"So, you think those two dimensional lords have been manipulated by the dimensional consciousness in some way?" The Ancient One quickly regained her composure, looking at Robert as she spoke.
"But I don't sense anything unusual about these two dimensional lords. Either the means employed by the dimensional consciousness exceed my expectations, or the anomalies will only reveal themselves when these lords are studied."
The Ancient One refrained from suggesting that these lords might not have been manipulated at all. After hearing Robert's account, she also found that possibility unlikely.
After all, no dimension is known for being easy to deal with. Theoretically, a dimensional consciousness wouldn't fail to react when threatened, especially under the dual schemes of Robert and the Hell Dimension's lord.
"No matter, we won't be the ones doing the research anyway," Robert said with a casual smile and a shake of his head. "And with these two dimensional lords acting as targets to draw attention, Mephisto is less likely to notice the traps you've set, right?"
"That's certainly possible," the Ancient One nodded but quickly added seriously, "However, Mephisto will undoubtedly be on guard against you. Before this, he had no idea you were involved in this matter. With you in play, the situation is entirely different."
"It doesn't matter. Without some pressure, he might target you all even more recklessly," Robert said softly, his gaze flickering. "Only when internal and external pressures reach a certain threshold will Mephisto consider compromise."
"Otherwise, with Mephisto's nature, he'd never reveal the location of Doom's mother's soul without sufficient benefit, would he?"
"Thank you!" Doom, who had been listening to the conversation, was visibly moved. With a solemn expression, he looked at Robert and offered his heartfelt thanks.
At this moment, Doom finally understood that if Robert had not intervened and it was just him opposing Mephisto, he might never have had the chance to see his mother again.
But now, with Robert stepping in and attracting attention to the Hell Dimension, Mephisto would be forced to tread cautiously. Moreover, Robert hadn't fully revealed himself after exposing the Hell Dimension lord's schemes, leaving Mephisto suspecting further conspiracies. This heightened fear gave Doom a greater chance of reuniting with his mother.
"This is a minor matter. Honestly, I'd like Mephisto to be a bit more headstrong," Robert said with a light chuckle. "I've killed Mephisto's avatars several times, but I've never fought his true form in the Hell Dimension."
"As one of the most renowned lords of the Hell Dimension, Mephisto must have unparalleled power on his home turf. Coupled with the advantage of fighting on familiar ground, if we really fought, it would certainly be much more thrilling than smashing some weak dimensions."
"…" The disciples of Kamar-Taj couldn't help but look incredulous upon hearing Robert refer to dimensions as punching bags. For them, dimensions were nearly invincible entities, yet here they were reduced to mere punching bags in Robert's eyes. The disparity was overwhelming.
Fortunately, their astonishment didn't last long. Soon after, Doom and the Ancient One, accompanied by ten dimensional lords, opened fiery portals and left Kamar-Taj. Robert also disappeared but not via the portals.
"They've arrived already? No Saiyan aura? What are they up to?" In Mephisto's domain within the Hell Dimension, he frowned and muttered to himself while observing the presence outside his territory.
Although Doom and the Ancient One hadn't teleported directly into his domain, Mephisto still sensed their arrival immediately.
What puzzled him was that Robert's presence was nowhere to be found. It genuinely seemed that only Doom, the Ancient One, and the ten captive dimensional lords had come.
This was odd because Mephisto had witnessed Robert's earlier actions firsthand. Robert had publicly declared that it was the Hell Dimension lord capturing those dimensional lords. Mephisto had almost cursed aloud at the revelation.
Of course, he wasn't the only one furious. Many powerful beings in the Hell Dimension reacted similarly, their emotions stirred violently.
It was clear that Mephisto wasn't acting alone in these deeds. Many Hell Dimension lords were engaged in similar schemes, driven by their desire to curry favor with the Hell Dimension consciousness in exchange for more power.
Now that Robert had exposed these actions, the Hell Dimension was under intense scrutiny. Many dimensions, having previously suffered mysterious attacks and the disappearance of their lords, were now attributing these incidents to the Hell Dimension.
In an instant, countless dimensions turned their gaze toward the Hell Dimension. They were now aware of Robert's intentions to target the Hell Dimension, waiting to see what damage he could inflict.
If Robert managed to cause substantial harm, those dimensions wouldn't hesitate to join the fray, exploiting the chaos to extract benefits from the Hell Dimension.
The Hell Dimension lords, fully aware of this dynamic, were furious. They wanted to know who had leaked the information. The Hell Dimension's success had always relied on stealthy growth, and being exposed now endangered their operations.
Among them, Mephisto was the most enraged. His meticulous plans had been disrupted by Robert's interference, leaving him dangerously close to being branded the Hell Dimension's scapegoat.
Worse, Mephisto was reluctant to face Robert directly. He couldn't understand how Robert had destroyed an entire dimension, a feat even Mephisto himself, powerful as he was, couldn't achieve.
Thus, Mephisto grew increasingly wary of Robert, believing that he had grown even stronger since defeating Darkseid.
Meanwhile, after entering the Hell Dimension, Doom asked the Ancient One, "Why hasn't Mephisto shown up?"
Although they weren't in Mephisto's domain, his power should have alerted him. Previously, Mephisto had nearly ambushed them, so his absence now seemed odd.
"Maybe he's worried about being targeted by the other Hell Dimension lords," the Ancient One said with a faint smile. "Right now, more than a dozen powerful entities are watching us. It seems Saiyan involvement has drawn considerable attention."
Indeed, Doom and the Ancient One's presence, accompanied by ten dimensional lords, had not gone unnoticed. The origins of these captives were clear, pointing directly to Mephisto.
Consequently, Mephisto found himself besieged by complaints from other Hell Dimension lords. They scolded him for carelessly outsourcing such sensitive operations and exposing their collective deeds.
Faced with these accusations, Mephisto could only shrug and reply, "So what? If we're exposed, we'll all face the consequences together. It's not like you haven't been involved either."
"You dare drag us down with you?!" Enraged, the other lords unleashed their powers, pressuring Mephisto's domain.
Prepared for such an eventuality, Mephisto activated his domain's defenses. As a top-tier Hell Dimension lord, he had fortified his domain to withstand even a combined assault from several equals.
"This turtle act won't work forever!" one lord roared, unleashing their power toward Doom and the Ancient One.
Sensing the danger, the Ancient One quickly used the Time Stone to set temporal anchors, shielding herself and Doom. But to her shock, the ten dimensional lords Doom had captured vanished, one by one, as if erased from existence.
"What just happened?" Doom asked, bewildered.
"It seems to be Mephisto's response," the Ancient One said, frowning as she gazed toward his domain.
Elsewhere, Mephisto chuckled smugly. "Debt shared is debt halved. They're not clean themselves, so why not use this opportunity to gain some benefits?" he mused.
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