Thanos lifted his blade.
It was not rushed. Not angry. Just a clear, steady motion.
A signal.
He was done watching.
Behind him, Proxima Midnight adjusted her stance. Her grip tightened around her spear, the tal shaft creaking slightly under the pressure of her hand. The anger that had been building inside her had finally settled into sothing solid. Her eyes stayed locked on Gaius.
Ebony Maw stood just off to the side. Calm. Hands still resting behind his back. But his eyes were sharper now, moving between Gaius and the others, asuring distance, timing, opportunity.
Across from them, Gaius stood still.
The Emperor's Claw was fully ford over his right power fist, faint arcs of energy dancing across it, not true lightning, only sothing that looked like it.
It simply existed, solid and certain, its presence pressing quietly against everything around it.
There was no signal from him.
No warning.
He moved.
The ground cracked under his first step as he surged forward, closing the distance in an instant.
Thanos stepped in to et him.
Gaius drove his right arm forward, the Emperor's Claw aid straight at Thanos' chest in a direct thrust. There was no trick to it. No feint. Just force and intent.
Thanos saw it.
And chose not to take it.
He shifted his body sharply to the side, letting the claw pass just inches from him. He had already learned once what that weapon could do. He was not willing to test it again.
At the sa ti, he countered.
His blade ca up and swung toward Gaius' head, fast and precise.
Gaius moved just enough.
A slight turn. A small adjustnt.
The blade passed by him without touching.
From the side, Ebony Maw acted.
A length of broken tal lifted from the ground at his command, stretching and sharpening as it moved. In a single motion, he sent it forward like a spear, aid directly at the back of Gaius' neck.
Gaius didn't look. He didn't need to, his Observation Haki was already tracking everything.
His body shifted smoothly, almost as if he had eyes behind his head, the attack missing him by a narrow margin. The sharpened beam continued forward.
Now heading straight toward Thanos.
For a split second, it looked like it would hit.
Then it stopped.
Ebony Maw's hand moved slightly, fingers tightening as he caught the beam mid-air. With another motion, he turned it and sent it back toward Gaius.
This ti, Gaius raised his left arm.
His power fist ca down like a hamr.
The tal beam shattered under the strike, breaking apart into pieces that scattered across the ground.
That single mont gave Thanos an opening.
He stepped in and brought his blade down toward Gaius again, putting his full strength behind the swing.
Gaius did not move away.
He raised his left arm.
Armant Haki flowed over it, hardening it further.
The blade struck his forearm.
A sharp, heavy ding rang out across the field, followed by a shockwave that pushed dust and debris outward in a wide circle.
Thanos felt it.
The resistance.
The strength behind that defense.
His weapon had not cut through.
Before he could react further, Gaius moved.
His right arm shot forward again, the Emperor's Claw extending toward Thanos' chest.
Thanos tried to step back.
At the sa ti, Gaius' left hand shifted.
From a block,
To a grip.
His hand locked onto the blade itself, holding it in place.
For a fraction of a second, Thanos was forced to make a choice.
Hold on,
Or let go.
He let go.
But it was already too late.
The Emperor's Claw struck.
It tore across his chest, cutting deep through armor and flesh. The force of it pushed him back a step as blood followed the motion of the strike.
A clear, visible wound.
For a mont, everything slowed.
Thanos looked down.
At the mark across his chest.
Then he reached up and touched it.
When his hand ca away, it carried blood.
He studied it for a second.
Then lifted his gaze back to Gaius.
"I have conquered many worlds," he said, voice steady.
A small pause.
"But you…"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"You are the only one who has wounded like this."
There was no anger in it.
Just truth.
Gaius looked back at him without speaking.
Inside, there was a small shift in his thoughts.
He understood his own strength. Since being blessed by the Emperor, his body had surpassed normal limits. With the power he had gained, along with his training and experience, even a Custodian would no longer be able to match him.
And yet, this enemy still stood, still fought, still answered his blows.
Gaius did not underestimate him. If anything, it confird sothing simple, if a being like this had been allowed to spread further, humanity here would not have lasted.
His thoughts ended there as sothing else entered his awareness.
A presence.
Different from the others.
He had felt it earlier, faint, distant. He had ignored it then. Thanos had been the greater threat.
Now it was closer.
And it carried sothing he recognized, even if it was unfamiliar to this world.
Chaos, but not truly chaos.
He turned his head slightly.
Thanos noticed.
He followed the shift in Gaius' gaze.
A figure approached.
Floating.
Wrapped in red energy.
She descended slowly, stopping not far from them.
Her eyes were locked on Thanos.
Her voice ca out tight, filled with sothing that had been held back for too long.
"You took everything from ."
Thanos looked at her.
His expression did not change.
"I don't even know you," he said.
It didn't matter.
The red energy around her surged.
It wrapped around Thanos instantly, tightening and lifting him off the ground as his body was pulled into the air. He resisted, muscles straining, but he couldn't break free. The force held him in place, squeezing, pulling, and crushing until a low grunt of pain escaped him.
On the side, Proxima was being pushed back easily by Tony, even with Ebony Maw helping from the side. The two of them together were keeping up with him, but just barely, every attack they made was t and broken apart, no one able to fully take control of the fight.
Proxima moved in first, her spear striking fast and direct. Tony shifted with each hit, blocking and redirecting with small bursts from his armor. He didn't give her space to build montum.
Behind her, Ebony Maw raised his hand. The ground and broken debris around Tony lifted and shot forward, trying to trap him and slow his movent.
Tony turned slightly, repulsors firing in short blasts. Each shot broke apart Maw's attacks before they could close in on him. The explosions were close, but controlled, he wasn't wasting energy.
Proxima tried again, pushing harder this ti, forcing him back a step. But Tony recovered imdiately, eting her next strike head-on and knocking her weapon aside.
For a mont, all three of them were locked in the sa space, attack, counter, and counter again. No clean hits landed. Just constant pressure from both sides, and Tony holding his ground in the middle of it.
Then Proxima Midnight reacted imdiately upon seeing what was happening to Thanos.
"My Lord!"
She turned and rushed forward, her spear coming up as she moved toward the one holding Thanos.
She didn't get far.
Gaius stepped into her path.
She did not stop.
Her spear drove forward, aid straight at his chest.
Gaius didn't avoid it.
The blade struck.
The energy pushed against his armor, eting resistance from the auramite.
At the sa ti, his hand moved.
Fast.
Direct.
It closed around her neck.
The strength behind it was imdiate.
Her body jerked as his grip tightened.
The structure in her throat collapsed under the pressure. Whatever sound she tried to make died before it could form.
He lifted her slightly.
Then threw her down.
Her body hit the ground hard, bouncing once before settling.
She was still alive.
Barely.
Her eyes were open. Her mouth moved. No sound ca out.
Gaius stepped forward.
He raised his foot.
And brought it down.
The motion ended cleanly.
He didn't look at her again.
Above them, Thanos struggled.
The red energy tightened further around him. His arms pulled outward, his body held in place as the pressure increased.
For the first ti since arriving, strain showed clearly in his movents.
He clenched his jaw.
Then forced the words out.
"Rain fire."
Below, Ebony Maw heard him.
His head tilted slightly.
A small motion of his hand.
A silent command sent upward.
High above, the massive ship responded.
Sections of its hull opened.
Dark gaps beca rows of weapon ports.
Then,
Light.
Movent.
Missiles launched in waves, cutting through the air as they angled downward toward the battlefield.
Not aid at one target.
Not careful.
Just destruction.
They spread across the sky like a storm breaking.
Below, the shift was imdiate.
People looked up.
The Avengers.
The Wakandan forces.
The sorcerers.
The Ultramarines.
Everyone saw it.
The rain of fire coming down on all of them.
~~~
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