At that moment, Star-Lord finally reacted. He whipped his head around and discovered Harry standing behind him at some point.
In front of Harry, an energy tentacle several dozen meters long was twisting its body as it stabbed toward him. Yet such an enormous energy tentacle had been stopped by one slender index finger. Dense green runes coiled around Harry's finger. Like glittering fragments of starlight, those runes protected Harry's finger while holding the energy tentacle back.
When the energy tentacle collided with Harry's finger, ghostly blue arcs erupted from the point where the two forces clashed, producing a piercing shriek like air being torn apart. In a collision between two beings of completely different size, the smaller one should logically have been crushed.
But Star-Lord was stunned to find that Harry's finger had not moved in the slightest, while the energy tentacle was trembling constantly, broken beams of energy bursting from every part of its body, as if the tentacle were being hammered over and over again.
After several seconds of collision, Ego realized that a single energy tentacle was no match for Harry, so he summoned even more energy tentacles. They filled the palace densely, longer, thicker, and more powerful, each one stronger than the previous tentacle.
Amid the dense mass of tentacles, Ego's body slowly floated up. White spiritual light like silk ribbons coiled around him as he threatened, "Harry Potter, this has nothing to do with you. Get out of my way!"
Naturally, Harry refused. Surrounded by tentacles, Star-Lord had already gone pale with fear and was hiding behind Harry, using him as a shield. Harry did not mind and only teased Ego, "Of course this has something to do with me. Did you forget that you also planted a seed on Earth?"
"No. That seed was pulled out by you not long after you became Sorcerer Supreme. Even if I carry out my plan now, it will no longer affect Earth. Since there is no direct conflict between us, why can't you simply watch me complete my plan? You should understand that even if I complete my plan, I still wouldn't be a match for you when you are completely out of control. I can even promise that once I break through my current limitations and reach the multiversal level, I will sign a contract with you and become your most loyal helper!"
At this point, Star-Lord panicked. Although he believed in Harry's character, he could not be certain whether Harry would refuse Ego's offer. After all, that was a multiversal-level subordinate!
So Star-Lord hurriedly tried to persuade him. "Harry, don't believe him. He's a lying bastard. I guarantee that once Ego becomes a multiversal-level powerhouse, there's no way he'll become your subordinate. He'll either run away immediately or try to kill you!"
As soon as Star-Lord finished speaking, he suddenly saw Harry slap to the side. Immediately afterward, a tentacle that had arrived beside him at some unknown point was knocked flying, smashing through the palace before landing more than a hundred meters away outside.
At the same time, Ego's hideous voice rang out in front of him. "Damn you, Peter, what nonsense are you spouting? Harry Potter, don't believe him. We can sign the contract in advance. I can even become your subordinate like Dormammu and Chthon, constantly supplying you with massive amounts of energy. What do you think? You don't need to do anything. You only need to stand aside and watch, and you'll receive a bountiful reward. There is no easier, more profitable deal in the world."
Star-Lord still wanted to keep persuading Harry, but an energy tentacle suddenly covered his mouth, preventing him from speaking. He stared hard at Harry, constantly making muffled sounds as he tried to convince Harry not to believe Ego.
If Harry truly cooperated with Ego, Star-Lord really could not imagine who in the universe would still be able to stop them.
Seeing Star-Lord's extremely anxious expression, Harry shook his head.
What a joke. What kind of person did he think Harry Potter was? Was Harry the sort of villain who ignored other people's safety for his own benefit?
Harry shook his head, tightened his grip on his wand, and one magic array after another appeared around him, providing him with various enhancements. "No, Ego. I refuse."
"Why?" Ego could not believe it. In his view, no one could refuse such generous terms.
Harry said as if it were only natural, "Because if I kill you, everything you own will be mine. That's far better than having you as my subordinate!"
Star-Lord said, "???"
Ego said, "!!!"
Ego laughed in extreme anger and gritted his teeth. "Good, good, good. What an excellent Harry Potter. But do you really think you've already won? I once carefully studied your abilities and learned that if you still cannot control your true power, then if you forcefully use it, you will indiscriminately destroy everything around you! So choose, Harry Potter. Will you forcefully use your power to defeat me, then watch helplessly as I escape and kill the Guardians of the Galaxy and the others, or will you wait until I complete my plan, and then we can each take a step back and reconcile as if nothing happened?"
Star-Lord's mouth fell open as he stared at Harry in disbelief. "Harry, is that true?"
Harry nodded. "It's true, but don't worry. I have another way."
With a light wave of his hand, Harry attempted to open a portal under Star-Lord's feet to transfer him out, but before the portal could fully form, it was destroyed by a powerful surge of white energy.
Ego said viciously, "Harry Potter, on my territory, don't even think about teleporting them out!"
The next moment, the energy erupting from Ego's body became as violent as boiling lava. Dozens of energy tentacles surged out from the surroundings, their surfaces flowing with heart-stopping arcs of electricity, like ancient pythons crawling out from the abyss as they lunged at Harry with claws bared and fangs exposed.
"Die!" Ego's voice carried thunderous fury, shaking the surrounding space until ripples spread through it.
The two tentacles at the front attacked first, drawing strange arcs through the air as they stabbed toward Harry's throat and heart with lightning speed.
Harry raised his wand and instantly entered an overloaded state. Along with an ear-piercing roar, emerald arcs instantly formed a disintegration sword around his wand. Holding the disintegration sword, he cut down the approaching energy tentacles, but he still felt tremendous pressure.
Facing a Celestial, he needed to release more power to defeat Ego. But if he released more power, the Guardians of the Galaxy and even the other residents of the nearby star systems would be devoured by the raging chaos magic.
Ego also noticed Harry's predicament and immediately became arrogant. "Hahaha, so the so-called Harry Potter amounts to nothing more than this. This is not the Hell dimension. You cannot release your power without restraint. You don't want your own power to kill billions of innocent lives, do you? You don't want your friends to be killed by your own power, do you? So fall, Harry Potter. Your mercy is the reason for your failure!"
Hearing Ego's words, Star-Lord panicked at once. He hid behind Harry, trying his best to stay away from the shockwaves produced by their battle as he asked while trembling, "Harry, you're not really going to lose, are you?"
Then he gritted his teeth and said, "If there's really no other way, then take Gamora and the others and leave. I'll stay here alone. I still have one final plan that can stop Ego from destroying the universe!"
Star-Lord had already decided to sacrifice himself to protect his friends.
To carry out his plan, Ego needed the power of two Celestials. As long as Star-Lord died, Ego, relying on only his own power, would no longer be able to carry out his plan.
Harry guessed what Star-Lord intended to do and grinned. "Quill, don't panic. I have another way."
Seeing Harry gradually being suppressed by Ego and even seeming close to defeat, Star-Lord was panicking badly. "How could I not panic in this situation? If you have another way, hurry up and use it. It looks like we're about to die!"
"It's here. The timing is just right!" At that moment, Harry suddenly raised his head. His gaze seemed to pierce through ceiling after ceiling and see the blue sky of Ego's Planet.
At the same time, Rocket Raccoon's voice came through Harry and Star-Lord's communicators. "Oh my God, look outside! What is that? A city is floating in the sky!"
"What? What are you talking about, Rocket? Now is not the time to be dreaming!" Star-Lord asked in confusion.
But there was no longer any need for Rocket to explain. Just then, the shockwaves from Harry and Ego's battle completely destroyed the great hall.
The sky appeared before Star-Lord through the clouds of dust, and then he saw Ego's rolling cloud layer suddenly split open with spiderweb-like cracks. A massive portal slowly opened in the sky. Inside the portal, a colossal outline gradually emerged. A suspended city slowly extended out from the fully formed portal.
Along with a deafening sound of interlocking gears, the floating city fully appeared before everyone.
Everyone stared in astonishment at the colossal object suspended high in the sky. It was ten kilometers in diameter, larger than even the newest models of starships. At that moment, it looked like a gigantic work of art floating above the clouds, its exterior filled with fantasy and breathtaking grandeur.
Its foundation was built from enormous obsidian blocks, their surfaces carved with mysterious runes and totems that shimmered with deep, dim light beneath the sun. Glittering crystals were embedded between the obsidian. These crystals varied in size and form. Some pointed straight toward the heavens like sharp swords, while others bloomed wildly like flowers.
They emitted soft, gorgeous light that contrasted vividly with the darkness of the obsidian, giving off a mysterious, dreamlike feeling. Towering spires stood atop the city walls, each with a unique shape. Their sharp roofs were wrapped with golden vine-like decorations, and gemstone-like flowers dotted the vines, swaying gently in the wind and sparkling with mesmerizing brilliance.
The towers were connected by crystal-clear glass corridors, which refracted the sunlight into rainbow-like colors. Golden energy veins flowed across the entire surface of the floating city like living blood vessels, winding along the outlines of the buildings, sometimes gathering, sometimes dispersing, releasing a soft, warm glow.
Gamora, who had excellent eyesight, even found what seemed to be traces of some kind of superpowered humanoid beings within those energy veins.
Without a doubt, this miraculous floating city was not merely a spaceship with flight and spatial jump capabilities. It was also a war machine filled with powerful magic.
The instant Ego saw the floating city, he sensed that something was wrong. He immediately condensed several thousand-meter-long tentacles outside and attacked the floating city, but all of them were easily blocked by the barrier around it.
Then he noticed that Harry was preparing to fly toward the floating city. Although he did not know what Harry intended to do, whatever the enemy wanted to do had to be stopped.
So Ego once again summoned a dense mass of energy tentacles, attempting to intercept Harry.
It had to be said that on Ego's territory, if Harry did not continue unsealing his power, and with his spatial magic sealed by Ego, it really would be difficult for him to break out of Ego's encirclement smoothly.
But that was under the condition that Harry had concerns to hold him back and had no other support nearby.
Now, Harry had the floating city.
Harry only lightly waved his wand, and a magic array instantly appeared beneath him and Star-Lord, enveloping them both. Immediately afterward, a dazzling beam of light descended from the sky, protecting them within it and carrying them rapidly toward the floating city.
Countless energy tentacles tried to pierce through the energy beam, but how could a beam powered by the Mind Stone be broken so easily?
So Ego could only watch helplessly as Harry and Star-Lord returned to the floating city.
After entering the floating city, Harry once again gained control over space and instantly teleported back to the center of the floating city. When he arrived in a sealed chamber filled with higher-dimensional magic, endless magic arrays wrapped around him. In the next moment, with the assistance of the floating city, he activated most of his own chaos magic.
Thick chaos magic spread from the sealed chamber, instantly enveloping the entire floating city along one Runic matrix after another. The spatial blockade Ego had set up was shattered in an instant, and the Guardians of the Galaxy and the others vanished from where they stood, directly teleported by Harry into the floating city.
At that moment, a massive projection with Harry's appearance emerged outside the floating city, looking down at Ego's Planet from above. His gaze pointed straight toward Ego's true body inside the planet.
Harry controlled the projection and grinned. "Ego, it's time for round two!"
Ego stared at the floating city above in shock. He truly had not expected Harry to possess a weapon of this level, one that could strengthen his control over his own magic through the floating city, allowing him to master his own power.
And now, after Harry deeply unsealed his power, the strength he possessed had already far surpassed Ego's.
Ego sensed the danger. While trying to open a spatial passage and flee this stretch of deep space, he shouted at Harry, "Wait, Mr. Potter! We can talk! I'm willing to sign the contract now, become your follower, and voluntarily abandon my plan!"
Harry shook his head, looking at him with disappointment, as if he could not believe Ego was still this foolish. "Ego, I've discovered that your intelligence really isn't very high. I've already said it several times. Once you're dead, everything you own will be mine!"
Beneath the floating city, colorless chaos magic condensed to the extreme, shining like a sun.
Finally, with a slight movement of Harry's will, a stream of chaos light several thousand meters in diameter descended from the sky, blasting fiercely toward the core of Ego's Planet.
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