Chapter 61: Magneto Severely Overestimates Du Wa's Integrity
As Kaecilius's successor and the Sorcerer Supreme's chief assistant, Baron Mordo couldn't understand the Ancient One's actions.
Wasn't it Kamar-Taj's duty to monitor all spatial fluctuations on Earth and keep a close watch on all elements from otherworlds?
And now? Over on Du Wa's side, a man wielding the power of another world had clearly appeared. He was extremely powerful, even capable of defeating Magneto—alright, Mordo didn't think he himself would lose to Magneto, but after assessing the combat power Reynolds displayed, he found it very tricky.
Capable of firing energy from a distance and engaging in close-quarters combat, there were truly no discernible shortcomings, aside from his psychic defense, which remained unknown.
But the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj were different; they were almost all mortal. Therefore, when fighting, they often had to cautiously expend some magic to apply defensive spells to themselves first.
The more powerful Reynolds became, the more unease it stirred in Mordo. As the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One should have taken action long ago, confronting Reynolds to scrutinize the source of his power and only returning after confirming there were no otherworldly invaders.
But the Ancient One hadn't. She just sat there, doing nothing, and he had no idea what she was thinking.
Mordo desperately wanted to ask, but seeing the Ancient One close her eyes again, he hesitated for a moment before respectfully exiting the Sanctum. He decided to continue with his own mission: finding Kaecilius.
"Baron Mordo, I haven't seen Wong. Where did he go?"
As Mordo passed by a special Training Ground, a Dum Dum Dugan greeted him.
"Same as me, doing the same thing. The campaign against the Black Magicians must not stop." Mordo looked at the large group of identical-looking men before him, his steps faltering. He hesitated, truly not knowing what kind of attitude to adopt when facing these Dum Dum Dugans.
"I can go too. I'm already a qualified Magician."
"Hmph, based on that performance you uploaded to my memory? You should join a circus. I know one that's been agonizing over its lack of talented monkeys."
"Shut up! Don't forget who we are. We're S.H.I.E.L.D. agents! Maintaining world peace is our duty..."
"Retired agents."
A large group of Dum Dum Dugans with different personalities started arguing.
No one knew just how many clones' memories existed simultaneously inside their heads. This current argument could very well be an act they were putting on, Mordo thought.
In any case, he wasn't good at dealing with these "geniuses" handpicked by the Ancient One. When it came to magical aptitude, few among them were outstanding. Most of them even struggled to channel the magical particles passed on by the Vishanti.
All that could be said was that their large numbers, strong willpower, and powerful execution had earned them the Ancient One's favor.
"The Sorcerer Supreme clearly doesn't need so many Ascetic Monks... especially such terrible, half-baked ones." The more Mordo failed to understand, the more he felt that the Sorcerer Supreme was truly worthy of the title, her thoughts unfathomably deep.
Mordo didn't take the Dum Dum Dugans with him, refusing no matter what they said.
What a joke. Every Ascetic Monk in Kamar-Taj was an elite sorcerer to be carefully protected. They would never be sent into battle unless it was a critical moment, like a world war or Earth being on the verge of being devoured by a demon god from another dimension. Their mission was to stay in Kamar-Taj and study magic.
Passing through a portal, Mordo appeared on the streets of New York.
The Sorcerer Supreme's thoughts were impossible to fathom. Perhaps this was the gap between him and the Ancient One. So, as he expected, hunting down some Black Magicians would be a more productive use of his time.
He wore a peculiar hood and walked along the street, unflinchingly accepting the stares of the hurried citizens.
Many people's faces changed the moment they saw him. Caution and fear appeared in their eyes, and they skirted far away from him.
Mordo knew this was definitely because of the great battle that had erupted in Westchester. The impact on ordinary people in modern society was unprecedented. As the core zone of the battle, New York City had seen hundreds of thousands of deaths, and the city had long been gripped by panic.
Of course, there was no shortage of fanatical individuals who worshipped power to an extreme. Mordo didn't even have to think to know that plenty of warmongers or people seeking a sense of security had probably already gone looking for Du Wa, hoping to be implanted with a Xenomorph and become one of the superhumans.
"How pitiful, these mortals... But they will never know that this is merely a war of the mortal realm. Once a demon god from another dimension breaks through, the number of deaths won't be so small."
Mordo felt sad. His personality was paranoid and he hated evil with a passion, but he also felt compassion for all life—before defecting to Dormammu, Kaecilius had been much the same.
The deaths of three to five hundred thousand people had already profoundly shaken the entire world, putting everyone on edge. Honestly, if things escalated to the level of a dimensional war, it would decide the fate of billions of people globally. The current casualties were truly insignificant in comparison.
"Kaecilius, I'd like to see where you can possibly hide..."
A cold light flared in Mordo's eyes as he immediately stormed a stronghold of the Black Magicians.
If these people dared to use magic beyond a certain limit, they would be like fireflies in the darkness, emitting a faint, flickering glow that Kamar-Taj would detect instantly.
As soon as Mordo burst in, he scanned his surroundings and saw bloodstains and severed limbs on the ground. He vigilantly used magic to examine all the traces.
He desperately hoped to find Kaecilius, because this was undoubtedly Kaecilius's weakest moment. After a major brawl with an opponent like Loki—who possessed magic, divine power, a super-body, and a brilliant mind—he had incurred countless debts and would need to be bedridden for several weeks at the very least.
Mordo guessed that Kaecilius was probably suffering from symptoms like high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and stomach ulcers right now.
And that was with Dormammu shouldering most of the burden. If Kaecilius had to repay the God of Dark Magic, Chthon, in full by himself, he would absolutely be tortured by Chthon to the point where death would be a mercy.
But unfortunately, Kaecilius wasn't here either.
Mordo's brow furrowed slightly with a look of regret, but the next second, his eyelid twitched as he confirmed someone had beaten him to it.
However, in the fifth room ahead, there were a few who had slipped through the net. He could capture some of them to gather information.
"Xenomorphs?!"
Mordo snapped his head around, staring in astonishment at the creatures emerging from the building's darkness. They were like assassins merged with the shadows, silent and soundless, waiting for an opportunity to strike a fatal blow.
The sorcerer watched from a close distance as these war machines, already famous throughout the world and coveted by countless people, slaughtered the Black Magicians with extremely efficient means.
Glancing toward a room in the distance, he also saw the corpses of several Xenomorphs, their terrifying blood having corroded large holes in the floor.
"These are just ordinary Xenomorphs, and there are also many lesser ones crawling on all fours..." Mordo slowly backed away until he reached a corner, focusing his attention on their performance.
Research on the Xenomorph social structure was proceeding in an orderly fashion among the major world powers. It had been determined that the Xenomorph social hierarchy was currently divided into three levels: Queen, Soldier, and Drone.
The drone was the type that crawled on all fours. It was the smallest in size and could spit blood from a distance. Its combat power was the weakest, but this weakness was relative. If thrown among ordinary people, it would transform into a god of slaughter in minutes.
"Get away, you damned things! You should be killing vampires, why us?!"
The last surviving Black Magician cursed in terror, raising a hand to insta-kill a Xenomorph with a blast of dark magic. He dodged far away, but was still splashed by a few drops of blood. His previously uninjured body was instantly and grievously wounded, and at least half of his strength was gone.
Just from being splattered by a few drops of blood—no mortal body could withstand it, and even most superhumans couldn't endure this blood that could corrode starships.
He tried to flee but was surrounded by several Xenomorphs and dismembered on the spot.
Mordo frowned. The manner of death was somewhat cruel, but he wouldn't fault the Xenomorphs for their actions.
"I should have reminded him before he died that his companions were unreliable. A vampire who had learned dark magic had infiltrated their ranks. However, we are indeed also hunting Black Magicians at the same time."
Accompanied by a crisp voice, a tall woman walked out. She wore a red bodysuit, and on her long, slender legs, light red stockings reached all the way to the tops of her thighs, brazenly on display. A long piece of cloth hung down from her hips, tracing a beautiful curve.
She was the kind of lady who would attract attention wherever she went—if you ignored the bloody blade grasped in her hand and the strange flames that perpetually burned where half of her shoulder was missing.
"That's Mephisto's Hellfire, from demonic magic. If you don't cleanse it quickly, your soul will ultimately belong to Mephisto." Mordo glanced over, his brow furrowing with a hint of disgust.
Such evil sorcerers, a group of villains. Not only did they use black magic with severe side effects, but they even dared to use the malevolent spells of a great demon of Hell!
"Mephisto... I don't know much about that guy. I don't even know if this demon is real."
"All spells, even the lowest-level fire creation, draw their magic power from a specific magical entity. The very fact that he successfully cast it proves that the entity referred to in the spell's name is real."
Mordo looked at the woman being followed by Xenomorphs. Seeing her nonchalant expression, his brow furrowed even tighter and his face darkened. "Are all of Du Wa's subordinates people who have lost their own personalities after being modified, Elektra Natchios?"
He didn't want to see all of Du Wa's followers become so-called 'people' who were nothing more than tools.
"Sorcerer, perhaps I should be flattered that you know my name? Then you should also know that I come from The Hand. Enduring pain is a required course for every ninja."
Elektra appeared unfazed on the surface, but in reality, she was enduring terrible pain at every moment.
It was only thanks to the Xenomorph larva in her chest remaining unharmed and intact; otherwise, she truly couldn't guarantee she would still be alive right now.
"I can sense the Xenomorph inside you. You'd best be careful. If it gets burned, you will lose your powerful healing ability, and you will also be killed by its blood." Mordo stared intently at Elektra's hollowed-out shoulder, his expression incredibly grave.
This was the first time Mordo had seen a Xenomorph larva that had parasitized a human body with his own eyes. The thing lay in Elektra's chest cavity, fused with the surrounding flesh and internal organs. Like a human heart, it contracted with extremely subtle movements, clearly breathing.
"...Don't worry about it. I might die for any number of reasons, but I won't die because of this. The people of Kamar-Taj have had too few opportunities to deal with people like me, so you don't understand us. But you'll find out sooner or later," Elektra said.
To be parasitized by a Xenomorph was to simultaneously acquire its genes. Purely from a genetic and hereditary material standpoint, the fusion brought about by parasitism was a two-way street. As long as Du Wa suppressed it and ensured the larva wouldn't chestburst, an ordinary person would also possess the Xenomorph's genes, gaining super strength, a super-healing ability, and an adaptation to its corrosive blood.
The two spoke from a distance of ten meters. Mordo stood alone, confident he could eliminate all the Xenomorphs, including Elektra, in an instant. Elektra was full of dread towards Mordo and deliberately kept her distance, not daring to approach.
Elektra had no reaction to Mordo's gaze on her shoulder. Both of them were highly trained. Mordo was the second-in-command of Kamar-Taj, while Elektra, a former assassin for The Hand and a current Xenomorph host, had undergone high-intensity training for her mind and thoughts. How could she possibly feel a pointless emotion like shyness while they were on guard against each other?
That would lower one's alertness and combat effectiveness, something that could never and would never be allowed for someone whose fighting skills were above the passing line.
"Kaecilius isn't here? We detected a powerful black magic fluctuation."
"He was here just a few minutes ago. It's not just you tracking him; we've also been hunting this guy down, while indiscriminately cleansing all Black Magicians." Elektra pointed in one direction, showing several corpses to Mordo.
To be honest, this job wasn't easy. The power of the Black Magicians was generally stronger, but they had mortal bodies and couldn't be used as hosts for Xenomorph parasitism. As a result, the command Elektra received was to leave no one alive.
Fighting a vampire could at least yield a batch of blood-xenomorphs, but fighting the more troublesome Black Magicians was a constant loss, with Xenomorphs dying continuously.
The only consolation was that most of these Xenomorphs were born from parasitizing ordinary animals. They were suitable consumables. Elektra's heart ached at the casualties, but Du Wa considered it acceptable.
Even if they didn't die in battle here, Du Wa would send these Xenomorphs to Asgard to participate in the war.
The most ordinary Xenomorphs could more than withstand temperatures from -100 to 1000 degrees Celsius, allowing them to fight on many planets with harsh environments.
Elektra said, "Kaecilius ended up in a pretty miserable state after his battle with Loki. When I arrived, he had just come out of the bathroom."
"Then the problem is indeed serious. So, this stronghold was very likely a toilet he prepared for himself... one of them."
Mordo felt he could add another ailment to the long list of diseases Kaecilius might have contracted: frequent urination.
A sorcerer of Kaecilius's level could use insignificant magical particles to solve problems like hygiene and excretion, paying almost no price. Yet, Kaecilius didn't even do this. It indicated that his physical condition was even worse than expected. At the very least, his gastrointestinal tract had major problems, which must have been offered to Chthon as part of the price.
It couldn't even be repaired with magic.
Finally, opening a portal to escape was also a deliberate move to avoid all forms of battle.
Amidst their mutual vigilance, Elektra took the lead and left with her Xenomorphs.
"Kaecilius is not an enemy you can handle," Mordo couldn't help but say.
Elektra gave him a surprised look and shook her head. "No one can offend Du Wa and get away unscathed. Even if he's a first-rate sorcerer in this world, he must pay a heavy price. That was determined the moment he attacked Du Wa. Besides, any enemy I can't defeat, the Sentry can."
Sentry? It seems this was the man who wielded the power of a different universe, another subordinate under Du Wa's command.
Mordo watched Elektra retreat into the distance, paying extra attention to the Xenomorphs.
"Du Wa... a dangerous element." Mordo turned and stepped into a portal, beginning his search for the next stronghold of the Black Magicians.
...
Elektra returned, sitting on a Xenomorph, carefully using her blade to cut away the burning flesh from her body. From a distance, she could see countless Xenomorphs bustling about.
"It's Reynolds again. After several displays of his power, he's made this precarious building completely uninhabitable." Elektra watched a golden beam of light shoot into the sky, followed by tremors in the ground, and shrugged.
Reynolds really couldn't stay idle for a moment, always looking for an opportunity to test his immense power.
But as she got closer, Elektra realized she was mistaken and began to suspect there was something wrong with her eyes.
Of the two buildings that originally stood here, the one next door where the group of Dum Dum Dugans lived had vanished without a trace. Their own original nest, which had become riddled with holes and was on the verge of collapse after numerous battles, was now being held up by the Sentry with one hand. He aimed it in one direction and hurled it away forcefully. The way he stretched his body was just like someone shooting a basketball.
The sound of the building crashing to the ground was enough to make any nerve-wracked New Yorker believe a missile had exploded.
Elektra also saw hundreds of Xenomorphs, each with their own task, busily carrying cement and bricks.
"This... maybe I came to the wrong place. I just went out to kill some Black Magicians and vampires, how..."
Elektra murmured, then saw the Sentry fly back.
She discovered this guy was truly incredible. He relentlessly activated his super-speed and super-strength. One second he was furiously mixing cement with his arms—a performance even a cement mixer would applaud—and the next he appeared dozens of meters away, swinging his fists to pound the foundation into the ground.
As a result, this display of ultimate speed created countless afterimages of the Sentry in the air, each one working at full capacity.
No construction foreman could ever refuse a man like this. Absolutely none. Not even Du Wa.
More importantly, Elektra saw an old man floating in the air with a terrible expression on his face. He was remotely manipulating countless pieces of metal, easily shaping them into heavy steel rebar, and crudely shoving them into the ground, arranging them in their proper places.
"You're back? The mission was completed well. Another batch of Black Magicians slaughtered. That guy Kaecilius should be feeling the pain this time."
Du Wa glanced at Elektra, symbolically blew on the hot water in his cup, and drank it all in one gulp. He advised, "Drink a couple more glasses of water after finishing your missions. The Xenomorph will also appreciate its body being well-hydrated."
Elektra stammered, "Xenomorphs hauling bricks, Magneto making rebar, Sentry mixing cement... This..."
This was an absolutely indescribable operation. Elektra believed it was completely unprecedented. She was afraid that the lenses of the countless satellites monitoring this place from the sky might just crack.
"Don't worry about it. Among all the people working hard here, the most skilled is actually Erik. Did you notice? Don't you dare question his superb skills in civil engineering. He's the man who single-handedly created a Steel Island in the middle of the ocean. Leading the construction of a super-skyscraper now is a piece of cake for him."
The key was, that Steel Island served as the Brotherhood's headquarters, and it was even legal. It was Magneto who threw down money to 'buy' the legal qualification.
See? He can even build an island, calculating the island's structure, the seawater's buoyancy, and the layout of the buildings on it, all in one go. So being called over by Du Wa to build a skyscraper should be a piece of cake, right?
Du Wa also sighed from the bottom of his heart. Magneto was truly a versatile talent. In terms of adaptability to various situations, he far surpassed Professor X.
"The conditions weren't right before, so there was no need to rebuild," Du Wa said. "Now the time is right, and it's reached the point where we have no choice but to demolish it. That impact when Reynolds went out to fight Magneto destroyed a load-bearing wall, making this building, which was already due for demolition, completely uninhabitable."
"You don't have to deliberately hide it from me. You just figured that with Magneto and the Sentry, these two could complete the construction of a super-skyscraper." Elektra felt her entire worldview was shattering, especially her perception of Magneto, which she now saw in a completely new light.
"When people think of Magneto, they easily think of him manipulating a pile of metal for a frenzied bombardment, but he's also the terminator of civil engineering."
In just a short while, the super-skyscraper already had a preliminary outline.
As for cooling the reinforced concrete, the Sentry also had freezing breath. He could just repeatedly flush certain parts with energy.
After a while, Magneto flew down with a gloomy expression, looking coldly at Du Wa. "I have fulfilled the conditions you proposed. Also, if you ever ask me to do this kind of thing again, our relationship ends here."
"I saved your life, you help me build a skyscraper. That's not too much to ask. Besides, you've seen it yourself, I really do need a skyscraper for a headquarters. I can't just keep living in that old, broken-down building."
Du Wa said flatly, "Besides, there won't be a next time. I won't allow anyone to recklessly destroy my building—the super-skyscraper. They will die at my hands before they can even try."
Magneto's expression grew even darker. "In any case, boy, I must thank you for this—I have never expressed my gratitude to someone so solemnly. What's even more surprising is that you actually used a Xenomorph to parasitize me while I was asleep."
Building a house wasn't the problem. The parasitism was the problem.
Although Magneto had prepared himself psychologically, considering his past dealings with Du Wa, he had believed Du Wa to be a man of great principles and dignity.
Magneto harbored a sliver of illusion in his heart, feeling that such a trustworthy person wouldn't take advantage of someone in a vulnerable position.
As it turned out, he was wrong.
Magneto had severely overestimated one thing: the moral standards that damn Du Wa possessed when faced with a quality host.
And this host was a Magneto who couldn't use his magnetic powers, with a body only one or two times stronger than a mortal's.
"Erik, we are friends. Also, please don't speak in that tone. It easily gives me the mistaken impression that you're making a risky gamble on an uncertain outcome."
Du Wa's expression didn't change at all. He knew that at this moment, Magneto desperately wanted to kill him. If he couldn't kill him, he would be formulating a plan to get rid of the larva, making a thorough action assessment.
For a man as proud as him, being parasitized by a Xenomorph larva was undoubtedly a great humiliation.
Therefore, Du Wa had already shifted all his attention from Reynolds to Magneto, constantly monitoring Magneto's entire state. If Magneto made any untoward move, he would immediately stop him through the Xenomorph larva.
"I had to do it. Don't forget, no one can be sure if the illusions in your head have been completely cleared. What if there are new psychological suggestions that you haven't uncovered, and you wake up and go on a rampage again? What should I do? If you were me, what would I do?" Du Wa looked at the gloomy-faced old man before him.
"Then you should have killed me, not used a Xenomorph larva to control me!" Magneto finally roared, unable to bear it any longer. He had an impulse to manipulate the powerful electromagnetic force and rip the Xenomorph larva out of his chest!
But the moment he had this thought, the Xenomorph larva inside him would do everything in its power to stop him. It would mobilize every nerve, every muscle, every bone in his body—including the larva itself, which had replaced organs like his heart and lungs—and reject the neural signals sent from Magneto's brain.
This was the awkward situation of someone who had been parasitized by a Xenomorph but hadn't yet experienced a chestburst: the brain was still their own and could still issue commands to the body. But whether the neural signals sent by the brain would be smoothly received by the other parts of the body—whether this 'reception' was an oversight by the Xenomorph larva, or something it had silently approved—no one knew.
Therefore, Magneto really wanted to fight a great battle with Du Wa, even if it meant mutual destruction. At the very least, he wanted to fight the Sentry who had defeated him. He should at least have the right to kill himself.
As it turned out, his body wouldn't obey.
As for using only the power of his brain to forcibly wield his magnetic powers? Although it would be very difficult, Magneto wanted to try.
"Erik, I know you want to use only your brain to wield the electromagnetic force. From the moment you woke up until now, you've been looking for an opportunity to kill me."
Du Wa sighed, looking troubled. "Let's not even talk about how my larva already possesses your genes, and the high probability that it could fake your brain's neural signals to deceive your own brain—I'm just unwilling to do that to you. But what happens after you kill me? Will it cause the many Xenomorphs I've deployed across the globe to go on a rampage, just like what you did in Westchester? At that point, countless Queens will be secretly reproducing all over the world. I don't need to tell you what a negative impact that would have on mutants, do I?"
Du Wa paused. "What's more, if I die, you won't live either. Being parasitized by my Xenomorph is one thing, but Reynolds has also been watching this place. He will attack you at a faster speed before you can make a move. You don't have Hoggoth's ancient body to withstand his instantaneous burst."
Magneto didn't know any Hoggoth.
This guy was probably some nobody who left his name in history only to be eliminated by it. Du Wa always knew about things from the cracks of history, able to pull out good stuff from obscure nooks and crannies, Magneto thought.
"You survived an encounter with a dangerous man like Mastermind, you withstood Reynolds's attack, and now you've regained your senses—at least for now. But it wouldn't surprise me if you went on a rampage again in the future. Besides, you were beaten half to death by Reynolds and couldn't actively use your electromagnetic force. It was I who parasitized you with a Xenomorph, giving you a powerful healing ability. Otherwise, who knows if you would have ever woken up."
Du Wa spread his hands. This was only because it was Magneto. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't have wasted his breath; he would have just used force.
Magneto sneered, "According to you, I should be thanking you?"
"You're welcome. Just consider it payment for the construction costs. It wasn't easy getting so many building materials for me with your magnetic powers," Du Wa said.
"Enough! I will not obey your command! I have more important things to do! Charles still needs my protection, and the great cause of mutants still needs me!" Magneto flew into the sky, exasperated. He hadn't been this infuriated, on the verge of going mad, in many, many years.
Reynolds cast a focused gaze, his muscles tensing, ready to launch a critical strike at Magneto at any moment. He had already established a psychological advantage over Magneto and really wanted to fight him again to satisfy his craving.
"Kid, you got lucky last time. If I had been in my right mind, I would never have revealed such an obvious weakness, letting you use Xenomorph blood against me."
Magneto suppressed his rage and issued a terrible warning to the eager Reynolds, "Now, I have Xenomorph blood too. The constitution and extra genes you have, I have them now as well."
After saying that, he quickly flew off into the distance without looking back.
Magneto really didn't want to spare Du Wa another glance. He was so damn annoying.
"You're just letting him go like that? Don't listen to his nonsense, I can take him out." Reynolds moved closer to Du Wa.
"You can take him out, but can you take out Professor X? Use your brain and think about it. Either you break ties with the vast majority of mutants in the world, act decisively now, and go kill every last one of the X-Men first, or you don't do it at all from the start."
But kill the X-Men? Don't forget, there's a Jean Grey accompanying the unconscious Professor X.
If you don't deal with the X-Men now and only think about eliminating Magneto, it will be big trouble when Professor X wakes up.
Du Wa seriously assessed his own psychic defenses. Considering the overall strength of the Xenomorph legion, he likely didn't have the ability to perfectly resist Professor X's mind control.
"Besides, what makes you think that just because Magneto left on his own, he's escaped my control? I just don't want to force him to do anything, it's not that I can't! It won't be too late to ask him to act when we encounter a powerful enemy in the future." Du Wa shifted his gaze, admiring his brand-new skyscraper.
Reynolds still didn't understand. "Then what if he goes crazy again?"
Du Wa gave Reynolds a concerned look. "That was just my excuse to persuade Magneto. Just an excuse."
Even if there were still residual psychological suggestions in Magneto's brain, making him a time bomb, don't forget...
Inside Magneto's chest, there was now an extra brain.
If one brain falls for it, unless a Mastermind number two pops up and pulls the second brain into an illusion as well.
Or unless someone like Mastermind could control both brains at once from the very beginning.
Otherwise, the two brains could fully cooperate to break free from the illusion.
(end of chapter)