Karl returned to the warship alongside Ganata, who had already resumed her human form.
The moment he looked at her, he could tell she was starving.
After expending enormous amounts of energy during the battle, even her previously energetic appearance had become noticeably weaker. Her complexion was slightly pale, and her cosmic aura had diminished considerably.
As soon as they arrived, Yan, the Black Phoenix, Hela, Wanda, May, Raven, and the others gathered around them.
Karl immediately understood their concerns.
He simply gave them a reassuring look before waving his hand.
"Go take care of your own matters. I'm fine."
His calm voice instantly eased much of their anxiety.
Not far away, Pietro watched the scene unfold with complicated emotions.
Thinking back to their first encounter, he suddenly felt fortunate.
At the time, he had nearly offended Karl.
Had it not been for Pietro's relationship with the group, the consequences might have been unimaginable.
After all, Black Bolt's full-powered voice was capable of devastating worlds.
Yet the battle Karl had just fought was on an entirely different level.
Nearly a dozen star systems had been destroyed in the aftermath.
Many of those systems contained hundreds of billions of celestial bodies, countless civilizations, and unthinkable amounts of life.
And Karl had personally killed two Celestials.
The third had ultimately fallen as well.
Crystal stood nearby, equally stunned.
She had always known Karl was powerful.
She had once believed that destroying a planet represented the upper limit of his strength.
But after witnessing today's battle, she finally realized how narrow her perspective had been.
Compared to true cosmic entities, planetary destruction was merely the beginning.
Karl, however, paid little attention to their reactions.
He led Ganata to a nearby lounge and sat down on a sofa with her resting comfortably beside him.
"Vastness, allocate the equivalent of one hundred billion stellar units of energy to feed Ganata."
Karl spoke softly while looking at the obedient Devourer Princess.
Even though she was obviously hungry, Ganata had never complained.
When Karl brought her into battle, he had not issued a single order.
Yet she had remained by his side the entire time and fought alongside him against the Celestials.
That trust significantly elevated her position in Karl's heart.
Ganata tilted her head and looked at him curiously.
She seemed confused about why he was doing this for her.
[Yes, Sir.]
[Initiating transfer of energy equivalent to one hundred billion stars.]
A moment later, vast crimson energy streams materialized throughout the room.
"It's fine."
Karl gently rubbed Ganata's head.
"I know you've consumed a tremendous amount of energy. You must be starving by now."
"Don't hold back."
"Just eat."
Only after hearing Karl's words did Ganata finally begin absorbing the incoming energy.
Countless crimson streams surrounded her body before rapidly disappearing into her.
Her previously weakened aura immediately began recovering.
Karl quietly held Ganata while simultaneously instructing Vastness to accelerate the transfer process.
At the same time, the two concealed Skyblade VII warships remained on standby, ready to enter the Dark Dimension at any moment.
After all, Karl had no idea when the next Celestial response force would arrive.
Preparation was essential.
[Sir.]
[During your battle against the Celestials, I successfully recorded the conceptual definitions and cosmic-law modifications they utilized.]
[Comprehensive data analysis has been completed.]
[I can now replicate Conceptual Definition and Cosmic Modification abilities.]
[However, the required energy consumption is extraordinarily high.]
Karl's eyes brightened slightly.
"Oh?"
"That's excellent."
"As long as we have a way to counter them, energy isn't a problem."
He was genuinely surprised.
He had expected Vastness to analyze some of the Celestials' techniques.
He had not expected it to completely record and reconstruct them.
At the same time, Karl recalled the strange sensation he had felt during the battle.
Something had indeed attempted to rewrite him on a conceptual level.
Fortunately, the System had blocked those alterations.
Otherwise, the consequences might have been disastrous.
His wariness toward the Celestials increased considerably.
Originally, Karl had assumed they were merely powerful universal-level entities.
Now he understood how terrifying they truly were.
Their mastery over concepts, reality manipulation, and cosmic laws made them extraordinarily dangerous.
Without the System protecting him, even Karl might have fallen.
Fortunately, this confrontation had ended in victory.
But that only reinforced one conclusion.
Everyone around him needed to become stronger.
As quickly as possible.
"Vastness."
"Begin searching for traces of the Phoenix Force throughout the universe."
"Conduct a full cosmic scan."
"Skip the regions that are impossible or unnecessary to investigate."
Karl made his decision after a brief moment of thought.
Among his current allies, only a few possessed the potential to rapidly reach universal-level combat power.
Hela was one of them.
As long as she continued absorbing energy and expanding her connection to death-related forces, her power would continue growing.
The Shadow World still contained vast amounts of energy awaiting absorption.
The Black Phoenix was another.
For someone already connected to the Phoenix Force, locating additional fragments could dramatically increase her strength.
Then there was Yan.
Her Fifth-Generation Divine Body represented one of Karl's most important technological achievements.
Once fully upgraded, she would officially step into universal-level territory.
Combined with Vastness's computational support and battlefield analysis, her actual combat effectiveness would far surpass ordinary beings at the same level.
[Understood, Sir.]
[Universal-scale scan initiated.]
[Computational resources fully allocated.]
[Searching...]
Karl continued sitting quietly with Ganata in his arms while she absorbed energy.
Before long, the Black Phoenix, Hela, Yan, May, Raven, and the others arrived and sat around him.
No one spoke.
They simply remained there.
Keeping him company.
After a while, Karl finally broke the silence.
"Hela."
"Enter the Shadow World and absorb as much energy as possible."
"Increase your strength immediately."
Then he turned toward Yan.
"Yan."
"It's time."
"Upgrade to the Fifth-Generation Divine Body."
"Don't worry about energy consumption."
"Complete the upgrade."
Hela nodded firmly.
Karl immediately brought her into the Shadow World.
Yan also seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation.
Without hesitation, she opened a wormhole and departed.
Moments later, her figure appeared inside the primary research facility.
Karl then looked at the worried expressions around him and smiled.
"Relax."
"I'm fine."
"The enemies this time were simply stronger than I expected."
"But you don't need to worry."
"Without my permission, nobody can enter the Shadow World."
"It remains completely under my control."
"Focus on becoming stronger."
"That's the most important thing right now."
Everyone nodded silently.
They understood what Karl was trying to say.
Wanda and the younger Wanda vanished from the sofa shortly afterward.
They had returned to continue cultivating Chaos Magic.
The others were no different.
Each person began pursuing their own path toward greater strength.
After witnessing Karl's earth-shattering battle against the Celestials, they had all reached the same conclusion.
They wanted to stand beside him.
Not behind him.
Not as burdens.
But as companions capable of helping him fight.
After all, while the battle had been awe-inspiring, what they felt most strongly while watching was fear for Karl's safety.
Then Vastness's voice suddenly echoed through the room.
[Sir.]
[Phoenix Force energy signatures have been detected.]
[A trace has been located within a star system near the edge of the universe.]
[Shall we proceed?]
...
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