At that moment, blue energy suddenly appeared and wrapped itself around Thanos's left arm. Powerful currents surged through it, and Thanos immediately let out a pained roar.
Nebula emerged from nowhere and slashed her blade across Thanos's back.
The weapon, made from some unknown material, sliced through his clothing with ease and even left a wound across his back.
Nebula said nothing.
She had already guessed Gamora's fate.
The person she cared about most was gone.
She had nothing left to fear.
Her sword became a blur of afterimages as she attacked Thanos like a madwoman. There was no technique to her fighting—only pure, primal killing instinct.
She screamed as she fought.
She wanted revenge for Gamora.
Another slash.
The tip of her blade cut across Thanos's forehead, leaving a wound running from his brow down toward his eye.
Feeling the pain in his forehead and back, Thanos finally stopped holding back against her.
One punch sent Nebula flying.
The force was so tremendous that she shot away like an artillery shell, crashing through countless pieces of battlefield wreckage.
Suddenly, crimson bands of energy resembling glowing ribbons wrapped themselves around the Infinity Gauntlet on Thanos's left hand.
At the other end, Strange stood with his hands forming seals.
The bindings were emerging directly from the spell circle before him.
At the same time, Drax lunged forward and wrapped himself around Thanos's legs.
Quill fired a gravity device that locked onto Thanos's right arm and pinned it in place.
Peter rapidly covered Thanos's body in thick layers of webbing while pulling with all his strength in the opposite direction.
Finally, Tony descended from the sky and seized the Infinity Gauntlet itself.
Nanotech Vibranium flowed over both of his arms, transforming into powerful hydraulic clamps that locked into the seams of the gauntlet.
Under the combined efforts of everyone present, Thanos was finally immobilized.
But he was still resisting.
He knew that if the gauntlet came off, he would no longer be a match for these people.
Taking advantage of the opening, Strange opened a portal.
Mantis stepped through and landed on Thanos's shoulder.
She placed both hands on his head.
The antennae on her forehead lit up brilliantly.
Thanos immediately cried out in agony.
Mantis poured every ounce of her power into the effort.
His consciousness was gradually being worn down, and his eyes began to lose focus.
"His will is too strong! Hurry and get the gauntlet off!"
Mantis knew she couldn't hold him for long.
Thanos possessed the strongest willpower she had ever encountered.
Even at full strength, she could only keep him dazed for a short period.
"Peter! Come help me!"
Tony knew exactly how strong Peter was and immediately called him over.
Several miniature thrusters emerged from Tony's arms to increase his pulling power.
Together, Tony and Peter strained with all their might to remove the Infinity Gauntlet.
Everyone else focused entirely on restraining Thanos.
And then the disruption arrived.
Quill stepped in front of Thanos.
He wanted to know what had happened to Gamora.
If Karl had been here to witness this scene, he would probably have chopped Quill's head off without hesitation.
Because if not for him, Thanos would already be finished.
"Where's Gamora?!"
Quill knew that under Mantis's influence, any lie Thanos told would be immediately detected.
But he had forgotten one crucial detail.
Thanos's feelings for Gamora.
Though he never spoke of it, the Soul Stone was embedded in his gauntlet.
And obtaining the Soul Stone required sacrificing the life of the person one loved most.
Thanos had sacrificed Gamora.
Hearing her name again caused violent emotions to surge through him.
The consciousness that Mantis had suppressed began awakening rapidly.
"His emotions are spiking! I'm losing control!"
Mantis struggled desperately to maintain her hold.
But Thanos's willpower was simply too overwhelming.
He was on the verge of breaking free.
"Where is Gamora?!"
Ignoring the warning, Quill continued pressing him.
Reason had already abandoned him.
All he cared about now was learning Gamora's fate.
"I can't hold him anymore!"
Sweat poured down Mantis's face.
Her abilities were not particularly powerful to begin with.
Holding Thanos this long was already beyond her limits.
Then it happened.
Thanos's eyes suddenly focused.
His dilated pupils snapped back to clarity.
With a simple shake of his head, he threw Mantis aside.
Then he kicked Peter away.
Tony was sent flying alongside him.
Another kick launched Drax across the battlefield.
Everyone immediately tried to rush back in.
But the Power Stone flashed purple once more.
A shockwave exploded outward.
The instant it struck them, everyone lost their strength and collapsed to the ground.
Thanos grabbed Strange's energy bindings and yanked.
With one pull, Strange was dragged directly in front of him.
Thanos reached out and seized the Eye of Agamotto.
Sizzle—
An intense burning sensation immediately spread across his palm.
But he ignored it.
He began tearing the Eye of Agamotto away from Strange's chest.
Suddenly—
Tony exploded upward from the ground.
Two plasma blades extended from his arms and slashed toward Thanos's hand.
Thanos was forced to release both the Eye and Strange.
Inside the armor, Tony himself was already exhausted.
The one controlling the suit now was JARVIS.
Having mastered every combat technique available to him, JARVIS launched into a relentless assault.
The plasma blades danced so quickly they became a blur.
But against overwhelming power, skill could only buy time.
One punch.
Tony was blasted away.
Thanos looked up toward a nearby asteroid overhead.
The Power Stone and Space Stone flashed simultaneously.
The asteroid instantly shattered into countless fragments.
With a powerful gesture, Thanos sent every piece hurtling toward Tony and the others.
Everyone looked up at the meteor shower descending upon them.
For a moment, they were helpless.
Even Strange could only watch.
Tony suddenly found himself thinking of Karl's Zodiac Meteor attack.
Then—
Violent spatial fluctuations rippled across the battlefield.
Powerful magical energy surged through the area.
Sparks erupted before everyone's eyes.
The sparks grew larger and larger until they formed a massive portal.
Crimson energy burst forth from within.
In an instant, every falling asteroid fragment was caught and frozen in place.
The debris hung motionless in the sky.
Even the blazing flames trailing behind them had stopped moving.
"Did we miss a lot of the good parts?"
A youthful voice came from within the portal.
One figure stepped out.
Then another.
And another.
Familiar faces emerged one after another.
At the front stood Steve Rogers, wearing a brand-new combat suit and carrying a gleaming Vibranium shield.
Wanda floated out behind Karl, looking down at Thanos from above.
Scarlet Chaos Magic swirled around her hands.
The suspended asteroid fragments were entirely her doing.
With a casual wave of her hand, the countless pieces abruptly changed direction.
They all hurtled toward Thanos.
Explosions erupted one after another.
Firestorms and shockwaves engulfed the battlefield.
The asteroid fragments struck like bombs, detonating around Thanos in a continuous barrage.
The already war-ravaged surface of Titan was reduced to an even greater ruin.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 20 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
