"I bloom amidst slaughter..."
"Amidst slaughter..."
"In slaughter..."
"Bloom..."
Again and again, like thousands praying devoutly, or a holy priest whispering in one's ear.
Though the words were filled with killing intent, they possessed a strange, comforting effect.
The vigilant Astra lowered the heavy cannon on his shoulder, and The Other's eyes, filled with wariness, were gradually clouded with confusion. The two, who should have been enemies, seemed to set aside their differences amidst these "chants," agreeing to ponder life's ideals together in the ruins, unconcerned even as the weapons of the security team's corpses were pressed against their foreheads.
They were lost in the philosophical ocean, unable to extricate themselves.
"Interesting."
"Still resisting pointlessly, Beckett?"
Watching Beckett's expression flicker before him, Shafrin raised his right hand with interest. Energy gathered at the tip of his slender index finger, and a silver beam shot straight into Beckett's mind.
"Give up. I will be the nightmare you can never escape."
"Now, kneel and swear allegiance to your master."
The special power, originating from a portion of the Mind Stone, caught Beckett completely off guard. Veins bulged on his forehead, and waves of roaring energy erupted around his feet as he bent over, resisting Shafrin's mental control.
"The last person who said that to me, guess what her fate was?"
Enduring the bone-deep pain, Beckett straightened his back, his eyes locking onto Shafrin, who was close enough to touch. The same defiant smile remained on his lips.
Even his adoptive father, Thanos, had never ordered him around like this. Who did this Shafrin think he was?
"What?"
Shafrin's eyebrows rose beneath his black and white striped mask, a hint of surprise in his tone.
His usually infallible mental control seemed to have... failed?
"She died. Died until only ashes remained." Before his words even finished, Beckett had already thrown a punch towards Shafrin's face!
Bang!
Fist met palm, and the immense power from Beckett's punch forced Shafrin to retreat.
"It seems you're not as strong as you appear." Shaking his hand, Beckett, who had just repelled Shafrin with a punch, paused. Strange thoughts resurfaced in his mind, continuously stinging his nerves.
"Is that so?"
Seeing Beckett falter, Shafrin spread his fingers, and ten scarlet rays shot out from his fingertips, entering Beckett's body from various impossible angles.
"Perhaps your physical strength is indeed formidable, but brute force alone won't suffice."
Shafrin chuckled and rotated his fingers. Beckett felt an overwhelming force relentlessly pressing against his mind, and a voice in his ear kept telling him: Give up, give up, you can't win...
"Obey the choice of your heart, and let go—"
BOOM!!!!
Before Shafrin could finish speaking, a tremendous power erupted from Beckett's body. A powerful energy vortex kicked up dust, splattering it onto Shafrin's black and white striped mask.
"My heart tells me you can die now." A cold voice sounded in Shafrin's ear. Beckett, who had appeared behind Shafrin at some unknown time, delivered a whip kick to the latter's arm.
Clang!
The gleaming silver battle boots collided with the golden armor, the sound of metal striking each other incredibly sharp, instantly jolting The Other and Astra, who were still lost in their philosophical reverie!
"Hah!"
Shafrin, who had parried Beckett's attack first, grabbed Beckett's ankle and threw him directly towards The Other and Astra, who had just regained their senses.
"His Highness Beckett!"
"Shut up."
Beckett, who had forcefully dissipated the momentum in mid-air, suppressed The Other's exclamation without looking back. His right hand suddenly blazed with light, and a silver energy beam erupted!
"That's a good move." Shafrin, still with energy to spare, held his hands suspended in the air, transforming them into blades and slicing a triangle into the space before him.
A triangular portal appeared in front of Shafrin's chest, and an inexplicable suction completely swallowed the energy beam Beckett had unleashed!
[What is that?!]
Sensing his internal energy rapidly draining, Beckett immediately ceased outputting power. He hovered in mid-air, looking down at Shafrin, who stood below with his arms crossed over his chest.
"However, to defeat me, this much is not enough." A low, hoarse voice sounded in Beckett's ear. Following the sound, he turned his head, and a triangular portal suddenly opened behind him.
The silver energy beam instantly tore through the sky of the entire U40 Planet!
Boom!
The energy wave that Beckett had personally unleashed was transferred, completely unharmed, to Shafrin himself!
"His Highness Beckett!"
The anxious The Other didn't hesitate, sprinting to Beckett's side with the Azure Scepter clutched in his arms, reaching out with concern to help him up.
"Get away." Beckett, his silver armor shattered piece by piece, stood up from the ground.
"But, Your Highness Beckett, you—"
"Get lost. Now."
The icy gaze, devoid of any emotion, instantly silenced The Other. The words he wanted to speak got stuck in his throat, unable to come out.
"You are no match for me, Beckett." Shafrin, who had seen everything, smiled, flicked his cape, and charged directly at Beckett.
"Many in this universe know very little about the power of the mind. You are one of them."
"Mind control is just the most insignificant of my two thousand skills."
Fists, thrown at speeds imperceptible to the naked eye, landed on Beckett one after another. The accumulating force caused the silver armor covering Beckett's body to shatter completely.
"In my heart, my fists are enough to tear apart the starry sky, and my feet can crush the earth!"
"I believe this so strongly, and therefore I have achieved it."
"And you are merely a lowly challenger, unaware of your own limitations!"
After punching Beckett into the ruins, Shafrin let out a long sigh and slowly walked towards him.
"Do you know?"
"In front of me, you are just an insignificant child. A child who, after killing a few people, became so arrogant that he doesn't even know his own name."
"Didn't Thanos teach you that children should act like children?"
Shafrin sneered as he looked at Beckett, who was rising from the ruins.
Compared to himself, who was now over two hundred years old, Beckett, who was only in his twenties, was indeed no different from an infant in his eyes.
"Tsk, so verbose."
Beckett wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, breathing heavily. He planted his feet, his hands loosely guarding his chest.
"You're still far from it."
Golden electrical sparks flickered between his fingers.
I had a last-minute business trip to Jiangmen today, so I'm only posting one update. I'll resume two updates tomorrow.
Side note: I finished the last thousand words of this chapter on my phone in the waiting hall. Typing on my phone in public felt inexplicably embarrassing, especially with people around me constantly asking me questions (_).
Sniffle (_)
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