"Waaah—"
The sound of the wind echoed across the world.
Carrying the ever-present frost of this planet, the freezing gale was so deadly that ordinary beings wouldn't survive five seconds before being turned into solid ice.
Thanos looked down at the planet beneath his feet, and a crazy idea suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Back on his own planet, he had always restrained his power, afraid of damaging his palace. Even during cultivation, he relied solely on his physical body and never used destructive energy.
So just how much damage could a full-force attack really cause?
Thinking was pointless. Action mattered more.
Soon, the destructive power within his body surged violently.
Thick strands of purple smoke rose from his skin, as if a dark demon god had descended upon the world.
At that moment, Proxima Midnight's voice sounded in his mind.
"My lord, Sanctuary II and the Dark Order are ready and can be deployed at any time."
But Thanos had already made up his mind to test his strength. Naturally, he wouldn't let his subordinates approach—they would only be caught in the aftermath.
"Suspend operations. Await my orders."
Though puzzled, Proxima Midnight immediately obeyed.
"Yes, my lord."
Perhaps sensing the approaching doom, the entire Ice Crystal Star began to stir.
"Waaah—"
A violent gale filled with frost swept through the air as dark clouds gathered overhead, as if the planet itself were warning the intruder not to go any further.
Thanos ignored the dramatic change completely.
After gathering power for a moment, he felt the destructive energy in his fist reach its limit.
Then he attacked.
"Ah!"
With a roar, he slammed his fist—filled with all his strength—into the ground.
As the destructive power left his fist, it transformed into a massive purple sphere and surged forward.
Without his control, the energy inside it began to expand.
In the blink of an eye, the sphere grew to a diameter of one hundred meters—and it continued to swell.
Meanwhile, not all Ice Clan members had escaped.
Some who couldn't fly, and others who refused to accept their fate, hid among mountains and forests, watching the demon in the sky.
At that moment, they all felt an aura vast enough to destroy the world.
The purple energy shone brighter than the stars themselves, radiating an eerie yet dazzling light.
And now, that sphere was falling.
"No—!"
The stronger Ice Clan warriors sensed the world-ending power within the purple light and roared in despair and fury.
They burst from the ground, flying toward the sphere, hurling spears and swords in a desperate attempt to stop it.
All of it was meaningless.
The moment their weapons touched the destructive energy, they were crushed into atoms and vanished.
Destructive power was the most dangerous force in the universe—the embodiment of annihilation.
Seeing their weapons fail, the Ice Clan warriors did not retreat. Instead, they charged forward.
This was about the survival of their race—and their planet.
Even knowing death awaited them, they chose to give their lives.
"Ah—!"
Screams rang out one after another.
When their bodies touched the purple sphere, they could only watch helplessly as skin, flesh, and bone vanished piece by piece.
They struggled to escape, but had no strength left to do so.
Their deaths were agonizing—but mercifully brief.
Soon, the vast destructive energy, carrying endless despair, struck the ground.
"Rumble—!"
Amid deafening roars, the energy—now expanded to a full kilometer in diameter—plunged toward the planet's core.
Watching from above, Thanos nodded in satisfaction and ordered the fleet to retreat.
This all-out attack was far stronger than he had expected. It might truly destroy the planet.
Any ships remaining nearby would be affected.
Better to pull back.
Soon, Ice Crystal Star began to tremble.
Cracks spread across the surface. Earthquakes followed.
On distant mountain peaks, sparks appeared as molten lava began to erupt.
The frozen world transformed into an apocalyptic landscape.
At that moment, Thanos noticed something strange.
The Ice Clan survivors were no longer charging at him. Instead, they were all running toward a towering peak in the distance.
Strange…At the end of the world, shouldn't they be spending their final moments with their families?
Was there something there that could save them?
Curious, Thanos flew toward the peak.
As he drew closer, he sensed something unusual.
While wild beasts fled chaotically across other mountains, this place was eerily quiet.
As if the creatures here didn't even know the world was ending.
The Ice Clan members rushed into a cave at the peak—and never came out.
A spatial rift? A teleportation device?
When the Ice Clan saw Thanos approaching, fear flashed in their eyes. Yet none of them tried to flee.
Instead, they ran faster toward the cave.
Seeing this, Thanos casually waved his hand.
"Rumble—!"
A burst of destructive energy wiped out the Ice Clan members nearby, carving the ground five meters deeper.
Then he flew into the cave.
Inside, he found a hidden paradise.
The mountain had been almost completely hollowed out. All the Ice Clan members who entered were kneeling in worship before a pyramid-shaped structure.
They showed no reaction to Thanos's arrival, remaining stubbornly prostrate.
Above the pyramid floated a gem, emitting an eerie yellow light.
Seeing it, Thanos smiled.
"The Mind Stone… so the plot has reached this stage."
The yellow gem captivating the Ice Clan was one of the six Infinity Stones—the Mind Stone, holder of supreme mental power.
Calling it a gem was misleading. It was more like a divine artifact.
Those strong enough to resist its influence were fortunate.
Those who weren't… became nourishment.
The Mind Stone before him was continuously absorbing the mental energy of the Ice Clan.
That explained everything.
The Ice Clan had existed for tens of thousands of years, yet remained a subhuman race.
They had been under the Mind Stone's influence all along.
.....
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