Outside the town.
After detecting the sudden outbreak of an ice storm within Puente Antiguo, Coulson—who had originally planned to evacuate—was ordered by Nick to remain behind once again.
After relocating the town's civilians to safety, the agents gathered around the site where the Bifrost had descended several times before. Many of them carried instruments, recording the abnormal residual data in the area.
"I wonder how Fenris is doing."
During a brief lull in the work, Coulson removed his sunglasses and gazed toward the center of town.
Fenris had never demonstrated any ability to manipulate ice before. The power to plunge the temperature below freezing for dozens of miles around in an instant far exceeded anything they had imagined. Whoever this unfamiliar enemy was, he clearly wasn't someone to be taken lightly.
"One crisis after another. What in the world is happening…"
Coulson let out a weary sigh.
He might not be part of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s senior leadership, but as one of Nick's trusted subordinates, he knew many things that remained closely guarded secrets from the outside world.
Yet the more he knew, the heavier the weight pressing down on his heart became. As he stared at the distant town, a grim premonition settled over him.
"The whole world is about to descend into chaos."
"Sir, we've made another discovery."
An agent holding a scanner rose and hurried toward Coulson, interrupting his troubled thoughts.
"What is it?"
Coulson turned around. His usual warmth vanished, replaced by a solemn expression.
"Satellite data shows another spatial anomaly forming directly above us."
The agent handed Coulson the display. On the screen, a massive vortex of energy was taking shape above their position, its energy readings climbing at an astonishing rate with every passing moment.
"Look at the sky, sir."
The agent pointed upward.
Under the influence of the freezing winds, the already turbulent weather had once again become abnormal. Dense clouds gathered overhead, gradually twisting into a vast spiral.
They were standing directly beneath the vortex's center.
"What?"
Coulson froze, then tossed his sunglasses aside.
He abruptly raised his head. The clouds were descending toward them again, and as the wind began to howl, brilliant rainbow-colored light appeared above the dark cloud cover.
Coulson's eyes widened the moment he noticed that radiant light.
The phenomenon had appeared several times over the past few days. He no longer needed to examine the data to recognize it.
"The Bifrost!"
"No, wait. We have no idea what it's bringing down this time…"
A terrible premonition flashed through Coulson's mind, and his heart lurched. The instant he sensed the danger, he snatched the megaphone from the agent beside him, turned the volume to its highest setting, and shouted, "Everyone, stop what you're doing! Stop immediately!"
"Get into the vehicles now! We're leaving this area!"
His urgent voice thundered from the megaphone.
Fortunately, every agent present was highly trained. The moment they received the warning, they sprang into action and quickly packed away everything around them.
Dozens of agents piled into the vehicles at breakneck speed. Engines roared as they followed Coulson away from the site. Only after putting several hundred yards between themselves and the vortex did they stop and watch from a distance.
Boom!
After an extremely brief buildup, a colossal pillar of rainbow light crashed down from the heavens. Carrying an immense surge of energy, it struck the earth and instantly threw up an enormous cloud of dust.
A moment later, the rainbow light disappeared.
As the dust gradually settled, Coulson raised his binoculars and spotted a massive silhouette emerging in the distance.
"Over ten feet tall. Humanoid. Entire body silver-white."
Staring at the enormous, powerfully built figure, Coulson frowned and instinctively began analyzing it aloud.
"Is that Fenris?"
"No. Fenris is much bigger than that when he transforms. Could it be that Abomination working for him? No, it doesn't look like him either."
A moment later, Coulson's eyes narrowed as he finally saw the mysterious visitor clearly.
It was a massive suit of silver-white armor.
Countless mysterious runes that none of them could understand covered its surface. They slowly lit up, only to gradually fade again.
At first glance, the armor appeared medieval in design. Yet its smooth contours and fully enclosed construction did not match any known historical style.
Combined with the intelligence S.H.I.E.L.D. had already gathered, it looked more like the battle armor worn by the gods in ancient myths.
"Sir, do you think this could be some new equipment Tony developed?" an agent beside him asked, blinking in confusion. "It does look a little like one of Tony's creations. It's just… quite a bit bigger."
"What are you thinking?"
Having dealt with Tony several times before, Coulson scoffed at the suggestion.
"If he possessed technology like the Bifrost, the entire world would already know about it. Do you honestly think we'd still have the chance to secretly study it here?"
"Keep watching it. I want to know exactly what this thing is."
Coulson raised his binoculars again and looked into the distance.
After landing, the enormous silver armored figure merely stood there, completely motionless, almost as though it were lost in thought.
For a long while, nothing happened.
Just as the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents began exchanging confused looks, the figure suddenly seemed to receive some kind of signal and slowly began to move.
Its hollow eyes swept across its surroundings as though searching for someone. Several seconds later, it abruptly turned its head. Its gaze passed over the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and settled on the frozen town behind them.
Having finally locked on to that faint energy fluctuation, the Destroyer strode toward Puente Antiguo.
Watching the enormous, cold killing machine approach, one of the agents nervously swallowed.
"Is… is it looking at us?"
Sure enough, the Destroyer turned its gaze toward them in the next instant.
Upon noticing that the group of several dozen agents had formed ranks and was facing it, the Destroyer's faceplate slowly opened. Fiery red energy began gathering within its hollow interior.
"Take cover!"
Every hair on Coulson's body stood on end. He shouted the warning and hurled himself sideways, rolling awkwardly across the ground.
Yet several seconds passed, and the anticipated attack never came.
Coulson cautiously raised his head. To his surprise, the massive armored figure had once again stopped moving without warning. Even the energy gathered behind its faceplate gradually dissipated.
"What's going on?"
Coulson stared at it in confusion.
What was wrong with whoever was wearing that armor? Why did it keep starting and stopping like that?
(End of Chapter)
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