2008 80%, 100%, I Won't Be Torn Apart

Thanos hadn't broken Luke's bones.

Just before he was kicked, Luke adjusted the position of his bones and used his tougher and more durable muscles to offset most of the damage from the attack.

Elementary Self-Healing and Light of Life healed his injuries even before he straightened up.

In gaming terms, Thanos's combo didn't deal as much damage as Luke's automatic HP regeneration every second.

It wasn't hard to suppress Luke, but it wasn't easy to instantly make him lose his combat ability.

Sensing his physical condition, Luke had a rough idea. "Hey, lunatic."

He taunted Thanos with another voice transmission and cocked his head. "We're not done yet."

He tore apart the wreckage of the flier that he was stuck in and sent the parts flying.

They rolled over the ground and crashed with astonishing momentum.

Locking gazes with Thanos, Luke suddenly grinned fiercely. He tilted his head and pressed his hands together. "It's time to demonstrate my real skills. Power outburst, 80%!"

At his words, his body abruptly swelled up.

Under the gray nanosuit, his chest muscles completely crushed Max's G-cup, and his arms and legs were twice as thick.

Although he was still a lot smaller than Thanos, things were no longer the same as before.

Boom!

Luke dashed forward at high speed with precise control of his strength, each step leaving a crater in the ground.

Thanos's expression changed. He took a step back and then swung a fist at Luke's chest.

The head and limbs of the opponent weren't the first choice for combat. The torso was the least agile.

Hitting the opponent first, then subduing them, and finally blowing them up was the logical process.

Luke, who had activated his normal explosive mode, swung his fist, as if he intended to meet Thanos head-on again.

Thanos sensed something different: This time, their fists brushed past to hit each other in the chest.

He had the upper hand when it came to physique, and would definitely hit Luke first.

Given this Earthling's combat skills, it was unlikely he would make such a mistake, right? As the thought flashed through Thanos's mind, their fists brushed past.

"Ya~ hoo~" Luke suddenly yelled.

His right fist suddenly swelled up and hit Thanos's chest 0.001 seconds earlier.

Boom!

Thanos recoiled and missed hitting Luke by a hair's breadth.

Luke bellowed, using Elementary Sound Wave's 'Lion's Roar' – it was like an ordinary person turning the volume up in their earphones by 1,000%.

Even with Thanos's unique physique, he couldn't help but feel dizzy.

Taking advantage of that moment, Luke launched a flurry of punches, kicks, elbows and knees at Thanos's chest.

His fists and feet hit Thanos in the shoulders, armpits and waist, and his elbows and knees hit the armor over Thanos's chest and abdomen.

Thanos was slower to react, but he still raised his hands in time to protect his face and throat.

Even if Luke's attacks weren't enough to cause any damage, the cautious habits Thanos had developed on the battlefield prevented him from giving up on defense.

There was no opportunity for Luke to stab him with Annihilation energy as he had planned.

Only Thanos's face and neck were unprotected. The rest of his body was covered in that extremely thick and tough golden armor. He was like a golden turtle that couldn't be beaten.

Bang! Bang!

Two seconds later, Thanos and Luke kicked each other in the upper torso at the same time and flew apart, ending the short but hurried first round of attack.

They flew less than ten meters before they landed on the ground and locked onto each other once more.

With a smile on his face, Luke rubbed his sore wrists and elbows. "Lunatic, how do you feel now?"

Thanos couldn't be bothered to say anything. The power in this attack couldn't compare with Cull Oblivion's. If it wasn't for the strange way his arms got longer and that bellow, the other party wouldn't even have a chance to hit him. Who knew what this Earthling was so happy about?

But what Luke said next surprised him. "Then I'll add more power. Power outburst, 100%!"

Previously, his muscles had looked like a normal bodybuilder's at 80%; at 100%, he completely turned into a muscle demon. The muscles all over his body were like steel wires under his skin, and they never stopped twitching, as if they were hungry and impatient.

His body was now two-thirds as thick as Thanos's, and looked very strong.

Luke became even more aggressive.

With a roar, he lunged forward and instantly appeared in front of Thanos.

The two huge figures tangled together and fought wildly.

After another five to six seconds of wild fighting, Thanos finally relied on his immense strength and the protection of his armor to take dozens of punches from Luke. There was also a huge gash in his face. Only then did he seize the opportunity to grab Luke by one shoulder and lift him into the air.

Luke lamented inwardly.

Just as he had been about to use a spike of Annihilation energy on the purple man, Thanos seemed to sense the danger and blocked his fist.

It had been a fleeting opportunity, and Luke hadn't been able to use the spike of Annihilation energy in time.

Stab Thanos with it directly? That was impossible.

Only by getting right up in Thanos's face would his super reflexes and intuition for danger fail, and he could be killed in one blow.

If Luke used the spike of Annihilation and missed, Thanos wouldn't give him a second chance.

Thoughts raced through Luke's mind, but Thanos, who had already grabbed Luke's waist with his other hand, heaved a sigh of relief.

He vaguely sensed something strange about this Earthling.

Although his strength and reflexes weren't as good as his, his combat skills and willpower were terrifying.

Although Thor and Tony had dared to fight Thanos head-on before, they definitely weren't strong.

Steve and Luke were the only ones who weren't afraid at all. They were always confident of victory.

With the shield and hammer, Steve was no less of a threat than Thor.

Luke didn't seem to be a threat, but Thanos somehow felt wary every now and then — it was a premonition that the other party posed a lethal threat.

Also, this Earthling wasn't as strong or agile as he was, and he didn't have armor to protect himself, but after fighting Thanos head-on for two rounds, he actually wasn't injured? Thanos knew that this was definitely unusual.

This Earthling was probably a mutant, like Spider Man and Black Panther.

Thus, Thanos decided to end this quickly.

Raising Luke above his head with both hands, he abruptly exerted strength to tear this strange Earthling in half.

Then… he realized that Luke was stretched out more than half a meter, and wasn't torn apart at all.

Thanos: ???