Afonso and José (G)

 Afonso and José (G) 

The battle intensified. Thanatos, now in his enhanced form, moved like a blur of shadows, his scythe slicing through the air with violence. Each strike left deep marks on the ground, and the dark energy pulsating around him distorted the environment. 

Afonso did not retreat. He knew Thanatos, understood that his power came at a cost. But that didn't mean it would be easy. 

Thanatos lunged forward, swinging his scythe in a devastating arc. Afonso ducked at the last moment, feeling the sharp wind pass over his head. He countered with a punch charged with energy, aiming for Thanatos's chest. The impact was brutal, but Thanatos merely slid back, his body absorbing part of the damage. 

"You've improved, Afonso." Thanatos smirked, his eyes glowing with dark malice. "But you're still far from defeating me." 

Afonso didn't respond. Instead, he charged again, exchanging rapid blows with Thanatos. His fists glowed with energy, each strike calculated to test the limits of his enemy's new form. 

Thanatos counterattacked with ferocity. His body seemed lighter, faster. He spun through the air, using the scythe as an extension of himself, trying to force Afonso into a fatal mistake. 

The two clashed repeatedly, each impact reverberating across the battlefield. Sparks of energy and shadows exploded around them while the other heroes fought off the creatures still emerging from the cracks in the ground. 

From a distance, José watched closely, his eyes fixed on the visor of his bracelet. He analyzed every movement of Thanatos, looking for the right moment to act. 

"He's not at his limit yet…" he murmured. 

Meanwhile, Verana and Master Tartaruga were eliminating the creatures trying to surround them. Verana used her telekinesis to crush enemies mid-air, slamming them into each other, while Master Tartaruga moved with absolute precision, dodging attacks and taking down foes with swift, lethal strikes. 

"If Thanatos absorbed this power, it means he has a weakness," Verana said, her mind still immersed in a psychic reading of the enemy. 

Master Tartaruga dodged a charge and struck the base of a creature's neck with a precise blow, dropping it instantly. 

"Then we need to find it before Afonso collapses from exhaustion." 

Verana gritted her teeth. She expanded her perception, trying to probe deeper into Thanatos's mind. And then she saw something. 

Thanatos continued attacking ferociously, his shadowy form becoming increasingly unstable. He laughed, but there was something different in his laughter now. It wasn't just arrogance, there was something hidden there. 

Afonso noticed it too. He knew Thanatos well enough to recognize the change. 

"You're enjoying this new power, aren't you?" Afonso said between heavy breaths. "But I can see it. You're starting to lose control." 

Thanatos laughed louder, but his left eye twitched slightly. 

"You think you can fool me, Afonso?" His voice was harsher. "I am chaos itself!" 

Afonso narrowed his eyes. 

"Chaos doesn't fear… but you do." 

Thanatos growled, his energy flickering for a moment. And that was when José saw the opening. 

"Now!" he shouted through the communicator. "Thanatos is at his limit, but he's still absorbing energy. If we break that connection, he'll start to fall!" 

Verana heard and nodded. 

"Master Tartaruga, I need you to cover me." 

He looked at her for a moment, then gave a slight smile. 

"Do what you have to do." 

Verana closed her eyes and plunged her mind into Thanatos's. She felt his rage, his hunger for power… and his fear. A fear buried deep, hidden behind his mask of arrogance. 

She found the thread connecting Thanatos to the planet's energy. If she could cut it… 

Afonso kept exchanging blows with him, growing more intense, inching closer to victory. He just needed one final opening. 

Thanatos roared and tried to strike a final blow, but at that moment, Verana pulled the psychic thread with all her strength. 

Thanatos's body trembled violently. His scythe stopped mid-air, his eyes widened. He staggered backward, and the dark aura around him began to waver. 

Afonso didn't hesitate. With all his remaining strength, he launched a direct punch to Thanatos's chest. The impact was deafening. 

Thanatos screamed as his body was hurled back, his energy shattering around him. The ground beneath his feet cracked, and he fell to his knees. 

Afonso approached slowly, still panting, while Thanatos struggled to catch his breath. 

"I warned you," Afonso said, his gaze fixed on his defeated enemy. "You never knew how to control your own power." 

Thanatos tried to speak, but his energy was dissipating rapidly. He no longer had the strength to continue. 

Verana opened her eyes, feeling the mental collapse of their adversary. She looked at Master Tartaruga, who simply nodded at her. 

"Well done," he said calmly. 

She gave a small smile. 

"It was a team effort." 

José approached Afonso, analyzing the latest data on his bracelet. 

"He's still alive… but not for long in this state." 

Afonso took a deep breath. 

"Then let's make sure he never rises again." 

The battle was finally coming to an end. 

Until a portal opened, pulling Thanatos into a faraway place, near the planet's core. The moment he touched it, he grew even stronger. He regained the strength he had lost. Additionally, he gained more weapons to fight them, but he could no longer teleport. So he ran back toward them. 

Afonso and José were surrounded. The deformed creatures advanced in waves, emerging from the cracks in the ground as if the planet itself was spewing its fury upon them. The collective roar of the monsters filled the air, mixed with the sound of José's gunfire and Afonso's crushing blows. 

José remained calm, his eyes calculating every movement. With absurd precision, he fired without missing. Each bullet found its target, heads, hearts, joints, and the monsters fell one by one. 

"Do these things ever end?" he grumbled, reloading. 

Beside him, Afonso crushed an enemy's skull with a single punch, the force of the impact cracking the ground beneath them. 

"They're coming from the ground. As long as Thanatos keeps draining the planet, these creatures will keep appearing." 

José dodged a sharp claw, rolling aside and firing twice into the enemy's chest. 

"Great. So we just have to survive until someone fixes that." 

Afonso didn't reply. Instead, he grabbed one of the monsters by the neck and used it as a shield against the others before launching it away with a brutal strike. 

José whistled. 

"You gotta teach me how to do that later." 

Afonso kicked another enemy away and muttered, 

"First, we need to get out of here alive." 

The creatures kept emerging, and José knew that, no matter how good a shooter he was, his ammo wasn't infinite. He holstered his pistols for a moment, grabbed a rifle from his back, and unleashed a burst of gunfire at an approaching group of monsters. 

"If these things come from the ground… what if we stop them before they emerge?" 

Afonso looked at him for a moment, then dodged an attack and struck his aggressor's chest. 

"Explain." 

José aimed at the ground, where a crack was expanding. 

"I shoot here. You punch. We destroy the cracks before they can get out." 

Afonso studied the battlefield for a second, then smiled. 

"That could work." 

José got into position and shouted, 

"Then cover me!" 

He aimed the rifle at one of the largest fissures and fired, making the earth tremble. Afonso ran forward and, with a leap, came down with a powerful punch. The impact caused the crack to expand for a moment… and then collapse in on itself. 

The creatures emerging from that point struggled but were crushed by the debris. 

José laughed. 

"It worked! Now we just have to do it twenty more times." 

Afonso wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the number of active fissures. 

"Then we better not waste time." 

The duo continued the fight, using strength and precision to prevent more creatures from escaping. The battlefield was still chaotic, and they knew Thanatos was approaching. But for now, at least, they were managing to reduce their chances of being completely overwhelmed.