"Are you kidding me?!"
"I—I'm a god!"
"A god that has existed since the birth of the universe!"
Covered in dust and debris, Ego staggered out of the ruins, his smoke-streaked face twisted in disbelief.
What the hell was this?
A lowly survivor from a wiped-out race.
An Asgardian whose evolution hadn't even lasted as long as Ego's naps.
Two beings who, in his eyes, were nothing more than ants, now standing side by side, landing blow after blow, fist and foot, overwhelming him without giving him a chance to retaliate.
"Why?!"
"Why?!"
Ego's mind twisted further with each desperate scream.
"A god?"
"You think you deserve that title?"
To Thanos, beings like Ego were nothing more than overgrown targets who'd just lived a bit too long.
"The era has changed, Ego."
Odin scoffed, clad in the Destruction Armor, raising a single hand. A detonation of hurricane-force energy shredded Ego's right arm into fragments.
These ancient beings, who had existed since the universe's birth, were still clinging to the glory of the past, blind to the fact that time had long since rendered their primitive evolution obsolete.
On Titan, pioneers among the Titans pushed the boundaries of their species, striving toward a perfected form.
Across the Nine Realms, warriors bled and died to forge a new path in battle, transforming the Asgardians, once just another cosmic race, into the powerful force they were now.
Through wars waged in blood and fire, generations had laid down their lives to pave a road that could rival even the gods.
But Ego? The Collector? The Grandmaster?
They never saw it.
Or maybe their pride had simply blinded them to the fact that these newer, rising species were constantly improving, evolving with purpose.
Endless years had forged the mightiest Odin the Nine Realms had ever known.
They had also produced Thanos, an anomaly even among the Titans.
And in the eyes of Thanos and his ilk, the title "god" was reserved only for those ancient forces who embodied the rules of the cosmos itself.
Ego, the Collector, the Grandmaster—beings like them were merely long-lived, nothing more.
In fact, in the eyes of Odin, now in a phase of swelling ambition, even those so-called supreme beings weren't beyond his reach.
Not with the Destruction Armor on his side.
And what's more... he believed he could defeat them.
"I've crushed countless enemies over the years. I've saved more planets than I can remember."
"You really think your true body can stay hidden from me?"
Compared to the brimming ambition of Odin, Thanos was calm—stoic, even.
Thanos, the eternal Titan, had spent his life bringing balance to the cosmos. He'd already ripped apart more than his share of self-important relics hoarding cosmic resources.
And if he had to tear Ego apart for Lothar?
So be it.
It might be a hassle—
But only a little one.
"You—!" Ego's face contorted. Odin in the Destruction Armor, Thanos in his prime, if both of them decided to destroy him, he genuinely didn't have the strength to fight back.
"You'd better pray I don't find your real body."
"Is that so?"
Energy surged within Ego's frame, forming a glowing shield as he raised it high, just in time to meet Thanos' descending blade.
BOOM!
Dust exploded through the ruins of Gafa. Ego, now missing his right arm, staggered back uncontrollably. The sheer force from Thanos' colossal weapon numbed his entire left arm.
He tried to run.
But Odin had already sealed the space around them.
He had no choice but to take Thanos head-on.
Still refusing to believe it, Ego darted aside to dodge the next strike, only to be slammed back into the ground by Odin's titanic palm.
"GHHHRR—!!!"
Ego wanted to curse, but the pain in his chest stole the words.
One close-range suppression, one long-range lockdown.
There was no escape.
"Raise your shield, Ego."
Thanos' voice was low, his massive blade glinting with cold, silver light, just as it came crashing toward Ego's head.
BANG!
Ego reflexively raised his arm-shield, just in time.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Each blow came slowly, deliberately.
But each one was devastating.
Every swing forced Ego further and further down.
His left arm had gone numb. His body began to crumble.
And with each strike, so too did his pride.
"No!"
"No!"
"I'll tell you where Lothar is!"
Ego howled in desperation.
This body was forged from his core essence.
If it were destroyed… who knew how long he'd need to recover?
"Raise your shield. Hold it tight."
Thanos' cold reply made Ego's soul tremble.
The blade flashed—
The shield cracked.
And the next swing cleaved Ego's trembling form clean in half, his face still frozen in panic.
Silver energy splashed through the air.
Under the golden arcs of Odin's lightning, Ego's attempt to preserve his core soul energy was laid completely bare.
BOOM!!
The heavens shook.
And Ego, this manifestation of centuries of obsession and arrogance, was obliterated under their combined assault.
His final scream echoed across the stars.
A strange dread settled over the trembling Collector.
"You can't see me. You can't see me. You can't see me."
"You can't see me. You can't see me. You can't see me."
"..."
The Collector shut his eyes tight, desperately willing himself invisible.
When silence dragged on, he finally cracked one eye open—
Only to find Thanos, blade in hand, and Odin, gripping his spear, standing directly in front of him.
...
What happened next, the Grandmaster couldn't see.
Because the micro-transmitter he'd been using to livestream the scene had lost signal.
Maybe it had been destroyed.
Maybe something worse.
The Grandmaster's face was pale.
And somewhere deep in his eyes… fear.
Thanos and Odin's ferocity in protecting their own had far surpassed his expectations.
Their power had too.
If they came looking for him…
The Grandmaster shuddered.
He really didn't want to be sliced in half by Thanos, or speared through the chest by Odin.
"You were saying something earlier?"
Hela, who had been silently watching everything, retracted her weapon. The spikes coiled into her hair dissolved, returning it to a sleek, obsidian cascade. She looked up and asked, coolly.
"…"
Misunderstanding!
This was all just a huge misunderstanding!
The Grandmaster forced a friendly smile and waved his hand, dismissing the energy field that had been restraining Hela.
"I'd like to invite you, as Asgard's royal heir, to join me in attending the first Gladiator Championship Tournament on Sakaar."
The Grandmaster had always considered himself flexible.
So what if it was Odin? Not the end of the world.
He couldn't beat Odin, but he'd outlive him. That worked too, right?
Once Odin's lifespan ended, he'd just capture Hela again.
Sure, Thanos was trickier.
Those Titans were infamous for their long lives.
"Notify the staff: every contestant is to be given an auto-detection device before they enter the arena."
"Oh? Planning to rig the tournament?"
Hela's eyes glinted with amusement as she watched him change the rules on the spot.
"No, no, no, how could it be rigging? I'm just trying to avoid… unexpected situations," the Grandmaster said, laughing nervously and waving both hands.
If someone had a terrifying dad, well… he'd just back off and let them through.
It was only a divine corpse.
He could spare that much.
It was just… soup stock, after all. Not a big deal~
As he ordered a slave to escort Hela to her quarters, the Grandmaster wore a pitiful smile.
He wished he had a dad like that.
One that let him do whatever the hell he wanted...
----
T/N: Dang, that was too domineering of them...
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