"Malware?"
Thanos frowned slightly and turned his head. The empty warship deck stretched for kilometers, and in the infinite darkness of the space overhead, there was not the slightest stir of air.
The silence here was terrifying.
But what was even more chilling was Malware himself at this moment.
After Bant vanished, Malware seemed to turn into a marionette. His movements were stiff, as if that shell of a body no longer housed a soul, twisting and jerking like a walking corpse.
Yet in truth, the opposite was true.
Right now, there were two souls inside Malware's body.
In an instant, black veins spread across Malware's form. The dark, crack-like markings around his eyes, in particular, made the terror and malice of Ghostfreak unmistakably clear.
In an extremely short span of time, Bant had suppressed Malware's consciousness and seized full control of the body.
The reason he had chosen Malware in the first place was that Thanos possessed formidable psychic strength—overpowering him directly would not have been easy.
"Now it's two against one!"
Speaking through Malware's body, Bant let out a cold laugh.
"Possessed, are you?"
Thanos saw through Malware's state at a glance.
But he was utterly unafraid.
Malware had already been his defeated opponent. Even if Bant could occupy Malware's body, what of it?
Still, as a means of evading soul-based attacks, possession did have its uses.
The two sides clashed once more.
Against Malware, Thanos would show no mercy.
He raised his blade and swung a slash at Bant. Bant quickly twisted aside to dodge. Then came an overhead strike—a fist even larger than Thanos's own head came crashing down.
Thanos twisted his hand and deflected Bant's palm strike, then drove a knee kick straight toward Bant's abdomen. Bant hastily crossed his arms to block the blow, but was still sent flying back several meters.
Even possessing Malware's body, defeating Thanos in this state was a tall order.
"I know you're Bant Parker."
After kicking Bant away, Thanos walked toward him with perfect composure. "You're no match for me. Hand over the Infinity Stones, and you can buy your friends a chance to survive."
Even Thanos—who intended to wipe out half of all life in the universe—understood that death meant suffering for most. His slaughter was not only meant to deliver death to the Goddess of Death, but also to allow the survivors to live better lives.
"All things coming to an end is an established destiny. I am merely saving this world."
Thanos spoke softly.
But Bant had no patience for such twisted reasoning.
"All I see is your arrogance—you standing on high, thinking you have the right to pass judgment on all living beings."
Through Malware's mouth, Bant answered.
"Besides, if I kill you, I survive just fine regardless."
"Then... what a pity—ah!"
Thanos let out a sigh, then exploded into motion without warning. Violet light erupted from his right hand gripping the Tyrant's Cleaver, surging through his entire body in the blink of an eye.
The next moment, a massive energy beam shot from Thanos's left hand, striking Bant's—no, Malware's—body like a bolt of lightning.
BOOM!!!
In that instant, half of Hyper-Malware's body was blown apart by the Power Stone–infused blast!
Well, now he had truly witnessed the terrifying might of the Power Stone firsthand.
It was just a shame the demonstration came at the cost of his own body getting blown to pieces...
As for Bant, he had naturally abandoned Malware's body long before Thanos's attack landed.
"Thanos..."
Filled with immense resentment, Malware's mangled remains drifted off into the cosmos.
"Whoa, you really don't pull your punches." Bant covered his mouth with Ghostfreak's sharp claws, feigning surprise.
"That will be your fate as well."
Thanos spoke with cold indifference.
"Bant Parker, you are indeed powerful, but before me, with the Power Stone in my grasp, your superpowers are not worth mentioning."
"Is that so? I wouldn't be so sure."
Bant tilted his head, no longer sparing a thought for that loser Malware, and refocused entirely on the Thanos before him.
Setting aside that fake Infinity Stone, Thanos—whose strength rivaled that of a Skyfather—was a truly formidable opponent. Even in the vacuum of space, Ghostfreak was no match for him.
"I know you can transform into many different forms. You're welcome to try." Thanos spoke generously.
Bant slowly moved his hand over the Omnitrix. "I know you got some intel on me from Loki. But I have to say—that information's a little outdated by now."
With that, Bant slammed down on the watch.
Rock-like skin instantly covered his body.
Not Four Arms—but—
"Pyronite!"
Stone harder than diamond was his body. Magma hotter than fire was his blood. Amidst the flames dancing atop his head, a skull-like face gazed upon Thanos. Even in the void of space, his shoulders—like volcanic craters—radiated immense energy.
The fire streamed from him like the sashes of a god!
And moreover, this Pyronite was vastly different from the one Bant had transformed into before.
The flames burning across his body had become even more incandescent. Fire the color of fresh blood seemed to embody the forces of eternity and destruction!
Thanos could unmistakably feel the tremendous power contained within Bant's body.
He was astonished.
In Loki's memories, the Pyronite's strength was considerable, but nowhere near this terrifying.
The Bant before him now looked like a devil that had crawled back from the edge of hell. Even the fire giant Surtur, perhaps, was no more fearsome than this.
Surtur?
A flash of insight crossed Thanos's mind.
In that instant, he understood where Bant's newfound terrifying power came from.
"The Eternal Flame?"
"Correct. Your prize—a Dead Flame Bomb!"
Bant raised his right arm. In an instant, boundless fire converged into a vortex within his palm.
Then, a blazing sphere, like a miniature sun, was hoisted up by Bant and hurled viciously at Thanos.
Though called a Dead Flame Bomb, the technique Bant unleashed now was far more powerful than the Death Balls of the old Red King!
Back in Asgard's vault, what Bant had taken... was Surtur's flame.
The Pyronite possessed the ability to absorb fire. After absorbing the Eternal Flame, he had achieved his ultimate evolution.
Though his outer appearance had not changed drastically, the fire that now burned at its absolute zenith was enough to call him... the Ultimate Pyronite!
BOOM!!!
Heavenly fire ignited the entire sky of Xandar.
At that moment, everyone could see it—out in the universe, terrifying flames blanketed the heavens, bringing countless meteors crashing down toward Xandar.
As those flaming meteors streaked down, innumerable Chitauri warriors were vaporized. The colossal Chitauri Leviathans turned to charred skeletons in the blink of an eye, crumbling into ash and scattering on the wind before they could even hit the ground.
/-\
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