Illyana felt no regret, only fury. She was furious that the deaths of her companions were meaningless, furious that their sacrifice hadn't even caused a momentary distraction for Belasco.
As she had told Peter, the survivors in Limbo had long been prepared to die. Not because they feared death, but because they felt they had nothing to lose. Therefore, if they believed their death could achieve some purpose or significance, they would not hesitate to make the sacrifice.
By now, the survivors believed only one thing held meaning: not defeating Belasco—they dared not hope the extremely powerful Sorcerer Supreme Spider-Man spoke of truly existed. Their goal was simply to allow Spider-Man to take Magik and the uncorrupted X-Men back to the 616 Universe. For this, they were willing to sacrifice their lives.
This was why the older Magik and others had planned a high-risk strategy that Peter strongly opposed: use a weapon enchanted with Strange's spell—the only magic capable of threatening Belasco—have Logan buy one or two seconds, and the older Magik would use a portal to appear next to Belasco and strike him with the weapon.
"What a great sacrifice. What great devotion. But unfortunately, it was utterly useless."
Belasco, who had just been clawed in the face by Illyana, hadn't even a scratch. He simply loosened his grip and stepped back, admiring the semi-demonized Illyana hissing at him: "You should feel lucky, Illyana, because their deaths weren't completely useless. Look at you now, how beautiful! How powerful!"
"You are unlike those Illyanas who endured Limbo's corruption yet insisted on maintaining their 'purity.' You are also unlike those Illyanas who willingly fell into depravity and were killed by me. For all these years, you are the first to actively accept the transformation, actively allowing half of her soul's emptiness to be completely filled by black magic—"
A longsword burning with the flames of hell pierced Belasco's chest. Belasco saw that the girl before him had completely lost her human appearance. If before, the growth of horns, a tail, and wings was just a physical change, now Illyana was a Demon.
The black scabs covering her skin had burst open, ignited by the hellfire within her. Blood-red flames surged from beneath her dark skin, burning that skin into semi-solid, lava-like crimson. Even Illyana's height had significantly increased, surpassing six feet.
The surging hellfire burned, yet Belasco continued to smile. His entire body then melted into a puddle of blood that slid toward the ground. Illyana tried to incinerate the blood with fire, but it was useless.
Even the longsword plunged into Belasco's body snapped.
How could the Lord of Limbo be consumed by hellfire? Although Illyana had filled her soul with black magic—more accurately, absorbed the corruption within her—this still couldn't allow Illyana to harm him.
"If you intend to do something, my dear child, perhaps you should be more creative—"
As he spoke, Belasco feigned a casual demeanor, turning to deploy a barrier that blocked a full-power blast from Cyclops. He looked seemingly surprised at the X-Men who appeared behind him, making a rare comment: "When did you get there, Spider-Man? You should be fighting other demons."
This guy is acting.
Confirming this, Peter shrugged carelessly: "You know, it's very simple. With so many demons here, Venom can temporarily possess someone else and impersonate me, giving me time to free the X-Men."
"Kurt, get the survivors." Cyclops, having just finished an energy discharge, watched the approaching Belasco warily. Illyana furiously picked up the remaining sword from the older Magik, stabbed it directly into Belasco's body again. Belasco grabbed her arm and "accidentally" tossed her toward the X-Men.
He paused, concerned that his acting was too poor and would be noticed.
Forget it. The performance is already underway.
Almost simultaneously, Nightcrawler teleported over the demonized Storm and Shadowcat, along with the fully vampire-ized Blade and the decadent version of Strange. Venom, temporarily possessing Strange, leapt back onto Peter, and Peter instantly tore open a spatial rift.
"Everyone, leave! Hurry!"
The fully demonized Illyana glanced at Belasco, then saw the X-Men watching her warily, unsure who she was. She grit her teeth and dismissed her transformation.
"I'll hold him back..." The previously decadent Strange and Demon Storm were about to say they'd stay behind to block Belasco, but Peter swiftly used webbing to stick to their backs, dragging them both into the spatial rift as well.
Belasco finally revealed a satisfied smile. He picked up the Bloodstone Amulet. The five Bloodstones within it would be the conduit for the ancient god's return to reality.
"It always ends this way, Spider-Man. A good person's mind is so easy to read. Refusing to leave anyone behind—excellent. You have opened the path to Earth-616 for me."
Peter, carrying virtually all the X-Men and survivors, passed through the spatial rift. The moment he landed, he grew alert: "Everyone be careful. Belasco was waiting for this moment. He could emerge from the rift at any time..."
"So you knew, Spider-Man? But sadly, that would be too uncreative."
A strange voice drifted in. Everyone looked around, finally settling their gaze on Demon Storm. Two hands burst out of her mouth, then tore her body open from the sides. Belasco, once again casually killing a survivor of Limbo, arrived in this world.
"Thank you, Spider-Man. Thank you for opening the door to Earth-616 for me. Now, positioned in this Prime Dimension..."
Belasco joyfully held up the Bloodstone Amulet, but nothing happened.
"I never said I was taking you to Earth-616, Belasco. I was just looking for a place for everyone to catch their breath."
As Peter spoke, golden teleportation portals opened one after another. The Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the Thunderbolts, the Defenders, the New Mutants and Hellions teams led by Ororo, and the old and new Avengers from the Wasteland Universe all arrived.
"And I needed to find a place where time wasn't flowing so fast, making it easy for our world's Strange to open a gate."
The Sorcerer Supreme of Earth-616, Stephen Strange, landed next to Spider-Man.
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