"Bastard! It was you all along!" General Cabo roared in anger, his eyes flashing with murderous intent as he charged toward Robert. Dark energy surged from his body, forming a massive pair of pincers aimed at crushing Robert.
With a loud "crack," the next moment saw the pincers shattering upon contact with a blade of energy. Instantly, Robert vanished from his original position and reappeared directly in front of General Cabo.
With a sickening "thud," another energy blade pierced through General Cabo's body. Even though the dark environment around him amplified his power, boosting his strength beyond that of the dark elves, General Cabo was still too weak.
In fact, compared to some of the special mask-wearers like Batman and the Joker, General Cabo was relatively weak. Despite the same power limits, Cabo was no match for them, even with his current enhancements.
Of all the generals of the Shadow Legion, only Tara could make Robert cautious. Tara's strength far surpassed even Malekith at this point.
"Swish!"
As soon as the energy blade pierced through General Cabo, Robert dismembered him, and the lingering energy from the blade continued to prevent Cabo's body from regenerating quickly, unlike Malekith.
When Robert had fought Malekith before, he had used a similar technique, but Malekith's greater strength allowed him to break free more quickly.
"What is Doom thinking? Why hasn't he just opened a portal to bring Tony and the others back? Why worry about those twisted spaces now?" Kara grumbled inwardly as she continued to fend off Algrim.
While Kara agreed with Doom's decision to cautiously close the fire ring portal, she knew that freeing Robert would require additional reinforcements.
"Attack together!" Just as Kara was lost in thought, Tara joined the fray decisively.
It wasn't just the brutality with which Robert had dealt with General Cabo that prompted Tara to act; Robert had already killed so many Shadow Legion generals, making him an eternal enemy of the dark dimension.
Tara had gained tremendous power from the surrounding darkness, even freeing himself from the Earth's dimensional rules, but the deaths of his fellow generals had terrified him. Tara had hidden for a long time, altering his plans. If not for the breach in Earth's dimension, where hellish demons provided him with sustenance, he wouldn't have recovered his strength.
For Tara, his time on Earth had been nothing short of humiliating. He had constantly feared for his life, uncertain if his hiding places were truly safe. Now, seeing General Cabo rush in recklessly and almost lose his life only added to his frustration.
As Tara, General Manny, and General Zola entered the battlefield, the situation shifted immediately. While Manny's scythe and Zola's claws posed little threat to Robert, Tara was a different story.
The most troubling part was that Robert noticed Tara's fighting technique was extremely advanced. Among all the strong opponents Robert had faced, Tara was in the top tier.
Tara's combat skills, combined with his immense strength, repeatedly put Robert at a disadvantage. Even worse, Tara possessed telekinetic powers, forcing Robert to fight on two fronts.
Tara's telekinesis, while not as overwhelming as his combat prowess, still restrained Robert's own telekinetic abilities, making the fight especially grueling.
"Is this it? You call yourself the bane of the Shadow Legion with such weak power? You were just lucky before, never facing me. Otherwise, you'd have been dead long ago!" Tara mocked Robert as they fought, his voice dripping with disdain.
"Hmph, you might fool others, but don't fool yourself!" Robert, covered in blood, retorted with a sneer. "It's only because of this global darkness that you dare to show your face. Before, you were nothing more than a rat hiding in the shadows, trembling in fear!"
"If that weren't the case, why are you so angry now? You think you're winning just because the environment's in your favor? You'll end up like the other mask-wearers before you! Now that you've shown yourself, you won't even have the chance to crawl back into the shadows!"
"You're seeking death!" Tara snapped, his composed demeanor breaking. The endless days of hiding, fearing every move, had truly worn on him.
He had believed that Earth's entire dimension was targeting the Shadow Legion and had often doubted the safety of his hiding spots. Now, realizing that Robert was the real cause of his torment, Tara could no longer contain his rage.
Even if Robert had been too powerful for him to handle in the past, that didn't matter anymore. The only thing that mattered was who was stronger now!
Tara's eyes gleamed with cold fury. His strength had already surpassed Robert's, yet Robert still dared to provoke him. Tara would ensure that Robert felt true pain.
With a sharp hum, Tara unleashed a wave of telekinetic pressure at Robert. Although it didn't completely restrain Robert, who had activated his berserk mode, it still caused significant mental disturbance.
Simultaneously, Tara's body flickered, shifting between the physical and ethereal planes, allowing him to dodge Robert's fiery attack and then reappear for a lethal strike.
Yes, Tara had a phase-shifting ability similar to the Martian Manhunter, allowing him to pass between physical and intangible states. This bug-like ability was even more troublesome for Robert than Tara's telekinesis, and it was the main reason why Robert had been repeatedly injured.
With a sickening sound, Tara slammed a mass of dark energy into Robert's body, piercing through him and causing his flesh to split with dark cracks.
"No!" On the other side, Kara screamed in alarm when she saw Robert's injury, rushing towards him at lightning speed.
"Stop her!" Malekith, who hadn't planned to join the fight, issued a command to Algrim, hoping to block Kara.
But Algrim's speed was no match for Kara's. As soon as she accelerated, Algrim lost sight of her completely, left standing dumbfounded.
"Foolish!" Tara sneered as Kara flew towards them. He prepared to withdraw his arm from Robert's body and swat her away, but suddenly, Tara realized something was wrong. His arm was stuck inside Robert's body.
At that moment, a strange electrical current surged from Robert's body, paralyzing Tara, preventing him from phasing out.
"Solar Fist!"
"Solar Fist!"
At the same time, Kara and Robert both smirked, releasing the same technique. Their bodies began to radiate intensely like twin suns, banishing the surrounding darkness in an instant.
The Solar Fist wasn't a fleeting attack. Kara's body continued to emit a blinding light, essentially turning herself into a miniature sun. Meanwhile, Robert conjured a small solar energy orb, hovering above them and illuminating everything around them.
The sudden appearance of these suns threw the dark elves, General Cabo, and the werewolves into disarray.
While the light wasn't inherently damaging to the dark elves or General Cabo, like it would be for vampires or werewolves, their strength depended heavily on the surrounding darkness.
With the darkness banished by the sunlight, the dark-enhanced power boosting Tara and his comrades faded significantly.
Although Robert and Kara hadn't directly weakened their enemies, they had removed much of their advantage, dramatically shifting the balance of power.
Before the sunlight, Tara had been a true threat. But now, with the environmental boost diminished, he was no stronger than Malekith.
Despite Robert's serious injuries, his battle strength was only rising. Now, it was Tara's turn to be overpowered.
Of course, Robert and Kara's light-based attacks weren't unlimited. They weren't true suns. If Tara and his allies could escape to darker areas, they'd regain their power.
But Tara wasn't so lucky. His arm was still trapped in Robert's body, and the paralysis from the electric currents prevented him from phasing out.
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted between Robert and Tara, shaking the earth itself. Tara's body was left in pieces, and even General Zola seemed to vanish without a trace.
Yet, just then, a dark force breached Earth's dimensional barrier, flooding into the world, strengthening the connection between Earth and the dark dimension. This dark power saved Tara and Zola, allowing them to survive Robert's devastating attack.
"What a shame..." Robert muttered softly, a trace of regret flashing in his eyes as he watched Tara and the others regenerate, their auras even stronger than before.
"Quickly, use the Reality Stone to dispel the darkness! Once it's gone, the dark dimension will be much easier to deal with!" A mysterious voice echoed from within Kamar-Taj, startling the students as they worked to maintain the sanctuary's defense against the dark dimension's invasion.
They had never heard this voice before, and for a moment, they hesitated, unsure whether it was an enemy's ploy.
"Should we try it?" Lorna asked the Kamar-Taj students.
Earlier, Doom had opened the fire ring portal to contact Robert, leaving the students with little information on how to wield the Reality Stone or counter its backlash.
Carrying the Reality Stone, Lorna couldn't return to the battlefield, for fear it might be stolen. Left with no other choice, and haunted by the memory of Korath's death from using the stone, Lorna gritted her teeth.
"You all keep controlling the sanctuary. Teach me how to use the Reality Stone—I'll do it myself."
"No! You can't handle the backlash alone!" Baron Mordo immediately objected, but it was too late. The Kamar-Taj students had already transmitted the instructions to Lorna.
With a hum, Lorna closed her eyes, and the Reality Stone in her hand began to glow, transforming into a dark red liquid that swirled
in her palm.
As the power of the Reality Stone surged, Lorna's hair started to turn white.
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