Karl never would have imagined that a day like this would come.
He was actually going to be responsible for protecting Galactus.
But—
He didn't exactly have a choice.
According to Agamotto, if Abraxas succeeded, the entire Multiverse might be destroyed.
Even if Karl left the Multiverse, he would still be affected.
At best, it would only delay his eventual death.
With the situation this serious, Karl naturally had to do his part.
If he actually ran into Abraxas, he'd just beat the bastard into the ground.
After thinking that bitterly to himself, Karl suddenly remembered something that didn't seem quite right.
The Galactus incarnation in his universe...
Hadn't Karl already killed him?
The permanent changes caused to his universe by that battle hadn't even disappeared yet.
"Ahem. Agamotto, the Galactus incarnation in my universe is already dead. That won't cause any serious problems, will it?"
Karl asked awkwardly.
Agamotto glanced at him.
"It won't matter much."
"The Multiverse is boundless, and Galactus has virtually countless incarnations."
"Losing one or two won't affect the overall situation."
"But in the future, you should still be a little more careful about who you kill."
"Every well-known cosmic entity has an irreplaceable role to play."
Agamotto's tone was meaningful.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Karl replied.
That was what he said aloud.
Deep down, however, he didn't particularly agree.
If those beings left him alone, everything would be fine.
But if they provoked him first, he certainly wasn't going to tolerate them simply because they were important.
Agamotto merely offered the warning.
He didn't even bother checking whether Karl had actually taken it to heart.
"Your assignment is a major one."
"You won't merely be protecting your own universe."
"You'll be responsible for the safety of more than ten thousand nearby universes."
"Your strength is sufficient."
"Even if Abraxas himself appears, he might not necessarily be your match."
Agamotto looked at Karl with some emotion.
This young man truly was an anomaly.
His willingness and ability to fight were almost excessive.
He reminded Agamotto of himself when he was young.
Even being made responsible for so many universes didn't seem to trouble Karl very much.
Still, Karl was young, so Agamotto warned him again.
"Don't become careless."
"Don't assume those other universes have nothing to do with you."
"You need to understand that the stronger Abraxas becomes, the harder he'll be to control."
"And the greater your own trouble will become afterward."
"You aren't protecting other people."
"You're protecting yourself."
Agamotto spoke seriously.
"I know what's important. Don't worry."
Karl replied helplessly.
This was literally a matter of life and death.
How could he possibly treat it carelessly?
"Good."
"But you're young. Don't be so afraid of dying."
"There are still plenty of people in this world willing to risk their lives for what they believe in."
Agamotto lectured.
Karl couldn't help sighing.
He and people like that couldn't have been more different.
The Marvel world was filled with superheroes.
None of them seemed particularly afraid of dying.
Karl didn't possess that kind of self-sacrificing mindset.
The fact that he was willing to step in at all was already good enough.
"Don't worry. I'll keep those Galactus incarnations completely protected."
"I absolutely won't let Abraxas kill them."
Seeing Agamotto preparing to continue, Karl hurriedly gave him a firm guarantee.
"Good."
Agamotto nodded.
"Take this."
"If you encounter Abraxas, use it to notify us. We'll arrive to support you immediately."
"There are enormous numbers of powerful beings throughout the Multiverse."
"Even some Demon Gods will be willing to help."
Agamotto handed Karl and Strange something resembling a badge as he explained.
"I understand."
Karl could see why.
Abraxas was the pure embodiment of destruction.
All those Dark Gods and Demon Gods might be evil, but their goal was still to improve their own existence.
It wasn't as though they wanted to die.
Abraxas intended to destroy the entire Multiverse.
Naturally, those beings would also fight against him.
At this point, Abraxas was essentially everyone's enemy.
And yet—
Even with so many enemies, Abraxas had still managed to unleash such terrifying devastation across the Multiverse in the past.
Karl absolutely had to remain cautious.
After discussing the situation with Agamotto for a while longer and learning some additional information, Karl turned to leave.
He hadn't expected his stay in the Main Universe to end so quickly.
He had originally intended to travel throughout the cosmos and exchange knowledge with various powerful beings.
It seemed he would have to find another opportunity in the future.
Karl didn't hesitate.
After saying goodbye to Strange, he tore open a gigantic Rift directly from Earth.
With his current strength, even the suppression imposed by the Main Universe wasn't particularly significant.
He stepped directly into the void between Parallel Universes.
After briefly determining the correct direction—
Karl shot toward his own universe.
The spatial structure of the Marvel world was extraordinarily complicated.
Layers upon layers of dimensions overlapped with one another, making direction extremely difficult to distinguish.
Sometimes two universes could be extraordinarily close together.
At other times, they could be unimaginably distant.
Karl's speed was astonishing.
And because his understanding of space had reached such an incredible level, even the scale separating universes had become almost meaningless to him.
Only a few minutes passed.
Karl crossed an enormous expanse of the Multiverse and reached his own universe.
In truth—
With his Magical Attainments, Karl didn't actually need to travel through the space between universes like this.
He could simply teleport directly into the universe in an instant.
However—
A powerful being like Karl was essentially an enormous body of information.
His existence carried an incomprehensible amount of information with it.
Introducing all that information directly into a universe placed an enormous burden on the universe itself.
Doing it once or twice wouldn't matter much.
But if he did it constantly—
It would eventually damage the universe.
Karl always considered the long-term consequences.
Naturally, he wasn't going to harm his own universe merely to save himself a little time.
That was why Karl normally traveled through the space between Parallel Universes first and then crossed through the universal membrane from outside.
That gave the universe time to accommodate his arrival and prevented the process from placing too much sudden strain on it.
Theoretically—
At his current level, Karl's mere existence had already become an enormous burden on the universe where he had been born.
His power had surpassed the limits that the universe could naturally withstand.
Fortunately—
Thanks to the power left behind by two Demon Lords, the universe's Origin had been greatly strengthened.
Karl also kept the amount of power he released within this universe restricted to roughly thirty percent of his full strength.
For the time being, there shouldn't be any serious problems.
Karl tore open the universal barrier and entered.
Immediately, a warm sensation enveloped him.
It almost felt like returning to a place that had been waiting for him.
That was something he had never experienced in the Main Universe.
Karl understood what it meant.
The will of the universe regarded him with exceptional affinity.
At this point, Karl could say without hesitation that he was genuinely favored by the universe itself.
Even his wishes seemed unusually likely to go his way.
This was the universe's response to him.
Karl protected the universe.
Naturally, the will of the universe responded in kind.
And the stronger the living beings within a universe became, the stronger that universe itself would become.
The two sides strengthened one another.
(End of Chapter)
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