Inside the Black Order's battle-preparation platform, Thanos's expression was as dark as water.
Dago let out a contemptuous sneer.
Ebony Maw struggled to raise his head toward Ancient One, his eyes showing a rare mixture of panic and humiliation.
He could imagine Mephisto's mocking laughter, and he could imagine Thanos's disappointed gaze.
"No..."
Ebony Maw gritted his teeth, his elegant bearing completely gone.
He absolutely could not lose.
The Black Order's honor and his own dignity would never allow him to fall here.
Trembling, he reached into his robes and pulled out the dark-purple multifaceted crystal.
The Energy Amplification Core.
Feeling the surging energy within the crystal, Ebony Maw clenched his teeth and pressed it tightly against his forehead.
Squelch.
The crystal's sharp base pierced his skin. Purple light erupted from it and flooded through his body, turning even his eyes dark purple.
"AAAAAHHHH—!!!"
Ebony Maw threw back his head and let out a cry of agony.
Violent dark-purple energy waves exploded outward from Ebony Maw in all directions.
Catalyzed by the Energy Amplification Core, his telekinesis surged to nearly twenty times its previous strength!
In an instant, he broke free of the gravitational restraints and scattered the magical structure of the portal above him.
The miniature planets, stars, and asteroid belts throughout the galaxy all broke from their original orbits and gathered around Ebony Maw, densely arrayed through deep space, radiating suffocating pressure.
The audience found the sight both magnificent and terrifying.
The viewers on Earth in particular had been cheering Ancient One's exquisite counterattack just moments earlier, but now they were furious beyond measure.
What they found most unacceptable was that this alien who looked like some extraterrestrial Squidward was openly doping himself in front of the entire universe!
"Doping! That alien squid is using alien steroids! Are