Compared to the massive double-edged blade in Thanos' grip, the authentic Yama Blade in Richard's hand looked almost delicate. Its width was barely three centimeters, its thickness only a few millimeters, a sleek sliver of deadly precision. In contrast, Thanos' weapon was a monstrous slab of metal—twenty to thirty centimeters wide and several centimeters thick, forged for raw devastation rather than elegance.
Aside from their similar length—both stretching over two meters—the difference between them was almost absurd. The Yama Blade seemed like it would snap on impact. Yet when steel met steel, it not only held firm, it carved a visible notch into the edge of the double-edged sword.
This guy is seriously powerful.
Richard had assumed he could overpower zombie Thanos in a straight test of strength. With his superhuman physique, amplified durability, and the five percent fusion of the Supreme Kryptonian template, he'd expected a decisive edge. The clash proved otherwise. There was no overwhelming advantage here.
It surprised him, but it didn't shake him.
Movie Thanos had been formidable but beatable. Comic Thanos was a different creature entirely. On official stat scales, everything except speed hit the maximum tier—intelligence, strength, endurance, energy projection, combat mastery. Even if this version didn't fully match that peak, he still outclassed most heroes alive. After all, even the so-called weakened cinematic version had flattened the Hulk with disciplined, efficient strikes.
Realizing brute force wouldn't win this exchange, Richard rotated his wrist and drew the Yama Blade back in a smooth arc. In the same instant, he vanished and reappeared at zombie Thanos' right flank.
Eight Blades Flash.
Without hesitation, eight razor-sharp slashes erupted outward like a blooming storm.
Despite losing his former intellect, zombie Thanos was no mindless brute. The moment Richard's technique activated, the massive double-edged sword moved in response.
Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang.
Steel shrieked against steel. Sparks erupted with each collision. Every single slash of Eight Blades Flash was intercepted.
Richard exhaled slowly. Even as a zombie, Thanos could not be underestimated.
He had always known Eight Blades Flash wasn't unstoppable. Still, since mastering it, no opponent had blocked every strike—until now. Worse, Thanos hadn't tanked the technique with raw durability. He had countered it cleanly, through pure skill.
Instead of frustration, excitement lit Richard's expression.
After killing Sebastian Shaw and Magneto's clones, he had felt nothing. Even battling the Dark Phoenix hadn't stirred him. But now, facing zombie Thanos blade to blade, something inside him burned again.
Earthshaker.
He didn't retreat. Four crushing slashes followed in rapid succession, shaking the air itself. Thanos met them all. The double-edged sword roared through the space between them, neutralizing every strike.
No damage dealt.
Richard teleported back more than ten meters without hesitation.
Iai Slash.
The instant his boots touched asphalt, he vanished again.
Ding.
The Yama Blade streaked toward Thanos' neck, only to be caught and redirected at the last possible moment. The clash rang like a bell struck in a cathedral.
Richard abandoned the idea of ending this quickly. He teleported again, widening the distance to over twenty meters.
He could have unleashed matter manipulation, molecular alteration, hellfire, heat vision—any number of devastating abilities. But he didn't.
It was rare to meet someone who could match him in swordsmanship, strength, and physical resilience. Walking away from that would be a waste.
While Richard relished the duel, others did not share his focus.
As he engaged Thanos, the Invisible Woman and Spider-Man moved against the zombie Chitauri and the Vanguard Corps. War Machine and Falcon exploited their aerial advantage first. Explosions thundered. Gunfire tore through the air in relentless bursts.
Black Panther, the Thing, and the others split into tactical teams, pushing outward and attacking in coordinated strikes.
Richard and zombie Thanos ignored all of it.
Their blades met again.
Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.
Eight Blades Flash. Earthshaker. Iai Slash. Zanshin. Hell Gate. Heartless Angel.
Vertical cuts, horizontal sweeps, diagonal arcs, piercing thrusts, rising slashes.
The colossal double-edged sword moved as if weightless in Thanos' grip. Each swing carried catastrophic momentum. The Yama Blade responded with lethal precision, striking relentlessly at the larger weapon as though determined to carve it apart.
Their duel was more beautiful and more brutal than any other fight on the field.
Even with a Kryptonian physique and accelerated healing, Richard had no intention of testing that blade with his body. That weapon could cleave vibranium. Even if it didn't kill him, it would hurt.
Minutes passed.
No one interfered. Not Spider-Man. Not the Invisible Woman. Not even the zombie legions.
After several relentless exchanges, Richard accepted a simple truth. Eight Blades Flash and Earthshaker alone would not defeat him.
Even as a zombie, Thanos' combat technique rivaled his own. In experience, Thanos likely surpassed him.
When Eight Blades Flash was blocked yet again, Richard teleported back thirty meters.
"You're good. Really good," he said evenly. "If there weren't a conflict of interest—and if you weren't like this—I'd have liked to grab a drink with you."
He shook his head faintly. "What a shame."
From a purely personal perspective, he didn't dislike Thanos. The Mad Titan was ruthless and insane, but he possessed iron will and absolute execution. That deserved acknowledgment.
Zombie Thanos didn't reply. He simply raised his left hand and clenched his fist.
Energy surged.
A laser-like beam erupted forward.
This time, Richard didn't deflect it with swordplay. He activated his X-gene ability.
Energy Absorption.
The blue-white beam vanished upon contact with him. The Space Stone's energy differed from common forms like thermal or nuclear output, but it still fell within his absorption threshold. He had often treated the Cosmic Cube as a portable power bank during downtime.
The attack not only failed to harm him—it replenished him.
Matter Manipulation.
Instead of switching abilities wildly, he deployed Omega-level control. An invisible shockwave rippled outward, infused with molecular decomposition.
It struck Thanos' position in an instant.
Before impact, a spherical blue-white shield flared into existence, encapsulating Thanos entirely. It looked like any energy barrier, but its defense exceeded conventional constructs by orders of magnitude.
It was powered by the Space Stone.
Richard's decomposition wave hammered against it, tearing at its structure. The barrier flickered but held firm until the shockwave's energy dissipated completely.
He wasn't surprised.
The Space Stone was an Infinity Stone. If its shield failed so easily, it would mock its own status.
So he changed tactics.
"Not the only one with a Space Stone," he muttered.
Under Thanos' gaze, Richard reached into system space and withdrew the Cosmic Cube.
For a fleeting moment, something startlingly human crossed zombie Thanos' face.
Despite losing higher reasoning, one instinct remained—collect the six Infinity Stones to execute universal cleansing. He stared at the Cube in shock, then at the Space Stone embedded in his gauntlet.
If he retained his former intellect, he would have deduced multiversal origins instantly. Now, he could only sense contradiction.
Richard offered no explanation. He summoned the Cube's energy.
It floated beside him.
A blue-white beam erupted from its surface.
The beam wasn't wide—only the thickness of an adult's arm—but its density was immense. It struck Thanos' shield directly.
Boom.
The collision birthed a detonation like a contained nuclear blast. A towering blue-white mushroom cloud surged skyward. The shockwave expanded outward, annihilating structures within a kilometer.
New York trembled as though struck by an earthquake.
Zombie Chitauri and Vanguards were obliterated or hurled skyward like debris in a hurricane. War Machine and Falcon were blasted away, some injured, some thrown violently across the battlefield.
Richard knew collateral damage was inevitable. He didn't care.
Unless it was Black Widow, Sharon Carter, or the Invisible Woman, he had no emotional investment.
Within ten seconds, the mushroom cloud dissipated. Dust and heat shimmered in the aftermath.
Zombie Thanos stood revealed.
He remained uninjured.
But the blue-white shield was gone.
He stood in the center of a crater five to six meters deep, staring upward at Richard hovering in the sky, silver hair rippling in the wind.
When the explosion ignited, Richard had teleported beyond city limits to avoid the shockwave. Once it faded, he returned.
He could have absorbed the blast's energy directly, but he chose not to.
He had already absorbed enough energy, so there was no need to absorb the energy of the shock wave specifically to strengthen himself.
.....
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