Chapter 99: Even a Cosmic God Must Bow Before Him
How strong was Du Wa, really? To be honest, it was likely that no one on the entire Earth, or even in the entire Universe, could give an accurate assessment.
Even those who had been observing Du Wa, who had witnessed his entire growth process, probably couldn't gauge his true strength right now.
You have to understand, just two years ago, Du Wa was nothing more than a young man with a seemingly bright future. At that time, he had merely applied for and received a dilapidated building from Stryker to serve as a biological research base.
That was until he developed the creature known as the Xenomorph.
To this day, one powerful enemy after another has fallen at Du Wa's feet. Their bodies, their flesh and blood, and even their most superior bloodline genes have all ultimately become his possessions.
Du Wa has accumulated far too much power. Whether they were Deities or divine races, they all fell before Du Wa's advance, becoming mere ornaments for the throne that elevated him.
When Du Wa truly used his real skills for the first time before the eyes of the world, unleashing his ability to spread his consciousness among many individual Xenomorphs, it was only at this moment that people had the chance to witness firsthand just how terrifying he was when he made a move.
Du Wa's main body, located in Weyland Tower, closed its eyes, looking only slightly weary.
"Simultaneously spreading my soul's consciousness across so many individuals is indeed a bit too much pressure, but it doesn't matter, as long as it works."
Du Wa slowly raised his head, a bone-chilling coldness surging in his eyes.
By his side was only Lady Deathstrike, who had always served as his professional bodyguard, silently protecting him. Even if a Skyfather-level enemy were to suddenly attack, Lady Deathstrike had enough power to confront them and buy Du Wa precious time.
Facing Knull, the god of the Symbiotes, Du Wa finally revealed a portion of his current power.
All over the world, figures soared into the air, ferociously carving a path through the innumerable Symbiote Race and rushing straight for the heavens.
The individual Xenomorphs that Du Wa valued enough to descend into with his consciousness were all beings at the Skyfather level, at a minimum.
Reynolds and the Hyperion Xenomorph both broke through Earth's atmosphere on the spot, entering the vacuum of the universe. They rapidly pierced through the blockade of countless Symbiotes, positioning themselves before Knull like a pair of Supermen.
"My body hasn't changed at all. Does this mean I wasn't even qualified?"
Jane Foster had been fighting with all her might to kill Symbiotes. She felt that her body, which should have been brimming with divine power, had now become incredibly sluggish and numb. Her mood plummeted. Despite desperately killing a large number of Symbiotes, taking them down one by one, she was instantly disheartened when she realized in the end that her body had not been possessed by Du Wa.
"...This isn't some supreme honor. And you not being possessed by me isn't because you made a mistake. There will definitely be an opportunity."
Du Wa, of course, immediately sensed Foster's pain and anxiety and instantly soothed her.
What was with this strange competitive desire displayed by these Xenomorph heroes?
Were they scrambling over each other even to offer up their own bodies? Were they afraid he wouldn't show them favor?
If Foster's pain and disappointment were still understandable...
...then Skurge, far away in Japan, was also feeling extremely wronged right now.
This two-meter-tall "short" giant was strictly carrying out Du Wa's command, frantically slaughtering the ninjas of The Hand.
No matter what price the leaders of The Hand—the Five Fingers—offered him, whether it was threats or pleas, Skurge remained unmoved. Unless Du Wa personally commanded him to stop, Skurge would only carry out Du Wa's command to the very end.
The ninjas were naturally being driven mad. Their numbers dwindled as they were slaughtered, and the entire Hand was collapsing. This powerhouse, Skurge, was routing them completely, leaving them in agony and despair, wondering when this would ever end.
But at this moment, Skurge noticed that his body hadn't changed at all, nor had an additional consciousness intervened in his manipulation of this powerful body. He instantly felt extremely wronged.
"I've worked so hard, do I still not have the qualification for Du Wa to descend into me? My strength isn't weak either!"
Skurge muttered, his entire mood souring.
But in reality, this hybrid offspring of an Asgardian and a Wind Giant, who could match Thor in raw power and was Thor's mortal enemy in other parallel universes, truly wasn't enough to warrant a second glance from Du Wa in terms of strength.
The current Skurge was, at best, at the Sub-Skyfather Level, still a ways off from the Skyfather Level. In this battle against Knull, the god of the Symbiotes, Du Wa wouldn't go so far as to use Skurge and send him directly to the front lines.
Following Du Wa's response, Skurge understood his meaning and became even more aggressive and frenzied. This was his nature; due to being a hybrid, he had suffered bullying since childhood, forcing him to temper his own power in more extreme ways, attempting to forge even greater divine power.
"Next time, he will definitely descend into me! A powerful physique like mine will surely attract him."
Skurge roared, hefting two M16 rifles and searching even more fervently for the whereabouts of The Hand's ninjas.
He had scouted out a piece of information. He heard that The Hand's true backing was actually a demon? A demon from Hell?
Thinking of this, a terrifying, savage grin appeared on Skurge's face. He couldn't care less about some damn thing like a demon from Hell. If it could be killed, it would die. For him, this Bushwacker, it was naturally a matter of killing to the very end.
Following Du Wa's actions, several figures flew into Earth's outer space, each individual radiating a powerful might.
Honestly, Knull felt that if he were still in his prime, with a single slap, every single one of these characters before him would die.
But alas, the only power He could wield now was this temporary shell created from countless Symbiotes.
This body was sufficient to deal with ordinary planetary life, but it just had to run into an anomaly like Du Wa.
"You actually spread your consciousness among so many creatures. You're a madman. Have you abandoned your self? Is every Xenomorph essentially you?" Knull's voice was filled with malice.
Because even He had never done such a thing, had never even considered it. In his prime, He was simply too strong. Even when ganged up on by a host of Celestials and forced to flee in utter defeat, He wouldn't have stooped to pinning his hopes on these Symbiotes He created.
Rather than hoping to turn the tables with the Symbiotes, Knull actually had more faith in the divine artifact He had drawn from the Abyss when He awoke from the Darkness—All-Black the Necrosword!
This divine artifact was the first Symbiote. All subsequent Symbiotes were, in essence, derived from All-Black the Necrosword.
But unfortunately, to this day, Knull had never recovered this exclusive divine artifact, nor did He have the time or ability to do so.
"I know a lot of people say we're very similar."
Reynolds spoke, but he was actually Du Wa now: "But I'm telling you, I am completely different from you. I am more special and greater than you. The only thing you have on me is that you were born earlier, born from the primordial Darkness of the universe. The Darkness is you, and you are the Darkness. Other than that, you are worthless."
Du Wa said coldly, "If I had your starting point, I would beat the current you until you were jumping around like a monkey—you know what a monkey is, right? You can ask Loki. After all, you've been frozen for too long and have fallen out of touch with the current universe. What a pathetic god."
Immediately after, the Hyperion Xenomorph also spread its arms. "Every specific Xenomorph is me, yet I am not any specific Xenomorph. I am the entirety of the Xenomorphs, the sum total of all Xenomorphs. This is where I far surpass you. To someone like you, the Symbiotes are merely tools to be commanded, whereas I command all Xenomorphs as additional selves."
Knull fell silent for a moment, then let out a terrifyingly cold laugh. "Words are useless. Whoever survives is the one who is right. This is the simplest and most fundamental truth, one that even Gods must believe in and follow."
Du Wa nodded in agreement and preemptively struck. As long as there was an opportunity to act, he would not pass it up.
The Laufey Xenomorph, Reynolds, and the Hyperion Xenomorph—three Skyfather-level individuals—attacked with their full might. Vast divine power surged, and endless energy tore through space-time. In an instant, the three Xenomorphs, under Du Wa's personal control, transformed into hundreds of millions of figures, frantically squeezing the energy from every single cell in their bodies, going all out in an overloaded assault.
In that instant, the entire Earth trembled violently, as if it would explode in the next second.
In the more distant cosmos, the immense energy particles that boomed across space ravaged everything with faster-than-light might, observed by countless planets.
Not only within the range of the World Tree, but even in more distant star domains, many powerful individuals detected the changes on Earth.
"It's finally begun. It seems this is the full extent of Du Wa's power... No, that's not right. Based on my observations of Du Wa, he must still have other means he hasn't used. Revealing all his power in a single battle is not in Du Wa's character."
Odin was, of course, also paying close attention to this battle. He gripped his Eternal Spear, ready to act at any moment, but Odin would not move unless it was absolutely necessary.
His current state was extremely poor. His overly aged body could no longer bear the immense Odinforce. The stronger he once was, the more pain he suffered now, like a tragic cycle where all debts must be repaid. Odin knew clearly that he would die on the spot after just one more great battle.
If he had any choice, Odin wanted to avoid acting. He wanted to hold on for another two years, to drag things out until Thor had matured, so that Odin could pass his Odinforce on to him.
That way, even if he died, Thor could quickly become a top-tier Skyfather-level individual, still possessing enough strength to stand guard over the entire World Tree and protect Asgard.
Odin gazed at Midgard from afar with a complicated expression.
The entire realm of Midgard, of course, did not just include the Solar System, but also many surrounding galaxies.
But the entire realm of Midgard was reacting violently under Du Wa's offensive.
To casually bring out several Skyfather-level combat units to resist a powerful enemy—this move alone was enough to leave Odin astounded.
Earth having an Ancient One was already remarkable enough. But he never expected that after such a short time—merely the length of a short nap in his millions of years of life—someone like Du Wa would immediately rise.
And in such a peculiar manner, too. As long as his species reproduced, Du Wa would become stronger. Every time he defeated an enemy, Du Wa would completely absorb everything about them. Odin had never seen anyone like this.
"I thought you wouldn't be able to resist acting. Your most prized offspring is on Earth fighting for Du Wa."
A consciousness reached out. Odin knew it was the Ancient One.
Originally, he wasn't too familiar with the Ancient One, this Sorcerer who walked the path of magic. But after he exiled Thor to Earth and had multiple communications with the Ancient One, they had become acquainted.
"This situation isn't dire enough to make me risk everything to solve the problem. This Symbiote Deity is not in his perfect form. If He were a true Cosmic God right now, I would be more than happy to act, just as I did against the Celestials back in the day," Odin responded firmly. "But you, Earth is in such chaos, so why have I seen no sign of you? Even the mages under your command are fighting desperately, yet you are nowhere to be found."
The Ancient One's consciousness fluctuation was very tranquil, as if she were unperturbed by anything. And indeed, she was in no hurry.
The Ancient One from most universes was like this. She would only do what she was supposed to do. Once something was outside her jurisdiction, she would pay it no mind.
A typical example was Black Strange. That fellow split himself in two; White Doctor Strange remained the righteous Sorcerer Supreme, while Black Strange madly acquired power, ultimately causing the entire universe to collapse, turning it into a terrifying singularity.
Even so, the soul of that universe's Ancient One only appeared to fiercely criticize Black Strange when he had ruined everything. She never intended to intervene in this final outcome for the universe, allowing it to happen—even though she had handpicked Doctor Strange as her successor.
The Ancient One is the Sorcerer Supreme, not Earth's or even the universe's babysitter.
The Ancient One from any universe was the same. They had beings like Eternity or the Vishanti as their backing. Following the path of magic and exploring the endless unknown was the end point that countless Ancient Ones painstakingly pursued.
"At any other time, I would have acted long ago, but not now. According to my agreement with Du Wa, I have a better method of attack compared to intervening directly."
The Ancient One's conscious thoughts were full of conviction. She too was observing the battle between Du Wa and Knull and had already seen that their fight was world-shattering.
Billions of energy particles dispersed into the vacuum, causing countless space-time tremors, accompanied by the endless annihilation of Symbiotes.
Under Du Wa's all-out assault, Knull's incomparably vast Symbiote body was now deteriorating at an astonishing rate. Every minute and every second, large amounts of Symbiote matter were being forcefully torn apart and disintegrated by Du Wa.
No matter how much Knull roared, no matter how desperately He used his single-universe-level conscious thought to enhance the Symbiotes' power and empower his temporary vessel, it still came down to the same thing: if He were strong enough, He wouldn't have ended up in his current state.
Reynolds and the Hyperion Xenomorph, these two Supermen, were continuously cutting His body with their Heat Vision.
The Laufey Xenomorph launched a frontal assault, using its Ice Divine Power as a medium to call upon the power of the entire World Tree, leveraging the entire world to repel and suppress Knull.
Knull was visibly growing weaker as the fight wore on. His originally massive Symbiote body was now shrinking at an alarming rate.
"It seems I've won the second round of this battle. Evil God Knull, everything you take pride in is utterly worthless before me. The foundation you spent hundreds of millions of years building will ultimately become a hive for breeding even stronger Xenomorphs. Even if you are a god, you are no exception."
Du Wa's gaze was transmitted through the eyes of different Xenomorph individuals.
This battle was about to conclude, and all the Symbiotes would also become Du Wa's captives.
But both Knull and Du Wa understood that this was only the beginning. Everything that would be set in motion when Knull retrieved his body would ultimately lead to a grand finale.
(end of chapter)