Behind Alex, a portal opened, and Doctor Strange flew out from it.
A magical longsword appeared in the Sorcerer Supreme's hand.
The Sword of the Vishanti.
He swung the sword, slashing down at Alex from behind.
As expected, ripples of diamond-shaped light appeared in the air between Alex and Doctor Strange.
Absolute Domain!
Whether it was Doctor Strange's white magic, Wanda's Chaos Magic, or Vision's phasing ability, none of them could break through Alex's mind-over-matter domain.
As long as Alex's will remained firm, as long as he believed he could not be harmed, then nothing could hurt him.
Even when Thanos used the Soul Stone to attack directly on the level of the soul, Absolute Domain had weakened it considerably.
A small magic sword in Doctor Strange's hand was even less of a threat.
Alex turned around and shrugged, "I really don't get it. Do all you sorcerers have a melee fighter's heart?"
Then he flicked his fingers, thumb and forefinger snapping together. A blast of compressed air shot toward Doctor Strange like a cannonball.
Doctor Strange raised a magical shield in time, but he was still blown away by the attack.
Vision caught Doctor Strange in midair before saying, "I've analyzed his defensive ability."
"I can't break it, but I've discovered that this unusual domain seems to be connected to the Conqueror's mental state."
"Be more specific," Wanda said.
Vision nodded, "My guess is that it's a mental domain. Unless we can affect the Conqueror's mind and make him depressed or despairing, we won't be able to break through it."
Wanda's eyes lit up, "I can try."
Her Chaos Magic could invade people's minds. During the Ultron incident, she had used the same method to invade Iron Man's mind, provoking Stark into seeing a vision of the Avengers' defeat.
That incident had led Stark to create Ultron.
Now that she knew Absolute Domain was connected to the mind, Wanda immediately tried to influence Alex's psyche.
Alex smiled. Of course he had heard Vision's analysis.
He silently praised Vision. As expected of a super robot, he had figured out some of Absolute Domain's characteristics so quickly.
Although Vision's analysis differed somewhat from the truth, the direction was correct. Reaching that conclusion alone was already impressive.
He also knew Wanda was about to influence his mind.
But Alex himself possessed Mental Resistance.
Combined with his control of the Mind Stone, why would he fear Wanda?
Using Chaos Magic, Wanda invaded Alex's mindscape.
At first, she felt dazed.
Then her vision cleared.
Ahead of her, a volcano erupted, scorching lava blasting into the sky before volcanic bombs rained down like a storm.
Wanda looked around and found herself in a terrifying world.
The sky wasn't exactly black, but it was covered in dark clouds. Blood-red lightning as thick as tree trunks constantly crashed down.
The ground was scorched earth dotted with erupting volcanoes.
The entire world glowed with a blinding crimson light.
The light came from rivers of lava winding across the land, stretching into the distance as though they had no end.
"How terrifying."
"So this is the Conqueror's mind?"
Wanda stood there in shock.
Suddenly, she felt someone breathing behind her.
Startled, Wanda tried to move away.
A hand reached out from behind, slid past her waist, and rested lightly on her lower abdomen.
That hand wore the Infinity Gauntlet, and the Mind Stone embedded in it shone brightly.
Wanda instantly found herself unable to move.
"I have to admire your courage."
The Conqueror's voice sounded behind her.
Alex had manifested himself within his own mindscape.
In the past, he couldn't have done this.
Although he possessed talent related to the mind, it all came from the Mind Stone rather than being his own innate ability.
On top of that, he had only made superficial use of mental abilities and had never studied them in depth.
Even techniques like invading multiple minds simultaneously had only become familiar through repeated use.
But now, with the help of the Mind Stone, Alex was able to manifest inside his own mindscape.
And restrain Wanda.
He took a deep breath through her hair and smiled, "Honestly, I can't understand why you'd fall for a cold machine."
"What kind of twisted thinking led you to that?"
"He's a robot. No matter how human he seems, he can never give you the happiness or fulfillment that a human can."
"To put it simply, the two of you can never have a child together."
"I mean, a baby."
Wanda's body trembled slightly. She realized that inside this mindscape, she was completely incapable of resisting Alex.
It reminded her of something she had once read, (Those who toy with the mind are often toyed with by the mind in the end.)
It perfectly described her current situation.
The glowing Mind Stone on the Infinity Gauntlet seemed to be mocking her for overestimating herself.
Even so, Wanda said, "Someone like you will never understand what Vision and I feel for each other."
Alex nodded, "You're right. I really don't understand."
"And I don't want to."
"But since you believe you and that clanker share such deep feelings..."
"I'd like to run an experiment."
Wanda was startled, "What are you going to do?"
Alex whispered into her ear, "I want to use the Mind Stone to make you forget Vision..."
"...and fall in love with me."
"What do you think of that idea?"
"If your feelings for Vision are really as strong as you say, you'll be able to hold out, won't you?"
As he spoke, Alex's hand slowly moved up.
The Mind Stone on the Infinity Gauntlet shone brighter and brighter.
As it drew closer, Wanda's nerves grew tighter and tighter.
Just as Alex extended a finger toward her forehead, Wanda cried out, "Stop!"
"Don't do that to me."
"Fine," Alex smiled, "But you have to promise me one thing."
———
The next moment, Wanda woke up in the real world.
"Well? Did you affect his mind?", Vision asked.
Wanda looked at him.
Then she turned to Doctor Strange.
"I'm sorry."
Immediately afterward, Wanda used Chaos Magic on Doctor Strange.
She restrained him and then flew into the sky.
Unable to move, Doctor Strange looked completely bewildered.
"Wanda, what are you doing?"
Vision glanced at Alex.
His instincts told him this had something to do with the Conqueror.
But he had no time to think about it. Vision flew into the air and chased after Wanda.
Very soon, the three of them became tiny black dots in the distance.
With one simple scheme, Alex had removed three members of the Avengers from the battlefield.
And all of them were key figures.
Smiling, he said, "This game is getting more and more interesting."