260 The Gauntlet of Infinity and The Warmth of Artoria

The universe is full of beautiful landscapes and abundant life many civilizations have existed, some even more advanced than those on Earth, but surprisingly less than one percent of the universe has been explored.

Within the vast universe, there are many unknown mysteries, some wonderful, others terrifying...

...

On one of those planets resides Thanos and all his allies.

The sky of that place seemed as if it had no atmosphere because from the surface one could clearly see planets, stars, and even massive asteroids suspended in space.

It was a breathtaking sight, but if people knew that one of the greatest tyrants in existence was seated beneath that sky, they would flee in all directions.

A throne made of an unknown mineral formed his seat, connected to stairs; altogether it floated as if unaffected by gravity. The giant figure in golden armor gazed at the Infinity Stones shining in his hand.

In front of him, his children and subordinates knelt. They were his children, or at least that's how Thanos regarded them, despite not sharing blood with any of them.

"Congratulations, sir."

The one who spoke was a humanoid with gray skin, notable for lacking a nose as humans have it. His name was Ebony Maw, one of Thanos's children and a member of the Black Order. Endowed with telekinetic powers, Maw was deeply loyal to Thanos and spread fear of his power throughout the galaxy while aiding him in the quest for the Infinity Stones.

He considered the genocide of half a planet's population as a blessing and a marvelous act on Thanos's part.

Thanos's cold gaze fixed on Ebony Maw, who began to feel fear. Despite Thanos calling them "children," they all knew that if they were to fail or disappoint him, he wouldn't hesitate to discard them.

"I was compelled..." Thanos said contemplatively.

Thanos was a strategist, a puppeteer who preferred to remain behind the scenes until his moment arrived. He desired all the Stones but was capable of using the Infinity Stones to obtain the Infinity Stones, as he did with Loki by entrusting him with the scepter to obtain the Tesseract.

For him, it was better that everything moved within his control rather than relying on brute force to obtain it. Therefore, when Thanos finally moved, it would be because he would inevitably obtain the six Infinity Stones.

Thus, it might seem like a victory for Thanos, and it was, but it came at a great cost... revealing his existence prematurely.

Why did this happen? Did Thanos suddenly decide to become a villain who announces his objectives arrogantly in front of his opponent?

NO.

The answer is simple: "Allen Walker," an anomalous and unpredictable existence whose capabilities have not been measured. Thanos's curse of knowledge guiding him along the most optimal path to achieve his goal put him in check.

Thanos understood it the moment he first saw Allen. He couldn't allow Allen Walker to lay hands on the Stones or he might never see them again.

Thanos was forced to intervene personally simply because of the mere existence of his opponent. As a consequence, his crusade would be more difficult to achieve.

Thanos looked at the Infinity Stones in his hands.

"Even with all the Stones located, I need to deal with Walker before I can carry out the culmination and end of my path."

Thanos rose from his throne and descended step by step down the stairs. His steps were laden with pressure that made his children sweat.

"In the worst-case scenario, Allen Walker kills me. In the second worst-case scenario, even with the six Stones, I'm unable to ensure that I can erase him."

A young woman with green skin named Gamora wanted to retort, but her sister Nebula, whose skin was blue and highlighted by cybernetic modifications, stopped her. She held her arm, preventing her from speaking out against her father's absurd assertion. How could anyone or anything withstand the power of the six Infinity Stones?

There shouldn't be anyone who wouldn't be affected by the six Infinity Stones together, that's what it meant, and not just her, everyone thought so too, but they were afraid to speak because they knew their "father" and he was in a bad mood.

Of course, Thanos was aware of the absurdity of his own words. The mere thought that Allen Walker would be able to withstand the power of the six Stones was madness, yet Thanos was called the Mad Titan for a reason, and within his reason, there was madness. He could think of the most ridiculous possibilities and accept them as fact.

Thanos's gaze lifted to the sky. After a few minutes, he walked away, leaving his kneeling children.

After a while, Thanos caught sight of a metallic structure resembling a castle.

Inside, Thanos walked through endless corridors until he reached a vault with only one container inside.

Thanos approached, and a panel emerged. Thanos placed his hand to open the container. Inside was a golden gauntlet created by the same creators of Thor's Mjolnir and Odin's Gungnir. Of course, they did not wish to aid Thanos, so he forced them...

The Titan hesitated for a moment, for to him, the Infinity Stones were special objects with a purpose, only that. That's why he had never originally used them as weapons.

In the MCU, Thanos could have killed the Avengers repeatedly; all it took was the Reality Stone, but he didn't. This was well justified, for to Thanos, this wasn't a war driven by the ambition for power; it was a crusade for a greater good.

Thanos never hated or killed for pleasure; he did so because he thought it necessary. Every sacrifice was something that had to be paid for salvation.

In his twisted mind, he believed that massacring half the universe was an act of mercy. That's why he said it would all be fair, without hatred or particular favoritism... even his own people would not be exempt from chance. But Thanos was forced to change that mentality...

"Difficult decisions require strong wills..."

Thanos put on the gauntlet and then took one of the Stones in his other hand; it was the Mind Stone with a yellow/gold color.

As he placed it, he felt a surge of energy, which he controlled effortlessly. Then he put in the second Stone; Loki nearly died from something like that, but after a surge that made Thanos growl, he managed to control the second Stone.

Thanos had an abnormal condition that allowed him to use the Stones as if they were born for him. Thanos and the gauntlet, no matter which universe you go to, almost entirely Thanos will have the gauntlet and the Infinity Stones or will be seeking them.

"A small price to pay..." Thanos said. He saw himself as a savior, but he was forced to be an even more terrible monster. It was never personal, he never harbored the desire to kill anyone in particular, but this time he had to.

Unlike the cruel monster who loved death that Thanos is in the comics, in this universe, he is more rational in his madness, more philosophical within his dementia, and more compassionate in his cruelty.

Thanos looked at the sky where stars and planets seemed close but were light-years away.

The Space Stone glowed, and with a casual wave of his hand, he moved two stars to collide, creating a supernova.

Thanos's children watched in terror at the power of the Infinity Stones. They knew that Thanos sought them and that they held incredible power, but none had imagined the extent of it, and their father hadn't even used them yet.

Thanos had treated the Infinity Stones with respect, which is why he used his army, strength, and intelligence to gather them, but the situation had changed.

Thanos needed to treat them as weapons, to use them even if it tarnished his crusade. He needed to learn to use them like no one else ever has before... or else he might never be able to scratch Allen Walker.

Thanos was aware that he was the challenger, not the other way around. He had to strive to match his enemy's level and not the reverse. This way of thinking and respecting his enemies was partly what made this Thanos so terrifying.

...

On Earth, Allen settled into the couch. It was already midnight, and most of the girls had fallen asleep; he couldn't sleep himself.

Artoria appeared by his side, showing her support. Allen smiled, and both remained silent for a while.

"I've never felt so terrible about the lack of knowledge..." Allen said in a calm tone as he reclined on the couch. Artoria looked at him with tranquility.

Allen felt ashamed of his thoughts, but it was his reality. From the start, he had enjoyed a tremendously advantageous position; whether it was Batman, Darkseid, Doomsday, Joker, Superman, or Lobo, so every person or being in DC was laid bare before Allen's eyes, not literally, of course.

He knew their personalities, their weaknesses, their ways of acting, their ideals, their powers, and even their hidden secrets. Anyone in DC who tried to antagonize him started with an overwhelming disadvantage.

Of course, there were things Allen himself didn't know because in his world, the DC comics didn't cover the entire DC multiverse, but it was enough to overwhelm and counteract his opponents.

In Harry Potter, it was the same, perhaps on a smaller scale, but Allen had an unfair source of information; he had the support of several people knowledgeable about Harry Potter, including the author herself in his Chat.

Allen was comfortable... too comfortable...

In Marvel Zombies, he had already experienced it, but he didn't realize it because he was furious about what was happening. Now, in his world, he understood how dangerous someone like him could be, someone with knowledge like his.

Thanos knew about Allen beforehand, so much so that he used Allen's concern for his planet against him. In contrast, Allen knew nothing about Thanos; he didn't even know about the Infinity Stones until Thor told him. Allen didn't know that someone so dangerous was seeking them.

Allen felt unpleasant when he met Thanos because it was as if he already knew how he would act from start to finish.

Allen laughed at himself; this feeling must have been what Batman and Darkseid felt when he met them, which was why they were so cautious around him.

Certainly, Allen could counter Thanos with brute power, and that's commendable in itself, but it was simply because he was extremely powerful at that moment; otherwise, he was sure Thanos would have killed him.

"I see..." Artoria closed her eyes for a moment upon hearing all of Allen's concerns, then opened them with a kindly smile that took Allen by surprise. She extended her arms and pulled him against her chest.

"Artoria?"

Allen's head ended up against her breasts... he didn't mind that but it took him by surprise.

"You did well. You've done better than anyone could expect."

She gently stroked Allen's head in a comforting manner. Allen lost his words for a moment; he didn't expect something like this, although he knew about Artoria's hidden feelings, she wasn't the affectionate/maternal type or so he thought.

"You're not a god," she said softly, "you're not omniscient, no one is. You can't expect to know everything."

"I understand..." Allen tried to sound depressed, but the fact was, Allen was in good spirits being so close to the Goddess. "But it's still frustrating."

Still, her words held some truth; Allen was frustrated at being played by Thanos in such a manner.

Allen boldly hugged Artoria's waist; he took the opportunity to feel the softness of the King beside him. Artoria noticed this but far from being uncomfortable, she hugged him back.

"Does it make you feel better?" she asked playfully and with a softer tone than usual.

"A little..." Allen replied. He decided to move forward as much as he could.

...

Kara and Raven watched this with flushed faces. One girl mixed embarrassment with anger and the other bitterness with shame.

Kara was upset; she had overheard the conversation and felt like saying something to Allen to console him, but the bastard took advantage of Artoria's kindness to take advantage of her.

It was easy for the girls to respect Artoria. She exuded a mix of noble aura and mature charm, besides being good at advising and very open to listening.

She had spoken with Kara and Raven in Allen's mansion on more than one occasion and managed to earn their respect and admiration; Allen didn't know this.

Raven, on the other hand, felt unpleasant because she couldn't deny that she felt jealous at that moment. She wasn't interested in love because she considered it troublesome. Raven had tried hard to deny any feelings she might have, but she had reached the point where her excuses were gone, and she could feel her heart beating every time the albino approached.

"Damn it..." Raven thought with a mix of jealousy towards the woman and bitterness towards herself.

Artoria noticed both of them and looked at them before nodding in their direction; both girls were startled to be found out.

Artoria watched this with amusement; she perfectly understood both girls' mental states, but she could only sympathize with them, unable to do anything. Loving Allen was a trap as sweet as it was bitter. She knew that women who couldn't accept this were better off not falling in love; they would only feel bitterness.

"Are you okay with this?" the beautiful woman asked the young man in her embrace.

Of course, Allen also knew that Kara and Raven were there.

"I never hide what I am to avoid deceiving them. If they decide to step forward, I'll accept it; if they step back, I'll accept that too."

"Oh, really?~"

Artoria didn't believe him; she knew her master was a greedy man, and despite not seeking women wherever he went, it was almost impossible for him to let go of a girl with whom he had had so much interaction and had come to be intimate with, like Kara and Raven.

"It's true," Allen asserted, but he avoided Artoria's amused gaze.

He also knew he had a more greedy side, but he tried to control it; otherwise, he would end up being an irredeemable bastard or perhaps he already was.

===

A/N: Both girls should give up and save themselves a lot of jealousy XD

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