In the end, Ronan, who was nearly driven to a mental breakdown by the torture, had already dropped the long hammer in his hand and was writhing in pain on the ground.
The sight of his torn, tear-streaked face and his anguished screams sent shivers down the spines of Star-Lord and Gamora nearby.
"Kill me! Please, kill me!"
Ronan struggled to crawl towards Star-Lord and Gamora, his eyes full of pleading.
Ronan knew that even if he dealt with these little skeletons on his body, he would still be killed by Zane, who would arrive later.
So why endure this hellish torture any longer? It would be better to die and end this endless suffering.
Seeing this scene, Star-Lord also showed a look of reluctance.
With a trembling right hand due to fear, he took out the energy gun hanging at his waist and aimed it at Ronan's forehead.
In an instant, gratitude flashed in Ronan's eyes.
"Tha... thank you..." Ronan's speech became shaky due to the pain, but he still managed to clearly utter these two words.
"Don't mention it, be a good person in the next life." Star-Lord decisively pulled the trigger.
Ronan closed his eyes in relief, waiting for the bullet to pass through his head and end his boundless pain.
But an embarrassing thing happened. Under the extreme pain, Ronan's consciousness seemed to be somewhat affected.
He seemed to have forgotten that he was a strong individual capable of controlling the Power Stone with his bare hands. His body wasn't something that an energy gun from Star-Lord could penetrate.
So, the energy beam only left a scorch mark on his forehead and made him slightly lean back, achieving nothing else.
"No!!"
With a desperate roar from Ronan, the small skeletons that had cleaned up other parts of the Necrocraft swarmed over, engulfing him.
Ronan's screams suddenly stopped, sounding like a duck being choked.
His eyes widened like never before, even tearing at the corners, leaking light blue blood.
His entire body convulsed violently from the pain, but he couldn't make a sound.
Star-Lord and Gamora, seeing this horrifying scene, exchanged glances.
They both instinctively pointed their guns at each other's heads.
They would rather die than endure such torture!
Actually, Ronan was a special case; his power level was awkwardly in-between.
If he were stronger, the skeletons wouldn't be able to touch him at all.
If he were weaker, the combined effort of all the skeletons could pull his soul out, sparing him such torture.
But Ronan's strength was just in that awkward middle ground, where the skeletons couldn't extract his soul, only gnaw at him.
It was like being cut with a dull knife, unable to die quickly or painlessly.
This was a living human tragedy!
"I think I'm starting to like you a bit..." Star-Lord said, looking at Gamora.
Gamora also smiled at Star-Lord.
"See you in the next life then!"
"Yeah..." Concentrating on preparing for their mutual suicide, the two of them didn't notice a tall figure suddenly appearing in the cockpit.
Zane, with a strange expression, looked at Gamora and Star-Lord, who were pointing guns at each other.
What was this, love turning into hate? In the original story, these two were supposed to be a couple!
Zane couldn't understand how Star-Lord, as a human from Earth, could fall for the entirely green Gamora.
At this moment, Ronan, twisting his body to the extreme on the ground, finally let out an earth-shattering scream.
"Ahhhh..."
The pain and despair in that scream made Gamora and Star-Lord shudder instinctively, ready to pull the trigger and end each other's lives.
Hearing Ronan's annoying noise, Zane also frowned.
"Shut up!"
With those words, the phantom of the Reaper's Scythe flashed across Ronan's body.
The next moment, Ronan's scream abruptly stopped, a blood mark slowly appearing on his neck.
Then his head was sprayed to one side by the light blue blood.
Strangely, Ronan's face showed a peaceful expression at this moment, even tears welling up at the corners of his eyes.
As Ronan died, countless little skeletons easily pulled his soul out and tore it to pieces.
For a moment, the entire cockpit was filled with the chilling sound of chewing.
Only then did Gamora and Star-Lord notice the anomaly and turned to look at Zane.
This was Star-Lord's first time seeing Zane's true face.
Previously, he had been knocked unconscious by a rocket and hadn't seen Zane.
Gamora, who had seen Zane before, immediately pointed her gun at Zane.
"Don't be nervous. With that touching drama you two just put on, you both get to live."
Zane said with a bright smile.
As he spoke, the little skeletons had just finished devouring Ronan's soul.
The thousands of little skeletons formed a gray torrent, pouring into the Reaper's Scythe like swallows returning home.
Once the last little skeleton returned to the Reaper's Scythe, a pure soul power flowed into Zane's soul through the scythe.
In an instant, Zane felt like he had undergone a spa treatment, feeling refreshed all over.
Star-Lord and Gamora, realizing the situation, tactfully retreated to one side, not daring to make a single move, fearing that Zane might change his mind and kill them too.
Better to live miserably than to die. Who would choose death if they could live?
"Skynet, come and collect the data!" Zane said into his communicator.
"Understood, boss."
With that, the Ark that had been moving alongside the Necrocraft extended numerous mechanical claws to firmly grasp the Necrocraft.
Then countless magnetic robots swarmed out, dismantling the armor, moving the equipment, and even copying the technological data and navigation tracks.
Even the still-living bodies of the soldiers on the Necrocraft were not wasted; they were brought back to the Ark to be turned into new magnetic robots.
Of course, not using the luxurious Vibranium anymore.
Although Skynet had excavated all the Vibranium from Wakanda on Earth, after filling Zane's treasury and building the Ark, there wasn't much left.
Skynet wouldn't waste precious Vibranium on these cannon fodder.
While studying in Asgard, Skynet developed a new generation of magnetic robots.
Although not as powerful or durable as those made of Vibranium, they were simple to produce.
The only drawback was that their manufacturing consumed a lot of energy, but with Zane's unlimited energy supply, this wasn't an issue at all.
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