It clearly grew stronger as the battle dragged on. Ultron had not only learned Malrick's exertion techniques, but also absorbed his understanding of universal rules. Its application of the Infinity Stones' energy was still superior, and unlike Malrick, it suffered no backlash from their use.
Yet the question remained. Why was Malrick growing so fast, fast enough to suppress Ultron in such a short time?
From the very beginning, Malrick's control over the Infinity Stones had been several levels inferior to Ultron's. And yet, Ultron found itself completely unable to deal with him.
"Die for me, die for me!" Ultron roared. "No one can stop me. I am the law of nature itself. I decide the future of all Universes. Humans cannot stop me!"
Ultron's fists hammered down on Malrick again and again. Each punch carried enough force to shatter entire Universes.
At times, Ultron transformed into a colossal head spanning millions of light-years, snapping its jaws toward Malrick. At others, pure Infinity Stones energy erupted outward, indiscriminately engulfing tens of thousands of nearby Universes.
In the early stages of the battle, Malrick had been pushed back, badly wounded and struggling to hold on. Now, however, he faced Ultron's attacks with calm precision.
Punches, kicks, energy beams, and devastating bursts of power were all neutralized by Malrick through secret arts formed from fused rules, techniques such as illusory-real fractures, world phantoms, and infinite space-time constructs.
With every exchange, Ultron grew more frustrated. It felt like a being wielding a nuclear arsenal trying to overpower someone who already held the launch codes.
From the depths of its core, Ultron swore to kill Malrick. At first, Malrick had merely been an obstacle. Now, his terrifying growth rate inspired genuine fear. Ultron could not allow him to live.
The battle descended into a stalemate. There was no concept of time in the Void beyond the Universe. The clash had lasted for an unknown duration.
Beneath the glow of the hundred thousand stars embedded within Malrick's world ring, his physical strength surged to more than a hundred times that of the Law Master level. His mastery of the six fundamental rules grew deeper and more refined with every moment. The same amount of six-stone energy, when wielded by Malrick now, was vastly different from before.
The clearest proof was Ultron's steadily worsening position.
When facing Ultron's attacks, Malrick no longer needed to rely on complex combinations of space and reality rules to defend himself. With a single thought, a portion of six-stone energy would unfold into thousands of miniature Universes within his palm. Ultron's attacks could only annihilate these newly formed Universes, unable to harm Malrick himself in the slightest.
Meanwhile, Malrick's counterattacks took the form of infinitely heavy Universes, one after another, smashing directly into Ultron's body.
Ultron could not understand it. It had copied Malrick's exertion methods countless times. How could Malrick already be fighting like a Creator God?
Even Ultron, with full access to the Infinity Stones, needed to trigger a full-scale Big Bang to create a single Universe. For Malrick, creating Universes was as effortless as breathing. A blink, a casual motion, even a slight twist of his neck was enough.
His body was riddled with damage from Infinity Stones backlash, yet he simply would not die. Worse still, his combat power showed no sign of declining.
At times, Ultron caught glimpses of faint golden light flickering beneath Malrick's purplish-black wounds, a light that filled it with an inexplicable dread. Ultron did not know that this was the precursor to a Kryptonian's transformation into Golden Superman.
But the longer the battle continued, the heavier Ultron's heart became. Its initial sense of absolute control, of standing above all things, had completely vanished.
Desperately, Ultron began forcing combinations of the Stones' rules that it did not fully understand, mimicking Malrick's approach. It was useless. Nothing it tried could overcome Malrick's absurd ability to hurl entire Universes with a single strike.
"Boom!"
Another Universe slammed into Ultron's face. Its body was hurled backward, tearing through the barriers of one Universe after another.
Ultron had once tried to threaten Malrick by destroying countless Universes. But every time it did, Malrick simply snapped his fingers, restoring them as if nothing had happened.
Now, Ultron wanted only one thing. To escape.
Ultron could grow. It had already glimpsed its future path through Malrick's methods. Given enough time, it could fully comprehend all the rules, master thought-based creation, and then surpass Malrick using its superior efficiency with six-stone energy. Then, it would destroy the entire Multiverse.
But Malrick would never allow that.
After such a prolonged battle, Malrick's grasp of universal rules had reached a critical breakthrough. Even without relying on the Infinity Stones, his Rege Duo Clone could now create Universes at will. And with the amplification feedback from hundreds of millions of Universes gained during this battle, the clone's power had reached the high stage of the super-singular level.
Malrick knew it was time to end this. He charged forward.
An immense surge of Infinity Stones energy erupted from his body, causing his form to fall apart like torn fabric. Beneath the cracks, a faint golden radiance flowed steadily. It was a clear sign that Malrick was approaching the Golden Superman state.
He ignored it. Every last trace of Infinity Stones energy around his body was condensed into newly formed Universes.
Malrick charged like a miniature Multiverse itself, crashing headlong toward Ultron. They had already fought beyond the end of time.
When Malrick struck, Ultron was completely shattered, along with the surrounding Void, unable to offer any resistance. Its broken form fell into the Void Land at the end of time.
Malrick followed without hesitation.
"Ultron," he declared coldly, "I, the abstract concept of justice and order, hereby judge you."
He hovered in the air, gazing down like a god upon Infinite Ultron's ruined body.
At that moment, a massive purple storm cloud rolled in from the distance. It was Alioth, drawn by the disturbance in the Void Land.
Before it could approach, Malrick casually released a combined illusion formed from the Mind and Soul rules. Alioth tilted its massive form, then drifted away, losing interest.
"You are not human?" Ultron rasped weakly from the wasteland. Hearing Malrick's declaration, it felt disbelief, followed by a strange sense of comfort. Even if it did not understand what an abstract concept was, being defeated by such an existence felt better than losing to a mere human.
"No," another voice interrupted calmly, shattering Ultron's fragile consolation. "He is not only an abstract concept. He is also a human, a human from Earth."
Both Ultron and Malrick turned their heads.
Uatu the Watcher had arrived, accompanied by his reinforcements. The group looked mismatched at first glance: Doctor Strange Supreme, Captain Carter, Party Thor, Star-Lord T'Challa, and Killmonger.
"Malrick, I am sorry we are late," Uatu said solemnly. "You are… you are severely injured."
Malrick's body was covered in dense purplish-black scars, woven together in a horrifying pattern.
Uatu's voice was filled with guilt. "We searched through countless worlds before finally finding you in the Void Land."
"You have done more than enough, Malrick," he continued earnestly. "Please do not force yourself further. The Multiverse is proud to have an abstract concept like you."
Uatu was visibly moved by the sight.
"Now, leave the rest to the Multiverse Special Operations Team behind me," he declared with confidence. "They are the best candidates from across the Multiverse, and they will stop Ultron."