chapters 101-105

"I am so incredibly stupid…" I lamented as I smacked my head lightly against the concrete wall in front of me over and over. I could have gotten Sif and I out of there easily! I had the perfect skill to refill my MP easily and there were thousands of zombie mooks in Times Square too!

The skill I was talking about was [Mana Replenisher]. It restored 10x the mana for each level of enemy I defeated. There were thousands of level 1 or 2 zombies surrounding us in that last fight. Each of them would have given me 10 to 20 MP! I could have carpet bombed Times Square with exploding [Lightspears] and instantly refilled my MP. Then I could have grabbed Sif and warped us back to Earth DxD.

"Is the Angel girl alright over there?" I heard the new woman whisper to Sif.

"I think she is just upset that we didn't emerge victorious. As an Asgardian, I am ashamed we had to flee. Especially upon seeing what had become of Thor. I should have stayed and put him out of his misery…" Sif trailed off

"Oh, so you are an Asgardian. I wasn't quite sure. My name is Andrea Stark. People used to call me the Iron Woman. Nice to meet you. And you as well, Angel." Andrea called out to me.

I spun around and faced her. "Sorry about that display there. I just realized I fought that last battle stupidly."

Andrea nodded. "Hey you were up against the Hulk. Not many ever face him and walk away. Let alone walk away perfectly unscathed." Andrea said, looking me up and down. "Do you have a healing factor? I was watching the nearby camera feeds as I flew towards the fight and the Hulk hit you pretty hard a few times."

"Layla was blessed by her father with a powerful healing sacred gear! None of the other Angels got one from him." Sif bragged for me excitedly. Well, that was the story going around at least.

I suppose from an outsider's perspective I would look like I had a healing factor since I never take actual physical damage. Gamer's Body for the win!

Andrea coughed before looking at me in shock. "You're father? You're an actual Angel? God's real?" She asked with some sadness. "Then why would he allow all this to happen…" She trailed off. She was obviously talking about the zombie apocalypse.

I pat her on the shoulder. "I'm not sure if he's in this dimension, but we're not actually from your dimension, Andrea. We're from one that's sort of similar but…"

"Another dimension… That's a thing? And everybody is still alive?" Andrea asked hopefully.

"Yeah. There's a bunch of them. Some people think the number of them is infinite." I explained.

"That's crazy. Well, welcome to our shitty dimension then! Once again I'm Andrea Stark. I'd offer you some cookies, but unfortunately I ran out recently and all the factories are full of zombies."

I laughed. "Nice to meet you. I'm Layla of the Fallen and my friend is the Goddess Sif of Asgard. Also you're a dude in our dimension. Everybody knows Tony Stark aka Iron Man." I added with another laugh.

Andrea bit her lip before looking at me pleadingly. "Please take me with you when you leave! I can't take it here anymore! I lost the Avengers… I lost my best friend Pepper…I lost Bruce…" Andrea looked defeated as she listed everything off. I felt bad for her. She was basically Will Smith from 'I Am Legend' at this point. Except her zombies had super powers…

"I would like to leave as well if Miss Stark is leaving." A robotic voice echoed out inside the bunker we were in.

"Is that you Jarvis?" I asked.

"Indeed. I assume there's no gender bent AI version of myself in your home dimension."

"No. Just another Jarvis as far as I'm aware." I said. I don't think Tony even bothered making Friday until the original Jarvis became Vision.

"I've never met another AI, let alone another me. It will be interesting to meet him."

"Did you guys not have Ultron here?" I asked.

"You know about Ultron! I never got to finish him before the outbreak. I was so close too!" Andrea said.

"Probably for the best then. In most realities he turns evil and tries to destroy the world. In some he even succeeds." I said.

Andrea blanched. "Oh… Well that's unfortunate."

I was kind of glad I panicked when seeing the zombie Hulk and forgot that skill now. Otherwise, Andrea would have been left to die in this world. I looked around her bunker. She barely had any supplies left. Her Iron Woman armor was also very scuffed and banged up. I'm surprised it was even flying anymore as it looked like it'd gone through a bunch of patch jobs.

[Yeah, had you remembered the gender-bent Tony Stark of this world would have been left for dead. It was a good thing you forgot. Imagine Tony's reaction when he meets the girl version of himself.]

That will be absolutely priceless…

"So when are you two leaving this dimension?" Andrea asked.

That was a good question. I checked on my MP and found that I was at about 400 MP so far. That was only the second time my MP had ever completely dropped to zero. I didn't want to have to rely on HP to MP Conversion either because each of the Hulk hits hurt like hell. Towards the end of that fight I only had around 2000 HP left. A couple more hits and I would have been suffering another Game Over. I only had 3 revives left after saving Raynare and I wanted to save them for absolute emergencies.

[Name: Layla of the Fallen]

[Title: Angel of Hope]

[Level: 15]

[Sacred Gears: Purger of Darkness, Orb of Anywhere]

[HP: 8200]

[MP: 413/2100]

[Vigor: 220]

[Strength: 70]

[Intelligence: 210]

[Luck: 100]

[Skills: Observe 3, Angelic Mastery 4, Acting 3, Light Manipulation 5, HP to MP conversion]

[Perks: Never Tell Me the Odds, Mana Replenisher, Lucky Shot, Mana Burst]

[Drawbacks: Sin of Lust]

[Available Free Stat Points: 0]

[Skill Up Point: 0]

I'd figured out that my MP recharged the same amount as my [Intelligence] Stat per hour. That meant I'd gain back 210 MP every hour. Unless I took down a whole bunch of mooks and refilled it that way.

"We can go in about 8 hours, Andrea." I said to the woman.

"8 hours…" she said with a faraway look. "Then I can finally escape this hell." Andrea ran up to me and gave me a hug. "Thank you so much for coming here!" She cried out with tears in her eyes. I could hear her sniffling over my shoulder. I patted her back and reassured her that everything would be okay.

She released the hug after a minute and wiped away her tears. Her look of sadness turned to panic. "I only have 8 hours to completely pack up all my stuff and download all my data! I have multiple petabyte hard drives worth of designs here!"

"Ma'am, I've already started the process so we can leave." Jarvis said calmly. "Everything should be uploaded to your portable storage drives within a few hours."

"Whoo! You're the best, Jarvis." she said as she took a seat to calm down. I giggled at her antics. Looking around her bunker, she really didn't have that much stuff. It was mostly supplies we could leave behind and scrapped machine parts she could replace easily enough.

I noticed Sif was staring off into the corner with a frown on her face. "Are you alright over there, Sif? You look upset."

Sif turned to me with a determined look on her face. "I don't want to leave yet. Not when this dimension's Thor still walks the earth as a Draugr. As an Asgardian, it would be incredibly shameful to leave my crown prince in that state!" Sif declared.

"WHAT!?" Andrea shrieked. "You want to go fight him!? He's not going to be alone. You two could barely take on the Hulk, and you want to take on all the Avengers now!?" She exclaimed.

"Yes." Sif replied bluntly.

"I guess that's that then." I said.

If Sif is staying, then I wouldn't mind taking on the Hulk again. It should be a different fight when I come at him with full MP. I could actually try out Mana Burst and immediately refill my MP reserves from all the nearby zombies. I wonder if I could then stack another Mana Burst on top of that one? I could be like Goku using Kaioken!

[Mana Burst isn't Kaioken...it doesn't stack.]

'Lame!'

"Fine!" Andrea pouted reluctantly. "I'll go with you two and help fight them as best as I can. Just don't expect much though. My suit hasn't had any really proper repairs in months, and my arc reactor is also running low," she said, pointing to her chest. "I can't let this thing run out of juice or else I'll die."

She had a reactor in the same spot that Tony did before I healed him. That just wouldn't do! My [Purger of Darkness] appeared on my wrists…

A moment later, Andrea marveled at her exposed chest, the arc reactor now resting on the floor beside her. Healing even faster than Tony, thanks to my potent Sacred Gear, I struggled not to ogle as she examined herself, having completely removed her shirt.

"This is amazing! Layla, you're incredible! Thank you so much!" Andrea embraced me once again, giving a grateful, shirtless hug.

"Ufufu. No problem." I welcomed this kind of gratitude. Having a pair of naked breasts thrust up against me was some appreciation I could get behind!

"Get off, Layla, you harlot! What kind of woman undresses so readily among strangers?" Sif exclaimed in clear jealousy. She was glaring at Andrea.

Andrea blushed at me before breaking the hug. She turned towards Sif with a red face. "What are you even talking about!? I I don't even like girls like that!" She retorted, glaring right back at Sif.

"Then don't jump into the arms of the woman I love when you're half-naked!

"I couldn't help it! I was so happy to finally be healed!"

"Liar, I know your kind. You're just trying to seduce Layla!"

"No I'm not!"

The two of them continued to bicker as I walked toward a nearby monitor. "So, Jarvis, any entertainment in this bunker? We'll be stuck here for a while after all while my mana recharges."

"We have all of the entertainment, Miss Layla."

Jarvis explained that, to preserve culture, he had downloaded every movie and song ever created and uploaded to the internet.

I whistled. That was quite the collection. I wondered what Star Wars in another dimension looked like. Time for an interdimensional pirated movie marathon!

XXX

In other places…

–Frank Castle–

"Please Frank! Don't do this!" The Colonel pleaded as he scooted backwards with his hands. A small trail of blood followed him on the hard cement floor. Frank Castle had double kneecapped the man to prevent him from running.

"You lied to us. You told us our missions were sanctioned by the government! And then when I found out they weren't and chose to leave peacefully and not report you all, you tried to kill me and my family! You killed my wife!" Frank yelled angrily as he leveled his assault rifle at the Colonels head.

"That wasn't my decision. I swear! This goes so much higher than you or me Frank! You can't kill me you. You don't know the organization you're messing with!"

Frank scoffed. "And what is this mystery agency? Hydra? The people who ran away scared from Layla?" Frank asked. He noticed the look of fear in the Colonel's eyes when he mentioned them. Frank put his finger on the trigger and snarled. "Absolutely disgusting. To think the man I respected and followed all this time was a disgusting Nazi…"

"Frank! Wait no!"

BANG!

Frank lowered his rifle with a tired sigh of relief. He'd finally avenged his wife and made sure his children would be safe. If Hydra ever reared their ugly heads to come after he and his, then he'd put them down too.

…

Frank limped his way out of the secret safehouse/bunker that the Colonel and the other members of his former squad had been hiding in. Once they had heard he survived and was on a warpath aiming for their heads, they had all turtle up and hid from him here in the middle of nowhere. He made his way up the stairs and emerged to fresh air and sunlight. This place was in the middle of woods bordering Canada. The perfect place to hide if they needed to quickly flee the country.

That was why Frank was surprised when he saw an obvious suit waiting for him just outside. There were a couple other agents behind him sweeping the area. None of them had their weapons drawn on him though so he figured he might as well hear them out.

"Frank Castle I presume. Are you alright. Your limping and covered in blood." The Agent asked.

Frank glanced down at his left leg. A bullet was stuck in their alright, but he had had worse. "I'm fine. Most of the blood is not mine." Frank said.

The agent nodded. "If you're sure. I've read your file and I suppose you've had worse. Anyway I came with an offer for you. I'm Agent Coulson of Shield."

"SHIELD?" Frank asked. He'd heard whispers of them in the military. They became a bit more known when Hydra was exposed to the world recently in the "Race Track Incident" that happened overseas. "What do you all want from me? I ain't joining you guys to be an agent. I have two kids to raise now." Frank said dismissively.

Coulson waved him off before presenting him with a folder. "You're not exactly subtle enough to be an agent. We'd like to offer you a spot in an upcoming initiative we have. We call it the Avengers."

…

–Yasaka–

"Mom! Check out this awesome move Sif taught me!"

Yasaka was sitting under the kotatsu watching her daughter swing her practice sword in the yard. Her daughter had rarely been so enthusiastic about anything, but she was really liking swordsmanship. Yasaka would see about getting her a proper full time teacher. Sif gave Kunou a decent foundation, but Yasaka knew she couldn't be her daughter's teacher now. Not until Kunou was older at least and could travel. Layla and Sif both struck Yasaka as women who were constantly on the move.

Yasaka envied them a bit. She wasn't able to leave Kyoto for long because she was linked to the Leylines. If she did, she would lose a massive amount of her power and wouldn't be able to protect her daughter. Nine tailed fox Yokai like them were incredibly rare after all. Yasaka had no doubt some evil devils had their eyes on her young daughter!

Yasaka continued to watch her daughter practice sword moves for a few more minutes while she enjoyed a calming cup of tea.

That was until someone knocked on her door and interrupted her relaxation.

"Lady Yasaka! The Fallen who poisoned Lady Kunou have returned. They are claiming to have the antidote to her poison and are acting very arrogant. They clearly do not know that she has already been healed." One of Yasaka's servants spoke to her through the door.

Yasaka's eyes narrowed into slits and a wicked grin formed on her face. The ones who had dared poison her daughter had finally come. Just like layla had predicted they would.

The air vibrated around Yasaka as natural energy laced with her killing intent started to leak out of her. She stood up and headed out to go visit her guests/future prisoners. She had promised Layla that she wouldn't kill them, but she never said anything about some casual torture. She'd find out who gave those Fallen the poison and who sent them after her daughter. Once she found out she'd send them back to the Grigori where Layla had promised her they'd be further punished.

…

–Akeno Himejima–

Akeno Himejima was currently sitting with Asia and Gabriel in the two girls' assigned bedroom. Akeno wasn't quite sure how to feel right now. When she was a devil, she'd been constantly told that angels were evil and that they would kill her on sight. Doubly so because she also had Fallen Angel blood. To Akeno's surprise though, Gabriel didn't have any hostility towards her. In fact, Gabriel looked at Akeno with kindness and even love in her eyes.

"Hello, Asia. Hello, my dear niece Akeno. It's so nice to finally meet you both!" Gabriel said enthusiastically.

"I can't believe you're actually here Gabriel! This is amazing. Did God hear my prayers!?" Asia asked. She was so excited that she missed the wince that went across the Archangel's face when mentioning the Lord. Akeno did not. She made a note to ask about that later.

"Hello…Aunt Gabriel?" Akeno said questioningly. "Is there a reason you're here? Also, how are you even here? Isn't this the Grigori Headquarters?" Akeno asked. Shouldn't the Fallen all be mobilizing to drive the Archangel away?

Gabriel laughed. "The Angels and the Fallen Angels aren't as divided as the Devil's make us out to be. Sure, a few hundred years ago we might have been, but now it's much different. We've learned to remember that at the end of the day despite the color of our wings' were all still family. Well most of us have…there are still a few outliers unfortunately." Gabriel explained.

Akeno blanched at that information. They didn't hate each other. Weren't the Devil's screwed then!? If another war broke out, it wouldn't be a three way fight but a 2 on 1 instead!

"That's so wonderful Miss Gabriel! Family shouldn't fight after all." Asia said innocently.

Gabriel nodded. "That's right, Asia. They shouldn't. And speaking of family, have you heard of the Brave Saints system heaven has been creating?"

Akeno and Asia shook their heads. Gabriel explained it to them. Akeno was shocked to hear what it was. A way to reincarnate other beings as Angels. That was another Game changer. The evil piece system was the only thing that saved the Devil's from annihilation and allowed them to remain the strongest of the three factions. With an influx of Angels in Heaven though, Akeno knew the balance of power would shift. She realized the Fallen would also not have a problem with the new system because some of those reincarnated humans would Fall themselves after becoming Angels. Both factions would have their numbers bolstered.

"So I can become an Angel!?" Asia asked excitedly.

"Yes, I want you to reincarnate under me, Asia. It'll be like having a daughter." Gabriel said.

"I've always wanted a mother!"

Akeno felt bitter at hearing that word.

She was startled when Gabriel hugged her suddenly. "I know I can't replace your mother, Akeno. The offer extends to you as well. I heard you hate your Fallen Angel wings. As a half human, you can also reincarnate and turn those black wings white." Gabriel said to her.

Akeno's eyes widened before she laughed. "There's no point. I would immediately Fall…I'm quite the sadist you know and I don't think I can abstain from sex forever." She said. She laughed at Asia's blushing face when she said the S-word.

"Ah, that would be true. However, Heaven's System will be undergoing some…changes in a few years. Michael and I do not think Angels will even be able to Fall soon…" Gabriel explained.

What!? Did Akeno hear that right? What was even going on in this world anymore?

"You can take your time to decide. There's no rush since the Brave Saints system isn't finished yet and you'll all be leaving soon with Layla." Gabriel explained.

Akeno grimaced at that reminder. The Gremory Clan had posted an actual bounty for Akeno's return. Akeno now knew the truth. She wasn't Rias's sister or even servant. She was her escaped slave who Rias wanted to buy back from whoever came to claim her bounty…

Akeno then had her mind blown for the final time when Gabriel went on to warn the girls about the place Layla would be taking them. Aliens? Mutants? Evil planet killing Space Gods!? And they thought Akeno and Asia would be safer there…

Akeno figured that it would at least be interesting. Akeno did also want to finish High School for real and not just because Rias wanted to play schoolgirl. She figured Asia could use some friends her age as well. As long as they were the right sort of friends that was.

Akeno had spent the past few days with Asia and found the girl incredibly endearing and kind…and also very naive. Akeno would be sure to keep Asia away from boys until she wised up a bit.

XXX

"Are you two absolutely sure about this?" Andrea asked one last time as she suited up. "Layla told me that she has enough mana to leave right now. I say we do that instead. There's no need to fight my old team. Also, if you win, you might attract other powerful zombies. Don't get me wrong, Thor and the Hulk are strong, but the zombie X-men are terrifying!" Andrea warned us once more.

"We'll just win before they show up then," I said. And if they did show up, I was grabbing Sif and Andrea and bolting straight from this dimension.

After getting some rest and having a movie marathon for half a day, all three of us were ready to go, and my MP was back to full.

I called upon my newest Sacred Gear for the second time. I used the [Orb of Anywhere] to open a portal in front of me to this dimension's Times Square. Unlike the orange sling ring, my portals were now perfectly stable upon creation, and they were dark purple, the same as my Light Energy.

I stepped through, and the two girls followed after me. Soon, we were back in the empty streets we'd arrived in yesterday. Only today, there were a lot of zombie corpses lying around. They must have been all the ones Sif took down when the Hulk threw her into the horde. We didn't see any living zombies once again, though. It seemed that they liked to hide in the buildings and only come out when people walked these streets to ambush them.

Those were actual tactics... the zombies really did have quite a bit of intelligence here. Whatever this plague was, be it alien or otherwise, it was dangerous.

I conjured a [Lightsword] and dumped about 100 MP into it before handing it to Sif. That should be enough for it to not disappear mid-fight. She thanked me as she took it and raised it in the air.

Sif also raised her voice before she bellowed out a challenge to the zombie Thor. "Come and face me, Asgardian Draugr! How dare you reanimate the corpse of Asgard's prince! Come out and die!" She must have used some magic there to enhance her voice because my ears were ringing. A few nearby building windows also ended up shattering.

"ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAR!"

"I think you got their attention, Sif," I said with a chuckle. "The Hulk heard you at least." That roar was hard to mistake once you heard it in real life.

BOOM!

Sure enough, a block away, the front of a small storefront exploded as the undead green giant burst through it like he was the angry undead Kool-Aid man.

"Reminds me of the Kool-Aid man there," Andrea—or Iron Woman—chuckled through her robotic voice filter.

I laughed. "I was just thinking that!"

Iron Woman turned to me as the Hulk started approaching us. The horde of regular zombies also started emerging from all the surrounding nearby buildings as well. There were tens of thousands of them.

"You know, I'm glad I came. Bruce doesn't deserve to be left like this. I know he's not in there anymore," she said as she pointed to the Hulk. "But as we were going to be married, I should be here at least to lay him to a proper rest. It's only right," she said as she raised her hand towards the Hulk. Her suit's palm glowed golden for an instant before she fired a repulsor blast at him. It was lightning-fast and impacted the Hulk dead center.

...and didn't so much as cause him to flinch.

"Why don't you just help Sif with the other Avengers while I handle the Hulk and the horde," I suggested to her.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yeah. This time the fight will be a lot different. After all, with so many spare batteries around, I don't have to conserve mana!"

'MANA BURST!'

I shouted in my head and activated one of my newest perks. I chose to sacrifice 1000 MP. And then I felt it. Flowing through me was raw power!

[Name: Layla of the Fallen]

[Title: Angel of Hope]

[Level: 15]

[Sacred Gears: Purger of Darkness, Orb of Anywhere]

[HP: 8200→9200]

[MP: 850/2100]

[Vigor: 220-320]

[Strength: 70→170]

[Intelligence: 210→310]

[Luck: 100→200]

[Skills: Observe 3, Angelic Mastery 4, Acting 3, Light Manipulation 5, HP to MP conversion]

[Perks: Never Tell Me the Odds, Mana Replenisher, Lucky Shot, Mana Burst]

[Drawbacks: Sin of Lust]

[Available Free Stat Points: 0]

[Skill Up Point: 0]

All my stats surged by a staggering 100 points as my MP plummeted.

[Mana Burst activated. All Stats increased by 100 for 10 minutes!]

Ten minutes? More than enough time! I wouldn't even need five.

With unprecedented power coursing through me, I casually conjured an explosive [Lightspear] and sent it hurtling towards the nearest crowd of undead.

The ensuing explosion left me in shock. Not only did I wipe out the horde, but the surrounding buildings crumbled in its wake.

"Holy Shit, Layla! That was stronger than a missile! You just took out an entire city block!" Iron Woman exclaimed.

[You have slain 342 Basic level 1 and 2 Zombies! +5620 MP!]

The system notification displayed, and I chuckled as I glanced at my MP, now sitting at 6470/2000. I never knew I could overcharge my MP before! I did feel almost uncomfortably full though. Like taking anymore MP might be a bit dangerous.

That was fine. I'd be using a lot in this fight anyway.

An angry roar snapped me out of my giddiness. The zombie hulk glared at me with even more intensity than usual. Yet, I detected something else in its eyes–trepidation.

I smirked at the hulk. "Come on, big guy. Are you afraid to fight me now? I didn't know the undead hulk was a coward." I taunted.

XXX

It seemed there was quite a bit of pride leftover in the Hulk's body, as my taunting was all it took for it to lose its fear and charge me. It sped across the streets in a high-speed rage, rushing towards me.

I smirked.

Before, its speed would have been too much for me to keep up with. Now, though, with 100 extra Strength, I could keep up with him.

I could do more than that, actually.

The Hulk reared back its fist and threw a devastating punch right at my head. The air vibrated from the friction of how fast his punch was delivered. In response, I arrogantly raised one hand up right in front of his incoming punch.

BOOM!

An explosive shockwave rang out when his blow connected with my hand. I felt myself skid backward a few feet. And yet, when the dust settled, I had completely managed to stop his strongest punch with just one hand.

Could the undead feel surprise? The answer was yes, at least in this universe. Zombie Hulk's eyes widened at not being able to hurt me. I felt like returning the favor, so with my other hand, I reeled back my own fist before swinging it forward and connecting with the Hulk's torso. The Hulk was still too surprised at what had happened to react in time.

Another sonic boom rang out as my punch connected. An instant later, he was lifted off his feet and sent blasting backward. His large frame left a trail of destruction on the streets as his body skipped along the ground.

"Hot damn, that was awesome!" I exclaimed with glee. I felt like Superman with the strength of that punch!

[That was pretty cool! Be careful not to get too prideful, though. You probably really pissed him off there…]

"WRRRRRROOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!"

The roar he let out as he stood up again was unlike any I had heard before. It was primal, full of hatred... and hungry. The intelligence seemed to have disappeared from the Hulk's eyes. All it wanted to do now was devour me.

The ground gave way beneath him as he rocketed forward far faster than he had before. Luckily, I was prepared for his increase in power. I was done messing around knowing that I was on a time limit here. Not just for Mana Burst, but also because other powerful zombies besides the Avengers might show up soon.

I could already hear thunder starting to echo above. That signaled that Thor, at the very least, had once again shown up to support the Hulk. I'm sure any second now I'll hear him and Sif start fighting it out. I wasn't worried. With Extremis boosting her and my Sister's armor–that was made to fight against ultimate class beings–Sif should be fine. Likewise, Iron Woman shouldn't have any problems against Hawkeye or Black Widow. It was only their unexpected arrival and the vibranium arrows that caught us off guard in the first place.

The hulk barreled towards me and instead of trying to punch me, he went for a full body tackle. I wasn't going to risk testing my strength against him again now that he had powered up from rage. I flapped my fours wings and jumped over him. As he sailed beneath me, unable to stop from his momentum, I tossed a [Lightspear] at his back. I could easily afford to dump a large chunk of MP into it to raise its penetrating and burning powers.

Its instincts were still spot on as it shifted to the side just enough for my spear to miss his spine. It still pierced his side though.

"GRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"Huh? That's new…" I muttered. The Hulk was shrieking in actual pain this time. My [Lightspear] was actually causing it physical pain where before he mostly ignored getting impaled.

[Light Manipulation has leveled up! → Your Holy Light burns away all evils! You now deal Double the Damage and Pain given to dark beings and the undead hit by your light attacks!]

Nice!

The hulk reached back and tore my Lightspear out of his back. The skin on his hand was partly melted from just touching the weapon. That move must have been instinctual as there was still only hunger in his eyes. He leapt up in the air to once again try and grab me. It wasn't hard for me to move out of the way and dodge.

Flying against a grounded enemy was a huge advantage…

CRACK!

"Is that all the Mighty Thor has to offer!? I am disappointed!" I heard the sound of thunder followed by Sif taunting Thor coming from a few blocks away. She was starting her fight, which meant that I should wrapt mine up soon now. Just in case I had to grab her and bolt if more zombies showed up.

"Well, then Hulk. This has been an… interesting experience, I suppose. I wasn't expecting to end up in a zombie death world but I can't say it hasn't improved the ways in which I'll approach fights from now on." I started monologuing while floating in the air. High enough that he couldn't reach me.

"ROOOOAAAARRRR!" It raged at me from below. It picked up some nearby rubble and chucked it at me faster than the speed of sound, but I was currently fast enough to easily dodge that.

I laughed. Who knew bullying zombies was fun. "Yes, yes. I know you want to end this too. So let's end it!"

-5000 MP

From the sky above me, numerous [Lightspears] started to manifest. Dozens…hundreds. I honestly lost count. All I know is that this was more MP than I'd ever spent before. This felt like a truly devastating attack that I was about to unleash.

And then I did so. Below me I rained death from above. Every single [Lightspear] crashed down towards the zombie filled streets below me…and exploded.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

I think I may have overdid it a bit…

A large chunk of the City…simply vanished from existence. The explosive purple Light Energy was so hot and bright that the concrete, steel, and zombies below all simply turned to ash. The resulting shockwave was so strong I was flung back hundreds of yards before I could properly stop myself. It looked like I honestly just dropped a nuke on the city…

…I'm glad I aimed that attack away from where Sif and Iron Woman were fighting.

[You have defeated the Hulk! You have gained the Hulk Serum! You have slain 1583 level 1 and 2 zombies!]

+22560 MP!

"Ugh!" I grunted as a massive wave of power suddenly entered me. This was insane! 'Over 22000 MP!' That was a number I couldn't even fathom before today! This much power felt like I had liquid fire coursing through me. I felt like I was going to EXPLODE!

This was not good. I was in so much pain that I could barely stay in the air. I was forced to descend to the now ashen ground. As soon my feet touched the ground I doubled over in pain. Painful shudders ran through me!

[Warning! Mana Burst has been forcefully halted due to an influx of too much power! The host's body has taken on far more Mana than it can safely handle! Host must undergo emergency evolution! The Host will be forcefully leveled up so they don't explode!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

[You have leveled up!]

…

[Level: 15→40]

[Name: Layla of the Fallen]

[Title: Angel of Hope]

[Level: 15]

[Sacred Gears: Purger of Darkness, Orb of Anywhere]

[HP: 8200]

[MP: 2100]

[Vigor: 220]

[Strength: 70]

[Intelligence: 210]

[Luck: 100]

[Skills: Observe 3, Angelic Mastery 4, Acting 3, Light Manipulation 6, HP to MP conversion]

[Perks: Never Tell Me the Odds, Mana Replenisher, Lucky Shot, Mana Burst]

[Drawbacks: Sin of Lust]

[Available Free Stat Points: 250!]

[Skill Up Point: 0]

…

[The host is in too much pain to properly distribute stat points. All 250 points will be allocated to Intelligence.]

I let out a scream as another pair of wings burst out from my back!

XXX

[Host has reached Ultimate Class. Congratulations!]

[Name: Layla of the Fallen]

[Title: Angel of Hope]

[Level: 40]

[Sacred Gears: Purger of Darkness, Orb of Anywhere]

[HP: 13000]

[MP: 23000/9200]

[Vigor: (400 X 2 Ultimate Class Bonus) = 800]

[Strength: (70 X 2 Ultimate Class Bonus) = 140]

[Intelligence: (460 X 2 Ultimate Class Bonus) = 920]

[Luck: 100]

[Skills: Observe 3, Angelic Mastery 4, Acting 3, Light Manipulation 6, HP to MP conversion]

[Perks: Never Tell Me the Odds, Mana Replenisher, Lucky Shot, Mana Burst, Perfect Muscle Control]

[Drawbacks: Sin of Lust]

[Available Free Stat Points: 0]

[Skill Up Point: 0]

[For reaching 100 Strength you have gained the perk Perfect Muscle Control! You can perfectly regulate how much force you use in combat or daily life.]

I took a deep breath to steady myself as I took everything in. I felt…stronger. A lot stronger. Physically and magically.

And Holy Crap look at my freaking stats! They all almost double once again. That fifth pair of wings came with a X2 multiplier! No wonder my Ultimate Class siblings were able to throw down with Gods!

Why was my Vigor so high though?

[Your Vigor has been properly adjusted to match your HP after the doubling of your stats from taking on your second Sacred Gear. Your 800 Vigor matches your 8000 HP and paired with the 5000 extra HP you received for each set of your wings, you now have 13000 HP total.]

That made more sense.

I could hear intense fighting a few blocks away, but I took a moment to stretch out and adjust to once again having such an influx of power. That was also when I realized I was currently stark naked…

The influx of all that power I gained had completely destroyed the outfit I had on…

Iron woman flew down and landed next to me. "Layla! Are you ok! I just took care of Clint and Natasha when the whole city shook! What the hell was that explosion–WHY ARE YOU NAKED!?" Iron Woman's robotic voice called out in panic.

"I won." I said while gesturing to all the destruction around me.

Iron Woman stared directly at me and I felt like Andrea was deadpanning at me underneath her armor. "Oh? You won did you? OF COURSE YOU DID! YOU BLEW UP NEW YORK!"

I pouted. "I didn't blow all of it up. Only like one third…" I said as I gestured to the rest of the city that was mostly intact. What did it matter anyway? The city was abandoned and filled with death.

"There is beauty in Death you know…" I heard a voice whisper in my ear. I jumped and spun around in a panic. "Andrea, did you hear that!? Andrea?"

I turned to Iron Woman and saw that she wasn't moving. That was also when I noticed something strange. Everything else wasn't moving either. The wind blowing the remnant ashes of the destroyed city had completely stopped. Sif's background battle against the zombie Thor had also gone completely silent. "It's like the whole world is just frozen." I muttered.

"That's because it has." The voice of a woman whispered again. And then an inky black void materialized in front of me.

I immediately put my guard up, but gulped when I saw the figure that emerged from the dark void. It was a woman with hair even darker than me and pitch black eyes. She was obviously supernatural and she was sinfully beautiful as well. Her body was free of any imperfections at all. I would have started flirting with her immediately if she didn't feel like…

"...Lady Death." I said her name almost instinctively.

"Layla, of the Fallen. The lover of one of my champions. You are a long way from your home." Lady Death said. She then casually waved her hand and a pitch black dress materialized over my body. It hugged all my curves perfectly and felt like I was wearing nothing at all. As a Fallen I loved the dichotomy of that.

I also blushed when I realized that I had been standing completely naked in front of one of Marvel's strongest beings… But what was she doing here?

[Heh, heh… about that…]

'System! What the hell did you do!?'

"Consider that garment another gift from me. It has the ability to hide you from the gaze of higher level beings when you enter a new dimension." Death explained. That almost sounded like a dress version of the Deathly Hallow cloak.

"Another gift?" I asked.

Death smirked. "Yes, your body had taken in too much power and you were on the verge of something not good… I offered the entity within you a small token of my power to aid you in your ascension." death explained casually.

[Yeah…As a system, I have built in rules and can't just hand you 25 levels of power in one go…but her?]

I shifted uncomfortably at that. She obviously wouldn't do this out of the goodness of her heart. She'd want something in return.

She spoke again. "As I said earlier, there is beauty in Death. But not in undeath. I do not like undeath…" She said as she glanced around with a sneer on her perfect face. The action caused me to shudder. It was not good when a being of her near limitless power was upset.

"So you want me to? Save the world or something?" I asked. "I think it's a little late for that. How many people are even left alive?"

"1354." Death answered casually. "They are beyond saving though. The virus has gone airborne. They will soon all turn as well. The only non-infected human left in this world is standing right next to you. She was infected as well, but when you healed her earlier, you also cured her." Death gestured to Iron Woman.

Woah! That was a lucky coincidence! Good thing I did that or I would have brought a plague back to my world…

"So what do you want me to do? Cure them all? I don't think I can get to that many people scattered across the world quick enough." I said. Maybe I could save a few dozen at most, but that was it if they were all truly infected already.

She shook her head. "This world is dead. There is no saving it. I want this world gone. Destroy it! That is the payment I ask. For granting you my boon when you needed it."

Destroy the world!?

How in the hell am I supposed to do that? I just reached Ultimate Class, not Super Class! I wasn't even sure if a Super Class could destroy a whole planet either. At my full power with 9000 MP I'd struggle to destroy this whole city! How much MP would it take to blow up a planet!?

Death noticed my frown before giving me a coy smile. "I care not how you do it. Just that it gets done. I cannot stop you from leaving this reality as I've already bent the cosmic rules enough by aiding you. But know this. If you leave this dimension without completing this task for me…I will be displeased." She said as she stepped back through her inky black portal and vanished.

"OK! OK! I'll do it! I'll destroy this planet!" I exclaimed. I did not need to be on her bad side. I wasn't a supreme masochist. I wasn't Thanos!

Now I just had to figure out how to do it. "Any ideas system?"

[You could use an Infinity Stone I guess.]

"That could work! Where do you think the Power Stone is?"

[With…Thanos?]

Fuck.

"We're gonna need another idea."

…

The world unfroze as I was talking to the system and discussing how to destroy the world.

"Woah! Thank you for putting on some clothes. Where'd that dress come from though? It's like I blinked and it was suddenly on you." Iron Woman's voice called out next to me.

Whoops. I almost forgot she was there.

I turned towards her. "Andrea? Do you have any ideas on how to blow up a planet? Cause we're gonna have to do that before we leave…" I said to her.

Her face plate lifted up and she gave me an incredulous look. "WHAT!?"

XXX