บท 35: The Mad Titan's Dread
"Indeed, Son of Odin, Thor Odinson, is outside slaughtering our soldiers," Ebony Maw reported truthfully.
"Moreover, he possesses the Reality Stone."
"Father, let me go!"
Hearing Ebony Maw's words, Nebula immediately volunteered.
As Thanos's daughter, she was well aware of her father's obsession with the Infinity Stones. If she could seize the Reality Stone and present it to him, then...
Thinking of this, Nebula glanced at Gamora, who was standing beside her, her gaze filled with disdain.
"You won't be able to defeat him," Gamora sneered before Thanos could reply. "Didn't you see the battle reports? That guy hasn't even gotten serious yet. With just a shout, he turned the fleet on the surface into piles of scrap metal."
"None of our Vanguard soldiers or Chitauri have even managed to touch a hair on his head. What makes you think you can do any better? Are you looking to die?"
Gamora knew that her sister had always been dissatisfied with her being more favored by Thanos. Nebula constantly sought to outshine her, hoping to win their father's approval. But she didn't expect Nebula to be so foolish as to disregard the disparity in power and rush to her death.
"Then are we just going to let that Asgardian slaughter our warriors?" Nebula retorted, even though she knew Gamora's words were true.
"What about Odin? Has he come?"
Thanos ignored the bickering between Gamora and Nebula and instead turned to ask Ebony Maw.
No one noticed the flash of trepidation in Thanos's eyes when he mentioned Odin.
Ebony Maw, being a master of telekinesis, possessed senses far beyond ordinary beings. If Odin had led the Asgardian army here, no matter how well they hid, Ebony Maw would have detected something—unless they had brought the Tesseract along.
"No, there's no sign of him. I've failed you, my lord," Ebony Maw replied, bowing even lower.
"Father, allow the Black Order to accompany me. I promise to retrieve the Reality Stone and present it to you," Nebula pleaded again.
"No."
Clad in armor, Thanos pressed his hands onto the armrests of his throne and stood up.
(Just like he did in the Avengers: Age of Ultron post-credits scene.)
"I will go personally."
"RAAAH!!!"
Thor roared to the sky once more, and the thunder in the heavens grew even more intense. The lightning bolts falling from above became increasingly powerful and frequent.
"Whoosh!!!"
Just as Thor was reveling in his might, a slender, pitch-black needle shot toward him in absolute silence.
"Thud!!"
The needle moved so stealthily that even Thor would have had difficulty noticing it under normal circumstances. But now, with his focus consumed by summoning lightning, he was even less likely to detect it.
The needle pierced directly into Thor's body, forcing him to stagger back a few steps and breaking his connection to the storm.
The dark clouds in the sky dissipated, and the lightning vanished without a trace. Seeing this, the Chitauri soldiers and Vanguard creatures erupted in cheers, charging toward Thor with renewed fervor.
"Ha!!"
Thor clutched his right chest with his left hand and let out a low growl. A moment later, the bloodstained needle was forced out of his chest, clattering to the ground.
The needle's bloodstains turned pitch black almost instantly, revealing the potency of its poison.
"RAAAH!!!"
Thor roared again, unleashing a surge of lightning energy that crackled around him, steadily increasing in intensity. He also channeled the power of the Reality Stone to enhance his strength, preparing to summon lightning once more to clear the battlefield.
"Ugh… cough, cough… hmph…"
As the Reality Stone began to glow, Thor let out a pained groan. The lightning around him dissipated immediately.
Thor coughed violently a few times, then grunted as he forced himself to endure the pain. He looked at the endless waves of Thanos's soldiers charging toward him and tightened his grip on Stormbreaker.
Though the dark weapon's effects prevented him from drawing on the Reality Stone's power to exceed his limits, Thor was confident that his divine strength alone was enough to fight across Titan from east to west, north to south. He would chop off Thanos's ugly head and leave in triumph—albeit with a bit more effort and sweat than he had initially planned.
"Ha!!!"
Thor shouted, launching himself into the air. The ground troops, unable to fly, were rendered useless, while the few Chitauri soldiers who pursued him using jetpacks were easily dispatched.
Thor wasn't foolish. If he couldn't rely on the Reality Stone, it would be unwise to waste too much energy on these small fry. He needed to conserve his strength for Thanos.
"THANOS!!!"
Thor roared as he soared through the sky, scanning the battlefield below. Thankfully, most of Titan's warships had already been destroyed by his earlier storm.
Otherwise, his brazen display would have undoubtedly invited a barrage of cannon fire, leaving him battered and embarrassed.
"My lord, let us try him first," Ebony Maw suggested from a hidden vantage point, still clutching three more needles in his hand.
Thanos's expression darkened. He had initially believed that Thor's power, comparable to Odin's, came solely from the Reality Stone's augmentation.
But now, seeing Thor's strength without the stone, he couldn't help but feel a trace of fear.
The needle that had struck Thor earlier was Ebony Maw's handiwork. Only he could maneuver such a weapon through the dense lightning storm to strike Thor unnoticed.
The needle was an ancient and sinister artifact, said to have been forged by a long-dead cosmic overlord using the Reality Stone and various exotic metals.
This was why it had been able to disrupt Thor's use of the Reality Stone. Otherwise, no amount of poison would have had any effect under the stone's power.
"Hmm."
Thanos nodded grimly.
"Whoosh!!!"
At Thanos's command, the Black Order—excluding Ebony Maw—leapt into action. Meanwhile, Ebony Maw used his telekinetic powers to attempt to drag Thor down from the sky.
After all, neither the Black Order nor Thanos could fly, putting them at a disadvantage if Thor remained airborne.
"Hmph!"
Thor felt the invisible force pulling at him. Though he could resist it with his full strength, doing so would slow him down and make him less agile.
Realizing this, Thor decided to descend to the ground and face his enemies head-on. A battle of brute strength suited him just fine.
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