"This woman..."
Looking at Artoria, who was glowing with golden light like a deity, Ronan was reminded of a woman—a stubborn woman who had wiped out his fleet and left an indelible impression in his heart. The world is just that strange; whatever you fear most is exactly what it throws at you! Back then, after being repelled by that woman, he had made a grand vow to defeat her. As it turned out, the scene today was practically identical to that one.
"I have to finish this person off quickly."
The power was becoming increasingly beyond her control, and part of it had already begun to leak out of her body; this was a sign that she couldn't hold it back. Although that unknown potion in her body had merged with her and her cells had enlarged to devour some of the Holy Lance's energy, the energy of the Holy Lance seemed infinite. No matter how much the cells devoured, a large portion still leaked outside her body.
"The time for revenge has come. I'll start with you!"
Taking a deep breath, he turned his hatred for that woman into strength. He intended to prove himself again, starting today by killing the woman before him. He, Ronan, would no longer fear any enemy. Gripping the Kree War Hammer tightly, Ronan's gaze was incredibly firm. He had to defeat her, end years of humiliation, then find the woman who had betrayed the Kree Empire and execute her.
"Restricted Release."
Artoria didn't leave any room for her opponent's thoughts, nor did she engage in trash talk like a typical protagonist, because she was in no mood for such things. The gathered power was growing, and Artoria's intuition told her that if she didn't release the Noble Phantasm soon, she might be in trouble.
"Are these two monsters now?"
Gamora's eyes were full of silent complaints about Ronan and Artoria. Ronan's situation was easy to explain; after all, even her father, 'Thanos,' held the Infinity Stones in high regard. It was only natural to have such power. In fact, it would be strange if he didn't have world-destroying power! But Artoria truly surprised her. She couldn't understand where this woman got her power from; it was too terrifying. Currently, Artoria could be considered an equal match for Ronan, perhaps even having a slight upper hand, which was a bit hard for Gamora to accept.
That thing was a super-artifact known for destroying stars, yet it was being suppressed by this woman she had never heard of before. This conflicted with the impression Thanos had given her—describing the Infinity Stones as invincible and even as the rules of the universe—making it difficult for her to process for a moment.
"Don't just stand there dazed, run!"
Seeing Artoria about to unleash a big move, Rocket's beastly instincts sensed danger. If they stayed here to watch the show, there was a high probability they'd be caught in the attack. He quickly patted Groot's shoulder, signaling him to leave this place immediately. It was no longer safe; staying here would mean Death.
"Hey! Hey! This is a joke, right? Is this a fight between gods?"
Checking with an energy detector, the Nova Corps Centurion looked in shock at the data that had already gone off the charts. He quickly pulled his subordinates and the dazed Star-Lord nearby to retreat to a safe zone. At this rate, even a stray hit could turn them directly into ash, and that wouldn't be fun at all.
"Enough has been accumulated. Die, Ronan!"
Feeling that she could no longer accumulate any more power, Artoria pointed the tip of the lance at Ronan. The golden light radiating from her body surged toward the shaft. The entire lance had now become a long, glowing mass of light. The golden light appeared so holy and dazzling, but the Ronan opposite her smelled the scent of Death. In other words, if he couldn't block this attack, he would surely die from it.
"Woman, it seems you are putting your life on the line. Then I shall crush you head-on and kill you, making you a cornerstone of my military achievements. Thus, I, Ronan the Accuser, find you... guilty. Sentence: Death."
It's true that villains die because they talk too much; even at such a life-or-Death moment, he didn't forget to give a speech. However, his hands weren't idle. The Power Stone on the Kree War Hammer was already emitting intense energy. Even this god-tier individual weapon, which concentrated the top power of the Kree Empire, was being corroded by the energy of the Power Stone. This meant that if Ronan used the Power Stone's energy a few more times, the Kree War Hammer would be destroyed.
"So much talk! Noble Phantasm release: The Spear that Shines to the Ends of the world (Rhongomyniad)!"
Artoria wasn't going to wait for her enemy to say they were ready before attacking. This was a battle, not a martial arts tournament or a sparring match. A battle is a fight to kill the opponent using every known method. Having prepared herself, Artoria directly released the power of Rhongomyniad. This was her second time releasing its power; this time, she kept fifty percent of the controllable power within her body. Artoria had learned her lesson and didn't release all the power at once. But with Rhongomyniad's own power plus Artoria's magic, a massive two-meter-high light cannon fired from the tip of Rhongomyniad.
"You bastard woman, die!"
Seeing the massive light cannon charging toward him, Ronan no longer cared whether his body or weapon could withstand the side effects of the Power Stone. A massive purple energy beam fired from the Kree War Hammer, colliding violently with the light cannon fired by Artoria. Relying on the lance's piercing force, the light cannon continuously pushed closer to Ronan. However, the Power Stone was still very effective; Ronan wasn't instantly swallowed by Artoria's light cannon. Feeling the immense burden the Power Stone placed on his body and hammer, Ronan wanted to dodge.
Puchi!
But Ronan didn't expect someone to launch a sneak attack at this moment. He was struggling to maintain the output of the Power Stone when he looked down to see the tips of two short daggers emerging from his chest. Blue-green blood began to flow down from the wounds. At this moment, Ronan had to admit he had been blindsided.
"Who are you?"
"Ronan the Accuser, I have waited for this moment for too long. My wife and daughter's vengeance—I can finally avenge them now!"
Pulling the twin daggers out, Drax thrust them into Ronan's body once more. This time, a smile of vengeance fulfilled appeared on his dark face. He had waited for this moment for far too long, and he had finally caught this guy distracted. While Ronan's entire attention was on Artoria, Drax had been lurking nearby just to kill him.
"You're that guy who sent me the message."
Ronan finally remembered him—the guy who claimed he would kill him. He just hadn't taken it seriously. He didn't expect to actually fall at this guy's hands. It seemed there was no escaping now.
"Die, you scumbag!"
Drax pulled out the twin daggers, a happy smile on his face, and swung them toward Ronan's arms. Ronan was currently holding the Kree War Hammer with both hands; if his hands were cut off, the Power Stone would lose its connection to him, and Artoria's attack would destroy him in an instant.
"Are you crazy? You'll die too!"
Realizing Drax's plan, Ronan spoke in a panic. But he was facing a Drax who had gone somewhat insane from revenge; Drax didn't care about any of that as long as Ronan died.
Puchi! Puchi!
"No!"
The persuasion was completely useless. Drax severed both of Ronan's arms. The Power Stone instantly stopped releasing its energy, and Artoria's golden light cannon reached Ronan in the blink of an eye. It was so fast that Drax didn't even have a chance to react. Both of them were caught in Artoria's attack. The massive light cannon passed through the two of them and flew toward the sky, like a golden light dragon soaring toward the galaxy.
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the story has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 chapters in advance over on my Patreon: patreon.com/TLHimejima1
Every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone and let me know.