"Lothar... Your Highness?!"
The Centauri system, inside the Black Quadrant base, in a side chamber.
Lothar stood in the center of the hall, his entire body engulfed in green flames, as his subordinates watched in stunned silence.
The Other and the butler cat, Gaitz, frantically tried to extinguish the fire, and even Wanda attempted to use her magic to help Lothar escape the "danger." But all their efforts were in vain.
The green flames seemed to have a life of their own, not only refusing to be put out but also spreading. Stray sparks landed on a few who had dared to touch them, and in a flash, they were on fire!
"This is bad!" Realizing the danger, The Other immediately severed his own arm, while Gaitz threw off the checked apron he was never without. Only Wanda hesitated, a look of conflict on her face as she glanced at Lothar. But as the flames grew hotter, she quickly tore off her top, which had caught a few sparks.
Rip!
The shreds of fabric turned to ash the moment they hit the floor. Pietro, her brother, was startled. He ignored the rule that superpowers were forbidden in the Black Quadrant base and put a combat jacket on her. It was loose, but it at least provided cover.
"What… is going on?"
Lothar was oblivious to Wanda's panic. He was more concerned with his own strange state. He could feel that this was some kind of a warning from the World Tree's dimensional energy.
But why? He wasn't from the Nine Realms. He didn't even have a cosmic citizenship.
"Lothar, what's happening to you?"
Hela, who had "invaded" Lothar's communication channel, was just as stunned by the sight of him wrapped in green flames. She had never seen anything like it.
"I don't know. Can't you feel it?" Lothar asked, already used to Hela's holographic projections.
"You're the one on fire. What do you expect me to feel?" Hela subtly rolled her eyes. They weren't conjoined twins, after all.
Boom!
As soon as Hela finished speaking, the flames engulfing Lothar plunged to the ground and instantly dissipated, revealing Lothar's rare expression of shock.
"Did your powers go out of control?" Hela asked curiously.
"…What do you want?" Lothar asked coolly, looking down at his hands.
Behind him, The Other, who had already regrown his arm, gave Lothar a silent thumbs-up. As expected of His Highness Lothar. Even when the other woman comes knocking, he's still a hard-ass. Power truly lets you do whatever you want.
"Do you want the Time Stone?" Hela asked playfully, pulling out the Time Stone that Stephen Strange had given her. A vibrant green light shone out, making Hela's head glow with a verdant sheen.
"?!" Lothar's attention was instantly diverted from his own odd state. He immediately looked at Hela's hand, or more accurately, the Infinity Stone peeking out from its container.
The Time Stone, the very one guarded by generations of Sorcerer Supremes.
"How did you get that?"
"I made a deal with the current Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen Strange," Hela said with a shrug, toying with the object in her hand. "I'll tell you all the details when you get here. I have some other questions for you, too." With that, the holographic projection of Hela vanished, leaving Lothar with a deep frown.
"Dispose of Gamora's body," Lothar said immediately, deciding to go to Asgard. It was the last order he gave before leaving the Black Quadrant.
Asgard was far from the Black Quadrant, but after Hela's rise to power, they had established a teleportation array between the two. The official reason was to help each other out. The real reason remained a mystery. In any case, Hela and Lothar no longer had to fly for a long time just to see each other.
On Asgard, in the throne room, Hela was sitting on her throne with her legs crossed, chewing on some fruit her subordinates had brought her. She looked up and saw a figure walking through the main entrance. It was a man in a loose black combat suit, a red tail wrapped around his waist.
"Where's the Time Stone?" The first thing Lothar said was a direct question.
"It's hanging around my neck," Hela said, putting down her fruit plate and getting up from the throne. She walked down the steps, the green Time Stone glowing at her chest. "He said it was his token of sincerity."
"Oh, by the way, this Stephen Strange is the former Ancient One's disciple and the current Sorcerer Supreme." Hela took off the Time Stone and handed it to Lothar.
"He wants to talk to me?" Lothar frowned, feeling the familiar energy of the Infinity Stone and confirming that it was the real thing.
"He didn't say what about. He gave me the Time Stone and said he wanted a chance to meet you and talk," Hela said with a shrug.
He gave away the Time Stone just to talk? Lothar thought Stephen Strange was a total idiot.
"So, will you see him?" Hela asked.
"Did you agree?"
"No, I said I'd do my best."
"Then I'm not free," Lothar said, putting away the Time Stone. He was completely justified. That Eternity had humiliated him, and he had far more important things to do than to meet a Sorcerer Supreme who had lost his most powerful weapon.
And as for the agreement... what did Strange's agreement with Hela have to do with Lothar? Hela had only promised to "do her best."
"I'll tell him the outcome," Hela said with a shrug. "But before that, I need to know what's going on with that Mera." Her eyes were sharp as she stared at Lothar.
"…She's someone I knew in another universe," Lothar said.
"And she followed you all the way here?" Hela's gaze remained sharp.
"Your brother Loki brought her here," Lothar corrected with a serious face.
He wasn't going to take the blame for this. If Loki hadn't meddled, no one in that universe, including Mera, would remember him after Barry Allen reset it.
Lothar was confident in this, so he didn't feel a shred of guilt under Hela's gaze.
"I'll handle Loki myself," Hela said with a pout, recalling the sight of Mera lying in a pool of blood. She was able to put her jealousy aside for now.
"As for you..." Hela said, looking at Lothar.
"Will you marry me, Lothar?"
"Come with me, and together, let's conquer this universe."
As Hela spoke, the throne room transformed. The two figures stood as if in the middle of a beautiful galaxy.
"Let's become the masters of this universe and reign supreme."
Hela raised her hand, and an Asgardian engagement ring glittered.
Lothar, who was being proposed to for the first time, was completely bewildered.
He was unaware that he had inherited the most enviable trait of the Saiyan race—girls chasing them.
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This fanfic has been fully translated!