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Chapter 389: Annihilus
Within a mature, independent universe, there are always various small dimensional spaces attached to the edges of the universe barrier.
In a place called the Negative Zone, it was isolated from the world, completely unknown.
This dimension was inhabited by a terrifying species, the Annihilation Swarm.
On this day, Annihilus, the King of the Annihilation Swarm, was inspecting the operational status of the Cosmic Power Siphon as usual.
At the center of the giant device, a frighteningly large figure was bound.
"Hehehe, Galactus, just be a good boy and become my energy source!"
Annihilus gazed covetously at the energy being continuously extracted from Galactus. His green, locust-like face was filled with delight.
That's right, Galactus's clone from the Prime Universe had been captured by Annihilus and was being used as a source of cosmic energy, nourishing his swarm army of trillions upon trillions.
Surrounding Annihilus, the entire Negative Zone, comparable in size to a pocket universe, was already covered by an endless insect tide. The terrifying number of them were stacked in countless, densely packed layers, stretching from the very bottom all the way up to a height of hundreds of millions of meters.
All sorts of strange insects let out harsh, noisy cries, but Annihilus clearly enjoyed the sound. These were all the warriors under his command.
Annihilus was in a great mood. With a prize like Galactus's clone, their Annihilation Swarm would not lack for energy for a very long time.
"Hmm, leave a portion of the cosmic energy, and distribute the rest to my lovely warriors." Annihilus sat on his throne, his locust-like body appearing incredibly gaunt. A golden cape was draped over his back, leaving no doubt as to his identity as the Swarm King.
Just as Annihilus was reveling in his joy, a loud bang echoed. An uninvited guest had broken into the Negative Zone.
To be precise, it was a pitch-black mass that had smashed through his Negative Zone and intruded.
"Bastard, who is it? Who dares to trespass on the territory of my Annihilation Swarm?" Annihilus's expression suddenly darkened. He rose to his feet, his Level Seven aura flaring, filled with undisguised brutality.
The Annihilation Swarm was a species that was both irritable and frenzied, yet highly ordered.
Without needing their king's command, countless insectoids shrieked eagerly and charged forward. In an instant, giant insects that blotted out the sky filled the space, surging toward the black light in an overwhelming tide.
But no matter how many went, the black light accepted all comers, devouring as many as there were.
"What is that thing?"
Annihilus was alarmed and uncertain. Even as a Level Seven being, he couldn't quite see through this black light.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the deathly silent Galactus trembled. Perhaps he was awakened by the tremors in the Negative Zone, or perhaps stimulated by a high-level power. His head moved slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes.
"Not good!"
Shocked and enraged, Annihilus let out a low roar and lunged toward Galactus.
He had paid a great price to capture Galactus's clone; how could he tolerate his escape?
Beneath Galactus's massive head, his eyes glowed with an emotion of endless, berserk fury. The monstrous rage seemed poised to burn the entire Negative Zone to ashes.
"You damned insect! How dare you steal my energy!"
Galactus had awakened, incomparably furious. With every move, countless insects were killed by him.
The entire Negative Zone descended into complete chaos.
...
The mass of black light tore straight through the Negative Zone and once again roared into the domain of the Prime Universe.
The sudden appearance of the orange light, that vibrant orange, had an immense impact on One.
A complete Infinity Stone!
And it was the most powerful of the six conventional stones—the Soul Stone!
"You actually held onto this until now?!"
One couldn't help but roar, his eyes wide and bloodshot, almost unable to believe what he was seeing.
You clearly had all six stones, so why did you let Trigon beat you into that miserable state?!!!
"You bastard, are you insane?! When facing a terrifying enemy like Trigon, why did you only use five stones?!!"
One panted heavily, still roaring.
"If you had used six stones, you would have leaped to become a Level Eight being, fully capable of going head-to-head with Trigon's clone! Even if you couldn't kill him, you could have banished him!"
Tony looked at his own dissipating body and the energy erupting from the resonance between the Soul Stone and the other five stones, which was destabilizing the entire mass of black light.
He raised his hand. The orange Soul Stone floated above his palm, pulsing gently with a distinct rhythm, as if it were alive.
"It's not too late to bring it out now."
Tony revealed a smile, but no matter how one looked at it, the smile was incredibly cold and somewhat creepy.
If I had taken it out earlier, how could I have trapped you, the one hiding behind the scenes?
"Originally, I was thinking of giving this to the Ancient One. If it were the Ancient One, with the Infinity Gauntlet and six Infinity Stones, she would have been perfectly capable of banishing Trigon's clone."
Tony said lightly, "But you killed her, and then you came over. That gave me even less reason to take out the Soul Stone ahead of time."
"Damn it!" One gritted his teeth in hatred. A complete Soul Stone changed things too much. This personification of a universe's rules, this crystallization of Nemesis's power... the Soul Stone...
One finally realized it. He had been duped by Tony!
Even if he hadn't followed the teleportation array here, or if he hadn't discovered it for whatever reason, Tony still had a way to deal with Trigon!
The enhancement brought by six stones was a qualitative change!
It was a qualitative change from the single-universe level to the multiverse level!
"As you can see, this is my trump card. The trump card you were waiting for." Tony showed a strange smile. On his nearly disintegrated face, he barely maintained this dangerous expression.
"It's always good to have an ace up your sleeve. Against someone like you, full of ambition but lacking the patience to match, holding a few extra cards is a surefire way to win."
Tony looked at the Infinity Gauntlet. The five shattered stones looked incredibly pitiful. The Time and Mind Stones, in particular, were barely more than "remnants" still attached to the gauntlet.
But none of that mattered.
No matter how weak a Level Eight being was, no matter how incomplete their power, they were still Level Eight. They were a being capable of matching a Level Eight singular god head-on.
The orange Soul Stone was tossed up by Tony, and then it fell precisely into place.
A vicious glint flashed in One's eyes. He tried to use the Plot Gem, but a look of terror soon appeared on his face. His dissipating body and soul could no longer use an artifact like the Plot Gem.
"You can't use it anymore, can you? Although the Plot Gem has the lowest requirement for use—as long as you're a person, a complete life form, you can wield it and achieve greatness overnight."
"But the Plot Gem can't change your weak essence. Without it, you're still an ordinary human. And as you are now... what kind of independent life form are you? You're about to disappear, your body and soul are both fragmented."
Tony looked up and sneered, revealing two rows of pearly white teeth.
"Thank you for doing so much for me, Slim."
"Everything you have is mine now."
Annihilus, the King of the Annihilation Swarm, who captured Galactus as an energy source in *Interstellar Annihilation*.
(end of chapter)
Within a mature, independent universe, there are always various small dimensional spaces attached to the edges of the universe barrier.
In a place called the Negative Zone, it was isolated from the world, completely unknown.
This dimension was inhabited by a terrifying species, the Annihilation Swarm.
On this day, Annihilus, the King of the Annihilation Swarm, was inspecting the operational status of the Cosmic Power Siphon as usual.
At the center of the giant device, a frighteningly large figure was bound.
"Hehehe, Galactus, just be a good boy and become my energy source!"
Annihilus gazed covetously at the energy being continuously extracted from Galactus. His green, locust-like face was filled with delight.
That's right, Galactus's clone from the Prime Universe had been captured by Annihilus and was being used as a source of cosmic energy, nourishing his swarm army of trillions upon trillions.
Surrounding Annihilus, the entire Negative Zone, comparable in size to a pocket universe, was already covered by an endless insect tide. The terrifying number of them were stacked in countless, densely packed layers, stretching from the very bottom all the way up to a height of hundreds of millions of meters.
All sorts of strange insects let out harsh, noisy cries, but Annihilus clearly enjoyed the sound. These were all the warriors under his command.
Annihilus was in a great mood. With a prize like Galactus's clone, their Annihilation Swarm would not lack for energy for a very long time.
"Hmm, leave a portion of the cosmic energy, and distribute the rest to my lovely warriors." Annihilus sat on his throne, his locust-like body appearing incredibly gaunt. A golden cape was draped over his back, leaving no doubt as to his identity as the Swarm King.
Just as Annihilus was reveling in his joy, a loud bang echoed. An uninvited guest had broken into the Negative Zone.
To be precise, it was a pitch-black mass that had smashed through his Negative Zone and intruded.
"Bastard, who is it? Who dares to trespass on the territory of my Annihilation Swarm?" Annihilus's expression suddenly darkened. He rose to his feet, his Level Seven aura flaring, filled with undisguised brutality.
The Annihilation Swarm was a species that was both irritable and frenzied, yet highly ordered.
Without needing their king's command, countless insectoids shrieked eagerly and charged forward. In an instant, giant insects that blotted out the sky filled the space, surging toward the black light in an overwhelming tide.
But no matter how many went, the black light accepted all comers, devouring as many as there were.
"What is that thing?"
Annihilus was alarmed and uncertain. Even as a Level Seven being, he couldn't quite see through this black light.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the deathly silent Galactus trembled. Perhaps he was awakened by the tremors in the Negative Zone, or perhaps stimulated by a high-level power. His head moved slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes.
"Not good!"
Shocked and enraged, Annihilus let out a low roar and lunged toward Galactus.
He had paid a great price to capture Galactus's clone; how could he tolerate his escape?
Beneath Galactus's massive head, his eyes glowed with an emotion of endless, berserk fury. The monstrous rage seemed poised to burn the entire Negative Zone to ashes.
"You damned insect! How dare you steal my energy!"
Galactus had awakened, incomparably furious. With every move, countless insects were killed by him.
The entire Negative Zone descended into complete chaos.
...
The mass of black light tore straight through the Negative Zone and once again roared into the domain of the Prime Universe.
The sudden appearance of the orange light, that vibrant orange, had an immense impact on One.
A complete Infinity Stone!
And it was the most powerful of the six conventional stones—the Soul Stone!
"You actually held onto this until now?!"
One couldn't help but roar, his eyes wide and bloodshot, almost unable to believe what he was seeing.
You clearly had all six stones, so why did you let Trigon beat you into that miserable state?!!!
"You bastard, are you insane?! When facing a terrifying enemy like Trigon, why did you only use five stones?!!"
One panted heavily, still roaring.
"If you had used six stones, you would have leaped to become a Level Eight being, fully capable of going head-to-head with Trigon's clone! Even if you couldn't kill him, you could have banished him!"
Tony looked at his own dissipating body and the energy erupting from the resonance between the Soul Stone and the other five stones, which was destabilizing the entire mass of black light.
He raised his hand. The orange Soul Stone floated above his palm, pulsing gently with a distinct rhythm, as if it were alive.
"It's not too late to bring it out now."
Tony revealed a smile, but no matter how one looked at it, the smile was incredibly cold and somewhat creepy.
If I had taken it out earlier, how could I have trapped you, the one hiding behind the scenes?
"Originally, I was thinking of giving this to the Ancient One. If it were the Ancient One, with the Infinity Gauntlet and six Infinity Stones, she would have been perfectly capable of banishing Trigon's clone."
Tony said lightly, "But you killed her, and then you came over. That gave me even less reason to take out the Soul Stone ahead of time."
"Damn it!" One gritted his teeth in hatred. A complete Soul Stone changed things too much. This personification of a universe's rules, this crystallization of Nemesis's power... the Soul Stone...
One finally realized it. He had been duped by Tony!
Even if he hadn't followed the teleportation array here, or if he hadn't discovered it for whatever reason, Tony still had a way to deal with Trigon!
The enhancement brought by six stones was a qualitative change!
It was a qualitative change from the single-universe level to the multiverse level!
"As you can see, this is my trump card. The trump card you were waiting for." Tony showed a strange smile. On his nearly disintegrated face, he barely maintained this dangerous expression.
"It's always good to have an ace up your sleeve. Against someone like you, full of ambition but lacking the patience to match, holding a few extra cards is a surefire way to win."
Tony looked at the Infinity Gauntlet. The five shattered stones looked incredibly pitiful. The Time and Mind Stones, in particular, were barely more than "remnants" still attached to the gauntlet.
But none of that mattered.
No matter how weak a Level Eight being was, no matter how incomplete their power, they were still Level Eight. They were a being capable of matching a Level Eight singular god head-on.
The orange Soul Stone was tossed up by Tony, and then it fell precisely into place.
A vicious glint flashed in One's eyes. He tried to use the Plot Gem, but a look of terror soon appeared on his face. His dissipating body and soul could no longer use an artifact like the Plot Gem.
"You can't use it anymore, can you? Although the Plot Gem has the lowest requirement for use—as long as you're a person, a complete life form, you can wield it and achieve greatness overnight."
"But the Plot Gem can't change your weak essence. Without it, you're still an ordinary human. And as you are now... what kind of independent life form are you? You're about to disappear, your body and soul are both fragmented."
Tony looked up and sneered, revealing two rows of pearly white teeth.
"Thank you for doing so much for me, Slim."
"Everything you have is mine now."
Annihilus, the King of the Annihilation Swarm, who captured Galactus as an energy source in *Interstellar Annihilation*.
(end of chapter)
