"No! I don't believe it!" Despite Robert's growing impatience, Ego ignored him, roaring furiously as his divine power surged once again. He was determined to verify something.
With a resonating hum, as Ego's divine power surged, the ground of numerous planets across the universe suddenly cracked open. Energetic branches began spreading outward, but these weren't all the planets where Ego had planted his seeds. In fact, only a small fraction of the divine power seeds he had sown began to sprout. Even if Ego unleashed his full power, the total divine energy at his disposal was insufficient to make all his seeds germinate. That's why he needed offspring like Peter Quill—potential divine chargers—to amplify his strength.
Some planets successfully fell under the influence of Ego's divine seeds, while others inexplicably lost their connection to them—just like the divine power seed that had vanished on Earth earlier.
As certain planets were overtaken by his divine seeds, Ego's strength swelled dramatically. The energy surging from his core erupted into a storm of divine power that swept across his entire planet. However, there was a critical flaw in Ego's plan. Even though he could methodically occupy planets one at a time to steadily grow stronger, this slow pace came with risks. He feared his activities would attract the attention of the Celestials, who could intervene to stop him at any moment. To counter this, Ego planned to rapidly expand his power in a single, decisive move.
"How is this happening?" Despite his increased strength, Ego wasn't pleased. His methods had been exposed, and worse, he still had no idea how his divine power seeds were disappearing. If an external force had attacked the seeds, Ego would have sensed it. The seeds, being extensions of himself, would have transmitted any form of assault. Yet, without any indication of interference or energy attack, the seeds were simply gone. This left Ego with an ominous feeling that an unseen foe—perhaps the Celestials themselves—was targeting him.
As Ego wrestled with his thoughts, a blinding energy wave struck the planet with devastating force. The divine barrier Ego had constructed to shield his world shattered instantly, offering no resistance against the attack.
Even though Ego reacted quickly, using his enhanced divine power to shield himself, the attack pierced through his defenses. Ego had underestimated his opponent, focusing too much on activating his divine seeds and leaving Robert's presence inadequately addressed. The energy shield he used to fend off Robert's attacks was woefully insufficient.
Robert's energy wave, charged to its maximum, overwhelmed Ego's hastily constructed defenses. Unlike casual energy strikes, a fully charged wave was a devastating finisher. The sheer intensity of the blast not only penetrated Ego's shield but drilled deep into the planet itself, embedding like a blade in the wounded core of Ego's celestial form.
"Damn it!" Ego barely escaped disaster, his core brain reacting swiftly enough to avoid being destroyed. Had it been struck, Ego would have faced catastrophic injuries or even death. Although he could slowly regenerate by drawing energy from the planets under his control, recovering his current peak strength would have been nearly impossible. This moment marked the zenith of Ego's power, one he had yet to fully showcase.
"What are you barking about?" Robert sneered at Ego's roar. Flexing his arm, Robert began spinning Ego's planet like a massive yo-yo. This disrupted Ego's efforts to muster a counterattack, effectively disorienting him.
While Ego was an unconventional lifeform, his humanoid manifestation—essentially a divine projection—was far weaker than Robert. Ego was forced to rely on his planetary form to battle Robert. However, with the planet itself under Robert's control, Ego was effectively immobilized. He couldn't aim his attacks or maintain a coherent defense until his divine projection escaped the planet to locate Robert and attempt a counterstrike.
"What the—? He's just a human, right?" Rocket Raccoon cursed aloud as he watched Robert hurl Ego's massive planet around like a toy. While Robert had already displayed tremendous power by obliterating several planets, the sheer visual impact of him tossing Ego's celestial form was staggering. Compared to Ego's colossal size, Robert was practically microscopic—smaller than a single rock fragment on Ego's surface. Yet, Ego couldn't break free from Robert's grasp.
"This is bad! Peter's still on that planet! If that Saiyan keeps this up, Peter might get caught in the destruction!" Star-Lord snapped out of his daze, panicking at the thought of his half-brother being killed alongside Ego.
While Star-Lord wished for Ego's demise, he couldn't bear the idea of Peter perishing as collateral damage, unable to escape from Ego's control.
"Be careful! There's someone important to Star-Lord on Ego's planet. If possible, try to get him out," Kara transmitted a calm reminder to Robert, noticing Star-Lord's distressed expression.
"I'm on it," Robert replied with a nod, though his actions didn't slow. The energy blade he had plunged into Ego's planet began to shift, spreading through its interior.
Seeing this, Ego's expression darkened. He had no idea Robert was searching for Peter's location; instead, he believed Robert had discovered the secret of his core brain and was intent on destroying it.
In a desperate counterattack, Ego launched a dual-pronged assault, aiming both his planetary and humanoid attacks at Robert. However, with most of his divine energy focused on holding back Robert's destructive blade, Ego knew these attacks wouldn't harm his opponent. His hope was simply to distract Robert long enough to break the blade and regain control.
Yet before Ego's attacks reached their target, Kara intervened, intercepting the strikes with ease. Her reaction was far quicker than the enraged Hulk, who stomped in frustration aboard the spaceship.
Meanwhile, Robert continued spinning Ego's planet while unleashing energy waves to bombard its surface. The sustained assault left Ego with no time to focus on neutralizing Robert's energy blade.
On the other battlefield, Kara easily outmatched Ego's humanoid projection. With most of his divine energy tied up, Ego couldn't effectively counter her attacks.
Initially, Ego had believed his ability to multitask would give him an advantage. However, splitting his focus across two battlefronts only exacerbated his predicament, leaving him increasingly vulnerable to Robert's unrelenting attacks.
"Got him. Hiding all the way near the planet's core, huh?" Robert's eyes lit up as he located Peter. With a sharp slash, his energy blade severed the vines restraining Peter, granting him freedom for the second time. Before Peter could react, Robert enveloped him in a protective energy field and yanked him out of the planet, straight into the vacuum of space.
"Damn it!" Ego roared in fury. Although Peter, drained of his divine energy, was no longer critical to Ego's plans, he still despised seeing his plans thwarted. If Ego were truly on the verge of defeat, he'd ensure Peter and everyone else died with him.
"Wait, is that…?" Now in space, Peter stared in shock at Ego's planet, pierced through by Robert's energy blade. Realizing the implications, he quickly transmitted a message to Robert.
"You're Ego's enemy, right? I have critical intel! Ego's core brain is buried 10,000 meters below where I was just rescued. Destroy it, and he'll die!"
"Oh? That easy?" Robert raised an eyebrow, somewhat skeptical. "For a planet like him, dying this easily feels a bit... underwhelming."
"It's true! He told me himself. His brain houses his consciousness and is the source of all his divine power!" Peter insisted earnestly.
"Let's test it out, then," Robert shrugged, channeling more energy into the blade embedded in Ego's planet. The blade expanded rapidly, triggering a massive explosion deep within the planet's core.
Despite its extraordinary durability, Ego's planet couldn't withstand the blast. The explosion directly targeted the location Peter had identified, obliterating Ego's core brain.
The humanoid projection battling Kara froze, its form dissipating moments later. Ego's celestial body began to fracture, its fragments scattering into space. The once-mighty living planet was reduced to rubble, devoid of any divine presence.
Ego was truly dead, so abruptly that he hadn't even uttered a final word.
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