At the edge of the Andromeda Galaxy—
Levi floated silently in the void, a dark red dwarf star behind him. His gaze rested on a slowly moving point of light in the distance: a Viltrumite cruiser.
The ship's silver-white hull stretched over three hundred meters long, the emblem of the Empire engraved across its prow. Allen had mentioned it before—the Conqueror carried fifteen Viltrumite warriors, led by a commander named Craig, a veteran with over two hundred years of service.
Two hundred years.
Levi rolled his neck, joints cracking sharply.
The Smart Atoms inside his body stirred restlessly. The energy drained from Nolan had only been enough to activate the reconstruction program. To complete the transformation of his entire body, he needed more fuel.
And right now, that warship carried fifteen walking batteries.
Levi flew toward the Conqueror without hiding himself.
In this region of space, the Viltrumites were absolute rulers. No living being dared provoke one of their fleets. So when the sensors detected a rapidly approaching biological entity, the mood on the bridge remained relaxed.
Curious.
Dismissive.
Craig stood before the command console, staring at the approaching light on the holographic display. His skin was grayish-white, his eyes sunken deep beneath heavy brows, an old scar running along his jaw.
A humanoid lifeform. No ship. No armor. Simply flying through space.
Craig narrowed his eyes.
"Unknown lifeform, you have entered Viltrum Empire territory." He activated the external broadcast system with a wave of his hand. "By imperial law, you have two choices—submit, or die."
Levi stopped fifty meters from the warship, arms folded.
Submit or die?
He'd heard those words too many times before.
HYDRA had said them. Thanos had said them too.
And in the end?
They were all buried.
"I choose a third option," Levi replied, his voice transmitted through vibrating energy waves. "You all fall down."
Craig frowned.
This being's energy signature was strange. It resembled Viltrumite Smart Atoms, yet there was something else mixed within it.
"How arrogant." Craig sneered. "Fire."
The Conqueror's main cannon charged instantly, unleashing a ten-meter-wide energy beam straight at Levi. The weapon was powerful enough to obliterate small asteroids—a standard imperial tool for erasing rebellious worlds.
Levi didn't dodge.
He didn't even move.
The beam engulfed him completely.
The Viltrumites on the bridge laughed. Another fool reduced to ashes by imperial might.
Then their smiles froze.
As the beam faded, the black-haired man was still standing there.
Part of his clothing had burned away, revealing scorched skin beneath—but the damage was healing at visible speed.
Levi could feel it clearly.
His body had become slightly tougher after enduring the attack.
Adaptive Evolution.
The ability copied from Allen was proving extremely useful. Every recovery strengthened his body further. The improvements weren't dramatic, but they were constant.
"Interesting." Levi rolled his shoulders. "Got anything else?"
Craig's expression changed.
In two centuries of life, after conquering more than a dozen planets, he had never seen any creature tank the cruiser's main cannon head-on.
Not even the Empire's greatest warriors would dare.
"All units, attack!" he roared. "Kill him!"
The Conqueror's hangar doors opened, and fourteen Viltrumite warriors shot into space.
Gray-white skin. Massive physiques. Each radiating overwhelming energy.
These were imperial elites—every one of them with at least fifty years of combat experience and the blood of countless civilizations on their hands.
Levi looked at the Viltrumites flying toward him, excitement flickering in his eyes.
Fourteen.
Fifteen including Craig.
Every one of them had lived for decades, even centuries. Their Smart Atoms contained enormous reserves of bio-energy.
Fuel.
All of them.
The first to attack was a relatively young warrior, probably only fifty or sixty years old by Viltrumite standards. His fist shot straight toward Levi's face.
Levi didn't dodge.
He wanted to test exactly how effective Adaptive Evolution was.
The punch slammed into his face with a heavy thud. Levi's head tilted to the side, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
The warrior grinned triumphantly.
Then the grin froze.
Levi slowly turned his head back and licked the blood from his lips.
The wound was already healing—faster even than his Healing Factor.
More importantly, he could feel his skin becoming tougher.
Levi raised one hand and grabbed the warrior's wrist.
Crack.
Bone shattered instantly.
The warrior's face twisted in agony as he struggled to break free, but Levi's grip was like steel.
Levi clenched his other fist and drove it into the man's chest.
The warrior blasted backward like a missile, crashing into two allies and sending all three tumbling through space.
The expressions of the remaining Viltrumites changed immediately.
They were imperial elites. Veteran conquerors. Slaughterers of entire species.
Yet they had never encountered anything like this.
A lone outsider taking their attacks head-on… then casually blasting one of them away with a single punch.
But they were still Viltrumites.
And the arrogance engraved into their bones refused to let them retreat.
All thirteen remaining warriors attacked simultaneously, surrounding Levi from every direction.
Levi remained motionless, his smile widening.
No more testing.
His Kryptonian physique activated at full power while the Smart Atoms within him erupted with energy. The combination of the two made his body glow faintly gold.
The first warrior to reach him didn't even have time to throw a punch.
Levi's hand pierced straight through his chest.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
Levi's arm emerged from the warrior's back, fingers clutching a still-beating heart.
The Viltrumite stared down at the massive hole in his chest, disbelief filling his eyes.
Levi pulled his hand free and casually flung the body aside.
The second warrior's head exploded from a single punch.
The third was torn in half.
The fourth. The fifth. The sixth…
Levi moved through the Viltrumites like a storm of death.
The entire massacre lasted less than three minutes.
Fourteen Viltrumite warriors—all defeated.
Not dead.
Levi had held back.
Dead batteries couldn't provide energy.
Floating amid the broken bodies, Levi turned his gaze toward the distant Conqueror.
On the bridge, Craig's face had gone deathly pale.
In two hundred years of life, he had never witnessed anything like this.
Fourteen imperial elites reduced to this state in under three minutes.
This wasn't battle.
It was slaughter.
Levi flew toward the warship.
Craig wanted to order a retreat, but his body refused to move. True fear—real fear—had turned his mind blank.
Levi passed through the ship's outer hull as easily as paper.
Then he appeared directly on the bridge.
Looking down at Craig slumped in the command chair, Levi spoke calmly.
"Now it's your turn."
Craig sat trembling uncontrollably.
In over two centuries of life, he had never felt terror like this.
He had just watched fourteen subordinates crushed like insects. Every one of them was an elite conqueror with decades of battlefield experience.
Yet none had lasted even three minutes.
Levi walked up to him and looked down coldly.
"Relax. I'm not going to kill you."
Craig froze.
Hope flashed through his eyes.
"But," Levi continued, "I need you to deliver a message."
He raised his right hand. Pale golden light gathered in his palm.
Alchemy.
The power to reconstruct matter on the molecular level—and forcibly extract energy from living beings.
Craig suddenly felt an invisible force envelop him.
Then came agony.
Not physical pain.
Something deeper.
His life force was being drained away.
The Smart Atoms that granted him godlike power were forcibly activated, releasing over two hundred years of stored energy.
He tried to resist.
Tried to struggle.
But his body no longer obeyed him.
Golden light poured from him into Levi.
Levi closed his eyes, savoring the energy.
The Smart Atoms within him accelerated, greedily absorbing the power and continuing the reconstruction process.
Progress jumped from thirty percent to thirty-five.
Still not enough.
Levi opened his eyes and looked out toward the ruined bodies floating in space.
Fourteen Viltrumites.
Each one carrying decades or centuries of accumulated energy.
Together, they would push his progress much further.
He released Craig, letting the veteran collapse to the floor.
Craig gasped desperately.
He felt as though his spine had been hollowed out.
Looking down at his own hands, he saw pale wrinkled skin.
He had aged.
At least fifty years.
Levi ignored him and flew back outside the ship, moving from one heavily injured Viltrumite to the next.
The same process.
The same golden light.
The same screams.
Fourteen Viltrumites drained like living batteries.
By the time Levi finished with the last one, the reconstruction progress of his Smart Atoms had reached sixty-five percent.
Satisfied, he nodded.
Then he returned to the bridge and stood before Craig once more.
The once-imposing commander now looked like a dying old man curled in the corner, trembling with fear.
Levi crouched down until they were eye level.
"Remember my words," he said calmly. "Go back and tell your emperor that a hunter has arrived."
He stood and turned away.
"From this day onward, the Viltrumites are no longer hunters."
"You're prey."
Levi transformed into a streak of golden light and vanished into the sea of stars.
Craig remained collapsed on the bridge, shaking uncontrollably as he stared at the direction Levi had disappeared.
He had to return.
He had to report this to the Grand Regent.
A monster had appeared.
A monster stronger than any warrior in the Empire.
And that monster—
Was heading straight for the Empire itself.
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