Thanos stood upon the deck of his flagship, his eyes fixed on the reflection of the Mind Stone in Karl's hand.
Yet in the blink of an eye, Karl flipped his wrist, and the Mind Stone vanished.
Even the other five Infinity Stones could no longer sense its presence.
"Take the Stone back."
Thanos' voice was cold and emotionless.
The next moment, countless energy beams erupted from the flagship, all targeting Karl on the ground below.
"Defensive formation!"
Facing the barrage raining down from above, T'Challa let out a loud command.
The Wakandan soldiers behind him immediately swept their cloaks forward.
Brilliant blue energy screens descended from the sky.
Layer upon layer of light barriers merged into a massive defensive shield.
BOOM—!
The beams slammed into the barrier.
The shield trembled violently.
The Wakandan soldiers below visibly struggled under the tremendous pressure, but not a single one stepped back.
They held their ground and endured the assault.
"Go."
Thanos spoke softly from aboard the ship.
"Yes, my lord."
Proxima Midnight immediately piloted a small assault craft toward the battlefield.
As she moved, the rest of Thanos' forces followed.
The sky darkened as if a storm cloud had suddenly appeared.
But this cloud was composed of endless enemies.
---
"I'll handle the ships!"
The heroes had already formed battle lines.
Tony and the others shot into the sky.
Carol Danvers led the charge straight toward Thanos' fleet.
Destroying warships was her specialty.
Wrapped in radiant cosmic energy, she became a blazing comet.
She smashed headfirst into one of the ships.
The vessel shattered like papier-mâché.
Within seconds, it broke apart into scrap metal and fell from the sky.
Then came the second ship.
The third.
The fourth.
Carol tore through the fleet like an unstoppable force.
Even Thanos' flagship could not escape destruction.
Once the ships were dealt with, the Avengers collided head-on with Thanos' army.
The battlefield instantly erupted like heaven and earth crashing together.
---
Proxima Midnight quickly spotted Karl among the chaos.
She wanted revenge.
She would avenge Corvus Glaive personally.
Her spear came crashing down toward Karl's head.
The blade gleamed with a sinister blue light, like a venomous serpent striking.
Karl's Ultimate Divine Weapon appeared instantly.
He swung upward.
CLANG!
Sword and spear collided, sending sparks flying.
At the same time, Judgment appeared in his other hand.
BANG!
A blue magical bullet exploded from the barrel.
At such close range, Proxima had no chance of dodging.
Blood erupted from her abdomen.
The impact sent her flying backward.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Three more shots followed.
Three bursts of blood blossomed across her body.
Every shot targeted a vital point.
She never had the opportunity to fight back.
The massive wounds guaranteed she would never stand again.
---
Suddenly, blue energy appeared from nowhere.
Thanos stepped out of it.
Five Infinity Stones glowed upon the Gauntlet.
The battle raging around him seemed completely irrelevant.
He walked directly toward Karl.
"I never expected the final Stone to be in your possession."
"Without the Mind Stone, how else could we lure you here?"
Despite Thanos towering over him, Karl showed no fear.
"Hand it over."
Thanos' voice remained calm.
"I can spare all of you."
"You know very well that you are not my match."
"Not happening."
Karl grinned.
"If you want it, come and take it."
Flames erupted around him.
His figure vanished.
Then instantly reappeared behind Thanos.
The Ultimate Divine Weapon became engulfed in blazing fire as Karl slashed downward.
But blue light flashed once again.
Thanos disappeared.
The slash struck nothing.
A moment later, Thanos reappeared several meters in front of him.
"You are fast."
"But not faster than the Space Stone."
As soon as he finished speaking, blue light enveloped him again.
He vanished.
Then appeared behind Karl.
Purple energy surged through his weapon as the massive blade descended.
CLANG—!
Karl spun around and blocked.
A shower of sparks illuminated his face.
"Wind Rend!"
Karl shouted.
Countless streams of green energy gathered before him.
They transformed into thousands of Garuda-like claws.
The spectral talons tore savagely into Thanos' body.
Caught off guard, Thanos had no time to evade.
His flesh was shredded apart.
Blood burst forth like fountains.
In an instant, not a single patch of intact skin remained.
His body resembled a corpse devoured by vultures.
White bone protruded through mangled flesh.
Yet instead of relaxing, Karl became even more vigilant.
His magical senses expanded to their maximum range.
Because he knew one thing.
Thanos would not die that easily.
The Reality Stone could rewrite existence itself.
He had already demonstrated that ability on Titan.
Sure enough.
Within Karl's magical perception, an immense energy fluctuation suddenly appeared behind him.
Only a few feet away.
"Limit Break!"
Faced with such overwhelming danger, Karl activated his strongest enhancement without hesitation.
Flames exploded from his body.
Molten lava seemed to flow beneath his skin.
BOOM—!
A tremendous force slammed into him.
Karl was launched like a cannon shell.
---
"Karl!"
Seeing him blasted away, Wanda and Skye immediately rushed toward Thanos.
Wanda's eyes glowed crimson.
Chaos Magic erupted from her body.
A scarlet shockwave crashed down upon Thanos like a tidal wave.
At the same time, Skye slammed both hands into the ground.
Powerful vibration waves surged outward.
The sand beneath Thanos instantly liquefied into a massive sinkhole.
Thanos remained completely calm.
He snapped his fingers.
Red energy flowed from the Gauntlet.
The quicksand immediately solidified.
Yet he had underestimated Chaos Magic.
The scarlet force slammed directly into his chest.
The Reality Stone proved useless against it.
BOOM!
Thanos was blasted backward, suffering the same fate as Karl moments earlier.
Wanda and Skye ignored him completely.
Both shot into the air, searching frantically for Karl.
---
Meanwhile, the war continued to spread.
Thanos' army was powerful and utterly fearless.
The Wakandan forces and the sorcerers were gradually being pushed back.
The difference was simply too great.
One side consisted of elite alien warriors bred for slaughter.
The other consisted largely of ordinary humans.
And their numbers were nowhere near equal.
---
RUMBLE—!
Suddenly, dark clouds gathered across the previously clear sky.
Thor floated high above the battlefield, Stormbreaker raised overhead.
Lightning covered his body.
And beside him stood another figure cloaked in thunder.
Tony Stark.
His Destroyer Armor operated at maximum output.
Electric currents swirled around him.
He looked like a second God of Thunder.
Bolts of lightning continuously erupted from his hands.
The clouds grew thicker and thicker.
Thunder roared across the heavens.
The lightning around Thor resonated with the storm itself.
Stormbreaker acted as a giant lightning rod, connecting Thor directly to the heavens above.
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