For Death

A flash of anger crossed Thanos's eyes.

"You? No one on my Sanctuary has ever dared to be so insolent."

Before he finished speaking, his massive body instantly rose from the throne, his arm muscles bulging, veins popping beneath his purple skin, and his enormous fist, accompanied by a whistling sound, smashed towards Kino.

Kino stood still, without even blinking.

Thanos's fist suddenly stopped just centimeters from his face, as if it were firmly locked by an invisible barrier.

Thanos stared wide-eyed in disbelief, trying to pull his arm back, only to find that his strength had vanished without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the sea.

"Father!"

Nebula was the first to act, and the other Black Order also recovered from their shock. However, apart from Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian, the other three rushed towards the escape pod.

They said they only submitted to Thanos because of his power; if a monster that even Thanos couldn't defeat appeared, why would they be willing to die?

Ebony Maw's eyes were sinister, and his withered fingers drew strange runes in the air. His powerful mental energy transformed the surrounding metal floor into sharp spikes that pierced towards Kino's chest.

Cull Obsidian wielded his massive battle axe, letting out a Beast roar, and used the momentum of his charge to chop down towards Kino's head. The shrill sound of the battle axe tearing through the air was extremely piercing.

Nebula's metal prosthetic arm extended a sharp blade, and she nimbly attacked from the side, the blade aimed straight for Kino's throat.

But like Thanos's attacks, these attacks stopped a few centimeters around Kino, and the attackers were unable to move.

Did I tell you to leave?

Kino spoke softly.

Corvus Glaive, Proxima Midnight, and Supergiant, who were rushing towards the escape pod, froze in place. Fine cracks began to appear on the surface of their bodies, like glass covered with a spider web.

A crisp the Snap rang out.

With a sharp crack, the three bodies exploded into countless fragments, and blood and bits of flesh splattered throughout the spaceship's cabin.

This scene caused Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian's pupils to shrink sharply, and Nebula also felt a chill rise from behind her.

Thanos's face grew increasingly grim, and purple energy began to seep from the gaps in his armor, causing the lights on the entire Sanctuary to flicker.

However, they soon felt a powerful force erupt in front of them, slamming them heavily against the walls of the spaceship.

Ebony Maw suffered fractures all over his body, while Nebula, Cull Obsidian, Thanos sustained varying degrees of damage.

Kino sat on the stone throne that originally belonged to Thanos, looking at Gamora standing in the corner.

Gamora Thanos as a child, and Thanos even Carnage half of the life on her planet, which made Gamora harbor deep hatred for Thanos.

However, it cannot be denied that Thanos was also her adoptive father to some extent, and their years of interaction created a complex emotional bond between Gamora and him.

So when Thanos confronted Kino, she didn't go to help, nor did she flee like the other Black Order, becoming the only one who remained unharmed.

Gamora trembled under Kino's gaze, and just as she was about to kneel down, Kino spoke.

"Bring Thanos here."

"Yes, sir."

Gamora, suppressing the trembling in her legs, slowly walked towards Thanos, who was embedded in the wall.

She thought the invincible Titan was now being crushed against the metal wall by the force, its purple skin oozing traces of blood.

The moment she reached out and touched Thanos's body, countless memories flooded back—the agonizing days and nights of training, the despair of being used as a pawn, and the occasional, blurry images of "filial piety and parental love."

When Gamora dragged Thanos in front of Kino, Thanos struggled to stand up and look down at Kino, who was sitting on his throne.

"What... exactly do you want?"

Thanos was panting heavily, and although the arrogance in his eyes had faded, an indomitable spirit still remained.

"Answer my question: Did you kill half the world's lives for the ideal of saving the world, or for the sake of death itself?"

"Kino asked."

Thanos and Gamora both taken aback.

Especially Gamora, what does "for death" mean?

"... I did this for the Goddess of Death; I destroyed half of all life in order to gain her love."

Thanos's voice rang out, Gamora stared at Thanos in disbelief.

What did he just say?

Killing half of all life isn't about saving the world, but about the love of death?

Thanos's face showed struggle, but he continued to express his love for death, and was willing to offer half of the universe's life as a gift.

The Ultimate Equation: Anti-Life.

The difference in their power was too great; Kino easily controlled Thanos.

Even Ebony Maw, his body riddled with fractures, listened incredulously to everything his emperor had to say, all while encased in the wall.

The physical pain was nothing compared to the shattering of his ideals.

"No, this is fake, Your Majesty, you've been controlled!"

He couldn't believe that the killings she had witnessed, which she considered noble ideals, were merely a twisted, unrequited love.

Have you ever seen death?

While going through Thanos's memories, Kino discovered a question and asked it again.

"Of course, she is so perfect and mysterious. I would give anything to win her love."

Kino's lips curled into a mocking smile.

"Perfect? Mysterious? Thanos, the death you witnessed was nothing more than bait she wove to satisfy her own desires."

As soon as he finished speaking, Kino flicked his finger, and a blade of light slashed through the void, solidifying into an image before Thanos's eyes.

The Goddess of Death appeared before him in different forms: man, woman, adult, child, and even a skeleton.

Even the scene where she ultimately dies and marries an ugly man was a devastating blow, deeply wounding Thanos's heart.

Thanos's eyes widened, his facial muscles twitched uncontrollably, and veins bulged on his forehead. "Impossible! Death's love belongs to me—"

A flash of cold light appeared.

Thanos's expression froze instantly. A line of blood slowly appeared on his thick neck, and then his head slowly slid off, rolling down the steps.

Knock knock knock!

Gamora gripped the blood-stained Tyrant's Butcher Knife, her fingertips still trembling slightly.

Thanos's wide-open eyes gradually lost focus, and his massive body crashed to the ground with a dull thud on the metal floor of the Sanctuary.

She never imagined that this moment would arrive in such an abrupt way—the "father" who controlled her destiny and whom she both loved and hated, had stopped breathing forever because of her own hand.

"The blood feud I've carried all these years is nothing but a sacrifice to a madman's laughable unrequited love!"

Her voice was choked with sobs, yet filled with both anger and relief.

"Gamora..."

Nebula, sitting beneath the wall, watched Gamora maintain her waving pose with a complex expression.

They once fought each other for Thanos's favor; now, this shared nightmare has finally dissipated, but she doesn't feel the relief she expected.

Ebony's fractured body made every movement excruciating, but at this moment, the despair in his eyes far outweighed the physical pain.

He had always viewed Thanos's plan as a monumental feat of reshaping the cosmic order, but now he realized it was all a joke.

"My faith... is all a lie..."

The shock of his collapsing faith brought him to the brink of collapse far more than the physical pain he suffered.

Cull Obsidian stared silently at Thanos's corpse, his battle axe hanging limply to the ground. This warrior, who only knew how to obey orders, seemed to have lost all motivation to act.