"Soren? Which Soren?" Valkyrie stared hard at him. Something about his presence felt familiar. Her eyes widened. "Are you… that Soren?"
"The Great Devil!?"
She took several steps back, suddenly tense. Thor's reaction only confirmed her suspicion.
"…" Soren gave a helpless smile and didn't answer.
"We need to get back." Thor quickly cut in.
"We have to stop Hela and stop Ragnarök. Valkyrie… whatever Asgard has done in the past, it's still your home. Please. Help us."
Conflicting emotions flickered across Valkyrie's face. Thor's words went deeper than she wanted to admit.
No matter how far she'd run, Asgard was still the place she had once sworn to protect. Even betrayal couldn't erase that.
Before she could decide~
Soren felt the spatial barrier he created shuddering violently.
"Grandmaster found us." His aura surged, filling the room with crushing pressure.
"…" Valkyrie knew what Sakaar looked like when the Grandmaster was angry, and she knew what happened to those who displeased him.
Even his own cousin hadn't escaped execution after betraying him. A long life had left the Grandmaster ruthless and numb to all other lives.
BOOM! interrupted her thoughts.
Hulk didn't hesitate and grabbed a massive pillar and smashed it through the metal wall as though it were paper. Through the hole, they saw waves of armed soldiers flooding in, pounding against Soren's spatial barrier.
Ripples shimmered with every impact, though the barrier remained intact.
"These are the Grandmaster's mercenaries," Valkyrie warned. "If you pay them, they'll do anything. Most are rabble… but a few are serious threats. Be careful."
Soren's smile… he was done hiding.
"Let them come."
More and more mercenaries gathered until the entire building was surrounded. Moments later, a colossal holographic projection of the Grandmaster materialized before them.
"Outsiders," He hissed, barely containing his fury, "Drop the barrier and perhaps you'll still have a way out." His eyes darted between Thor and Hulk.
"Those two are the finest toys I've had in ages. I will not lose them."
Soren rose into the air, meeting the giant projection head-on.
"You captured Hulk and Thor," Soren said through the ruined hall. "You forced them into your arena. And now you think you can threaten me?"
The Grandmaster's face twitched, but he masked it quickly.
He recognized Soren instantly. Not many beings in the galaxy radiated that level of power.
Still, he wasn't afraid.
After all this was his domain. And in his mind, the planet's technology and defenses could rival even Soren.
"Soren, is it?" The Grandmaster gave a tight smile. "You've had dealings with my dear brother, Taneleer Tivan."
"Very well. I'll overlook the trouble you've caused here on Sakaar. I won't even punish you for killing the Flame Titan."
"But you'd best understand. those two are champions I've spent centuries cultivating. I will not allow you to take them."
To the Grandmaster, the Contest of Champions wasn't entertainment… it was what kept his eternal life from collapsing into boredom.
Thor and Hulk were priceless to him.
And he would not give them up without a fight.
Even with the Collector's previous warning and his insistence that Soren must be handled carefully, even generously was long forgotten.
The Grandmaster had originally planned to placate Soren, even if it meant compensating him, just so he could keep Hulk. But this confrontation had spiraled beyond anything he expected.
"Hmpf, I'm taking them with me." Soren let out a dangerous laugh.
"If you want to stop me… try, and I'll tear Sakaar apart."
The Grandmaster's expression lost all frivolity. "You think you're powerful, Great Devil."
"You may have a few infinity stones. But this is my world. Don't think I can't find your precious Earth."
A threat.
Soren smiled, but it sent a chill through everyone watching.
He raised a hand.
BOOM
Space itself collapsed downward.
A crushing tidal wave of invisible pressure slammed into the mercenaries. They didn't even have time to scream.
Bodies ruptured instantly, weapons shattering and scattering like dust. Limbs and metal fragments embedded themselves deep into the ground.
Soren descended slowly, and he had held back…only a little.
The wave continued outward, obliterating the Grandmaster's enormous holographic projection in a single pulse.
And then, just as quickly, the destruction halted.
Despite his fury, Soren spared the civilians.
He was angry, not indiscriminate. This was a warning, nothing more. A demonstration of what would happen if anyone else was foolish enough to test him.
…
"SOREN! YOU GO TOO FAR!"
In the distance, from the Grandmaster's palace, a furious bellow shook every corner of Sakaar.
A second roar followed, filled with panic and fury. "Send out the champions, arm them with the strongest artifacts!"
"I want him DEAD!"