Chapter 25: Getting Back to Old Habits Should Be Fun
By: Great Demon Spirit
In Du Wa's experience, no matter the situation, as long as mutants were involved, simple matters always became complicated.
Politics and social issues were one thing, but if judged purely by power, there were a few troublesome individuals within the mutant community who were hard to pin down.
A typical example was the Omega-level mutant, who possessed limitless potential. But the interesting thing was, the same mutant could be Omega-level in this universe, while their variant in another might be mediocre and powerless, with only average potential.
The X-gene, originating from the Deviants, was always full of variables.
And Juggernaut was precisely one of those who required attention—strictly speaking, Juggernaut wasn't a mutant at all.
In most universes, Juggernaut's power came from an ancient and formidable, ultimate terror—the number one great demon of the multiverse, Cyttorak, who resides in the Crimson Cosmos, a realm beyond the multiverse's dimensions!
Many of the powerful spells from the Kamar-Taj lineage use the power of Cyttorak.
It was unknown whether Cyttorak had a particular obsession with the Infinity Gems or was just acting out of a perverse sense of humor. He generally didn't care if others used a bit of His power; in fact, He seemed to enjoy scattering the Crimson Gems He personally created throughout the multiverse.
Each Crimson Gem was equivalent to an anchor point, capable of establishing a direct connection to Cyttorak and receiving the immense power He transmitted.
And in the vast majority of universes, the one who bore the power of the Crimson Gem was, precisely... Juggernaut!
"The Deviants can absorb the life force and genetic material of various life forms, altering their own forms based on the genes they take in. You all know this, right? I'm guessing quite a few of your fellow mutants have been absorbed by them," Du Wa said.
Raven sneered, "And what does that prove? That ability is despicable, but it's nothing compared to you."
Du Wa shrugged. "Be wary of the Deviant Leader who captured Juggernaut. Why don't you take another guess? Why did that leader capture Juggernaut and not someone else? If you're unlucky, it won't be long before you have to face an enemy of unimaginable strength."
"The Deviant that absorbed Juggernaut?" Magneto was clearly unconvinced.
He knew Juggernaut's strength all too well. At most, it would make the Deviant Leader's body indestructible, which wasn't impossible to deal with.
But despite his disbelief, Magneto had seen his share of storms and had complete confidence in his own power. However, since the mysterious Du Wa had made a point of mentioning it, he had already raised his guard.
"Let's start the trade. You asked a question, and I've answered. Now, you will send me ten—no, five Deviants. I'm willing to trust the credibility of one of the two pillars of the mutant world," Du Wa said.
"What exactly happened to that group of Eternals and Deviants from twenty thousand years ago?" Magneto asked his question.
"The two sides fought for control of Earth."
"And the result?"
"That's another question. Hand over the down payment first."
"?"
"Don't just stay silent. Even if I told you who won and who lost, you'd definitely press me about the fates of those two races and why they disappeared from Earth. The value of that intelligence is far beyond your imagination," Du Wa replied.
When it involved the Celestials—a group of beings who start at the strong Skyfather level—such intelligence was well worth a few more batches of Deviants.
...
The two sides ceased their communication.
As for Raven, Magneto never once mentioned asking Du Wa to release her. Both sides were well aware that anyone with half a brain wouldn't destroy their own channel of communication just as they were beginning to cooperate.
With Raven alive, she could serve as a messenger for Du Wa and also observe him up close. If she could extract any valuable secrets, she could report them to Magneto immediately.
Du Wa stood up, stretched his back, and had the xenomorphs release Raven.
"Find a way to bandage that yourself." Du Wa glanced at the puncture wound on Raven's shoulder and said casually.
Raven's expression didn't change. She just manipulated her nearby muscle cells, which squirmed and morphed to make a preliminary repair to the wound.
"You seem a little anxious. I believe it's not because of Erik, but because of Juggernaut." Raven observed Du Wa's expression, her gaze sharp and penetrating.
Du Wa was momentarily stunned, then admitted frankly, "Anxious? There was a moment of that, yes. Just as I said, you know nothing about Juggernaut, nor do you understand what might happen in the future."
"It will only happen if we're unlucky. You mentioned the luck factor yourself. What I'm more curious about is, what is it about Juggernaut that concerns you so much?"
*An indestructible body? That ability is worthless in front of Magneto. All he needs to do is stuff Juggernaut underground, pile a heap of metal on top of him, and even the toughest body would be useless.*
Du Wa smiled faintly and didn't respond. He simply took out a xenomorph egg and placed it in front of Raven.
"I've been wanting to sneak underground to check things out for a while, but I was always stopped by the xenomorphs. This time should be fine, right?" Raven stared at the blooming egg. Her heart skipped a beat, but she maintained a nonchalant expression on the surface as she spoke.
It wasn't until the face-hugger pounced on her that Raven, experiencing this for the first time, finally lost her composure. She subconsciously raised a hand to swat the creature away.
Pow!
Du Wa threw a punch into Raven's stomach. This single blow was enough to allow the face-hugger to latch onto her face and complete its implantation.
A while later, when Raven woke up, the first thing she did was check her body.
"In that case, it seems I've become your slave, just like that little woman over there."
Raven carried herself elegantly, intending to walk over to Du Wa, but he stopped her before she could move. "If you're thinking of taking this chance to leave me, find a place, and perform open-chest surgery on yourself to remove the xenomorph, you'd better give up that idea. I won't give you the chance."
Raven's face stiffened. The smile on her face slowly faded, replaced by a baleful glint in her eyes.
But there was nothing she could do. He had blocked every move she wanted to make.
"I need to increase my strength as quickly as possible... Not just my own personal strength, but I also need to build an army of sufficient scale in a short amount of time."
Du Wa mused. To rapidly expand the xenomorphs, he had two considerations. First was the Queen's egg-laying speed. She currently produced about five to ten eggs a day, but the rate was increasing over time. Du Wa guessed this was because this Queen had transformed from an ordinary xenomorph midway, giving her an inherent deficiency when it came to reproduction.
Second, he needed a stable and reliable source of hosts.
Using ordinary animals as hosts was out of the question; the resulting 'messenger' xenomorphs were too weak.
What about using the vast human population as hosts? Not only was Du Wa a human himself, but doing such a thing at this time would provoke the hostility of the entire world.
Using only death-row inmates as hosts wouldn't be very meaningful either. Therefore, the most cost-effective option was a group whose strongholds and population distribution Du Wa had already mastered...
The vampires!
(end of chapter)