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Everyone looked toward the opening.
Two figures appeared: one was a burly man covered in red tattoos, Drax the Destroyer.
The other was an alien girl with two antennae on her head and intimidatingly large eyes, Mantis.
Drax rushed into the hall, scanned the room, and then charged in front of everyone. As if he had discovered some World-shattering secret, his eyes widened as he roared loudly:
"Listen to me, everyone! I have discovered a shocking secret!!"
"This ugly girl with the antennae told me everything!"
Drax had a serious expression, as if he were announcing the end of the World.
"This Ego... he's a big bad guy!"
"He doesn't want to find his son at all! He wants to use Quill! He plans to plant seeds on countless Planets and then turn the entire Universe into himself!"
"We must stop him!!"
After speaking, Drax struck a battle pose and looked around, waiting for everyone's shocked reaction.
However... the scene was incredibly awkward.
Everyone was looking at him as if he were an idiot.
"..."
Drax held his pose, blinking in confusion.
"Why... aren't you guys surprised?"
Rocket walked right up to Drax and patted his sturdy thigh with a paw.
"Wow..." Rocket drawled sarcastically. "That really is... a shocking secret, Drax."
"If your brain worked half as fast as you eat, you would have known that two days ago."
Rocket pointed arrogantly toward the spot where Ego had just dissipated.
"Besides, that big bad guy you're talking about has already been taken down by Lord Rocket himself."
"Killed?"
Drax froze for a moment, then looked at everyone's relaxed expressions.
"Ha! Hahahaha!"
He suddenly burst into a hearty laugh, slapping Rocket's bald head and nearly burying the Rocket Raccoon in the dirt.
"I knew it! Nothing can stop us! That Great Demon has been taken out by Drax the Destroyer's friends!"
"No..."
A trembling voice spoke up.
Mantis stepped forward, her face pale and her antennae twitching uneasily.
"No... he's not dead."
"That was just a shell, an avatar. As long as his Core Brain is still alive, he will be back very soon."
"And..." Mantis pointed at the ground beneath her feet.
"...he is very angry right now."
Quill also said with a solemn expression, "She's right. I just connected to his consciousness... that Old Man's core is deep underground, encased in a thick protective shell."
"A brain? Underground?"
Rocket looked at the ground. "Then we need to find a Drill..."
Before he could finish his sentence.
"Rumble!!"
The entire Temple began to shake violently.
Countless cracks split the ground, and blinding blue light erupted from beneath.
"Watch out!!" Yondu shouted.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
A dozen thick blue Energy Tentacles, like hellish Demon Vines, burst frantically from the ground!
"Run!!" Gamora shouted, grabbing Quill to rush out.
But it was too late.
The blue tentacles instantly wove together into a giant cage, surrounding them all.
And in the center of the hall.
Countless blue Energy Threads began to entwine and weave frantically in the air.
First the skeleton, then the muscle fibers—Ego's body was reconstructing.
Without any skin to cover it, the exposed muscle looked like a skinned biological specimen.
"Ugh—"
Quill looked at his "father" taking shape and couldn't help but gag.
"God... my father is actually such a disgusting monster."
"I'd rather believe Yondu is my real dad right now."
The reborn Ego ignored Quill and stared coldly at Mantis.
"Mantis..."
"I raised you from childhood... I gave you the right to exist in this Universe..."
"Is this how you repay me? With betrayal?"
Mantis trembled all over, tears welling in her eyes. She was terrified of Ego; a bone-deep fear made her want to kneel and beg for mercy.
But she glanced at Drax beside her, and at these people who, though noisy, truly cared for one another.
She summoned the greatest courage of her life, raised her head, and looked Ego straight in the eye.
"No, Ego."
"It's exactly because I have been with you for all these years... I have seen with my own eyes how much evil you have done."
"Those children... the lives on those innocent Planets..."
"My heart has always been filled with guilt; I wake up from nightmares every single day."
Mantis's voice grew firmer and firmer.
"They... Quill and his friends, they are good people."
"I cannot let you hurt them anymore."
"Even if you kill me... I will never help you do evil again!"
"Good people?"
Ego gave a cold sneer.
"In this Universe, there are only the strong and the weak, no good or bad people."
"Since you want to be a good person..."
Ego waved his hand sharply.
"...then you can go and die with them!!"
With his movement, the surrounding Energy Tentacles immediately launched an attack.
Like the tentacles of a giant octopus, they closed in from all directions to crush them.
"Fire!!"
Rocket roared, the Energy Hand Cannon in his hand spitting fire once again.
Gamora and Nebula stood back to back, their sword and dagger dancing into a screen of light, severing every approaching tentacle.
Yondu's whistle was sharp and rapid; the Yaka Arrow drew red trails of death in the air, tirelessly piercing one tentacle after another.
"Hahaha! That's more like it!" Drax was exceptionally excited.
He suddenly leaped onto a tentacle, stabbed his twin daggers deep into it, and then sprinted along its length, carving a long gash.
Jessica Jones tossed the camera to Groot, who was standing nearby.
"Hold onto this, Little Sprout! Make sure I look cool!"
"Ha!!" she roared, displaying her evolved, staggering strength for the first time. She grabbed a thick energy tentacle, braced her feet, and exerted power from her core.
"Snap!"
The tentacle was actually torn apart by her raw strength!
The battle was incredibly intense.
Everyone showed off their unique skills, managing to hold back the onslaught.
"Hahaha! Is this all you've got?" Drax laughed wildly with his hands on his hips. "Show us some real skill, you ugly monster!"
His laughter was particularly jarring on the battlefield.
But Ego didn't seem angry that this wave of attacks had failed. He just stood there quietly, watching Drax's performance.
"Skill?" Ego's voice remained calm. "mortals... you know nothing of power."
He slowly raised both hands.
"Rumble————!!"
The ground shook once more.
This time, it wasn't a dozen tentacles. It was hundreds!
They were densely packed, blotting out the sky.
The entire interior of the Temple seemed to turn into an ocean of tentacles.
Drax's laughter stopped abruptly; he stood with his mouth wide open, as if someone had hit the pause button.
"Are you satisfied now?!" Rocket roared at Drax while changing magazines. "Can't you just keep your big mouth shut, you idiot?!"