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Feeling the trembling of the double-edged blade, or rather, feeling the wavering of his own will.
Thanos forcibly channeled the power of the Mind Stone and Soul Stone to stabilize his mind, and used the power of the Reality Stone to try and repair the rapidly spreading fine cracks on the double-edged blade, while retorting:
"Why should I care about such empty titles?"
"I have long transcended these base mental needs."
"I am one cursed by wisdom; it is my destiny to be misunderstood."
"They do not understand me, only because the thoughts of the mediocre are lagging."
"When, centuries or millennia from now, life inevitably falls back into endless resource competition due to over-prosperity, someone will eventually realize my greatness."
"At that time, a second 'me' will naturally appear to inherit my will and start a new round of purification in this Universe!"
Such a self-righteous speech made Peter laugh:
"What are you babbling about? Bro, you don't actually think you're some great philosopher, do you?"
"Is there a possibility that the reason such twisted logic was born in your brain is simply because..."
At this point, Peter paused, then revealed a slightly pitying smile:
"You have never been loved!"
"Your parents never loved you, your people collectively exiled you, the children you adopted were only trained as tools in your heart, and the adopted daughter you poured your only affection into chose to betray you without hesitation after reaching adulthood."
"You don't even know what it feels like to have love and then lose it, which is why you insist that your so-called fairness is what others want, and why you claim to be a being whose thoughts transcend others, cursed by wisdom."
"But in reality, you are the truly ignorant and ridiculous wretch!"
How is that possible?!
Thanos's mind went blank.
He opened his mouth wide like a fish out of water, but couldn't even utter a single syllable of rebuttal.
Lies don't hurt, but the truth is a sharp blade!
Peter's words ruthlessly exposed the internal attribution for all his actions.
Noticing this reaction, Peter sneered and stabbed another knife into Thanos's riddled heart:
"Finally, let me tell you one more secret."
"The vision you fantasize about, gathering all six Infinity Stones to wipe out half the life in the Universe, is destined to be nothing but Kyōka Suigetsu."
What?!
A distracted Thanos was startled, instinctively looking at Peter opposite him, not even noticing that because of his extreme shock, the Reality Stone had already stopped outputting energy in the process.
"You think the remaining three Infinity Stones are on Earth, and you think I've been stalling you until now by relying on the Power Stone?"
"No, you are wrong!"
"On Earth, there have only ever been two Infinity Stones from the beginning. As for the Power Stone you are convinced I snatched from Ronan... I destroyed it long ago~"
Checkmate!
The moment the words fell, the double-edged blade in Thanos's hand shattered with a boom.
The giant sword, as wide as a door panel, disintegrated at that moment. The shattered fragments, burned by those colorful black flames, melted into molten iron before they could even hit the ground, falling into the exposed ocean basin below, and were immediately completely submerged by the slowly restoring seawater.
And Peter's fist, its momentum undiminished, struck solidly onto Thanos's chest!
Boom!!!
This time, it was a real, tangible explosion.
Thanos's formidable body, capable of withstanding planetary impacts, was no more durable than a sheet of paper in front of that fist.
The uru metal armor on his chest instantly vaporized, followed by his solid muscles, thick bones, and beating heart... everything was destroyed, crushed, and annihilated under that overwhelmingly tyrannical power!
A huge, gaping hole appeared in Thanos's chest.
His entire body, like a purple cannonball being struck, flew backward at a speed exceeding light, crashing through countless layers of mirror dimensions along the way, and finally slammed heavily against the boundary barrier created by the Ancient One.
Time seemed to resume its flow at this moment.
Peter slowly retracted his fist, and the "colorful black" on it dissipated. He remained suspended in mid-air, his clothes fluttering gently in the aftermath of the energy.
Clearly, that punch had not cost him any effort.
Gulp~
Instinctively swallowing, and after marveling at Peter's monstrosity in their hearts, everyone's gaze involuntarily turned toward the figure embedded in the spatial barrier in the distance.
Thanos... defeated?
It ended just like that, after taking only one punch from Peter in his second stage?
Under everyone's gaze, Thanos's figure slowly slid down from the spatial barrier.
A huge hole had been blown in his chest, and half of his body had completely evaporated.
He was almost down to his last breath—if not for the power of the Reality Stone running frantically, constantly trying to repair his nearly completely destroyed body.
He would likely have died long ago.
But the repair of the Reality Stone was not that easy either.
Because Thanos's physical stamina had been exhausted during the previous confrontation.
Without the Power Stone as an energy source, every activation of the Infinity Stones could only rely on his own physical stamina as the energy source.
Even as strong as Thanos, after the previous battle, he had long been drained by the consumption of the three Infinity Stones.
Now, even if he wanted to channel the power of the Reality Stone to repair himself, it was nothing more than a pipe dream.
"Cough... cough cough..."
Perhaps feeling that his end was near, or perhaps because his mentality had been completely broken by Peter's words, "The Power Stone has already been destroyed by me."
Thanos coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood mixed with bits of internal organs. When he looked up, there was still no fear in his eyes, only utter madness.
He looked at the Infinity Gauntlet worn on his only remaining right hand; the light of the three Infinity Stones on it was still dazzling.
Then, looking at that Earthling silently floating in mid-air, whose eyes still carried a hint of mockery and pity, a moment later, he managed to squeeze out a smile:
"If I am destined to be unable to complete the plan I formulated on this Planet... then I don't mind taking this Planet with me to the grave."
As he spoke, the three Infinity Stones were pushed to their limit by him without regard for the consequences!
A terrifying power surged into the sky from the Infinity Gauntlet on his hand!
He actively dismantled the Infinity Gauntlet's energy protection device for the three Infinity Stones and even began to actively guide the power of the three Infinity Stones to collide and run wild with each other.
The purpose was obvious: he wanted to trigger a large-scale dimensional explosion, thereby directly detonating Earth!
Hearing that Thanos was actually so stubborn and obsessed, Peter couldn't help but shake his head.
Just as he was preparing to rush up and cut off the hand Thanos was wearing the Infinity Gauntlet on with one strike, a scarlet figure quietly appeared behind Thanos...