Chapter 105: The Gears of Fate Begin to Turn
Filled with rage, Skurge stormed into the new stronghold of The Hand.
"You scurrying rats! You keep slowing me down, preventing me from slaughtering you all and returning to Du Wa's side."
Skurge had always been bothered that Du Wa hadn't used his body when fighting the dark god, Knull.
Alright, he didn't actually have a peculiar preference for being possessed by another man. It was purely because offering his body was the ultimate proof of his own ability.
For someone like him—a half-blood by birth, only half a wind giant and not even a Frost Giant, who had been bullied since childhood in Jotunheim—to have come this far was entirely due to his own insane training, tapping into his genetic power, and fighting his way up step by step.
More than anyone, Skurge cared about how his superiors judged him.
"Ha, look what I've found. What new tricks are you lot playing at now? Which fearless helper have you called on this time?" Skurge burst in, his eyes immediately landing on Mephisto and his group, a terrifying smile spreading across his face.
As an organization that had existed for five hundred years, The Hand could always pull out some bizarre trick to delay its inevitable demise.
And look, another new trick. Had the demon mastermind behind The Hand summoned another demon?
"Die!"
Skurge raised two M16s and opened fire wildly. A dense rain of bullets forged from magic sprayed out.
With great interest, Mephisto casually raised a hand, conjuring a massive wave of hellfire that instantly incinerated the bullets.
The Great Demon even plucked a bullet from the air, examined it closely, and then crushed it with a gentle pinch.
"What an interesting weapon. As far as I know, few of your counterparts in other universes use such a thing. You're supposed to use an axe."
Mephisto, in the guise of an old gentleman, politely removed his hat and held it to his chest. "Although this 'me' has never dealt with your parallel universe counterparts, many other versions of me from other parallel universes have had contact with you, more or less."
Deceiving humanity and orchestrating fraudulent bargains was no simple task. Tricking talented humans was already difficult for Mephisto; the people from different universes who entered his sight were, without exception, special individuals capable of shifting the tides of fate within a certain region.
Only by acquiring these special souls, and in great numbers, could his overall strength increase.
Countless Mephisto clones, varying in strength, were scattered across many universes. They spent their days traveling between them, doing exactly this.
They also had to constantly face obstruction and pursuit from the native powerhouses of each universe.
The ones who had destroyed the most of his clones were, first, Kamar-Taj and The Avengers, led by Doctor Strange, and second, the Asgardians and other pantheons, represented by Odin.
Those guys were so annoying, thwarting him time and again. Even the Cosmic Gods in those universes didn't go out of their way to attack his clones.
But at the very least, Mephisto felt this particular clone could reap a good harvest this time.
He was about to obtain a peculiar soul that the Mephistos of other parallel universes had been unable to acquire.
Mephisto's gaze shifted, landing on the Xenomorph behind Skurge.
"What a beautiful creature. I've never seen one before. Perhaps this is a treasure born from this universe after it exhausted all other possibilities, created to protect itself and resolve some great destruction already imprinted upon the timeline?"
Ever the scholar, Mephisto speculated as he walked forward slowly. With each step, immense flames erupted from his body—hellfire that could incinerate even the soul.
Unafraid, Skurge simply swung his M16 like a club and smashed it violently against Mephisto's head.
With a loud *thwack*, the blow knocked Mephisto's head to the side.
Skurge was stunned. "Aren't you a demon from Hell? How did I hit you so easily?"
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Mephisto. I sense the extreme desire for power in your heart. I can forgive your offense. Are you interested in making a bargain? I can fulfill your deepest wish and allow you to surpass the one you wish to surpass," Mephisto cajoled.
In an instant, a flood of information filled Skurge's mind. He watched Mephisto cautiously, frowning. "Mephisto, one of the most prominent Great Demons in Hell? I might believe you if your main body came in person, but you're just a worthless clone right now, a busybody running around countless universes."
Skurge was processing the intelligence about Mephisto that Du Wa had transmitted to him.
He quickly understood. The strength of Mephisto's main body was likely below the multiversal level, perhaps having reached the peak of a single universe, but he definitely hadn't taken that crucial next step. He was now sending out countless clones to various parallel universes to harvest souls, seeking to advance further.
Single-universe level... and quite possibly a top-tier expert at that. Alright, if Mephisto's main body were to appear, Skurge would be filled with dread. But if he was only facing a clone, he had no such reservations.
He immediately swung the M16 again, smashing it down repeatedly.
"You are too insolent! You shouldn't treat a demon of a higher order than you in this manner."
Mephisto immediately unleashed a torrent of demonic magic, which instantly engulfed the sky and the ground.
Skurge was also scorched by the fierce flames, his body suffering terrible injuries. This was, after all, the terrifying fire of Mephisto, a product of Hell itself—something unlike anything else in the multiverse.
Just that casual attack made Skurge deeply realize he was no match.
Even facing a clone of unknown strength, it wasn't something he could handle.
To put it bluntly, what was Skurge's current strength? He didn't even have a proper weapon. In a parallel universe, his most glorious achievement was fighting Thor, who wielded Mjolnir, to a standstill.
The Skurge of this universe had yet to reach his peak; he was likely at the bottom of the sub-Skyfather tier, and that was only thanks to the power boost from the Xenomorph within him.
The terrifying flames spread rapidly, engulfing several Xenomorphs under Mephisto's control.
By the time Skurge finally struggled out of the flames, he'd been burned to a near-skeleton.
He looked around and found that Mephisto and the others had long since vanished, along with several Xenomorphs.
Kamar-Taj.
"I've already seen it."
Du Wa's expression remained unchanged as he picked up his teacup and drained it in one gulp. This uncharacteristic gesture made the Ancient One's expression shift slightly.
"So it seems Mephisto has really come?"
"Don't get too excited. It's definitely just a clone. I, for one, don't believe Mephisto would send his main body to our world, which has nothing to offer." Du Wa picked up the teapot and poured himself another cup.
Across the entire multiverse, Mephisto could be said to be the Great Demon with the most frequent appearances; his presence could be found in many well-known universes.
But to be honest, Mephisto had faced failure plenty of times during the major events of numerous universes.
However, this didn't mean Mephisto always came away empty-handed or was just a clown. Each of his actions, more or less, managed to harvest a certain number of souls to take back and bolster the strength of his main body.
"I just don't know the strength of the Mephisto that entered our universe. But judging by his actions against Skurge, at most he's at the Skyfather level, and he might not even be that. It won't affect things too much," said Du Wa.
In some major events, countless versions of Mephisto had been slaughtered like dogs; an unknown number of Mephistos spread across who-knows-how-many universes were wiped out in one go.
It was still the same principle: as long as Mephisto hadn't truly become a multiverse-level Great Demon on par with Cyttorak, standing alongside Creator Deities like Eternity and Death, there was still a fighting chance no matter how bad the situation got.
"It's better than nothing. Besides, everything the clone experiences will eventually be perceived by Mephisto's main body. It doesn't change the fact that I can still obtain power from Mephisto."
The Ancient One felt gratified. She had long set her sights on the Mephisto who had briefly stopped on this universe's Earth, and now the opportunity had arrived.
Du Wa, on the other hand, wasn't that interested in Mephisto. He couldn't gain any substantial benefits from dealing with a mere clone. But confronting the main body directly? A full-powered Mephisto was solidly at the level of a Cosmic God, which was a bit out of Du Wa's league for now.
What's more, given Mephisto's cunning nature, he would never deploy his main body without immense benefits at stake.
As for creating an opportunity to parasitize this Great Demon and establish a new demonic branch of his own...
Although this Mephisto clone was somewhat weak, since the guy dared to interfere in his affairs, he should be prepared to pay the price.
"Ancient One, you'd better act fast. Just like when you seized a portion of power from Knull, make it quick. If you're too slow, I'll finish Mephisto off myself. I won't slow my pace for you." Du Wa stood, clearly ready to act.
The Ancient One didn't move, still holding her teacup, feeling its warmth. "What do you plan to do this time? Are you going to drag your Xenomorph army into Hell, just like you did when you attacked Jotunheim and Atlantis?"
"That's a great suggestion. I can't say if it will happen in the future, but it certainly won't happen now. My ambition is great, but I'm not so reckless as to start a massive war without a plan. Even if the most powerful demon, Cyttorak, resides in the Crimson Cosmos, separate from conventional Hell dimensions, the other Great Demons are still not something I can handle right now."
Invade Hell?
The Hell of Marvel and the Hell of DC Comics are fundamentally different.
Marvel's Hell is like an alternative multiverse, containing countless hellish dimensions of various sizes. The larger dimensions are each occupied by a Great Demon who acts as a dimensional lord, carving out territory from other Great Demons.
Whenever a Great Demon wants to seize more dimensions, a Hell War breaks out.
These different dimensions, when put together, form Hell in a broad sense.
If Du Wa were to attack some of the weaker hell dimensions, he would have a fighting chance and an opportunity to acquire a batch of demon hosts.
But he also had to consider that doing so would remove the Xenomorphs from the familiar environment of the multiverse and plunge them into the completely different world of Hell. Even the rules of the world would be different. And even if the Xenomorphs could barely adapt, it was questionable how much of their strength they could exert.
The Ancient One did not stop Du Wa as he left.
"Sorcerer Supreme, are we really not going to do anything? Knowing his personality, I'm truly worried that he'll be blinded by the prospect of huge benefits and do something crazy."
Mordo said with great concern, "Although he has succeeded many times in the past, if he fails just once, he will face an enemy beyond his current capabilities, dragging the entire Earth into the crossfire... not to mention, this time it's Hell."
"He is very smart. He knows what to do. The worst-case scenario is simply that we go to war with Mephisto's Hell."
In the past, the Ancient One would never have said such a thing. Instead, she would have immediately trapped Du Wa in the Mirror Dimension and thrown all the Xenomorphs in there with him.
Until she had trained a worthy successor, the Ancient One was still the Sorcerer Supreme, and she would suppress all possible risks as much as she could.
But that was no longer possible. Faced with Du Wa, who had protected Earth multiple times and wielded immense power, what could the Ancient One use to suppress him? The Time Stone?
"I must find a suitable successor as soon as possible... Strange."
The Ancient One still prioritized Strange over Kruger, Loki, Illyana, or Daredevil.
The gears of fate had already begun to turn. The Ancient One saw this clearly. She just needed to wait patiently for Strange to act. But right now, there was something more important.
...
"The Ancient One of this universe is borrowing power from me? What a strange request."
Mephisto noticed it at once, an astonished look on his face. He'd never, in his entire existence, known the Ancient One to borrow power from him, Mephisto.
A few versions of Strange as the Sorcerer Supreme had done such a thing, however.
Seeking help from a Great Demon, to be honest, was not a rare occurrence for a Sorcerer Supreme. However, the Sorcerers Supreme generally only sought help from Cyttorak to cast powerful spells, such as Cyttorak's Crimson Bands.
Mephisto found this novel. He realized just how peculiar this universe was. After carefully studying this universe's timeline, he naturally noticed that because of Du Wa, many things in this universe had become completely unrecognizable, hurtling in an unprecedented direction.
"Xenomorph... such a peculiar creature, possessing great wisdom. Now, let me see what your soul tastes like."
Mephisto acted at once, stripping the Xenomorph of its soul. But a look of surprise quickly crossed his face; the process was met with immense resistance.
Scattered thoughts reached him, as if countless individuals were pulling back, preventing him from taking the soul.
Mephisto eventually succeeded. He carefully sensed the Xenomorph's soul, only to discover that it seemed to be naturally missing its most crucial part, the core of the soul—its self-awareness.
The Xenomorph's self-awareness was connected to some unknown individual, deeply bound to them?
Du Wa?
"So that's how it is... It seems I'll have to try a different method."
Mephisto muttered to himself as he observed the entire Earth. Reflected clearly in his slitted pupils was a certain figure on the other side of the planet.
Stephen Strange.
(end of chapter)
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