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The brilliance of that light illuminated the entire dark expanse of the star field.
Wherever the River of Destruction passed, space warped, and meteorites vaporized.
Homelander's tiny figure, in the face of such immense power, was like a speck of dust.
But this speck of dust emitted a light more dazzling than a supernova explosion.
His eyes, at this moment, had turned into two burning suns.
"Come on, Ego."
He grinned, roaring silently.
"Hiss————!!!"
The two crimson beams merged into one, and the moment they left his eye sockets, their volume exploded!
The Heat Vision spread rapidly through the void, transforming into a Crimson Torrent tens of kilometers thick!
Although it still appeared slender compared to Ego's beam, which was hundreds of kilometers in diameter, the energy density contained within this red light was frighteningly high.
"————!!"
Red and blue violently collided in space.
There was no sound.
But to all the spectators, it seemed as if a soul-shattering roar was heard.
Immediately following, a visible energy ripple spread outwards in a circular disc shape, centered on the point of impact.
"Crack crack—!"
The image in the live stream shook violently, constantly showing static.
When the image cleared.
Everyone saw the scene that would be unforgettable for the rest of their lives.
Against the vast backdrop of the Universe.
On the left, was the colossal head of the Giant, spewing endless blue divine power like a vast ocean.
On the right, was a tiny black figure, but the Crimson Torrent from his eyes was like a massive anchor, firmly holding back that ocean!
The two energies were deadlocked in space, neither yielding.
"Ahhhhhhhh—!!!"
Homelander roared silently in space.
Under the close-up shot switched by Friday, people saw blood flowing from the corners of Homelander's mouth, nostrils, and eyes, instantly evaporated by the high temperature.
But he did not retreat an inch!
All the spectators held their breath.
They watched that figure, so small yet so tenacious against the ocean of energy, tears streaming down uncontrollably.
"Hold on, Homelander!"
"Don't lose! You must not lose!"
"Push him back!!"
Countless people roared at the screen, as if trying to lend their strength to the man fighting desperately.
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..."Impossible——!!"
Ego's roar echoed within the Planet's consciousness.
He could feel his divine power being frantically consumed by that destructive red energy.
That tiny human, a mortal who wasn't even fit to be his battery, was actually blocking his full-power divine impact in a direct confrontation?!
"I am a God! I am the Eternal God!"
"How dare you, low-class species, challenge my majesty!!"
Ego was furious.
His lofty pride had been severely trampled upon.
That sense of humiliation from being provoked by an ant made him lose his last shred of reason.
He had originally intended only to eliminate this threat and then continue his expansion plan.
But now, he changed his mind.
To hell with expansion! To hell with assimilation!
If he didn't crush this bug, his dignity as a God would be completely lost!
"I will show you... the true foundation of a God!!"
Ego made a desperate decision.
He erased the 'Assimilation' command from the Celestial Seed's protocol and instead issued the 'Devour' command.
He would reclaim all the energy!
Even if it meant wasting 90% of the energy.
Even if it meant spending thousands or tens of thousands of years finding another Planet to seed... Earth, Missouri.
The Celestial Seed, which had turned gray and dormant, suddenly erupted with an eerie blue light again.
"Crack—crack—"
The rock surface cracked, and the ground began to shake violently.
"What's happening?!"
Steve Rogers, standing at the forefront of the defense line, almost lost his footing.
"...Energy readings... are changing!" Tony Stark hovered in the air, looking at the data in his helmet, his expression changing drastically.
"...It's contracting? No! Wrong! It's going to explode! Watch out..."
Just as he finished speaking.
"Crack—Boom!!"
The gray rock shell burst open.
Countless blue energy forms, covered in rock fragments, burrowed out from the shell.
They were no longer tentacles.
They had transformed into strange, monstrous forms—giant wolves, pythons, and even prehistoric beasts.
They had only one purpose: to devour all living things in sight and feed the life energy back to Ego's main body light-years away.
"Awoooo—!!"
An Energy Beast resembling a giant Tyrannosaurus Rex violently smashed through a gap in the golden magic circle.
"Ah!"
A young female mage from Kamar-Taj cried out as she suffered a magical backlash and fell backward.
"Watch out!!"
Pietro turned into a silver lightning bolt and gently caught her in his arms.
"They're breaking out!!"
Steve's expression became extremely grim as he watched the tide of Energy Beasts surge out.
"The defense line is breached!"
"Fire freely!! Hold them back!!"
"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat—!"
Bucky's Gauss rifle spat out deadly spike rounds, shattering an attacking energy wolf into pieces.
But these monsters had no concept of pain; even when shattered, they quickly reformed.
"There are too many..." Natasha fired both guns continuously, shouting as she retreated, "We need more people!"
"People are here!!"
At that moment, a circular golden portal opened above the battlefield.
"Boom boom boom—!" Several energy blasts shattered an energy mammoth rampaging in the front.
Rocket Raccoon, fully armed, shouldering an energy cannon larger than himself, was the first to jump out of the ring of fire.
"How could the Galaxy's strongest team be absent at a time like this?!"
Following closely were Gamora wielding her retractable blades, Peter Quill with jet boots and dual blasters, the blue brother and sister Yondu and Nebula, and Drax, roaring bare-chested while wielding dual daggers.
"I am Groot!" The little tree man, though small, bravely stood on Drax's shoulder, waving his tiny fists.
The last to emerge were Jessica, still wiping tears, and Wanda; they said nothing, rushing to the front line of the battlefield with determined expressions.
"It's that group of aliens!" Steve recognized Yondu and the others.
"Hey! Soldier with the shield over there!"
Rocket shouted towards Steve while charging his weapon.
"This thing is in 'feeding mode' right now! Its shell defense is lowered! This is the best chance!"
"Thanks! I remember your name is Rocket, right?"
"That's right! Rocket the Great!" Rocket replied proudly.
"Excellent!!" Steve raised his shield and roared.
"Vought Heroes!! Avengers! And the Rocket Squad traversing the Galaxy! Assemble!"
"For Homelander! For Earth!!"
"Counterattack!!"