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Chapter 263: I, Level 5, Will Be Your Undoing
Dormammu burst through the Transformers' blockade, his massive hand snatching Tony, an excited and ferocious smile spreading across his face.
"Got you, you little reptile."
Dormammu chuckled softly, the anticipation and pleasure resonating from his very soul, bringing him immense satisfaction. It was all too easy. All he had to do was torture this little creature's soul, and he would obtain that unique artifact.
"Dark Lord Dormammu… this isn't the first time we've dealt with each other." Tony was very calm, remarkably composed even as nearly half of his soul was being corroded by the dense dark power emanating from Dormammu.
"Oh?" Dormammu tilted his head and thought for a moment. He seemed to recall hearing about Tony from his servant, Kaecilius. He had even casually extended an offer of recruitment…
But that was all in the past, completely unimportant. He had all but forgotten about it.
"Are you trying to stall for time? How foolish." Dormammu laughed. To him, a giant, the ant-like Tony in his grasp playing mind games was a comical act that brought him even more amusement.
Dormammu tossed Tony into his mouth and swallowed him in one gulp. Then, he furtively blended back into the dark power and slunk away.
By the time the Ancient One and the others arrived, Dormammu was long gone.
"It seems that child has failed…" The Elder from the Agalas Sanctuary said with regret.
"No, he succeeded," the Ancient One said faintly, glancing up at the sky.
A strange look flickered in The Elder's eyes, and he suddenly developed a great interest in Tony. However, after a glance at the Ancient One, he didn't ask any further questions.
In any case, this matter seemed to be drawing to a close. Their Agalas Sanctuary's mission was mostly complete.
"Thank you for your assistance." The Ancient One nodded to The Elder.
"Eradicating darkness is the mission of the Agalas Sanctuary. Next, why don't we temporarily inscribe a monitoring magic circle to constantly observe the changes in the dark dimension? Once the magic circle is complete, we will depart. We have other urgent matters to attend to," The Elder stated.
The Ancient One and Shazam nodded, silently using their Mystic Energy to construct the magic circle.
Now, the one who would decide the future was not them, but Tony, whose fate remained unknown. Tony had risked everything by choosing this path, and he had to see it through. Failure meant losing everything; success meant gaining everything.
All they could do was wait quietly.
...
After abducting Tony, Dormammu went directly to a hidden corner.
This was the weakest point in the dark dimension's space. If any accident were to occur, it would be convenient for Dormammu to escape, even though fleeing was the most unacceptable option.
"Now, let me see what incredible treasure you little thing have picked up."
Dormammu laughed heartily. Inside his stomach, a pocket-sized version of Dormammu appeared, face to face with the immobilized Tony.
This miniature Dormammu was wreathed in eerie flames that began to spread from his feet, eventually reaching his head until even his eyes were burning.
He extended an arm toward Tony, gripping his shoulder tightly. As the distance between them closed, the immense stimulus between life and death had a massive impact on one's spirit and soul.
"Tell me, what exactly is that unique artifact inside your body?"
Dormammu observed for a while but didn't find any external matter. A realization dawned on him—it seemed the unique item existed in a spiritual state.
Unique?
Tony frowned slightly.
Is this guy talking about the Allspark?
The Allspark is a unique item?
In an instant, numerous analytical possibilities flashed through Tony's mind.
Either Dormammu had been deceived, or he had misunderstood what the Ancient One told him during their first meeting.
"My Allspark is… unique?" Tony was pleasantly surprised.
"Of course. That woman, the Ancient One, told me herself. Could it be false?"
Dormammu waved his hand impatiently and tore off one of Tony's arms, sending blood splattering.
"Tell me, where is the Allspark? In your head? Inside your soul?" Dormammu demanded.
"Haven't you already figured it out? The Allspark is tightly bound to my soul. Give up. There's no way you can take my Allspark," Tony grunted, looking down at his severed arm with some frustration.
The searing pain was secondary. The most important thing was the arm he had lost; he didn't know if it could even be restored.
Tony's gaze turned somewhat dangerous and violent.
Dormammu let out a deafening laugh that seemed to shake the very stomach of his massive clone. "Boy, it seems you know nothing about power!"
He brought his disgusting head closer, greedily staring at Tony from a short distance. "I am an Archmage of a single universe level! Do you have any idea what that means? In the eyes of many advanced interstellar civilizations, I am a true god! I am on the same level as a deity."
Tony just said, "Oh," and fell silent.
He was sensing the changes within his body, within his soul, and was secretly analyzing and absorbing the dark power.
Ever since he had entered the dark dimension, the Allspark had been shining at an incredibly high frequency, frantically analyzing everything within this realm. It indiscriminately processed anything he came into contact with.
The threshold from Level Four to Level 5 was astounding; it was the leap from a high-level lifeform to a demigod. Tony's promotion to Level Four had relied on the X-Gene within him. The stronger his X-Gene's ability, the stronger he became.
By now, Tony had some doubts about his own mutant ability. Were the Allspark and his mutant ability one and the same, or were they separate?
The moment Dormammu, believing victory was in his grasp, foolishly told him that the Allspark was a unique item, he understood.
"Is my X-Gene a 'vessel' that exists solely to contain the Allspark? Even if it's not exactly that, it must be close. Otherwise, there's no explaining everything that's happened since my Awakening."
Tony was lost in thought, remaining unresponsive no matter how furiously Dormammu questioned him.
Infuriated, Dormammu directly unleashed a soul-torturing magic. He used hellfire to interrogate the soul, scorching it bit by bit.
Every time he asked and Tony didn't answer, he would burn a little more of the soul.
"Damn you, reptile! Don't even think about someone coming to save you. No one will ever find this place!" Dormammu roared, growing agitated. The feeling of having a treasure right before his eyes but being unable to obtain it was agonizing.
"I told you, you can't take what's mine from me," Tony said, looking at him coldly. "The Allspark is bound to my soul. You can't take it. If you kill me, you'll lose the Allspark too."
"Ridiculous. Who do you think you are? How could a weak creature from the multiverse be qualified to perfectly merge with a unique item?" Dormammu scoffed. This time, he directly ripped Tony's soul out.
The body, deprived of its soul, lost all its power. It withered and fell limply to the ground. Dormammu didn't even spare it a glance, his entire focus fixed on Tony.
"I will show you how the great Dormammu will devour you, and how I will obtain that artifact!"
(end of chapter)
Dormammu burst through the Transformers' blockade, his massive hand snatching Tony, an excited and ferocious smile spreading across his face.
"Got you, you little reptile."
Dormammu chuckled softly, the anticipation and pleasure resonating from his very soul, bringing him immense satisfaction. It was all too easy. All he had to do was torture this little creature's soul, and he would obtain that unique artifact.
"Dark Lord Dormammu… this isn't the first time we've dealt with each other." Tony was very calm, remarkably composed even as nearly half of his soul was being corroded by the dense dark power emanating from Dormammu.
"Oh?" Dormammu tilted his head and thought for a moment. He seemed to recall hearing about Tony from his servant, Kaecilius. He had even casually extended an offer of recruitment…
But that was all in the past, completely unimportant. He had all but forgotten about it.
"Are you trying to stall for time? How foolish." Dormammu laughed. To him, a giant, the ant-like Tony in his grasp playing mind games was a comical act that brought him even more amusement.
Dormammu tossed Tony into his mouth and swallowed him in one gulp. Then, he furtively blended back into the dark power and slunk away.
By the time the Ancient One and the others arrived, Dormammu was long gone.
"It seems that child has failed…" The Elder from the Agalas Sanctuary said with regret.
"No, he succeeded," the Ancient One said faintly, glancing up at the sky.
A strange look flickered in The Elder's eyes, and he suddenly developed a great interest in Tony. However, after a glance at the Ancient One, he didn't ask any further questions.
In any case, this matter seemed to be drawing to a close. Their Agalas Sanctuary's mission was mostly complete.
"Thank you for your assistance." The Ancient One nodded to The Elder.
"Eradicating darkness is the mission of the Agalas Sanctuary. Next, why don't we temporarily inscribe a monitoring magic circle to constantly observe the changes in the dark dimension? Once the magic circle is complete, we will depart. We have other urgent matters to attend to," The Elder stated.
The Ancient One and Shazam nodded, silently using their Mystic Energy to construct the magic circle.
Now, the one who would decide the future was not them, but Tony, whose fate remained unknown. Tony had risked everything by choosing this path, and he had to see it through. Failure meant losing everything; success meant gaining everything.
All they could do was wait quietly.
...
After abducting Tony, Dormammu went directly to a hidden corner.
This was the weakest point in the dark dimension's space. If any accident were to occur, it would be convenient for Dormammu to escape, even though fleeing was the most unacceptable option.
"Now, let me see what incredible treasure you little thing have picked up."
Dormammu laughed heartily. Inside his stomach, a pocket-sized version of Dormammu appeared, face to face with the immobilized Tony.
This miniature Dormammu was wreathed in eerie flames that began to spread from his feet, eventually reaching his head until even his eyes were burning.
He extended an arm toward Tony, gripping his shoulder tightly. As the distance between them closed, the immense stimulus between life and death had a massive impact on one's spirit and soul.
"Tell me, what exactly is that unique artifact inside your body?"
Dormammu observed for a while but didn't find any external matter. A realization dawned on him—it seemed the unique item existed in a spiritual state.
Unique?
Tony frowned slightly.
Is this guy talking about the Allspark?
The Allspark is a unique item?
In an instant, numerous analytical possibilities flashed through Tony's mind.
Either Dormammu had been deceived, or he had misunderstood what the Ancient One told him during their first meeting.
"My Allspark is… unique?" Tony was pleasantly surprised.
"Of course. That woman, the Ancient One, told me herself. Could it be false?"
Dormammu waved his hand impatiently and tore off one of Tony's arms, sending blood splattering.
"Tell me, where is the Allspark? In your head? Inside your soul?" Dormammu demanded.
"Haven't you already figured it out? The Allspark is tightly bound to my soul. Give up. There's no way you can take my Allspark," Tony grunted, looking down at his severed arm with some frustration.
The searing pain was secondary. The most important thing was the arm he had lost; he didn't know if it could even be restored.
Tony's gaze turned somewhat dangerous and violent.
Dormammu let out a deafening laugh that seemed to shake the very stomach of his massive clone. "Boy, it seems you know nothing about power!"
He brought his disgusting head closer, greedily staring at Tony from a short distance. "I am an Archmage of a single universe level! Do you have any idea what that means? In the eyes of many advanced interstellar civilizations, I am a true god! I am on the same level as a deity."
Tony just said, "Oh," and fell silent.
He was sensing the changes within his body, within his soul, and was secretly analyzing and absorbing the dark power.
Ever since he had entered the dark dimension, the Allspark had been shining at an incredibly high frequency, frantically analyzing everything within this realm. It indiscriminately processed anything he came into contact with.
The threshold from Level Four to Level 5 was astounding; it was the leap from a high-level lifeform to a demigod. Tony's promotion to Level Four had relied on the X-Gene within him. The stronger his X-Gene's ability, the stronger he became.
By now, Tony had some doubts about his own mutant ability. Were the Allspark and his mutant ability one and the same, or were they separate?
The moment Dormammu, believing victory was in his grasp, foolishly told him that the Allspark was a unique item, he understood.
"Is my X-Gene a 'vessel' that exists solely to contain the Allspark? Even if it's not exactly that, it must be close. Otherwise, there's no explaining everything that's happened since my Awakening."
Tony was lost in thought, remaining unresponsive no matter how furiously Dormammu questioned him.
Infuriated, Dormammu directly unleashed a soul-torturing magic. He used hellfire to interrogate the soul, scorching it bit by bit.
Every time he asked and Tony didn't answer, he would burn a little more of the soul.
"Damn you, reptile! Don't even think about someone coming to save you. No one will ever find this place!" Dormammu roared, growing agitated. The feeling of having a treasure right before his eyes but being unable to obtain it was agonizing.
"I told you, you can't take what's mine from me," Tony said, looking at him coldly. "The Allspark is bound to my soul. You can't take it. If you kill me, you'll lose the Allspark too."
"Ridiculous. Who do you think you are? How could a weak creature from the multiverse be qualified to perfectly merge with a unique item?" Dormammu scoffed. This time, he directly ripped Tony's soul out.
The body, deprived of its soul, lost all its power. It withered and fell limply to the ground. Dormammu didn't even spare it a glance, his entire focus fixed on Tony.
"I will show you how the great Dormammu will devour you, and how I will obtain that artifact!"
(end of chapter)
