Chapter 29 – The Collector
Rocket Raccoon let out a long, tired sigh as he rolled his eyes, then swatted away the hand that had just grabbed his head. He cleared his throat and, with a reluctant huff, began laying out his escape plan in blunt, practical terms.
"I need a security bracelet from one of the prison guards, the yellow-glowing energy battery on top of that watchtower, and the mechanical prosthetic leg Hollis is wearing. If we can get those three things, I can get us out of here."
He raised a finger, his tone turning serious.
"But pay attention to this—grab the battery last. The moment we mess with the watchtower's power system, this whole place is gonna go into full lockdown and the alarms will start screaming—"
Before Rocket could even finish his sentence, the adorable tree creature—who apparently felt taller than everyone else for once—stretched out his arm and plucked the glowing energy battery right off the top of the tower.
In the very next instant, rainbow-colored lights flickered wildly as a piercing alarm wailed across the entire prison complex.
"Gamora, get the security bracelet. Star-Lord, figure out how to take Hollis's leg. We'll hold off the guards. Move, everyone…" Blake nodded calmly as he stood up, his gaze sweeping over the team.
Blake knew perfectly well that Rocket had been joking about needing Hollis's leg, but he didn't bother calling him out on it.
What mattered was that Star-Lord could pull it off—after all, he was the one who'd paid thirty thousand galactic credits for that prosthetic in the first place.
In the original story, they had already managed to escape this prison. Now, with Blake added to the team, things were even easier. He didn't even need to take it too seriously—he could practically relax the whole time.
After stirring up absolute chaos inside the Kyln prison, they finally managed to escape smoothly.
But the moment they were aboard Star-Lord's ship, every pair of eyes turned toward Blake.
"My codename as a bounty hunter is God of Destruction," Blake said casually. "But my real name is Blake Thorne. You can just call me Blake. As for what's next… well, we're heading to Knowhere to meet the Collector. And we're going to pull a little Robin Hood act—steal from the rich and split the loot."
Rocket and Star-Lord exchanged baffled looks.
"Even though I've got four billion galactic credits, wouldn't it be better to spend someone else's money instead of our own?" Blake added with a light grin. "Besides, the Collector's not exactly a good guy either."
Star-Lord: …
Gamora: …
Rocket: …
Drax: …
Groot: "I am… Groot~"
"Hahaha… I'm kidding," Blake said with a soft laugh. "Gamora, tell Ronan that the Cosmic Orb is in the Collector's hands now. He's your boss, after all. That means Drax's enemy is my enemy too. We'll take him out first."
As he spoke, Blake gave Gamora's shoulder a firm pat and lowered his voice.
"And if you want Thanos dead too… go ahead and call him here while you're at it."
Those words sent a shock through the entire team.
Drax the Destroyer—the steel-hard warrior who usually stood like an unbreakable wall—felt his eyes sting, old emotions rising up from somewhere deep in his chest.
Gamora said nothing. She simply nodded slowly, her gaze fixed on Blake's face, something complicated and heavy flickering in her eyes.
Ronan the Accuser—the ruler of the Kree—wasn't just powerful. He commanded a massive military fleet from the Kree Empire itself.
On his own, Ronan was already terrifying. Gamora couldn't even imagine how Blake planned to face that kind of power by himself.
But when she remembered Blake's legendary reputation as an SSS-ranked bounty hunter, her confidence wavered. Maybe… if anyone could do it, it would be him.
If things truly went to hell, they could always run, right?
And as Thanos's adopted daughter, Ronan probably wouldn't dare lay a hand on her so easily.
But as for actually calling Thanos himself… Gamora had no intention of doing that.
As one of the Eternal race, Thanos's personal power far surpassed Ronan's—maybe by hundreds, even thousands of times.
And the military force under his command, along with the elite Black Order, was on an entirely different level.
Even though Gamora trusted Blake, she didn't believe he could face that kind of overwhelming force all at once.
If it were a one-on-one fight, maybe there would be a chance.
But deep down, Gamora knew that even if an opportunity to kill Thanos truly appeared, she wasn't sure she could bring herself to do it.
After all, Thanos was the one who had raised her for years. A bond like that couldn't simply be erased.
For now, the only thing Gamora could do was… run away from Thanos.
— — —
When they arrived at Knowhere and saw the massive, planet-sized head drifting in the void of space, Blake couldn't hide the look of awe on his face.
Watching something like this in a movie and seeing it with his own eyes were two completely different experiences.
If just the head was this big, how enormous must the body have been?
Seeing Blake's stunned expression, Gamora assumed it was his first time here. She began explaining to everyone.
"There are rumors that Knowhere used to be the head of an Ancient God. A few hundred years ago, this place was taken over by criminals. They discovered that the remaining organic tissue inside the head contained massive amounts of energy."
"After that, they started extracting bones, brain tissue, and marrow fluid from it and selling them on the black market for high prices. This business alone brings in unbelievable profits every year, just from harvesting this head."
— — —
Once their ship entered Knowhere's interior, Gamora led them straight to the residence of the Collector—Taneleer Tivan.
"Oooh~ look who's here!"
"Welcome, beautiful Miss Gamora. Did you bring what I asked for?"
A white-haired, middle-aged man wearing strange mechanical glasses hurried toward them, his steps light and eager.
Gamora leaned toward Blake and whispered, "That's the Collector—Tivan."
Blake nodded and stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Gamora, shielding her with his presence.
"I have the Cosmic Orb. So, how much are you willing to offer?" Blake pulled the sphere from beneath his cloak, his voice calm and steady.
The moment Tivan laid eyes on the Orb, his gaze locked onto it as if he'd been enchanted.
The Collector's real name was Taneleer Tivan. In the comics, he was one of the Elders of the Universe—ancient beings who had existed since the dawn of the cosmos, billions of years ago.
After losing a wager to the entity known as Death, he had been cursed with immortality.
To keep himself from going insane over an endless lifespan, Tivan turned to collecting rare and extraordinary artifacts. That was how he earned the title "The Collector."
As an Elder of the Universe, his power was anything but trivial. Like the others, he possessed strength on the level of a Skyfather—comparable to Odin, the All-Father of Asgard.
After all, without that kind of power, there was no way he could protect a collection as valuable as his. Even Thanos wouldn't dare underestimate him.
In the Marvel films, the Collector was portrayed as somewhat pathetic. But standing here now, Blake could clearly feel the hidden power coursing through Tivan's body—and it was no weaker than Odin's.
But to Blake, right here and now?
…Heh.
Tivan was still nothing more than easy prey.
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