Twelve hours later, the gene-modification chambers slowly opened.
One after another, the Olympian goddesses stepped out in their divine garments.
Yan was the only other person left in the laboratory.
After Karl had taken her away earlier, he had thoroughly teased her and even left a private mark somewhere on her body.
Fortunately, it was somewhere no one else could see.
Even so, merely remembering it made Yan feel embarrassed.
The Olympian goddesses waved their hands, and the outer robes they had removed earlier immediately returned to their bodies.
"All right. Come over here and put these on."
Yan gestured toward the devices arranged on the table.
"These can change shape according to your preferences."
"Their cores contain stellar-energy transmission systems. They'll continuously provide the energy needed to stimulate and evolve the Kryptonian genes you've just received, gradually awakening their abilities."
"You can make them look however you want, but you must keep them on every day."
"Yes. Thank you, Sister Yan!"
The voices of all fifty-nine goddesses echoed through the laboratory.
Calling Yan "Sister" meant that the Olympian goddesses had formally accepted her position above them.
Yan nodded in satisfaction.
With a wave of her hand, the fifty-nine stellar-energy transmitters floated from the table and stopped in front of their respective owners.
After that, Yan left without bothering to see what forms they chose.
The moment the Olympian goddesses put on the devices, powerful stellar energy began entering their bodies.
Their temperatures rose.
Their blood seemed to boil.
At the cellular level, their newly acquired Kryptonian genes began evolving rapidly.
Every goddess could clearly feel herself becoming stronger.
After leaving the laboratory, they returned to Karl's quarters.
Their determination to remain beside him had only grown stronger.
Once inside, they immediately began cultivating their divine power while allowing the Kryptonian genes to continue adapting.
...
Karl, meanwhile, was no longer aboard the warship.
He was moving through the universe while using his own abilities and the Infinity Stones to search for traces of the Celestials.
He intended to settle matters with them.
However, no matter how far he searched, he couldn't find a single Celestial.
Eventually, Karl had no choice but to give up temporarily and return to the warship.
What he didn't know was that shortly after he disappeared from one region of space—
a towering Celestial appeared at the exact location he had just left.
...
The moment Karl returned to the warship, Vastness transmitted an urgent report.
A figure resembling a Celestial had appeared not far from the ship.
Karl's expression immediately changed.
Whoosh!
He vanished into space again.
Ganata, Yan, Black Phoenix, Hela, and Juggernaut appeared beside him almost immediately.
Karl gave Juggernaut a surprised glance.
For a moment, he wondered whether Cyttorak had finally begun interfering.
Then Cain turned toward him and flashed a wide grin.
Karl's mouth twitched.
Still the same idiot.
You're already a Single-Universe-level powerhouse.
Can't you look serious for once?
Karl turned his attention forward.
A Celestial stood in the distance.
Then—
Buzz!
Another appeared.
Then another.
One enormous figure after another materialized throughout the surrounding space.
Their numbers continued increasing.
Ten.
Twenty.
Thirty.
More than fifty Celestials eventually surrounded them.
The weakest possessed Single-Universe-level power.
And among them—
there was even a Super Single-Universe-level Celestial.
Karl immediately issued an order.
"Vastness, move the warship away."
"Maintain long-range support through wormholes."
[Understood, Sir.]
The flagship instantly disappeared from the battlefield.
Karl showed no fear.
Boom!
His early-stage Super Single-Universe aura erupted without restraint.
Golden light surrounded his body.
Behind him, an enormous torrent of radiance appeared.
Within that brilliant river flowed the power of the Law of Light.
Boom!
The Super Single-Universe-level Celestial at the front attacked without saying a word.
Terrifying cosmic energy gathered around its enormous fist.
Then—
it punched directly toward Karl.
The attack crossed the distance between them almost instantly.
Yet Karl didn't move.
Ganata's expression changed.
So did Yan's.
Hela and Black Phoenix reacted at the same time.
"Karl!"
All four immediately rushed in front of him.
None of them understood why he wasn't defending himself.
But they couldn't allow that attack to land.
Their first instinct was to shield him with their own bodies.
Karl stared at them helplessly.
At the same time, warmth rose in his heart.
Bang!
Just before the Celestial's attack reached them—
an enormous golden armored phantom appeared around Karl.
Boom!
The incoming energy smashed directly against it.
The phantom didn't move.
The attack was completely blocked.
Ganata, Yan, Black Phoenix, and Hela froze.
Then all four slowly turned toward Karl.
Yan immediately understood.
"I'll settle this with you later!!!"
She glared furiously at him.
Black Phoenix and Hela's expressions weren't much better.
Even Ganata, who was normally the most obedient around Karl, glared at him angrily.
Karl looked slightly embarrassed.
He had only wanted to test the Holy Light Armor's defensive capabilities.
He hadn't expected them to think he was helpless and rush in front of him.
The gigantic phantom faded.
In its place, brilliant golden armor appeared over Karl's body.
A white cloak extended behind him.
Golden energy flowed continuously across the armor's surface.
Then—
Clang!
The Holy Light Sword appeared in Karl's right hand.
Its blade gleamed with platinum and gold.
The torrent of light behind Karl immediately became even brighter.
Karl looked at the Super Single-Universe-level Celestial before him.
Then he casually swung the sword.
Whoosh!
A massive golden sword wave tore through space and shot directly toward the Celestial.
At the same time, Ganata, Yan, Black Phoenix, Hela, and Juggernaut attacked the remaining Celestials.
Ganata immediately released her true cosmic form.
Boom!
Boom!
A gigantic blue-black gravitational sphere formed before her, devouring the Celestials' incoming attacks one after another.
Even so, Ganata quickly came under pressure.
Among her opponents was a Celestial at the peak of the Single-Universe level.
Ganata had only recently reached the late stage of the same level.
Although the difference appeared to be only one stage, their combat strength was vastly different.
For now, Ganata could barely hold it back.
Yan, Black Phoenix, and Hela weren't having an easy time either.
More than forty Single-Universe-level Celestials were continuously bombarding them from every direction.
Boom!
Suddenly—
space behind one of the Celestials distorted.
A wormhole opened.
A massive beam of energy erupted from within it.
BOOM!
The beam pierced straight through the chest of an early-stage Single-Universe-level Celestial.
Its enormous body froze.
Then its life force disappeared completely.
Killed in a single strike.
The attack had come from the flagship—
tens of thousands of star systems away.
Vastness had fired through a wormhole using the warship's main cannon, amplified by the power of its ninety modified Infinity Stones.
With the flagship's galaxy-destroying weapon system behind it, the shot had directly killed a Single-Universe-level Celestial.
...
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