Mordo, this fool, probably thought he was a close-combat sorcerer.
When he encountered the Hulk—enraged from being teased by Black Widow—he actually charged in with his [Ujin Chakra Breadstick] to fight hand-to-hand. A few punches later, before he could even cast any spells, he was smashed into paste.
Kaecilius used the *Vishanti Codex*'s forgetfulness incantation to hard crowd control the not-very-smart Hulk, then forcefully cast the [Outer Space Banishment Spell]—the same spell the Ancient One once used to exile her dear friend Kalu—thus banishing his opponent into outer space. As he stood panting heavily in the middle of the street, a sniper bullet from Winter Soldier blown his head clean off in an instant!
Unfortunately for Wong, he was just plain unlucky. Hearing a beeping sound emanating from an unknown location, while still cloaked in invisibility, he curiously walked over to check it out.
As a result, three C4 charges detonated in unison, obliterating him instantly!
Luckily, this was only a trial-space death and not a real one.
Otherwise, dying in such a ridiculous manner would have the other sorcerers at Kamar-Taj laughing at him for a century!
Walking down the street, Winter Soldier Bucky appeared to be casually patrolling, but when he reached the telephone pole where the original Ant-Man Dr. Pym was hiding, he swiftly drew a modified C4 charge from his belt and tossed it down.
While shielding his head and diving sideways, he triggered the explosion despite still being inside the blast radius!
Clearly, using the [Biometric Scanner] on his arm, he had already detected the enemy's presence.
The reason he approached so closely?
Because the enemy was far too small for conventional firearms to aim accurately!
BOOM!
Dr. Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man, wasn't as spry as he used to be. Just half a beat too late—
—and he was taken out by that [High-Powered Modified Instant-Detonation C4].
Meanwhile, Natasha sprang into action.
She threw off her invisibility cloak and aimed her rifle trigger directly at Bucky as he landed from the explosion below.
Conditioned by Hydra and enhanced with the Super-Soldier Serum like Captain America, Winter Soldier reacted lightning fast. Fully aware enemies were still close by, he already had his mechanical left arm shielding his head.
Natasha's shot merely blew off his mechanical arm.
Using the recoil as momentum, Bucky dashed into a nearby house, pulling out an automatic rifle and using the building to mask his movements while expertly slipping through the sniper's blind spots.
Within just ten or so seconds, he closed the distance on Natasha's position.
By now, Natasha had already tossed her sniper rifle aside.
As the Winter Soldier burst from the alleyway, pushing off the wall with his left foot to spring upward onto a third-floor rooftop, she dropped down from the opposite side, hitting the detonator in her hand at the same time.
"Even if it's just half a second—I'm still the victor!"
With a determined glint in her eyes, Natasha shielded her head with both arms, buying herself a few precious seconds of life.
BOOM!
More than a dozen C4 explosives and RPGs detonated at once.
A dozens-of-meters-wide mushroom cloud instantly engulfed both Winter Soldier Bucky and Black Widow Natasha entirely!
In the elimination zone.
Steve Rogers watched Bucky get engulfed in the explosion. He clenched his fists tightly and stared unblinkingly at the scene.
He actually got to see his old dear friend again!
So where was he now?
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had been eliminated earlier swallowed nervously. As colleagues, they desperately hoped Natasha would be the final winner!
After all, during this short hour, they clearly witnessed just how hard she fought!
Even some of the eliminated wizards who previously felt a bit disgruntled—
Upon witnessing Natasha's willingness to throw herself into that deadly explosion for victory—each of them sucked in a sharp breath.
This woman really had guts!
(The final winner of this Demigod Trials: Natasha Romanoff)
As golden radiance spread across the sky displaying these words, some cheered, some envied her, while others sighed quietly.
Natasha's figure, swallowed by the explosion,
began to slowly reappear at the battlefield's center after gradually reforming.
Kei Yamanaka surveyed the eliminated contestants within this space. Wanting to motivate them, he pondered for a moment before selecting three prizes, materializing them as cards within the Desert Dimension for Natasha to choose blindly from.
A simple choice between three options.
Natasha herself didn't know what each card represented. However, those who had already been eliminated could clearly see what each card symbolized from the divine vantage point.
Aesir bloodline, White Magic Grandmaster, Demon God Agent!
Each card's description caused the defeated, eliminated contestants' breathing to grow heavy.
The Aesir bloodline granted extraordinary longevity and upon reaching a certain strength threshold, offered a chance to obtain divine power!
White Magic Grandmaster allowed one to instantly master numerous white magic spells, instantly becoming an elite sorcerer specializing in secret techniques.
Demon God Agent… Becoming the deputy of the Dimensional Demon God Peaks!
Blessed by the Lord God and granted conceptual-tier abilities, possessing immense combat power and nearly eternal life!
It wasn't just those eliminated early—
Even Steve Rogers and Bruce Banner, individuals who already possessed formidable strength, couldn't help but feel shaken at the sight of these three rewards.
Especially Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, who had died earlier due to blindly releasing her rage and getting ambushed.
She knew that once the trial ended, she'd have to return to that suffocating lab, forced to endure those torturous human experiments that caused her unbearable pain.
If only… if only she hadn't been so reckless back then…
Either the White Magic Grandmaster title or the Demon God Agent contract could let her escape that cursed place with her little brother!
"Pick number three! Number three! Three!!"
Hill, Dr. Helen Cho, and Dr. Wu Jiaqi all shouted frantically within the Elimination Zone.
The description of the Aesir bloodline looked incredibly powerful. Being part of a mythological race seemed to offer strong potential, but there was clearly much uncertainty involved.
White Magic Grandmaster sounded good too, yet compared to Demon God Agent, it paled in comparison.
Clearly, the best choice was Demon God Agent.
Unfortunately, their voices never reached Natasha's ears.
"I choose… this one!"
Natasha took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement and exhilaration in her heart. She stepped forward determinedly and placed her hand on the option labeled Aesir bloodline.
She'd always been someone who loved being first at everything!
With three choices before her, it was only natural she'd instinctively go with the first one.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents sighed in unison—but quickly found themselves rooting for Natasha once more.
A legendary divine bloodline couldn't be all that bad.
Buzz~
After Natasha made her final choice, those summoned by the [Competition to Amuse the Divine] swiftly returned to where they stood before.
Kei Yamanaka concentrated and subtly placed spatial markers on Wanda Maximoff (the Scarlet Witch), Black Panther T'Challa, Winter Soldier Bucky, and others.
As for Natasha's reward.
Glancing at Thor Odinson's interface and the glowing [Aesir Bloodline] keyword, Kei shifted his gaze toward Fandral the Courageous—an Asgardian warrior hiding among the already-eliminated contestants.
"System, use Purple-Tier Trait Transfer Opportunity on Fandral—copy [Aesir Bloodline] and transfer it to Natasha."
As soon as Kei spoke,
a beam of purple light shot into Fandral the Swordmaster's body right before he vanished.
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