"Foolish! Selfish! Mad!"
Arthur was stunned by Thanos's response: "You foolishly believe that by adhering to its rules, everything will come to a proper conclusion? That you'll achieve the outcome you desire? But you're gravely mistaken! The fate of Planet Titan reveals an unprecedented truth: if you remain passive, if you yield to fate, if you refuse to act, the entire world will be destroyed, not just... a portion of its people! Sacrificing one group to ensure the survival of another is the fundamental law of this universe! You will gradually come to understand this through pain, regret, and gradual enlightenment. Only then will you truly realize that I am right! You, however, are nothing but a hypocritical dreamer, the architect of this abyss, dragging everything into an endless darkness!"
Arthur ran a hand over his face, the sheer righteousness of Thanos's words making him feel like the villain.
Could he be the true hero, burdened with a mission to uphold justice and safeguard the universe's interests?
"Then... who will pay for the lives that were lost?"
A voice came from the side, Natasha's. "Without any authorization, you unilaterally deprived a portion of the population of their lives to allow another portion to live in... so-called peace, so-called continuation. So, who will take responsibility for the lives of those who died? You?"
"I will!" Thanos declared without hesitation.
"You can't bear that burden!" Natasha retorted. "You're just a blood-soaked, notorious executioner. You can't possibly take responsibility for their lives, they didn't want to die like that."
"Then they were selfish."
"If refusing to die is selfish, then why are you still alive?"
"When all of this is over, if you wish, you can take my life at any time!"
"Who would believe that?" Natasha said coldly. "And even if it were true, what makes you think your life can even begin to compare to the lives of half the universe? In this universe, you... are utterly worthless!"
"Empty words!"
Thanos locked his gaze on Arthur. "Is letting a woman hurl insults at me your final gambit?"
Arthur paused, then shook his head. "No. In truth, the final battle has only just begun!"
Thanos shook his head. "I once believed I was alone, that no one in this universe could ever understand what I've done! But you understand, yet you've chosen a completely different path. Today, you gave me a flicker of hope, only to plunge me into an even deeper despair. You will pay for this, I swear!"
"The oath of a dying man carries no weight with anyone!"
Arthur glanced at the other side of the screen. The battle had already begun.
The crowd erupted into a frenzy. The hulking green figure rampaged, leaping and charging through everything, demolishing all in its path.
The figure clad in Iron Man armor unleashed a barrage of energy beams, slicing, blasting, and vaporizing every obstacle in his way.
Spider-Man swung between the various spacecraft, turning them into unique cosmic combinations, then used his armor's propulsion to switch to another battlefield.
Dragon-shaped Warships danced through space in massive formations.
Šumer's energy beams crisscrossed wildly, slicing through Mars, sending fiery debris scattering in all directions.
Meanwhile, on the main battlefield aboard Thanos's flagship, the strike team, including T'Challa, Venom, and others, had reached their destination and confronted Thanos, who was preparing for battle.
"This purple guy looks delicious!" Venom's massive tongue licked wildly.
"Don't let your guard down, " T'Challa began, but before he could finish, Thanos was already upon them. Wielding a double-bladed weapon, he swept it across the battlefield. The moment T'Challa raised his arm to block, the immense force slammed into him. His expression twisted in shock as he was hurled against the wall before he could even react to what had happened.
The armor on his arm flashed a red alert.
"Ninety-nine percent damaged... about to be scrapped!"
T'Challa's face darkened. "Be careful!"
Before he could finish speaking, Venom had already leaped up, inverted on the ceiling. He whipped around, black tendrils shooting from his hands, only to retract them immediately upon touching Thanos's blade.
T'Challa couldn't resist a tsukkomi: "Did you just want to touch it?"
"No! It's too slippery!?"
Venom moved with impossible agility, dodging Thanos's next strike with incredible speed. In the next instant, as Thanos reached for his weapon, he felt a sharp pain on his cheek. Turning, he saw a young man standing there, grinning and holding Thanos's own weapon. "I thought you might need this," the youth said with a smile.
Thanos frowned. "You're even more annoying than I imagined."
A piercing screech filled the air. Thanos hastily raised his arm to block, and with a dull thud, a shield emblazoned with a massive five-pointed star spun back into its owner's hand.
Steve straightened his shield casually, shaking his head. "I could annoy you all day."
"Who else?"
Thanos, his purple face impassive, surveyed the assembled heroes with utter fearlessness. "Over centuries of warfare, I've faced far worse situations countless times. This doesn't faze me. If you have no other tricks up your sleeves, then prepare to die!"
"Die?" Quicksilver scoffed. "A weaponless fool like you thinks he can still kill..."
Before he could finish, an unexpected force slammed into his hand. Quicksilver's grip slipped, and in an instant, the weapon he had just seized was back in Thanos's possession.
Thanos gently stroked the blade. "This requires a bit of technological assistance, combined with a certain level of technique..."
As he spoke, he glanced at Venom. "I recall that lifeform... hmm, if I'm not mistaken, sound is its weakness."
With a casual tap on the device on the back of his hand, Venom convulsed violently and plummeted from the ceiling.
By now, Thanos watched Steve and T'Challa, who had already risen to their feet and donned backup gear. "What you don't understand is the most terrifying. Very well, let me experience firsthand whether I bring you despair, or you bring me my end!"
(End of Chapter)
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