"Let's start with a binding technique first, then build a cage."
"No, that's not enough. Put another Pac-Man on top, and take a bite as soon as he wakes up."
"It's a pity. It would be great if he could just sleep peacefully for a long time."
Star-Lord cast a spell to trap Ego, his voice breaking as he spoke.
He wanted to make this guy suffer, but unfortunately, he couldn't. His anger was still deep, and the earlier sneak attack had only given him temporary relief.
Now that his mind had cleared, and with Aaron's words echoing in his head, he realized he couldn't make any reckless moves and provoke the Avengers' alliance.
"Quell, what are you doing? Why don't you take the opportunity to kill him?" Rocket shouted, frustrated. "We've managed to control the situation, so why hesitate?"
With his unused hadron gun in hand, Rocket was ready to shoot Igo and send him to the afterlife.
"Wait, we can't. This is just a duplication of his true form. Killing this one will only wake him up earlier," Star-Lord immediately blocked Rocket's attack.
As much as Ego was an arrogant braggart, he was still a god. If it weren't for the God of Magic's help, Star-Lord knew they'd be in a much worse position right now.
At this point, Star-Lord was startled to see familiar figures approaching.
"Yondu, why are you here?"
"Don't think too much. I'm just here to teach the guy who cheated me a lesson."
"And the Predator's people can only be dealt with by the Predator. He's not qualified to teach you."
Yondu spoke with a neutral expression, though his concern couldn't be completely hidden.
Star-Lord, however, was too focused on the current situation to notice.
"Really? Someone was talking about eating me?"
"That's a joke, like those old tales about witches and demons from Earth."
"I don't think it's funny at all."
Star-Lord and Yondu seemed to momentarily clash in a petty argument.
Rocket, annoyed, put away the Qiangzi gun and interrupted their banter.
"Guys, what's wrong with you? Why are you wasting time on this now?"
"Shouldn't we be discussing what to do with him?"
"Definitely kill him!" Star-Lord declared, his voice firm.
"Ego killed my mother and wants me to be a battery for a thousand years."
"Not to mention, he's ready to destroy the universe as we know it."
"We have to kill him."
"Congratulations, you're finally becoming a proper father-hater. Much more qualified than those guys on Earth," Rocket quipped.
Star-Lord gave him a sideways glance.
"I don't think that's a compliment."
"So, we're saving the galaxy again? Does that mean we can get paid?" Rocket added, his mind clearly on the rewards.
"That's a good idea!" Star-Lord grinned. "We could ask for money from others on different planets. Maybe we could even make a video to document everything that happened here."
"We could wait a bit longer, let him make the first move, and then kill him. Double win!"
Yondu, hearing this, smiled a little.
"Smelly raccoon, although you look ugly, your ideas aren't bad. If you want, consider joining the Predator, and we can hang out in the future."
The others brightened up, seeing the potential for profit.
"Blue idiot, you think you can afford me?" Rocket sneered.
"Plus, how do we even kill a god?"
"Quill said this is just a duplication of Ego. His true body is the planet beneath us. We don't have advanced weapons like star destroyers."
Star destroyers were hard to imagine, even with the technology of advanced cosmic empires. Destroying a planet was no easy task.
If Ronan had a star destroyer, he wouldn't have felt invincible after getting the Power Gem.
Even a planet like Ego, the size of the moon, wouldn't be easy to destroy.
They didn't have the resources to make super bombs.
"His core—maybe his brain or soul—is the key."
"There's a shell-like thing deep in a cave on the surface."
"If we can destroy that, maybe we can completely kill him!" the Mantis girl chimed in, revealing Ego's secret.
She had been Ego's longest follower, and while she was considered his pet, she knew some vital information.
"No! Not yet!" Gamora dismissed her idea.
"If you kill Ego now, Quill will lose the energy he's been gaining. It'll be a waste!"
"Maybe we can absorb the energy together?" Star-Lord suggested.
"Um?"
His words made the others pause, intrigued.
"Is that really okay? Shouldn't this energy belong to you?" someone asked.
"No, it belongs to him!" Star-Lord pointed at Ego. "Stop hesitating, hurry up and absorb as much as you can. There's plenty!"
"Let's strip him of his power before he wakes up."
Seeing Star-Lord's determination, the group began to absorb Ego's energy.
But their absorption efficiency was much lower than Star-Lord's. Still, they managed to absorb a substantial amount.
Nebula, however, was suffering. Transformed into a mechanical body, she could only watch helplessly as the others absorbed the magic power.
Her eyes burned with desire for strength, and she secretly wished she could be part of it.
Yongdu and the others were in a similar situation. They had connected to the magic network earlier, only to be sent away. Now, they were still unable to connect to it, missing out on the feast of power.
In an effort to make Ego sleep longer, Star-Lord, with Aaron's guidance, distributed some of the magic power to the Mantis girl and taught her soul magic, enabling her to maintain the sleep.
However, this move was just a delay. The Mantis girl, while special, was still a common being with limited abilities.
Her role was primarily to keep Ego in a deep sleep. The only reason Ego had been caught off guard was because she had momentarily disrupted him.
But her usefulness was running out, and with help from Star-Lord, the time they had bought was rapidly running out.
Eventually, Ego broke free of the Mantis girl's control. The explosion of energy sent her flying several meters away.
"Mantis, you betrayed me, just because of a few strangers you just met?" Ego roared, feeling the massive energy loss within him.
Anger overtook him as his emotions spiraled out of control.
But the Mantis girl didn't respond. She had already lost consciousness from the shock of Ego's energy.
"Mantis?!" Drax cried out in worry.
Seeing her unconscious, he quickly checked her condition, relieved to find she was only in a coma. He pulled out a sharp blade and, with determination, rushed towards Ego.
"Hey, big guy, you're a mage now, not a warrior!" Rocket called out as Drax was sent flying backward by a force far stronger than before.
Shaking his confused head, Drax slapped his forehead in realization. "Right! I'm a mage now, forget that!"
Even though Ego had knocked Drax away, he couldn't break free from the magical restraints. But that didn't stop him from continuing to cast spells.
He was a mage, after all.
Energy attacks surged from his fingertips, but now, he wasn't just facing Star-Lord. He was up against several mages, including Rocket, Drax , Groot, Gamora, and others.
The planet's energy was vast. Even though they had only absorbed a fraction of it, they now wielded far more power than they ever had.
When the five of them combined their magic, they immediately suppressed Ego, keeping him in a limited space.
Every time he tried to break free, they surrounded him, ensuring he couldn't cast powerful spells to counterattack.
"Peter, stop!" Gamora shouted, her voice filled with urgency.
"You can't go on like this."
"This is the purpose the universe gave you in life."
"We don't have to take it this far."
"You are the only one among billions, trillions, or more, born with such meaning."
"You and I, together, can dominate everything and secretly establish a new cosmic order!"
Ego's words, full of pride, seemed to be aimed at manipulating Star-Lord.
But Star-Lord remained unmoved.
"Sorry, the moment you killed my mom, we weren't together anymore."
His words were cold, fully embodying the essence of a father-hater.
"No! Stop!" Ego screamed.
"Listen to me!"
"You are a god, containing my genes."
"But if you kill me, you'll lose that power, no longer a god, and become like everyone else."
Ego desperately tried to convince Star-Lord, but he wasn't done.
"No, I've already gained the power of a god from the God of Magic," Star-Lord declared confidently. "And it's all thanks to you."
"I will inherit everything about you."
Ego's eyes widened in disbelief. "What? You're using others to plan my power?" he spat. "You killed your own mother, and now you've joined with them?"
But it was too late. Star-Lord was resolute.
"Enough, I'll destroy everything if I have to!"
Ego activated the seeds hidden throughout the Nine Realms, and with divine power, the seeds rapidly grew and expanded.
They devoured everything in their path, both organic and inorganic.
Nothing could stop them. Not even fire or bullets could halt their growth.
This was the power to destroy worlds.
Ego thought he could overwhelm the God of Magic with this power, giving him the chance to take down Star-Lord and his group.
But Ego underestimated both Aaron and Star-Lord.
Instead of responding with force, Aaron used astral projection, arriving directly at Ego Star with the help of the magic network.
"God of Magic!" Star-Lord and the others greeted Aaron respectfully.
Yondu and the others exchanged glances, eager to connect to the magic network.
Nebula hesitated before stepping forward, but stopped as Aaron approached Ego.
"You're finally here. Wasn't my method effective?" Ego sneered.
"Help me, and I'll let the Nine Realms go. Otherwise..."
But before Ego could finish, Aaron shook his head.
"I don't know what my end will be, but I know what your end will be."
Without another word, he struck Ego down with an overwhelming force, sending him crashing.
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