Chapter 115: The Idea of Infiltrating the Main Universe, Passing the Time Stone
A giant serpent, seemingly capable of swallowing planets, soared through the universe at high speed.
This green serpent had its bloody maw wide open, its body surging with endless divine power and magic.
Stars twinkled in the universe, blooming with brilliant light, which should have been symbols of life and hope. But at this moment, they were all eclipsed before the Serpent.
However, the Serpent's situation did not seem to be very good.
Vicious wounds marred its enormous body.
Generally speaking, the difference in scale brought about by size is immense.
Between two beings of the same size, a fatal attack might look incredibly bloody. But if that same attack were to land on an enemy hundreds or thousands of times larger, it would be like an ant biting a human. The pitiful wound would be practically painless and unnoticeable.
But for these combatants, it was completely different.
Despite the small stature of Reynolds, Odin, and the others, as Skyfather-level beings, the strength and power they could wield was enough to easily shake a galaxy. If they unleashed it without restraint, they could even shatter a large expanse of space.
Odin, holding the eternal spear, pierced the Serpent's skin in a single strike. The spear erupted with a divine power hotter than any star, nearly tearing that layer of skin in two.
Cul let out an enraged roar. He suddenly exerted his strength, enveloping Odin and his warhorse, frantically compressing space-time itself and causing horrifying cracks to appear in the region.
The eight-legged warhorse was the first to give way, exploding on the spot.
Odin frowned. His old comrade-in-arms had died at the hands of the Serpent, and perhaps he would soon follow. But at the very least, he had to first eliminate this visitor from the Otherworld who was so closely related to him by blood.
What reassured Odin was the power coming from Du Wa. Several powerful Skyfathers were besieging the Serpent alongside him, and the strength they unleashed was enough to make even Odin take notice.
"Truly remarkable. It's only been a short time, yet he can already command such power... For Asgard, having such a powerful species stationed within the World Tree might not be a good thing, but perhaps it isn't a bad thing either."
Odin's gaze was incredibly sharp. Within his increasingly decrepit body, his life force was rapidly draining away. Countless cells were dying off, unable to withstand the immense divine power.
Even he didn't know how much longer he could last. Compared to the vibrant life force of Du Wa's subordinates, he was nothing more than a dead, withered tree.
"What is our goal? Is it really to kill this giant serpent? I think we should capture it alive."
As the first Skyfather-level combatant to emerge under Du Wa, and the only Skyfather-level Xenomorph hero, Reynolds considered himself the one who understood Du Wa the most.
He naturally believed that the best method was to capture the giant serpent alive and then find a way to bring it back.
"Perhaps we should let Hyperion's offspring parasitize this fellow... Let me think, a carefully cultivated facehugger, born from this serpent, possessing all the abilities of both Hyperion and the Serpent..."
Just imagining the scene made Reynolds feel ecstatic. He would surely treasure the newborn creature and do everything possible to pull it into his Superman Corps, rather than giving Foster the opportunity to drag it into the Divine Power Troops.
"Reynolds, do not concern yourself with matters beyond your authority. If you get yourself killed, I will have to seriously consider whether to waste time resurrecting you in the future."
Du Wa's voice echoed in Reynolds's mind.
"You can even resurrect the dead?"
Reynolds was deeply shaken. It was the first time he had heard such a thing from Du Wa's lips. But in the next second, Reynolds became the primary target of Cul's attack. A beam of divine power shot toward him, blasting him thousands of kilometers away, sending him plummeting straight toward the Moon.
Black Bolt, who had been observing the battle, opened his mouth and uttered a soft cry. The terrifying sound wave that erupted from his mouth visibly expanded through the vacuum of space, shielding Reynolds and absorbing the terrifying impact.
As for why Black Bolt's voice could travel through the vacuum of space... it just could. This was the strongest power Black Bolt possessed.
"All of you, as members of the Alien Species, have your consciousness naturally bound to me. In theory, if I can one day reach a level where I can evade Death, I will have a way to reshape your bodies," Du Wa's voice sounded in Reynolds's head at the right moment.
Since his debut, countless Xenomorphs had died fighting for him. But these dead Xenomorphs had not completely vanished from this world without a trace.
On the contrary, the greatest trace they left behind was within Du Wa's sea of consciousness.
As long as they were known individuals who had once lived and existed, who had guarded Du Wa's consciousness, and were remembered by Du Wa, that was the greatest trace of all.
According to the rules of the Marvel Multiverse, as long as one could control a relevant concept without it being overwritten by a being of equivalent scale or suppressed by a higher-level existence, reversing life and death and reshaping the universe were commonplace abilities.
As long as Du Wa became powerful enough—not necessarily standing at the multiverse level, equal to Death, but even a little less—Du Wa could probably make some attempts.
Reynolds glanced intently at Black Bolt, surprised that the Inhumans on the Moon were guarded by such a formidable individual.
But he quickly lost interest in Black Bolt, transforming into a streak of golden light and once again charging toward Cul.
Several figures launched successive attacks, leaving dense, terrifying scars on Cul's body.
Countless blasts of divine power and various powerful spells bombarded him, illuminating the vacuum of space. It was a spectacular sight, but it also brewed an annihilating disaster, with each collision comparable to a planet exploding.
The commotion transmitted through the World Tree grew more and more alarming.
After all, several Skyfathers who walked the path of divine power held significant weight on the World Tree. The moment they acted, the entire World Tree had to bear the strain.
Numerous gazes pierced through the vastness of space and fell upon the world of Midgard.
Everyone who learned of this battle was amazed that Odin had taken action once again—and in league with Du Wa, no less.
What was even more shocking was, what kind of enemy could make Odin set aside his extreme pride and willingly fight alongside Du Wa?
Where did that green Serpent come from?
Why was the divine power it wielded also of the Asgardian lineage? And why did it naturally carry an authority that could trigger fear in all life?
A God of Fear? Did such a Skyfather exist on the World Tree?
"I've never heard of such a thing. It's impossible for a Skyfather to appear out of thin air without us noticing. Something must be wrong."
"There are traces of demon activity in the Midgard region, and there have been intense spatial fluctuations. Perhaps that Serpent is not one of our native gods."
"Hmph, that's even more wrong. Why would an intruder from other worlds cause such a huge reaction from our World Tree?"
"That's perfectly normal. Maybe this guy is Odin's brother from a parallel universe."
As the battle grew more intense, many worlds and countless planets throughout the World Tree became aware of it. Some of the more intelligent beings, combining the various changes, had already made some guesses about Cul's identity.
They were also amazed by Cul's strength and marveled at this Serpent.
But that was all.
The more he fought, the more furious and horrified Cul became.
"Why? Why is your universe so strange? Am I not strong enough? Or have I not spread enough fear? Why are there so many living beings in your universe, yet they can only contribute such an insignificant amount of fear-power to me!" Cul finally couldn't bear it any longer.
He had tragically discovered that he was fighting several enemies of the same level by himself, rampaging through the cosmos and causing the entire World Tree to tremble.
Yet after doing so much, fighting until he was covered in wounds, he had only hoped to draw a massive amount of fear-power from the countless planets in the Nine Realms of the World Tree to replenish his own expenditure and, in the process, enhance his strength.
The power of the God of Fear lay in the fact that the more people observed him and the more who knew of his terror, the stronger the power they would feed back to him. His strength would then increase exponentially.
Getting stronger the more he fought was Cul's truly terrifying aspect. His starting point was high, and his upper limit was even higher.
Therefore, as the God of Fear, Cul never feared battle. To describe Cul using some jargon from Du Wa's previous life, it was as if he had obtained a "system." The more he revealed his divinity before the world, the more "emotion points" he could harvest, which he could then add to his "six-dimensional attributes."
Unfortunately for Cul, this whole trick of his had been dismantled by Du Wa from the very beginning.
"The fear you spread in the Main Universe is meaningless in our universe. If you had arrived a few years from now, during a time of peace and quiet, you would have surely gained more than you have now. But not now. Before dealing with you, we had already faced many powerful enemies," Du Wa said. "A God of Fear is not enough to make us, who have been through all sorts of wars, feel fear. On the contrary, do you have any idea how excited my subordinates are because of your appearance?"
"Are you thinking of parasitizing me? Don't be ridiculous. Don't think you can use the same method on me just because you defeated Laufey in this backwater universe and took his body."
Cul opened his mouth wide, his long, sharp teeth brewing a chilling killing intent. "I still have eight subordinates in the Main Universe. They each carry a portion of my power."
"No one cares about that. Whether it's eight or eighty, there will always be troublesome people who will use you to achieve their own ulterior motives. Be it Mephisto or some other trash," Du Wa said.
He sized up the giant serpent, which had numerous wounds on its surface but was still able to fight.
According to the normal course of events, the fate of this Serpent in the Main Universe was already sealed: to die alongside the Main Universe's Thor.
Everyone wanted to use Cul, and Du Wa, of course, was no exception. This guy was a rare specimen.
Du Wa could take this opportunity to extend his tentacles into the Main Universe.
Don't get him wrong, he had no intention of developing an Alien Species in the Main Universe as massive as the one in this universe. Growing too large would only attract unnecessary attention from the gods.
Du Wa only needed some Xenomorphs to exist in the Main Universe. That way, whenever Du Wa wished, he could descend into the Main Universe, stand at the center of the multiverse, and monitor countless worlds.
The Main Universe was, after all, the center of the multiverse, the intersecting point of countless concepts and their derivatives. To ascend to a higher level, to achieve conceptual godhood, one could not bypass the Main Universe.
...
The battle between the Ancient One and Mephisto was also reaching its conclusion.
More than a dozen Mephistos were, at most, a bit tricky to deal with. If they were determined to stall for time, the variety of strange and bizarre spells they used had forced the Ancient One to expend a sliver of energy.
But without exception, none of these Mephistos ultimately escaped the Ancient One's pursuit.
"Seven dead, nine survived." The Ancient One looked at her haul and nodded to herself.
"Hehe, this world is truly interesting. Even you, Ancient One, are completely different from the Ancient Ones of other universes, walking a path I've never even heard of."
One Mephisto bared a mouthful of sharp teeth. "I suppose it is also because of Du Wa that you've had more time and opportunity to walk further down this path."
"You could say that. If he hadn't cleaned up the Black Magicians, I might have already abandoned this body and let Strange deal with you," the Ancient One admitted frankly.
Mephisto had traveled through many parallel universes and naturally knew that in many ways, different universes arrive at the same destination. There was no need to hide many things from Mephisto.
"The god you invited from the Otherworld will surely be defeated by Du Wa. Even I don't know how much power Du Wa is hiding, or how many things he is scheming in the shadows. Even as Mephisto, you would find it hard to get the upper hand on Du Wa," said the Ancient One.
"How interesting. I've been killed by the natives of many universes, but never has one looked down on my intellect."
"This isn't contempt. I am merely stating a fact. Unless your main body comes personally, or you send a few more Skyfather-level demons."
These words silenced the many Mephistos.
He had wanted to use Cul to destabilize this universe's World Tree and cause trouble for Du Wa, but now he began to suspect: Was Du Wa aware of the Shadow Gods' existence?
"Look, the helper you invited has been defeated," the Ancient One said, opening a channel from the Mirror Dimension to the outside world.
Mephisto saw a giant serpent, falling.
"The God of Fear's fear has lost its fertile ground in this universe. But Odin is about to die, too," Mephisto said in a low voice. "Once Odin dies, the World Tree will be thrown into chaos. How do you plan to face this mess of a universe?"
"Me? I am about to die. Why would I care? Even if a civil war breaks out in this universe, or if it is outright ruled or destroyed by Du Wa, I will not concern myself with it. Strange will take over my duties."
"Heh, Strange... I don't believe this universe's Strange could be stronger than the Main Universe's. Cul has already started a war on the Main Universe's Earth. If something happens to him here, how do you plan to handle the investigation from their side? Does Du Wa intend to lead a xenomorph army in a full-scale invasion of the Main Universe?"
"That is a headache for Strange. I will give him the Time Stone. Then, the time of the entire universe will be on his side. He will know how to deal with it."
The Ancient One didn't take future matters to heart at all. She was only responsible for matters within her jurisdiction. Rather than worrying about what was beyond her scope, she would rather contemplate her own position when facing the Vishanti or Eternity, and how she would communicate with the Ancient Ones of other universes.
(end of chapter)