Chapter 107: An Interesting Attempt
Of course, not every Doctor Strange is on the side of justice. There are also many vicious and evil ones, each more ruthless than the last when it comes to killing.
And when the Ancient One selects a successor, she doesn't necessarily choose someone who will stand on the side of justice in the future. It depends on the particular inclinations of the Ancient One from different universes.
A typical example is Black Strange. In his universe, the most crucial time node was his car accident, where his girlfriend Christine died tragically.
To save his girlfriend from her fated death, Black Strange used countless methods to forcibly change what had happened, ultimately leading to the collapse of the entire universe.
After all, even the very anchor points that constructed the universe's stability were destroyed by Black Strange time and time again. One couldn't expect that universe to remain as stable as it once was; it would collapse with a crash, like a skyscraper that had lost its load-bearing walls.
The Ancient One from that universe never intervened. If you could say she guided Black Strange at all, it was only with words. After the entire universe was destroyed, that Ancient One merely told Black Strange why it had ended and about the unchangeable nature of a time node.
Other than that, the Ancient One from that universe did nothing. She abandoned her body and existed directly as a soul. In the end, it was unknown whether she died or went to other parallel universes, though the latter is more likely.
Du Wa thought that no matter how terrible the Doctor Strange of this universe was, no matter how much he acted out or turned to darkness, he couldn't possibly be stronger than Black Strange.
Black Strange was a terrorist who had devoured countless monsters to forcibly increase his strength. In the end, he even managed to team up with a few survivors from other universes to take on Ultron with Six Gems, acting as the main damage dealer to finish him off.
As for the other Doctor Stranges, like Extreme Doctor, who madly possessed various heroes and villains in his soul form, or the Eternal Doctor, who gained a portion of Eternity's power and kept switching sides during major events, none of them seemed to compare to Black Strange.
But to Du Wa's surprise, Mephisto had actually used this universe's time node to interfere with Doctor Strange's fate.
"By acting in accordance with a predetermined time node, you clearly interfered. Yet because your actions still fulfilled the unalterable events of that node, you achieved your goal."
Strange's car accident was a time node. However, Mephisto appeared, used magic to create an illusion that guided Strange into the accident. He also conveniently killed Christine, then appeared in the nick of time as a savior, using a compassionate guise to lure Strange into making a deal with him.
This was very good. It was indeed something Mephisto, who loved to take everything for himself, would do.
Du Wa walked toward Mephisto step by step. He wasn't afraid of a mere avatar of such a Great Demon.
This gave Mephisto a strange, mistaken impression, as if Du Wa was very familiar with him and had dealt with him many times before.
But Mephisto was certain he didn't know Du Wa at all. Or could it be that an avatar from some parallel universe had met Du Wa? Perhaps they had even become enemies?
The Mephistos scattered across the various parallel universes did not share memories with one another. Only the main body residing in Hell knew all the memories of all the avatars.
But Mephisto no longer had the opportunity to question Du Wa closely, nor could he engage in a friendly conversation with him.
The next second, many Xenomorphs suddenly rushed out of the portal behind Du Wa. One Xenomorph, carrying an Alien Egg, arrived at the scene.
The Alien Egg blossomed, and a facehugger immediately emerged to parasitize Christine.
Injuries were not a problem. As long as there was a breath left, the Xenomorphs could save a person. Even if they became a vegetable or were crippled, they could be rescued. Such minor injuries were nothing before the powerful regenerative abilities granted by the Xenomorphs.
Numerous powerful Xenomorphs simultaneously besieged Mephisto.
Mephisto was very displeased. "You shouldn't interfere with my prey, young man. I don't care what you're thinking, but you shouldn't have done this."
The demon used powerful magic. Soon, the entire mountain seemed to go limp, as if it were about to melt.
The rock and dust twisted into roiling magma that surged forward.
Faced with this extreme heat, even the most ordinary Xenomorphs showed no signs of retreat, charging forward against it.
Mephisto observed carefully. He saw the magma pour over the Xenomorphs, but it couldn't kill even the weakest among them instantly. The Xenomorphs could still maintain most of their combat power; at worst, their movements only became slightly stiff.
Any Xenomorph that had burst from a decent host, even a vampire host, could largely resist the damage from the magma and was almost unaffected.
Mephisto was a little surprised. He then saw Christine's injuries recovering rapidly and that she was quickly regaining consciousness, which made him even more interested.
"We don't have to be enemies. Why not make a deal? To you, these Xenomorphs are nothing. You just need to give me a certain number of Xenomorph souls, and I will grant your wish."
Mephisto was filled with covetous desire for the Xenomorphs.
It wasn't that he was in desperate need of Xenomorph souls, but since this universe had given birth to such a peculiar species—one that even locals like Dormammu and Knull were paying close attention to—why wouldn't Mephisto seriously capture a batch to keep in reserve? Just like harvesting human souls.
What's more, Mephisto had already keenly discovered that all the Xenomorphs seemed to have become Du Wa's vassals on a mental and conscious level. Even a part of their self-awareness was segmented and intimately connected to Du Wa.
Killing ordinary Xenomorphs was useless to Mephisto—he had already experimented with that. But thinking about it from another angle, if he could take down Du Wa, that would be the most perfect option.
"I haven't left a spokesperson in this universe. Are you interested?" Mephisto smiled benevolently, even though he knew Du Wa would never agree.
Du Wa just watched with a blank expression. The Ikaris Xenomorph charged out of the portal, looking as if it was about to knock Mephisto clean away, but Mephisto swung his staff, flicking it at the Ikaris Xenomorph.
The Ikaris Xenomorph instantly changed direction bizarrely, suddenly crashing into the magma-filled mountain and causing a huge commotion.
It all happened too fast. Strange watched in a daze. His prodigious intellect, which he was so proud of, couldn't even keep up with these people's words and actions. In his eyes, it was as if this group had suddenly hit the fast-forward button; everything was accelerating.
At this time, Strange possessed no transcendent power. He was just a mortal man, and his speed of gathering and analyzing information couldn't keep up at all.
In his sluggish perception, it was as if in an instant, the world had transformed into a Hell filled with magma.
Yes, and a whole squad of Xenomorphs had launched an attack under Du Wa's nonchalant command. If Du Wa hadn't helped him heal Christine, Strange would have thought he was already in Hell.
Strange saw that all of his girlfriend's injuries had completely healed, and she opened her eyes.
"Christine, you're alive! That's wonderful! Just now..."
Strange was overjoyed to the point of tears. He reached out and cupped Christine's cheeks, stroking them repeatedly.
"You don't have to say anything. I know what happened. The Xenomorphs told me... I was so close to dying at the hands of that demon. You're being targeted by a demon, which is bad news. But the good news is, that demon is being targeted by Du Wa."
"I think there's also some news that isn't so good. This means the matter with my brother probably can't be hidden anymore."
Strange suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and his eyes dimmed slightly.
There were some things he couldn't figure out just now, but he could make some deductions about them now.
Mephisto, under siege, still wanted to say something. In truth, he was unwilling to start an irreconcilable conflict with a native powerhouse.
If he could obtain what he wanted through deceit, making the natives devote themselves to him while being grateful, that would be the best method.
Unfortunately, Mephisto discovered that this little trick of his was completely ineffective against Du Wa.
Du Wa had no intention of talking with him. As the battle intensified, Mephisto could only frown as his figure gradually vanished into a thick fog.
"Foster," Du Wa called out.
Immediately, a bolt of lightning brewing with immense divine power struck out, knocking Mephisto back out into the open.
His 'old man' facade was finally broken, revealing the appearance of a demon with blood-red skin.
"A demon..." Strange muttered subconsciously. Thanks to the many events that had occurred on Earth in the past two years, the psychological resilience of people, including Strange, had greatly improved.
Since even deities have shown up, it's only reasonable for a demon to appear as well, right?
Under Du Wa's assault, Mephisto quickly found himself unable to hold on. This avatar of his was, after all, not a particularly powerful individual. Now, being cornered by a native powerhouse like Du Wa, and after exhausting all his attempts at persuasion without swaying Du Wa in the slightest, Mephisto began to sneer.
"The Ancient One borrows power from me, and you come to eliminate me. The two of you coordinate so well. But the price for offending me will be repaid twofold."
Mephisto tried to reclaim the power from the Ancient One—a portal from Kamar-Taj was right there—but he tried repeatedly to no avail. His power was being blocked and suppressed by the Ancient One, who was using the power of another entity.
Mephisto showed deep confusion. His tall figure was quickly torn into several pieces by the Ikaris Xenomorph, but he wasn't dead yet.
"Mephisto, now we can talk about a deal: become my container, or I can hand you over to the Ancient One and let her drain you of all your power. Don't think the Ancient One lacks this ability. Her mastery of dark magic is by no means lacking. Devouring your power is not an unsolvable problem for her."
Du Wa looked at the demon, which was now in several pieces before him.
"It seems you've won, strange human." Mephisto was completely unconcerned. Even though his body was shattered, his still-intact mouth remained incredibly stubborn.
Losing a mere avatar was no big deal. Mephisto could afford such a loss.
"In places you haven't noticed, I've also made some interesting attempts. Don't mistake me for this universe's Knull. I'm not like him, nor am I Dormammu."
Mephisto let out a strange laugh. Harboring immense malice, his red eyes stared venomously at Du Wa, as if sizing up a rare treasure.
"Furthermore, I have already sent all relevant information about you back to Hell. This means this universe has officially entered my sights, and you have been placed on my list."
Mephisto's business was very busy. Many events in many universes required his careful evaluation, after which he would dispatch different levels of power to handle them based on the situation.
For this unknown universe, even if he were to invest power to resolve the matter, it would still take some time.
Du Wa carefully pieced Mephisto's body back together and said, "If you're going to make a move, now is the best time. Gather all your power, bring all your divine artifacts, and cross the universe to deal with me, regardless of the price. Even if it causes several key universes to fall out of your sight, it would be worth it. This is my most sincere advice to you."
Du Wa began to attempt to parasitize Mephisto.
And not with a facehugger hatched from an ordinary Alien Egg.
"I can transport troops for you, but if you expect me to transport an egg this big... I can't handle it."
Wong stepped through the portal and appeared before Du Wa, his hands brewing with magic as he watched Mephisto warily.
This Great Demon's reputation was simply too great.
"Don't worry, you won't be needed for much longer."
Du Wa sized it up. This was an Alien Egg that the Hyperion Xenomorph had spent a full half-month to lay. The facehugger that emerged from it was incredibly strong. It looked like it could break the sound barrier as it launched itself into the air, about to pounce on Mephisto.
"What a beautiful creature. Stronger than the vast majority of Xenomorphs. I might even know its host."
Mephisto let out a strange laugh. His body began to burn rapidly and was soon incinerated completely.
"It failed. The bastard didn't give me a chance."
Du Wa looked regretful. If possible, he really wanted to grab all the Mephistos from many parallel universes, pile them into a mountain, and then deal with them one by one.
But Du Wa had a backup plan: the manipulator of The Hand, the demon that had summoned Mephisto.
"You call that thing Mephisto? Like the Mephistopheles from the myths? Is he dead?"
Strange climbed out of the wrecked car and staggered to his feet, wanting to help Christine get free. But he quickly saw his girlfriend bend the car door with one hand and ask in confusion.
"Why do you have so many questions? Which one are we supposed to answer?" Wong glared at Strange with dissatisfaction. He had no idea this guy was the successor chosen by the Ancient One.
"Yes, Mephisto briefly appeared in our world and was thus recorded into history by time. But he hasn't truly died yet. Perhaps the interesting attempt he mentioned is you, for all we know."
Du Wa observed Strange, lost in thought. He suspected that Strange, through some obscure medium, had already made a deal with Mephisto without knowing it.
Mephisto desperately needed an excellent spokesperson to act for him in this world. In this world, Mephisto didn't have powerful enforcers like Ghost Rider or Diablo to serve him.
However, just as Mephisto was prepared, Du Wa was not unprepared either. He too was conducting an interesting attempt.
(end of chapter)