Matrix of Leadership!
One of the Ten Artifacts, the emblem of supreme authority, the supercharged Spark!
Though Martin hadn't drawn the complete Matrix, he had earned a ten-minute access window in the artifact lottery. And now, as he summoned it and integrated it with the Apex Armor, the surge in his power… was more than enough.
"Three minutes."
Martin calmly felt the monstrous power coursing through his frame. His voice, cold and emotionless, echoed through the helm of his battle armor:
"I only need three minutes… to cripple you."
Odin threw back his head and laughed, a thunderous bellow rising from his chest. But in that instant, a streak of black tore through the skies of Asgard, hurtling toward him, it was the Destroyer Armor.
That very suit had once allowed him to stand toe-to-toe against an entire host of Celestials.
"I acknowledge your power, due to that monstrous suit you're wearing."
"But to defeat me in three minutes?" Odin sneered, slipping into the Destroyer Armor. "Absurd. Arrogant mortal!"
With the suit donned, Odin's strength surged anew. Blood vessels strained as he willingly overclocked the Odinforce, even at the cost of his failing body. His energy output skyrocketed to its peak—
Enough to rattle the entire Milky Way… and the neighboring galaxies.
Then Martin moved.
In a blur, faster than time and space could register, he materialized before Odin, one titanic fist slamming into the All-Father's chest.
The impact cratered the front of the Destroyer Armor.
The mighty suit buckled. Even it could not fully absorb the brunt of the blow.
The clash that followed sent shockwaves across star systems. Fragile planets shattered into cosmic dust. What began as a battle between two gods had escalated into an apocalyptic collision of raw might.
With a casual blow, stars were extinguished.
WHOOM!
The Solar System, caught in the ripple, began to destabilize, until a crimson cloak burst from Earth's atmosphere.
The Cloak of Levitation.
It expanded rapidly, stretching to encase the entire solar system. Its enchanted weave shimmered with the might of the Ancient One, casting protective wards across its surface to shield Earth and its planetary neighbors.
She had no choice. Let the two warring gods burn the cosmos. Earth must endure.
BOOM!
More stars died in radiant bursts of final brilliance.
The spectacle reverberated through space, alarming civilizations across the universe. Even the Three Galactic Empires fell into chaos.
"Was that Black Bolt? Is he attacking the Kree Empire!?"
"Negative. Odin is in open combat, against an unknown being. No records exist on his opponent!"
"That decrepit old god… He just went quiet not long ago, and now he's brawling with another Skyfather-level entity?! Whose domain is he invading this time?!"
The Kree were livid.
Multiple Kree-controlled systems were caught in the collateral devastation. Countless stars had gone nova. Casualties topped a billion lives, an unthinkable blow to a population of just 30 billion.
The Skrull Empire and the Shi'ar Imperium were thrown into massive upheaval.
And all of it… was collateral damage from two titans clashing with no restraint.
Another volley of divine light surged outward.
Odin's armor had begun to rupture. Even the gold-plated helm that framed his crown was shattered. His long hair flew wildly around his bloodied face as he let out an enraged roar.
The Spear of Heaven slashed through space, again and again.
But this time, Martin, bolstered by the Matrix of Leadership, met every blow with calm precision.
With two of the Ten Artifacts in his possession, and the AllSpark enhancing his body with limitless vitality and mental energy, Martin now stood in a class far beyond Odin.
Even if his life essence wasn't yet at the level required to fully unleash the true power of all three relics…
It didn't matter.
Against Odin, merely a Skyfather, this was more than enough.
"It's been two minutes, Odin."
A screeching shockwave rang out, shaking one-tenth of the known universe.
Martin seized the Destroyer Armor by the chest. The AllSpark inside him erupted again, sending waves of transformative energy cascading through his form, until finally, he shattered the divine shielding of the Destroyer Armor.
Now, he wasn't just damaging it, he was overriding its control core.
Odin's eyes widened in utter disbelief.
He could feel it, his armor was rejecting him.
The Destroyer, which he had wielded for over a million years, was turning against him.
"Impossible…!"
"Who are you?!" Odin bellowed, his voice shaking with rage and fear.
"Why do you possess power that should not exist in any known realm?!"
He tried to force the Odinforce outward again, but instead coughed up a stream of dark blood. His aging organs were beginning to fail under the weight of the unleashed divine energy.
His body… was too old.
His vision blurred.
Martin's towering silhouette loomed over him. And in that moment of failing clarity, it wasn't Martin's strength or armor that gnawed at Odin's pride.
It was Martin's terrifying vitality.
That unbreakable life force.
And in Odin's fading heart… jealousy took root.
"You've lost, Odin."
Martin stepped forward. The buzz of cosmic resonance reverberated through reality.
Then, with a sickening wrench, he tore the Destroyer Armor clean off Odin's body.
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