Chapter 15
Lin Fan stared at the ruins around him.
The throne room—the beating heart of the Dark Quadrant—was no more.
Chunks of metal floated aimlessly in the air, dust and debris still settling from the battle's destruction. The once-grand palace was reduced to a skeletal wreck, its towering spires shattered.
And at the center of it all, he stood victorious.
But his focus wasn't on the devastation.
It was on himself.
He raised a hand, inspecting the golden armor that had once gleamed flawlessly. Now, it was torn, cracked, and fading away.
The Space Annihilation Bomb hadn't been a complete joke.
It had broken through his armor—something no other attack had managed so far.
Beneath it, his body was untouched, almost flawless. The damage had been minor, only leaving the faintest of scars before his Majin Buu regeneration erased them in seconds.
But that wasn't the real problem.
The real problem was the space itself.
The explosion had nearly thrown him into the endless void of the universe. If he hadn't acted fast—if he hadn't punched his way back through the fractured space—he might've ended up in some unknown galaxy, lost for who knew how long.
Lin Fan clenched his fist.
"That weapon…" he muttered.
It hadn't come from the Dark Quadrant.
He refused to believe that Corvus Glaive or even Thanos had ever created something that terrifying.
Which meant—
Someone else was involved.
A hidden force. A new enemy.
That would have to be dealt with.
But first—
He tightened his grip.
The two figures still in his grasp—Proxima Midnight and Supergiant—remained motionless.
The battle wasn't completely over.
---
Lin Fan lifted both women effortlessly, bringing them up to his eye level.
Proxima Midnight's gaze was filled with pure hatred.
Her lips curled, her golden eyes burning with fury, even as her body trembled in his grasp.
She was already injured—exhausted, drained from everything she had thrown at him. But even now, even knowing she was about to die, she refused to show fear.
Lin Fan almost respected it.
Almost.
Supergiant, on the other hand—
Her entire body was frozen.
Her sky-blue skin had turned pale, and for the first time in her life, the telepathic prodigy of the Black Order felt true, crushing terror.
Lin Fan stared at them for a moment. Then, his gaze flickered toward Proxima Midnight.
"You were the one who launched that attack, weren't you?"
Proxima didn't answer.
Her glare spoke louder than words.
Lin Fan sighed. "Thought so."
Then, before she could say a single word—
Crack.
Lin Fan's grip tightened.
Her skull collapsed inward.
Purple blood splattered across Supergiant's face.
Her body twitched once. Then—nothing.
Lin Fan tossed the lifeless corpse aside like it was nothing.
Supergiant gasped sharply, her breath ragged, her mind barely able to comprehend what had just happened.
Lin Fan turned his gaze to her.
"Your turn," he said casually.
Supergiant flinched.
Her mind raced. She had always been the clever one—the one who manipulated and controlled from the shadows.
But there was no manipulating this.
There was no fighting this.
So she did the only thing left.
She knelt.
Her voice trembled as she spoke the words she never thought she'd say.
"I… I surrender," she whispered. "I choose to follow you, Slayer of Thanos."
Lin Fan's lips curled slightly.
"A smart decision."
He released his grip, letting her collapse onto the ground. She didn't move.
Lin Fan turned away.
"Shut down the planet's defensive barrier," he ordered. "Temple One has arrived."
Supergiant hesitated for only a second before nodding frantically.
"Y-Yes, Slayer of Thanos!"
---
The skies above the Dark Quadrant flickered.
The energy barrier that had once sealed the capital world vanished, its once-imposing glow fading away.
The atmosphere darkened, returning to its deep blue state.
And then—
A shadow loomed over the planet.
Temple One.
The colossal warship descended, its engines humming like the voice of an ancient god. The sheer weight of its presence sent shockwaves through the ruined city below.
It was here.
And with it, the final step.
The official coronation of a new ruler.
---
The moment Temple One touched the ground, the last resistance broke.
Thousands of Chitauri warriors, Vanguard soldiers, and high-ranking generals of Thanos' army stepped forward.
One by one, they fell to their knees.
A synchronized, silent submission.
And then—
The chants began.
A voice, then two, then hundreds—thousands.
They spoke no empty words.
They sang no meaningless praise.
They spoke only one thing.
One name.
"Hail the Slayer of Thanos."
The words shook the ruins of the palace.
Lin Fan stood at the highest point, looking down at the army that once served Thanos without question.
Now, they served him.
The Dark Quadrant had a new master.
And soon—
The entire universe would know his name.