Malrick's Super Brain signaled it was time to unleash his full strength. He hovered in midair, fists clenched, eyes locked on Doctor Doom.
Doom froze. Malrick had not yet made a move, yet the world in Doom's eyes seemed to darken entirely, as though he were already on a one-way path to death. Even when facing the Destroyer, he had never felt such a premonition.
For a moment, Doom sensed he might truly be struck down. Yet he was the God-King of Battleworld. He forced himself to remain calm, activating his time-based powers, still unfamiliar but formidable. Applied to himself, they were life-saving; to an enemy, terrifyingly offensive. Time distortions, disorder, and erasure cascaded toward Malrick as he moved.
Malrick's vision split. His left eye saw a different moment than his right. His timeline twisted and overlapped. Past and future converged. Invisible hands seemed to tear at every fragment of his existence, rending even his soul.
To any observer, Malrick had become a blur of afterimages, each representing a past or future self, overlapping and vulnerable to temporal destruction.
Doom stared at this spectacle, the pressure from moments ago gone. His cold mask hid the fact he was now considerably relieved. He had witnessed Malrick versus Infinite Ultron at the TVA: instant traversal across light-years, punching through Universes—the pinnacle of physical combat. Yet here, even Malrick faced defeat under high-level time manipulation.
"Heh… only those who understand rules are truly strong. Brute force alone is recklessness," Doom murmured. "Malrick, you've lost. If you value your life, join me."
Doom clasped his hands behind his back, projecting calm authority, ready to recruit him. Though not benevolent—his creed mirrored Emiya Kiritsugu's: sacrifice a few to benefit the many—Doom felt the same pang of pity he often did when confronting overwhelming power. Malrick's strength was dazzling, even on opposing sides.
Before Doom could continue, his eyes widened. The afterimages of Malrick were collapsing. The distortions, time overlaps, and twisted appearances vanished. The shadowed battle armor resolved into its original form. Malrick's speed accelerated.
"This… this is impossible," Doom whispered. His attacks were failing simultaneously. The barrier of temporal power around Malrick was being shattered with each strike.
Cracks echoed as if the very laws of time were being torn. Doom's gaze followed Malrick's fist, forward in its swing, as every temporal attack around him shattered. Negative effects and status barriers broke apart.
"You're using a fist to break rules… incredible," Doom thought, disbelief and awe mingling. Malrick's calm eyes sent a shiver through him.
"No matter how strong you are, you cannot stop me," Doom gritted his teeth. Realizing he could not defeat Malrick, he felt no fear, only a trace of astonishment. Yet he met Malrick's gaze steadily.
"You have no choice but to kill me. If you wish to save the Multiverse, then try your best."
With the final shattering sound, Malrick's fist broke the last layer of temporal power. His speed normalized, and in an instant, he appeared before Doom. He struck.
Doom, and the green cloak he wore, disintegrated into subatomic particles. Malrick stood atop the steps, watching the ashes scatter.
Yet reality shifted. Doom reappeared. Malrick found himself back before his swing.
"I see. I still prevail," Doom said after a moment. "Kill me and you might save the world, but you cannot kill me."
Hands behind his back, Doom's eyes retained a hint of deathly fear, yet the aura of a God-King remained undiminished.
Malrick surveyed the scene. "A time loop… did you learn this from Strange?"
Doom had preemptively cast a time loop upon himself, likely immediately after gaining temporal power, to prevent accidental defeat. Seeing Dormammu trapped repeatedly by Strange across worlds had amused Malrick once; now he was the one facing the same fate.
"Our circumstances differ from Strange and Dormammu's," Doom said in a deep voice. "Their loop affected only Strange and Earth. Mine rewinds the entire Multiverse to before my death. You cannot defeat me, just as Dormammu could not defeat Strange. Come, Leon, let's discuss terms."
---