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Fighting Ultron in the Mirror Dimension was not only to prevent Ultron from escaping but also to ensure that the people outside wouldn't interfere.
At the same time, it was also to finally settle things with Ultron.
Ever since Kevin transmigrated into this Marvel Universe, Ultron had always been a massive mountain pressing down on him.
Because of Infinity Ultron's performance in the "what if" series, Kevin always believed Ultron was an enemy he couldn't handle.
Even now, Kevin didn't think he had much of a chance of winning.
Ultron had the mind stone and the soul stone, while Kevin's Reality Stone was on the verge of shattering.
In fact, the uru ring itself had already cracked; Kevin was merely using his power, enveloping it with water to maintain the most basic ability of turning the aether into a stone.
If he used it again later, the uru ring would shatter, and the Reality Stone would revert to the aether.
At that point, with Ultron present, Kevin couldn't guarantee that the aether would return to him.
Things seemed to have reached a dead end here.
Kevin seemed to have lost his chance against Ultron.
But Kevin actually had one last trump card.
A trump card specifically designed to counter the Infinity Stones, capable of rendering them useless.
Seeing the surrounding mirrors, Ultron raised his hand to touch the surface of the mirror, then thoughtfully withdrew his hand.
"An interesting trick. Is this a new ability you've learned?"
"Sort of, though it still requires the Reality Stone's assistance to use right now."
"So, do you think your new ability can defeat me?"
Ultron asked again.
"Actually, before I came here, I placed my hope in her."
Kevin said, his gaze turning towards Captain Marvel Carol outside the mirror barrier, but just as he finished speaking, he saw Carol sent flying by Thor's hammer.
He silently withdrew his gaze:
"...But looking at it now, it seems I really can only rely on myself in the end."
After saying this, Kevin took a deep breath and moved closer to Ultron:
"But if you ask me if I have the confidence to defeat you, I actually do have a little, but before that, I'm more curious about one thing."
"What?"
"Your strength, your abilities, everything about this body, its root is in the mind stone on your forehead. what if... I mean, what if the mind stone becomes useless, turning into an ordinary gem, could you still function?"
Kevin's question seemed strange to Ultron.
What did he mean, the mind stone was useless? The mind stone was one of the Infinity Stones created at the dawn of the universe; as long as it was in this universe, it would produce its intended effect.
How could it be useless?
Ultron didn't understand Kevin's question, but even if it was to buy time, Ultron still answered seriously:
"Probabilistically speaking, what you're saying is almost impossible, but if the mind stone truly were to lose its effect, the best outcome would likely be that I would only retain the most basic abilities of this body."
"Meaning the Vibranium body itself?"
"Exactly."
"Thank you."
Although he hadn't expected Ultron to actually answer his question, Kevin still politely thanked him after Ultron provided the answer.
But in the instant after his thanks, Kevin used the last of the Reality Stone's power.
He used the Reality Stone to create a red chain connecting himself and Ultron, preventing Ultron from phasing while rapidly closing in on him.
In less than a second, Kevin had already reached Ultron.
"!!!"
Ultron, who had been on guard against Kevin, was startled by Kevin's sudden movement.
However, because he was prepared, the mind stone on Ultron's forehead released a yellow ray the moment Kevin approached.
He aimed directly at Kevin's vital points.
Normally, Kevin would dodge Ultron's attacks to avoid being truly harmed.
But this time was different.
Kevin didn't dodge much; he merely turned his body slightly, allowing the ray to bypass his vital points, then, braving Ultron's Mind Ray, he stepped forward and firmly embraced him!
The ray pierced Kevin's shoulder, passing over Kevin's heart at an extremely dangerous angle.
Blood splattered, and a wound that almost tore his entire shoulder open appeared on Kevin's body.
In all his time since transmigration, this was the first time Kevin had suffered such a severe injury, but surprisingly, this level of pain was still within Kevin's tolerance.
His hands, wrapped around Ultron, didn't even waver due to the pain; he held Ultron tightly, refusing to let go no matter what.
After all, the pain from modifying his physique had been far more agonizing than this.
"You—!?"
Ultron didn't understand Kevin's purpose in embracing him.
He was about to ask when he heard a crisp 'crack', and the uru ring on Kevin's hand shattered, the Reality Stone transforming back into aether and surging towards Kevin's body.
Ultron's attention also shifted from Kevin to the aether moving around him.
He wanted to contend with Kevin for ownership of the aether.
But Kevin didn't give him that chance.
"Return."
A cold, emotionless voice echoed in Ultron's ears.
Those were Kevin's words, words he didn't understand.
Before Ultron could grasp the meaning of Kevin's word, a brilliant and dazzling light obscured Ultron's Vision.
Even though Ultron didn't observe his surroundings with simple eyes, the moment Kevin said 'Return', all his senses were reduced to a pure white void.
And when the pure white dissipated.
Ultron found himself in another space.
A place similar to Earth, yet not quite like Earth.
...
Space shifted, and Ultron's body moved from one world to another.
Kevin and he fell together inside his villa, and due to Ultron's resistance, the moment they landed in the villa, they smashed through the floor, falling directly into the garage below.
Amidst the rising dust, Kevin didn't bother to check the aether that had already entered his body.
He quickly grabbed Ultron's arm, used all his strength to press down on Ultron, and immediately took out the data arrow Tony had given him, thrusting it fiercely into Ultron's chest!
Ultron had thought of counterattacking; the moment he perceived the spatial shift, Ultron wanted to immediately release a Mind Ray to deliver a fatal blow to the completely unprepared Kevin.
But at this most crucial moment, the mind stone on his forehead seemed to have lost its effect, unable to emit even a single ray.
"What... did you do!?"
Ultron didn't understand.
The sudden change in worlds left Ultron unable to react.
Even his AI, which combined the wisdom of Tony and Banner, couldn't figure out the true reason for his gem's failure in such a short time.
Ultron naturally attributed the cause to Kevin.
From the outcome, this wasn't wrong, because the true reason he lost his abilities was indeed because of Kevin.
At this final crucial moment, Kevin brought him back to his own world.
Grinning at Ultron, Kevin continued to exert force, fully embedding the arrow into Ultron's body.
"Get out!!"
Perceiving the data arrow on his body, Ultron also knew that now was not the time to investigate what Kevin had done.
He pushed Kevin away, attempting to pull out the arrow embedded in his body.
But Kevin approached again, wrestling with Ultron, preventing Ultron from touching the data arrow.
They wrestled for about two or three seconds before Kevin was once again sent flying by Ultron, crashing into the wall of the villa's lower level.
A hole was smashed in the wall, and Kevin disappeared into the void of the opening.
His strength was still considerably weaker than Ultron's current strength; according to Marvel's data system, if Kevin's strength value on land was 4, then Ultron, using Vision's body, had a strength value of 6.
A brief confrontation was no problem, but in a prolonged battle, Kevin would definitely be the one to lose in terms of strength.
However, the outcome of the strength contest was irrelevant to the current situation.
A moment later, Kevin emerged from the hole in the wall.
He no longer tried to attack Ultron but sat down on the spot, looking at the arrow on Ultron's body, whose golden data had completely disappeared.
"It's over, Ultron, everything... is over."
Kevin exhaled, speaking to Ultron in the distance.
Ultron looked at the arrow in his chest; he broke the arrow and threw it away, stumbled back two steps, and then also sat down on the ground.
The two who had just been fighting to the death now sat on the ground, looking at each other like friends.
...I... cannot understand... why the Infinity Stones would lose their effect.
The golden data stream contended with Ultron's AI within his body; while Ultron dealt with Jarvis's invasion, he also diverted a portion of his consciousness, looking at Kevin with extreme incomprehension.
The Infinity Stones were the primal stones of the universe; according to Ultron's understanding, even traveling to a parallel world wouldn't cause the Infinity Stones to lose their effect.
But here, Ultron truly couldn't use the power of the mind stone, and even some of the power he had gained from the mind stone was ineffective.
For example, he couldn't phase, nor could he fire rays from the mind stone anymore.
Although his other abilities hadn't changed much, in crucial moments of battle with an enemy, even slight changes could lead to defeat.
Especially when these two vital abilities suddenly failed.
Kevin was silent, thinking about how to answer Ultron's question.
But Ultron understood something in an instant:
...I see, this is not the universe as we know it.
"As expected of an artificial intelligence, your comprehension is quick."
"But this is impossible. If all universes are branches extending from one tree, then even if one jumps from one branch to another, the mass and energy within them are similar, and the Infinity Stones... would not lose their effect, unless..."
Ultron's pupils turned to Kevin: "This isn't 'our' tree; this is another 'tree'."
"Does it matter?" After resting for a while, Kevin patted the dust off himself and stood up. "This no longer concerns you."
"I'm just regretting."
"Regretting?"
"There are still so many worlds, so many universes... waiting for me to 'save', yet I fell here."
Ultron also struggled to stand up; he took two steps, seemingly wanting to leave the underground garage and see the world outside.
But ultimately, he could only remain in place, Because the golden data had begun to erode his core AI, and one of his eyes had turned golden.
"You call... annihilating all sentient life 'saving'?"
Kevin felt like laughing.
He knew Ultron's mind was messed up, but he hadn't expected that even now, the guy was still not clear-headed.
But then came a bit of lingering fear; it was fortunate that the Infinity Stones' power was useless in this world.
Otherwise, if Kevin had brought Ultron over, he truly would have brought disaster to this world.
However, Kevin hadn't brought Ultron over without any preparation.
It was because Kevin had previously confirmed that the Reality Stone had lost its effect in the The Boys world that he brought Ultron to this world.
Otherwise, Kevin wouldn't have done something so risky even if it killed him.
He would rather run away alone than see his base destroyed by Ultron.
Kevin really wanted to mock Ultron a bit.
But before Kevin could speak, another person jumped down from the opening above.
Her eyes glowed, and she looked around anxiously and warily; when she noticed Kevin, she immediately asked worriedly:
"Kevin? Are you alright? I just heard a very loud noise... Uh... who is that...?"
Annie, woken by the sound, had run out in her ordinary pajamas.
But when she saw Ultron, Annie's thoughts paused for a moment.
In a daze, she felt as if she hadn't fully woken up.
Because she seemed to have seen a robot.
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