"Ten... Ten seconds?!"
Shurei's eyes widened in disbelief. "N-No way! That's impossible! That completely defies scientific principles!"
"Even with advanced biological 3D printing, there's no way Barton's injuries could be healed in just ten seconds!"
This was Shurei, the princess of Wakanda and also one of its leading scientific minds.
Raised in a nation said to be a thousand years ahead of the world in technology, Shurei had been immersed in cutting-edge science from a young age.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she considered herself among the smartest people alive.
Seeing the princess's stunned expression, Kagura smiled playfully.
"Hm? What's wrong, Princess of Wakanda? Don't tell me you don't believe it?"
"I mean, your country's tech is supposedly a thousand years ahead of everyone else, right? And yet, even in 3015, you can't handle something this simple?"
"Of course I don't believe it! That 'thousand years ahead' line is just hype!"
"Even if I imagine technology centuries into the future, healing someone in ten seconds is still ridiculously unrealistic!"
Relying on her deep scientific knowledge, Shurei made a decisive judgment.
"Even with nanotech, biological tissue repair and regeneration has to follow scientific rules."
"Cell replication and differentiation aren't instantaneous."
"Nanobots can provide a framework for healing, sure, but that's it. Unless you're talking about magic, there's just no way those two Avengers could be healed in ten seconds."
"Hmm~ Magic, you say... Tell me, Princess Shurei, have you ever heard this saying?"
With her hands clasped behind her back, Kagura turned slightly and gave a mysterious, confident smile.
"When advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, people usually just call it... magic."
While the princess was still reeling from shock, Kagura stepped forward and opened Barton's medical pod.
Time was running out.
If they kept chatting, Ultron would launch his next attack.
Inside the pod, Barton was still unconscious.
Though the bleeding had been stabilized, his wounds were far from healed.
Just as Shurei had said, a full recovery would normally take a significant amount of time.
But to Kagura, this level of injury was nothing.
She adjusted her stance, glanced at the unconscious Barton, then over at Natasha Romanoff resting nearby.
Raising both hands, she extended her palms one toward Barton, the other toward Natasha.
Her slender fingers stretched open gracefully.
"Alright then… Let's begin."
Kagura took a deep breath. Her golden eyes began to glow with a brilliant light.
[Bio-Tissue Regeneration via Radiant Energy: Activated]
Instantly, her android core's energy reserves dropped by 10%.
In the next moment, a gentle blue radiance began to shine from her fingertips.
This was the light of healing an energy-based "miracle" that used radiant waves to reconstruct damaged biological tissue.
Under the soft glow of that blue light, Natasha and Barton's wounds began to visibly heal before Shurei's eyes.
Faster than self-regeneration. Faster than any 3D bio-printing technique.
To Shurei, it felt like time itself had accelerated. Injuries that should've taken days or even weeks to heal were mended in mere seconds.
Ten seconds later, both Avengers were completely restored.
"This… This is incredible! What kind of technique is this? I've never seen anything like it!"
Shurei could hardly believe her eyes.
What she had just witnessed was nothing short of a scientific miracle something current technology could never hope to achieve.
What baffled her even more was that Kagura had done it barehanded, without any visible tools or medical equipment.
It was like watching an angel perform divine healing.
"This… this really is like magic…" Kagura clapped her hands with satisfaction and placed them on her hips, grinning smugly.
"Hehe~ Amazing, right? No medical tech on Earth can match this kind of result!"
"Miss Kagura, what did you just do? What kind of technology was that?"
By now, Shurei's expression had shifted from shock to curiosity. Her eyes sparkled with scientific hunger—for knowledge, for answers.
Yes. That look.
As long as Wakanda had people with that kind of thirst for discovery, it would continue to thrive.
Their wealth of vibranium and technological advantage wouldn't be enough to sustain them forever.
Sure, Wakanda might be ahead now but technology will always evolve explosively. Without continuous innovation, they'd eventually be overtaken.
But with people like Shurei, people who were driven by curiosity, they could remain on the global stage for generations to come.
"Ara~ For me, this really isn't anything difficult. But at the same time... it's not exactly something I can make public, either."
Of course, Kagura wasn't about to reveal that this was a specialized ability from her android core.
That kind of truth would only raise more dangerous questions. Better to let them believe it was some classified black-tech secret.
Shurei sighed, a bit disappointed but understanding.
"I get it. Everyone has their trump cards... If you don't want to share, I won't pry."
"Fufu~ Thanks for understanding!" Kagura nodded. "Anyway, now that their combat readiness is fully restored, my backup should be arriving soon. It's time to strike back!"
"Wha—? ***** LET GO OF THAT CHILD!"
Suddenly, Barton shot upright inside the pod, alert and fully conscious.
Clearly, Kagura's treatment had restored more than just his body, his spirit was raring to go.
"Wh-Where am I? What happened? I remember getting shot and then... blacking out?"
Kagura patted his shoulder with a smile. "Mr. Barton! You're awake! The procedure was a total success."
"Procedure? What procedure? You didn't do anything weird to me, did you?"
"Pfft! Of course not! I just used a tiny bit of special technique to patch you up."
Kagura giggled. "So no more napping! We've still got work to do!"
Barton blinked, still a little groggy. "Work? What work?"
"Avengers business, of course!"
Kagura's smile sharpened as she turned to face the battlefield.
"Gear up and get ready, we're going to make Ultron regret messing with us."
———————————————————————
— Wakanda Capital, Automated Assembly Factory
"Tell me, do androids dream of electric sheep?"
A silver, humanoid machine paced back and forth, its entire body glowing with a menacing crimson light.
"Tony Stark… the one who gave me a new purpose, who gave my existence meaning—tell me, do synthetic beings dream?"
"That depends," Tony Stark replied coolly. "Did the guy who coded you bother adding a dream function, tin can?"
"You humans... you're nothing more than bundles of protein spat out by this planet," Ultron shot back.
"But me? I am the next step in evolution. You should be proud. You created something greater than yourselves. You created a god."
Tony sneered, "A god? You? Now that's got to be humanity's most embarrassing screw-up."
Ultron's eyes narrowed. "Tell me, Tony Stark this Kagura… who is she to you?"
He took a step forward, voice dropping low. "What if I killed her right in front of you? What would you do?"
Tony snorted, unmoved. "You know what? I think I can finally answer your first question now."
He stared Ultron down with icy defiance.
"Do machines dream? Yeah—clearly they do. Because everything you've been saying? It's nothing but a bad dream."