountains. He could be said to be the first superhero to lock onto Shuri.
But the forest terrain wasn't suited for flying, and Shuri kept disappearing from his sight, giving Rhodes a headache.
In the end, he couldn't bring himself to use lethal force.
After all, Shuri had only taken the Mind Stone, and she was the one who had separated it from Vision.
Strictly speaking, the Avengers owed both her and Wakanda a favor.
If the Mind Stone weren't so special and so important, then giving it to Wakanda would have been perfectly reasonable.
"Stop running, Princess."
"Thanos is about to arrive."
"If that Stone falls into his hands, the entire universe will be in danger."
"Please hand it over to us."
Rhodes could only try to persuade Shuri patiently, hoping she would change her mind.
Suddenly, as War Machine flew beneath a large tree, Shuri dropped down from above.
"Damn it!"
"Get off me!"
Rhodes shouted as he tried to shake her off.
Shuri locked her legs around him. Translucent claws extended from all ten of her fingertips.
The moment those claws latched onto War Machine's armor, Rhodes saw the information on his HUD suddenly become distorted.
Then the system crashed. He instantly turned into a lump of metal and fell from the sky.
Fortunately, he hadn't been flying very high, and the armor protected him, so he wasn't injured.
The problem was that the armor had completely shut down. The air circulation system was offline as well. Before long, he'd suffocate inside it.
Just then, his faceplate was forcibly torn off, and Rhodes finally let out a sigh of relief. He watched Shuri dash away with the agility of a wildcat.
Needless to say, she was the one who had removed his faceplate. Rhodes took a deep breath and tried restarting the system.
Moments later, Shuri reached a stream. Just as she was about to wade across it, a ball of red light descended ahead of her.
The red light landed in the stream, sending water splashing everywhere and blocking her path.
Shuri looked up and saw Vision and Wanda descending from the sky.
They landed in front of and behind her.
Vision shook his head, "Don't force us to use violence, Your Highness. Please hand the Mind Stone over to us."
Shuri didn't answer.
She immediately turned and ran toward a cliff on the left. But just before jumping off, she suddenly performed a backward flip in midair.
Two gray bird-shaped drones swept past and exploded where she had been standing.
Shuri landed steadily. Looking up, she saw Falcon flying overhead. He had also broken through Wakanda's air force and caught up.
Dressed in red, Wanda stepped forward, "This ends here, Princess Shuri."
"You're not a match for us."
"Stop struggling."
Only then did Shuri speak, "To you, this is a pointless struggle."
"But to me, it's worth it."
"You have no idea how great Lord Conqueror is. He will change this world."
"I don't think so."
A figure burst out from the forest.
It was Captain America, Steve.
He nodded to Vision and Wanda before saying, "The Conqueror is ambitious. Even if he can change this world..."
"He'll only make it worse."
Shuri glanced around.
Above her, Falcon circled through the air, ready to dive the moment an opportunity appeared.
On the ground... whether it was Vision, Wanda, or Steve, they were all powerful Avengers.
Breaking through their encirclement wouldn't be easy.
But...
'So what!'
Shuri decisively charged at Steve.
She wasn't confident about facing either Vision or Wanda. One was a super android, the other a witch.
By comparison, Steve was the easier target.
After all, he was only human.
An enhanced human.
Steve exchanged a look with Vision and Wanda, signaling them to attack together.
The Conqueror had already arrived. They had no time to waste, and they had no idea how much longer Thor could hold him off.
Immediately, the three of them charged at Shuri at the same time.
Falcon also dove down from the sky.
"So you're not even giving me a fair duel."
Shuri sighed inwardly, but she didn't panic. Just as the four of them were about to strike, she suddenly slapped her chest, and a ring of purple ripples burst outward.
Kinetic Blast!
Instantly, Steve and Falcon were blasted away by the kinetic force.
Wanda blocked the impact with Chaos Magic.
Vision shifted into his intangible state, letting the wave pass straight through him.
But...
Taking advantage of the opening... Shuri leaped upward, grabbed Falcon, stepped on his back for leverage, and launched herself off the cliff.
A great river flowed below. As long as she reached the water, she could use it to escape.
But at that moment, Vision flew over, caught her, and threw her back onto the mountain.
Shuri cried out softly. She hit the ground and rolled several times. As soon as she got back to her feet, she saw Steve rushing toward her.
She immediately raised both arms, firing shockwaves continuously from her palms.
Captain America raised his shield and blocked them one after another.
Then Shuri brought her hands together, releasing a purple beam of kinetic energy between her palms.
BOOM!
This time, Captain America was blasted away.
But at that moment, crimson light flowed over Shuri's body. Wanda had taken advantage of her distraction and had already captured and restrained her with Chaos Magic.
Vision landed in front of Shuri. His eyes lit up as he scanned her suit and located where she had hidden the Mind Stone.
A moment later...
The Mind Stone was in Vision's hand.
"Wanda, now!"
Vision threw it toward Wanda.
Wanda released Shuri and unleashed her full power. Scarlet light burst from both of her palms.
The energy of Chaos Magic struck the Mind Stone. Resonating with power of the same origin, the Stone began to break apart at the molecular level.
Threads of pure white light continuously shone from within it.
Just as Alex arrived above the forest, he witnessed the Mind Stone explode.
A sphere of white light rose into the sky. The shockwave spread out, shattering mountains and rocks while kicking up a ring of dust.
"No!"
Seeing this, Shuri charged at Wanda.
Vision immediately reached out to grab Shuri.
But another hand was faster.
It scooped Shuri up into its arms.
That hand wore the Infinity Gauntlet.
"Let me go!"
Shuri was furious when someone suddenly lifted her around the waist. But when she saw it was Alex, her anger vanished, replaced by shame.
"Lord Conqueror!"
"I'm sorry. I failed to protect the Mind Stone."
"I already had it in my hands, but they still destroyed it."
Alex lightly tapped her helmet and smiled, "It's alright."
"You've already done very well."
"Leave the rest to me."