Under the relentless torrent of demons, our defensive line began to buckle less than five minutes into the fight. Outnumbered almost thirty to one, the sheer volume of combatants was just too much for them to handle. With the enemy slowly pushing our line back, Aldrif and Balder knew they had to do something soon, or else their line would collapse.

“I hate to ask this, but could you spare some manpower?” Balder telepathically asked Thor while locking horns with a Marauder. “We are getting our asses handed to us over here.”

Currently engaged in combat with the Headless Celestial, the attackers were in no position to lend a hand. As the tormented screams of those trapped within subsided, small blobs of the black liquid appeared around the wound’s vicinity. Acting like an immune system, some worked toward closing the hole while the rest swarmed the offensive line. Forced to fight them and keep the breach open, they were also in dire need of backup.

“I was just about to ask you the same question.” Thor chuckled, vaporizing a pack of blobs with a burst of lightning. “What of our father and the other pantheon leaders? Can they lend a hand?”

“They have their hands full dealing with Grendel,” Aldrif chimed in. “It appears Nemesis has imbued a great deal of power into Grendel. None of them have been able to land a solid hit on him yet.”

Momentarily glancing over his shoulder, Thor caught sight of their ongoing battle. With his body fractured into independent, sentient fragments, Grendel used his unnatural agility to harass the pantheon leaders. Instead of using his overwhelming power to fight them head-on, he was using hit-and-run tactics to slowly wear them down. Acting as a distraction, he was simply keeping them preoccupied while his minions chipped away at our forces.

“Victor!” Thor called out, refocusing his attention on the foe before him. “Our current plan is not working. We need a new strategy.”

“Reinforcements are already on the way,” I replied, bobbing and weaving through a sea of black tendrils. “The Eternals should be here any minute. They were delayed by their last assignment.”

“Now is not the time for jokes, Victor!” Hermod howled, struggling to block a deadly blow from a blob. “An extra one hundred bodies will do nothing to turn this situation around. If you have an ace up your sleeve, now is the time to use it.”

Unfortunately, my brother-in-law was right. Even with the help of the Eternals’ Uni-Mind, the tide of battle was unlikely to shift in our favor. The intense psychic energy the Celestial was putting out would almost certainly weaken, if not render useless, the Uni-Mind. This critical oversight meant I would have to make up the difference.

“Alright boys, time to improvise,” I said, vigorously revving Spacehog’s engine. “Let’s ride!”

As I called upon the Spirit of Vengeance, Hell’s unfathomable power began to course through my body. As I transformed into the Ghost Rider, a wellspring of energy surged into Spacehog. Excitedly embracing its newfound power, she released a bloodthirsty rumble from her tailpipes.

“Haha, that’s the spirit! I expected nothing less from Lobo’s former ride,” I chuckled, gently patting her chassis. “You will have a chance to sate your lust for carnage and destruction in a bit. Right now, we must focus on bringing this undead Celestial to heel. Once the trapped souls within are liberated, then we can go on a rampage through the enemy ranks.”

Enthusiastically revving her engines, Spacehog voiced her approval.

“Leave the Headless Celestial to us!” I bellowed, rapidly descending upon the Celestial. “Take your men and go reinforce the defensive line. I am counting on you to safeguard my beloved wives.”

Before they had a chance to reply, I drew Agamotto’s Blade from my hip and conjured a massive host of Flame Skulls. Imbued with the power of hellfire, they rained down on the tendrils that blocked my path.

“That’s it. Devour everything until nothing remains!” I commanded the skulls.

Rapidly closing in on their targets, the flame skulls slammed into the tendrils, violently exploding like miniature supernovas. As the hellfire quickly spread everywhere, Hermod and his fellow warriors made a hasty retreat.

“Next time, how about a warning!” Hercules angrily shouted as the Headless Celestial began to physically move.

As the Celestial recoiled in agony, its rocky exterior was cast off, exposing its bronze hull for the first time in millennia. Feeling its cosmic powers being slowly stolen by my hellfire, the Celestial redirected all its energy toward killing me.

“Our brother-in-law is something else, isn’t he?” Hermod laughed, patting Thor on the back. “I wonder why he didn’t use this power from the very beginning.”

“No idea… We can ask him once the battle is over,” Thor replied, mesmerized by the titanic battle happening before his eyes. ‘I cannot recall any Ghost Rider in the past ever wielding such immense power. Just who in the world is Victor…’

“Hermod! Thor!” Balder howled through gritted teeth. “Instead of standing there with your heads up your asses, how about giving us a hand over here?!”

Immediately returning to reality, the brothers turned away and led a charge to reinforce the defensive line. With our full might focused on suppressing the demonic hordes, we began to steadily push them back to the Materium breach. By the time they were back to where the battle began, reinforcements had finally arrived.

“Haha, look who finally decided to join the party!” Hercules boisterously laughed, ripping a Mancubus in half with his bare hands. “You lot look like shit. Where in the hell did you just come from?”

“We just wrapped up a space pirate extermination mission,” Gilgamesh answered, popping his shoulder back into place. “They were quite a lot tougher than we expected, but the work is done.”

The deities nodded absentmindedly, taking a moment to process his words.

“Hold on!” Balder retorted, glancing back at them momentarily. “You are saying a group of brigands did this to you? Either they were exceptional pirates, or you are starting to lose your edge.”

“Oh, they were special pirates alright…” Sersi groaned, forcing her wounds to heal. “They were a group of renegade Space Marines called the Red Corsairs.”

Earlier this morning…

A distress call came in from a planetary governor in the Badab Sector of the Imperium. Under siege from Huron Blackheart and his men, they were in desperate need of military aid. With my manpower occupied elsewhere, I dispatched the Eternals with strict instructions to take no prisoners. Foolishly ignoring my warning that they were not ordinary pirates, Thena and her people had clearly discovered that the hard way.

Present time…

“We can harass our friends later,” Aldrif remarked as a purple-hued light flooded the area. “It would appear the soul extraction has begun.”

Ripping the first few thousand souls out of the Celestial, the rest soon followed in a torrent of ethereal energy. As its power began to rapidly wane, it attempted to flee to avoid its fate.

“Your life ended abruptly eons ago, Celestial. Cease your futile resistance and allow your soul to pass on into the next life. You need not suffer any longer,” I said, restraining it with hellfire chains.

With all avenues of resistance exhausted, the Celestial silently submitted to us. Releasing all the remaining trapped souls at once, it allowed itself to succumb to my hellfire. Just as the last of its hull was about to disappear, a voice spoke to me.

Human, I thank you for liberating me from my unending torment. Take my power and use it to continue the task I was created to do. Among those present, only you have the required knowledge necessary to properly wield it. (Headless Celestial)

“I cannot promise you anything more than that I will use your power to make this universe a better place for all.”, I replied as its power flowed into me.

That is more than enough for me… (Headless Celestial)

As the Celestial’s consciousness faded into oblivion, its soul departed from our universe.

“Thus ends the Legend of the Headless Celestial…,” I softly said, clenching my fist. “Alright Spacehog, time to cut loose and kick some demonic ass!”

Revving her engine excitedly, we were about to set off when a deafening roar brought the fighting to a screeching halt. Collectively turning our gazes to the Materium breach, a giant eye abruptly appeared on the other side.

‘Shit… They brought a fucking Titan with them…,’ I thought, dumping the clutch.

Instantly closing the distance between the defensive line and myself, I positioned myself between the two groups. Unleashing a tidal wave of hellfire upon our enemies, their line collapsed as they tried to outrun their end.

“Victor, what in the world is that thing?!” Thor questioned, tightly gripping Mjolnir’s handle.

“It is a Titan, a tortured soul given flesh and transmogrified by Argent Energy,” I answered.

Upon hearing this information, the deities and their servants shifted uncomfortably where they stood. Without needing to tell them, they understood that defeating it was impossible for us right now. Wisely choosing to avoid instigating a fight with it, Thor and the other gods turned to lend their leaders a hand.

Hurriedly disengaging from Odin and the other leaders, Grendel attempted to make a break for it. Before Grendel could escape, I used the Time Stone to freeze him in place. As I used the Force to drag him back to us, the Titan’s gaze suddenly fell upon me.

“Begone, foul creature!”, I demanded, exerting my control over the Materium to force the breach closed.

Surprisingly, the Titan made no attempt to rescue Grendel. Abandoning the symbiote to its fate, it stood there silently watching us until the breach closed. Once its oppressive presence was gone, everyone released a long sigh of relief.

“My apologies, everyone; I did not anticipate Nemesis dispatching a Titan here. As they are ill suited for anything beyond planetside combat, it never crossed my mind that she would send one,” I said, reverting to my human form. “I recommend returning to our respective homes to assess our situations and resurrect those slain by All-Black. We can reconvene in a few days to interrogate Grendel.”

“Do you mind taking charge of the symbiote until then?” Odin inquired, as Asgard did not have a suitable place to hold him.

“Of course, a containment cell is already being prepared for him as we speak,” I replied, silently thanking Jarvis for getting the ball rolling. “Rest assured, Grendel will not be going anywhere.”

Content with leaving him in my capable hands, the various pantheons began to leave with their fallen brethren. After the deities had gone, an ethereal Hela approached me with Loki at her side.

“So, you are the man who will become my stepfather,” Hela commented, looking me over carefully. “While I am not thrilled about having a father younger than me, I suppose I can get over it in time. As long as my mother is happy, that is all that truly matters, right?”

“Well said,” I chuckled, using my cosmic powers to craft her a new body and bind her soul to it. “Your mother has a lot she wished to talk to you about. After we return from our lunch date, I suggest sitting down with her to chat.”

Reluctantly agreeing to my suggestion, Hela was curious to see where we lived. As I went to initiate a teleport, Thena loudly cleared her throat.

“Do you have any other jobs for us today…?” Thena grumbled, visibly pissed off about this morning’s job. “Your damned fortress is waiting for you in orbit over Production World 51.”

“Thank you for your hard work today. I have no additional jobs, so feel free to take the rest of the day off,” I said with a grin. “You are welcome to use any of the amenities we have to offer. So please, enjoy yourselves.”

Eagerly taking me up on that offer, the Eternals promptly teleported away. With that, my family and I returned home to prepare for our lunch date.