"What?!" Main Universe Iron Man was utterly shocked. He stared at Strange in disbelief and said, "Didn’t you see I’m injured?"

"Do you think that just because you can pathetically play the victim, everything you’ve done before can be wiped clean? That I must once again be magnanimous enough to forgive you, trail behind you like some lapdog, ready to be replaced by whoever you choose at any moment?"

Main Universe Iron Man’s lips twitched. He said in a low voice, "That’s not what I meant. Steven, how can you think of me like that?"

Main Universe Iron Man still couldn’t believe it. With a tone tinged with shock, he said, "I thought you’d know I was just too anxious and spoke out of turn. I went to see you only because I felt I shouldn’t have pushed you. I just wanted to make things right."

"How many times have I forgiven you like that? And the others?" Strange shot straight to the point.

Main Universe Iron Man seemed at a loss for words. His lips grew even paler, but not from blood loss. He almost collapsed back onto the couch, sitting there in silence, limp and stunned.

"Hey." Captain America still stepped forward. "Steven, don’t talk to him like that. He really was just worried about you. We all are."

Strange fixed him with a gaze as sharp as a hawk’s and said, "How much of this pathetic mess is due to you letting him run wild? You know the answer."

Captain America suddenly clenched the doorframe. He said, a bit angrily, "Things turning out like this isn’t just one person’s responsibility."

"Good thing you at least know you’re all idiots."

Everyone was stunned, including Spider Man hanging down from the beam; he was so shocked he couldn’t even speak. Hawkeye said in disbelief, "Aren’t you including yourself among us?"

"There’s stupidity that’s temporary and stupidity that’s permanent." Strange was utterly fearless. "From the moment the Multiverse War started, we all got hopelessly lost in the scramble for Multiverse power, to the point we were doing idiotic things like trying to shoot down a fighter jet with a plastic fork."

Main Universe Iron Man glared; Strange immediately glared right back, then said, "Oh, how could I forget—you’re the sturdiest handle on that plastic fork. We rely on you for twirling the noodles!"

"Strange!!!" Dr. Banner said in great displeasure, "What are you trying to pull here? You really have to start an internal fight at this critical moment? Do you still remember the Avenger creed?!"

"If Earth is on the brink of destruction, then we avenge it. Now tell me: why is Earth on the brink of destruction?"

Before anyone else could answer, Strange asked and answered himself: "Because of you. Because of your ignorance and arrogance, you forced the Mutant to perish together with the Red Orchid Factory, handing outsiders the perfect opportunity. You’re out here avenging the people you yourselves killed, so why haven’t I seen you slap yourselves a few more times?"

"Steven, when we came here, you agreed to it." Captain America pointed out. "You were even the most proactive one; you and Tony drafted the whole plan. I’m not shirking responsibility, I’m just reminding you you’re in no position to accuse us like this."

"I have every right to condemn any traitor to the Human race." Strange’s gaze went completely cold. The others’ faces grew very ugly as well. Spider Man stepped out, trying to play peacemaker.

"Don’t be like this, Dr. Strange. Things have already come to this point—what we should do now is unite and find a solution, not blame each other and pass the buck. We’re all hurt, okay? Let’s rest a bit first, all right?"

"See? This is the main reason things ended up like today." Strange showed no mercy. He looked at Spider Man and said, "Whenever it’s time to talk about interests and gains and losses, you people insist on talking about feelings, using so-called team camaraderie to cover up mistakes, turning The Avengers into some PG-8 family movie, a pack of wounded stray dogs licking each other’s wounds instead of rooting out the black sheep. That’s the fundamental reason why Superhero have fallen this far."

"Enough!" Main Universe Iron Man stood up. He didn’t even care about his wounds anymore; or maybe the pain and sorrow together forced tears into his eyes. With reddened eyes he stared at Strange and said, "I know who you’re talking about, Steven. I never thought you’d see me as a coward who doesn’t dare take responsibility. What exactly did I do to make you think that?!"

"Tony!" Hawkeye shouted. He strode out and blocked Main Universe Iron Man, then said, "Whatever the case, you shouldn’t push him like this. Steven, I get that you hold a grudge against us. You say we always solve problems with our emotions, but aren’t you also lashing out at us emotionally right now?"

"I’m emotional?" Strange let out a cold laugh. "Looks like you’ve never seen an emotional Supreme Magician."

In an instant, a Magic Energy storm swept across the entire Clarkia Island. This miraculous island’s suppression of all abilities actually failed to take effect. Everyone clearly felt the unmasked, violent threat contained in that immense Energy.

"Stop!" Professor X almost appeared in a flash. He had put on the fourth-generation brain wave amplifier again. His attitude could in no way be called friendly; he couldn’t even maintain the most basic courtesy, his fury practically sky-high. "Stephen Strange, this is not a place for you to run wild!"

"Heh." When Strange’s eyes—drained of all color by pale Magic Power—locked onto Professor X, the latter felt a sudden, inexplicable panic. But he didn’t dare rashly read the other’s brain waves; that would be no different from a declaration of war.

"I actually forgot about you lot." Strange stared at him and said, "’Never give up on any Mutant’? Shouting that slogan—doesn’t it reek of a guilty conscience?"

Professor X’s face changed, and he no longer held back. But just as his brain waves spread outward, his hand suddenly clenched tight.

Professor X took a few steps back, his gaze coldly fixed on the man in front of him, his eyes full of vigilance and dread, but in the end he didn’t say anything more, only warned: "You’d better not lose your mind here."

"This is The Avengers’ family affair." Strange said, "Mutants have no right to interfere. Leave here!"

"This is the nation of Mutants!" Professor X said through gritted teeth, "You have no right to order me to leave!"

"This is Earth." Strange’s tone grew colder and colder. "I am Earth’s Supreme Magician. If you are not one of Earth’s people, then I won’t just use words to make you leave."

Professor X still wanted to say something, but Strange swept his gaze around the room, then said: "You all know better than I do what kind of danger Earth is facing right now. Is there anyone among you who can stand up and say you bear no responsibility for this?"

"And can you?!" Captain America was already practically roaring.

Professor X’s mouth moved, as if he wanted to say something, but Strange did not give him the chance to speak. He looked straight at Captain America without the slightest hesitation, and said in a firm tone: "Not only can’t I, I also have to say that I am the one who bears the greatest responsibility. Because each of you has your own position, while I have always been Earth’s Supreme Magician. The life and death of the Human race all rest on me, and I have never been able to shirk that. Now with an Alien army besieging Earth, the one most derelict in his duty is me."

"And the reason I can stand here and reproach you is because I am willing to step forward and shoulder this responsibility, and then immediately leave—what about you?"

After he finished speaking, Strange didn’t linger at all. He waved his hand to open a Suspended Ring Teleportation Gate, flicked his Cloak, and vanished from the room.

Everyone felt as if their strength had been drained away, some of them even unable to stand. While Strange had been speaking, the Magic Energy in the room had grown so dense it felt like it was about to overflow; even those who had never had any connection to Magic could feel that thick Energy, let alone the people present whose senses were all extremely sharp. They felt as if they had sunk into a sea of Magic and were about to drown.

"What the hell was that?" Black Widow cursed, bracing herself on the doorframe. "What’s wrong with Stephen? How did he suddenly become so..."

Everyone was at a loss for words, because they couldn’t find a term to fully describe Doctor Strange’s change. Hardline? Extreme? Malicious?

Those words might capture part of it, but not all. Because everyone present understood that Doctor Strange might be too blunt, but what he said was right.

From the moment they came to this cosmos, the entire affair had been like a disaster; the reins had never been in their hands from the very beginning, so that this runaway horse dragged everyone into the quagmire should have been something they anticipated long ago.

An ambition too deeply steeped in the power struggles of the Multiverse, an arrogance that lacked a proper understanding of their own Strength, the disastrous consequences of their habitual interventionism—they had practically tasted all of it. Getting to this point could completely be described as thankless toil.

In that battle just now, everyone had been wounded, yet they still hadn’t been able to slow the army’s advance. To have things end up like this, even if they won, it would still be far too miserable, and it would do nothing good for their reputation. In other words, they had lost people and lost time, and what they might end up with in the end was only infamy—this was losing both the wife and the soldiers.

After a long silence, Main Universe Iron Man suddenly stood up. Hawkeye hurriedly reached out to grab him and said: "Stephen should have already left, left Earth. You probably won’t find him. In your condition right now you’re not fit to head back to the front either. Don’t be impulsive, Tony."

Spider Man quickly chimed in. He jumped down, blocking Iron Man in front of him, and said: "This isn’t the time to play the hero, sir. Let’s resupply first, and then we’ll..."

"Resupply? Fix the Shield, top off the bullets, and we think that’ll be enough to beat the Xia Empire’s army?" Main Universe Iron Man turned to look at them and asked.

Everyone fell silent, because they knew the answer was no. Those Alien invaders were very strange. Previously they’d been caught off guard when they first engaged and weren’t a match, but now everyone was wounded; even if they were fully resupplied, it would still be a drop in the bucket.

It wasn’t that they were unwilling to say it out loud, they were just afraid of agitating Main Universe Iron Man further. After all, he had just nearly had a complete falling-out with Doctor Strange, and they all knew how close the two of them were. Now, faced with such enormous pressure, everyone was worried Stark wouldn’t be able to hold up.

"There’ll always be a way." Banner said. "I’ll try to unleash all of The Hulk’s Strength. As long as I can get into the Sun Core, I can destroy the Teleportation Portal in a single strike."

Everyone’s expression changed; this didn’t sound like a good plan, because getting in didn’t mean he could get out. Dr. Banner seemed to have already prepared himself for sacrifice, and this wasn’t Battleworld—if you died, there was no Revival.

"I’ll prove to Stephen that I’m not the kind of irresponsible coward he thinks I am." Main Universe Iron Man suddenly said. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

He pressed his lips together, paused for a moment, then continued: "Right now, there’s only one way to save Earth."

"What way?"

"Ask the Central Universe for aid."