The person most unable to accept the news was George Stacy.
After all, he was a police officer.
Karl had just destroyed an entire country.
One hundred and twenty-two million lives had been wiped out in an instant.
For someone who had dedicated his life to upholding the law and protecting civilians, it was impossible to process such a thing immediately.
Even May Parker looked stunned.
For a brief moment, it felt as though Karl had become a complete stranger to her.
Gwen felt the same.
She had always believed strongly in justice.
But now, hearing that Karl had destroyed an entire nation, it felt as though she was seeing him for the first time.
However, not everyone reacted the same way.
Helen Cho, Wanda, Pietro, Peter, Yelena, Yan, and the others were only briefly surprised.
For Helen Cho, the reaction was mild.
She had dealt with powerful corporations and political elites before and knew their true nature very well.
In her mind, Karl was the only person she truly trusted.
Right or wrong—
It didn't matter.
For Wanda and Pietro, the matter was even simpler.
If Karl had not saved them in the past, their fates might have been far more tragic.
They had already learned from Great Wanda what their original destiny would have been.
Because of that, they felt nothing but gratitude toward Karl.
Peter had spent so much time with Pietro and the others that Karl's influence had already become natural to him.
Karl had always treated them well.
So in Peter's mind—
Everything Karl did must have had a reason.
Yelena had lived her entire life surrounded by death.
Although the number 122 million was shocking, it didn't change her perspective.
In her eyes, someone must have pushed Karl to that point.
Otherwise, he would never have destroyed an entire nation.
Because of that, neither Yelena nor Natasha reacted strongly.
As for Yan, she was calmer than anyone else.
She only showed a slight moment of surprise.
After all—
She had lived for seven thousand years.
During that time, she had probably witnessed or caused the deaths of more beings than existed on Earth.
Whenever evil was judged in cosmic wars, entire planets were destroyed.
The ancient wars between angels and demons alone had affected countless worlds.
So the destruction of a single country did not feel particularly shocking to her.
More importantly—
Karl's position was different.
He was the strongest being on Earth.
If Karl wanted to rule the planet, no one could stop him.
As for Black Phoenix, Great Wanda, and Ganata—
They simply didn't care.
Black Phoenix only had Karl in her eyes.
Great Wanda had once lost her parents, brother, and lover in another universe.
She had even attempted to destroy the world herself in that timeline.
Compared to that—
The destruction of a country meant little.
And Ganata…
Her perspective was even more extreme.
As the daughter of Galactus, she had consumed countless planets.
Every one of those worlds contained hundreds of millions or even billions of lifeforms.
So whether Karl killed 122 million people meant nothing to her.
At that moment, Black Phoenix sensed the conflicted emotions of May, Gwen, George, and the others.
She exchanged a glance with Great Wanda, then slowly descended.
"I don't care what you think about Karl," Black Phoenix said coldly.
"But you should think about why he did this."
"The only reason Karl would destroy an entire country is because of us."
Her eyes glowed faintly with Phoenix energy.
"Karl values the people around him more than anything."
"With the six Infinity Stones, he naturally knows the thoughts of those leaders."
"And even after knowing their intentions—he still destroyed them."
She paused briefly.
"Think carefully about what those people must have planned to make Karl so furious."
Then her voice turned even colder.
"If you truly cannot accept it…"
"You can say so directly."
"I'll erase your memories of this period."
"And send you back to the lives you originally had."
"The lives where your fates were never changed."
The room fell silent.
Everyone lowered their heads in thought.
Even George Stacy said nothing.
Because deep down—
He knew the truth.
If someone had those kinds of intentions toward his wife and daughter, he would kill them without hesitation.
Black Phoenix glanced at them one last time.
Then she said nothing more.
She rose back into the air to continue fighting the army outside.
BOOM—!
At that moment, the United States military prepared to deploy a nuclear weapon.
When J.A.R.V.I.S. detected the incoming missile, the system went into emergency mode.
Tony desperately tried to stop it.
Because he knew exactly what would happen.
If a nuclear bomb exploded at Karl's manor—
Karl would absolutely destroy the entire United States.
At the same time, Speed also detected the incoming nuclear weapon.
The warning was immediately transmitted to Black Phoenix, Great Wanda, and Ganata.
Black Phoenix merely smiled with disdain.
A nuclear bomb posed no threat to her.
She could disintegrate it before it even detonated.
Great Wanda could simply rewrite its molecular structure so that it would never explode.
Ganata could literally eat the missile like a snack.
Meanwhile, Tony tried to intercept the aircraft carrying the nuclear weapon.
But he failed.
An escort fighter jet deliberately rammed his armor, preventing him from reaching the target.
Tony couldn't destroy the plane either.
If the aircraft exploded prematurely, the nuclear bomb might detonate instantly.
WHOOSH—!
The bomber finally launched the nuclear missile.
Just as the pilot attempted to turn the aircraft around—
Something strange happened.
The fighter jet stopped moving.
No matter how hard the pilot tried—
It remained frozen in place.
Because Black Phoenix had already appeared in front of it.
Using the Phoenix Force, she seized control of the aircraft and the nuclear missile simultaneously.
A cold smile appeared on her face.
Then she dismantled the fighter jet's propulsion system.
All five aircraft instantly lost power.
Moments later—
Black Phoenix hurled the disabled jets toward the city.
Along with them—
The nuclear missile.
"NO!!!"
Tony screamed in desperation when he saw what she had done.
But Black Phoenix ignored him.
She allowed the nuclear weapon to fall toward the city.
At the same time, civilians across New York City and officials throughout the United States saw the nuclear missile descending from the sky.
BOOM—!
A deafening explosion followed.
A massive mushroom cloud rose over New York City.
Skyscrapers collapsed instantly.
Everyone within a ten-kilometer radius was vaporized.
Buildings disintegrated under the intense heat and shockwave.
Even Karl's manor nearly suffered damage.
But Great Wanda raised a massive protective barrier, shielding it from the blast.
At that moment, Karl had no idea that New York City had just been destroyed by a nuclear explosion.
He was currently floating above Australia.
Energy gathered around him.
Without hesitation, Karl launched his next attack.
Australia responded immediately.
All of its nuclear missiles were launched toward Karl.
But Karl had no intention of letting them reach him.
BOOM—!
His energy blast struck a city in the Kangaroo Kingdom.
The city was instantly destroyed.
This was not even a full-power attack.
It was merely a casual strike while wearing his Saint Cloth.
Meanwhile, the nuclear missiles reached Karl.
Karl calmly drew a circle in the air.
A portal opened.
Every nuclear missile entered the portal.
And the other end of the portal—
Led directly back to the city of the Kangaroo Kingdom.
...
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