Chapter 134: Demon Strange
Through his observation, Du Wa determined that this universe's Strange was a very imaginative fellow.
Regardless of what flashy tricks the Stranges from other parallel universes might pull, at least this parallel universe's Strange, after being trained by the equally peculiar Ancient One for a period of time, had also developed some rather odd ideas.
Of course, Mephisto also had a hand in this.
"It seems the Ancient One is truly dead. Otherwise, you wouldn't be standing before me alone with such a serious expression. It looks like you've made your decision?"
Mephisto, sitting withered within the magic circle, slowly raised his head. His pair of blood-red eyes inadvertently swept across Strange's chest.
As if reacting to his malevolent gaze, the Eye of Agamotto flashed with a green light.
The Infinity Stones. This sort of thing was very unfriendly to an outsider like Mephisto. At the very least, no matter how Mephisto looked at this damned thing, he found it an eyesore.
He had sent out countless clones to traverse the Multiverse, spreading them across many universes, so he naturally knew how troublesome the Infinity Stones were.
By using advanced technology and magic to unlock the power of the Infinity Stones, one could allow a mortal to gain extraordinarily terrifying strength in a matter of minutes.
The worst part was that the Infinity Stones were also an extremely common type of artifact, findable in many universes within the Multiverse.
For an invader like Mephisto, who came from a Hell World outside the multiversal dimensions, the cheap and numerous Infinity Stones were always one of the obstacles he faced in the process of reaping human souls during various major events.
"You care a lot about this. As expected. Even if you are a Great Demon famed across many Worlds, you still have to show reverence for power equal to your own."
Strange stared at him with a grim expression. Ever since the Ancient One had ended her own life and her soul began to wander the universe, not even Mordo and Wong could figure out what Strange was thinking.
During the era of the Ancient One's rule, Kamar-Taj was peaceful and serene. Any sorcerer who could train at Kamar-Taj for the long term would persist in their studies and cultivation daily, their lives a simple routine between the library and the training ground.
But ever since Strange took charge, the atmosphere in Kamar-Taj had become much more oppressive.
Everyone wanted to hear the new Sorcerer Supreme's address to all the sorcerers. Mainly, those sorcerers who knew a bit about Strange harbored doubts about him.
After all, Strange hadn't been in Kamar-Taj for very long at all. It was the Ancient One who had pushed aside all opposition to place him in power.
But what happened? Strange holed himself up in the library, not even showing his face.
Who knew if he was secretly using the Time Stone to alter local time, doing some unspeakable things.
Hearing Strange's incredibly sinister words, Mephisto immediately understood the situation. The cunning demon instantly revealed a somewhat helpless expression, even spreading his hands and saying innocently, "I never care whether you are strong or weak. A demon like me only cares about how much profit I can get my hands on."
"It's great that you can say that. Even though I know it's hard to get a single true word out of your mouth, the more vicious you act, the more unrestrained I'll be when I make my move. I will only be more vicious than you."
Strange immediately raised his hand, unleashing an extremely powerful magic in an instant. In coordination with the magic circle that was already trapping Mephisto, he forcefully suppressed the three Mephistos before him.
"Such profound mastery of magic! You shouldn't have made this kind of inconceivable progress..." Mephisto revealed a look of surprise. "I'm starting to suspect you're the bastard son of the source of white magic."
"I am a genius. That's why the Ancient One chose me. It's normal for me to make any kind of progress."
"Don't make me laugh, Strange. You know, I've entered many parallel universes and seen many different versions of you. I know exactly what level your talent reaches. The you of this universe can't possibly be more outstanding than the yous from certain special universes—probabilistically speaking, it's infinitesimal."
One of the Mephistos laughed loudly, winking and making faces, not bothering to hide his disdain.
Having seen the sights of many universes and understood the level of different heroes and villains in them, Mephisto was well-equipped to make a detailed assessment of the Strange before him.
"Strange, do you know why I took an interest in you? It's not because your talent is so astonishing, nor is it because you always have a higher probability of gaining the favor of the Vishanti and obtaining immense magical power from them. You are not much stronger than your parallel universe counterparts; you're even inferior to some of them."
Another Mephisto spoke eloquently, even though he couldn't move a single finger under the suppression of the magic, "The only reason I took an interest in you is purely because your universe has Du Wa. If it weren't for a completely new conceptual entity like Du Wa, and my suspicion that he possesses something of great value to me, I wouldn't have even stayed in this universe for long... You understand what I mean by a conceptual entity, don't you?"
"I know. I've spent decades reading countless books."
Strange walked up to the weakest Mephisto and used the Time Stone without any hesitation.
At the same time, he also used an extremely vicious spell.
"Hmph, if I'm not mistaken, that's the 'Faltine's Maw,' one of the signature spells used by the sorcerer from the Faltine race named Dormammu."
Mephisto immediately exclaimed in amazement, and right after, he was swallowed bit by bit by Strange.
After devouring one Mephisto, Strange's body immediately began to change. His height suddenly increased by ten centimeters, his skin began to turn blood-red, and amid guttural roars of pain, two protrusions appeared on his head.
"How beautiful. A budding flower."
The other two Mephistos pointed at the protrusions on Strange's head and jeered loudly. In any case, they were just clones. No matter how many of them died, it wouldn't affect the main body.
Strange's face twisted as he began to forcibly absorb the Great Demon's bloodline.
"I see it clearly now! In this World, having strength gives you the qualification to decide the rules of the game. Even beings at the level of a Cosmic Celestial who can shake countless galaxies must still follow this rule."
Strange cried out in pain. He had been repressed for too long. Now, by suddenly doing something so crazy, he had to endure the violent impact from the demon's bloodline. This not only changed his body's genes but also placed immense pressure on his soul and consciousness.
Devouring one Mephisto wasn't enough. He immediately began to absorb the second one. From the looks of it, he was clearly going to absorb all the Mephistos.
Strange became even more like a demon.
"As long as I'm strong enough, I can change the universe's timeline and I will definitely be able to save Christine! What the Time Stone cannot do, I will do! What the Celestials cannot change, I will change! As for you, you caused Christine's death, and you must pay the price," Strange said angrily.
"A brilliant speech. One of humanity's favorite rhetorical tricks is to set a magnificent target for themselves, and then create an excuse to justify all their current actions and out-of-bounds ideas."
The last remaining Mephisto clapped as he was devoured bit by bit by Strange.
Having devoured the essence of two and a half demons, Strange's bloodline was now infinitely close to that of a true demon.
But the problem was, he was a bit stuffed.
When it came to eating the third demon, he was clearly overwhelmed. Although his strength had increased, his devouring efficiency had become extremely low.
Seeing he was about to be devoured, Mephisto wasn't panicked at all. Instead, he clicked his tongue in praise, "So beautiful, Strange. Look at you now, it's as if you were carved from the same mold as me. If it were just your appearance, that would be one thing, but do you know what surprises me the most? Right now, on a bloodline level, you are arguably the closest to me, more outstanding than all my other offspring."
"I am no son of a demon. If possible, I will charge into your Hell and slaughter every single demon."
"Every one of my sons thinks the same way. Working in my Hell is an extremely painful affair. Even my own sons must suffer terrible torture, a life worse than death. This is also why every demon hates me to the bone."
Mephisto seized this final moment to introduce his World to Strange.
He wasn't lying, because the Hell he ruled was exactly like that. Whether they were low-level demons or high-level demons, being scorched by flames and whipped, pleasing him with blood and screams, was the daily life of every resident of Hell.
Everyone hates Mephisto. Everyone wants to become Mephisto.
In the end, he was still devoured by Strange.
Hell.
Mephisto's main body opened its eyes, a strange expression on its face.
"Father, what happened?" Blackheart immediately stepped forward to show his loyalty.
But this father and son pair both knew this was bullshit.
"Blackheart, from now on, you are no longer my most prized offspring."
"Huh?"
"Just now, in an Unnumbered Universe, I gained an offspring even more outstanding than you."
"Huh?"
Having never imagined such a thing, Blackheart was caught off guard and greatly shocked.
One must know that even for a Great Demon to cultivate an extremely powerful descendant, it would require some time. More importantly, it would also require Mephisto's own power.
For a sinister and selfish demon, splitting off one's own power to create a guy who wants to kill you at every moment was an act that amounted to a dead loss.
Blackheart didn't understand.
But Mephisto had no intention of explaining further. He just gave him the coordinates for that universe, "Haven't you always wanted a Hell of your own?"
Now Blackheart understood. As long as he did something to Mephisto's satisfaction, he would have the qualification to break away from Mephisto and take control of his own Hell.
Perhaps this Hell dimension wouldn't be very large, but at least it would be his own.
"Father, weren't you in the Main Universe scheming how to command Cul the Serpent?" Blackheart was also crafty and didn't make any promises immediately.
"Cul is finished. He fell at the hands of some human in this universe," Mephisto said casually.
This time, Blackheart was truly astonished. That was Cul the Serpent from the Main Universe. Across countless Hell dimensions, not many demons were willing to challenge such a ruthless figure.
But such a powerful Cul had actually fallen without a sound in some unknown universe?
This was clearly closely related to Mephisto suddenly changing his target, running off to that unknown universe, and cultivating an offspring who was claimed to be more outstanding than him, Blackheart.
Blackheart wanted to ask more, but he knew that this old bastard wouldn't reveal too much intelligence. This might be a huge trap, one that could squeeze out his use value while completing the old bastard's target.
Amidst a scene of 'fatherly love and filial piety,' Blackheart withdrew. He secretly summoned a few of his subordinates. The strength of this bunch of underlings was not great either—but then again, if they were strong, they would have long since gone solo or thrown in their lot with a Great Demon. Why would they waste their time on Blackheart?
...
Blackheart gathered a group of men and secretly infiltrated this unremarkable universe.
He had maintained a vigilant mindset from the start, but when he actually snuck onto this universe's Earth, he was instantly shocked.
"Du Wa? Never heard of him. But he defeated this universe's Knull head-on? Tsk, it seems this universe's Knull was also an incomplete one. The good news is, we don't need to worry about a Cosmic God... What? The one Du Wa took out was a perfect-form Knull?"
Blackheart just wandered around for a bit, grabbed a few humans to understand the situation, and was left dumbfounded.
What kind of joke was this? A perfect-form Knull definitely had the level of a Cosmic Celestial, and he was just taken out by Du Wa like that?
Then again, who was this Du Wa? Leading a group of unknown beings called Xenomorphs, he had stirred up raging waves in this universe. It was simply inconceivable.
"A guy like this, how have I never heard of him? Could it be that our news is too blocked off?"
"It's also possible that this one, for some reason, only rose to prominence in this universe. The Du Was of other parallel universes are all mediocre, which is why we've never heard of a guy like this."
The demons originally had a vague understanding of Du Wa, but not anymore. To be able to crush the infamous Knull head-on was not something that could be explained by luck. Even if it really was good luck, the moment Du Wa became a God, it meant that the luck of this universe itself was, precisely, Du Wa.
Blackheart's expression also turned serious. "Hmph, Du Wa... I'll remember this guy. Although I look down on the natives of ordinary universes, once it involves the level of a Cosmic God, even the old bastard has to take it seriously. We must be careful of Du Wa. From the memory in these human souls, it seems Du Wa enhances his strength by obtaining divine power from the World Tree..."
Blackheart lectured his subordinates. An outstanding demon can despise humanity, but they absolutely cannot underestimate humanity, let alone a Cosmic Celestial who emerged from among them.
"We must also pay attention to the fact that Du Wa has a species called the Xenomorphs following him. Within this species, there are also many parasitized humans..."
As Blackheart was speaking, his voice came to an abrupt halt. He tilted his head, listening to a faint, indistinct voice that exploded in his ear.
"A single Xenomorph, bestowed."
He barely understood the sentence. Then, he felt a power descend from the sky, desperately trying to drill into his body. Instantly, his face was a picture of utter confusion.
(end of chapter)