"To hear those words from your mouth… now that's a surprise."
Hela sneered, her tone sharp with mockery.
"So, what exactly is your ideal?"
"To see every last one of those slaves dead?"
"To prevent them from rising up and overthrowing you, just like you did after thirty million years?"
Rodus didn't respond immediately. He simply gazed at Hela in silence, before finally speaking.
"Do you know how many resources the Collector's Cosmic Flower drains from this planet every year?"
Hela raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
"Besides an immense amount of life energy, it consumes the resources of an entire planet."
"And that is why the Collector had you seize the core of Ego."
Rodus paused, then turned again to look out the window.
"This planet still appears prosperous… but only because the Cosmic Flower hasn't fully bloomed yet."
Gafa's entire planetary ecosystem was one of the core conditions required for the Flower's full bloom. The Collector simply chose not to disclose that fact.
The Collector wouldn't care if a fertile planet was reduced to ruin in the process, but Rodus did.
He refused to watch his people descend into the same miserable existence as those slaves. What difference would there be between them then?
His suppression of the Tuskari for thirty million years hadn't been out of spite, as most assumed. Rather, Rodus had used the lives of those slaves to delay the Collector's advance.
To stall the day this planet would be bled dry.
Rodus had spent tens of millions of years transforming his race's home into a bountiful, superior environment. He would not allow anyone to destroy it.
For that, he was willing to lower himself, even before the Collector.
Because he had no choice. His greatest weapon, a mechanical colossus capable of planetary annihilation at full power, was a gift from the Collector himself.
And if he ever had to stand against the Collector, Rodus couldn't afford to place blind faith in it.
But the map to the Soul Stone held by Hela… that was a different story.
If he could obtain the Soul Stone, and with the two Infinity Stones already in Lothar's possession, he'd finally have the leverage he needed to force the Collector to leave Gafa with the Flower.
For that, he was even willing to defy Asgard… and the Black Quadrant.
Besides, the Nine Realms were in chaos already. As long as he didn't hurt Hela, it was still uncertain whether Odin would even come after him.
And as for Thanos, once Rodus held three Infinity Stones, he'd have no reason to fear him either.
"You're really that confident you can deceive the Collector?"
Hela dropped her mocking tone, her eyes narrowing as she studied the man looking into the distance.
"What if you succeed? What if you fail?"
"Gafa's resources are only one of the Cosmic Flower's blooming conditions. Until the others are met, the Collector still needs a stable environment for cultivation."
"And I only need… to buy us that time."
"Tomorrow, I leave to find the Soul Stone. Someone else will escort you to the ship and send you back to Asgard."
There was no time to waste. Rodus understood better than anyone the danger of delay, especially when it came to the Infinity Stones.
"Tomorrow?"
"So it's not just you who knows where the Soul Stone is, huh?"
The words had barely left her mouth when the great doors to the hall disintegrated into dust, vanishing like mist.
"?!"
The sudden assault made Rodus frown instinctively.
As the dust cleared, Lothar appeared at the entrance, clad in a loose black battle suit. Arms crossed over his chest, crimson tail wrapped lazily around the limp body of an unconscious Gafan guard, his face radiated pure disdain.
And right behind him came a figure that made Rodus' frown soften.
Jennifer, with golden, ear-length hair, stepped into view.
"Lothar?!"
Still bound in chains on a massive crucifix, Hela blinked in astonishment.
"Hela?"
"You into this kind of thing now?"
"…"
Hela's expression instantly darkened like stormclouds.
If she could, she'd happily smash this cross right into Lothar's smug face.
"You into this kind of thing"—who talks like that?!
"Your taste is rather unique too," Hela snapped back without hesitation, her gaze flicking toward Jennifer.
Wasn't that the main character from the Ego footage? Did they really think she hadn't seen that video?
"Let her go, Rodus!" Jennifer shouted, purple light crackling around her clenched fists.
Hela's scowl deepened.
What a bunch of idiots. No wonder they ended up together.
"Lothar, son of Thanos. You shouldn't be involved in this matter."
Rodus didn't even spare Jennifer a glance. His eyes remained fixed squarely on Lothar.
Just as planned.
The bearer of two Infinity Stones had walked straight into his den, led here by Jennifer herself.
"The way you're looking at me… I hate it."
Lothar's eyes narrowed, an unplaceable loathing rising in his chest.
Hummm!
The tension had barely reached its peak when an energy shield suddenly shimmered into existence around the control tower, sealing the entire structure within its dome.
"Oh? I know that energy. That old bastard's here too?"
Rodus arched an eyebrow, not in fear, but with a trace of nostalgia.
"Watch your mouth, you shameless traitor!"
Jennifer snapped. She couldn't forgive that kind of disrespect toward Gubo, the sage who had raised her.
Her fists, wrapped in violet energy, slammed into the ground. Twin shockwaves tore through the floor beneath Rodus, slamming into his purple armor, only to vanish without leaving a mark.
"What?!"
Jennifer's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Your training methods have gotten sloppy."
"Jennifer's the most gifted since you, Rodus," came a heavy sigh.
An old man with a cane stepped forward from the shadows.
"Is that so? Then I suppose I should say…"
"Thank you for the compliment, Master."
Rodus looked down from above, his gaze unwavering, the same look he'd worn when he broke from his master thirty million years ago.
"M… Master?"
Jennifer froze, her aggression dissipating in an instant.
"You didn't tell her about me, did you?"
"Can't say I blame you," Rodus muttered, eyes darkening.
"After all, we no longer have anything to do with each other."
Suddenly, an overwhelming force erupted from him, breaking through the energy field and blasting skyward like a tidal wave.
"I crafted this helmet myself. It's immune to your mind-reading."
"So, Master… I've come to kill you."
Snap!
Just as Rodus was about to charge, Lothar materialized before him, shifting sideways and locking Rodus' right arm in an iron grip with his left hand.
"Trying to kill someone in front of me…?"
His pitch-black pupils flickered emerald. His golden hair began to lift with a slow, deliberate wind. His voice dropped to a low growl.
"You're still far from it."
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