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Chapter 282: Pressure
2022-10-19 Author: Great Demon Spirit
When a preoccupied Tony returned to Kamar-Taj, Wong had already summoned all the Kamar-Taj Mages. They were standing by, on high alert. Many Defensive Magic spells had already been activated, and they were tensely poised to attack the Outsiders at any moment.
"Tony, are you alright?" The portly Wong, now in a different set of clothes, asked with delight the moment he saw Tony. His small eyes, however, betrayed a chilling Killing Intent.
"I'm fine. Everyone, relax. That guy has already left and won't return to Earth without my permission," Tony said with a wave of his hand, suppressing his inner turmoil and forcing a smile.
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, their expressions relaxing.
Many of the Mages didn't even know what had happened, or who the enemy was.
"As expected of the Sorcerer Supreme, protecting Earth once again," someone praised, looking at Tony with reverence.
It was a respect and awe that came from the heart.
Over the past year, Tony's importance had steadily grown in their minds. Having ascended to the position of Sorcerer Supreme with the terrifying accomplishment of having "Enslaved Dormammu," Tony started from a high position. Coupled with a style far colder and more iron-fisted than the Ancient One's, he was equally respected, though not as close with the many lower-ranking Mages.
The Ancient One had been kind to every Mage in Kamar-Taj, but Tony didn't have the patience for friendly chats with each and every one of them. He had a mountain of Magic to study and simply didn't have enough time.
After the crowd dispersed, only a few people remained, waiting for Tony.
"Who exactly was that young man?" Wong asked in a low voice, a hint of gritted teeth in his tone that made Mordo and Tony look at him in surprise.
"A High-Dimensional Lifeform from the Fifth Dimension, name's Mr. Mxyzptlk. He loves playing pranks. I used a little trick to chase him off. He won't be back without my permission."
Tony patted Wong's shoulder. Although he didn't know what stories Mr. Mxyzptlk had concocted about Wong, he knew that being on the receiving end of one of his pranks was certainly not a pleasant experience.
Tony told them about his confrontation with Mr. Mxyzptlk. After they had talked for a while, the others left one by one, leaving only Wanda behind.
The young woman had changed into a new set of clothes at some point and was looking at Tony with gratitude.
"Thank you so much for this time..." Wanda said softly, the red on her lips looking quite alluring.
But Tony was under immense pressure and in no mood to pay attention to such things. He just waved his hand dismissively and smiled nonchalantly. "What's there to thank? As the Sorcerer Supreme, dealing with Interdimensional Beings is my duty. I have to protect this planet until the Ancient One returns."
"Oh," Wanda replied. Staring at Tony's smiling face, she keenly sensed that something was off. Hiding an unexplainable feeling, she asked, "Did something happen?"
"What? No, the business with Mr. Mxyzptlk is over. To put it bluntly, he's just a child with a low IQ who's more interested in playing around than anything else. You don't have to worry about him coming after you again."
"But you seem to be in a bad mood."
"How could I be? The more people I meet, the more I realize my own weakness."
Tony's words were tinged with bitterness, but they were from the heart.
Mr. Mxyzptlk was powerful, yet in the Fifth Dimension, he was just an ordinary member.
And the Fifth Dimension was just one of many powerful domains within the boundless Sphere of the Gods. There were far too many worlds more terrifying than the Fifth Dimension.
Just when Tony had been feeling complacent about his Demigod strength and joyful about enslaving Dormammu, a grander and more dangerous world had slowly begun to open its doors.
Wanda wanted to ask more, but Tony cut her off. He needed time to think and didn't want to talk any longer. He raised his hands and placed them on Wanda's shoulders, joking, "Is that a new dress? It's very beautiful, suits you well. Maybe you could try a white one sometime, instead of always sticking with red."
With that, Tony hurried away.
Wanda stared blankly at his retreating back, then looked down at her new red coat, lost in thought.
Tony was deeply worried. He hadn't told anyone about Doomsday, because Mordo and the others had no idea how terrifying it was. Even if they knew, there was nothing they could do to stop it.
Doomsday, the magnum opus of Kryptonian scientists from the Primordial Era, possessed unparalleled Potential and an unstoppable capacity for destruction.
Kryptonians were powerful; they could become Demigods just by basking in the Sun. But their fatal weaknesses also made them incredibly fragile.
Their fear of Kryptonite was one thing, as the substance was relatively rare. But their extremely low resistance to Magic was terrifying. Any second-rate Mage could cast an Area-of-Effect Magic spell and wipe out a whole group of Kryptonians. Their absolute susceptibility to Mental Magic made the otherwise mighty Kryptonians seem utterly weak.
The leaders of the Kryptonians had long studied this Racial Weakness, attempting to solve the tricky problem at the genetic level.
A problem with the Gene must be solved by genetic means.
After a long period of research during the Primordial Era, when Universes in the Omni-Sphere World were still incredibly scarce, a Kryptonian scientist in an ancient, primitive Universe finally developed a new Gene Chain. It could completely compensate for the Racial Weakness and even take it a step further, making the entire Kryptonian race more perfect.
The new Kryptonian created using this Gene Chain would later become Doomsday.
But in the final stage, the Gene Chain mutated, and the massive, hideous Monster, Doomsday, was born.
Doomsday destroyed that Universe's Krypton, then destroyed the Universe itself, and ultimately vanished without a trace.
The real Doomsday was nothing like the nerfed movie version that Lex Luthor created from his own blood and General Zod's corpse—a pathetic creature that was actually killed by a Kryptonite spear.
The Doomsday born in the Primordial Era had the trait of "not being killed by the same method twice," as well as "infinite regeneration."
Doomsday was immune to Kryptonite and Magic, had no weaknesses whatsoever, and his Solar Absorption and infinite Potential allowed his Power to grow wildly every single second.
Even if a Powerhouse managed to kill Doomsday by some fluke, Doomsday would quickly resurrect and become immune to the method used to kill him.
What was even more troublesome was that Doomsday was truly immortal, no matter how you tried to kill it. Forget about reducing it to a single cell; even if it was reduced to a single Quark, or a particle smaller than a Quark, Doomsday could resurrect right on the spot to show you!
Even if the Universe exploded or the Multiverse collapsed, Doomsday could still resurrect!
And then it would become stronger, from that point on immune to the damage of a universal explosion!
That damn beast was unreasonably strong!
What's more, Mr. Mxyzptlk had told Tony that Doomsday was not far from this Universe. One can only imagine the pressure Tony was under.
God knows how many times Doomsday had been killed during its conquest of the Multiverse, and how many types of attacks it was now immune to!
Tony even suspected that if Doomsday just stood there and let him attack, the current Tony couldn't even harm a single hair on its body.
Tony walked straight to the Magic Prison, arguably the most terrifying Prison on Earth. Its security level exceeded that of A.R.G.U.S.'s The Circus by countless orders of magnitude.
Walking inside, he found it was very empty. The Prison, which once held all sorts of creatures, was now devoid of life.
Almost all of them had been killed after Tony took over as Sorcerer Supreme.
Tony had ordered the deaths of the many creatures here, even skipping the process of Judgment for their Sins.
In the entire Prison, only one being remained.
Dormammu.
The master of the Dark Dimension, the arrogant Monarch, was now tightly bound as a Soul in a narrow cell. He watched coldly as Tony approached.
It was only natural for Dormammu to hate Tony. Tony had taken everything from him, and after being repeatedly outmaneuvered, even he himself had shamefully become Tony's Slave.
"I've been wondering how long you'd keep me locked up before coming to see me," Dormammu said, his eyes filled with ferocity and cruelty.
In the past, the Dark Lord had destroyed countless planets and killed untold billions of creatures. Slaughter had become his instinct.
"So, how does it feel? Ascending to your position by stepping on me? I bet the entire Universe celebrated you. Even from this Prison, I can hear the praises of countless Reptiles for you. They chant the name of their savior, Tony, grateful that the savior defeated the Demon and saved them," Dormammu said in a low voice, his tone dripping with mockery and ridicule.
Tony walked to the door, used a complex Magic spell, and opened the cell with a loud bang. He spoke as he did, "It's alright. Too much praise gets boring after a while... Dormammu, care to chat?"
"Hmph, ridiculous. Do I have a choice?" Dormammu scoffed, feeling the binding force of the Contract on his Soul.
Tony's face darkened. He shot his head up and said coldly, "Dormammu, if I hear one more sarcastic piece of nonsense from your mouth, I'll kill you right now! Don't think I can't do it!"
At that moment, Tony's eyes were bloodshot, and his mood was incredibly volatile. His chilling tone carried an undisguised Killing Intent.
The Power from the Hell Contract caused Dormammu's Soul to feel intense pain, even emitting black smoke as if it were being burned.
"What's wrong with you? Have you gone mad?" Dormammu raged. "You used me as a stepping stone to get everything you never dared to dream of, rising from a Reptile to the Sorcerer Supreme, and you won't even let me complain a little?"
Tony looked at Dormammu coldly, feeling no emotion. A year ago, being able to Enslave Dormammu and watch him suffer in helpless rage would have brought him great pleasure.
But right now, he had no interest in that.
Tony plopped down on the floor and gestured to Dormammu. He placed two teacups and a teapot on the ground and said, "Come on, let's have a chat. Thinking about it, we've never really had a proper talk, master and Slave."
Dormammu wanted to explode with rage right then and there. The phrase "master and Slave" deeply wounded his proud heart.
(end of chapter)
2022-10-19 Author: Great Demon Spirit
When a preoccupied Tony returned to Kamar-Taj, Wong had already summoned all the Kamar-Taj Mages. They were standing by, on high alert. Many Defensive Magic spells had already been activated, and they were tensely poised to attack the Outsiders at any moment.
"Tony, are you alright?" The portly Wong, now in a different set of clothes, asked with delight the moment he saw Tony. His small eyes, however, betrayed a chilling Killing Intent.
"I'm fine. Everyone, relax. That guy has already left and won't return to Earth without my permission," Tony said with a wave of his hand, suppressing his inner turmoil and forcing a smile.
Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, their expressions relaxing.
Many of the Mages didn't even know what had happened, or who the enemy was.
"As expected of the Sorcerer Supreme, protecting Earth once again," someone praised, looking at Tony with reverence.
It was a respect and awe that came from the heart.
Over the past year, Tony's importance had steadily grown in their minds. Having ascended to the position of Sorcerer Supreme with the terrifying accomplishment of having "Enslaved Dormammu," Tony started from a high position. Coupled with a style far colder and more iron-fisted than the Ancient One's, he was equally respected, though not as close with the many lower-ranking Mages.
The Ancient One had been kind to every Mage in Kamar-Taj, but Tony didn't have the patience for friendly chats with each and every one of them. He had a mountain of Magic to study and simply didn't have enough time.
After the crowd dispersed, only a few people remained, waiting for Tony.
"Who exactly was that young man?" Wong asked in a low voice, a hint of gritted teeth in his tone that made Mordo and Tony look at him in surprise.
"A High-Dimensional Lifeform from the Fifth Dimension, name's Mr. Mxyzptlk. He loves playing pranks. I used a little trick to chase him off. He won't be back without my permission."
Tony patted Wong's shoulder. Although he didn't know what stories Mr. Mxyzptlk had concocted about Wong, he knew that being on the receiving end of one of his pranks was certainly not a pleasant experience.
Tony told them about his confrontation with Mr. Mxyzptlk. After they had talked for a while, the others left one by one, leaving only Wanda behind.
The young woman had changed into a new set of clothes at some point and was looking at Tony with gratitude.
"Thank you so much for this time..." Wanda said softly, the red on her lips looking quite alluring.
But Tony was under immense pressure and in no mood to pay attention to such things. He just waved his hand dismissively and smiled nonchalantly. "What's there to thank? As the Sorcerer Supreme, dealing with Interdimensional Beings is my duty. I have to protect this planet until the Ancient One returns."
"Oh," Wanda replied. Staring at Tony's smiling face, she keenly sensed that something was off. Hiding an unexplainable feeling, she asked, "Did something happen?"
"What? No, the business with Mr. Mxyzptlk is over. To put it bluntly, he's just a child with a low IQ who's more interested in playing around than anything else. You don't have to worry about him coming after you again."
"But you seem to be in a bad mood."
"How could I be? The more people I meet, the more I realize my own weakness."
Tony's words were tinged with bitterness, but they were from the heart.
Mr. Mxyzptlk was powerful, yet in the Fifth Dimension, he was just an ordinary member.
And the Fifth Dimension was just one of many powerful domains within the boundless Sphere of the Gods. There were far too many worlds more terrifying than the Fifth Dimension.
Just when Tony had been feeling complacent about his Demigod strength and joyful about enslaving Dormammu, a grander and more dangerous world had slowly begun to open its doors.
Wanda wanted to ask more, but Tony cut her off. He needed time to think and didn't want to talk any longer. He raised his hands and placed them on Wanda's shoulders, joking, "Is that a new dress? It's very beautiful, suits you well. Maybe you could try a white one sometime, instead of always sticking with red."
With that, Tony hurried away.
Wanda stared blankly at his retreating back, then looked down at her new red coat, lost in thought.
Tony was deeply worried. He hadn't told anyone about Doomsday, because Mordo and the others had no idea how terrifying it was. Even if they knew, there was nothing they could do to stop it.
Doomsday, the magnum opus of Kryptonian scientists from the Primordial Era, possessed unparalleled Potential and an unstoppable capacity for destruction.
Kryptonians were powerful; they could become Demigods just by basking in the Sun. But their fatal weaknesses also made them incredibly fragile.
Their fear of Kryptonite was one thing, as the substance was relatively rare. But their extremely low resistance to Magic was terrifying. Any second-rate Mage could cast an Area-of-Effect Magic spell and wipe out a whole group of Kryptonians. Their absolute susceptibility to Mental Magic made the otherwise mighty Kryptonians seem utterly weak.
The leaders of the Kryptonians had long studied this Racial Weakness, attempting to solve the tricky problem at the genetic level.
A problem with the Gene must be solved by genetic means.
After a long period of research during the Primordial Era, when Universes in the Omni-Sphere World were still incredibly scarce, a Kryptonian scientist in an ancient, primitive Universe finally developed a new Gene Chain. It could completely compensate for the Racial Weakness and even take it a step further, making the entire Kryptonian race more perfect.
The new Kryptonian created using this Gene Chain would later become Doomsday.
But in the final stage, the Gene Chain mutated, and the massive, hideous Monster, Doomsday, was born.
Doomsday destroyed that Universe's Krypton, then destroyed the Universe itself, and ultimately vanished without a trace.
The real Doomsday was nothing like the nerfed movie version that Lex Luthor created from his own blood and General Zod's corpse—a pathetic creature that was actually killed by a Kryptonite spear.
The Doomsday born in the Primordial Era had the trait of "not being killed by the same method twice," as well as "infinite regeneration."
Doomsday was immune to Kryptonite and Magic, had no weaknesses whatsoever, and his Solar Absorption and infinite Potential allowed his Power to grow wildly every single second.
Even if a Powerhouse managed to kill Doomsday by some fluke, Doomsday would quickly resurrect and become immune to the method used to kill him.
What was even more troublesome was that Doomsday was truly immortal, no matter how you tried to kill it. Forget about reducing it to a single cell; even if it was reduced to a single Quark, or a particle smaller than a Quark, Doomsday could resurrect right on the spot to show you!
Even if the Universe exploded or the Multiverse collapsed, Doomsday could still resurrect!
And then it would become stronger, from that point on immune to the damage of a universal explosion!
That damn beast was unreasonably strong!
What's more, Mr. Mxyzptlk had told Tony that Doomsday was not far from this Universe. One can only imagine the pressure Tony was under.
God knows how many times Doomsday had been killed during its conquest of the Multiverse, and how many types of attacks it was now immune to!
Tony even suspected that if Doomsday just stood there and let him attack, the current Tony couldn't even harm a single hair on its body.
Tony walked straight to the Magic Prison, arguably the most terrifying Prison on Earth. Its security level exceeded that of A.R.G.U.S.'s The Circus by countless orders of magnitude.
Walking inside, he found it was very empty. The Prison, which once held all sorts of creatures, was now devoid of life.
Almost all of them had been killed after Tony took over as Sorcerer Supreme.
Tony had ordered the deaths of the many creatures here, even skipping the process of Judgment for their Sins.
In the entire Prison, only one being remained.
Dormammu.
The master of the Dark Dimension, the arrogant Monarch, was now tightly bound as a Soul in a narrow cell. He watched coldly as Tony approached.
It was only natural for Dormammu to hate Tony. Tony had taken everything from him, and after being repeatedly outmaneuvered, even he himself had shamefully become Tony's Slave.
"I've been wondering how long you'd keep me locked up before coming to see me," Dormammu said, his eyes filled with ferocity and cruelty.
In the past, the Dark Lord had destroyed countless planets and killed untold billions of creatures. Slaughter had become his instinct.
"So, how does it feel? Ascending to your position by stepping on me? I bet the entire Universe celebrated you. Even from this Prison, I can hear the praises of countless Reptiles for you. They chant the name of their savior, Tony, grateful that the savior defeated the Demon and saved them," Dormammu said in a low voice, his tone dripping with mockery and ridicule.
Tony walked to the door, used a complex Magic spell, and opened the cell with a loud bang. He spoke as he did, "It's alright. Too much praise gets boring after a while... Dormammu, care to chat?"
"Hmph, ridiculous. Do I have a choice?" Dormammu scoffed, feeling the binding force of the Contract on his Soul.
Tony's face darkened. He shot his head up and said coldly, "Dormammu, if I hear one more sarcastic piece of nonsense from your mouth, I'll kill you right now! Don't think I can't do it!"
At that moment, Tony's eyes were bloodshot, and his mood was incredibly volatile. His chilling tone carried an undisguised Killing Intent.
The Power from the Hell Contract caused Dormammu's Soul to feel intense pain, even emitting black smoke as if it were being burned.
"What's wrong with you? Have you gone mad?" Dormammu raged. "You used me as a stepping stone to get everything you never dared to dream of, rising from a Reptile to the Sorcerer Supreme, and you won't even let me complain a little?"
Tony looked at Dormammu coldly, feeling no emotion. A year ago, being able to Enslave Dormammu and watch him suffer in helpless rage would have brought him great pleasure.
But right now, he had no interest in that.
Tony plopped down on the floor and gestured to Dormammu. He placed two teacups and a teapot on the ground and said, "Come on, let's have a chat. Thinking about it, we've never really had a proper talk, master and Slave."
Dormammu wanted to explode with rage right then and there. The phrase "master and Slave" deeply wounded his proud heart.
(end of chapter)
