chapter 166 part 2
"What?!"
As the voice fell, Moonstone only had time to let out a cry of alarm.
The next second, she felt as if her body had been struck by a high-speed train. Even her Moonstone Armor couldn't block it. Her entire body flew backward uncontrollably and slammed heavily onto the ground. For a moment, she couldn't even get up.
"It seems your attacks aren't as effective as you thought."
After sending Moonstone flying with a single punch, Colin appeared beside her in a flash, using his Super Housekeeping power to sweep all the dust from his body.
This power, originally unlocked simply for cleaning, was unexpectedly effective for managing one's personal appearance during a fight.
He reached out and lifted Moonstone.
[Contact with a Twisted Time Node. Collected a small amount of Time Shards x3]
Colin's gaze swept over the text that appeared, a little surprised at why he had obtained so many Time Shards from her.
Theoretically, Moonstone wasn't a particularly special existence, was she?
With a hint of doubt, Colin sized up the Moonstone in his hand.
Due to the impact of his last punch, the intense light that had previously enveloped Karla Sofen had dissipated, revealing her true appearance.
Judging by her looks alone, there was nothing special about Moonstone.
This was precisely one of the things Colin found strange. Although the text in his vision only served a collection function.
Through his contact with Twisted Time Nodes, Colin had also roughly figured out the criteria for obtaining Time Shards.
The history of the Anti-World had been distorted due to the influence of the Time Gem fragments.
The most obvious examples were the death of Captain America Steve and the survival of Iron Man's father, Howard.
But no matter how Colin thought about it.
He couldn't figure out what deep connection existed between the Moonstone in his hand and a Twisted Time Node. She might possess Time Shards due to the distorted history, but she shouldn't have this many.
Even someone like Howard, who should have died in the original history but was resurrected, only produced five Time Shards upon first contact.
So, by the definition of the text in his vision.
Moonstone was a Twisted Time Node on par with Howard?
With this thought, Colin looked at the [Time Shards (Karla Sofen)].
Within the fragments, which resembled broken glass, he could faintly see the figure of Karla Sofen, or rather Moonstone, flickering.
As he stared, Colin's vision began to blur, and countless specks of green light started to float across Moonstone's time fragments.
In the flickering green light, he saw Karla Sofen before she became Moonstone. She was wearing a white suit, seemingly serving as a doctor in some institution. Then, the light flickered, and Karla Sofen arrived at a prison holding special inmates, where she met the original wielder of the Moonstone's power.
That person seemed extremely afraid of the Moonstone's power, believing that some will existed within the stone, trying to change his thoughts and make him do something terrible. However, Karla Sofen didn't care about that; what she cared about was the immense power the Moonstone held.
Coveting the gem's power, Karla Sofen began to frequently interact with the original wielder of the gem's power.
In the flickering images, Colin could see her approaching the prisoner who controlled the gem's power time and time again, eventually persuading him to abandon the power the gem had bestowed.
"Take the power I give you, and find it..."
Karla Sofen, on the other hand, unhesitatingly picked up the gem, chose to accept its power, and became the new Moonstone.
Judging solely from the flickering images in the Time Shards, there seemed to be nothing particularly special, merely depicting a ruthless individual who would stop at nothing to gain power.
But just as Karla Sofen picked up the Moonstone, Colin seemed to hear a whisper in his ear, saying something to the Karla Sofen who was accepting the gem's power.
Perhaps because of the Time Shards, the whisper was not clear. Even when Colin used Super Hearing to assist, he could only vaguely make out some of it. The source of the voice was extremely faint, like a whisper carried across distant galaxies.
Just as Colin was trying hard to make out the whisper, the green-lit images in his vision suddenly began to flicker and fade, eventually disappearing before his eyes.
As the vision ended, the intermittent whisper also ceased.
Frowning, he looked at the now-clear prison surroundings again.
"Tell me, what did you hear in the gem?"
Colin asked Moonstone, whom he held in his hand. He had a premonition that the gem that granted Karla Sofen her power might be the reason for the large number of Time Shards.
Faced with Colin's question, Karla Sofen's expression was somewhat blank.
She didn't seem to remember any voice she had heard from the gem.
Seeing this, Colin's grip on her began to tighten slightly. The armor formed by the gem's power reappeared on Karla Sofen's body.
Crack, crackle—
Then, under Colin's immense strength, it began to emit small cracking sounds.
Feeling the terrifying force Colin was exerting on her, the look in Moonstone's eyes turned to fear.
"I... I don't know what you're talking about..."
Since obtaining the power bestowed by the Moonstone, this was the first time she had encountered such a terrifying opponent.
The Moonstone Armor she formed was a powerful defense that not even an armor-piercing round could penetrate, yet now it was shattering piece by piece under Colin's fingers.
Seeing the terrified look on Karla Sofen's face, Colin was basically certain that she truly didn't remember the whisper from the gem.
Although he was a bit disappointed by this result, he had to accept it.
At the very least, from the content displayed by the Time Shards, he now knew what was special about Moonstone.
With this in mind, Colin released the immense force he was exerting on Karla Sofen.
Seeing Colin's fingers loosen and the cracking sound from her gem armor stop, Moonstone secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
If Colin had continued to apply pressure on her armor, Karla Sofen couldn't imagine what her final fate would have been.
After all, since gaining superhuman power, she had never imagined that her indestructible armor would one day be unable to resist and shatter.
Looking at the terrified Moonstone, Colin was contemplating his next move.
Swoosh, swoosh—
Suddenly, he felt a flicker of movement. A sharp Boomerang had silently appeared behind Colin.
Casually tossing Moonstone aside, Colin reached out and caught the Boomerang.
"What?!"
The sharp blade, which could easily sever a thigh, couldn't inflict the slightest harm on Colin.
Applying a little pressure, he crushed the specially-made boomerang into a ball of scrap metal right before Boomerang's shocked and pained eyes, letting it fall to the ground.
Colin looked up at Crossbones and the others emerging from the prison corridor and said casually, "You think a mere toy can do anything when even missiles can't harm my body?"
To an ordinary person, the boomerang in Boomerang's hand might be a deadly threat.
However, to Colin, it could only be described as a toy.
After all, if even Moonstone's fists couldn't hurt him, what could a boomerang possibly do?
(end of chapter)