Ronan regarded the flames with no worry, only annoyance. It has already been a few seconds since Nagato disappeared, and the fire didn't seem to diminish at all.
"You can't hide forever, mortal!" Ronan shouted, feeling anger boil inside him. They were nearing Xandar at an incredible speed. Hence, Ronan had no time to deal with this incompetent individual.
As his words echoed through the chamber, however, Ronan suddenly felt a hand gripping him by the leg. Caught by surprise, Ronan's center of gravity shifted to the side, and he stumbled against the ground.
Nagato appeared from above, pushing multiple rods towards the enemy with his powers. Surprisingly enough, Ronan deflected all of them with his forearms.
"You are indeed powerful," Nagato admitted, falling from the ceiling towards the enemy with no restraints. Ronan, who had just released himself from Nagato's clone's grip, was fast enough to prepare himself for the upcoming danger.
Veins bulged from the aggregate of Nagato's leg as he dived a kick towards Ronan's face. Unfortunately, Ronan caught it with one hand, causing some of the fire to diminish from the pressure.
"Die!" Ronan shouted, shoving the weapon forth. Nagato felt inexplicable danger as if the death itself was about to descend on him. Yet, he only smiled, for everything was going according to his plan.
The bottom of Nagato's feet changed in an instant, a peculiar hole forming in the center. The energy of incredible density rushed out of the gap, hitting Ronan across the face and blinding his sight.
"Ahhh!" Ronan screeched as he closed his eyes entirely, feeling unimaginable pain. Nagato reacted promptly, taking the earlier deflected rod from the ground and rushing forth.
Unfortunately, Nagato's attacks did little actual damage to the enemy, leaving only unavailing scrapes all over his skin. Soon, Ronan regained his composure.
"Enough of these games!" Ronan roared from the top of his lungs, propelling the tip of his hammer against the ground. It was at that moment that Nagato understood the true power of this stone.
A surge of intense force spread from Ronan, reducing all the flames into nothingness. Confronted with such power face to face, Nagato felt himself getting pushed away.
His coat dissolved into nothingness as Nagato stumbled against the nearest wall, his forearms' skin burning with great pain. Activating his powers, Nagato began to absorb this violent force.
The wounds all over his body healed rapidly, though Nagato only frowned. The power behind Ronan's attack wasn't even directed at him, yet he was already struggling. He had to somehow force the Infinity Stone out of Ronan's hands.
Eventually, Ronan stopped releasing his endless power as he opened his eyes. Dark burns embraced half of his face from Nagato's earlier attack, and that clearly made Ronan's anger rise.
"Your powers are strange, mortal. You have managed to hurt me, something that has been impossible for centuries." Ronan noticed Nagato standing in the room's corner, his eyes full of determination.
"You aren't half bad either," Nagato answered, walking forward to face the enemy.
"I have some respect for you, however, you know that this battle is predetermined." Ronan gripped the weapon by its hilt, pointing it at Nagato. "No one will ever be able to stop me ever again!"
"I don't even need to stop you since you are doing it yourself," Nagato said in response, causing Ronan to feel even more resentment. "You are dying, aren't you? The power of the stone slowly but surely decreases your lifespan, and the end of yours is nearing. Such power isn't something to be held by the hands of anyone."
"So what?!" Ronan bellowed back, his eyes filling up with the craze. "Perhaps I cannot kill Thanos, but I will have my revenge on Xandar! And I will take you together with me!"
As soon as he finished his words, Ronan propelled a dense swarm of power from his hammer. It conquered Nagato from all sides, destroying and pushing his body astern.
Then it turned into a puff of smoke.
Nagato appeared from behind the enemy, whose reflexes were disturbed by the obscure rage, and activated his powers. "Almighty push!" Nagato yelled, forcing Ronan multiple feet away.
Yet, the pressure descending on Ronan never stopped as Nagato kept on pushing. Endlessly. Tirelessly. No... the pressure wasn't even directed at him anymore. Instead, it shifted towards the weapon.
"What do you think you are doing!" Ronan unleashed the pressure of his own. However, he was interrupted by the unexpected attack from behind. Glancing at the rear, Ronan regarded an unfamiliar green creature, which was squeezing him with his tongue, with disgust.
Releasing just a tad of his power, the creature's skin burned with heat. It barely took two seconds for the monster to puff into smoke, yet it was more than enough for Nagato to restore his powers.
"Almighty push!!" Nagato pushed all of his power into this one attack, overwhelming the ship with his loud yell. Ronan gripped the weapon with all of his might, yet it was impossible to hold on.
He tried to release his own pressure, but even that proved difficult at the perception of such grave force. The skin on his forearms ached thoroughly as he felt his hand going numb.
"No!" Ronan's fingers were forced to unwillingly open, releasing the hammer to be launched away because of the weight. Unfortunately, Nagato couldn't stop his powers in time as it hit against the window and plunged out of the ship.
Ronan shrieked loudly, jumping out of the ship immediately and not even bothering to look back at the opponent. Nagato, though exhausted, followed the Kree right away.
-
"Am I the only one seeing this?" Rocket asked, obviously shocked at the conclusion of the battle. He had never seen such power, and it was difficult to even comprehend what had happened.
"No, you are not. These guys truly are monsters." Quill answered, his legs shivering slightly. Every time the enemies collided with each other, Quill felt like a stream of dread passed through his soul. It was terrifying.
"We can't let Ronan get that stone..." Gamora was the only one in the group whose brain could still operate properly. She was both horrified and awed by their strength, but that didn't leave her fazed. "No... we can't let either of them have it."
The destiny of Xandar, or perhaps the entire universe, depended on their shoulders, and Guardians of the Galaxy understood that. All of them, even Rocket, nodded sharply.
They had to snatch the Infinity Stone.