Up until now, from Ultron's perspective, Kagura was undoubtedly dead.
With his advanced bio-sensor suite, powered by the vast data resources of the human internet, Ultron could detect even the subtlest traces of life.
He could identify DNA signatures with pinpoint precision, verifying that the "Kagura" body brought in by Wanda was indeed genuine.
His fusion of machine intelligence and global data created what could only be described as a "super-authentication system"—far more accurate and efficient than any forensic or investigative method known to mankind.
To Ultron, there was no such thing as "playing dead."
No trick, no double, no illusion could fool his sensors. Faking death in front of him was an absolute impossibility.
That certainty is what gave Ultron confidence that Wanda had truly killed Kagura, just as he demanded—paving the way for his conquest of the world.
But...
Every rule has its exception.
No matter how sophisticated the identification method, it cannot distinguish between two bodies that are perfectly identical.
Kagura's puppet, created through her core skill, wasn't just a copy—it was a full quantum-level replication. In essence, it was her.
A flawless duplicate in every measurable way.
Faced with such a masterpiece of mimicry, even Ultron's supposedly infallible system could do nothing but be fooled.
———————————————————————
In the mechanical hall, silence suddenly fell like a shroud.
Ultron watched as Kagura's body began to disintegrate into shimmering motes of light—like stars scattering in the air.
"What… is this?"
For the first time, Ultron felt something alien—an emotion he'd never encountered before.
No... this wasn't how things were supposed to go.
A creeping chill spread through his circuits, deep and cold, unsettling in a way that shook his mechanical soul.
It was fear.
A concept foreign to a being who saw himself as a god.
Data streamed in from every corner of the internet, analyzed and processed at lightning speed by Ultron's mind.
All that information, all those billions of inputs, converged into a single word:
Fear.
"You feel it now, don't you, Ultron?"
Wanda's voice rang out.
Chaos magic swirled around her. Now that Pietro was safe, Ultron had lost his control over the Scarlet Witch.
"Let me spell it out for you. That feeling you're struggling to name... it's called fear."
Letting Pietro go had been Ultron's idea of a small reward—his little show of power.
He was so sure of his superiority that he believed even if Wanda resisted, his upgraded body and mechanical army could easily suppress her, Pietro, and even Hulk if it came to that.
He had studied them thoroughly. He knew all their weaknesses.
But now?
The one he feared most—Kagura—who was supposed to be dead… wasn't.
What now?
Ultron's mind raced, logic cores overheating with the strain of too little data and too many possibilities.
Should he take out Wanda first?
But what about Kagura? Where was she? Waiting in the shadows to strike?
Had Wanda allied with her?
If so, he was in serious danger.
His ultimate Vibranium body was nearly complete.
Should he install the Mind Stone into it immediately, no matter the risk?
'No. I haven't lost yet!'
'Wanda and Kagura are just using parlor tricks!'
'Humans can't defeat a god. And I—'
'I am the god of machines! This world is mine to inherit!'
Ultron turned to the mechanical construction chamber beside him.
It didn't matter. Just a little longer and his body would be finished. Once the Mind Stone was embedded, he would be unstoppable.
He just needed that body—just needed that invincible body!
'BOOM!'
Suddenly—an explosion. Fire and shrapnel burst in all directions.
The shriek of tearing metal echoed through the chamber, and the shockwave nearly flattened everyone inside.
When the dust settled, heads turned to see what had happened.
Ultron's optics widened.
The arc reactor at his core flared dangerously, almost overloading with the shock.
The mechanical hall was torn open—blown apart by a blast from above.
The roof had been ripped away. Shards of metal rained down.
And then… sunlight poured in.
A bright blue sky spread out overhead.
It should have been a beautiful sight—serene and awe-inspiring.
But to Ultron, it was nothing less than divine judgment.
Because the angels had arrived.
"What… is that?!"
Ultron stared upward, his face twisting in disbelief.
A shadow passed over the sun, darkening the sky.
A colossal warship appear in the sky, revealing its full, fearsome form.
The Macross-class flagship—Hyperion—entered the battlefield!
The supercarrier from Rhodes Island hovered above Ultron's mechanical metropolis.
The blast that had just destroyed half the complex? That was merely a warning shot.
The city's energy shield still sputtered weakly—but the beam had cut through it like paper.
In the face of overwhelming force, even the most advanced technology was useless.
And then—the sky rained blue fire.
Even Ultron's upgraded energy shields crumbled before Rhodes Island's specialized hacking systems.
Then came the YoRHa troops—elite warriors equipped with cutting-edge flight-assist exosuits.
They pierced the skies like steel-winged angels.
Their combat gear wasn't just for show—these were variable-type exosuits adapted from the VF-series transforming fighter jets developed by Rhodes Industries.
Each YoRHa soldier could seamlessly switch between high-speed aerial mode and humanoid melee combat mode.
With powerful data-processing enhancements, these soldiers could dominate the skies as agile mini-jet fighters, or strike from the ground as elite armored units.
In humanoid mode, they looked like angels clad in steel—wielding plasma-tipped vibranium lances, draped in gleaming vibranium armor.
Their wings—anti-gravity flight stabilizers—split and reshaped from their jet-mode airfoils, forming capes that fluttered like divine feathers.
What made things even more fascinating was the synergy between the YoRHa warriors and their auxiliary units.
In this mode, the core energy systems of the soldiers and their machines were directly linked.
The auxiliary unit's optical exhaust system, mounted above its head, would release high-temperature energy in the form of swirling heat plumes during high-output operation.
These glowing rings of exhaust formed a radiant halo above the head of each mechanical angel.
Now, these radiant beings—shining with the brilliance of metal and machinery—descended from the heavens above Ultron, like divine arbiters from a paradise of mechanical civilization. They were here to deliver the final judgment.
"KAGURA—HITOMI—!!"
Ultron roared, fury erupting from deep within as he screamed at the swarming YoRHa forces overhead.
"I haven't lost! I haven't lost! You can't defeat me! I am a god! A machine god! I am invincible!"
Strangely, neither Wanda nor Hulk moved to attack him. Why not?
Were they… waiting?
Then this must be his last chance!
Ultron slammed open the mechanical chamber beside him, releasing the nearly-completed vibranium body.
"You foolish humans! This scepter holds limitless power, and yet you remain oblivious!"
He reached out and grabbed the Mind Scepter, carefully removing the gleaming "gem" from its head and holding it in his palm.
"Now… let me show you what it means to be truly invincible!"
"Ultron... is your little performance finally over?"
Just as Ultron crushed the gem in his hand, expecting a surge of power, a voice echoed from the sky—Kagura's voice.
"So close to the throne of godhood… that must feel incredible, doesn't it?"
Ultron slowly opened his palm, staring blankly at the shattered remains of what should have been an Infinity Stone—only to realize what he had just destroyed was nothing more than an Arc Reactor.
A fake. The Mind Stone was never there.
There never had been.
It was all an illusion. A setup from the beginning.
"What a shame," Kagura said, her radiant wings unfurling as she hovered high above, golden eyes locked coldly onto the stunned machine god.
"Your so-called ultimate body... is missing one crucial component, isn't it?"
"I told you, Ultron. I would let you show everything you're capable of. Let you struggle. Let you claw and thrash and try everything you could."
"And then… I would destroy every single one of your plans."
Her golden gaze was icy, filled with merciless resolve.
"Now, Ultron… it's time to wake up from your dream."