Anissa and Conquest clashed in a whirlwind of blows that sent shockwaves rippling through the sky. Though Conquest was undeniably stronger and faster, his raw power was met with Anissa's near-divine agility, her movements weaving through his strikes like a phantom. Each of her attacks landed with precision, exploiting the smallest openings in his ironclad defense.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Anissa struck twice, sharp, brutal hits that crushed into Conquest's ribs. His body barely recoiled before he countered, lunging forward with a sudden, savage headbutt. The impact was monstrous. A sickening crack echoed as Anissa's head snapped back, her vision flickering for an instant before she was sent hurtling toward the city below like a blazing comet.
And Conquest didn't stop there. His expression twisted into something almost gleeful as he angled his strike, not just to incapacitate Anissa but to turn her into a weapon of mass destruction. The force behind her fall was enough to obliterate dozens, if not hundreds, of lives on impact.
"WENG!"
Before she could crash, a vibrant pink construct shimmered into existence, a rapid manifestation of energy, forming a series of thick barriers between her and the city below. The design was strangely familiar, reminding Anissa of William's constructs, though distinct in their own way.
"SMASH! SMASH! SMASH!"
One by one, the barriers shattered under the sheer force of her descent, their protective layers cracking like fragile glass against her unstoppable momentum. But they did their job. Each one siphoned away a fraction of her speed, turning what would have been an extinction-level impact into something barely survivable.
Then—
"BOOOOOM!"
The final collision rocked the city. A shockwave tore through the streets, sending vehicles flipping end over end, windows bursting in violent waves of force. The skyscraper she crashed into buckled under the blow, its upper floors crumbling as flames and debris erupted outward in a fiery explosion.
For a moment, silence. Then, from within the wreckage, movement.
Anissa wasn't done yet.
Sif held her ground against Krieg, her stance unshaken even as the Viltrumite warrior loomed over her like an unstoppable force. Unlike most opponents who barely managed to scratch his kind, her weapon was different, it cut through Viltrumite flesh like a blade through silk. That realization forced Krieg into an uncharacteristic caution, his usual brute confidence tempered by the looming threat of decapitation.
"WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH, WHOOSH!"
Sif's blade carved through the air, and with each stroke, the very molecules split apart, creating miniature explosions in the shape of crescent blades. The sheer force of her attacks turned the wind itself into a weapon, sending arcs of destruction screaming toward Krieg.
Sensing imminent danger, Krieg's instincts screamed at him to move. He banked hard to the right, dodging the first explosive slash, then twisted midair, weaving through the towering skyscrapers of Chicago with desperate speed. The air howled as the deadly blades pursued him, each one cutting through concrete and steel as if the buildings were nothing but paper.
"CHHHHHH!"
Krieg risked a glance over his shoulder and cursed under his breath. Though slightly diminished, the blade of force continued its relentless pursuit, threading through the city like a guided missile. He twisted sharply, banking left just as it nearly clipped his side, then shot back in the opposite direction. He needed leverage, something, anything, to turn the fight in his favor.
Then he saw her.
A woman, cowering behind a pile of debris, unaware that she had just become the perfect hostage.
"WHOOSH!"
Krieg shot forward, breaking the sound barrier as he reached for her. His fingers closed in—
But the moment he made contact, the woman shimmered like a mirage before vanishing into thin air.
"What—?!"
His mind barely registered the trick before the sky darkened above him.
"CRASH, CRASH, CRASH!"
The explosive blades from before rained down like divine punishment, obliterating everything in their path. The building around him disintegrated into rubble as fire and dust filled the air. The force sent shockwaves through the streets, shaking the very foundations of the city.
High above, silhouetted against the blazing sun, Sif stood on the rooftop of a nearby structure, her expression impassive as she observed the carnage below. The distant clashes of other battles raged in the background, but her focus remained on the smoking ruins where Krieg had fallen.
Then—
"RUMBLE!"
The ground trembled. Pieces of stone and shattered steel shifted, tumbling down the wreckage.
Sif's eyes narrowed.
"BOOOOM!"
Like a force of nature, Krieg erupted from the debris, his once-pristine Viltrumite suit now streaked with his own blood, deep gashes carved across his body from the relentless explosions. His single eye burned with pure, unfiltered rage.
Before Sif could react, he was on her.
"BAM!"
His fist crashed into her jaw like a meteor, the impact sending her body hurtling through the sky, carving a burning arc across the battlefield.
Krieg hovered there, panting, his blood dripping onto the ruined structure beneath him. He barely noticed. His fury consumed everything else. His eye locked onto the distant point where Sif had crashed.
"I'LL KILL YOU, BITCH!"
The words came out as a guttural snarl, raw and unrestrained, shattering his usual composed demeanor. Then, without hesitation, he launched himself forward, a vengeful blur racing toward his target.
High above Earth, just beyond the atmosphere, two titans clashed in a battle that sent shockwaves across the void.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Each collision of their fists detonated like atomic explosions, their sheer force reverberating through the planet below. Even the moon, a silent sentinel in the vast emptiness of space, trembled under the relentless fury of their strikes.
Then—
"BOOOOM!"
Thragg seized Mark by the face, his fingers digging into his skull with crushing pressure before slamming him downward. The impact shattered the lunar surface, sending ripples of destruction rolling across the barren landscape for miles. Dust and debris lifted in a silent storm, momentarily veiling the battlefield in a gray haze.
But when the dust cleared, Mark was still conscious, still defiant. His body ached, but compared to the brutal training he had endured, this was nothing.
Thragg saw it. The fire in Mark's eyes. The stubborn refusal to submit.
Snarling, the Viltrumite regent hoisted him by the neck, his muscles coiling with lethal intent. He was done toying with the boy. This time, he would tear him in half.
Mark's response was immediate.
"SHING!"
A crimson line bloomed across Thragg's cheek as Mark's hand, moving at near-lightspeed, became a blade. The older warrior recoiled instinctively, stepping back as a flicker of surprise crossed his face.
Mark exhaled sharply, his body tensed, his instincts sharper than ever. He had landed a clean hit on Thragg.
The regent's shock was brief, quickly giving way to sheer rage.
"YOU LITTLE SHIT!"
His roar carried across the vacuum, the intensity of his wrath palpable even in the soundless void. He drove his foot into Mark's gut with the force of a meteor, the impact bending the younger Viltrumite's body in half before launching him into the abyss.
"BOOM!"
The force of the kick left a crater in the moon's surface, and Thragg wasted no time following through. He shot forward, his silhouette a blinding streak against the black void as he tore through space toward Mark, his raised fist promising a single, decisive kill.
Mark, still spinning through the vacuum, fought against the force of the blow that had sent him reeling. He gritted his teeth, forcing his body to stop. His vision locked onto Thragg, who was closing the distance at terrifying speed.
Mark waited.
At the very last moment—
He tilted his head.
Thragg's fist whistled past his cheek, missing by the smallest fraction. And then, Mark countered.
"BOOOOOOM!"
His fist rocketed upward, catching the regent squarely in the jaw. The sheer force of the uppercut sent Thragg spiraling away, his body becoming a silver comet streaking through the void.
But Mark wasn't finished.
With a burst of speed, he reappeared in Thragg's path, twisting his body mid-air.
"BOOM!"
A devastating spinning kick crashed into Thragg's ribs, sending the enraged regent hurtling back toward the lunar surface like a bullet.
"KRRAAAK!"
The moon erupted upon impact. A shockwave of destruction radiated outward as millions of fragments tore free from the surface, shooting toward Earth in a storm of glowing debris. The very landscape of the moon had been reshaped by the sheer magnitude of the blow.
Hovering above the chaos, Mark exhaled, his fists still clenched.
This fight was far from over.
Far beyond the reach of human eyes, in the silent abyss of the solar system, something stirred.
In a lonely, empty stretch of space where even starlight seemed reluctant to linger, a sliver of absolute darkness tore through the void. The fabric of reality trembled as an unnatural portal, swirling with shadows darker than the blackest reaches of space, forced itself open.
Then—
A single finger breached the threshold.
It was massive, apelike in form, its flesh wrapped in a crackling fusion of red rage and green willpower. The energies pulsed violently, colliding in a chaotic dance of unfiltered wrath and unyielding determination. The universe itself seemed to wail in protest as the finger flexed, digging into the edges of the tear.
Then another.
And another.
Four titanic fingers grasped the portal's surface as if it were solid, gripping it like an unbreakable door resisting its own destruction.
And on the other side—
"RAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
The sound should not have been possible. It should not have echoed across the silent, airless void. But it did. A terrible, all-consuming roar that defied the nature of the vacuum and sent invisible shockwaves rippling outward.
Through the widening rift, the creature revealed itself.
A colossal golden ape, its fur shimmering like molten sunlight, its sheer size enough to dwarf the greatest of warships. But it was its eyes that radiated true horror, burning, raging pools of crimson flame, blazing with a sinister hunger.
The beast struggled, its massive muscles bulging, veins pulsating with raw, unnatural power as it forced the portal wider, inch by inch.
The darkness trembled.
Space fractured.
With a final, thunderous roar, its entire arm tore through, fingers unfurling into a clawed hand vast enough to snuff out a moon.
The balance of the solar system had shifted.
A monster unlike any other was about to be unleashed.
Nolan hovered above the battlefield, watching as the Guardians of the Globe fought desperately, only to fall, one by one.
They had fought valiantly. But against sixteen Viltrumites, their defeat was inevitable.
Now, beaten and bloodied, they lay in chains. Their bodies bore brutal wounds, their once-proud figures now slumped in agony. Lucan, who had joined the fight midway, stood at the forefront, his smug satisfaction barely concealed as he gripped the chains binding the fallen heroes.
Nolan, however, wasn't paying attention to them anymore.
His gaze turned skyward.
Through the thin atmosphere, his heightened senses honed in on the moon, where two figures clashed in a battle that shook the heavens.
Mark and Thragg.
The brutal regent held the clear advantage, his overwhelming strength threatening to crush Mark completely. And yet, Nolan's son endured. Strange movements, unorthodox counters, Mark wasn't just resisting; he was fighting back.
A flicker of something primal crossed Nolan's face.
Pride.
A small, subtle smile pulled at his lips. His son was more resilient than even he had imagined.
"BOOOOOM!"
The battlefield below erupted, shattering Nolan's thoughts as a bloodied Conquest was sent hurtling toward him, his body a screaming projectile.
Nolan reacted instantly.
With a single hand, he caught the older Viltrumite mid-flight. The sheer force of impact sent him skidding back through the air, but he remained unmoved, his grip tightening around Conquest's collar.
A sharp, mocking chuckle left his lips.
"The traitorous whore is quite tough, it seems."
His gaze snapped to the approaching Anissa, her body tense, her eyes blazing with determination. She was coming to finish the fight.
Before she could land her next strike—
Nolan's hand snatched her fist out of the air.
With a single, savage motion, he ripped her forward and slammed her into the ground. The impact was catastrophic, sending shockwaves through the ruined city.
Then, without hesitation—
"THOOM!"
He launched her with a brutal kick. Her body tore through the streets like a living missile, carving a deep, human-shaped canyon in the ground before finally coming to a stop.
Nolan was about to chase her down—
Until Krieg appeared.
He was a mess.
One arm missing. A chunk of his leg gone. His once-pristine Viltrumite uniform now soaked in his own blood.
The remaining Viltrumites froze.
Their eyes widened in shock.
Because behind Krieg, stepping from the dust and ruin like a war goddess of legend, stood Lady Sif.
Her stance was regal, her armor glinting under the fractured sunlight. In one hand, she held her deadly, gleaming blade, still dripping with Viltrumite blood.
And in the other?
Krieg's severed arm.
A slow, knowing smirk spread across Sif's lips.
With casual disdain, she tossed the lifeless limb forward. It landed at Krieg's feet with a dull, sickening plop.
Krieg stared at it.
The humiliation was worse than the pain.
Worse than the loss of his arm.
His rage burned. His pride bled.
And Sif?
She just smiled.