"Deathstroke? Aren't you going to speak up for me? Maybe ask your ruthless dictator friend to give me a chance?"
Loki sat on the ground, showing no intention of leaving. Instead, he turned his head to Su Ming, who was watching from the sidelines, seeking help.
Su Ming had been savoring the afterglow of magic. Doom's fighting style was like a humanoid turret, with no restraint or defensive magic; it simply involved hurling suitable attack magic with full force.
Anyway, the cost was almost nothing. He could continuously unleash powerful magic without any burden.
"What does it have to do with me? We're not close."
Loki's deceit, whoever wanted to believe it could believe it. Su Ming did not intend to get involved.
"I'm very familiar with the people of the Wilson family, though I can't prove it now. But you're a Tactical Master; you can think for yourself. If you want to deal with the past me, it's best to have me do it. No matter what preparations you've made, please don't repeat history."
Su Ming's heart stirred, repeat history?
"Are you saying that the past you was defeated by Doom? So that's why you're like this today?"
Loki sighed, stood up, dusted off his clothes, and picked up the skull again.
"In my memory, Doom defeated me, you defeated Odin, the Secret Guest blindsided Mephisto, and Hamill blocked Master Kalu. Odin and The Ancient One had an agreement, my memory was sealed, artificially shaping me into the original Loki."
"Lies! If your memory was sealed, Doom doesn't think you can escape the power of The Ancient One and Odin. You should know nothing now."
Doctor Destruction immediately pointed out the flaw, which was clearly a deception.
Loki remained unflustered. He bit his finger and drew a few vertical lines on the nearby wall: "Because I made preparations in the Netherworld. As the God of Story, I have a contract with Hel, an automatic observational record sent to the beginning of time. It will record the events as stories in a book, returning to me at specific times, allowing me to regain my memory."
"Interesting, so would you believe your future or past self? If I were you, I definitely wouldn't trust myself." Su Ming walked up next to Doctor Destruction, quietly watching Loki draw lines on the wall.
Those lines signified that Loki believed there were five of him. Among these discontinuous line segments, his finger continuously jumped back and forth, describing his memory trajectory, but overall, they moved in one direction.
Time is like that; no matter how you jump within it, its direction doesn't change. The people and things within it are always pushed downstream of the river.
"Can't fully believe, nor fully disbelieve. But that's what makes it interesting, doesn't it?" Loki turned his head and said.
"So why don't you tell me how I defeated Odin? If what you say about the past matches my current plan, I might consider believing one-tenth of what you say."
"Only one-tenth? I thought we were good friends; your cousin likes me a lot." Loki frowned, pausing his sketching on the wall.
"But I don't like him, so are you going to talk or not?" Su Ming said calmly, arms crossed.
"You're lying. You even bought his Saudi nationality for him so he could marry several wives." Loki immediately pointed out the first flaw with his fingers.
"Every day, his pelvic bone is in a constant cycle of fracturing and self-healing, being pulled around like a doll by several people to cushion their seats, carrying an extraordinarily high bill. If you think that's happiness rather than a curse, then you really can think I've treated him well."
It seems this is a repercussion of the World War II journey; the Wade Cup Grand Prix at that time never had an award presented. In the future, did I consider making them all first prize winners together?
"Then you..."
"One last chance." Su Ming interrupted his nonsense directly, pulling out a Great Sword from the ground. Although he didn't know if Loki was trying to get closer or buy time by saying all this, he didn't plan to listen.
Loki took a deep breath and rubbed his face: "You became the Supreme Mage, and that's why you won."
"Be more specific."
Su Ming frowned. If he had a choice, he definitely wouldn't choose this path. What went wrong?
"You forcibly drove the Eye of Agamotto with bones and an Otherworld Gem, using the resurrection of 40 million Heroic Spirits and 2 billion souls from the Netherworld as threats, forcing Odin to concede."
Doom calmly interjected at this point. This was recorded in history, where the Second Generation Supreme Mage's first battle faced the Celestial Father Level pinnacle, Odin, and achieved a decisive victory. He admired this point greatly.
Even though many considered this very despicable and an unfair victory, Doom only cared about the victor's perspective, ignoring the laments of the losers.
..........
It seemed resurrecting so many, who were all Asgardians, would benefit Odin.
Actually, it was not. Those 40 million Heroic Spirits were under Odin's agreement with 'Death,' and it was a temporary lending agreement. Because Odin knew, the Twilight of the Gods was inevitable, and the destiny of the Heroic Spirits was to return to the cycle during the Twilight of the Gods.
He left the Heroic Spirits temporarily in Valhalla, waiting for the final battle to come.
This is why Death agreed to the condition because the Twilight of the Gods means the greatest death boom in history.
Heroic Spirits can kill, which is destined to be an investment that returns several times. As long as she waits a little longer.
It was the Heroic Spirits' final glorious battle. They would kill demons, kill humans, kill all enemies in their way until they died again at the enemy's hands.
All souls would return to Death.
The souls in Hel's hands were the same, all prepared for the Twilight of the Gods. Although cowards in life, their numbers would compensate for the lack of courage in the weak.
In the Twilight of the Gods, they would become the Undead Army, cleansing the Nine Realms, serving as Death's tool, wiping out all life.
But if Su Ming resurrects all the Heroic Spirits and the Dead of the Netherworld, Death's future investment goes down the drain, not to mention losing the capital. These two billion, four hundred million souls may not be much to Death, but it's the lever that propels the entire cosmos towards Death.
The most crucial point is that it seems Odin benefits from this, as after all, once these people are resurrected, they all become Odin's subjects, and the importance of population to any power is self-evident.
As the vested interest holder, Odin would become Death's biggest suspect. Even if Odin argues to Death that he was framed, would Death believe him?
Saying you didn't eat the cake, what's that white foam by your mouth? Toothpaste? Your belly is round, and you claim someone forced it on you; who would believe that?
It's like mud falling into your pants, you simply can't explain it.
Perhaps if Odin brings out his full strength, he might be unafraid of the Time Gem's attack, but if the Time Gem is instead used to his advantage, how does one defend against that?
Neither magic nor technology can defend against someone forcing benefits upon you.
If the agreement with Death is torn apart, it doesn't mean finding 'death'; it means 'Death' will come knocking.
Involving the Creator Gods, even if Death can be defeated, it would mean no one in the entire cosmos would die again.
This represents disrupting the cosmos' order, bound to attract the Life Court, 'Eternal', and 'Annihilation'. How to fight that? Even if Odin could escape unscathed, could Asgard run away?
Even if Odin relents, he cannot possibly kill the tens of billions of newly resurrected people as an apology to Death.
People won't just stand there to be killed. Once even one soul is missing, Death would not let it go, let alone demand Odin compensate for her future losses.
Compensating the future is a bottomless pit, and Death is never a reasonable woman.
If Su Ming indeed resurrects all those souls, Odin's best option is to kill Su Ming and then commit suicide, so they can go argue in Death's courtyard together.
But Su Ming isn't afraid of Death; he can offer gifts.
He can give Death a little cousin. Wade will surely be eager to satisfy a beauty with his lower half, thus helping his cousin clear any suspicions, and Death will definitely like that scoundrel.
But how can Odin escape? Without Odin, what would happen to Asgard? If Deadpool mixes with Death, as the initiator of all events, Odin would still be targeted by Thanos, and then it's waiting for Infinite War.
...........
Therefore, if Su Ming uses this method to threaten Odin, Odin is bound to admit defeat, and this is indeed Su Ming's prepared plan in his heart.
As for the matter of the Supreme Mage, Su Ming has also figured it out; if he doesn't accept the burden, The Ancient One will keep trying to thrust the position onto him.
This time it's a conspiracy with Odin; who knows who it will be next time, and Su Ming indeed has no way with The Ancient One.
The Ancient One is really good to Su Ming and has helped numerous times, except when it comes to the position of Supreme Mage, where they hold differing views.
One insists on giving, the other does not want to accept.
So, she arranges various events, almost all related to time, repeatedly showcasing the importance of the Time Gem to Su Ming.
It's quite frustrating.
Ignoring her, she will keep trying; there will inevitably be more trouble in the future. She might even use the Time Gem to negotiate.
And if he kills her to avoid trouble, aside from whether it aligns with moral principles, whoever defeats the Supreme Mage is undoubtedly the new Supreme, directly fastening the title.
So, Su Ming has thought it through and decided to accept the role of Supreme Mage.
At worst, he'll delegate the tasks to Hamill, and find a way to transfer the cost of bearing the world's defense array elsewhere.
"Now, am I still at this time point the Supreme Mage?"
Su Ming asked Doom.
"You were before, but after you left the All-Powerful Universe with your planet to avoid this Worlds Collide, the Magic Realm no longer acknowledged your Supreme title; the current Supreme Mage is Dr. Strange."
"What aspect did bearing the dimension array cost me?"
"With bones barely holding up, you've never known a single spell; let alone transferring the costs. These costs eroded you, inside and out, you've become a boneless heap of flesh with only thoughts left. Your subordinates crafted a golden throne for you, placing you on the Divine Altar."
Loki calmly replied, eyes hinting "you can still stand now, but not for long." He added a few more sentences, counting on his fingers for Su Ming:
"They call you 'Emperor', renamed Warnerheim 'Holy Terra', some people self-proclaiming as 'Mechanic God Cult' used a technology called Subspace to take the entire planet away from the All-Powerful Universe."
Su Ming remained silent for a long time. His Nightfall Greatsword was picked up and put down again, while the two women beside him watched him with concern. He finally squeezed out a sentence.
"...Who the hell wrote this story?"
Loki shrugged, showing a helpless expression, his cheeks turned red by the firelight from a nearby skeleton.
"Looks like you don't want that either, so can I join now?"
"If the future is really as you all said, I should indeed let you join, but unfortunately, you guys are lying... Secret Guest, do it."