"Bugs, I'm here."
A cruel smile appeared on the Blood God's lips as he flickered, about to break through the dimensional barrier and descend upon Universe 404's Earth.
Bang!
Three massive magic circles, emanating golden-yellow light, appeared, forming a powerful magic shield that blocked him.
The Ancient One, dressed in a yellow trench coat, stepped forward. "Blood God, please go back. There's nothing you want here."
"Are you this world's guardian?"
Blood God looked at the Ancient One before him, threatening, "You can't guard that thing. Finders keepers, let me in. Otherwise, even if you can kill this clone of mine, you won't be able to stop me from spreading the news."
The moment he saw the Ancient One, Blood God felt a strong sense of danger.
But it didn't matter.
What couldn't be obtained by force could be obtained by cunning.
"Thing? What thing?" The Ancient One chuckled, waving her hand, and a gap opened in the magic circle.
"Blood God, why don't you take a closer look to see if what you're looking for is here?"
Blood God sent a wisp of power through the gap to investigate.
'Why does she seem so confident?'
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! I saw it very clearly then, that was the aura of Eternity!"
As the power investigated and feedback came, Blood God couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"Aura of Eternity?"
The Ancient One chuckled. "In the endless Multiverse, where is there no Eternity?"
Blood God's eyes turned crimson as he looked at the Ancient One. "I want to go in and see for myself. If it's not—"
The Ancient One's voice turned cold and threatening. "If it's not, Blood God, this clone of yours will stay here. Don't be ungrateful. Letting you take a look is already being very generous."
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The Blood God's breathing intensified, and two streams of scarlet blood dripped into the void with his breaths.
"It is the Sorcerer Supreme's responsibility to protect reality from magic. To serve with all one's heart and soul, until death. That is the unwavering commitment of every Sorcerer Supreme." The Ancient One spoke.
"So there's no room for negotiation?!"
The Blood God secretly gathered energy. After paying such a huge price, he would not give up without going in to see.
Even if this clone died in battle!
"If you want to go in, you'll have to pay more."
"No negotiation, then... Huh?"
"As long as you can pay enough energy, there's no harm in going in to take a look." The Ancient One explained.
The Blood God was silent.
In his endless years, such a shameless powerhouse was rare.
'Is she playing hard to get to bluff me? To dispel my suspicions, and protect the Heart of Eternity? Or was all of this her plan from the start?'
'I'll ask first, then decide.'
"How much energy?"
The Ancient One slowly extended a finger. "However much energy you transmitted to Earth without my permission before, give me that same amount again."
The Blood God was momentarily enraged. When did he need her permission to do things?
"Alright, you can come with me to the Blood Dimension to retrieve it."
"No." The Ancient One shook her head,
"However you transmitted it to Earth, that's how you'll give it to me."
The Blood God frowned, the blood flowing from his body accelerating by a third. "According to my method, I can give you double."
Naturally, the Blood God disagreed with the Ancient One's proposal, as 90% of the energy projected from the Blood Dimension to here would be consumed along the way.
The Ancient One just smiled and looked at the Blood God, not speaking.
You think I'm interested in the energy you transmitted? You don't even consider why the transmission loss is so great.
Either hand over a portion of energy and go in to see and give up. Or I'll do it myself and squeeze that portion of energy out.
Lucas can act, and I, the Ancient One, cannot?
—
New York.
"Phew... finally got all these Bloods under control." Gwen let out a long sigh of relief.
As for the mask, it had long since been tossed somewhere unknown.
Tony also landed, asking, "Lucas, why can you inflict irreversible damage on the Bloods?"
"Is it because of... magic?"
Lucas nodded. "That's right, that's exactly it."
Tony frowned.
If all magic creatures had this characteristic, then there would be one more area where the armor needed upgrading.
"The matter is finally over." Blade walked over.
Aside from the S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, they were the only four outsiders here, and didn't need to participate in the cleanup of the battlefield.
"However, entrusting them with guarding these captured Bloods... won't there be problems?"
Blade had dealt with Vampires for many years and knew very well what some high-ranking humans thought of Vampires. Now that an upgraded version had appeared, it was hard to guarantee that no one would have ulterior motives.
Over? It's not over yet.
Lucas looked up at the sky.
In that direction, two auras were confronting each other.
One emanated the power of the Blood God, which he was now very familiar with.
The other should be the Ancient One.
He wondered what the Ancient One and the Blood God were doing?
Would they fight?
Probably.
Suddenly, a portal opened not far away.
The Ancient One walked out first, followed by a man dressed similarly to her.
Seemingly sensing someone watching him, the man looked over.
Lucas's body bristled with a chilling sensation.
Blood God!
With just one glance, he recognized the man's identity.
How did he get in?
The Ancient One reminded him from the side, seemingly gently, "Blood God, don't forget our agreement. If you make a move, this clone will have to stay."
The Blood God retracted his gaze.
Important matters first, he wouldn't bother with this bug.
"Haha, let S.H.I.E.L.D. handle things here. Gwen, Stark, Blade, let's go back to the city to rest first." Lucas laughed, suggesting everyone leave first.
It wasn't safe here. He needed to go hide in the New York Sanctum.
Tony couldn't see the Ancient One and the others, unaware of the danger, and politely declined, "Lucas, if you're tired, go back first. I'll stay a bit longer. If anything happens, I can provide timely support."
Gwen suddenly asked, "Lucas, is there some danger? My spider-sense just tingled."
Lucas nodded.
Tony changed his tune. "Oh, my Arc Reactor is running low on power, I need to go back and replace it. Let's go back and rest."
The Ancient One said, "Blood God, how is it? I told you there's nothing you want here."
The Blood God muttered to himself, "No, how can there be nothing? Did I see wrong?"
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
The Blood God suddenly erupted, a blast of energy striking the Ancient One.
"You must have hidden it!"
The Ancient One summoned an energy shield, blocking the Blood God's attack.
"Why bother, Blood God? At this point, do you still refuse to admit defeat?"
As she spoke, the space around the Ancient One twisted.
"Blood God, if you want to see, I'll let you see clearly."
The Mirror Dimension rapidly expanded. The Blood God did not resist, allowing the Mirror Dimension to pull him in.
"So that's how it is, all of this was your plan! It was all fake!" The Blood God's expression was maniacal.
In this round, he had lost completely.
"Blood God, please go."
The Ancient One opened a portal, signaling the Blood God to leave.
(End of Chapter)
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