Chapter 794: Another Person |
The Accuser Ronan has left.
Given the Collector's face, he spared Drax.
A trivial nobody not worth offending the deadly Collector of the universe, a mysterious old being that no one wanted to provoke.
Moreover, the Collector's words had greatly intrigued him.
A treasure that even the mad Titan coveted couldn't be as simple as it appeared.
After watching Accuser Ronan leave, the Collector's calm demeanour slightly lifted at the corners in a subtly mocking smile.
The seed of doubt had been planted; it was just waiting for it to bear fruit.
With Ronan's temperament, he would surely open the Orb.
Soon, he would discover what kind of surprise this gem, filled with destructive power, could bring him.
Centuries of warfare between the two species they had only halted a few decades ago with the signing of a peace treaty.
However, as a supreme Accuser, Ronan's forefathers had died at the hands of Xandarians, and he was a believer in the old Kree ways of slaughter and spreading terror as a means of punishment.
What would such a man do first upon suddenly acquiring immense power?
The answer was to destroy everything that dared to oppose him.
And as sworn enemies, the Xandarians would naturally be at the top of Ronan's list of targets to be obliterated.
"Now, it's all up to you."
The Collector's eyes were icy and sinister as he stroked the duck in his arms: "That's all I can manipulate from here."
He then pulled up a chair and sat down with his duck.
There was one more thing—he needed that damned raccoon to come over soon and take those two hot potatoes off his hands.
As for Drax, he had become a listless, aimless fish.
He had thought his years of training had prepared him to face Ronan again, to avenge his deceased wife and child.
But the reality he faced was a harsh slap from life.
The brutal reality not only shattered his delusions but also dragged him into a darker abyss.
The vast gulf made him feel a profound despair.
From start to finish, Ronan hadn't taken him seriously, treating the fight as child's play, while Drax had exerted all his strength, unable to inflict even a scratch on Ronan, even if consumed by his rage.
Moments later.
Rocket returned, looking bedraggled and disheartened.
Seeing Drax sitting in the ruins in a daze, Rocket furiously stormed up to him and shouted, "If it weren't for your stupid desire to challenge Ronan alone, none of this would have happened!"
"You're right... I'm a fool."
Drax didn't argue, his eyes devoid of light, and said self-deprecatingly: "All my anger, all my resentment, was just to mask my pain... I just wanted... revenge for them."
"What does that have to do with me?"
Rocket glared at him and scoffed loudly: "Doesn't everyone have someone they've lost? Look around! How many have died because of you? What's the difference between you and Ronan? Just because you're still alive, you can tell everyone, 'Oh, my wife and child are dead, I'm so pitiful, right?'"
Drax's gaze faltered, ready to lash out in anger. Still, when he raised his eyes and saw the devastated ruins around him, with countless people mourning and wailing, families shattered, all because of him—for his vendetta.
In an instant, Drax's spine bent, and he was speechless.
Did he have the right to rage when others had just as much right?
"Your deep hatred doesn't give you the right to drag everyone else with you to death!" Rocket, still furious, vented and then, seeing the dejected Drax, gradually calmed down.
Drax's head hung low, acknowledging himself as the real culprit.
"It's time for us to go, Groot."
Rocket, disappointed, shook his head and turned to Groot: "Ronan has the Orb now. All we can do is fly to the other side of the universe as fast as possible."
"Can we be safe just by flying to the other side?"
The Collector sat in the only intact leather chair in the ruins, laughing with his duck in arms: "If Ronan gets his hands on the Power Stone, it won't just be Xandar that's destroyed. The entire universe won't be spared."
"That's still better than dying right now, and it's none of your business!" Rocket sneered, unwilling to engage with the trickster further, and continued to Groot: "Quill was a fool to let himself be captured by the Ravagers. We must hurry and escape so we don't get caught in Ronan's wrath."
"Hehe, you won't be able to escape."
The Collector stroked his duck, his eyes gleaming with an ambiguous meaning, and said softly: "Those who seek the stone aren't limited to Ronan. There's also that mad Titan. If you don't want to die mysteriously later, you'll have to retrieve the Power Stone."
Rocket hesitated for a moment.
Suddenly, Groot stood up: "I am Groot!"
"Save them? With what shall we save them?" Rocket reluctantly asked.
"I am... Groot!" Groot's eyes were resolute.
"I know they're our only friends, but they're in the hands of the Ravagers now. We're only two people!" Rocket looked away, trying to find any excuse to persuade himself.
"No... there are three!" Drax slowly stood up, his eyes reigniting: "Since it's my fault, let me make up for it. At least... we can't let more people die at Ronan's hands!"
"Fuck! A bunch of idiots! All idiots!"
Rocket was nearly driven mad, tearing at the fur on his head: "I swear this is the last time!"
"I am Groot..." Groot smiled gently, knowing Rocket wouldn't give up on friends.
Because they were all lonely beings, they took their relationships seriously—it was the same for them all.
"Wait, you've forgotten something."
The Collector suddenly spoke up just as the three were about to leave.
Rocket turned back in confusion, only to see the Collector pointing at something in the ruins: "Those two blades, you'd better take them quickly. I don't want another explosive item in my collection."
"...they're yours."
Rocket twitched at the corner of his eye and started to leave, not wanting to take the blades.
"Are you sure you want to leave them behind?" the Collector said with a half-smile: "The person who entrusted you with them, what do you think will happen if you don't return them?"
"!!!"
At these words, Rocket's silhouette trembled, and he paused, silent.
"Ah, to be able to suppress the Power Stone with a single touch, just thinking about such a terrifying figure... even Ronan wouldn't dare to provoke him, right?" The Collector, relishing the drama, deliberately spoke in a fearful tone: "Such a terrifying character... Ronan probably wouldn't dare, right?"
Groot: "I am... Groot. (He's right; we'll be chopped to death)."
Rocket said nothing, silently turning back to run into the ruins, and soon returned carrying the two blades.
The Collector smiled silently, caressing the duck in his arms.
As he watched Rocket and the others leave, he slowly exhaled, turned back into the ruined gallery, looking at the destruction, and laughed: "Such a mess, now there's plenty to do. I lost so many collections, I'll have to claim them back next time I see him."
From the corner of his eye, the Collector suddenly spotted a vague figure sitting at a workbench deep in the ruins.
"Who are you?!"
Frowning, thinking it was a scavenger or thief, the Collector strode forward, shouting: "This isn't a place for you; get out now!"
But the Collector suddenly froze as he approached and saw the figure clearly.
It was a tall, thin man, his face shrouded in mist, impossible to discern, wearing a naturally radiant gold double crown and a black robe embellished with colourful gems.
Regal and majestic, like a ruler who commands the world.
The man's eyes twinkled with amusement, and he spoke softly: "Can you tell me... about the Twin Blossoms?"
"!!!"
The Collector's pupils dilated, gripping the duck tightly in his arms.
