What remained of Sokovia was now nothing more than a colossal crater. The city that had once stood above it had vanished completely, absorbed by the Demon Titan.
Now, however, two dark figures descended into the wasteland.
They were Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive, husband and wife, sent to retrieve the Mind Stone. Sokovia was the last place where the Stone's energy signature had been detected.
Standing at the bottom of the crater, they saw nothing but dirt and rock.
"There isn't any Mind Stone here. Ebony Maw is useless," Corvus Glaive said as he surveyed the surroundings.
Proxima Midnight scanned the area as well. The place was a desolate battlefield ruin. Their instruments showed no reaction whatsoever.
"Ebony Maw really is a fool. Let's leave."
She put away the scanner, prepared to depart with Corvus. Returning empty-handed would likely earn them Thanos's displeasure.
Just as they turned around, a portal opened nearby.
Carl and his family stepped through alongside Steve, Natasha, Clint, and Wong.
The moment Corvus and Proxima saw them, they naturally assumed the Mind Stone was in their possession.
"Hand over the Mind Stone, Earthlings," Corvus demanded, leveling his glaive at Carl.
Carl shrugged.
"Do we look like people carrying an Infinity Stone around?"
Clint pulled his mechanical bow from his back and nocked an explosive arrow.
"Then die."
With a roar, Corvus and Proxima charged simultaneously, their glowing blue weapons resembling the plasma blades of Stark armor.
Clint fired first.
Corvus casually caught the arrow.
Before he could react—
BOOM!
The arrow exploded in his hand.
At the same instant, Carl appeared before him.
The Ultimate Weapon materialized in his grasp.
Dark energy surged as he activated the Odin Combat Art.
The Ultimate Weapon transformed into a jet-black sword—the legendary blade once wielded by Odin himself: Iron-Cleaver.
A streak of black light flashed across the battlefield.
Carl appeared beside Corvus instantly, bringing the sword down in a devastating slash.
Even the surrounding space seemed to split beneath its edge.
Corvus had been momentarily stunned by Clint's surprise attack, but he could clearly sense the terrifying pressure behind Carl's strike.
Without hesitation, he discarded the remains of the arrow and raised his glaive to block.
CLANG!
An invisible shockwave erupted outward, blasting away all the dust and debris.
Corvus successfully stopped the attack.
But Carl's sword immediately became a blur.
Each strike was fast, precise, and aimed at vital points.
Corvus responded with equal skill.
As the leader of the Black Order, he was the strongest among the four. Even Ebony Maw ranked beneath him.
---
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Gwen, Skye, Wanda, and Natasha had engaged Proxima Midnight.
Proxima wielded a far more complex spear than Corvus's—a multi-bladed weapon capable of both piercing and trapping opponents' weapons.
Skye struck first.
Her fist shot forward as shockwaves erupted.
A violent blast exploded between them, forcing Proxima backward.
At the same time, Gwen fired webbing around Proxima's legs and yanked hard.
As Proxima fell, Gwen kicked her to the ground.
A giant crimson hand formed in midair and slammed down.
BOOM!
The earth trembled.
The massive scarlet construct faded, leaving behind a cloud of dust.
But, as always, dust never meant defeat.
Proxima burst out of the cloud, her spear thrusting directly toward Skye.
Skye crossed her arms.
Shockwaves condensed into a barrier before her.
The shield held for only a few seconds before Proxima's spear punched straight through it.
Just as the blade was about to strike—
A web attached itself to Skye's back and yanked her away.
At the same moment, Natasha appeared behind Proxima.
Leaping high into the air, Natasha wrapped her powerful legs around Proxima's neck and twisted violently.
Even someone as strong as Proxima was thrown hard to the ground.
But during the fall, Proxima hurled her spear directly at Skye.
"Skye!"
Gwen immediately fired another web.
Wanda reacted as well.
Unfortunately, the spear moved too quickly.
Neither could intercept it in time.
From the rear, Wong acted instantly.
A portal opened directly in front of Skye.
The spear disappeared into it.
A second portal opened behind Corvus Glaive.
WHOOSH!
The spear shot out, heading straight for his back.
Yet before it could strike, it suddenly halted in midair.
Corvus grabbed it and immediately hurled it at Carl.
"Pathetic."
Proxima seized Natasha's ankle and flung her away before mocking them.
---
On Carl's side, he casually knocked away the incoming spear with a single swing.
At the same time, two orange-red sword arcs shot forward.
Carl had discovered that while using the Odin Combat Art, he could freely draw upon the powers of his other summons.
Corvus sidestepped the first slash.
The second, however, seemed to possess a mind of its own, cutting off his escape route.
His eyes narrowed.
With an upward sweep of his glaive, he collided head-on with the incoming attack.
---
Proxima extended her hand.
The spear Carl had knocked away instantly returned to her grip.
A blue energy blast erupted from its tip, striking Gwen and sending her flying.
Fortunately, her vibranium armor absorbed the impact, leaving her unharmed while storing the kinetic energy.
Wanda's eyes glowed crimson.
Behind her, Chaos Magic gathered into the shape of a pair of scarlet wings.
She slowly raised her hand.
Proxima immediately froze in place.
Scarlet energy wrapped around her body.
Just as Wanda was about to snap her neck—
A spear shot through the air like a meteor.
By the time Wanda noticed it, it was already too late.
BANG!
She was blasted backward.
Without Chaos Magic protecting her, the spear would have pierced straight through her body.
The disruption also freed Proxima from Wanda's control.
She dropped to the ground and promptly lost consciousness.
---
Elsewhere, Corvus Glaive was now unarmed.
The spear that had struck Wanda had been his final throw.
Without his weapon, he was no match for Carl.
Especially now that Carl had fully charged his power.
"Dimensional Slash."
Carl's voice rang out.
In an instant, the surrounding space fragmented into dozens of sections.
Reality itself twisted and split apart like a sliced cake.
At the center stood Corvus Glaive, trapped within the shattered dimensions.
BOOM!
The fractured space exploded like broken glass.
Corvus exploded along with it.
One severed arm flew into the air.
His body was drenched in blood, mangled from head to toe.
And yet—
Astonishingly, he wasn't dead.
His terrifying vitality had allowed him to survive.
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