The journey back to his home universe and by extension the empire, took three whole days of spatial travelling. And in that time, Alex didn't just focus on his travelling.
With nothing to do as he travelled, he continued his contemplative thoughts as every new discovery improved his understanding of his universe and his abilities. He gained new inspirations on how to better use his growing abilities.
'Hehe… finally home.' Alex mused in delight.
But something caught his attention as he drew closer to the borders of the empire. 'Why are there so many veil tears around here? And what's with the absurd number of void creatures?'
Alex furrowed his brows as many light years ahead of him were a swarm of void creatures, numbering in the millions, laying waste to everything in their path—stars, asteroids, planets and anything in between.
The void creatures moved with a clear purpose as even he could tell something was off after his long absence.
Alex came to an abrupt stop and stepped out of space a few million kilometres away from the army of monsters. All around him were raging cosmic storms and veil tears that continually spewed void creatures.
The creatures continued to push forward with the majority being in the C-tiers, all in their gigantic forms. The higher levelled ones appeared smaller than usual as they condensed their forms and guided the lower levelled ones.
Suddenly, all these creatures froze in place as their destructive actions came to a halt. Like deer frozen in headlights, these monsters turned around and glanced in Alex's direction.
Alex noticed this behaviour and wondered how they could detect him when he was still ways away from reaching them.
Unbeknownst to him, Alex was letting off a stupendously and horrifyingly tyrannical aura that shook the very void he stood in.
Even from millions of kilometres away, the creatures could sense the dreadful aura as it grounded them without mercy. Because he spent most of his time in the veiled space absorbing the energies within, his aura continued to grow to match his level.
However, with no one to tell him how overwhelming his presence was, he went around not even realizing he was giving off such a presence. Ignoring the frozen creatures briefly, Alex turned his gaze to something else.
Among the millions of void creatures around, a particular one stood out jarringly. He had fought Class A void creatures and was familiar with their signature.
'That one is strong, absurdly so. Is that the much-rumored Class S void creature?' He thought while staring at the creature as the creature did the same. Its appearance was unique even among the common void creatures the hunters were familiar with.
Unlike the other creatures, this one had a more defined and unsettling humanoid appearance. It had two legs, and two arms and stood over two meters. Then there was the absurd muscular structure of the creature.
Its grey body coupled with what Alex recognized as its fur gave the creature a beastly vibe. The head was what defined the creature as monstrous. 'A humanoid void creature with the head of a serpent.'
Alex observed with furrowed brows as, moments after the creature noticed his presence, it hissed at him with a clear intent to kill. This action felt different from the typical actions of void creatures.
'It's like it knows who I am…' It was just a guess, but Alex felt he might be right. And while he believed the creature was powerful, he didn't feel any sense of overwhelming danger from it.
His time spent absorbing void energy from the veiled space was no small matter. He may not have felt or reached a new bottleneck, but his strength grew leaps and bounds with every second he spent absorbing the energy.
And spending months in his contemplation while his black hole absorbed void energy did just that. He was far stronger than he was months ago. How strong? Even he didn't have an answer.
Suddenly, the humanoid void creature closed in on him, instantly covering millions of kilometres in an instant.
The other void creatures were still frozen in place from his overwhelming aura. The Class As could move, but they received a command to remain in place.
The void creature instantly appeared before Alex, slightly taking him by surprise. He didn't expect the creature to arrive before him that fast. With rushed movements, he quickly condensed a light shield and braced for impact.
The void creature's attack was heavy and explosive, and when it made contact, the shockwaves dispelled the surrounding energies for millions of kilometres, covering thousands in a matter of seconds.
Alex was blasted back at the speed of light, and his shield shattered just as quickly as it had been made. That shield was more than just condensed; it had gained permanence, yet it shattered like glass.
The worst part? Space at that point was cracked and spread out several thousand kilometres like spider webs.
Some of the weaker void creatures instantly exploded into bloody mists when the shockwaves passed by while the rest were pushed back further, creating a large chasm between them and the combatants.
It was a catastrophic attack of cosmic proportions, enough to completely destroy star systems with ease and then some! Yet, that attack only slightly shook Alex's internals.
"Damn!" Alex cursed but still had his eyes locked on the creature. He was not going to let his guard down, not after an attack like that.
The void creature gazed at Alex in fury and a bit of caution—something that puzzled him a bit, but he chose to ignore that observation.
But after taking on that physical attack, Alex's body, particularly his mana vortexes began to spin faster as the channelled mana through his body, strengthening it in preparation for what was to come.
He wasn't doing anything, but his vortexes were already charging up his body to increase his physical strength. To take that attack and still have his limbs intact was impressive.
But… Alex hadn't even taken on any of his special states yet. Manastorm and Voidflare hadn't been used in a very long time.
They were his trump cards, but would he need them in this fight or would his vortexes be enough to power his physical strength to match the monster?