Chapter 41: The Hunger's Illusion

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"A wise man can learn more from his enemies than a fool from his friends."

– Niki Lauda, (Rush)

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"Wow, talk about a kick. However, if you think that just this much is enough to stop me, you have another thing coming." I said with a bloodthirsty smile as the burnt half of my chest reformed from the smoked charred piece of flesh it was reduced to by the explosion. 

"I know for a fact that magic doesn't work on you, so let's see if my Domination Domain does..." I stated as I joined my hands to release the domain ability I had due to my divinity.

"Wait, master. I think I can help you. I think I can... access the unique energy that Galactus is using, the Power Cosmic as you called it. I have been analyzing the energy since it seemed perfect and met all criteria as an energy source to evolve my own capabilities as a Mother Box and I believe I have got it. This power cosmic is eerily similar to the cosmic energies that most celestials and sorcerers use, only it's more... primal, more concentrated, and more powerful.

Even though it doesn't exist as abundantly as the regular cosmic energies, it still matches its power and even supersedes it with its raw strength alone. Now that I have completed analyzing the energy from Galactus, I should be able to access it, at least to some extent. Of course, my control can't even hope to rival Galactus' own but maybe I can use it to temporarily short-circuit Galactus' connection to it if I catch him by surprise. However, it would be for an extremely short while, probably a few seconds. But, maybe you can use that window to permanently defeat Galactus." Zoya telepathically communicated to my mind.

'Wait, you can use Power Cosmic despite not even being able to use the normal cosmic energies. How OP are you? Even I have no idea how to do something like that despite having a system." I complained at the unfairness of it all that my own Mother Box was more talented than me at having power-ups during dangerous situations like the protagonists in Shonen manga.

"... Oh, I actually know how to access this universe's cosmic energies. I figured it out a few weeks after you summoned me. How do you think I have been operating for all these years without an energy source if I were not draining your energy? I thought you already knew this. I could not use the ordinary cosmic energies I have access to, to upgrade myself or develop additional functions since they were too lacking but this, I can use." Zoya awkwardly informed through telepathy.

'Of course, I knew this. How ignorant do you think I am? Anyway, we will talk about this later, for now, let's focus on defeating the badly dressed space giant with limited vocabularity in front of us.' I telepathically replied in a serious and confident voice. "Shortcircuit his connection to the Power Cosmic on my count of 3. We have to time this perfectly to make it work because we will not get another chance like this." I said, ready to take a gamble on my trust in Zoya.

Zoya didn't respond and the mother box just continued to float in space facing Galactus like it was doing some last-minute calculations or something.

Galactus on the other hand hadn't moved from his original position. Despite me and Zoya having quite a lengthy mental conversation, it had only been a few seconds in reality since he had released that explosion attack. He looked... hangry like he wanted to vent his anger on me and then have a nice lunch to satiate himself.

'1...' I started to count as I used my Susanoo to make a bow with the help of my divine energy. A huge sharp arrow also formed on its own as my Susanoo drew the bow to its limits.

'2...' I even used my nirvana flame to coat the arrow with my unique blue mystical flames. The absurd amount of fire coiling around the arrow made it almost look like I had a mini storm of blue fire in my hands. The moment I released the arrow, it moved towards Galactus at a speed much faster than that of sound. It lit the surrounding space like how a candle lights up a dark room.

'3. Now.' I yelled as soon as I saw Galactus move the tiniest bit to try to defend himself or counter my attack. There was a small purple spark around Zoya and something immediately changed about Galactus. The invisible pressure he was exerting on everything around him suddenly disappeared. 

*BOOOOOMMMMM* The arrow struck the 'defenseless' giant with the force of an atomic bomb but unfortunately for me, the hit wasn't fatal since his massive figure still stood straight after the explosion that followed without any significant injuries on him due to the advanced and durable armor he was wearing.

However, that didn't mean it was over. No, the arrow was only a way to divert his attention. I had used my true move the moment I had released the arrow and it was something much better than just an explosion.

"Domination Domain," I uttered as I felt the entire space around me for miles upon miles come under my domain. I could feel everything inside the space including the concepts that made up reality. I could even feel Galactus and the seemingly almost infinite life force and power he had in him although that endless well of power was currently inaccessible to him.

My mind at that moment was working the fastest it had ever worked. I was not interested in beating Galactus up uselessly. No, instead I was busy trying to get a feel of his mind because, without his Power Cosmic to defend himself, I could finally be able to probe his mind without its ironclad mental shields.

"Ah, there it is," I muttered as I felt my psychic tendrils attach to his mind. He didn't even have much willpower left to resist me after getting beat up by me so much. Of course, his hunger was another reason why he wasn't at his sanest. 

The moment my mind was connected to his, I had a desire to get all the knowledge he had stored in that mind of his for myself. The knowledge collected by someone for billions of years, anybody would be interested in that. But, I didn't have the time and luxury to indulge in my desires. He was going to get his connection to the power cosmic back anytime and I did not want to still be in his mind when he did. So, I just focused on embedding one single idea into his head, a single thought that he would not resist even after he got his full powers back.

I did my best as I used everything I had to penetrate into his mind and place the idea into the deepest corner of his mind I could find.

'It's back.' I felt his powers returning and immediately retracted my psychic tendrils from his mind. I was done with what I intended to do. Now, I just hoped that it would work.

"... I am hungry. Galactus is HUNGRY." He yelled as he looked at me with rage, his eyes burning with power, releasing an impossibly heavy pressure on everything around him.

However, he did nothing to me. Instead, he looked at the horizon in the opposite direction of the Earth with a contemplative look... and just left without saying anything.

"... It worked. I didn't think it would work this well but wow, it seems that I am really lucky today." I chuckled in delight.

"What was the thought that you forcefully embedded into his mind which made him leave in so peacefully master?" Zoya asked curiously a few minutes after Galactus left.

"Nothing. I just simply made him think that he was full and that this region of the galaxy didn't contain any more food for him. I think he left to search for either more planets to eat or maybe find his herald. However, I doubt Galactus would be coming near Earth anytime soon..."

"Unless he is directly forced or mind-controlled to do so somehow." Zoya ominously jinxed my words.

[Congratulations! The Quest has been successfully completed]

[Rewards are being distributed]

[Two random abilities are being selected to upgrade their tiers]

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