"Brothers, kill!"
"Hurry, hurry! Slaughter as many as you can. Once the Shura God makes a move, we won't even get a share!"
"Damn it! This is my territory—go find your own spot!"
"Stop fighting amongst yourselves! There are plenty of Chitauri for everyone. Stay sharp—safety comes first!"
"Yeah! These aliens may not be strong individually, but getting surrounded by them means certain death!"
Aboard the Helicarrier
Nick Fury, the current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., observed the chaotic battlefield through the surveillance feeds.
Watching the Samsara players' performance, his single eye narrowed in solemn thought.
Was this really still the Earth he knew?
Since when were there so many powerful humans?
"Hill, why don't we have any intel on these people?" Fury demanded.
Standing beside him was Agent Maria Hill, his capable second-in-command and a Level 9 S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
"I'm sorry, sir. This is our oversight," Hill admitted.
Fury's voice dropped into a cold tone. "After this battle—if Earth still exists—I want a full report on every single one of these people within three days. Understood?"
"Understood!" Hill replied firmly.
Manhattan
From high above, Loki watched as his Chitauri army was held back by the sheer ferocity of the Samsara players. His expression darkened.
"The entire army—attack!" Loki ordered, his voice like ice.
From the space-time portal, an overwhelming wave of Chitauri soldiers surged out.
Among them were enormous, reptilian leviathans that roared as they smashed through skyscrapers like paper.
The Samsara players, strong as they were, found it almost impossible to deal with these massive war beasts.
In the Avengers' team, only Thor and the Hulk could bring down creatures of this scale—and even for them, it required tremendous effort.
The tide of battle shifted.
The Chitauri began to push forward, gaining the upper hand.
Casualties among the Samsara players mounted quickly.
Seeing some of their comrades surrounded and torn apart, many Samsara players faltered.
The more cowardly ones retreated, planning to hide until the mission timer ran out.
The braver Samsara players continued fighting, but even they resorted to ambush tactics instead of direct confrontation.
Hours Passed
In the blink of an eye, three to four hours had gone by.
The Chitauri invasion had expanded, and the battlefield now spanned all of Manhattan.
Human forces were being pushed back on every front.
For now, the U.S. government refrained from using nuclear weapons. The devastating consequences of such an action made it a last resort no one wanted to authorize.
Somewhere Remote
"Whoosh!"
The sound of something cutting through the air echoed.
A red-and-gold figure soared across the sky—Fenric.
He was still training with the Mark VII armor, practicing his flight maneuvers.
After several hours of trial and error, Fenric finally got the hang of maintaining balance.
He wasn't Iron Man-level skilled yet, but at least he wasn't crashing face-first anymore.
"Master, energy reserves are running low. Please be cautious," said the gentle female voice of the AI—Tsunade—through Fenric's helmet.
"Tsunade, how much power do we have left?" Fenric asked.
"Twenty percent."
"How do I recharge?"
"You may replace the reactor for instant replenishment, or recharge via an external power source."
"You can recharge like that?"
"Of course, Master."
"Good to know."
Fenric spotted a residential building below and descended swiftly.
Inside, a group of frightened civilians cowered, hiding from the chaos outside.
When they saw the red-and-gold armor, their eyes lit up.
"Iron Man! Please save us!"
"Mr. Stark, we're your fans! Don't die out there!"
Fenric raised his visor and grinned. "Look closely—I'm not your idol."
The stunned civilians froze in disbelief.
"Lend me your home appliances!" Fenric said casually.
Before they could respond, he began using their power outlets to recharge the Mark VII.
The charging process was painfully slow.
An entire hour passed before the armor's power level rose to 60%—but that was enough.
By now, five hours of the mission time had elapsed.
Fenric put the armor away and prepared to finally enter the battlefield.
The Battlefield
When Fenric arrived, the battle was in full chaos.
Iron Man, Tony Stark, was barely evading several Chitauri aircraft, completely outnumbered.
Thor stood atop a skyscraper, summoning lightning with Mjolnir to obliterate groups of Chitauri soldiers—but the next moment, a swarm surrounded him.
No matter how desperately Iron Man and Thor fought, the Chitauri continued pouring through the portal like an unstoppable flood.
Five hours of relentless combat had left both the superheroes and Samsara players utterly exhausted.
Yet the invasion only grew worse.
The streets of New York were in ruins, filled with fire, rubble, and chaos.
The Chitauri aircraft rained energy blasts onto cars and buildings, each shot capable of blowing a vehicle to pieces.
Amidst the panic, one man walked calmly against the flow of fleeing citizens—Fenric.
His relaxed demeanor was so out of place that it drew the attention of a squad of Chitauri.
"Whoosh!"
An energy blast shot toward him.
BOOM!
The explosion engulfed Fenric, but when the smoke cleared…
He stood unharmed.
The only casualty was his shirt, which was shredded by the blast.
"Hmm… the Chitauri's energy weapons pack more power than a rifle, but their penetration is weak. With my body as it is now, I can tank these attacks without even using Armament Haki."
Fenric muttered casually, ignoring the Chitauri soldiers rushing toward him.