Chapter 98 Du Wa's Astral Projection Was Never a One-on-One Affair
"Laufey… damn you, Du Wa, that bastard must be doing this on purpose!!"
Loki's face was exceptionally grim. Judging others by his own standards, he felt that Du Wa was an utterly unforgivable bastard, malicious to the extreme.
Whether it was the Female Thor or the Laufey Xenomorph, he was no match for either of them. If he had to face both at the same time, and Knull didn't help him, he would undoubtedly lose.
To make matters worse, one of them was his father by bloodline, capable of resisting the power of the Casket of Ancient Winters to a great extent.
Foster raised Thor's Hammer and aimed it forward. A violent torrent of divine lightning converged, forming a thick, terrifying bolt that brutally blasted apart the Symbiotes blocking the way. That single strike alone killed an unknown number of Symbiotes.
The black husks of the creatures drifted like corpses in the vacuum of space.
"Loki, you can't escape this time. Atone for your sins with your life."
The Female Thor spoke righteously, her long hair floating and scattering under the power of the lightning.
The life she had led since following Du Wa had been far too exciting. Traversing heaven and earth was a trivial matter; now she could even fight against a Deity.
"Don't be so full of yourself. If it weren't for Du Wa, I wouldn't even have the interest to spare a glance for an ordinary Midgardian like you."
Loki was disdainful—at least on the surface. In truth, he coveted Thor's Hammer in her hand. He immediately averted his gaze, looking toward the perpetually silent Laufey Xenomorph.
If not for this tall and reserved Xenomorph following behind Foster, which Loki recognized at a glance, he might not have been able to pick out this specific Laufey Xenomorph from the countless others on Earth.
It was too low-profile, too silent, not at all like a Super Xenomorph that had burst from a Skyfather's chest.
"To be able to deploy this Xenomorph, it seems it has accumulated enough divine power during this time for you to be willing to let it out for actual combat," Loki said coldly.
With his wisdom, after dealing with the Xenomorphs so many times, he had basically figured out most of their characteristics.
Divine power wasn't a power from the genes themselves. A Xenomorph that bursts from a member of the God Race has difficulty obtaining the host's complete power. It needs to train arduously on its own, using the bloodline in its genes to communicate with the World Tree and obtain divine power.
"Answer me, Du Wa," Loki said.
The Laufey Xenomorph gave no response the entire time. It just moved with astonishing speed, and in silence, it used its astonishing reserves of ice divine power to easily freeze the surrounding Symbiotes that pounced on it, turning them all into ice sculptures and flinging them into the Cosmic Starry Sky.
When the Laufey Xenomorph, which possessed preliminary Skyfather-level strength, attacked the ordinary Symbiotes, those Symbiotes had no qualification to resist.
Only the Symbiote Giant Dragons could put up some frontal resistance.
But even the numerous Symbiote Giant Dragons guarding Loki, who now suddenly attacked and began to besiege the Laufey Xenomorph, were always immediately intercepted by the Female Thor.
The strength of the Symbiote Giant Dragons was by no means weak, but facing the Female Thor was truly bad luck, as she was a being that naturally countered them.
Loki activated the divine power within him, using the Casket of Ancient Winters to attack the Laufey Xenomorph. The Laufey Xenomorph used its own ice divine power to forcefully charge, withstanding the might of the Casket of Ancient Winters and advancing bit by bit through the terrifying beam of ice, showing no signs of being frozen.
Divine ice constantly froze around it, only to be quickly shattered by the Laufey Xenomorph. Not to mention, the Female Thor was assisting from the side, ready to blast the ice with scorching lightning at any moment.
Even though the Casket of Ancient Winters possessed the great power to freeze an entire world, Loki currently lacked the strength to fully unleash the artifact's potential, let alone use it against the Laufey Xenomorph, the possessor of the finest bloodline among the Frost Giants.
In the extreme cold, the Laufey Xenomorph was perfectly comfortable, as if it had come home.
"This feeling is truly awful..."
Loki couldn't even determine what essential difference, in terms of bloodline, there was between the thing before him and his biological father. If he had to say, perhaps the bloodline level of the Laufey Xenomorph was even richer and nobler than the genuine Laufey?
This was truly a story from Hell; even Mephisto would laugh out loud if he heard it.
The Laufey Xenomorph had already charged in front of Loki. It suddenly stretched out its palm and slapped viciously toward Loki.
A super Symbiote, formed from the fusion of several Symbiote Giant Dragons, was torn open by this attack, and the Laufey Xenomorph's long, sharp claws went straight for Loki's head.
If it hit, Loki's head would be gone. There was no other possibility.
This made Loki realize that Du Wa's patience with him had run out; he was genuinely out for his life.
"The situation is deteriorating faster than I expected, and I haven't even managed to exhaust Earth's full war potential..."
Loki's face darkened. He had originally thought that since it was impossible for him to serve Knull wholeheartedly, he might as well secretly go easy on them after achieving some results, causing the Symbiotes to suffer greater losses. But now, all these little schemes were useless. He had truly done his best, but his opponent was simply too strong.
If he could have seized Tony Stark's Celestial, perhaps he could have held out for longer. But who would have thought that Du Wa had made targeted arrangements long ago? It was as if Du Wa already knew exactly what Knull wanted to do.
Dammit!
No one likes to face an enemy who can see through their leader's thoughts, especially when that enemy is also incredibly strong!
"Knull, surely you don't want your only somewhat reliable servant to die at the hands of this Earthling, do you? If so, there'll be no one left to devise strategies for you."
Loki raised the Casket of Ancient Winters, expending the little divine power he had left, feeling utterly bitter as he desperately defended against the beating from his upgraded old man.
His divine power was limited, and the time he could wield the Casket of Ancient Winters was also limited. As time went on, he would only weaken rapidly until Laufey completely broke through the Casket's barrier.
The next second, all the surrounding Symbiotes, numbering at least several hundred thousand and interspersed with many powerful Symbiote Giant Dragons, suddenly changed direction. They completely ignored the Female Thor and swarmed rapidly toward the tiny Loki.
Countless Symbiotes madly entwined and fused, ultimately all attaching themselves to Loki's body.
"Useless..."
A consciousness as deep as the ocean descended across countless reaches of space-time, manipulating countless Symbiotes. Using Loki's body as the core, it created a vessel to carry His consciousness.
A presence as terrifying as the Abyss seemed to suppress the entire galaxy, forcibly snapping the omnipresent sunlight in the surrounding space and creating a pitch-black region in a corner of outer space near Earth.
Once again, Knull chose to transfer his consciousness, descending upon a creation under his command.
History was astonishingly similar. This time, Knull was also facing a Thor.
But this time, Knull was long prepared and would not repeat his past mistakes.
At that moment, all the omnipresent Symbiotes on Earth trembled in unison, experiencing a strange pause, before becoming even more frenzied.
All the Symbiotes began to frantically search for hosts. Countless humans and animals around the world were parasitized, becoming Symbiote soldiers who immediately engaged in a desperate slaughter with every living being in their sight.
The resisting people on Earth were temporarily unsure of what was happening. They all clearly felt an indescribable immense pressure weighing on their hearts, making it difficult for them to breathe.
Faced with the wrath of an incomplete Deity, ordinary people would have a painful reaction.
The simultaneous agitation of all Symbiotes globally was even more worrying.
"Charles, I need to confirm, did something just happen?"
Magneto, while extending a vast magnetic field that covered an area of several kilometers—and this was without him intentionally erupting with power—simultaneously wiggled a few fingers, wielding tens of thousands of tons of metal and precisely condensing it into countless metal masses, which he fired out in a dense barrage, pulverizing one Symbiote after another.
He too felt the powerful pressure from outer space.
"I tried to connect to the thoughts of these Symbiotes. They are repeatedly murmuring a single word—Knull! I have never heard this word before. Perhaps it's a name? If this is true, it's terrifying. To be able to influence all Symbiotes at the same time!"
Professor X was also greatly shocked. This was influencing tens of millions of Symbiotes simultaneously. The profound implications of this were enough to make one deeply worried.
He was temporarily unable to obtain more useful intelligence from the Symbiotes' brains. Whenever he tried to delve deeper into a Symbiote's thoughts, he could always feel a terrifying darkness blocking his way, devouring all living things.
His intuition told him that even if he possessed Earth's strongest Mind Ability, forcing his way through would most likely lead to misfortune.
Professor X hesitated for a moment. He wanted to seek out Destiny, to try and get some revelation from the temporal plane from her, but unfortunately, Destiny had been missing ever since she left Krakoa last time and had not appeared even in a situation like this.
With Destiny's ability, it was impossible for her not to know that he needed help at this point in time. Logically, Destiny could see Destiny, choose to follow Destiny, and appear at the right time and place to provide guidance.
But now, she was absent.
"Old friend, I'm going to take a risk. I have to do this... I've detected a special mental link in the strange movements of these Symbiotes, similar to the one between the Xenomorphs and Du Wa, but perhaps even more dangerous and terrifying."
Professor X gritted his teeth and decisively extended his mind into the dark region shared by the Symbiotes.
Endless Darkness, as if it were the primordial state of the Universe, boundless and deathly still. Back then, there wasn't a group of Celestials creating stars, gravity, light, and heat everywhere.
Here, Professor X almost thought he was lost, but he finally made a discovery, perceiving a massive entity that seemed to be Darkness itself.
This being, fused as one with the Darkness, even though it was also in a mental form, seemed to notice something. With a casual glance, in the real world, Professor X violently coughed up blood, with blood continuously seeping from his eyes and ears, and his entire body aged at a visible rate.
"Professor!!"
"I'm fine, Jean Grey. I just saw a God that someone like me shouldn't have seen, so I was punished... You need to stay calm, take a deep breath. I don't want you to destroy the stable mind you've worked so hard to build because of this."
Professor X covered his mouth. If another rampaging Phoenix Jean Grey were to appear in this world, it would be even more trouble.
Make no mistake, the trouble wouldn't be for Earth, but for the Mutants themselves. Even if Professor X could already maintain a bystander's and restrained mentality towards the mass deaths of humans to the greatest extent possible, if Jean Grey's rampage attracted the attention of Du Wa or the Symbiotes' master, Knull, it would be an absolute disaster.
Professor X naturally assumed that others, including Du Wa, didn't know how special Jean Grey was. This was destined to be a trump card that the Mutant Kingdom could play.
Professor X quickly relayed his discovery to the Mutants fighting on the front lines through telepathy, albeit intermittently.
"Behind the Symbiotes, there's a suspected Deity manipulating everything?"
"I knew it! No wonder these Symbiotes are so strange, as if they can all receive the same command at the same time. So there's a God who can issue commands to all Symbiotes simultaneously? What kind of God? A God like Thor, or one like Dormammu?"
"Isn't that just like Du Wa? Is it just me, or does anyone else think Du Wa can also command a vast number of Xenomorphs in the same way?"
"Charles, your Mind Ability seems off. Why has it become so weak, and the connection is intermittent? What happened?"
Several of the Mutants at the core of the nation were quite worried. Professor X was the brain of the entire nation. How could he have become like this in just a few seconds?
Professor X contacted Magneto directly: "Erik, listen to me, the one behind the scenes is not someone we can deal with. Loki, who is commanding these Symbiotes from outer space, is just a pawn! The true master of the Symbiotes has arrived. It's a God named Knull. Only someone like the Ancient One or Du Wa can deal with him. If this God isn't dealt with, this war will never end!"
As for the Ancient One, they had no way to reach her. A figure from the Mystical Side like her probably wouldn't care about the lives of Mutants anyway.
As for Du Wa...
Magneto's expression turned a little ugly. He got annoyed just hearing that name now. But every time he looked up into the distance, he could see countless Xenomorphs engaged in fierce combat with the Symbiotes. They even proactively tore apart their own or their teammates' bodies to inflict maximum damage. That level of ferocity and cold-bloodedness, efficiency and order, was incredibly stunning and mesmerizing.
What Magneto craved most was this kind of unreserved cooperation and sacrifice. If all Mutants could become like this, why would they need to worry about humanity?
But unfortunately, even within the Mutant community, there were many contradictions. Many bloodthirsty Villains had joined Krakoa and were very difficult to deal with.
Sometimes, Magneto even forgot that he also had a Xenomorph inside his body. If it weren't for the fact that on some important matters he communicated with others directly through a mental link with Professor X, he would have thought he was still free.
"Du Wa, I know you can hear me. Or is it that you're so preoccupied with the Xenomorphs all over the globe that your meager brain can no longer process this complex information? Don't make me look down on you."
Magneto spoke with a complicated expression, somewhat reliant, yet somewhat annoyed.
"Don't panic. I've been here all along."
A Mental Wave transmitted from the Xenomorph larva inside him, straight into Magneto's brain. This both annoyed Magneto and brought him a sense of relief.
"I thought you were scared to death by the ruler behind the Symbiotes," Magneto said. "Charles said it's a God named Knull."
"I know. I've known all along. Why else do you think I went through all that trouble to capture Grendel alive back then? It wasn't just to get Symbiote-Xenomorphs. Knull was on Grendel at the time."
"What, that giant dragon back then was Knull? That's not right. With your personality, it's strange you didn't keep him." Magneto was very shocked.
"...The reality is more complicated than you imagine. The opponent is a genuine Cosmic God."
"How much stronger is he than that big toy the billionaire drives?"
"He should be much stronger than that machine was at its peak. Several times, or even more than ten times stronger, would be normal."
The Celestials were, of course, divided into different tiers. The strongest of them were at the Single Universe Level, and powerful ones at that.
Weaker ones, like the modified, decommissioned Celestial controlled by Tony, or the three Celestials controlled by Knull in Universe 616, hovered around the weak Skyfather level at best.
"According to your personality, even if the opponent is a Deity, you would absolutely not be unprepared... What about the Ancient One? The Ancient One still hasn't made a move?" Magneto pressed.
"The Ancient One has her own things to do. In fact, she's already making her move. This is the opportunity she has been waiting for. But whether she can succeed or not has nothing to do with you or me."
Du Wa cut off the communication, focusing his attention on Knull.
With just the descent of his consciousness, Knull controlled the hundreds of thousands of Symbiotes on his body, as well as an equal number of Symbiotes in the vicinity, and first looked at the Female Thor with malicious intent.
"It was you, you lower lifeform, who brought me great humiliation last time." Countless Symbiotes coalesced into Knull's form and appearance: a slender figure that seemed to be wearing a wide cloak. Another Symbiote Giant Dragon specifically formed itself into Knull's attire, emitting an evil aura.
Knull had learned the language of these lower lifeforms from Loki. At this moment, he emitted an abstruse mental wave that was barely comprehensible.
Foster was fearless: "To be more precise, the time before last, it was also a Thor who beat you down. This is the third round. It would be quite normal for you to continue to be defeated by a Thor."
"Hmph, you who live only in a tiny world have no idea how vast this Universe is, nor have you ever witnessed the power of a Deity with your own eyes."
Knull's voice was like a whisper from the Universe. He stretched out a "hand," and a Symbiote longsword grew out of it, slashing directly at Foster.
Foster countered with Thor's Hammer, shattering half of the Symbiote sword on the spot.
But Knull was unconcerned. This time, He had come prepared. By just controlling more Symbiotes, He created countless longswords that continuously hacked at Foster.
More importantly, every weapon was empowered by Knull's will. The will of a Cosmic Celestial was a real and tangible power, capable of things like modifying molecular structures and destroying reality; it was just a matter of strength.
Facing such an enemy, Foster began to struggle. The Knull of today displayed a completely different level of strength compared to the Knull on Grendel back then. This was a sign that Knull was gradually approaching his true body, slowly reclaiming his peak power.
His powerful will formed a vortex like a cosmic ocean, a wail like that of the world itself, crushing down upon the weak lifeform.
Foster's expression was extremely grave. The divine lightning erupting from her body, though capable of destroying numerous Symbiotes with each strike, was ultimately being constantly destroyed and weakened. The space for her to maneuver was getting smaller and smaller.
A Thor's power countered Symbiotes, but was not invincible against Knull.
At the very least, Knull himself was not a Symbiote. His consciousness was that of a God.
All of this happened in just a few seconds. Just as Knull was about to use more Symbiotes to crush Foster to death, the Laufey Xenomorph moved.
This giant Xenomorph, which had remained as silent as a rock, erupted in an instant. It forcefully twisted its long-accumulated divine power into a sharp blade, its entire body turning into a shard of ice. Going all out, it mobilized all its power to charge forward, instantly piercing Knull's head—the location where Loki was.
"Tsk, I only managed to cut off one of Loki's shoulders? If only it had been a little more to the side, it would have blown his head right off."
The Laufey Xenomorph's mouth opened and closed, its inner jaw even moving, transmitting words via mental waves, its tone filled with regret.
"Du Wa!!"
"As the vanquished, you should show proper respect to the one who defeated you. For example, you could humbly address me as 'Your Excellency, the great and sacred God of Xenomorphs'," the Laufey Xenomorph, or rather, Du Wa, said in a deep voice, standing tall in the Cosmic Starry Sky.
"God? I've killed so many Gods, I've lost count myself. Even the All-Black the Necrosword I casually tossed aside can be used for God-slaying if picked up by any random fellow with a bit of divinity! What's more, the you right now isn't a God at all!" the Symbiote-form Knull roared with a terrifying voice.
"You are a God, but you've been beaten by many Gods, and even betrayed by your own creation. Otherwise, you should be speaking to me in your true form. How did you end up in this pathetic state?"
Du Wa raised a long, pointed finger, pointing at him: "Evil God Knull, if I were you, I would hide somewhere for a few hundred million years instead of being so eager to show off your existence right after a little recovery. The consequences of doing this will be tragic, even more tragic than losing your body."
"No, I have a better option. I will abandon Loki and occupy your shell. All your memories and abilities will become mine, and that, of course, includes your Xenomorphs."
Knull opened his mouth wide, sticking out a long, squirming tongue, but quickly retracted it. He himself didn't have this habit; it was the habit of a certain Symbiote.
"So that was your plan, to possess the authority I have and control my Xenomorphs? Right, I heard that you once led countless Symbiotes to conquer planets everywhere, wanting to destroy all prosperity and return the Universe to its dark state..."
Du Wa said slowly, "How pathetic. A mighty Ancient God has been reduced to begging me for unrealistic things. But then again, I have no interest in your authority to control Symbiotes. I am, however, quite enthusiastic about your body. Unfortunately, you don't even have that anymore." Du Wa waved his hand, showing a very disappointed look.
Knull should be able to understand the meaning of this gesture.
It was this very posture that completely enraged the proud and conceited Knull.
Knull flew into a rage, opening his mouth to roar. That disobedient tongue started to stick out and wag around again. Immediately after, all the surrounding Symbiotes received Knull's mental empowerment. After being enhanced, they now pounced towards Du Wa.
But Du Wa, controlling the Laufey Xenomorph, was in no hurry.
"I don't know when it started, but my enemies have all given up on trying to snipe my Main Body, because they realized that killing me is useless; another 'me' will just be reborn in a Xenomorph at any time."
Du Wa spoke to himself, while Foster fought desperately nearby, fighting with all her might and unleashing fierce bolts of lightning to clear a space for Du Wa.
"However, everyone seems to have overlooked one thing, including Dormammu, who stole several hundred of my Xenomorphs and now spends all his time in the Dark Dimension researching how to deal with me."
From Knull's perspective, the Laufey Xenomorph slowly raised its head, its elongated skull almost perpendicular to The Void beneath its feet.
"That is, from the very beginning, I have always been able to control many Xenomorphs at once. My consciousness is omnipresent. It was never just 'me,' but 'all of us'... And that of course includes, within the same unit of time, me, existing in many Xenomorphs at once!"
His words were like opening Pandora's box, brewing an unimaginable magic power that triggered a response from the entire planet.
The next second, the Xenomorph Heroes scattered across the Earth simultaneously received a command. They all raised their heads and looked toward the sky. In their eyes, the consciousness that had originally belonged to them was rapidly fading, being replaced by a brand new consciousness.
From this moment on, they all had only one shared name—Du Wa.
(end of chapter)