The Savior of American Comics? I'm the Subspace Evil God!

Chapters 422, 760, and 761: The Performance Begins

"What? What's this guy up to?"

Just as Star-Lord and the others were completely bewildered, they saw the [Cosmic Celestial] suddenly slam the scepter in his hand heavily onto the ground.

The next second, a horrifying scene unfolded that chilled Star-Lord and the others to the bone.

In the scene, as the scepter crashed to the ground, an unparalleled wave of purple energy swept out like a flood, instantly turning everything in its path, whether human or building, into dust.

But what was truly chilling was that the purple energy seemed inexhaustible, not only destroying the alien civilization on that planet in a very short time, but also annihilating all the plants and animals on the surface.

A once vibrant planet was transformed into a lifeless 'dead star' with a single, gentle strike of the scepter in the hand of that [Cosmic Celestial Race]!
"Damn it, what the hell is this thing? Why is it even more powerful than the most powerful weapon I've ever developed?"

The Rocket Raccoon, its fur standing on end in fright, muttered under its breath, completely losing its previous arrogance.

Star-Lord stared in disbelief and said, "This thing is way too dangerous! I feel like I'm about to pee my pants..."

Tanya Tivan was quite pleased with the shock and fear that Star-Lord and his companions displayed.

The reason he went to such lengths to explain was precisely for this scene.

This is one of his favorite sources of happiness!

However, when Tanlia Tivan subconsciously glanced at Karl, who was sitting alone drinking, he found that Karl's face remained calm and composed, as if he had not been affected in the slightest.

Wait a minute, there's absolutely no reason for him to be so calm.

Could it be that the angle of the image wasn't ideal, and he didn't see the scene of the planet being destroyed?
Having failed to elicit the expected 'emotion' from Karl, Tanlia Tivan secretly adjusted the angle of the 3D projection to ensure Karl could see the following scenes clearly before continuing:

"Once upon a time, a mysterious organization in the universe attempted to control the energy of one of the Infinity Stones through some kind of link, but unsurprisingly... they quickly paid the price for their foolish idea, and were ultimately destroyed by the energy of that Infinity Stone!"

As Tanlia Tivan explained, the scene shifted, revealing several mysterious figures connected to each other via some kind of high-tech transmission device. One of them then held a purple gem that shimmered with a dangerous light in his bare hand.

The mysterious figures' attempt seemed to go smoothly at first, but within seconds, the surging purple energy incinerated all of their bodies.

The scene abruptly ends here!

Star-Lord, Gamora, and the others were already terrified by what they had just witnessed.

There was no way around it; whether it was that 'golden-armored giant' or the mysterious organization that appeared later, they all seemed to be extremely ruthless characters who were not to be trifled with.

Even someone like that couldn't control the Infinity Stones.

The group couldn't help but secretly rejoice at how right they had been to bring the [Cosmic Orb] to the [Collector] instead of keeping it for themselves!
Before Star-Lord and the others could even ask a question, the Cosmic Orb on the device had already been successfully activated, and a burst of purple light appeared.

"Wow, it's absolutely gorgeous!!"

Upon seeing the Power Gem suspended between the two halves of the Cosmic Orb, Tanlia Tivan was incredibly excited and wanted to reach out and touch it, but he was also afraid that he would explode and die. So he could only clench his fists with a mixture of excitement and hesitation.

"My God, isn't that the purple rock that destroyed the planet?"

Star-Lord shuddered at the sight; the impression the Power Stone had left on him was far too profound.

"Alright, White Hair, nobody wants to see you continue performing here."

Rocket Raccoon took a step back with a wary look on his face, urging impatiently, "Since you wanted this thing, and we've already delivered it to you, then... hurry up and pay us!!"

"No problem at all."

Tanlia Tivan, always a man of his word, immediately walked to the other side of the safe and asked, "How would you like me to pay... cash or equivalent?"

"Of course, it's cash settlement."

Rocket Raccoon immediately adopted a seasoned, shrewd demeanor, saying, "There are too many counterfeit goods these days. I don't trust anything other than cash!"

While everyone's attention was drawn to Tanlia Tivan, only Karl had his attention on someone else.

That was Karina, the red-skinned maid who had been standing behind Tanlia Tivan.

At this moment, instead of following her master to the safe on the other side to get the money, she took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention and, as if possessed, her gaze was firm as she walked step by step toward the [Power Gem] that was floating in mid-air.

She seemed to find hope in that dangerous purple light, a chance to escape her 'unscrupulous employer'!

"Tsk tsk, even after witnessing the power of the [Power Gem] firsthand, they still want to make one last desperate attempt... The power of hatred is indeed enough to drive someone mad!"

Karl gently swirled the wine in his glass, a flash of crimson energy appearing deep within his dark, bright eyes. A powerful force had silently enveloped the entire exhibition hall. "Now, the performance officially begins!"

"Karina!!"

Just then, Tanlia Tivan, who was withdrawing cash from the safe, suddenly seemed to remember something and looked sharply towards the [Power Gem]. She caught sight of her maid approaching and, startled, shouted:

"Damn it, you useless idiot, stay away from that [Power Gem]!!"

However, this time, the usually timid and obedient little red maid seemed like a completely different person. She mustered her courage and, with a face full of anger, retorted:
"No, I never want to be your slave again! Today... I'm going to die with you!!"

As soon as she finished speaking, Karina resolutely grabbed the [Power Gem] that was floating in mid-air.

Even though she had just witnessed firsthand the horrific consequences of 'mortals' suffering when they directly touched the [Infinity Stones] in those 3D images, her actions were still without the slightest hesitation.

Boom boom boom——

Streams of violent purple energy shot out from Karina's palm, which was tightly gripping the [Power Gem], bombarding every inch of the surrounding land like missiles that had lost their aim.

Her body was rapidly disintegrating with each release of energy pulses! Tanlia Tivan was the first to be hit, struck by a turbulent purple energy stream. However, in the critical moment, he used the fur coat he was wearing, which had super defensive capabilities, to block the fatal blow.

However, even so, the enormous impact almost knocked him unconscious. In the end, he could only curl up on the ground and cover his entire body with his fur coat to avoid the disaster caused by the energy surge!
"Oh, damn it, Groot, get me out of this hellhole."

Despite the surrounding explosions, Groot grabbed Rocket Raccoon, who was lying on the ground clutching his head and too afraid to get up, and used his body to shield him from the flames and debris flying from the explosions. He then strode away.

Star-Lord immediately grabbed Gamora and, looking disheveled, rushed behind a solid metal rock formation to hide.

Drax, who was standing at the very back, became the unluckiest one among them. He was so slow to realize what had happened that he didn't even understand what was going on until he was blown away.

Fortunately, he was tough enough that he wasn't killed on the spot!

Rumble——! ! !
Whether it was a few seconds or minutes later, Karina let out a final, agonizing scream before being reduced to ashes, and a massive explosion instantly engulfed the entire exhibition hall.

The entire building shook violently.

Groot and Rocket Raccoon, who had just escaped through the gate, were thrown far away by the aftershocks of the explosion, just like Drax.

"Holy crap, this place looks like it's been bombarded by a planet destroyer..."

Once everything had calmed down, Star-Lord, who was nearly scared to death, cautiously peeked half his head out from behind cover.

Looking at the devastated scene before him, he swallowed hard and muttered to Gamora beside him, who was equally dumbfounded:
"I really can't believe we actually traveled through most of the universe with such a dangerous thing in our hands?"

Even Gamora, a veteran of countless battles, was somewhat taken aback by what she had just witnessed.

However, just as she was searching for the Power Stone and trying to shut up Star-Lord who was buzzing incessantly in her ears like a fly, she saw something that made her pupils suddenly shrink.

Less than five meters from the center of the explosion, a handsome man in a gray plaid suit was leisurely sipping his wine.

Within a radius of about two meters around that man, there was absolutely no impact from the terrifying explosion; even the floor remained exactly as it was!
"This...how is this possible?"

Gamora was immediately stunned by this scene.

Even a cosmic elder like Tanlia Tivan couldn't escape being caught in the crossfire, so how could that human, who was so close to the explosion's epicenter, possibly survive?

Wait a minute, who did Tivan say he was again?

Just as Gamora was filled with doubt and uncertainty, she saw the elegant man in the distance gently beckon to a certain direction. Then, the [Power Gem] emitting a purple light, as well as the two halves of the [Cosmic Orb] that had been separated earlier, slowly flew from the ruins to his front.

"【Power Gem】, don't worry, you'll soon be back in my hands..."

Feeling the 'familiar' energy pulses released from the Power Gem, which were imperceptible to ordinary people, Karl simply smiled slightly, and then used a pair of invisible hands conjured by his psychic energy to reseal the Power Gem within the Cosmic Orb.

His bet with Tanya Tivan is not over yet; the story must continue.

So he used his psionic powers once again to send the re-locked Sphere of the Universe to Gamora. "Beautiful lady, you must be looking for this, right?"

"what?"

Gamora was stunned by what she saw. Just moments ago, when Karl found the Power Gem in the ruins, she had even prepared herself to fight and snatch it back from him.

But to everyone's surprise, the other party actually returned the [Power Gem] directly.

Damn, this man, who's both handsome and morally upright, is just too charming!

"Thank you... thank you, sir!"

Gamora nodded somewhat ashamedly to Karl, then grabbed the [Cosmic Orb] floating in mid-air, kicked Star-Lord who was still completely bewildered and unaware of what had happened, and rushed out without looking back.

"Gamora, what just happened?"

As Star-Lord ran, he asked with a face full of questions, "How come the ball suddenly returned to your hands in the short time I was distracted?"

"Please, stop worrying about those useless details."

Gamora didn't want to answer such a stupid question, and instead said with some self-reproach, "Damn it, God knows why I chose to believe Tivan and thought he had the ability to control that thing inside the Sphere."

"Ah ah ah..."

Just then, a strange cry suddenly rang out from outside the gate. Rocket Raccoon, covering his face, roared with an exaggerated expression:
"Gamora, why are you still holding that damn thing? Aren't you afraid it'll blow us all to smithereens?"

"What else can we do?"

Star-Lord suddenly stepped forward and, with a touch of manly courage, retorted, "Are we just going to abandon this $40 billion treasure in the ruins and leave it there unattended?"

"Quail, you're a brainless idiot."

Rocket Raccoon took a step back and looked at Star-Lord with the eyes one would give an idiot. "Don't you understand what it means to earn money but not live to spend it?"

"I can't believe you actually put something so terrifying in your little handbag?"

"And you didn't even tell us how dangerous this thing was beforehand... I really want to shoot you idiot right now!!"

"Enough." Gamora quickly stopped the two troublemakers who wanted to have a 1v1 battle, glanced at the figures gathering around them after hearing the commotion, and said in a light and quick voice:

"Right now, we only have one option: to immediately hand over the [Cosmic Orb] to the [Nova Corps]. I think... they might know how to control the [Power Stone]?!"

(End of this chapter)