Marvel : Strongest Siblings

Max continued to fight Im, making it look almost effortless, which only served to frustrate her further. Every time she thought she had the upper hand, Max would counter with a new trick, catching her off guard.

"No wonder you grew so strong," Im sneered, narrowing her eyes. "This fruit—no, this legacy—is perfectly aligned with you." She smirked, masking her annoyance. But Max ignored her entirely, his expression calm and focused.

Unknown to Im, Max wasn't fighting her seriously. He was using this battle as a study session, analyzing her techniques and strategies. Her powers bore striking similarities to Gwen's, and Max intended to replicate and refine her moves for Gwen's benefit. He deliberately prolonged the fight, forcing her to reveal more and more of her arsenal.

After half an hour, Max noticed that Im had nothing new left to show. Her attacks were becoming predictable, her movements sluggish. Satisfied, he stopped his advance and stared at her intently as she struggled to catch her breath. With a snap of his fingers, the shadowy soldiers of his Night's Army receded into the darkness, their eerie presence fading.

"You... exhausted already?" Im scoffed, glaring at him. She tried to mask her fatigue but was visibly shaken.

Max smirked, his voice calm and cold. "No, your usefulness is over."

Before she could react, Max vanished from his spot, reappearing directly behind her in an instant.

"What the—?" Im spun around, but it was too late. A dark blade, shimmering with ominous energy, sliced through her neck. She didn't even feel it at first, standing motionless as her head remained oddly balanced on her shoulders.

"What... was...?" Im began, her voice faltering as realization dawned. She looked down to see black energy sizzling along the edge of Max's blade. A thin line of red began to glow around her neck. "Is that... blood?" she whispered, her voice trembling.

Her head tipped forward, falling cleanly from her body. The severance was so precise that it took her a moment to fully comprehend. Her body swayed before collapsing to the ground. As life faded from her eyes, she stared at Max in disbelief.

Max looked down at her fallen form, his expression impassive. "You were strong, but in the end, you were nothing in front of me," he muttered, raising his hand.

The System notification pinged in his mind as points were deducted. A crimson orb of energy materialized in his palm, glowing faintly with Im's remaining essence. "Your power will serve a greater purpose," he murmured, clutching the orb tightly.

Without another glance at her lifeless body, Max turned away. A portal of shadows opened before him, and he stepped through, vanishing from the battlefield. Meanwhile, the Celestial Dragons' children he had saved were whisked away by his Night's Army shadows. They were delivered to different parts of the world, their identities completely erased. No one would ever know they were the offspring of Celestial Dragons. Instead, they were found by kind couples who miraculously discovered them and raised them as their own, giving them a fresh start and a chance at a normal life.

The news of the World Government base's destruction and the deaths of all the Celestial Dragons reached Morgans quickly. Fueled by a mix of disbelief and urgency, he rushed to Mariejois to confirm the reports. What he found there left him utterly dumbfounded.

The devastation was real.

"Damn it!" he cursed under his breath, taking in the sight of the ruined grandeur of Mariejois. The once-mighty base was reduced to rubble, with the bodies of Celestial Dragon captains and other powerful figures scattered across the battlefield. Even the Devil Fruits once hoarded by the elite lay abandoned amidst the destruction.

Seizing the opportunity, Morgans quickly gathered a few of the powerful Devil Fruits, securing them before anyone else arrived. His heart raced as he realized the magnitude of the story he was about to report. Without wasting another moment, he hurried back to his ship, his mind spinning with the possibilities.

"This is going to be the greatest headline of my career!" he exclaimed, already planning how to frame the story. Morgans knew this scoop would shake the very foundations of the world.

An hour later, back on the island where the auction happened and now fierce battles were still raging, the sky seemed to darken as countless newspapers rained down from above, carried on the wind like falling leaves.

At first, the fighters paid no attention, too engrossed in their skirmishes. But as the strange sight continued, a few curious individuals paused mid-fight to pick up one of the papers. Their expressions shifted instantly—shocked, confused, and utterly dumbfounded.

The silence spread like a ripple across the battlefield as more people noticed the falling newspapers. Even the most powerful fighters stopped in their tracks, their attention drawn to the headlines that now seemed to echo in their minds.

"Mariejois in Ruins! Celestial Dragons and World Government Base Annihilated!"

The front page bore vivid images of the destruction, the crumbled remains of the once-mighty base, and the lifeless bodies of Celestial Dragons—a sight many had believed impossible. The accompanying article detailed the mysterious attack, sparing no detail of the utter humiliation suffered by the World Government.

Gasps, murmurs, and cries of disbelief filled the air. For some, it was a moment of triumph, while for others, it was a chilling reminder of how the balance of power in the world had just shifted drastically.

The battlefield stood still, united in a shared sense of awe and dread at what this meant for their future.

"Impossible!" an Elder shouted, his voice trembling with disbelief as he stared at the image of the severed head in the newspaper. It was unmistakable—the head belonged to Im, the enigmatic ruler of the World Government.

"How can this be?" another murmured, a high-ranking CP agent, his eyes darting across the room, searching for answers that no one could provide. The sheer weight of the revelation left him frozen in confusion, unable to process what this meant for the balance of power.

The room was thick with tension, the Four Elders seated nearby holding their own copies of the newspaper. For the first time in centuries, their stoic masks cracked. They sat in stunned silence, their expressions a mix of denial and fear. The headlines and images before them seemed like a cruel joke, but the grim reality was undeniable.

One of the Elders finally broke the silence, his voice barely above a whisper. "Who... could have done this?"

***

Support me at

patreon.com/boring_world

It's 22 chaps ahead

And we are back in Marvel there