Chapter 56: Our Goal Is to Kill Du Wa, Not Conquer the Celestials' Cosmos
Mr. Blue was curious about everything related to Du Wa, but this time, he was truly baffled.
"Why did the Aliens bring back a vagrant, and why am I not even allowed near him?" Mr. Blue paused his experiment, swaying his massive head as he stared intently at Reynolds, who was surrounded by a large group of Aliens.
The fact that it seemed normal was the most abnormal thing about it.
But even with his intellect magnified five hundred times, he couldn't make sense of the logic behind it. Du Wa's actions always defied his expectations, causing many of his deductions to fail completely.
"A human, you're actually a human? No, your head—" Reynolds' face was pale. Long-term drug addiction had severely taken its toll, leaving his body gaunt. His eyes lit up for a moment before dimming again, and he shrank helplessly into a corner.
What he didn't know was that on the other side of the wall, an even greater number of Aliens were already in position. They would leave no vulnerabilities in their security.
"He doesn't seem to have a high intellect, nor does he have any special powers." Mr. Blue assessed Reynolds' physical condition at a glance. A hint of deep contempt flashed in his eyes, making it even harder for him to understand why Du Wa would seek out such a worthless person.
But if he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't dwell on it. Mr. Blue mused that he had provided Du Wa with two hundred bio-monsters, using up every last bit of material he had, including what Du Wa had left for him.
"You'd better think clearly before you act. Don't think I don't know what you're up to," Elektra appeared not far from Mr. Blue, watching him coldly.
Mr. Blue let out a strange laugh, sounding like an old crow circling a withered tree. "I'm afraid that among us, only you are truly loyal to him. The rest, whether it's Mystique or myself, have had our own agendas from the very beginning."
"He never cares about your thoughts, only whether you complete the missions he assigns. However, from now on, it won't be just me. There will be him as well." Elektra's gaze was ice-cold as she stared at the ridiculously intelligent big-headed man before her, pointing at the mentally collapsing Reynolds.
Mr. Blue scoffed.
"Him? This fool, addicted to low-grade substances, is a timid coward. He's so terrified by these beautiful Aliens that he's about to wet his pants. He has absolutely no potential. Using him as a host seems like a waste to me! The Alien that chestbursts from him will most likely be an incompetent idiot as well!"
But Elektra didn't think so.
She had an inexplicable faith in Du Wa. The larva in her chest was fused with her internal organs, pulsing with the same rhythm. She felt that Du Wa had specifically captured this man for an implantation, and then the truth would be revealed.
…
Countless eyes were fixed on Du Wa.
"So that's him…"
"The youngest T0 threat? The guy who has the entire globe in a chokehold."
"He's also a war maniac, constantly sending Aliens to a higher-level battlefield. The Rainbow Bridge that appears at irregular intervals is clear proof, yet there's nothing we can do."
Many people whispered among themselves, looking at Du Wa with immense dread.
They had been constantly sizing up Professor X, as if such an act could determine whether he was monitoring and manipulating their minds. But when Du Wa appeared, their attention quickly shifted.
After all, Professor X was long-famous. Even with his change in ideology and his alliance with Magneto, it was still within the realm of comprehension.
But Du Wa alone was an anomaly, the first on Earth to organize an expeditionary force to fight in a cross-realm war.
Throughout human history, Du Wa's actions were paradigm-shattering. And as it happened, he possessed the ability to mass-produce a powerful army and deploy it onto the battlefield.
"My academic lecture is titled 'The World Tree and Midgard.' I believe this is something many of you are interested in. I will tell you the history of the Asgardians, and I will also tell you explicitly that this war will not stop here. On the contrary, it will continue to expand, pushing forward without end. I am in urgent need of more and more warriors. If anyone wishes to join my ranks, you're welcome to visit my home."
Du Wa placed Mjolnir on the podium. This seemingly casual act was a blunt reminder, and the meaning expressed in his words was a crude warning, making countless people's eyelids twitch wildly.
Warmongers like Magneto showed appreciative expressions on their faces.
But these words made the vampires' world go dark.
Du Wa was sending troops to war, funded by the blood and treasure of the vampires!
"I protest! This is an atrocity that will go down in history! It's a crime…!" a vampire representative couldn't help but jump to his feet in protest. "And besides, it's my turn to speak!"
But no one listened to him. What was even more predictable was that as soon as this guy stepped out of the building, he would be snatched by a 'randomly' passing Alien. He would then reappear in another form on the battlefield of some unknown planet, fighting against the Frost Giants.
This was the fate of vampires in the current era. Everyone had quickly adapted to this new social order—everyone except the vampires themselves.
"Damn it, not only is he not stopping, he's doubling down! He's trying to completely wipe out our Vampire Clan!"
"There's nothing we can do. We had hoped Baron Blood would step up, but that guy is a coward. He spends all day hiding, getting chased all over by Blade."
"If only Dracula were still around. But we don't know where he is in his slumber."
The vampires were on the verge of collapse. Life was simply unbearable. All their achievements, wealth, and power, accumulated over the ages, seemed to have become obsolete overnight.
At first, it was only Blade who was hell-bent on hunting them. Then came Du Wa, followed by S.H.I.E.L.D., although they quickly stopped. But it was foreseeable that as long as any organization tried to mess with the Aliens—scheming to capture or clone them for manipulation—the vampires would be the ones to suffer eternally.
Du Wa's voice echoed throughout the hall: "The World Tree has Nine Realms. Earth is Midgard, one of the three realms of the center..."
"The evil Frost Giants have launched a war of aggression. The valiant warriors of Asgard, defenders of peace in the Nine Realms, have risen up to resist, upholding the ideal of courage with their blood..."
Du Wa's words sounded very inspiring, but for those who knew the inside story, it was hard to keep a straight face.
"If I didn't know a bit of history—that Asgard has spent ages starting fires and launching wars everywhere—I would've actually thought the Asgard he's describing were pacifists who deserved a World Tree Peace Prize."
Nick Fury watched Du Wa's performance remotely, his stoic face twitching from time to time.
The more righteously Du Wa spoke, the more absurd Fury found it. How could such a vicious, troublesome person—one who had silently executed a strategy to bind the world with the Aliens and create global deterrence—stand on the stage of a global summit and preach about maintaining peace and justice?!
Look at him—Fury himself didn't even dare to appear at the conference in person. He had done too many dirty deeds and always had to worry about being taken out by similar means.
"My people—the Aliens—and I cannot sit idly by and watch this happen. I am the current Thor, but more importantly, I am a peace-loving Earthling! To maintain peace in the Nine Realms and protect the peace and stability of Earth, I have undertaken great risks and made immense sacrifices, giving my all to participate in this war."
Du Wa spoke with impassioned fervor to the countless cameras, waving his arms dramatically.
"..."
"I can't listen to this anymore."
Magneto took a deep breath.
Professor X's expression remained unchanged. "Erik, you should be a little more patient."
"You know me. I would never be like him—"
For a moment, Magneto couldn't find the right words to describe the man delivering the impassioned speech on stage.
Professor X said calmly, "Try to look at it from another angle. He is sending troops to Asgard while simultaneously holding onto Thor's hammer. Asgard has yet to give a concrete response, but the constant appearance of the Rainbow Bridge, transporting Aliens from Earth, already shows their stance."
Asgard hoped to obtain Du Wa's power. In other words, the alien legion, and the even greater number of Aliens in the future, were very important to Asgard.
They even remained silent about the fact that Mjolnir was possessed by an outsider.
"Let's go. There's no point in staying here any longer. Asgard is too distant from us. Solving the survival problem of the Mutants is the most important thing right now." Magneto turned to leave.
Professor X also turned his wheelchair, his eyes showing determination. For him, what he was doing now was already radical, but he had no other choice.
"We need to find Destiny first, have her give a prophecy about our actions, and find a reliable base and powerful allies." Professor X glanced at Magneto. "Perhaps, and I'm just saying perhaps, when the situation becomes difficult, we can join forces with the Deviants."
Magneto's tone was cold. "You're being absurd, Charles. According to the intelligence provided by Du Wa, this batch of Deviants are failed experiments of the Celestials! I may have taken your advice and not killed that Deviant Leader, but that doesn't mean I'll actually treat those beasts as our kin! Not even if they have gene fragments similar to the X-Gene in their bodies!"
"Believe me, I am in more pain than you are, because Juggernaut is my brother. But for the future of the Mutants, we must endure. Anyone can make a mistake, but not the two of us."
Professor X closed his eyes in pain.
From time to time, people around them cast curious glances, trying to figure out what they were whispering about. But Jean Grey had already created a barrier, cutting off all prying eyes and any surveillance from listening devices.
On the stage, Du Wa watched the backs of these Mutants and secretly shook his head.
With Destiny involved, it meant the two opposing forces, having foreseen the future, would inevitably unite and establish their ideal nation on Krakoa.
However, at most, this would only bring them a brief period of peace. The outcome would still be far from wonderful. In most universes, the mutant population struggles in agony, ultimately ending in tragedy.
Du Wa's report ended quickly.
The tormented audience below breathed a collective sigh of relief and took out their carefully prepared questions, planning to interrogate Du Wa thoroughly.
A simple question could actually contain many traps, allowing them to find answers and clues to more questions within Du Wa's reply.
But Du Wa wasn't playing along.
He pushed through the crowd, made a grand gesture to calm them down, and flew off by spinning Mjolnir.
The matter of the Sentry was more important.
"So rude! Even Magneto is easier to deal with than him!"
"Do you hear yourself? Are you a mutant too? Neither Du Wa nor Magneto is easy to get along with. If I really had to choose one, I'd choose Du Wa."
"You could try accepting his invitation and go check out his place. That way, you might die with a bit more dignity on an alien battlefield, you hero of Earth."
The hall was in an uproar. Now it was the turn of the leaders of the various factions to have a headache.
"He has already made his stance clear. The war will absolutely not stop."
Fury turned off the screen. From the very beginning, he had been against sending Du Wa to the joint summit. But with the strong support of Magneto and Professor X, it happened anyway—and now look at the result. Du Wa was like a poison, and Professor X had become a destabilizing factor.
"Hill, find a way to investigate what kind of deal Stryker made with Du Wa," Fury said.
Fury was far from the only one discussing Du Wa.
In a certain school in the United Kingdom.
"You all saw that, right? That is Du Wa, the human who killed Makkari and tore the Eternals apart. Now, even Asgard takes him very seriously."
Ajak pointed at the television screen.
The few Eternals present fell silent, their brows furrowed as they watched the footage of Du Wa speaking eloquently on stage, even though it was just a carefully edited official clip that left the public guessing about his actual topic.
"For Asgard to choose a human like him, it seems Odin is truly dead."
"Thor is nothing but a brat, trading Mjolnir for a continuous supply of troops. I really wonder what expression Odin would have if he were still alive."
The Eternals present looked at Du Wa with deep hatred in their eyes. In their limited memory, they had, after all, lived together for thousands of years, fighting side by side, sharing joy and sorrow. But now, an excellent comrade was dead.
"He will never stop. A dangerous person like him will do everything in his power to expand the war. The battlefield is where he continuously obtains high-quality hosts." As the leader of the Eternals, Ajak defined Du Wa.
If Du Wa were here, he would surely be unable to resist applauding her brilliant speech.
The Eternals present also responded, each clenching their fists.
"We can recall Ikaris. He is very powerful."
"Silence! He betrayed us first, hiding the fact that a large number of Deviants were still alive. That seriously violates our—" Gilgamesh hadn't finished speaking.
Ikaris's lover, Sersi, who was a teacher at the school, couldn't help but interrupt, "But, Du Wa is a human. A human hurt us. Isn't that also a form of betrayal against us?"
Ajak opened her mouth but remained silent. She really didn't know how to tell her compatriots that their actions to protect humanity were ultimately so that humanity could die with a little more value—to perish as nutrients for the birth of a new Celestial.
To some extent, Du Wa's attacks and targeting of them was, in a way, the act of a savior. This fully demonstrated how quickly the times were changing, where the identities of murderer and savior could overlap.
"We must make a decision. We have to kill Du Wa. Otherwise, what awaits us is hell. Even the future of humanity will be bleak. He will drag the entire Earth into the abyss of war, which will lead to the deaths of many people!" Ajak said in a grave voice.
If too many people died, the Celestial in the Earth's core would have less human consciousness energy to absorb, and its birth would be delayed.
Ajak didn't want the Celestial in the Earth's core to emerge early either, but that didn't mean she would remain indifferent to Du Wa's killing of Makkari.
"Kill Du Wa, at any price! This is for ourselves, and for all of humanity. If possible, I will report this matter to Arishem. Arishem will surely support us and deliver the most just judgment upon Du Wa, and even upon this entire planet."
(end of chapter)