High above the battlefield, Odin slowly raised the Iron-Slayer Sword in his hand.
Pitch-black darkness surged out like an endless tide.
Then, enormous purple shields began to materialize one after another.
Each shield was as massive as a mountain and radiated dense dark energy.
With a casual wave of Odin's hand, the nine shields descended to nine different positions around the battlefield.
A violet barrier rose between them, enclosing the entire combat zone.
"Th-That's Karl?!"
Everyone stared at the Odin figure in the sky.
The overwhelming pressure that had nearly suffocated them moments ago had actually come from Karl.
"Did this guy unlock another form?"
Tony hovered in the air with Rhodey and Pepper beside him.
"How many forms does that make now?"
"The eighth, sir."
JARVIS answered promptly.
At the same time, a display appeared showing every one of Karl's transformations—from Garuda all the way to Odin.
Each possessed world-shaking power.
But Odin stood above them all.
In the sky, Odin slowly raised the hand holding the Iron-Slayer Sword.
The six-legged divine horse beneath him let out thunderous neighs.
The sword gradually lengthened.
Longer.
Longer.
Until it transformed into a jet-black spear.
"Gungnir."
Odin's voice seemed to come from the depths of the underworld itself.
Heavy and majestic.
Like mountains roaring and oceans overturning.
The moment the words fell, Gungnir suddenly extended.
A streak of black light crossed hundreds of meters in an instant.
Then Odin spun the spear.
Countless crescent-shaped black blades erupted outward.
In a single moment, they swept across the entire sky.
The blades were as swift as meteors, spreading in all directions.
Wherever they passed, space itself split apart and heaven and earth trembled.
Even Carol chose to avoid their edge.
"Karl's a complete maniac."
Carol couldn't help complaining about his indiscriminate attack pattern.
She had heard plenty about Karl's strength and watched recordings of his battles.
She had to admit—
If she and Karl ever fought, she had no idea who would win.
But she was absolutely certain she would not walk away uninjured.
Under the eruption of Odin's Gungnir, the sky itself seemed to freeze.
Every Leviathan was suspended in place.
Not even a strand of hair moved.
Then Odin twirled Gungnir once.
The surrounding space shattered with a deafening crash.
The frozen sky fractured like broken glass.
And along with it—
The Leviathans shattered as well.
While dodging attacks, Thanos never took his eyes off Odin.
Seeing the man casually annihilate every Leviathan, even Thanos was surprised.
He had never expected a human from Earth to possess such overwhelming power.
Without the Infinity Stones, he knew he would stand no chance against this opponent.
"Pointless."
Thanos raised the Infinity Gauntlet.
"No matter how many times they die, they will return."
His voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Because I... am Time itself!"
The five Infinity Stones erupted with dazzling brilliance.
The entire sky became flooded with multicolored light.
A curtain of radiant energy swept across the heavens.
Where it passed, the Leviathans that had just been obliterated reappeared.
One after another.
Roaring as they charged Odin once more.
Odin remained motionless.
Only the six-legged divine horse beneath him pawed impatiently at the air, eager to trample the incoming monsters.
Then Odin moved.
He lightly tapped the horse's flank.
Receiving its command, the divine steed transformed into a streak of light and shot forward.
Its excited neigh echoed throughout the sky.
Horse and rider crashed straight into the Leviathans.
Gungnir pierced them as effortlessly as a needle puncturing balloons.
One.
Two.
Three.
The colossal monsters couldn't even retaliate.
In a single charge, every Leviathan was skewered.
Green blood poured from the sky like torrential rain.
Odin remained calm and composed.
The six-legged horse snorted mockingly, as if ridiculing the creatures' weakness.
Yet at that moment—
The multicolored light swept across the battlefield once again.
Thanos had activated the Stones.
Again.
The dead Leviathans reappeared.
Again.
Like copies pasted into existence.
They roared and charged Odin once more.
"Everyone, this can't continue!"
Tony's voice sounded through every communicator.
"Karl destroys the Leviathans, Thanos rewinds time. If this keeps up, even Karl will eventually be exhausted."
"Tony's right."
Steve punched an alien to the ground before replying.
"We need those Stones."
"Leave it to me!"
A strand of web shot through the air.
Peter swung into action and immediately headed for Thanos.
At the same time, Mantis sprinted over from nearby.
She was the only one capable of immobilizing Thanos mentally.
Peter's web attached perfectly to the Infinity Gauntlet.
Then—
With an unexpected yank—
A powerful force pulled on it.
Caught completely off guard, Thanos actually lost the Gauntlet.
Everyone froze.
No one could believe Peter had actually removed the Infinity Gauntlet.
And so easily, too.
"Did Thanos suddenly get hit in the head or something?"
Rhodey's voice echoed from above.
The last time they'd nearly killed themselves trying to take the Gauntlet.
And now Peter had done it with a single web?
If it was this easy, what happened before?
Had Mantis hypnotized Thanos into stupidity?
Had Quill knocked a few brain cells loose?
Or had Thanos simply been trolling them the entire time?
Countless thoughts flashed through everyone's minds.
Even Thanos himself looked bewildered.
Did my hand slip?
How did the Gauntlet fly off just because I moved my arm?
That web should've been easy to tear apart.
Did my arm suddenly go weak?
While everyone stood stunned, Peter grabbed the Gauntlet and sprinted across the battlefield, weaving through enemies.
The others finally snapped back to reality.
"Go help him!"
Pepper reacted first and immediately flew toward Peter.
"Get the Gauntlet back!"
Thanos roared.
The alien army surged toward Peter like a tidal wave.
In an instant, countless enemies swarmed him like a plague of locusts.
"Activate Kill Mode!"
Peter dodged left and right while activating the suit's combat system.
The large white eyes of his mask narrowed sharply.
Their color shifted from bright white to ominous red.
Eight spider-legs burst from his back.
He launched himself into the alien horde, slaughtering enemies in every direction.
But no matter how capable he was, he was still alone.
Gradually, he began losing ground.
At the same time, Thanos was rapidly closing in from behind.
Though his blade had been shattered, he still gripped a broken fragment in his hand.
And that jagged shard remained more than capable of delivering a killing blow.
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