One hour passed in the blink of an eye.
"Master, the time is up," Ebony Maw reminded in a low, respectful voice.
Thanos, seated on his floating throne, slowly opened his eyes and fixed his gaze on Fenric.
"Earthling," he said with calm authority, "have you made your decision? Will you surrender, or shall I destroy you?"
The Titan's patience was wearing thin.
"If I surrender, what exactly do you expect me to do?" Fenric asked, still buying time.
"Obey my commands," Thanos replied flatly, clearly unwilling to waste words on explanations.
At that moment, the long-awaited system prompt finally appeared in Fenric's mind:
[Warning: Only 10 minutes remain before the mission concludes.]
A slow smile formed on Fenric's lips.
"Alright, Thanos," Fenric said, his tone suddenly shifting. "Here's my choice—bye!"
Before Thanos could react, Fenric smashed the "Shatter and Dissolve" vial against the floor.
Crack!
The glass tube burst apart, and a sinister red liquid spread across the metal floor of the warship.
Sizzle! Sizzle!
The steel beneath Fenric's feet began to dissolve at an alarming rate, as though it were made of paper being eaten away by a supercharged acid.
The red substance spread outward in all directions, devouring the metal plating and leaving behind nothing but gaping holes and vaporized debris.
Fenric was momentarily stunned.
Too strong!
The corrosive effect of "Shatter and Dissolve" was far more terrifying than he expected.
Even Thanos narrowed his eyes, his expression darkening as the crimson liquid crept toward him.
"Master, I can't stop it!" Ebony Maw shouted in frustration, his telekinetic powers useless against the dissolving agent. The red liquid clung to anything it touched, devouring it without mercy—like the blood of a demon.
The Chitauri leader nearby panicked.
"Master, the ship will be destroyed! We must evacuate!"
Thanos' gaze locked onto Fenric, his deep voice rumbling like distant thunder.
"Earthling, you will pay with your life for this insolence!"
But Fenric was already retreating toward the breach he had created.
"Catch me first," he said with a mocking grin.
Suddenly, an invisible force clamped down on him—Ebony Maw's telekinetic grip. Fenric felt his body being dragged back.
"Hmph… I'm done playing with you," Fenric muttered coldly. "Goodbye."
The next instant, his figure vanished—teleporting away before Ebony Maw could tighten his hold.
"Master! He teleported!" Ebony Maw exclaimed, stunned by Fenric's sudden disappearance.
Thanos' expression turned grim.
"Leave. Now," he commanded. "The ship won't last."
Even Thanos had to admit, this corrosive solution was unlike anything he had encountered. He had the body of an eternal Titan, but even he doubted he could withstand that substance.
Within moments, Thanos and his subordinates abandoned the Chitauri flagship, retreating to his own warship, Sanctuary II.
From the viewport of Sanctuary II, they looked back at the Chitauri ship.
What had once been a massive war vessel—nearly the size of a city—was now reduced to fragments.
The rest of it had dissolved into nothingness.
Ebony Maw and Nebula stood in stunned silence.
Even Thanos' face darkened.
Such power…
If that human had brought this substance aboard Sanctuary II, even Thanos' flagship could have shared the same fate.
Earth, New York Battlefield
Though the Captain had closed the space-time portal, many Chitauri troops still roamed the city.
Captain America, Iron Man, and the others were still fighting relentlessly.
Even the Samsara players had emerged from hiding to kill a few more aliens in the final minutes, hoping to improve their mission evaluation scores.
Then, without warning—
All the Chitauri collapsed at once, as if their souls had been ripped away.
Even the towering leviathans crashed from the skies, their hulking bodies smashing into buildings like falling meteors.
The battlefield fell silent.
"Captain, what just happened?" Black Widow's voice crackled over the comms. "Did you do this? Or was it from the Samsara team?"
"Not me," Captain America replied, breathing heavily. "But I have a feeling… it's that guy. He must have destroyed the Chitauri mothership."
"..."
"Incredible. He really saved the Earth," Hawkeye said in awe.
"Hey, don't forget," Tony interjected. "Half of that credit belongs to my armor! Without my tech, that guy wouldn't even get off the ground!"
"Tell Fury to start cleanup," the Captain said, sounding exhausted.
Meanwhile, the Samsara Players on the battlefield were buzzing with chatter:
"What the hell? All these Chitauri just dropped dead out of nowhere!"
"I checked the strategy guide—there's no mention of this happening!"
"Could it be… the Shura Boss? Didn't he sneak into the Chitauri mothership?"
"Holy crap, you're right! It must be him!"
"The Shura Boss is insane—SSS-tier godlike insane!"
"I swear, this is the gap between us weaklings and true monsters like him."
"So this is how you get an SSS-level evaluation? By wiping out the entire alien army?!"
"Yeah, sure, you go do it next time. I'll watch."
"Hah! Shura Boss' strategies are only for Shura Boss. Us weaklings can only watch and clap."
"I'm fine with it. With four or five hundred Chitauri kills, I should at least bag an A-rank score," one said.
"A-rank? Damn, I only managed a thousand kills… think I can scrape an S-rank?"
"Get lost, you show-off!"
With the enemies gone, countless Samsara players regrouped and chatted while waiting for the system to pull them back.
In Outer Space
Ebony Maw suddenly pointed toward the depths of the void.
"Master, I've located that Earthling!"