Bant, still on Asgard, quickly received Kayla's message.
Learning that Tony Stark had already arrived on Sakaar, Bant prepared to return to Earth and deal with Ultron first. While Ultron couldn't stir up much trouble no matter what, letting it continue rampaging would still be a nuisance and cause even more harm.
After all, Tony had no idea that the crisis on Earth had already been resolved by Bant—the suffering and humiliation he was destined for wouldn't be diminished in the slightest.
Bant bid farewell to Frigga and Odin.
Before he left, Odin thought for a moment, then stopped him. "Since you're heading back anyway, I'd like to trouble you to look after Thor as well."
The All-Father, who had shed his aged appearance and now stood tall and imposing, spoke.
Odin's current physique looked no less impressive than Thor's. Beneath the gleaming golden armor, the god's body was as sculpted as a work of art—powerful and refined.
Though his hair remained entirely white, Odin's face now glowed with vitality. He looked as if he could mount a warhorse and ride into battle for another several thousand years.
It wasn't merely his body that had grown younger thanks to the Celestial Energy enhancing his life force—his mindset had shifted as well.
Before, with death looming, his conduct had become hesitant, weighed down by worry over his two sons and daughter. But now? The Dark Elves had broken their seal and were about to plunge the Nine Realms into chaos?
Was that even a problem?
It wasn't worth mentioning at all!
Odin didn't take it seriously in the slightest.
As for Hela—well, there was nothing more to say. She could rot in prison for another few thousand years.
After some consideration, he decided not to have Bant deal with the Dark Elves. Instead, he wanted to use this opportunity to see if Thor could be tempered. He couldn't let the boy truly become a useless man on Earth.
After all, Thor was still his son.
Especially since the other two children were beyond hope, Odin could only place his hopes for inheriting the throne of Asgard on Thor.
There was no one else—unless he fathered another child?
Actually, that wasn't out of the question. After all, Queen Frigga still hadn't borne a child of her own.
But that was a matter for another time. For now, Thor remained the most suitable candidate to inherit the throne. He was exceptionally talented, not as extreme as Hela, and had gradually emerged from his former arrogance and naivety. He possessed the qualities to become a true king and lead Asgard toward prosperity.
The only problem was that Thor seemed to have accepted his ordinary fate, setting aside his glorious mission.
What Odin needed to do was make him remember that he was still an Asgardian, still bearing the mission to lead his people to glory.
From that angle, the Dark Elves' awakening couldn't have come at a better time.
It was the perfect chance for Thor to lift Mjolnir once more and shoulder his responsibilities.
Though Odin could hold on for another several thousand or even tens of thousands of years, the son of the All-Father couldn't be too disgraceful, could he?
Otherwise, when he attended the Pantheon council, wouldn't he be laughed to death by that sissy Zeus?
One had to understand—gods were merely another form of life, and they experienced the same emotions. Particularly in old age, they couldn't escape the fate of boasting and showing off their children.
Coincidentally, that stallion Zeus had quite a few sons, many of them outstanding. If Thor were to be outshone, that would be truly embarrassing.
"Fine, I'll keep an eye on him," Bant nodded.
Since Odin intended to let Thor handle the Dark Elves, Bant had no objections—it saved him the trouble.
"I'll have Thor bring me the Aether particles afterward."
Odin nodded, finding nothing improper about Bant contributing no effort while still receiving his due benefits.
It was agreed upon from the start, after all. And Thor would need Bant's protection. Moreover, Celestial Energy now flowed through the roots of Yggdrasil itself. Asgard's fate was already deeply intertwined with the Celestial Energy dimension. Strictly speaking, they could even be classified under Regidomon's domain.
"You could have him join your Celestial Union."
Bant saw no problem with this. He'd make Thor a plumber and assign him to Loki's management. Surely the two brothers would treat each other with brotherly love and cooperate happily.
"How will you return? I'll have Heimdall send you via the Bifrost."
"No need. I've already learned the Bifrost magic," Bant shook his head.
His time on Asgard hadn't been wasted. The Bifrost was practically Asgard's signature spell. Other than the Bifrost and illusion magic, Bant didn't know what other signature magic Asgard had that was worth showing off…
"So you've already learned the Bifrost… Wait—what?! You've learned to open the Bifrost?!"
Odin was utterly astonished.
The Bifrost was an extremely profound magic, capable of instantaneous travel across the cosmos at speeds faster than light. It could also be converted into devastating power—through Asgard's physical Bifrost, it had the capacity to destroy entire celestial bodies.
In all of Asgard, only he and Heimdall could currently open the Bifrost. Even his own children couldn't do so yet.
Even Heimdall required the Hofund—the Guardian Sword—to activate it. Thor would need to obtain Stormbreaker before gaining such an ability!
He never expected Bant to master it in such a short time?
And Bant didn't even possess a divine artifact forged by the dwarves!
"I can only move within the Nine Realms for now," Bant said, unfazed. His ability to open the Bifrost was something of a shortcut.
Celestial Energy now flowed within Yggdrasil's body. Though the amount was minimal, it was energy of the same origin as his own. As the creator of Regidomon and the master of Celestial Energy, Bant could leverage this connection to move through the World Tree's body.
However, the limitations were severe. Bant wasn't controlling the Regidomon dimension with his true body—he was waiting for the birth of Celestial Energy beings.
According to the original plan, that might take quite a long time. But now that part of the World Tree had been integrated into the dimension, perhaps the Celestial Energy beings would be born soon.
Bant closed his eyes, feeling the Celestial Energy flowing through his body while chanting the incantation.
"Let the power of black magic shine upon me!"
"Bifrost!"
In an instant, a column of rainbow radiance two meters in diameter erupted from Bant's body, carrying him toward the depths of the cosmos.
All that remained was Odin's astonished face.
The kid could actually open the Bifrost?!
He stood frozen for a moment. Shortly after, Frigga walked over, assuming it was Odin who had activated the Bifrost.
"What do you think about having Eitri forge him a weapon?" Odin asked, stroking his chin.
Bant's talent was simply too extraordinary. Odin was racking his brains to bind Asgard and Bant together. He'd already given away the Casket of Ancient Winters, the Eternal Flame, the Infinity Gauntlet, the Space Stone… and he planned to hand over the Aether particles as well. But somehow, it still didn't feel like enough!
"But he doesn't seem to use weapons much," Frigga said, finding the idea unreliable.
Not everyone was like her son, unable to live without his hammer.
"That's not quite right. A powerful weapon could let him unleash far greater strength," Odin shook his head.
Take the Casket of Ancient Winters, for example—Laufey with it and Laufey without it were entirely different matters.
A powerful divine artifact, in the hands of the right person, could multiply their strength several times over.
Why else would that purple sweet potato, despite being at the same Father-level, never dare attack Asgard while he was alive? It was because their equipment simply wasn't on equal footing.
How could that helicopter rotor blade of his possibly compare to Gungnir?
"Let me think it over carefully," Odin fell into contemplation.
"A handheld weapon probably won't suit him. If it could be absorbed by one of his alien heroes like the Eternal Flame, that might be a good approach."
Setting aside Odin's thoughts for now—
Back on Earth.
Ultron felt utterly elated.
The members of the Celestial Union's branch had been brought under its control. Bant Parker wasn't on Earth. Tony Stark had been exiled—though it was surprised that Wanda and Pietro hadn't chosen to kill Tony, it didn't matter. The final outcome remained unchanged.
Tony Stark would die alone in the cosmos, consumed by regret. Before his death, perhaps he would understand why Ultron had declared humanity a species that must be eradicated.
Everything was humanity's own doing—their own path to self-destruction!
Of course, most importantly, the vibranium acquired from Wakanda not long ago had arrived in New York. And today—today was the moment the new life within the Regeneration Cradle was to be born.
Ultron lowered its head, gazing at the Infinity Stone clutched in its hand.
It had kept the Mind Stone in its possession the entire time.
Because it had never trusted humans from the start. Ultron understood humanity's inherent depravity—betrayal and deception came as naturally to them as eating and drinking.
Wanda and Pietro had initially been seduced into cooperation to take down Stark. But now that they'd achieved their goal, there was no guarantee they wouldn't betray it.
Though it had concealed its true intentions to keep them placated—not continuing to pursue Peter Parker and the others after exiling Tony, and even providing them with treatment—it maintained the appearance that its goals had been achieved. It acted as if obtaining the body from the Regeneration Cradle was all it wanted, after which Wanda could release her mind control.
Watching the two naive kids fooled so thoroughly, Ultron felt not a shred of guilt. It was already thinking about how, once it obtained the body, it would immediately use the Mind Stone's power to eliminate Wanda and Pietro first.
Especially Wanda—her mind control abilities had always been a massive hidden threat in its eyes. Once it possessed the Mind Stone's power, she would be of no further use.
As for the others, there was no need to eliminate them immediately.
Ultron thought about keeping some people alive—they could serve as contingencies against Bant.
Especially Peter Parker.
How could Bant possibly be on guard against his own brother?
Ultron believed its plan was flawless.
It knew that as Spider-Man, Bant possessed spider-sense. But he almost never used Spider-Man's powers in combat, instead relying on the abilities of those aliens.
That being the case, a sneak attack might actually succeed.
Eliminate Bant Parker, then use the Mind Stone's power to control the entire Celestial Union, obtain their Infinity Stones, and begin expanding across the cosmos—exterminating all life!
If it could gather all the Infinity Stones, it would use them directly to achieve universal peace through annihilation. If not, it would kill them one by one!
It was a robot, after all. Even with a body, it was still a mechanical life form—it didn't care about time in the slightest.
That said, at the thought of soon breaking free from this pile of scrap iron and being reborn, even the timeless Ultron grew impatient, as if it couldn't wait another second.
The moment it received the news, it immediately headed to Primus.
Mary Jane wore a black women's blazer with a matching skirt. Her figure was getting better and better—though still high school age, her body was remarkably voluptuous, full and curved both front and back. Anyone who looked would find it hard to tear their eyes away.
But not Ultron.
It was just a pile of metal. Its body secreted no hormones whatsoever, and it had no concept of gender.
It looked at Mary Jane the way one might regard a damned slab of meat in a market.
"You've arrived, Mr. Ultron!" Mary Jane bowed.
But Ultron had no interest in dealing with this obstruction. The only person it wanted to see was Helen Cho. The only thing it wanted to hear was Helen Cho telling it how to transfer its data into the new body. Everything else was an obstacle!
It couldn't wait another second!
Ultron roughly shoved Mary Jane aside and strode toward the company's interior.
Primus was still operating normally. Every employee had been mind-controlled by Wanda, and none showed any surprise at Ultron's appearance.
Soon, it reached the laboratory.
Helen Cho had been waiting for some time.
"Where is my body!"
Ultron's voice was rough and urgent—so much so that it failed to notice that the red glow in Helen Cho's eyes had long since vanished, replaced by black pupils that seemed to hold a trace of mockery.
She stepped back half a pace, revealing a coffin-like container before Ultron.
"Right here."
"Ahh—" Ultron let out a sound of longing that was almost human, lunging toward the container eagerly and pressing the button—
"Hsss—"
The metal shell opened, cold air diffusing outward. Pale mist swirled, revealing the faint, fair-skinned body within.
Ultron's eyes seemed to brighten.
As if the lights in those eyes had turned up a notch.
"You even used synthetic skin?"
It said, surprised.
In Ultron's original plan, the new body's exterior hadn't mattered. It didn't care in the slightest—it had never provided any specifications initially. By its artificial intelligence's way of thinking, as long as it functioned well, everything else—skin color, appearance—was superfluous.
But to think Helen Cho had made it so exquisite?
Ultron was very pleased.
"You've done a fine j—wait, why is it a female body?"
/-\
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