"This isn't what I expected!"
Ethan naturally knew what kind of face-to-face combat Thor had in mind. But ever since his strength reached a certain level, he had become increasingly lazy about getting physical.
This way was much cooler. Anyway, no matter how they fought, he only needed to move his mind. As for his body? He just had to strike a pose.
If he had not been afraid of provoking the other party too much, he would have conjured a full set of lounge chairs, coffee tables, and drinks, then lain back to watch the fun while Thor fought the various weapons he had created.
With his current strength, he could continuously create all sorts of weapons. If Thor still found it not exciting enough, Ethan could even create two Gatling guns in midair, or even Gatling guns that fired divine power, the kind that could kill gods.
Ethan silently struck a pose, while Thor kept jumping around, besieged by countless blades and swords. He really was jumping around. If he stood still for even a moment, he risked being injured by the weapons that kept firing at him. Even though he was swinging the axe in his hand like a propeller, the divine power he continuously released was also helping him destroy the blades and swords flying at him.
But the attacks from the other side seemed endless. Thor had just managed to close the distance with Ethan, but now he was showing signs of being forced back to where he had started.
"Aaaaaaah!"
Just then, Thor, who had been retreating step by step, suddenly unleashed a terrifying amount of divine power. His entire body turned into a human-shaped generator, and thick bolts of lightning radiating outward formed a protective shield, directly blasting the blades and swords flying toward him into dust.
Under this frantic outburst, Thor felt his divine power slipping out of control. The lightning, which should never harm him, was actually starting to injure him under the wild surge.
That was not the worst of it. The crucial thing was that his artificial eye, which he had gotten from Rocket Raccoon after his original eye was blinded, also turned to ash in this outburst.
"Something's wrong with Thor."
The Avengers had never seen Thor in this state before. Steve immediately sensed that something was off. Thor had been calm just a moment ago, but now he seemed to be on the verge of going mad.
Of course, he could not have known that what Thor was seeing in the arena was completely different from what they were seeing.
While being suppressed by Ethan, this familiar attack style reminded Thor of his sister, Hela. At that moment, Ethan in his eyes actually transformed into Hela.
"You incompetent failure. The destruction of Asgard, the death of our father, the death of our brother, the disappearance of half the lives in the universe, all of this is because of you!"
As those words were spoken, corresponding images flashed before Thor's eyes, especially the moment Thanos successfully snapped his fingers because of Thor's foolish action, a moment he could never forget.
The immense mental pressure caused Thor to go completely mad!
None of the people on the sidelines knew about this. Only Tony, who had come with Ethan, vaguely sensed something.
The maddened Thor, protected by lightning, ignored the endless blades and swords released by Ethan. His eyes had turned into pure white light and were constantly spewing divine power outward. He charged toward Ethan, raising his axe.
Just then, Ethan, who had been holding his pose the entire time, finally made some movements. He slightly tilted his chin upward, and immediately, a mass of energy surged beside him, slowly enveloping him.
Under the astonished gazes of the Avengers, the energy became denser and denser, finally transforming into a familiar purple-skinned figure.
"Thanos!"
No one had expected to see this person here. What was even harder for them to believe was that this Thanos was wearing the Infinity Gauntlet on his left hand, with all six Infinity Stones embedded in it.
"You think you can defeat me with this little power?"
Thanos looked at Thor, who had charged before him, with contempt. He gently clenched the left hand wearing the Infinity Gauntlet, and purple energy erupted, blasting Thor backward.
"Such a weakling actually presumes to save the entire universe? What a joke."
"Thanos... I will kill you!"
Thor stood up, clutching his stomach. However, before he could straighten up, he was hit by a large purple fist again, forcing him to bend over. Then a large hand grabbed his head and lifted him up again.
"You? With what?"
The left hand wearing the Infinity Gauntlet condensed terrifying spatial energy. The blue energy slowly turned black as it gathered, seemingly transforming into a void that could devour everything.
That was the most violent form of spatial energy. Ordinary people would be torn to shreds just by getting close to it, let alone being grazed by it.
This energy struck Thor squarely. Only by relying on the sturdy physique of the Asgardians was he not killed instantly, since Asgardians were notoriously tough.
Thanos was unilaterally beating up Thor in the arena, but none of the Avengers on the sidelines made a move. They just watched with blank stares, because in their eyes, Ethan was standing not far away, watching the spectacle, and that Thanos had emerged from Ethan.
It was not that they had not been suspicious. They had wondered if this so-called Ethan was actually Thanos from another universe, and if he had come here to disrupt their plans.
As for this Tony Stark beside them? Perhaps he was one of Thanos's subordinates? They remembered that Thanos had a subordinate who was like a sorcerer.
It was Tony Stark from their own world who helped explain things, finally dispelling everyone's doubts.
The Avengers Base was equipped with various advanced detection devices. Through those instruments, they reached a conclusion. This Thanos was actually a pure energy construct.
This was naturally not Thanos himself. Coupled with the brief explanation from the Tony of the alternate universe, which made everyone understand that this Thanos was actually a fake created by Ethan using energy, they did not rush forward to fight Thanos to the death and incidentally take out the Ebony Maw beside them first.
"Why is he doing this?"
This seemed to have gone beyond the scope of a spar, hadn't it? If it was just to show off his strength, his performance just now was already convincing enough.
No one had expected Ethan's strength to be this formidable. He could actually create a Thanos using energy, and this fake seemed no weaker than the real one. Everyone here had witnessed how Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet.
Since Ethan could easily replicate an energy body at Thanos's power level, how strong was he himself? Ethan saying he could easily kill Thanos really was not bragging!
Ethan, who had proven himself, did not seem to intend to stop, which made Steve a little worried.
"Does Thor from the other world have a grudge against Ethan?"
War Machine, Rhodey, felt this was the only explanation. Otherwise, he could not understand why Ethan was doing this.
"No way? I thought their relationship was quite good."
Everyone could only turn their gaze back to the alternate universe's Tony. Tony could only offer a few words of explanation.
"In my world, their relationship is quite good. Thor was able to awaken the hidden power within him early, successfully become the King of Asgard, and even kill Thanos. All of this is related to Ethan's help."
Actually, Loki was also alive and willing to assist Thor in ruling Asgard, but there was no need to mention that.
"Then why is he being so heavy-handed?"
"Perhaps... he doesn't want to see Thor looking so rundown?"
Tony Stark from this world voiced his guess. This conjecture came from the various data he was currently reviewing.
"It's hard to notice with the naked eye, but Thor's physique is changing, and the energy he's releasing is also getting stronger and stronger."
Various pieces of equipment could provide all sorts of data from different angles. Tony observed for a while and finally found the truth.
When he stated the various parameters and data, although everyone did not fully understand, they all realized that something good was happening to Thor.
"So... Ethan is actually helping Thor lose weight?"
"You've summarized it perfectly. That's pretty much it!"
Rhodey's single sentence gave everyone a clear understanding. If they had said it like that earlier, would everyone not have understood?
"However, the energy around Thor is a bit wild. It looks like it's out of control."
Thor's divine lightning power was indeed in a berserk and out-of-control state. Affected by the mental attack, his mind was also somewhat unclear now. Having been continuously beaten by Thanos, he had no time to think about what was happening. Right now, he was just instinctively craving stronger power to defeat the enemy in front of him.
His attempts failed again and again. The power of the Infinity Gauntlet repeatedly struck him. He ignored the pain radiating throughout his body, vaguely feeling that his body might be on the verge of collapse, but he did not want to give up. Once again, he raised his axe and charged toward Thanos.
"Aaaaaaah!"
He unleashed all of his power, not caring whether he could withstand this surge of divine power. The axe in his hand almost turned into pure lightning, and even his body became lightning. At this moment, it was as if he was the thunder.
The shockwave released by the terrifying energy that suddenly erupted completely destroyed all the equipment in the room. The glass wall behind the Avengers was even less able to escape the disaster, shattering into pieces.
And under the final blow, Thanos was finally split in two by the God of Thunder. At this moment, Thor, who had regained his original appearance, also recovered his senses. Looking at the Thanos who was split in two but still standing there, he did not feel surprised.
Ethan, whom he could not see just now, also reappeared in his line of sight. He ignored the slowly dissipating Thanos and noticed that he had recovered the perfect physique from his peak days. Even the divine power flowing within his body was stronger than before.
He was not stupid to begin with, and he quickly understood everything. Everything that had just happened was actually done to help him recover his strength.
Although he was curious about how the other party had done it, he expressed his thanks first.
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome." Ethan suddenly pulled a pair of scissors out of his hand. "How about we tidy up your hairstyle while we're at it?"
Thor's expression changed drastically, and he immediately gripped his axe tightly.
"No one touches my hair!"
(To be continued.)