A trace of anger flashed in Thanos's eyes.
"Just You? No one has ever dared to be so presumptuous on My Sanctuary."
Before he finished speaking, his massive body instantly rose from the throne, his arm muscles bulged, veins protruded under his purple skin, and his huge fist, accompanied by whistling wind, smashed towards Qinuo.
Qinuo stood still, not even blinking.
Thanos's fist suddenly stopped a few centimeters from his face, as if firmly locked by an invisible barrier.
Thanos's eyes widened in disbelief, and he tried hard to retract his arm, but found that his strength at this moment was like a mud ox entering the sea, disappearing without a trace.
"Father!"
Nebula was the first to act, and the other Black Order members also recovered from their shock, but except for Ebony Maw and Black Dwarf, the other three rushed towards the escape pods.
They said they submitted to Thanos because of his power; if a monster appeared that even Thanos couldn't defeat, how could they be willing to die?
Ebony Maw's eyes were sinister, and his withered fingers drew strange runes in the air, as powerful psychic energy transformed the surrounding metal floor into sharp spikes that lunged towards Qinuo's chest.
Black Dwarf, meanwhile, swung his massive battle-axe, letting out a beast-like roar, and used the momentum of his charge to cleave down towards Qinuo's head, the shriek of the battle-axe tearing through the air was extremely ear-piercing.
Nebula's metal prosthetics extended sharp blades, and she moved nimbly, attacking from the side, her blades aiming directly for Qinuo's throat.
But these attacks, like Thanos's, stopped a few centimeters around Qinuo, and the attackers were also unable to move.
"Did I tell You to leave?"
Qinuo spoke softly.
Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, and Supergiant, who were rushing towards the escape pods, instantly froze in place, and fine cracks began to appear on their body surfaces, like glass covered by a spiderweb.
A crisp snap of fingers sounded.
With a sharp crack, the three bodies exploded into countless fragments, blood and flesh splattering throughout the spaceship's cabin.
This scene caused Ebony Maw and Black Dwarf's pupils to constrict, and Nebula also felt a chill rise from her back.
Thanos's face grew increasingly grim, and purple energy began to seep from the seams of his armor, causing the lights of the entire Sanctuary to flicker erratically.
However, they soon felt a powerful force erupt in front of them, slamming heavily into the spaceship's wall.
Ebony Maw suffered fractures all over his body, while Nebula, Black Dwarf, and Thanos sustained injuries to varying degrees.
Qinuo sat on the stone throne that originally belonged to Thanos, looking at Gamora standing in the corner.
Gamora was adopted by Thanos from a young age and trained as a tool; Thanos had even massacred half the life on her Planet, which instilled a deep hatred for Thanos in Gamora.
But it is undeniable that Thanos was also her adoptive father to some extent, and years of interaction had forged a complex emotional bond between Gamora and him.
Therefore, when Thanos confronted Qinuo, she did not go up to help, nor did she flee like the other Black Order members, becoming the only one still intact.
Gamora trembled all over under Qinuo's gaze, and just as she was about to kneel, Qinuo spoke.
"Bring Thanos over."
"...Yes, My Lord."
Gamora suppressed the trembling in her legs and slowly walked towards Thanos, who was embedded in the wall.
She thought the invincible Titan giant was now miserably pressed into the metal wall by force, with streaks of blood seeping from his purple skin.
She stretched out her hand, and the moment she touched Thanos's body, countless memories surged like a tide—the painful days and nights of training, the despair of being used as a pawn, and the occasional, blurred images of "filial piety" between father and daughter.
As Gamora dragged Thanos before Qinuo, Thanos struggled to stand up, wanting to look down at Qinuo, who was seated on his own throne.
"You... what exactly do You want?"
Thanos gasped, the arrogance in his eyes diluted but still retaining an unyielding spirit.
"Answer My question, did You kill half the life in the World for the ideal of saving the World, or for Death?"
Qinuo asked.
Thanos and Gamora were both startled.
Especially Gamora, what does 'for Death' mean?
"...I am for the Goddess of Death; eliminating half of life is to gain her love."
Thanos's voice sounded, and Gamora looked at Thanos in disbelief.
What did he just say?
Killing half of life wasn't to save the World, but for Death's love?
At this moment, Thanos's face showed struggle, but he continued to speak of his love for Death, intending to offer half the life of the Universe as a gift for her.
Ultimate Equation • Anti-Life.
The disparity in power between the two was too great; Qinuo easily controlled Thanos.
Ebony Maw, with bones fractured all over, was embedded in the wall and listened in disbelief to everything his My Lord recounted.
The pain in his body was less than one ten-thousandth of the pain of his shattered ideals in his heart.
"No, this is false, My Lord, You are being controlled!"
He couldn't believe that the massacres he considered noble ideals were merely a twisted unrequited love?
"Have You seen Death?"
Qinuo discovered a problem while flipping through Thanos's memories and asked again.
"Of course, she is so perfect, so mysterious; to gain her love, I am willing to give anything."
Thanos
A mocking curve appeared on Qinuo's lips.
"Perfect? Mysterious? Thanos, the Death You see is merely a lure she wove to satisfy her selfish desires."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qinuo flicked his finger, and a blade of light streaked across the void, condensing a scene before Thanos's eyes.
The Goddess of Death appeared before him in different guises: a man, a woman, an adult, a child, and even a skeleton.
Even at the very end, Death married an ugly man, a scene that was a devastating blow, deeply piercing Thanos's heart.
Thanos's eyes widened, the muscles in his face twitching uncontrollably, veins bulging on his forehead. "Impossible! Death's love belongs to Me—"
Swish!
A cold light flashed.
Thanos's expression instantly stiffened, a line of blood slowly appeared around his thick neck, and then, his head slowly slid off, rolling down the steps.
Thump, thump, thump!
Gamora clutched the blood-stained Tyrant's Cleaver, her fingertips still trembling slightly.
Thanos's wide-open eyes gradually lost focus, and his massive body crashed to the ground, making a dull thud on the Sanctuary's metal floor.
She had never imagined that this moment would arrive so abruptly—the "father" who had dominated her destiny and for whom she felt a mix of love and hatred, had ceased to breathe by her own hand.
"The blood feud I've carried all these years was just a sacrifice for a madman's ridiculous unrequited love!"
Her voice was tearful, yet filled with both anger and release.
"Gamora..."
Nebula, sitting against the wall, looked complexly at Gamora, who remained in a striking posture.
Once, they had fought each other for Thanos's "favor"; now, this shared "nightmare" had finally dissipated, yet she felt none of the expected relief.
Ebony's fractured body made every movement excruciatingly painful, but at this moment, the despair in his eyes far surpassed his physical agony.
He had always regarded Thanos's plan as a grand feat to reshape the Universe's order, but now he found it was all a joke.
"My faith... all lies..."
The shock of his crumbling faith pushed him closer to collapse than all his bodily injuries combined.
Black Dwarf silently stared at Thanos's corpse, his battle-axe hanging limply to the ground; this warrior, who only knew how to obey orders, now seemed to have lost all motivation to act.
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