Under the urging of the Sorcerers, the long-dormant Sanctums were activated.
By drawing upon Earth's own vast magical wellspring, the Sanctums initiated a spell array capable of enveloping the entire planet.
Golden light flared in the outer reaches of Earth.
Ordinary people might not be able to see it, but to the Sorcerers, it was as conspicuous as a sun hanging in the sky.
Even from Earth, they could still sense the terrifying power rippling through space.
Karl vanished in a flash and appeared in outer space beyond Earth.
Compared to Earth, he was as tiny as a grain of sand in the desert, almost too small to notice.
As he looked at the ancient god spell array faintly visible around Earth, even Karl could not help but sigh in admiration.
Even with his alchemical attainments, he could not create something this powerful.
"Once I drive Galactus away, I'll come back and study this spell array."
Karl cast it one lingering look, his mental force stirring.
The next instant, he appeared beyond the Solar System.
After taking stock of the surroundings, Karl waited silently in space for Galactus to arrive.
In the void at more than two hundred degrees below zero, the cold had no effect on him.
Here, instead, he could sense more clearly the immense power of the stars.
As time passed, Karl gradually felt an enormous creature carrying terrifying power approaching.
In the blink of an eye, it had already arrived before him.
Even though Galactus seemed to be in a slumber and lacked any clear waking will, his immense mental force had formed visible ripples in space.
Light, meteorites, asteroids, fragments, and wreckage were all drawn in by a nameless devouring pull and swallowed into Galactus's belly.
Unfortunately, none of it could satisfy his hunger.
He still charged straight toward Earth.
Karl moved his magic and placed himself directly in Galactus's path.
Before a Galactus even larger than Earth, Karl looked as insignificant as a speck of dust.
Galactus paid him no heed whatsoever.
A surge of overwhelming power swept Karl aside.
Karl remained utterly unmoved. His formidable mental force erupted.
"Sacred Sword of the Vishanti!"
Without another word, platinum-white radiance bloomed in his hand, and a massive sword appeared.
The Sacred Sword of the Vishanti, originally only a little over half a meter long, suddenly expanded.
In just a few seconds, it had reached planetary scale.
The blinding white light illuminated half of Earth.
Karl did not hesitate. He swung it straight at Galactus.
Even sleeping as he was, Galactus sensed the disturbance from that devastating attack.
A roar that shook space itself burst from him.
His worm-like body, composed of black energy, suddenly swelled, and a red energy core emerged.
An astonishing force of attraction appeared.
Karl felt the terrifying power around him rushing into Galactus's body.
Karl's eyes narrowed.
So he had misunderstood Galactus.
This was not devouring energy.
It was control.
Galactus was seizing the nearby energy and drawing it directly into himself.
This kind of power existed on a level so high it seemed even more fundamental than laws themselves.
"As expected of one of the Five Great Gods."
"Too bad your current energy still isn't strong enough!"
Karl seemed completely unaffected.
The powerful platinum-white holy sword in his hand continued its unstoppable descent.
Slash!
The platinum-white holy sword seemed to slice through mist itself, cutting Galactus's black worm-like body clean open.
Galactus let out a pained howl.
His orange-yellow energy core exploded with dazzling brilliance, like a nuclear detonation going off in place.
For a brief instant, the light he released even eclipsed the sun.
Galactus's figure appeared again.
But his body seemed to have shrunk by an entire circle.
His mental force had become active.
Galactus was awake.
Karl could clearly feel a powerful wave locking onto him.
"Now that you're awake, leave."
"You are not allowed to devour Earth."
"Even if you claim to maintain the balance of the universe, you still cannot run wild on our world."
From Karl's tiny body erupted overwhelming mental force.
Galactus's terrifying pressure was pushed back by him head-on.
Galactus, who had been flying through space, actually came to a halt.
There was a being like this on Earth?
Hadn't Earth's ancient gods already disappeared?
Wasn't this universe supposed to lack dominant mutant power?
Then how could Earth still produce a being this strong?
As one avatar among the Five Great Gods, Galactus knew more of the truth of the universe than most.
He naturally understood that Earth was very different.
In some universes, even the Five Great Gods would not dare provoke Earth.
In mutant-dominated universes, for example, there were at least four multiversal-level mutants on Earth; even Galactus would not dare go there.
But this universe was different.
As far as he knew, mutants did not dominate here.
Most humans were normal.
Their overall power should not have been that great.
So how had a catastrophe-level existence like this been born here?
Galactus felt genuinely taken aback.
"Who are you?"
A vast thought, carried by mental force, swept over.
"Kamar-Taj. Sorcerer."
"Galactus, leave now."
"Otherwise, I won't hold back."
Karl spoke expressionlessly.
"Leave? Impossible!"
"Earth is destined to be destroyed today."
"Human, I will give you one last chance. Take a small number of people and leave."
"This is the last mercy I grant you."
Galactus answered just as coldly.
Karl laughed.
"Mercy?"
"I gave you a chance, and you refused it. Don't blame me for turning ruthless."
"If you'd come here at your peak, I might have been wary."
"But in your weakened state, you still dare act this arrogantly?"
Karl let out a cold laugh.
The platinum-white holy sword in his hand swung once more, slashing straight at Galactus.
A streak of white flashed across space.
It was so fast that the movement itself could not be tracked.
Even Galactus reacted a beat too slowly.
A huge section of his body was cut away in an instant, the slash seeming to cleave across the very void of the cosmos.
"Human, you are walking toward ruin!"
"You have brought death upon yourself and your planet!"
Galactus roared in fury.
His orange-yellow core burned even hotter along with his rage.
(End of Chapter)
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