A New Path of Evolution

Dark Order, base hall.

Seated upon his throne, Thanos interlaced his fingers. The footage transmitted back by the Artificial Intelligence Woz was reflected in his pupils, as deep and still as the universe itself.

Super Saiyan Beckett. Goddess of Death Hela.

The two young people who should have been taught a lesson for their ignorance were now rampaging through the footage in a manner that completely overturned Thanos’s understanding.

Not a single person on the vast Kree Empire homeworld could stand up to stop them…

Even when the Kree’s AI God personally intervened, it still seemed powerless.

The Kree Empire, which had dominated the universe for thousands of years, was now like a weak and helpless child, allowing Beckett and Hela to lash it mercilessly with the whips in their hands.

Ebony Maw was left dumbfounded by the sight.

"Unbelievable. Has Beckett’s strength… already risen to this level?"

A flash of shock passed through Proxima Midnight’s eyes as she stood beside Corvus Glaive.

The Kree Empire was a colossal force that neither she nor even Thanos wished to provoke.

Yet Beckett treated it like a toy…

"Beckett’s potential… is truly terrifying…"

Proxima Midnight clicked her tongue. As Corvus Glaive’s wife, his performance was clearly nowhere near as calm as his expression suggested.

The tattered ends of his cape fluttered without wind, while his right hand clenched the weapon that gleamed with a sharp, cold light.

Strong. Very strong. Incredibly strong.

Though he was reluctant to admit it, Beckett’s strength and potential had clearly surpassed the combined total of Thanos’s Black Order…

I will become the Strongest Warrior in the Universe. In the future, you won’t even be able to withstand a single finger of mine!

The hateful declaration Beckett had made as a child, after Corvus Glaive had nearly killed him during training, echoed endlessly through his mind…

"Hey, big idiot, what do you think?"

Knowing Corvus Glaive’s temperament, Noctis did not poke at his sore spot. Instead, he jabbed the hulking Cull Obsidian on the other side with his elbow.

The latter replied expressionlessly, "I feel the same as you."

"Lord Thanos, if I remember correctly, Beckett wasn’t this powerful when he was on Midgard, was he?"

Ebony Maw remembered clearly that when Thanos and Odin had joined forces with the Sorcerer Supreme Agamotto to beat the Lord of the Dark Order Dormammu into fleeing in panic, Beckett had still been a pitiful child whose soul was about to shatter.

And now, in the blink of an eye, he could directly go toe-to-toe with the Kree Empire?

This was something even Thanos could not accomplish now.

Ebony Maw, who had always believed Thanos was the heavens, the earth, and the one true legend, found it a little hard to accept.

"That’s right." Thanos nodded.

The face of the ruler of the Centaurus Galaxy, which had remained icy ever since he learned that Beckett had attacked Planet Hala, finally thawed. A trace of pride appeared at the corners of his eyes, and a smile lifted his lips.

"But this is Beckett."

"My successor."

To survive after being driven to the brink of death—those words had defined Beckett’s training throughout his life.

The journey to repair his soul on Midgard had been no exception.

More importantly, Beckett’s repaired soul was now enough to withstand even more intense power from the Stones.

"A new path of evolution?" With a seemingly reflective tone, Thanos watched Beckett dominate Planet Hala in the footage, then glanced at Hela, whose killing speed was no slower than Beckett’s. He nodded, his eyes full of approval.

He approved of Hela’s capabilities as his future daughter-in-law.

She could fight, she could kill, she was immensely powerful, and the Infinity Stones could even awaken the power of Death Divinity within her.

A woman like that was indeed worthy of becoming Beckett’s wife.

"Thanos."

Just as he was thinking that, a communication from Asgard arrived in the Dark Order.

With a wave of Thanos’s large hand, the projection of the dignified and graceful Queen Frigga appeared before him.

"Beckett is fooling around!"

"Hela’s body simply cannot withstand the Mind Stone’s power!"

Frigga sounded somewhat agitated.

Hela’s own strength was insufficient to support a massacre on the Kree Empire’s homeworld. The only reason she could do all this now was because Beckett had "forcibly" placed the Mind Stone in her hands.

But as one of the universe’s supreme treasures, the Mind Stone’s terrifying energy was far beyond what Hela alone could perfectly absorb and endure.

Who knew how long an Asgardian body could keep Hela going.

"This isn’t what we agreed on beforehand, Thanos!"

In Frigga’s original plan, Hela and Beckett were supposed to return home after settling matters on Xandar.

But now?

Not only had they not returned, they had even directly stormed into the heart of the Kree Empire???

"Calm down, Frigga."

"Your daughter won’t die. On the contrary, she will gain enormous benefits from this."

Frigga’s agitation stood in stark contrast to Thanos’s unhurried manner.

"Don’t forget, Beckett is also sharing the Mind Stone’s power."

According to the footage provided by Woz, when Hela’s power on the spaceship had been about to go berserk under the Stone’s influence, Beckett had reached out and drawn in the excess energy that Hela simply could not bear.

"Beckett, Hela, and the Mind Stone."

"The three of them have now formed a delicate balance of energy."

"So what they are doing on Planet Hala is not merely venting. It is more like a form of evolution."

"Using the excess energy in their bodies to complete further evolution."

"Do you understand?"

Thanos rose from his throne with his hands behind his back and spoke thoughtfully.

He explained every word with exceptional clarity.

"Lord Thanos, the survivor of the Cosmic Gang has arrived."

Frigga, who still wanted to say something, had her connection cut off with a wave of Thanos’s hand. Ebony Maw, the secretary-general of the Dark Order, respectfully approached his leader and reported in a low voice.

"Jack Jones?"

"Yes. By my estimation, he intends to use your power to revive the Cosmic Gang."

"Just a wanderer still living in a decaying age." Noctis, who had also heard of the Cosmic Gang, was full of disdain.

For an organization calling itself the Universal First Crime Syndicate, one of its rules for joining was actually that trafficking children was forbidden. Noctis could not understand why.

Playing the whore while demanding a chastity plaque?

"Corvus Glaive, I’ll leave it to you."

Thanos, who did not care much about this pawn, handed the matter over to Corvus Glaive.

If he wanted money, he would be given money. If he wanted people, he would be given people.

Thanos had always been an honest and trustworthy partner.

He still needed to determine Beckett’s next evolutionary direction. He had no time to waste arguing with the remnants of some gang.

In the footage, the slaughter on Planet Hala had only just begun.

For the first time in nearly ten thousand years, the Kree homeworld, capital of the universe’s foremost empire, had suffered an invasion by foreign enemies!

Smack!

Beckett caught Hela as she fell past him. She had just been blasted down by a plasma cannon.

"You still have a long way to go."

Those abrupt yet strangely familiar words made Hela purse her lips in displeasure. She instinctively retorted, "It was just an accident. You don’t need to meddle."

Right or wrong, trading a few barbs with Beckett first was never a mistake.

Hm?

Something was off.

As Hela’s gaze swept over Beckett, she suddenly noticed something unusual.

Was it an illusion?

Why did Beckett’s hair seem less spiky?

It seemed softer, with a slight curve to it, and it even appeared to have grown longer???