Chapter 342 — Three Bloodthirsters
Tony launched upward.
The Bloodthirster followed.
Its wings snapped open and sent a violent gust across the battlefield as it rose after him.
Tony's helmet tracked the movement.
The suit mapped the daemon's wingspan, acceleration, weapon reach, and flight path in real time.
A warning appeared across his display.
IMPACT TRAJECTORY
Tony tilted his body.
The Bloodthirster's sword came down.
Tony dropped.
The blade passed over his helmet.
He immediately accelerated sideways.
The armor responded to the change in direction.
Nanomachines shifted through his back and legs, redistributing the suit's mass and changing the position of several micro-thrusters.
The reason was simple.
Tony didn't need more raw thrust.
He needed tighter control.
The Bloodthirster was larger, and every movement covered more space.
Tony couldn't afford to match its movements.
He had to move around them.
He rolled through the air.
His palms opened.
The repulsor assemblies widened.
Additional emitter rings formed around them as the nanomachines rearranged the forearm armor.
Tony fired.
THOOM!
A repulsor blast struck the Bloodthirster's chest.
Then another.
Then a third.
The daemon barely moved.
Tony frowned.
"Okay."
He accelerated past it.
The suit immediately recorded the result.
DIRECT REPULSOR IMPACT: LOW EFFECT
Tony looked back.
"Good to know."
Within the broadcast, the Group Chat members watched from roughly ten meters away.
They were still only virtual observers.
The fight passed around them, but nothing could touch them.
Naruto watched Tony narrowly avoid another sword swing.
"Of course he got picked by the biggest thing on the battlefield."
Mindy laughed.
"That's Tony."
Saeko watched the armor shift around Tony's body.
"His armor keeps changing, turning into different weapons to counter it."
Tony's suit opened across his forearms.
More emitters formed.
He fired again.
THOOM! THOOM!
Naruto folded his arms.
"That thing is taking everything."
Tanya nodded.
"Its endurance is impressive."
Tony suddenly accelerated straight toward the Bloodthirster.
Naruto grinned.
"There he goes again."
Mindy shook her head.
"He never learns."
Saeko watched Tony close the distance.
"Maybe he does."
Tony's fist slammed into the daemon's chest.
BOOM!
Naruto laughed.
"That's Tony for you."
The Bloodthirster turned in midair.
Its wings beat once.
It was suddenly behind him.
Tony's helmet warned him before the attack came.
He twisted.
The sword passed across his back.
KRAANG!
The blade scraped across the armor.
A section of plating broke apart.
Tony's suit immediately responded.
Nanomachines flowed from the surrounding armor toward the damaged section.
They filled the gap.
The broken material was not simply replaced.
The machines pulled the surrounding armor inward, reinforcing the damaged area with fresh material from the suit's internal reserve.
Tony glanced at the repair status.
"That one got through."
The Bloodthirster raised its sword again.
Tony's eyes narrowed.
"Not twice."
He accelerated upward.
The daemon followed.
Tony suddenly stopped.
The Bloodthirster overshot him.
Tony flipped in the air.
His shoulders opened.
Several small launchers formed from the armor.
Missiles fired.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The projectiles curved around the Bloodthirster.
The daemon turned.
It swung its sword.
One missile exploded against the blade.
Another struck its shoulder.
The third hit its back.
BOOM!
The Bloodthirster staggered in the air.
Tony immediately followed.
The nanomachines moved across his right arm.
The forearm armor thickened.
The gauntlet expanded.
More material flowed toward the knuckles.
The purpose wasn't appearance.
Tony was concentrating the available armor mass around the striking surface.
Less material was being used across the rest of the arm.
More was being concentrated where the impact would occur.
His repulsor output increased.
Tony accelerated.
He drove his fist into the Bloodthirster's chest.
BOOM!
The daemon was thrown backward.
Tony's arm recoiled.
The suit absorbed the shock and redirected the remaining force through his shoulder and torso.
He didn't feel the full impact through his own body.
The nanomachines were constantly shifting the load across the armor.
Tony accelerated after the daemon.
"Come on."
The Bloodthirster recovered.
It opened its wings.
Its sword came around.
Tony raised his left arm.
The nanomachines around the forearm spread outward.
A reinforced energy barrier formed.
But instead of remaining a simple flat shield, the barrier curved around Tony's body.
The sword struck.
KRAAANG!
The impact drove Tony backward.
His armor registered the force.
Tony's eyes widened slightly.
The Bloodthirster's raw strength was enormous.
"Okay."
The suit recalculated.
The shield wasn't enough to absorb another direct hit.
So Tony changed the problem.
The nanomachines withdrew from the center of the barrier.
The shield narrowed.
Its surface became angled.
The next sword strike came.
Tony met it with the slanted field.
The blade struck and slid away instead of hitting him squarely.
Tony was still pushed backward, but the force no longer went directly into his body.
He spun with the impact.
"Much better."
The Bloodthirster roared and chased him.
Tony's suit began preparing another configuration.
The armor around his boots and legs thickened.
His thrusters moved closer toward the centerline of his body.
The reason was stability.
He was going to stop flying.
The Bloodthirster charged.
Tony turned.
Instead of retreating, he flew toward it.
The daemon raised its sword.
Tony closed the distance too quickly for the full swing to develop.
He slipped inside the arc.
His left hand caught the daemon's wrist.
The difference in size was obvious.
Tony's hand looked tiny around the enormous limb.
The Bloodthirster pulled.
Tony's body was dragged forward.
Tony allowed it.
His thrusters fired in the opposite direction.
The sudden counterforce pulled the daemon further off balance.
Tony twisted.
His armor shifted with the movement, locking his hips and shoulders into the maneuver.
He used the daemon's own momentum.
The Bloodthirster's massive body was thrown sideways.
It crashed through a ruined structure.
KRAAASH!
Tony hovered for a moment.
"That was better."
The rubble moved.
The Bloodthirster stood again.
Tony's expression changed.
"Of course."
The daemon charged.
Tony raised both hands.
The armor opened across his forearms.
Multiple repulsor emitters formed.
Not one large cannon.
Several smaller emitters.
Tony needed accuracy rather than raw output.
He fired in sequence.
THOOM! THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!
The first blast struck the shoulder.
The second struck the knee.
The third hit the ribs.
The fourth struck the chest.
Each impact forced the daemon to adjust its stance.
Tony wasn't trying to destroy it.
He was disrupting its balance.
The Bloodthirster stumbled.
Tony accelerated.
His right arm changed again.
The nanomachines pulled material from the outer forearm.
The gauntlet grew heavier.
A reinforced structure formed around the elbow.
The repulsor moved deeper into the fist.
Tony's entire arm became a close-range impact weapon.
He struck the Bloodthirster's ribs.
BOOM!
The daemon twisted.
Tony hit the same area again.
BOOM!
A third strike.
BOOM!
The armor around Tony's fist absorbed the recoil and reinforced itself after every impact.
The Bloodthirster swung wildly.
Tony ducked.
The sword passed over his head.
Tony drove his knee into the daemon's abdomen.
The suit concentrated thrust through the leg at the instant of impact.
BOOM!
The Bloodthirster bent.
Tony grabbed its shoulder.
His boot thrusters fired.
He drove both feet into the daemon's torso.
BOOM!
The Bloodthirster was thrown backward.
Tony landed.
The nanomachines across his armor were already moving.
His damaged knuckles were repaired.
The armor around his chest tightened.
His flight systems cooled.
Weapons retracted.
Everything that wasn't needed for the next exchange moved elsewhere.
Tony looked at the daemon.
"You know what's annoying?"
The Bloodthirster roared.
Tony raised his hands.
"I've spent a lot of time making this thing better."
The Bloodthirster charged.
"And you're giving me a lot of testing data."
Tony fired.
The first repulsor burst struck the daemon.
A second burst came from his left palm.
Then a pulse from his chest.
Then another from his shoulder.
The suit fired from multiple points at once.
The Bloodthirster raised its sword to defend itself.
Tony was already moving.
The nanomachines around his shoulders opened.
Small autonomous weapon modules detached from his armor.
They separated into the air.
Each module carried its own targeting system.
They began firing independently.
THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!
The Bloodthirster swung at one.
It destroyed the weapon.
Tony immediately registered the loss.
"Okay."
Another two modules repositioned.
The daemon had revealed exactly how it reacted when attacked from multiple directions.
Tony exploited it.
The suit updated its targeting pattern.
The surviving modules stopped attacking randomly.
They fired in sequence.
Front.
Left.
Right.
Above.
The Bloodthirster turned toward one threat.
Another struck from the opposite direction.
The daemon turned again.
Tony was waiting for it.
He accelerated directly toward its chest.
His entire right arm reconfigured.
The armor compressed.
Layer after layer locked together.
The nanomachines concentrated the available mass into the gauntlet.
Tony's repulsor core surged.
He punched.
BOOOOOOM!
The fist struck the Bloodthirster's chest.
This time, the force was different.
Tony didn't simply rely on the strength of the armor.
The repulsor discharged at the instant of impact.
The blast and the physical strike hit together.
The Bloodthirster was launched across the battlefield.
It crashed through a massive stone structure.
KRAAASH!
Tony remained in the air.
His right arm smoked.
The nanomachines immediately began repairing the thermal stress.
His helmet scanned the wreckage.
"Target still active."
Naruto watched the ruined structure.
"Again?"
Mindy laughed.
"Still standing."
Naruto shook his head.
"Tony's going to have to punch that thing into another dimension."
The rubble exploded outward.
The Bloodthirster emerged.
Its chest was caved in.
Warp energy leaked through the damage.
But it was still standing.
Tony stared.
"You're kidding."
The daemon spread its wings.
Tony's suit began changing again.
His chest armor thickened.
His shoulders opened.
New repulsor emitters formed.
His forearms became heavier.
His boots locked into a higher-output flight configuration.
The nanomachines were no longer preparing individual weapons.
They were preparing the entire armor for sustained combat.
Tony raised both hands.
"Fine."
The Bloodthirster roared.
Tony's arc reactor brightened.
"Let's see how far you can take this."
The daemon charged.
Tony charged with it.
They met in the air.
The Bloodthirster's sword came down.
Tony moved inside the swing.
His left hand caught the wrist.
His right fist struck the chest.
BOOM!
The daemon staggered.
Tony hit it again.
BOOM!
Again.
BOOM!
The Bloodthirster finally caught Tony's arm.
Its enormous claws closed around the armor.
The daemon pulled him closer.
Tony's helmet flashed.
The suit detected the pressure.
Nanomachines immediately flowed into the trapped arm.
The armor thickened around the wrist.
Tony's repulsor fired directly into the Bloodthirster's hand.
THOOM!
The daemon's grip loosened.
Tony pulled free.
The nanomachines flowed back into their normal configuration.
He fired both palms into its face.
THOOM!
The Bloodthirster reeled.
Tony accelerated around it.
His armor opened across his back.
A larger weapon formed.
Not a missile.
Not a repulsor.
A concentrated energy projector.
Tony raised his hand.
"Got you."
The Bloodthirster turned.
Tony fired.
THOOOOOOM!
The blast struck the daemon at point-blank range and drove it across the battlefield.
Smoke engulfed the impact site.
Tony hovered in place.
His suit continued repairing itself.
Inside the armor, destroyed nanomachines were being replaced.
Tony accessed the parcel system and drew out another supply of nanites.
They flowed into the suit and spread through the damaged sections, replacing the ones lost during the fight.
Damaged plates sealed.
Burned sections were rebuilt.
Broken components were restored.
Energy systems redistributed power as the repairs continued.
The process never stopped.
As long as Tony had enough nanites in the parcel system, the suit could continue replacing the ones destroyed in battle.
He could keep fighting indefinitely.
The real limits were his supply of nanites and his own endurance.
Tony looked toward the smoke.
"Please be down."
Something moved inside the ruins.
The Bloodthirster emerged.
But it was no longer uninjured.
Large sections of its chest were scorched black.
Cracks ran across its torso, with Warp energy leaking from between them.
One shoulder hung lower than the other.
Part of its wing was torn and trailing Warp-tainted energy behind it.
Its movements were slower now.
Not by much.
But Tony noticed.
The Bloodthirster took a heavy step forward.
It raised its sword.
Despite the damage, its grip remained firm.
Tony stared at it.
"...You're really annoying."
The Bloodthirster roared.
Tony's armor tightened around him.
The nanomachines finished their repairs.
Every system returned to combat readiness.
Tony raised his hands.
The repulsors brightened.
"Round two."
~~~
Diana charged.
The Bloodthirster raised its enormous sword.
The weapon came down with enough force to split the ground beneath it.
Diana stepped forward.
Not away.
Forward.
Her sword met the descending blade.
CLANG!
The impact exploded across the battlefield.
But Diana did not slide backward.
She held.
The Bloodthirster towered over her, its massive frame casting her entire body into shadow. Its arms were thick with unnatural muscle, and its sword looked enormous even in its hands.
It pushed down with both arms.
Diana's stance barely shifted.
She looked up at the daemon.
"Is that all?"
Lightning crawled across her armor.
Diana suddenly pushed.
The Bloodthirster's sword was forced upward.
Before it could recover, Diana stepped inside its reach.
Her sword tore across its abdomen.
SHNK!
A deep wound opened.
The Bloodthirster roared.
Diana struck again.
Across the chest.
Another cut opened.
Then across the shoulder.
The daemon swung its free hand.
Diana ducked beneath the claws.
Her fist drove into its ribs.
BOOM!
The impact rocked the Bloodthirster's enormous body.
Diana followed.
She caught its wrist with both hands.
The difference in size was obvious.
The daemon's forearm was enormous compared to her.
It tried to wrench itself free.
Diana held.
Then she twisted.
The Bloodthirster's upper body followed the movement.
Diana stepped behind its leg and drove her shoulder into its thigh.
BOOM!
The daemon staggered.
Diana shoved again.
Its balance broke.
The gigantic creature crashed onto one knee.
KRAAASH!
The ground shook.
Diana was already moving.
She jumped onto its back.
The Bloodthirster reached behind itself.
Diana caught its wrist.
She pulled the arm across its own chest.
The daemon roared and tried to throw her.
Diana held on.
Her elbow slammed into the back of its neck.
BOOM!
Its head snapped forward.
Diana released and jumped clear.
The Bloodthirster rose.
Its movements had become more violent.
Its wings spread wide.
The surviving membranes snapped through the air, sending debris flying.
The daemon charged.
Diana waited.
At the last moment, she stepped aside.
The Bloodthirster's sword missed.
Diana seized the arm holding it.
She planted her feet.
Then pulled.
The daemon stumbled past her.
Diana turned with it.
Her sword struck the back of its knee.
SHNK!
The leg buckled.
The Bloodthirster dropped again.
Diana grabbed one of its horns.
Her lasso flew around its neck.
The golden rope tightened.
The daemon tried to rise.
Diana pulled.
The enormous creature was dragged backward, its hooves gouging deep trenches into the earth.
Its muscles strained.
Its wings beat furiously.
It still could not break her hold.
Diana pulled harder.
The Bloodthirster's head was forced downward.
Her knee drove into its shoulder.
BOOM!
The daemon collapsed onto one hand.
Diana released the lasso.
She stepped onto its back.
The Bloodthirster reached for her.
Diana jumped.
She landed directly in front of its face.
For a moment, they stared at one another.
The Bloodthirster was enormous.
Its head alone was nearly the size of Diana's torso.
Its eyes burned with Warp energy.
Diana raised her sword.
"You are large."
Lightning gathered along the blade.
"But that does not make you stronger."
The Bloodthirster roared.
Diana charged.
The daemon swung its sword.
Diana slipped beneath the attack.
Her blade cut through its forearm.
SHNK!
The Bloodthirster released its weapon.
Diana did not stop.
She drove her fist into its jaw.
BOOM!
The daemon's head snapped backward.
Diana jumped.
Her sword came down.
KRAAASH!
The blade buried itself in the creature's shoulder.
Lightning erupted through the wound.
The Bloodthirster screamed.
Diana ripped the sword free.
Then struck again.
And again.
Each blow forced the enormous daemon backward.
Its massive body was taking hit after hit from an opponent barely half its size.
The Bloodthirster finally swung its wing.
Diana caught it.
For a moment, the two struggled.
The Bloodthirster tried to overpower her with its immense strength.
Diana pulled the wing downward.
The massive limb slammed into the ground.
BOOM!
The daemon stumbled.
Diana climbed onto its arm.
She ran along it.
The Bloodthirster tried to shake her loose.
Diana reached its shoulder.
She jumped.
Her sword came down across its back.
SHNK!
A massive wound opened.
Warp energy erupted from it.
The Bloodthirster roared and stumbled forward.
Diana landed behind it.
She raised her sword.
Lightning descended from the storm above.
KRAA-BOOM!
A bolt struck the blade.
Diana swung.
Lightning tore through the Bloodthirster's body.
The daemon was blasted forward.
It crashed through several ruined structures.
Stone collapsed around it.
Diana walked toward the wreckage.
The Bloodthirster slowly rose.
Its chest was burned black.
Its shoulder was split open.
Its forearm hung damaged at its side.
One wing was badly torn.
Blood and Warp energy poured from its wounds.
Yet it still stood.
Diana stopped.
The Bloodthirster roared.
Then it charged one last time.
Diana did not move.
The daemon raised its remaining weapon.
Lightning filled the sky.
The Bloodthirster swung.
Diana stepped forward.
Her blade met the sword.
CLANG!
She redirected the strike.
Her fist drove into the daemon's chest.
BOOM!
The Bloodthirster's enormous body lifted from the ground.
It flew backward.
Diana followed.
She caught it by the throat before it could recover.
Its feet left the ground.
For a moment, the gigantic Bloodthirster hung in Diana's grip.
She drove it into the earth.
KRAAASH!
The daemon smashed into the ground.
Diana landed on its chest.
Her sword was raised.
Lightning crawled across the blade.
The Bloodthirster tried to rise.
Diana forced it back down.
"Stay down."
The daemon roared.
Diana drove the sword into its chest.
KRAA-BOOM!
Lightning erupted through the wound.
The Bloodthirster's body convulsed.
Cracks spread across its physical form.
Warp energy poured from within.
Diana pulled the sword free.
The Bloodthirster reached for her.
Diana struck one final time.
The enormous body was blasted backward.
Its wings dissolved first.
Its arms broke apart into streams of Warp energy.
The rest of its body followed.
The Bloodthirster's roar echoed across the battlefield as its physical form collapsed back into the Immaterium.
Diana stood over the crater.
Her sword lowered.
The lightning around her slowly faded.
She looked across the battlefield.
Then toward Gaius.
Then Tony.
Both were still fighting.
Diana turned her sword in her hand.
"One down."
She started toward the others.
Roughly ten meters from Tony, the Group Chat members had watched the entire fight.
Naruto stared at the crater Diana had left behind.
"...She actually threw that thing around."
Mindy laughed.
"Several times."
Saeko kept her eyes on Diana.
"She never let it establish control of the fight."
Tanya looked at the enormous crater.
"Considering the size of that daemon, that is rather impressive."
Naruto glanced upward toward Tony's ongoing battle.
"Tony's going to have to step it up."
Mindy looked at him.
"Why?"
Naruto pointed toward the battlefield.
"Diana finished first."
Saeko smiled faintly.
"So now you've made it a competition."
Naruto shrugged.
"I'm just observing."
Mindy laughed.
"Sure."
Another explosion erupted overhead.
They all looked up.
Tony was still fighting his Bloodthirster.
~~~
The Bloodthirster charged.
Gaius did not move.
The daemon was enormous.
Its body towered over him, its broad frame covered in Warp-tainted muscle. Its wings stretched far beyond his shoulders, and the axe in its hands looked massive even beside Gaius's power fists.
Its burning eyes remained fixed on him.
The Emperor's Claw still covered Gaius's right hand.
The golden talons flexed.
The Bloodthirster roared.
"ANATHEMA!"
It swung.
Gaius stepped forward.
The axe passed behind him.
His left power fist struck the Bloodthirster's abdomen.
BOOM!
The daemon's enormous body bent from the impact.
Gaius followed immediately.
His right hand came up.
The Emperor's Claw tore across the daemon's chest.
SHRAK!
Five deep wounds opened at once.
Warp energy spilled from them.
The Bloodthirster staggered backward.
Gaius advanced.
The daemon swung with its free arm.
Gaius raised his left power fist.
CLANG!
The claws crashed against Armament Haki.
The ground beneath Gaius cracked.
The Bloodthirster pushed harder.
Gaius did not give ground.
His right hand moved.
The Emperor's Claw hooked around the daemon's wrist.
Gaius pulled.
The much larger Bloodthirster lurched toward him.
Gaius drove his knee into its side.
BOOM!
Then his left fist struck its ribs.
BOOM!
The daemon stumbled.
Gaius seized the opening.
The Emperor's Claw tore across its side.
The talons dug through flesh.
Warp energy erupted.
The Bloodthirster roared and spread its wings.
One wing swept toward Gaius.
He ducked beneath it.
The second wing came from the opposite side.
Gaius raised his left arm.
BOOM!
The impact drove him sideways.
He landed several meters away.
The Bloodthirster turned toward him.
Gaius straightened.
His armor had been scorched.
His red cape dragged across the ground.
His eyes never left the daemon.
The Bloodthirster raised its axe again.
Then its gaze fell on the Emperor's Claw.
Its rage surged.
The presence coming from Gaius was unmistakable.
The daemon could feel the Anathema.
Not merely an enemy.
A presence buried deep in the Warp's memory.
The Bloodthirster roared.
"ANATHEMA!"
Warp energy exploded from its body.
It charged faster.
Gaius met it.
The axe came down.
Gaius caught the shaft with his left power fist.
CLANG!
The impact forced both of them downward.
The Bloodthirster pushed with all its strength.
Gaius's boots dug into the earth.
The ground cracked beneath him.
Then Gaius's right hand closed around the daemon's wrist.
The Emperor's Claw bit into its arm.
The Bloodthirster tried to pull away.
Gaius pulled harder.
The daemon was dragged forward.
Gaius twisted.
Its enormous body was thrown sideways.
KRAAASH!
The Bloodthirster crashed through the ruins.
Before it could rise, Gaius was already there.
His left fist slammed into its chest.
BOOM!
The daemon's torso buckled.
Another strike.
BOOM!
Another.
BOOM!
The Bloodthirster tried to grab him.
Gaius stepped inside its reach.
The Emperor's Claw drove into its chest.
SHNK!
The talons buried themselves deep.
The Bloodthirster screamed.
Gaius pulled upward.
The wound tore open.
Warp energy poured from its body.
The Bloodthirster struck with its other hand.
Gaius caught the wrist.
For a moment, the two were locked together.
The Bloodthirster towered over him.
Its arms were enormous compared to his.
Its body was broader.
Its remaining wing stretched across the battlefield.
Yet Gaius held both of its arms.
The Bloodthirster pulled.
Gaius pulled back.
Then Gaius drove his forehead into its face.
CRACK!
The daemon's head snapped backward.
Gaius released one arm.
His power fist struck its jaw.
BOOM!
The Bloodthirster reeled.
Gaius stepped forward.
His right hand flashed.
The Emperor's Claw tore through the daemon's forearm.
The limb separated.
Warp energy burst into the air.
The Bloodthirster stared at the ruined arm.
Then it screamed.
"ANATHEMA!"
Its remaining hand swung.
Gaius ducked.
The claws passed above his helmet.
He stepped around the daemon.
His power fist drove into the back of its knee.
BOOM!
The enormous leg buckled.
The Bloodthirster dropped.
Gaius moved behind it.
The Emperor's Claw cut across its back.
SHRAK!
The talons carved through muscle and Warp energy.
The daemon collapsed forward.
Gaius grabbed its shoulder.
He drove his left fist into its spine.
BOOM!
The Bloodthirster's body jolted.
Again.
BOOM!
Again.
BOOM!
Cracks spread across its physical form.
The Warp began leaking from the wounds.
Still, the daemon fought.
It twisted around and swung its claws.
Gaius caught the wrist.
He pulled it downward.
The Bloodthirster's face came within reach.
Gaius drove the Emperor's Claw across its cheek.
SHNK!
Five deep cuts opened across its face.
The daemon roared.
Gaius released the wrist.
The Bloodthirster swung wildly.
Gaius stepped inside the attack.
His left power fist struck the center of its chest.
BOOM!
The Bloodthirster was thrown backward.
It crashed into the ground.
The earth shook.
Gaius followed.
The daemon attempted to rise.
Gaius kicked the axe away.
The enormous weapon spun across the ground.
The Bloodthirster looked toward it.
Then toward Gaius.
Gaius stood between it and the weapon.
The Emperor's Claw glowed.
The daemon charged.
Gaius charged too.
The Bloodthirster threw a massive punch.
Gaius slipped beneath it.
His left power fist drove into its ribs.
BOOM!
The daemon twisted.
The Emperor's Claw followed.
Five talons tore across its abdomen.
SHRAK!
The Bloodthirster stumbled.
Gaius grabbed its shoulder.
He pulled it toward him.
Then drove his knee into its chest.
BOOM!
The daemon was lifted off the ground.
Gaius released it.
It crashed several meters away.
Its remaining wing slammed against the earth.
The Bloodthirster tried to stand.
Its regeneration was working.
Wounds began closing.
Bones shifted back into place.
Warp energy flowed through the damaged flesh.
Gaius watched.
Then his Armament Haki intensified.
The invisible coating spread farther across his body.
His power fists darkened beneath the pressure of it.
The Emperor's Claw brightened.
The Bloodthirster's wounds were healing.
Gaius was going to make more.
He charged.
The Bloodthirster roared and attacked.
The axe came down.
Gaius raised his left fist.
CLANG!
The force exploded outward.
At the same instant, his right hand drove forward.
The Emperor's Claw punched through the daemon's chest.
SHNK!
The talons emerged from its back.
The Bloodthirster's roar shook the battlefield.
Gaius pulled his hand free.
The daemon staggered.
Gaius stepped forward.
His left fist slammed into its jaw.
BOOM!
The Bloodthirster's head snapped sideways.
He struck again.
BOOM!
Again.
BOOM!
The daemon's physical form began to crack.
Warp energy poured from the fractures.
It raised its remaining arm.
Gaius seized the wrist.
The daemon tried to pull away.
Gaius held.
Then the Emperor's Claw moved.
The talons wrapped around the daemon's throat.
The Bloodthirster froze.
Gaius tightened his grip.
The daemon roared directly into his face.
"ANATHEMA!"
Gaius looked into its burning eyes.
The Emperor's presence radiated through him.
The Bloodthirster's entire body trembled with rage.
It struck him with its free hand.
Gaius's Armament Haki absorbed the blow.
He did not release the throat.
The daemon struck again.
And again.
Gaius held it in place.
Then he drove his knee into its abdomen.
BOOM!
The Bloodthirster bent.
Gaius released its throat.
His left power fist seized the side of its head.
He forced it down.
The gigantic daemon crashed to one knee.
The ground broke beneath it.
Gaius stood beside it.
The size difference was impossible to miss.
The Bloodthirster was still the larger creature.
Still broader.
Still massive enough to tower over him.
But it was kneeling.
Gaius raised his right hand.
The Emperor's Claw extended fully.
Five golden talons formed a perfect arc beside the daemon's neck.
The Bloodthirster looked up.
Its eyes burned.
Its final roar shook the battlefield.
"ANATHEMA!"
Gaius swung.
KRAA-SHNK!
The Emperor's Claw tore completely through its neck.
The Bloodthirster's enormous head separated from its body.
It fell.
The body remained upright for a moment.
Then it collapsed.
KRAAASH!
Warp energy erupted from the corpse.
The Bloodthirster's physical form began to dissolve.
Its wings disappeared into streams of black-red energy.
Its arms broke apart.
Its massive torso collapsed inward.
The severed head dissolved last.
The Warp pulled everything back toward the Immaterium.
Gaius stood over the remains.
The Emperor's Claw remained manifested.
Its golden talons slowly dimmed.
Then the weapon vanished.
Silence returned around him.
Far away, the Group Chat members watched.
Naruto stared at the empty crater.
"...Yeah."
Mindy looked at him.
"What?"
Naruto shook his head.
"I'm not fighting Gaius."
Saeko nodded.
"Probably wise."
Tony's fight continued in the distance.
Diana was already moving toward them.
Gaius looked across the battlefield.
Three Bloodthirsters had entered the fight.
Diana had defeated one.
He had defeated another.
Tony was still fighting the last.
Gaius turned toward the remaining battle.
"Tony."
Tony's voice came faintly through the battlefield.
"Yeah?"
"Finish it."
Tony laughed.
"Was planning to."
~~~
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