Chapter 267 The Supreme God of Marvel's Cthulhu
The Ancient One was, by all accounts, worldly and experienced. She had solicited power from all manner of gods and had even attempted to deal with Du Wa on multiple occasions. But this time, as she gazed at the orb of light in Du Wa's palm—a Xenomorph floating within—she still paused for a moment.
"You're finally being generous for once. It truly wasn't easy. But then again, for a multiversal god like you, this little loss probably means nothing. Besides, this method of acquiring power is entirely different from that of any other deity."
The Ancient One had seen magical abilities precisely granted across countless universes, and she had seen vessels of energy delivered. But receiving a living Xenomorph directly from Du Wa as a conduit for power still felt somewhat dissonant. The feeling lasted only for an instant, however, before she immediately reached out and took it.
The orb of light instantly merged into the Ancient One's body. In a flash, it mingled with the powers from numerous gods, and the first thing it did was erupt into fierce conflict and confrontation.
"Hmph, another one has arrived. Let me see who it is."
"The God of Xenomorphs, heh. As expected, he's too young. He rose too quickly and hasn't witnessed the dangers of the Multiverse. He was duped so easily."
"Hey, God of Xenomorphs, hurry up and suppress your power, or this woman is going to explode."
A jumble of chaotic information intertwined, much of it in various ancient and obscure languages, fragmented and out of order. It was more likely their main bodies were under a focused assault from a power of equal measure, leaving them with no spare mental capacity to project more thoughts here.
Excellent, very lively. Du Wa felt it was truly remarkable that the Ancient One hadn't been killed by all this yet.
"I won't be like the other fellows, ceaselessly demanding payment from you. The moment you become a Xenomorph, you are already my eyes and hands. That itself is the payment," Du Wa said faintly. "On a deeper level, your very thoughts will be subliminally influenced by me over time. While you won't become one of my mindless, die-hard followers, you will inevitably shift to my side."
Many demon gods enjoy selecting spokespersons everywhere. One of the pleasures of doing so is watching a once-independent individual's mind slowly get influenced by the long-term use of the demon god's intensely characteristic power, eventually changing their original intentions.
Du Wa did not deliberately try to alter her thoughts, but the Xenomorphs themselves, as components of Du Wa's very concept, were naturally bound to gravitate toward him as the aggregate of that concept. This was an absolutely objective, natural phenomenon. Otherwise, if the Xenomorphs were to deviate from the God of Xenomorphs, Du Wa's very origin as a conceptual god would be completely meaningless; he would never have been able to advance to a conceptual god in the first place.
"The Ancient Ones of many parallel universes see you as a terrifying demon god, believing your methods of deploying Xenomorphs and expanding your kind are too brutal and unstoppable. But I know that dealing with a god like you is far easier than dealing with those demon gods." The Ancient One revealed a smile, just as she had when she first met Du Wa in Universe 1543681.
"Then they're in for some bad luck. Spreading news about me will only expose them further to my sight, giving me the opportunity to parasitize them."
Du Wa casually opened a channel to Universe 1543681 and stepped through.
This universe, among the countless universes, should have been utterly unremarkable. From its birth to its destruction, it should not have made a single sound, destined to be destroyed as a mere background piece in the Secret Wars.
Until the destruction of the entire multiverse and the birth of the all-new, all-different universe, there would have been no trace of Universe 1543681.
But the fate of this universe was also greatly changed by Du Wa's emergence. Because of Du Wa's actions, it gained a designation. And as Du Wa spread his sphere of influence to more universes, this universe became widely known as the Alien Universe.
By this time, the news of Du Wa's promotion to a multiversal god had begun to ferment wildly. Those on the mystical side were the quickest to learn, and many of them rushed to Universe 1543681.
Whether they knew the situation was irreversible and they had no choice but to come and pay their respects to Du Wa, or they were purely coming to this universe to explore the mysteries of the Xenomorphs and pursue the latest knowledge and information, it all made this universe incredibly lively.
All sorts of characters were arriving at every moment. They were even surprised to discover that in this universe, although Xenomorphs were the mainstream of all supernatural systems, there were still a large number of non-Xenomorph humans, races, and civilizations.
Du Wa had not converted all the living beings in this universe into Xenomorphs. Perhaps this was a form of generosity, but some believed it was purely because the Xenomorphs needed a large supply of food and genetic templates, so he deliberately maintained restraint to reduce damage to the universe.
But regardless of the reason, the special nature of this universe did indeed bring a sigh of relief to many who were apprehensive and observing from the sidelines. They confirmed that Du Wa was not a crazed demon god with an extreme desire for control and possession, and so they began to cautiously explore this peculiar universe.
Earth, Kamar-Taj. The Sanctum, which should have been empty, was filled with people, their expressions universally grave as they conversed with one another.
A large group of male Ancient Ones, female Ancient Ones, Stranges, Lokis, Iron Mans, Krugers, and more from various universes had gathered. Every single one of them radiated powerful magical fluctuations.
Without exception, these people were all former Sorcerer Supremes, all staunchly aligned with the Vishanti.
This group had rushed to Earth-1543681 after confirming that the widely renowned and rumored Alien Universe was not some demon den of no return. On the contrary, as long as one didn't court death—and didn't consider the risk of Du Wa getting interested and selecting a batch of people for a "boon"—this place was a rare safe zone.
What a joke. A universe protected by a newly promoted multiversal god, no matter how much of a dump it was before, was now a top-tier Sanctum in the multiverse.
"They're getting closer. I can almost smell the foul stench coming off those Many-Angled Ones. It's giving me goosebumps."
"Hmph, I don't even need to use magic to check. I can tell that anyone who says something like that must be of Earthling origin. Your feeble bodies always hold you back at critical moments."
"Shut up, Loki! For mages like us, having a powerful body is not an advantage to be proud of. Those monsters will definitely target you first."
"Stop arguing, you bunch of bastards! Who knows how many Xenomorphs are staring at us. The Celestials of this universe and other entities are also watching our movements. It seems the Spider Alliance has also set up a branch base in this universe... Are we going to have a civil war first, just to argue about who has the advantage?"
Not every one of these former Sorcerer Supremes had a calm and agreeable personality; there were bound to be a few with explosive tempers.
The ordinary mages of this place came and went, constantly serving tea to these visitors from parallel universes with extremely strange expressions. It was the first time they had ever seen a meeting of so many Sorcerer Supremes.
But these ordinary mages all knew that these people were waiting for this universe's former Sorcerer Supreme.
"Wait, there's the aura of a demon!"
"Hmph, a Sorcerer Supreme of demon origin? No, I already know who it is..."
The Doctor Strange who was a Hell Lord, who had been guarding Mephisto's Hell under Du Wa's command after Du Wa killed Mephisto, had returned.
Strictly speaking, this Sanctum should have been this Doctor Strange's territory.
The terrifying demonic aura that washed over them, his undisputed single-universe level strength, was top-tier even among this large group of former Sorcerer Supremes. This made many of their faces change, their expressions turning grave.
"I've heard that the God of Xenomorphs has two terrifying Stephen Stranges under his command. I've finally seen one of them... Demon Strange."
But Demon Strange paid this group no heed. His tall, blood-red body was extremely oppressive. He glared at them with his blood-red eyes for a moment before stopping where he was, waiting patiently.
"Hehe, it's been a while. Having integrated a dimension of Hell, you might have surpassed me in strength, although the power you can use will grow weaker the farther you are from your hell."
Black Strange, who had the dark circles of a sleepless grinder, had also returned. He glanced at the menacing and seemingly brutal Demon Strange, then looked at every single person present.
That unreservedly oppressive presence made everyone's faces fill with shock. Another single-universe level archmage!
This powerful lineup caused the expressions of everyone present to shift.
They had heard that Du Wa had recruited these two terrifying mages into his faction even before becoming a multiversal god. And these were just the mages; he had more than one or two other powerful gods as well!
The multiversal level was too distant for them, an incalculable level of power and greatness. But the single-universe level right before their eyes was a comprehensible level of combat prowess in the eyes of these former Sorcerer Supremes, who were mostly at the Skyfather level.
This further confirmed to them that following the advice of Universe 1543681's Ancient One and gathering here before Universe 10011 collided was the most correct course of action.
There was a multiversal god comparable to Shuma-Gorath presiding here—even if they suspected that Du Wa's characteristics as a multiversal god, combined with his recent promotion, made it highly likely he would be thrashed by Shuma-Gorath, he was at least a being with a multiversal status.
Furthermore, with so many powerful Xenomorphs available for battle, they would never allow the Cancerverse to devour the Alien Universe. In the entire multiverse, apart from the Vishanti's magical realm, where else could be more reliable than here?
"I hear Du Wa also has the Superman Corps and Divine Power Troops, which must be led by a Celestial! Factoring in those massive Alien Legions, as well as our participation as mages, the Alien Universe's comprehensive combat power below the multiversal level absolutely surpasses that of the Cancerverse. We no longer need to worry about the enemy's powerful teams like the X-Men, The Avengers, and the Defenders."
Every mage who had experienced the tragic great battle against the cancerous organisms and had lost many comrades was now spiritually invigorated, their faces showing expressions of sheer ecstasy.
At this moment, this universe's Ancient One returned. Her return made everyone involuntarily stand up, their faces filled with anticipation.
As long as Du Wa didn't refuse them, the Xenomorphs would spontaneously rise to resist the Cancerverse's offensive. This was certain. Would the Xenomorphs abandon the Alien Universe? How could that be possible! Everyone knew that Xenomorphs were absolutely relentless fighting machines that would not retreat a single step, no matter the enemy.
"I succeeded. Just as you hoped, I have obtained the power granted by the God of Xenomorphs. I am confident enough to appear on the battlefield." The Ancient One displayed the Xenomorph component of her chaotic system of powers.
"Excellent! Now I can finally put my worried heart to rest!"
"Before, it was because we didn't have sufficient numbers to counter that massive horde of aberrant monsters, plus the countless clones of Shuma-Gorath, that we were always in a passive situation!"
"Cleaning up Shuma-Gorath's clones everywhere, constantly dividing our forces, and people constantly being ambushed and hunted by the Many-Angled Ones... This time, that situation will not happen again."
Shuma-Gorath had many clones? Deployed in large numbers across many universes? No matter how many, they couldn't possibly outnumber the Xenomorphs, and every single Xenomorph was, in essence, a clone of the God of Xenomorphs!
With the Vishanti preoccupied, a sacred—no, a not-so-terrible demon god was finally willing to enter the field and test his mettle against Shuma-Gorath.
The Ancient One and Demon Strange exchanged a glance.
"The problem now is, Universe 10011 has probably also received news that Du Wa has become a new multiversal god. Will that bunch of aberrant monsters continue to attack Universe 1543681 according to their original plan?" the Ancient One discussed with Demon Strange.
"They will. Shuma-Gorath must have learned of this immediately, but He did not stop the actions of his vassal universe. This is already a provocation. A provocation from an old multiversal god directed at another multiversal god... I am very familiar with this. Similar things happen frequently in Hell, with great demons from other hells constantly making seemingly meaningless, but in reality, very boring and foolish moves."
Demon Strange let out a terrifying laugh. He had become more like Mephisto than Mephisto himself.
The Ancient One mused thoughtfully, "I'm also very curious about one thing. Universe 10011 had already set this place as its attack target long before Du Wa's promotion, even going so far as to alter its original plan of devouring adjacent universes. Why? Did the Many-Angled Ones find something on the Xenomorphs that could attract them?"
She couldn't figure it out, but it didn't matter. It would all become clear soon enough.
Outside the universe, Du Wa looked from a distance at the approaching Cancerverse, which was baring its fangs and brandishing its claws.
Just as the name suggested, this universe had been corrupted by the Old Ones System, developing an irreversible cancer and had gone completely insane. This was an even more hopeless transformation than the Zombie Universe, because the Zombie Universe didn't have a God of Zombies ruling over it.
But above the Cancerverse, there was the supreme god of Marvel's Old Ones system—Shuma-Gorath!
"The Cthulhu of the Marvel world, interesting. I think I roughly understand why you've set your sights on me." Du Wa smiled. It seemed he was about to have an interesting Story with a multiversal god from the Marvel side.
(end of chapter)