Artoria and Proxima Midnight stared at each other in tense silence. Artoria couldn't read the alien's blue face, but the eyes betrayed her foul mood—thanks entirely to Artoria's taunts. That petty irritation delighted Artoria; she almost indulged in a Count-style cackle, and only the dignity of her Takeuchi face kept her from unleashing a full arsenal of mocking expressions.
That backside looks familiar—quite the perky rear. Isn't Captain America supposed to be at Stark Tower? Why's he still wandering around?
From the corner of her eye she caught a red-white-and-blue figure. A sidelong glance confirmed it: Captain America, still loitering.
Roar!
Her momentary distraction was all the opening needed. Behind Artoria, the massive frame of Hulk rose, thick arms locking together to smash down on the absent-minded foe. But the ahoge atop Artoria's head twitched; instinct jerked her aside, and Hulk's blow met only air.
Green fatty, take a nap like Hawkeye!
Her right hand brushed her slender waist; gathering strength, Artoria drove a fist into Hulk's cheek. It did little real damage to the jade giant, yet sent him flying a hundred meters—out of the fight for now.
With power like that, refusing to serve My Lord is a waste.
I'll ask once more: will you j-oi—n—m—e?
Seeing Artoria swat Hulk away so easily, Proxima Midnight's irritation turned to admiration. Such talent, destroyed, would be a pity. She had just linked her mind to their master, letting him watch; her proposal had received silent approval—her power let her broadcast everything she saw straight to him.
Fight if you're going to fight—less chatter.
Say it a thousand, ten thousand times: I refuse.
Because a true king bows to no one.
Words of regal resolve rang out as Artoria's soaring fighting spirit set her heart pounding. A dragon's roar erupted from her body; a savage aura burst forth, flattening nearby Chitaurri like dumplings dropped into boiling water. Even the Leviathan—those bio-mechanical Beasts of the Chitaurri fleet—hesitated; connected to their mothership, they felt the warning of an apex predator, and panic rippled through the armada.
What's happening?
Corvus Glaive, first of the Black Order under Thanos, was accompanying their sovereign in observing the battle—yet something felt wrong. He stared at the Leviathan and demanded answers from the Chitaurri commander, who himself felt the pressure, though less than the mothership. Worse, upon the floating throne loomed a towering figure: purple skin, ridged chin like a cleaver, clad in gold-trimmed blue armor and golden boots, a jeweled helm of blue and gold upon his brow—at a distance, a sentient purple sweet potato.
That armor carried dread renown across the Universe, for its wearer was Thanos, the Mad Titan, god of annihilation: any civilization he met lost half its people.
A single glance from the Titan had nearly stopped his heart; though the gaze quickly moved on, no warmth lingered in those cold eyes.
Uh…
The Chitauri commander wavered: admit they'd been frightened by the enemy and his own subordinates might tear him apart before Thanos even stirred. Speak or stay silent—urgent advice needed.
Interesting little Stark girl.
Suddenly Thanos spoke, leaving every underling stunned. Who was he referring to? No one dared ask; no one dared speak. The Titan sat in silent contemplation. Somehow he knew Artoria's surname—was this the so-called curse of knowledge granting him pseudo-omniscience? The aliens exchanged glances, pretending to be deaf and dumb.
"Buzz~!"
"The holy sword has reacted again. What on Earth is happening in the outside world..."
After Artoria completely unleashed her momentum, the holy sword within Avalon sensed her fighting spirit and resonated even more strongly with her. Unfortunately, the barrier of Avalon was not so easily broken. Even an existence with multi-dimensional strength like Merlin found it a bit of a headache and required much preparation, let alone the holy sword.
"excalibur, the Sword of Selection... it seems this place can no longer hold you."
Merlin, who was setting up a magic circle, felt the resonance of the holy sword. He walked step by step to the front of excalibur, reciting the names people called it. He muttered an ancient language under his breath, and a beam of magic light struck the holy sword. The holy sword finally settled down, like a child who had just fallen asleep. If he had been a moment later, the Lady of the Lake might have appeared, and things would have become even more endless. Having finished this, he began drawing again; it had been a long time since he'd drawn a magic circle, and he didn't want to make a mistake.
"Holy Lance Rhongomyniad—Restricted Release."
A spiral knight's lance appeared in Artoria's hand. This was the first time Artoria had released the power of the holy lance. She gently stroked the shaft of the spear, undoing the first seal. She didn't dare undo all the seals; when the Tower at the Edge of the world descends upon this world, it means that wherever the spear is, the end of the world is there. Artoria didn't know what kind of changes would happen then. She wanted to save the world, not destroy it. Besides, with her current strength, she couldn't undo the second seal at all; there were thirteen seals in total.
"Lord Thanos."
Proxima Midnight looked at the silver-white lance the opponent had produced. With a flash of golden light, one of the lines originally tightly wound around the silver-white shaft had disappeared. But she was far from relaxed; in her heart, she prayed to that lord, requesting him to send all of the Black Order. The dangerous feeling the opponent gave her had risen by more than one level, from the momentum just now to the moment she produced the spear. The thought 'I will die' kept screaming in her mind. Her ability could control others' thoughts, but it seemed to have no effect on Artoria. Every time she activated her ability, that single strand of hair standing up on the opponent's head would quiver, its swaying seemingly mocking her. God knows how she saw a single hair as mocking.
But unfortunately, Lord Thanos didn't seem to pay her any attention.
"Die!"
She couldn't wait any longer; she couldn't just stupidly wait for the opponent to release such a dangerous thing. She took out her weapon and rushed toward Artoria. Although she wasn't very good at physical combat, she still knew a few moves.
"Clang~!"
Proxima Midnight fought frantically, slashing her black-red blade at Artoria's weak spots. But every time, Artoria seemed to have foreknowledge and blocked them all. The golden light from that spear was also growing stronger.
"Feel the light of the world! Henchman of Thanos."
"Holy Lance, Anchor up."
"The spear that shines to the end."
Artoria looked at Proxima Midnight with a smile, shouting the True Name Release. Golden light erupted from the spearhead, and Artoria was surrounded by the golden radiance emitted by the spear. In an instant, the light of the entire world dimmed, and a brilliant golden light rose from the ground. The Holy Lance Rhongomyniad revealed its dazzling brilliance to this world for the first time.
"Director, look."
Nick, who was arguing with politicians to prevent them from launching nuclear missiles, was drawn by his subordinate's shout. He looked in the direction the subordinate was pointing.
"Is this... the sun?"
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