Chapter 254 255: Unwillingness

Thanos made his move; the light of the Power Stone condensed into a purple beam on his fist, striking Hela squarely in the chest.

Struck by that force, Hela flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing through three buildings behind her before finally being buried in the rubble.

"Hela!" Mavuika's movements were faster than her voice; her body had already rushed toward the direction where Hela had been sent flying, the Thousand Blazing Suns held horizontally before her to block Thanos's follow-up second strike.

The two forces collided on Mavuika's blade, and she was forced back dozens of meters by the immense power.

She landed and stood beside the ruins, seeing Hela stand up from the rubble, blood at the corner of her mouth, her left hand pressed against her chest, where there was a patch of charred burns.

Hela raised her head, saw Mavuika standing in front of her, and a complex emotion welled up in her heart.

She certainly did not want to be protected, but she was also clear about her current state.

On Earth, most of her power had been exhausted; the longer the battle lasted, the weaker she became.

If she continued to fight, not only would she not be able to help, but she would also become a burden to Mavuika.

She gritted her teeth, but ultimately maintained her reason.

This was a war, and Hela would not allow the war to be lost because of her.

"It seems the coming battle will have to be left entirely to you."

Mavuika did not turn back.

"Mm."

Hela stood up and took a few steps back; she did not rush forward again, knowing that this time, her sister had to face it alone.

She retreated to the edge of the battlefield, crossed her arms over her chest, and looked at Mavuika's back. In those deep green eyes, there was trust, as well as a rare worry that she herself was unwilling to admit.

"Don't you dare lose."

Having said that, Hela turned and descended toward the ground.

When Hela landed in the courtyard of Kamar-Taj, the stone slabs shattered beneath her feet, and the Impact pushed the surrounding rubble and dust outward.

A trace of blood still remained at the corner of her mouth, and there was a large patch of charred marks on her armor at her chest—left by that strike from Thanos.

Her breathing remained rapid, but in those deep green eyes, there was something she hadn't felt in a long time—unwillingness.

She was unwilling to withdraw from that battle, unwilling to admit that her power on Earth was insufficient to support her in continuing to face Thanos, and unwilling to leave her sister alone in that sky.

But she was even more aware that if she stayed there, she would only become a burden to Mavuika.

"Damn it," she cursed in a low, hoarse voice, then looked up, her gaze sweeping across the entire battlefield.

The ground battle at Kamar-Taj was even more chaotic than the one high above. Strange and Ebony Maw were entangled in combat above the ruins of the Sanctum, golden magic light and black telekinetic energy constantly colliding, detonating circle after circle of Impact.

Strange's shield had shattered several times, but each time he was able to reform it at the very last moment. There was blood on his face, and his cloak was torn in several places, but there was no retreat in his eyes.

Under Strange's leadership, the mages of Kamar-Taj fought against Ebony Maw together, which relieved a lot of pressure from him.

Ebony Maw's strength was terrifyingly formidable; if not for the assistance of the mages, Strange felt that in a one-on-one fight, he would have been defeated long ago.

This also made Strange realize that although he had inherited the position of Sorcerer Supreme, he was still far from reaching the level of the Ancient One.

In the midst of the battle, Strange couldn't help but think that if the Ancient One were still here, this battle would likely be much easier, and at the very least, Ebony Maw wouldn't be allowed to be so presumptuous.

Ebony Maw's situation was no better; his robes had been burned with several holes by magic energy, and the fingers on his left hand were bent unnaturally—two had been severed by one of Strange's Portals just moments ago.

On the other side of the battlefield, Thor and Loki were facing the most severe challenge.

The two of them had to fight against nine Eternals plus Black Dwarf, a total of ten warriors.

Thor's Mjolnir had struck hundreds of times under the joint pincer attack of Gilgamesh and Tina; his arms were so sore he could barely lift them, but he dared not stop, because if he slowed down for even an instant, Gilgamesh's fist would crush his ribs, and Tina's short sword would pierce his throat.

Loki's illusions had almost completely failed under the joint suppression of Sersi and Sprite; Sersi turned his illusions into real objects, and Sprite layered new illusions on top of those real objects, making it so even he couldn't distinguish which were his magic and which were their traps.

Kingo's energy blasts shot over continuously from a distance, precisely interrupting every attempt he made to re-gather his power.

Makkari's speed wove around him, leaving a wound each time.

Druig's emotion manipulation was continuously draining his will, making his reactions slower and slower.

Phastos's energy weapons fired precisely from the edge of the battlefield, sealing off all his possible escape routes.

Thor's body was covered in wounds: a knife wound on his shoulder deep enough to see the bone, a charred mark on his waist burned by an energy blast, and a bruise on his forehead where Makkari had kicked him.

The golden flames of the Ode of Resurrection burned on his body, continuously healing those wounds; his breathing was as ragged as a broken bellows, and he trembled with every swing of his hammer.

Loki's situation was even worse; after his illusions were suppressed, he could only use the most basic magic shield to withstand the attacks.

His right hand hung unnaturally at his side—that was after being slashed by Tina's short sword earlier, and then hit by a follow-up strike from Phastos's energy weapon; the bone was likely fractured.

His face was pale, his lips chapped, but there was still no surrender in those emerald green eyes.

"Hold on!" Thor shouted, his voice hoarse.

Loki did not answer; he was concentrating all his effort on maintaining the shield, resisting another wave of energy blasts shot by Kingo.

Just then, a black and green figure descended from the sky, landing in front of the two of them.

Hela.

Her Death Energy exploded the moment she landed, a circular Impact knocking the approaching Eternals back several steps.

The black sword materialized from the Akasha, stabbing into the ground and surrounding her, Thor, and Loki, forming a temporary defensive line made of blades.

Thor saw Hela's back, was stunned for a moment, then grinned, that smile looking somewhat ferocious against his blood-stained face.

"Second sister, you're here."

Hela did not turn around, her gaze locked on the Eternals who were reorganizing their attack, her voice cold.

"Can you still fight?"

Thor caught his breath and tightened his grip on Mjolnir. "Yes."

Loki's voice came from behind Hela, carrying a hint of weakness but still retaining a sarcastic tone.

"You should ask the people on the other side that."

The corners of Hela's mouth curled up slightly, and then she charged forward.