Chapter 112: Cul the Serpent
Mephisto's return to this universe, and the commotion he caused, had naturally been noticed by certain beings who paid attention to Earth.
"Oh? That fellow Mephisto is here again. He really can't sit still. But for him to actually target my prey... this is terrible. And I can't just charge into Hell to deal with him..."
Dormammu was filled with immense dissatisfaction at Mephisto's arrival.
Who in the entire universe didn't know that Earth was a prize in Dormammu's grasp? What did it mean for a demon who crawled out of Hell to stick his foot in?
However, simply marching over to expel Mephisto posed a major problem for Dormammu as well.
Dormammu was a sorcerer from the ancient Faltine race. It was only after obtaining the Dark Dimension and becoming a being akin to a leader of a hell dimension that he was able to advance to the scale of a single-universe being.
But herein lay the problem. Dormammu and Mephisto faced a common dilemma: the longer their main bodies were away from the dimensions they ruled, the weaker the empowerment from their dimensions became, and the weaker the strength they could display.
Considering they had offended many troublesome beings, a weakened main body would become a fatal weakness.
Therefore, no one could expect Dormammu to leave this universe and force Mephisto's withdrawal by threatening to invade Hell.
But if he only killed Mephisto's clones, it would likely have no effect at all.
What's more, Mephisto had now sent so many clones to Earth at once; he was utterly insane.
"That old thing will regret it. He's not the only outsider demon who can see Du Wa's value..." Dormammu couldn't help but sneer.
Anyone who underestimated Du Wa, even a Great Demon famous across many worlds, would surely suffer a great loss.
"Fine. Let that fellow Mephisto test Du Wa's limits. Then I can find an opportunity to clean up, kill all his clones, and drag Du Wa's soul into the Dark Dimension."
Dormammu's enormous figure stood in the endless darkness, looking down at the numerous Xenomorphs on a dead planet.
These were the few hundred Xenomorphs he had taken with him when he retreated after his last failed invasion of Earth.
These little creatures had tenacious life force and could adapt to terrible environments, but Dormammu, fearing too many of them would die, had specially created an environment with a temperature similar to Earth's and even provided oxygen.
Dormammu would periodically grab one or two Xenomorphs to experiment on.
He tried many methods, such as using the Xenomorphs' soul consciousness to try and counter-corrode Du Wa's soul with curse magic, but unfortunately, he failed.
Once a Xenomorph's consciousness was invaded and its connection to Du Wa was severed, even for an instant, it would die on the spot. This made Dormammu even more hesitant to act recklessly.
But on the other hand, if he could take down Du Wa, he would naturally gain control of the Xenomorphs. Dormammu had already thought it through: he would forge Du Wa's soul into a divine weapon to exist as the origin artifact for the Xenomorphs.
That's right, just like how Knull's All-Black the Necrosword is the origin of all Symbiotes. It was a perfect fit.
Although, who knew where that idiot Knull had thrown the All-Black the Necrosword, otherwise how could he have lost so miserably to Du Wa.
Why insist on fighting a human like Du Wa, who appeared righteous but was actually insidious and vicious, with a weakened body? Wouldn't it be better to recover to his peak power before seeking trouble with Du Wa?
"Let's see, if the situation on Earth gets bad, I'll send some Black Souls to invade his hell dimension..." Dormammu muttered.
Of course, Dormammu had also cultivated his own army in the Dark Dimension, just as Mephisto had a great demon army that often went to war with the native forces of various universes.
*What I can't have, the demon can't have either.*
But soon, Dormammu had a vaguely bad feeling.
He sensed a spatial fluctuation of an even greater magnitude. The barrier of this entire universe had clearly been torn open. A gap of this size was already enough for a powerful being from another world to slip through.
"Is Mephisto insane? The demonic aura on his many clones is rapidly weakening... He's actually sacrificing himself to open a gate to another world? What a vicious spell!"
This was the one thing the native gods dreaded most.
Generally speaking, apart from that extremely small number of single-universe-level gods who possessed a multiversal main body, like Eternity, Death, and others, most didn't care much about visitors from other worlds.
Because they existed in every universe, they were a part of the multiverse itself. Even if a batch of their single-universe-level clones died and a bunch of single universes were destroyed, it was a trivial matter to these beings.
But for a native god confined to a single universe like Dormammu, any powerful being breaking in from another world was a mortal enemy to be guarded against with the utmost vigilance.
Because if something went wrong with the universe he was in, Dormammu would suffer along with it. The Dormammus of other parallel universes had nothing to do with the Dormammu of this universe; they all existed independently.
"He's here..."
Dormammu's expression was ugly, and the flames on his head flickered erratically, betraying his extreme inner turmoil.
Because Mephisto had gone too far.
The beings who sensed it, just as Dormammu had, all turned their gazes toward Earth.
Without a doubt, Mephisto was now on this universe's blacklist. He could forget about coming and going as he pleased; numerous beings would surely give him a harsh welcome.
"So, he's here? Given that Mephisto's main body refuses to leave Hell, and having lost Strange—the fulcrum for leveraging fate—he only had so many choices."
Du Wa's face showed no surprise at all. On the contrary, he admired Mephisto for being able to make such a decisive move.
To sacrifice a bunch of his own clones at the drop of a hat—this would cause a permanent loss of a portion of his power. For an old schemer like Mephisto, who never risked a thing without guaranteed profit, to cripple himself before the deed was even done was truly rare.
"Is his current state of mind also part of your plan?" the Ancient One asked.
"No, I'm not omniscient and omnipotent."
"That's good. Otherwise, I would have been fooled by that performance of yours."
The Ancient One calmly spread her hands and began to weave a new magic formation, but she was using black magic.
"Black magic? This is really interesting. This is the first time I've seen you openly use this stuff against an enemy. Why not use the White Magic of the Vishanti?"
"Someone is rushing to lend me more power. It would be a waste not to use it," the Ancient One said.
"Dormammu? It's rare for this Demon God to be so generous. It seems he'd rather suffer himself, as long as Mephisto suffers more." Du Wa nodded repeatedly.
Because the black magic consumed by the Ancient One would require Dormammu to repay the debt to Chthon.
"The real reason is that you're too alluring. You have far too many suitors."
As the Ancient One spoke, her entire figure began to emit a large amount of black substance, and strange black patterns spread across her face.
Du Wa thought with malicious glee that, when it came to black magic, the Ancient One had never fought such a rich battle in her life. Dormammu was footing the bill for everything.
But this also showed just how furious and flustered Dormammu was, torn between fearing Du Wa would emerge unscathed and that Mephisto would succeed.
Regarding this, Druig, who had been protecting Strange all along, commented, "Even among gods, relationships are incredibly complex. We'd best not get involved."
Strange knew those words were meant for him.
"Du Wa is a god too? But from what I know, many scholars have thoroughly studied his life experiences. He was clearly born an ordinary human." Strange couldn't help but say, even with Druig's mental guidance, he felt like he was going crazy.
"That is in the eyes of people like you. You know nothing about him. Only I am different. I know him very well. I am the person in this world who knows him best."
Strange could see that Druig was extremely proud and conceited.
Mired in immense grief, Strange couldn't understand Druig's thoughts at all, nor did he have the mind to investigate. He just stared sorrowfully at a dried corpse on the ground.
The person he loved most, the person who might have married him in a few years, had turned into this right before his eyes.
What truly made Strange suffer was, why Christine? Why did Mephisto target his lover and not him?
Christine was severely injured and near death in that car accident and was healed by Du Wa. Even if that car accident was orchestrated by Mephisto, the real target should have been him. When did he make a move on Christine?
"That is why Mephisto is a demon, and my master's task is to strike down this demon. You should be glad you have our help, otherwise your fate would be far worse—a life worse than death," Druig said coldly.
In his view, any individual who had not become a Xenomorph, who had not submitted to Du Wa in both body and spirit, was fundamentally incomprehensible.
As the sixteen Mephistos' bodies successively withered, the result was exactly the same as Christine's sacrifice of her own life and soul.
However, these Mephistos did not all die as Strange had hoped.
But this was enough to create a spatial gate for a visitor from another world to pass through.
The other party had not yet truly entered this universe, still only halfway there, but the terrifying power that continuously radiated from him was already enough to make anyone take notice.
Just by sensing this power, everyone knew that the one who came was a being who walked the path of divine power.
And Du Wa, the Ancient One, and others who were more familiar with the World Tree's divine power immediately knew that the person who came was also closely related to the World Tree.
"A Skyfather of an otherworldly World Tree?" the Ancient One guessed, looking at Du Wa.
But Du Wa's face was a mask of calm. Even when faced with this divine power that exuded an endless will of fear, his expression was as deep as a black hole.
"I already know who it is. It's him, as I expected. He's not easy to deal with." Du Wa immediately began to assign tactical roles. "Ancient One, you go and clean up these Mephistos who aren't quite dead. Count all sixteen of them, capture them all. I can use them. I will deal with this visitor from another world."
"How confident are you? Although this guy's divine power isn't overwhelmingly vast, it gives me a very dangerous feeling. I suspect he is even older than I anticipated." The Ancient One showed a cautious attitude in the face of an unknown enemy.
Even against an enemy like Dormammu, she was very calm. They were too familiar, both beings of magic who had contended with each other for centuries, and she had even managed to steal a great deal of his power.
"There you go again, acting like that. Do you really think you know everything? You're not a god of knowledge! You're not even an ordinary god!" one of the Mephistos, who was almost a dried-up corpse, said.
For Mephisto, who had always relied on deception, people like Du Wa were the most detestable. He put on an omniscient act, yet at critical moments, he always seemed to be able to point out the key aspects of his schemes.
Now, Mephisto had paid a huge price to bring this big guy over from the Main Universe. He refused to believe it! How could Du Wa know anything about this being, a native who had never even left his own universe?!
The Serpent! Across the entire multiverse, beings like him were exceptionally rare, pitifully few in number.
Moreover, this was the Serpent from the 616 Main Universe. As a god born in the center of the multiverse, he was naturally much stronger than his Variants from other universes.
One must know that every major event that occurred in the Main Universe was imprinted on the multiversal level, capable of attracting the frequent attention of multiversal beings and even igniting multiversal-level wars.
It was no wonder that the 616 Main Universe was a world watched by all the gods.
"I originally wanted to enjoy this undesignated universe all to myself, but that's not possible now," Mephisto said with some regret as he watched the being step through the portal from across the universes.
A tall and strong figure walked out. He had long black hair, and his resolute features were filled with extreme brutality. Anyone who saw him for the first time would think he was the perfect template for a tyrant.
In fact, this being was indeed a cruel tyrant.
"You've come? The King of Asgard..." Du Wa said slowly.
"But this guy doesn't seem to be Odin. Or is the Odin of this parallel universe somewhat special?"
"Not Odin. He is Odin's elder brother, the former God-King of Asgard, but far more brutal and cold-blooded than Odin," Du Wa said.
It was understandable for the Ancient One to be mistaken. There were too many parallel universes, and it was actually very normal for a Variant to appear who was completely different from those in other universes.
In a certain parallel universe, Iron Man had even replaced Thor, becoming Odin's son with the full name Tony Odinson, wearing an iron suit and wielding Mjolnir.
Du Wa sized up the brawny man before him.
God-King Cul, the Main Universe's renowned God of Fear, who wanted to turn all of humanity on the Main Universe's Earth into a source of fear.
According to normal development, to stop this guy, the Main Universe's Odin came up with a brilliant tactic: since Cul wanted to gain fear energy from countless Earthlings, he just needed to kill all the Earthlings to stop Cul.
Of course, this plan did not succeed. The one who stopped him was not Thor or Earth's hero teams, but the God-King of Olympus, Zeus.
The Olympian Pantheon obtained divine power through the World Tree and also needed the power of belief to enhance themselves. They absolutely could not tolerate the Main Universe's Odin carrying out the total extinction of humanity on the Main Universe's Earth.
Du Wa observed carefully. This Cul didn't seem to be invincibly strong. Instead, amidst the swirling, endless power of fear, he exuded a faint sense of hunger, as if he had been hastily summoned while he was only halfway through a meal.
(end of chapter)