Antony cut off the communication and looked up toward the towering temple.
He already knew what had happened.
Star-Lord—Peter Quill.
That idiot kid had already been impaled by Ego. He had been forcibly connected to Ego's core, turned into a living battery.
Ego was draining the Celestial power inside Peter's body, using it to forcibly activate the seeds buried across countless planets in the universe.
His goal—
To transform the entire universe into Ego.
"There's no time," Jessica said urgently, her voice quick and tense.
"This Celestial has already started devouring our planet with his divine power. We have to interrupt him immediately!"
"Damn it! Quill must be in trouble!"
Gamora's blade snapped out with a metallic click as she prepared to charge toward the temple.
Just then—
"WOOOOOOM—!!!"
A massive roar thundered across the sky.
The Sovereign drone fleet had arrived above the battlefield.
"ZZZZT—!"
A storm of laser fire poured down like rain.
"Take cover!!"
Rocket shouted, grabbing Groot and diving behind a giant rock.
Gamora glared at him.
"Rocket! Didn't you just say you could handle this?"
"Where are those hundred plans of yours?! Show them what you've got!"
"I—"
Rocket froze.
He looked at the thousands of warships in the sky.
Then down at the rifle in his hands.
"With no combat ship, how the hell do you expect me to fight?!"
"You want me to shoot down thousands of space fighters with this?!"
"Who the hell fights an entire fleet with their bare hands?!"
"I can."
A calm voice answered.
Everyone turned.
It was Homelander.
"You?" Yondu stared in shock. "Brother, those are space fighters. Thousands of them!"
"Just a few thousand."
Homelander shrugged slightly.
"I'll take care of them."
"You go to the temple. Stop Ego and save your friend."
He pointed toward the glowing structure.
"And hold out until I get there."
"But—" Rocket began.
"GO!!"
Homelander roared.
The force of his voice alone froze everyone.
"There's no time! Earth won't last much longer!"
"Move!"
Gamora looked at him deeply for a moment.
She was a warrior. She understood decisive action.
"Let's go!"
She turned and sprinted toward the temple with the others.
Homelander watched them leave.
Then he turned to Jessica, who was still holding the camera.
"Jessica."
"You should go help them too."
"They need your strength. Earth does too."
He stepped forward—
And gently pulled her into an embrace.
Jessica stiffened.
Then slowly relaxed, wrapping her arms around his solid back.
The camera wobbled slightly—
As if the camerawoman's heart had trembled.
Across Earth, millions of viewers nearly burst into tears.
[This… this feels like a final goodbye…]
[Please come back alive!!]
[I'm shipping this couple forever!!]
Homelander leaned close to Jessica's ear.
His warm breath brushed her skin, making her cheeks flush.
"My dear…" he whispered softly.
Jessica's heart started pounding.
Her palms grew sweaty.
"…Protect the camera."
"Make sure you film my heroic back while I face an entire army alone."
"…Then you can leave."
"..."
Jessica's emotion died instantly.
She shoved him away and glared.
"Just go already, you asshole!"
"HAHAHAHA!"
Homelander burst out laughing.
Then he slowly rose into the air.
Behind him, the Stars and Stripes cape whipped violently in the laser-lit sky.
His eyes ignited with crimson light, destructive energy gathering.
The next moment—
BOOM—!!
A red-and-blue streak ripped through the air.
The camera tracked him upward.
Against the surreal, colorful sky of Ego's planet—
A single human figure charged straight toward a golden armada that filled the heavens.
One man.
Against an army.
…
"Is he… insane?"
Nebula, running with the others, glanced back at the sky and muttered unconsciously.
"But… I like that kind of crazy."
"Move!" Yondu shouted.
His Yaka Arrow shot out in a red streak, whistling through the air.
"To the temple!"
"Let's kill that bastard!"
"I am Groot!!"
…
High Above the Atmosphere
The air grew thin.
Homelander's speed reached its peak.
The Sovereign drone fleet now filled his vision.
"Target locked! Unknown biological entity approaching at extreme speed!"
Thousands of light-years away—
Inside the Sovereign command chamber—
Golden-skinned operators sat inside simulation pods controlling the drone fighters.
"What is that? Some kind of bird-man?" one pilot laughed.
"Crush it."
A squadron broke formation and accelerated toward Homelander.
Laser cannons began charging.
"ZZZZZZZT—!!!"
Homelander unleashed full-power heat vision.
Twin crimson beams erupted from his eyes like blazing energy blades.
They swept across the sky.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions lit the heavens like fireworks.
Dozens of fighters at the front were sliced clean in half before they could even fire.
Golden wreckage rained down.
Homelander blasted straight through the clouds of explosions.
"BAM!"
One punch shattered the nose of a fighter jet.
He grabbed its wing—
And swung the entire craft like a baseball bat.
"CRASH!!"
Two fighters collided and crumpled into scrap metal.
He darted through the swarm faster than radar could track.
Every punch.
Every burst of heat vision.
Brought down multiple ships at once.
…
"Damn it! What kind of monster is that?!"
The Sovereign control room descended into chaos.
"This is impossible!"
Ayesha stood up from her command pod, her flawless golden expression finally cracking.
"Why can't our main cannons even damage his suit?!"
"Focus fire!"
"All units concentrate fire! Shoot him down!"
The remaining thousand fighters reorganized.
Countless laser beams formed a massive web of firepower around Homelander.
He simply hovered in place—
Letting the lasers hit him.
They bounced off harmlessly.
"Is that everything you've got?"
Homelander asked calmly.
"You want to win with numbers?"
He smiled.
"Sorry."
"Your numbers…"
"…aren't even worth a glance."
His eyes blazed again.
Thick beams of heat vision erupted outward.
Then—
He spun.
Rapidly.
The crimson beam stretched outward like an endless energy blade.
A 360-degree sweep.
No blind spots.
The sky erupted into a storm of golden explosions.
Fighters detonated almost simultaneously.
Fragments rained down like metallic hail.
…
Homelander landed heavily on top of a surviving fighter.
With one hand, he ripped open the cockpit canopy.
Then he leaned toward the onboard camera.
He knew Ayesha was watching through it.
He smiled warmly.
"Tell your queen something for me."
"Someday, I'll personally visit Sovereign."
He paused.
"To show her…"
"…how humans communicate in the most primitive way."
--------------
T/N:
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