"Mephisto, what are you waiting for?!" Thanos roared as he joined the battle. Blinding cosmic rays shot from his hands, shaking the very ground beneath them. The intense energy caused debris to levitate, weightless in the air.
Mephisto's expression remained grim. "Titan, you are in no position to command me! When you die, I will drag your soul to my hell and torment you for eternity."
"My soul belongs only to my goddess of death."
Mephisto was tempted to abandon the battle and return to Earth to harvest souls. However, the binding contract he had signed with the others prevented him from acting on his own until they secured the Infinity Stones for Thanos. He dared not defy the pact.
"Once this contract is fulfilled, I will make sure this fool regrets everything," he seethed internally.
Meanwhile, Garus was desperate to break free, but his body was pinned down by three overwhelming forces, rendering him completely immobile.
"Where the hell is the Ancient One…?" His anti-magic shields manifested and shattered repeatedly under the relentless assault. He had no opportunity to wield the Infinity Stones—Dormammu was far stronger than he had anticipated.
Before coming to Titan, Garus had contacted the Ancient One, knowing he would need her help against such formidable opponents. There was no way he could take on three cosmic entities alone.
Gradually, his skeletal form dissolved into nothingness. Seeing this, Dormammu, Mephisto, and Thanos all ceased their attacks. All that remained was Frostmourne, standing defiantly in the desolate battlefield.
"Ancient One, you're late."
At the sound of Dormammu's voice, Thanos and Mephisto turned their gaze toward a corner of the battlefield, where a white-robed woman stood, serene and composed.
"Am I?" The Ancient One flicked open her fan, her expression unreadable.
Mephisto's eyes glowed red as he reached toward Frostmourne, conjuring a powerful suction force that distorted the surrounding air.
A resonant hum filled the battlefield.
Frostmourne trembled violently, radiating an orange glow. The sword repelled Mephisto's attempt to seize it, forcing him to recoil in surprise.
"The Soul Stone?" Mephisto's eyes widened. He had long heard of the Infinity Stone's power, but he never expected it to surpass even his mastery over souls.
"Thanos, stop wasting time. Take the sword." Dormammu was eager to return to Earth and complete its dark transformation. As long as Thanos obtained the Infinity Stones, his mission would be accomplished.
Thanos strode toward Frostmourne, reaching out to grasp the blade—but before his fingers could close around it, a powerful shockwave erupted, sending him flying. He tumbled across the ground, caught off guard.
The others watched in astonishment.
A skeletal hand emerged from Frostmourne's hilt. Slowly, bones extended and reassembled into a complete skeleton.
Organs, muscles, veins, skin, and hair rapidly regenerated. In mere moments, Garus stood whole once more.
A sudden chill reminded him of his state—he was stark naked. Swiftly, he summoned the Helm of Domination and a set of armor from his personal storage.
As he donned his gear, Garus glanced at his adversaries, their eyes filled with hostility. Without hesitation, he opened a portal beside the Ancient One and stepped through.
He extended his hand. "Master Ancient One, you finally arrived. Where is your Eye of Agamotto? I need it to defeat our invaders."
The Ancient One remained calm. "It is not with me. I have entrusted it to Stephen for safekeeping."
She refrained from mentioning the growing rift between herself and her disciple. Recent events had left her weary.
"No choice, then. We'll have to improvise."
Above them, chaotic energies surged. As Dormammu chanted his incantations, darkness spread across the battlefield. He conjured two swirling masses of violet-black energy in his hands. "The real battle begins now. Humans, I admit—you're strong. But we have three, and you only have two."
"Two against three?" Garus scoffed. He summoned Ulysses, the undead celestial he had sent back to the necrotic realm.
A massive summoning circle, spanning over a hundred meters, illuminated the battlefield. From within, a pair of colossal metal arms emerged.
A towering figure, nearly a thousand meters tall, loomed over them, its metallic form radiating an indomitable presence.
"A Celestial?!" Thanos was stunned.
The Eternal race, from which he was born, had been created by the Celestials. Naturally, he recognized the undead entity before him.
"Thanos is yours to handle," Garus ordered. Against a god-tier opponent, weaker minions would be mere cannon fodder. He saw no need to summon additional undead.
"Syndragosa is still in slumber… how frustrating."
"Yes, my master!" Ulysses shrank in size, engaging Thanos. Sometimes, a smaller form was more advantageous in combat.
"Dormammu, this isn't your domain. If we were in the Dark Dimension, I would have no choice but to flee from you." The Ancient One waved her fan, summoning golden energy strands from the void. They wrapped around Dormammu, constraining his massive form.
"Now, it's just the two of us. A fair one-on-one fight, wouldn't you agree?"
"Hmph. Foolish human. You've only faced my avatars before. This time, you won't be so lucky."
Despite Ulysses' overwhelming power, he still struggled against Thanos. The Ancient One, meanwhile, could only stall Dormammu. Everything hinged on Garus.
Mephisto sneered. Raising his hand, he conjured a rift of darkness that swallowed Garus whole. "Enjoy your stay in hell. We'll deal with the sorcerer next."
A sudden shift in scenery.
Garus found himself in a scorching infernal wasteland. Around him, demons clashed, locked in brutal slaughter. As they noticed his presence, some turned toward him, their eyes gleaming with malevolence.
"Hell?"
A cold dread settled in his chest. He needed to return quickly. The Ancient One stood no chance against Dormammu and Mephisto combined. Fortunately, he still shared a mental link with Ulysses.
"Out of my way!" He swung his sword, releasing a blast of icy energy that froze the encroaching demons solid.
He drove Frostmourne into the ground. Spires of ice erupted in all directions, impaling scores of demons within a vast radius.
"Human! Your soul is delicious!" A demon lord dove at him from the sky, its eyes brimming with bloodlust.
Garus caught the demon's flaming fist, effortlessly slamming it into the ground. With a swift stroke of his blade, he cleaved through its armor, piercing its demonic core.
"Soul Drain."
All the souls of the fallen demons were forcefully extracted, swirling into Frostmourne as dark mist.
"More souls!" The Soul Stone, busy shaping its new reality, trembled with excitement at the sudden influx of powerful spirits.
"No time for this. I'll come back to play later."
The Space Stone embedded in Frostmourne glowed blue, forming a spinning portal before him.
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TN: This fanfic has been fully translated and is available on my Patreon —— PATREON.COM / PRIMALDEMON