MTS: Marvel and Beyond

Chapter 160: Chapter 160: Celestials

Arishem's bisected corpse floated silently in the void of space. The Celestials who had just arrived began reassembling his body, infusing it with energy in an attempt to resurrect him.

However, no matter how much power they channeled into Arishem, there were no signs of revival. The forces unleashed by Alex's Mystic Eyes of Death Perception and other death-nullifying abilities had sealed Arishem's fate—an immutable death.

Moments later, the gathered Celestials realized the truth: Arishem could not be revived. Their great leader, the Celestial Judge, had truly fallen.

They stored Arishem's remains in a newly opened independent dimension and turned their attention to Alex. Their gazes were sharp, their scrutiny unyielding as they studied the mortal who had slain their leader.

As Celestials, they rarely experienced emotional turmoil. Even in the face of civilizations collapsing or entire species being annihilated, they would remain detached, merely recording events without intervention.

But now, as they faced a being capable of killing a Celestial, they could not remain indifferent. For the first time, they understood the mortal fear of death.

"We must kill him!" declared the green-glowing Searcher, scanning Alex's body. Through the depths of Alex's being, he glimpsed a vast and unfathomable abyss of energy. "His strength is immense. Even Arishem was no match for him. He is the greatest threat to our order in this universe. His mere existence could destabilize cosmic balance!"

The yellow-striped Eradicator added, "Agreed. We must eliminate him at once!"

The Collector, another Celestial, scanned Alex with meticulous precision. As a singular-universe-level entity himself, he could discern fragments of Alex's capabilities from his previous battles. "This human possesses a dimensional universe of his own—a remarkable research opportunity. His unparalleled physical prowess could be harnessed for biological augmentation. Perhaps we could create a new race far superior to the Eternals!"

The glowing green Analyzer spoke, "Indeed. If we can uncover the secret to his rapid evolution, it may even allow us to replicate the ancient Celestials of the Prime Universe and craft god-tier species to rival the Pantheon of Gods."

The other Celestials quickly chimed in, one after another. In their eyes, Alex was already a trapped prey with no means of escape. Though he had somehow managed to slay Arishem, they believed he was no match for the combined might of the Celestials.

When the Celestials fought as one, their abilities complemented each other, amplifying their individual powers severalfold.

Despite their confidence, Alex remained unfazed. He activated his Six Eyes, scanning the Celestials in return. He quickly discovered that each of them possessed a powerful energy core deep within their bodies.

These cores bore a strong resemblance to those of the Eternals, but the Celestial cores were on another level entirely. Their energy was boundless, as if every Celestial housed an Infinity Stone within them.

Alex theorized that when Arishem had created the Eternals, he must have drawn inspiration from his own core, crafting a weaker imitation for his creations.

The realization that these Celestials were effectively walking Infinity Stones caused Alex's eyes to gleam with opportunity.

'If I can subdue and seal these Celestials within my dimensional universe, the energy output of my universe could increase exponentially.' Alex thought to himself.

After absorbing energy and advancing to Level 6, the energy supply from his dimensional universe was already struggling to keep up with his demands. The Celestials, with their cores functioning independently of their native universe, were far more convenient than Infinity Stones.

However, the current situation was precarious. While Alex was individually stronger than any single Celestial, being surrounded and overwhelmed could still prove troublesome.

Deciding not to wait, Alex chose to strike first.

In an instant, he vanished from his position, reappearing behind the green-glowing Searcher. Without hesitation, he unleashed his most powerful attack.

Alex activated every ounce of strength within his body, pushing himself to his absolute peak.

His domain, already encompassing a radius of hundreds of light-years, ensured that all his abilities had unlimited range, able to strike anywhere within its boundaries.

It was time to shatter the Celestials

With just a flicker of Alex's will, the mystical armor on the Searcher's body began to disintegrate into massive waves of energy, which Alex immediately absorbed.

The sheer volume of this energy was so immense that Alex felt a rare sensation of fullness. Wasting no time, he channeled all his power, wielding his conceptual blade wrapped in twisted vectors, and struck along the Searcher's death line.

*Crunch—*

The grating sound of metal being sliced reverberated through the surrounding space, reaching the ears of everyone present. A moment later, a significant portion of the Searcher's body was cleaved apart.

As the severed piece drifted away, its energy quickly dissipated, conceptually "killed" by Alex's ability.

The remaining Celestials froze in shock. Their armor trembled violently, and waves of energy rippled uncontrollably through the surrounding cosmos. They had underestimated Alex's strength—he had just gravely wounded a Celestial in mere moments.

Realization dawned on them: Alex's killing of Arishem earlier wasn't the extent of his power—it was part of a deliberate ruse. He had designed the entire encounter to toy with them.

Such arrogance!

The Searcher clasped his hands together, creating a miniature galaxy between his palms. He hurled this cosmic construct at Alex, but Alex cleaved it in two with a single swing of his blade.

The Searcher couldn't help but ask, "What did you do in these past two years to become so powerful? Did you gain the favor of some higher cosmic being?"

Even as a member of the Celestials, albeit not one of the ancient Celestials from the First Cosmos, the Searcher was aware of the existence of powerful entities beyond their comprehension.

He referred to beings of the multiversal scale: Eternity, Death, Infinity, and Oblivion—entities whose power spanned across all multiverses, far exceeding the single-universe level of the Celestials. If Alex had been chosen by one of these gods and granted their strength, his rapid rise to surpass the Celestials wouldn't seem so impossible.

However, Alex's path was far beyond what they imagined. He had already transcended the boundaries of Marvel's multiverse, leaving even the The One-Above-All behind. He could now freely venture into other worlds.

His strength stemmed from his system, but once the system's fusion rate reached 100%, that power would fully integrate into Alex himself. As long as he worked hard, his power could increase without limits.

At this moment, Alex summoned his conceptual greatsword again, its edges brimming with twisting vector energy, and swung it toward the Searcher.

The Tester, another Celestial, rushed to intervene. Yet, the conceptual weapon's sharpness was unmatched, slicing through the Tester's blocking arm before continuing its trajectory toward the remainder of the Searcher's body.

The attack ripped through countless galaxies, splitting the Searcher's form in half once more. With most of his body destroyed, the Searcher's internal energy fell into complete chaos. Prismatic energy spilled from the gashes in his armor, floating through space like blood.

In the next moment, Alex effortlessly sealed the now-helpless Searcher and stored him within his dimensional universe.

The first massive battery was secured!

It only took a few exchanges for Alex to defeat one of the Celestials. Stripped of resistance, the fallen Celestial was swiftly captured by Alex.

Seeing this, the remaining Celestials no longer dared to underestimate him. They unleashed their most powerful attacks to bring Alex down.

One of them created a black hole and hurled it at Alex.

This rudimentary tactic was, of course, futile. Alex destroyed the black hole with a single punch and teleported above the Surveyor, placing his palm on the Celestial's head.

The Surveyor's mysterious armor, composed of unknown cosmic material, began to break apart under Alex's touch, transforming into immense energy that he absorbed.

Before the Surveyor could strike back, Alex summoned a spear of twisted vectors and drove it downward, piercing through the Celestial's head, neck, chest, and finally exiting through its lower body.

Once the Surveyor's armor defenses were breached, Alex took control of the Celestial's internal vectors. Twisting them with unimaginable precision, he caused a devastating explosion from within, obliterating most of the armor and exposing the Surveyor's shimmering, prismatic energy core.

With the Surveyor incapacitated, Alex sealed it just as he had done before, storing it in his dimensional universe.

The second massive battery was secured!

---

After the Surveyor's defeat, the remaining Celestials surrounded him, sealing off the surrounding space. They unleashed a torrent of energy, potent enough to destroy hundreds of galaxies, directly at Alex.

At first, Alex's Infinity blocked the energy surge. However, embedded within the Celestials' attack was a mysterious substance, one capable of warping time and space. It bypassed his barrier and even escaped the control of his vector manipulation.

This, of course, was due to the current limitations of his abilities—his vector manipulation was only at level 4

Alex attempted to absorb the energy, but even with his level 6 energy absorption, he could not fully neutralize it. With space locked around him, escape was impossible.

Faced with no other options, Alex resorted to using his own body to endure the attack. Enhancing his physical form with energy, he braced against the overwhelming onslaught.

The moment the energy struck, Alex's skin—far more durable and flexible than adamantium—began to burn and disintegrate.

However, his rapid regeneration quickly mended the damage. He had a sudden insight and layered a coating of conceptual matter over his body. This shield absorbed much of the incoming energy, reducing the impact. Through a cycle of injury and repair, Alex managed to withstand the combined assault of the Celestials.

As Alex stepped out of the chaotic energy storm, the Celestials were stunned into silence.

The Eradicator voiced their disbelief:

"How is this possible? Even with all of us striking together, we couldn't kill him. Is he on the verge of becoming a multiversal god?"

The Measurer carefully analyzed Alex's current state:

"No, he hasn't reached multiversal levels yet. But he's close. If we don't kill him now, it won't just be us. Every other Celestial in this universe, even those who haven't yet arrived, will be slaughtered by him. Our entire race will face extinction!"

The Calculator declared decisively:

"Kill him. At all costs!"

The Calculator burned with a blazing, radiant energy, his armor emanating waves of chaotic heat that made him shine brighter than a star. Overloading his body, he charged directly at Alex.

Yet, all his efforts were in vain. In a head-on clash, Alex sent him flying, shattering his arm in the process. Streams of prismatic energy, resembling blood, dripped from the gaps in the Calculator's armor.

While Alex was locked in combat with the Calculator, the Prosecutor launched a sneak attack. Manipulating time and space, the Prosecutor attempted to exile Alex to the desolate end of time.

But Alex, being equally proficient in spatial and temporal abilities, effortlessly nullified the attack. Enduring the Prosecutor's assault, Alex allowed severe burns to ravage his body in exchange for piercing through the Prosecutor's chest.

The Celestials clearly possessed some methods to counteract regeneration, but these were far inferior to Alex's abilities. Despite severe injuries, Alex's wounds visibly healed at incredible speeds, while any Celestial grievously injured by him lost their combat effectiveness entirely.

Realizing this advantage, Alex adopted a strategy of trading injury for injury, focusing on delivering decisive blows even at personal cost.

---

The battle between Alex and the Celestials shattered thousands of galaxies and obliterated the Milky Way. Civilizations observing the conflict from light-years away trembled in fear, praying that the battlefield would not shift toward them. A single stray shockwave could spell the annihilation of their species and the destruction of their homes.

As Alex continued to defeat Celestial after Celestial, his energy reserves began to dwindle. For the first time since his energy absorption ability had reached its highest level, Alex felt the terrifying sensation of running out of power.

The energy he absorbed from his dimensional universe was immediately expended in his struggle against the unrelenting onslaught of Celestials. For every Celestial he defeated, another would arrive from the far reaches of the cosmos to join the fray.

As time dragged on, each victory became more challenging. It started taking Alex days to subdue a single Celestial.

---

After what seemed like an eternity, Alex fought on in a daze, his body moving on instinct. Suddenly, the system's familiar notification jolted him back to awareness:

[Vector Manipulation Experience +1]

[Vector Manipulation Experience +1]

[Vector Manipulation Experience +1]

[Congratulations! Your skill Vector Manipulation has leveled up!]

[Vector Manipulation Lv5 (1/20000): Now able to manipulate the directions of all comprehensible vectors and create fictional vector axes. This includes force, velocity, acceleration, displacement, momentum, electric field strength, magnetic flux density, and more. After breaking its previous limits, the skill can also control most scalar quantities through continuous practice.]

Overwhelmed by the influx of new knowledge, Alex momentarily froze. Two Celestials seized the opportunity and struck him with powerful energy blasts, sending him hurtling through space.

He smashed through countless planets and two massive black holes before regaining clarity.

---

Now equipped with a vastly improved skillset, Alex warped the surrounding vectors. At level 4, he had been able to enhance vectors and scalars by tenfold; at level 5, he could now amplify them by fiftyfold!

Even the Celestials' energy attacks were now within his control. Alex raised his hand, intercepted a Celestial's strike, and reflected it back at them, amplified several times over. The devastating counterattack severely injured one Celestial, who was then sealed into Alex's dimensional universe.

Alex immediately teleported above another Celestial, throwing a single punch. The force of the twisted vectors, accompanied by black lightning, tore through space and obliterated the Celestial's head.

Another Celestial fell!

---

With his newfound power, Alex's efficiency skyrocketed. Weaker Celestials fell to him in a single strike, while even the strongest among them required no more than five blows to subdue.

Days passed, and finally, no more Celestials remained on the battlefield. Surrounded by the shattered remnants of the galaxy, Alex sealed the remaining Celestial bodies into his dimensional universe.

Standing amidst the infinite, radiant fragments of a ruined galaxy, Alex panted heavily.

He had nearly reached his limit...

But he had won. The war was over.

°°°

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