"What do you mean by that?" Robert frowned slightly at the sight of the Eliminator, who now showed no trace of killing intent or will to fight. Though their battle had raged on for some time, destroying much of the Large Magellanic Galaxy along the way, neither combatant had sustained any truly lasting injuries.
For Robert, meeting such a resilient and powerful opponent was an opportunity too rare to pass up. He had no intention of ending the fight so quickly.
At this moment, however, Robert found himself unsure of the Eliminator's intentions. Was it possible his energy had been drained? Or had the Eliminator received new orders from a higher authority or an ally, as Robert had suspected might happen?
Considering the known members of the Celestial Group, it was clear the Eliminator held a significant, if not the highest, position. He certainly wielded enough strength to carry out the critical mission of eradicating civilizations under judgment.
Still, it was clear the Eliminator didn't rank at the very top of the Celestial Group; at the very least, he was subordinate to the Judge Arishem, from whom he must take orders to some extent. So if the Judge or another Celestial of comparable rank had sent a message, it would make sense. This also implied that the battle between Robert and the Eliminator had been under Celestial surveillance all along.
What puzzled Robert, though, was why, if the Celestials were already monitoring the fight, they hadn't intervened directly. The Celestials were not known for leniency; they had once launched an assault against Odin himself. So why now were they holding back against him?
"You are far stronger than we anticipated," the Eliminator's telepathic voice responded to Robert. "And your combat strength continues to increase. Even if I remained in hunter mode, I would not be able to defeat you. Thus, this battle ends here."
"It ends here? The Celestials backing down this easily? I thought your group enjoyed the advantage of numbers," Robert remarked, a note of doubt flickering in his eyes. According to the intel he'd gathered, the Celestials weren't known for such restraint.
"Outnumbering you is pointless," the Eliminator replied, shaking his head. "Given your current power and your capacity to grow stronger still, we can predict that a battle with you would result in tremendous losses. Some of my brothers might leave us permanently."
"At first, we saw you as an anomaly," the Eliminator continued, "but your influence on Earth's development has changed that. Eliminating you now would not help Earth, which has already been affected by your presence. In fact, without you, Earth would have little chance of repelling the dimensional forces that are beginning to set their sights on it."
"Earth is a vital testing ground," the Eliminator explained. "When the age of the gods constrained Earth's growth, we intervened. Your arrival has actually enhanced Earth's strength, not hindered it, and we are curious to see what this unique planet might become."
"So... they're backing down?" Robert was momentarily stunned by the Eliminator's explanation. The implication was clear: as long as he didn't obstruct Earth's development, the Celestials had no interest in starting an all-out war with him, especially since he could potentially eliminate several members of their group.
It appeared the Eliminator had come here not only to deal with the Kree Empire but also to test Robert. Now that he had the results, he had no choice but to back down, given that he was clearly no match for Robert. Consequently, the Celestials would prefer to avoid a direct confrontation.
Just then, as Robert was lost in thought, he sensed the Eliminator's aura fading, his form becoming increasingly insubstantial. This brought Robert's attention back to the present.
"Hold on! Since you're so invested in Earth, are you aware of its dimensional consciousness?" Robert quickly asked, thinking of Earth's unresolved mysteries.
"That's a matter for the dimensional realm," the Eliminator replied. "We will not interfere unless it directly threatens Earth's civilization." With that, his voice echoed in Robert's mind one last time before his presence vanished entirely.
"Hmm? He's completely disappeared. Is he simply beyond my range, or does he have a unique ability?" Robert instinctively attempted to track the Eliminator's energy, hoping to follow him back to the Celestial headquarters. After all, Robert had many questions he wanted to ask this ancient organization.
But the Eliminator's aura was nowhere to be found; within his sensory range, it had simply ceased to exist. Robert frowned and searched his surroundings with heightened focus.
"Wait a minute. If my theory is correct, the Celestials are not living beings in the conventional sense but are more advanced forms of robots or AI. In that case, it makes sense that his energy could vanish like this…" Robert soon recalled previous incidents, reluctantly abandoning his pursuit of the Celestial base.
Energy was never a perfect means of tracking; even in the world of Dragon Ball, androids had no detectable energy signature. With the existence of entities like the Supreme Intelligence, Robert ultimately decided not to press on.
"This galaxy really got the worst of it. I completely forgot to hold back during the fight," Robert muttered as he glanced at the now-empty Large Magellanic Galaxy. Both he and the Eliminator had been too immersed in the battle. "If the Celestials had shown up to support him, maybe these planets would have been saved. Seems like the Celestials don't really care much about these worlds after all," he mused, his figure vanishing from the area.
The battle between Robert and the Eliminator had lasted a considerable amount of time, and to those civilizations that had detected the disturbances in the Large Magellanic Galaxy, the duration of this confrontation was almost unimaginable.
The scale of the energy released had drawn the attention of many civilizations, though none dared approach the battlefield. They remained outside the Large Magellanic Galaxy, monitoring the situation from afar.
Only when Robert finally departed did these civilizations detect an absence of energy signatures in the region and cautiously venture into the galaxy to assess the aftermath.
As for the Kree Empire, no technological signals from it could be found anywhere in the universe. Even as one of the three major empires, other civilizations doubted that it could have withstood a battle of such magnitude.
Initially, some civilizations speculated that this might have been Kree territory, but given the Kree Empire's authoritarian, militaristic nature, they reasoned that if the Kree possessed such power, they wouldn't have needed to fear Thanos or sign a peace treaty with the Nova Empire. With such might, the Kree would have waged even bloodier campaigns than Thanos.
But the Kree had shown restraint, leading these civilizations to conclude that the Kree had simply been collateral damage, annihilated by two cosmic-level powers waging war in their territory.
Having reached the now-barren Large Magellanic Galaxy, these civilizations were not there to rescue the Kree but to scavenge for resources and confirm the Kree Empire's complete destruction. If there was any remaining trace of the Kree, they wouldn't hesitate to finish the job.
These civilizations scanned the remnants swiftly. The devastation they found filled them with dread, fearing that such destructive battles might one day unfold in their own territories, erasing everything they held dear.
In fact, this level of devastation inspired more fear than Thanos himself, the Mad Titan. As unstable as he was, Thanos had at least left half alive, unlike Robert and the Eliminator, who had nearly annihilated the entire Large Magellanic Galaxy.
If Thanos knew of these thoughts, he would likely take pride, perhaps even offering "services" to reinforce the value of his own ruthless methods of population control.
Meanwhile, in his information-rich empire, Thanos also learned of the fate that befell the Kree. Even Thanos found himself shocked.
To Thanos, the Kree Empire, with its unchecked expansionism, was a civilization that deserved destruction, monopolizing far too many cosmic resources. However, he knew his own strength was insufficient to challenge them, at least not without the Infinity Stones. Not until he possessed these stones did he consider himself capable of confronting the Kree Empire.
But now, the mighty Kree had been obliterated, meaning unknown powers beyond even Thanos's understanding still roamed the universe. Most civilizations could only speculate, unable to identify the culprits behind the destruction in the Large Magellanic Galaxy.
The Nova Empire's high-ranking officials, however, suspected Robert's involvement. They remembered his sudden disappearance from Xandar and the strength he'd displayed against Kree warships, making it natural to connect him to the event.
Nova Queen quickly convened a secret meeting, where she increased the status of Star-Lord and his crew on Xandar and imposed a communication ban on any information regarding Robert.
This was not out of a desire to protect Star-Lord or Robert but rather a precaution; the Queen worried that leaked information could attract trouble, and even Robert himself might show up. Having narrowly avoided extinction, the Nova Empire wanted nothing more than to live in peace.
As a further precaution, she informed Star-Lord of the destruction of the Kree Empire and the Large Magellanic Galaxy. Star-Lord understood the message, realizing he should keep any information about Robert to himself.
Though he seemed carefree and unserious, Star-Lord knew how to keep his word when it mattered, especially in matters involving the safety of his friends.
Soon after, Star-Lord and his crew departed from Xandar. While they enjoyed the occasional break, they craved the thrill of adventure and quickly grew restless without it. They decided to work as mercenaries or bounty hunters, enjoying the excitement of space exploration while earning rewards
.
Even Gamora, despite her strict training under Thanos, shared a rebellious spirit. This lifestyle gave her and her teammates a healthy outlet for their uncontainable energy.
Meanwhile, Robert arrived at the Collector's secret base, where he'd previously seen a Martian girl among the Collector's other captives. However, finding a suitable caretaker for them was challenging. He sensed Star-Lord and his team had already left Xandar, and knowing Star-Lord's personality, assigning him the task would be asking too much.
_________________________
[Check out my Patreon for +200 additional chapters in all my fanfics! $5 for all!!]
[w w w . p a t r e o n .com / INNIT]
[+50 PowerStones = +1 Chapter] [+5 Reviews = +1 Chapter]