"Getting away unscathed was unexpected." Back aboard Evenson's ship, Gabriel watched Thanos's flagship slowly depart. Only after it vanished into warp did she finally sigh.
Before they went, she and Evenson had made ample preparations and never intended to stay there. But in her imagination, Thanos should have charged at them with his huge blade, while she and Evenson fought as they retreated, eventually getting trapped with no way forward or back before activating Magic and fleeing home in disgrace.
Yet unexpectedly, Thanos and Evenson, who had been trading barbs and clashing fiercely, suddenly ceased hostilities at the end. Thanos had not exactly escorted them out with honors, but he did not make things difficult for them either. He simply allowed them to leave in their ship.
Evenson merely smiled and offered no opinion. In truth, it was not hard to understand. Though he and Thanos had really gone at each other, there was no personal grudge between them, nor any conflict of interest. Thanos simply was not someone who considered personal gain.
Thus, under Evenson's deliberate guidance, the debate had turned into an argument over visions of the future, principles, and superiority. In short, they had been arguing for argument's sake.
Arguing face-to-face like that could easily get someone beaten up. But a mature contrarian would not throw the first punch, because whoever did so first had lost!
When two contrarians were debating and one suddenly said something vicious, then immediately reported and blocked the other one, that would be utterly ridiculous! Thanos could never do something that ridiculous. Even Evenson rarely did that!
Besides, Thanos was technically a villain, but unlike those gaudy bitches driven by personal ambition, power, and profit, he was practically a bizarre mutant among villains!
He firmly believed that his actions were utterly righteous,