"Wow!!"
"What the hell is that!?"
With the destruction of the Sanctuary II, the battlefield that had moments ago echoed with fierce clashes suddenly fell silent.
Tony, who had been one of the key participants in the Battle of New York, suddenly remembered something. His gaze immediately fell on the nearby Chitauri ships.
During that battle on Earth, he had personally carried a nuclear missile and launched it into the Chitauri mothership. At that time, their entire army lost coordination and literally collapsed like puppets with their strings cut.
But now… after the destruction of the Sanctuary II, the nearby Chitauri ships didn't show the slightest sign of stopping.
"Is it because of the nuclear explosion back then… did they change the command system?" Tony thought.
He didn't have time to dwell on it.
Because, with the destruction of the Sanctuary II, the massive tentacled monster stretched out its body, revealing its terrifying, grotesque, fleshy form before the entire world.
---
At the S.W.O.R.D. base, the orbital station built by S.H.I.E.L.D. in space, the energy detectors began to emit a series of alarms and question marks appeared on the screens.
Target level: ???
Energy level: ???
Threat level: ???
Agent Maria Hill, who was stationed on Earth, felt a cold sweat run down her back.
"It's time..." muttered Nick Fury with a dark expression.
From the inside pocket of his coat, he pulled out a device that looked like an old pager. It was the only contact with Carol Danvers, Captain Marvel. Fury had sent teams around the world for months to find this device after it was lost among the ruins and the ocean depths.
And now the time had come to use it.
"Carol... only you can save Earth now!" he said quietly as he pressed the button.
Zizi~
Instead of light and a signal, only bluish smoke and sparks appeared from the device. The salty seawater had clearly corroded the vital components, and the pager didn't work.
"..."
"..."
"Director... do we still have nuclear weapons?" Hill asked after a brief, uncomfortable silence.
"Hill, that thing survived antimatter destruction... do you really think a nuclear bomb will change anything?" Fury replied, giving her a cold look.
Maria Hill fell silent.
---
In space, Tony Stark's HUD suddenly filled with alarm signals.
"Sir, a high-energy reaction has been detected!" Jarvis announced.
"I'm not blind, Jarvis!" Tony growled through his teeth, staring at the creature.
Especially when the monster stretched its tentacles, and the twelve enormous eyes and their tips glowed with a dangerously pulsing dark purple light, the sirens inside the armor began to wail even louder.
Everyone immediately knew: this wasn't ordinary light, it was a force capable of destroying worlds.
"Are we really all going to die here today?" Tony muttered to himself.
"Why do such catastrophes always crash down on Earth…?"
In the battle against Thanos, at least he could feel a glimmer of hope. There was a chance.
But against this horror, this being that seemed to play with antimatter destruction… Tony couldn't find even a shred of hope.
"I'm afraid even Aron won't be able to do anything when he gets here…" he whispered through a tightened throat.
At that moment, as he gave in to dark thoughts, Jarvis suddenly spoke again:
"Sir… that creature hasn't even locked on to us as a target."
"What!?"
Tony was stunned and didn't have time to grasp the meaning of those words when something even more terrifying happened.
---
In the distance, Quaggs activated his annihilation beam.
Twelve colossal eyes!
Plus dozens of tentacles writhing and thrashing in the void!
At the same time, dozens of dark purple annihilation beams erupted in all directions, spreading indiscriminately through space like a deadly tidal wave.
The scene was unimaginable, shocking.
It was like watching thousands of laser beams simultaneously tearing through the universe.
Quaggs was like a living planetary fortress unleashing full firepower.
Dozens of beams sliced through Thanos' army ranks, annihilating everything in their path.
The Chitauri!
The Necro-ships!
The Leviathan warships!
Even two enormous command ships, once belonging to Ronan the Accuser, were vaporized in an instant.
Everything those dark purple columns of light touched exploded immediately. Energy shields that could withstand fleet bombardments shattered on contact as if made of glass.
In just a few breaths, the enemy fleet that moments ago had covered nearly half the starfield was wiped out.
Only a few scattered ships remained, desperately trying to flee for their lives.
Even the Chitauri, known for their mindless loyalty and courage in space, didn't look back. Every one of their ships fled desperately toward the outer edges of the solar system.
This cursed planet would never see them again.
But how could their sluggish ships escape faster than the annihilation beams chasing them?
"Trying to run?"
"You think Quaggs doesn't know how to finish the job?"
Quaggs's voice echoed through the void as his tentacles twisted like serpents. His enormous eyes glowed with dark purple light as he directed the deadly beams at the fleeing ships.
Especially those who tried to escape first, they always caught his attention and were the first to be struck.
It was as if he enjoyed the hunt.
---
Quaggs's arrival was like a natural disaster.
First, he destroyed Thanos's flagship, then completely reversed the entire situation on the battlefield.
Everything happening before their eyes made Tony Stark think a thought he was afraid to say aloud:
"Wait a minute… is it possible that this monster with the huge eyes is actually… helping us?"
Tony was stunned by the idea, but all signs pointed to it.
And while he tried to come to a conclusion, not far from him, Rocket Raccoon felt a cold sweat run down his back. His thick fur bristled, and his eyes widened in fear.
"Oh no… no, no, no! Damn it!"
One of Quaggs's tentacles was pointed straight at him.
And he wasn't the only one.
After Quaggs annihilated the Chitauri and the Necro-ships, he quickly began to direct his attention to others, those who weren't human.
Rocket Raccoon. Groot. Drax.
Even the Greek god of war, Ares.
And the Inhumans, led by Black Bolt.
Quaggs didn't distinguish between them and the actual enemies.
To him, everything non-human was a target.
His enormous eyes were merciless.
Even Black Bolt, whose power had shattered empires, felt his heart sink. The moment Quaggs turned his gaze toward him, he felt a deep sense of helplessness and despair.
Quaggs was something he couldn't comprehend. He was a force beyond understanding, a power that destroyed entire dimensions as if crushing insects.
The conclusion was clear: there was no hiding, no negotiation.
Only death.
---
Buzz—!
Another annihilation beam was fired from one of Quaggs's eyes.
The first one caught in its sights was Ares.
A dark purple beam shot toward him at a speed no human eye could follow.
Ares felt the weight of death closing in.
But before he was hit, a figure appeared beside him.
Quicksilver!
"No! Quicksilver, you'll die!" shouted Ares as he realized what was happening.
Quicksilver used all his strength to push Ares out of the path of the deadly beam.
At that moment, it seemed like a scene from the Battle of Sokovia would repeat itself, when Pietro Maximoff sacrificed himself to save Hawkeye.
But at that critical moment, Quaggs suddenly deactivated the beam.
He paused.
"Uh… risky… risky…" Quaggs muttered.
His simple mind couldn't comprehend why one being, which was also non-human, would try to save another non-human being.
Everything non-human was an enemy, that was his simple logic.
Quicksilver's action confused him.
But he didn't have time to wonder for long.
---
Then, suddenly, something new happened.
Boom—!!!
Space exploded and a vortex of a black hole opened in the void of the solar system.
From its center extended an enormous, blood-red hand.
Fingers the size of mountains grabbed the edge of the black hole as if it were a simple crack and began pulling themselves out.
The shadow of a monstrous figure started to emerge from that abyss.
"Earth…"
"Your Judgment Day has arrived!"
The sound that echoed was like thunder from the depths of the cosmos, dark and terrifying.
For a brief moment, an eerie silence fell over the battlefield as everyone, human and non-human alike, looked up at the new threat that was breaking into their world.