Steve and the others stood in stunned silence as they witnessed Marcus annihilate enemy forces with a casual gesture.
In the past, while Marcus had been powerful, he still needed to engage in physical combat. Now, with merely a wave of his hand, Thanos's army was obliterated instantly.
Tony, who had been at the front lines, was forced to shut down his weapons systems after witnessing the blood blades destroy Thanos's forces completely. He traced an arc through the air and returned to the group.
The moment he landed, he spotted Marcus—the individual who always seemed to disappear at crucial moments.
"You... you're actually still alive?" Tony's tone carried genuine incredulity, as if Marcus's survival was impossible news.
"Ha! I'll outlive you by centuries," Marcus replied with sardonic amusement.
Looking at Tony more carefully, he noticed the equipment had been upgraded to the latest generation. The instant Tony touched down, his iron suit began rapidly disappearing from his body.
When Tony's feet hit the ground, he had returned to the appearance of an ordinary person.
However, they had all experienced countless battles, and the playboy Marcus used to tease now showed signs of genuine weariness and age.
"Baby Tony, has your high-tech stroller received an upgrade?" Marcus teased.
That iron suit clearly wasn't a standard nanotechnology configuration. Apart from other considerations, the weapon systems alone were sufficient evidence.
While Tony was indeed a super genius, he couldn't ignore physics and somehow compress high-explosive missiles into nanoparticles that could hide on his body.
"Ha! Finally, someone who recognizes quality engineering," Tony declared, glancing at everyone else with obvious disdain. "I studied Tesseract energy patterns and upgraded my systems through some... specialized channels."
He raised both hands, each bearing a metallic bracelet.
"I used those technologies to create pocket dimensions within these bracelets. They're not enormous—only one cubic meter each."
"The left contains my arsenal storage, including the external armor housing, while the right stores the nanotechnology suit. One full cubic meter of nanomachines!"
Tony had developed these bracelets during Marcus's absence, obtaining several different types of alien technologies from his father through carefully cultivated connections. These innovations had benefited him tremendously, allowing him to successfully manufacture the dimensional storage devices.
"Oh, and there's also this!" Tony pointed to the Arc Reactor attached to his chest.
He had finally removed all shrapnel from his cardiovascular system. This Arc Reactor represented his latest engineering achievement—a specialized power source with far greater output than previous versions.
"This new reactor also utilizes my enhanced technology. Even when I'm not wearing the armor, I can ignore most projectile attacks."
Seeing Marcus again, Tony looked genuinely annoyed, but he displayed his latest innovations like a child showing off prized possessions.
"Well, not bad," Marcus replied dismissively.
He manipulated the blood blades with slight finger movements, systematically eliminating all remaining enemies.
While New York didn't host massive alien forces, the four Infinity Stones remained on display here. As long as Thanos's objectives didn't change, alien armies would continue converging on this location.
Blood blades covered the sky, and the battle for New York ceased entirely.
Everyone in the city began resting. They didn't know how long the blood blade protection would last—they needed to recover as quickly as possible.
But Marcus recalled the Infinity Stones into his possession. The bait had been cast. He was confident that Thanos would gather all his forces for a direct assault.
"How long have I been absent?" Marcus asked while waiting for Thanos's next move.
He genuinely didn't know the current timeframe. After all, he hadn't returned for an extended period.
"About ten years," Bucky answered first. "Both times you left were particularly lengthy."
Marcus had only departed twice, but each absence had been measured in years.
"Ten years?" Marcus nodded thoughtfully. "Your development has been impressive."
To reach this level in a decade suggested everyone had worked tremendously hard during those years to resist Thanos's armies for so long.
"What about you? Where did you go after leaving?" Steve asked.
While they all knew Marcus had taken a spacecraft into deep space, they remained curious about his actual destinations.
"I visited many places and encountered some truly unique species," Marcus explained.
He described various alien races he'd encountered, causing everyone to exclaim with amazement.
Through Marcus, they learned about extraterrestrial civilizations that even Thor from Asgard and the Guardians of the Galaxy had never mentioned.
"My god, are there really so many extraordinary races in the universe?" Steve asked with growing concern.
If these species were peaceful, that would be acceptable. But if any harbored malevolent intentions, they could become violent interstellar armies capable of destroying every planet they encountered.
"The universe contains countless races," Marcus replied. "Don't limit your perspective to current knowledge."
After responding to Steve, Marcus looked skyward.
Thanos's reinforcements had arrived and were attacking the Blood Blade Barrier.
"Here they come. Time for some entertainment," he announced.
Marcus vanished from the group instantly, appearing before the Blood Blade Barrier in the blink of an eye.
Facing the barrier, Thanos's flagship was targeting the protective screen. All ship weapons were charging, preparing concentrated energy bombardment to penetrate the blood blade defense.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM...
Energy cannon after energy cannon fired downward. As Thanos's command vessel, these ship-mounted weapons' power was unquestionable. Once activated, they delivered destructive saturation attacks on surface targets.
The energy cannons moved incredibly fast, but the moment they struck the Blood Blade Barrier, they were absorbed by the screen composed of countless blood blades. The bombardment only caused slight concave depressions in the barrier.
"As expected from someone who has devastated countless worlds," Marcus observed with appreciation. "The power of these ship weapons is genuinely impressive—almost matching the secondary guns of the Dark Aster."
Such attacks earned Marcus's praise, but merely as compliments. Such bombardment posed no threat whatsoever to him.
Even if Thanos continued bombarding for several more years, nothing would change. The gap between their capabilities was enormous.
This represented the difference in power levels. While Thanos was strong, he hadn't reached unattainable heights. Marcus, however, was different. Using Prime armor configurations, his strength far exceeded dimensional demons.
With such capabilities, confronting Thanos—who hadn't yet achieved dimensional demon status—was naturally effortless.
Compared to Marcus's casual confidence, Thanos felt genuine gravity.
He had expected formidable opposition, but hadn't anticipated that concentrated bombardment would cause zero damage to his enemy.
"Is he the one possessing the remaining Infinity Stones?" Thanos wondered, observing Marcus hovering in the air.
He retrieved a container and opened it, revealing an Infinity Gauntlet within. He had already constructed the necessary equipment. Now he needed only to claim the Infinity Stones to fulfill his long-cherished ambition.
"I must stop them and never allow that catastrophe to repeat!" Thanos thought grimly, donning the Infinity Gauntlet with solemn determination.
While he hadn't collected all Infinity Stones, the Soul Stone had devoured countless souls, providing him with substantial power. Moreover, the Infinity Gauntlet itself, as equipment designed to channel Infinity Stone energies, was itself a divine artifact that significantly enhanced his capabilities.
To accomplish his goals, Thanos needed complete preparation and had to collect every Infinity Stone.
After equipping the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos donned his armor, seized his weapon—the Tyrant's Blade—and departed his spacecraft.
Since Temple II's cannons couldn't damage Marcus, he would personally engage this individual who possessed four Infinity Stones.
Soon, Thanos emerged from his ship, standing upon his floating throne while regarding Marcus with unwavering resolve. He didn't care about others' opinions—he simply wanted to save the universe.
"Surrender the Infinity Stones," Thanos demanded.
"You mean these?" Marcus smiled, gesturing casually as four Infinity Stones orbited around him. "If you want them, defeat me first."
SWOOSH!
The moment he finished speaking, Marcus flicked his finger, sending a blood blade in a crimson arc across the sky toward Thanos.
CLANG!
Thanos reacted swiftly. As the blood blade approached, he swung the Tyrant's Blade to deflect the attack elsewhere.
Simply blocking this assault forced the floating throne beneath Thanos to retreat continuously, while his Tyrant's Blade bore a deep scar.
Blood blade destructive power was formidable. Even divine weapons like the Tyrant's Blade couldn't easily withstand such attacks. The fact that it deflected the blood blade with only a scar demonstrated remarkable performance.
"Blocked it?" Marcus raised an eyebrow slightly.
While he hadn't used significant force in that attack, he remained somewhat surprised that Thanos could resist it.
However, he wasn't particularly concerned. The scar on the Tyrant's Blade and Thanos's visible strain both proved that blocking the attack had pushed him to his absolute limits.
Just as Marcus prepared to continue his assault, he noticed the Tyrant's Blade suddenly blazing with light. Thanos channeled the Infinity Stone's power combined with his own strength, launching a massive slash toward Marcus.
Soul Stone energy spread outward with his attack. Soldiers near the trajectory had their souls instantly extracted, their bodies collapsing motionless to the ground.
Facing the slash containing Soul Stone power, Marcus simply raised his hand lightly, releasing soul force that met the Infinity Stone's energy.
"Unfortunately for you, when it comes to soul manipulation, Nekros yields to no one," Marcus observed calmly.
Both soul powers clashed violently. While Thanos possessed the Soul Stone, Marcus wielded four Infinity Stones, and his methods proved equally formidable.
BOOM!!!
The two different soul energies suddenly collided, instantly generating a tremendous shockwave.
To avoid serious damage, Thanos used his floating throne to resist the terrifying impact.
But Marcus ignored the shockwave entirely. The blood blade barrier behind him only rippled slightly—the impact couldn't penetrate the defensive screen whatsoever.
"It seems your strength isn't as impressive as anticipated," Marcus said with amusement.
"Who are you?" Thanos demanded.
After their brief exchange, he understood Marcus's true power. They weren't on the same level at all—the strength gap between them was overwhelming.
"Me?" Marcus raised an eyebrow playfully. "I'm from Earth."
"Hmph, regardless of your identity, I'll continue fighting. Unless you kill me, I'll never stop," Thanos declared with determination.
He had already detected planetary movement. If he didn't resolve this situation quickly, he would witness the ancient tragedy repeating itself.
"Are you so anxious? Worried about the embryo on Earth that's about to awaken?" Marcus asked knowingly.
Upon returning, he had discovered Earth's abnormality.
A group of individuals stronger than Thanos existed on Earth. Each possessed unique abilities, but rather than fighting Thanos's army, they were eliminating monsters emerging from ocean depths.
These people's powers were remarkably similar to those creatures. When gathered together, they created quite a spectacle that naturally attracted Marcus's attention.
Beyond these individuals, Earth itself served as an embryo for powerful life. That existence now showed awakening signs. Once it emerged, Earth would face complete extinction.
"You know?" Thanos stared at Marcus intently.
Only a few beings were aware of these secrets, and those individuals—including himself—were called Eternals.
Eternals were rare, but they served another existence—the embryo beneath Earth preparing to awaken, an entity known as a Celestial.
"Of course I know, and I'm waiting for it," Marcus replied with anticipation.
Celestial knowledge and technology far exceeded other civilizations. Even the weakest among them were universally recognized entities.
Powerful Celestials, without exception, could all travel through the multiverse.
He was extremely interested in such capabilities. He hadn't confronted the entity previously because of his own limitations and because it hadn't yet awakened.
But now circumstances had changed. Upon returning, he had discovered the Eternals who guarded the Celestials, and even the Celestial showed awakening signs.
"Let me guess," Marcus continued analytically. "You're doing this because Celestial embryos require enormous life force support. The more prosperous planetary life becomes, the faster Celestials grow. You choose slaughter to prevent new Celestial births, correct?"
Hearing Marcus's words, Thanos's expression changed instantly. Marcus was absolutely correct.
He wasn't bloodthirsty by nature, but the consequences of Celestial births had profoundly impacted him. A Celestial's emergence meant the disappearance of a life-bearing planet, and each Celestial would devour universal resources voraciously after birth. If Celestials were allowed unrestricted development, only an empty universe would remain.
Celestials could naturally travel to other multiverses, but he couldn't. He refused to await death in a darkened universe.
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