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Chapter 410: Old Thing, How Dare You Collect Me?
"On that day, despair descended! I fought a bloody battle, destroying countless galaxies and even shattering the barrier at the edge of the Universe before I finally annihilated that demon!"
Dormammu's tone grew more intense, as if he was truly getting into character. Facing the ever-growing crowd, his voice gradually became impassioned!
"So, the legends are true? You defeated Trigon and saved our universe? Oh, I'm a reporter from the Kree Empire." A blue-skinned Kree, his eyes shining, held up a camera-like device and started filming.
Hearing the words "Kree Empire," Dormammu's mouth twitched.
The Kree are so close to Earth. There won't be any accidents, will there...?
After a moment's thought, Dormammu put on a pained expression and said, "It wasn't just me. In truth, I had a helper. Perhaps some of you have heard of him—he is the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, my faithful servant, the master of Kamar-Taj, Tony!"
"What? Kamar-Taj? The Sorcerer Supreme? Isn't he the master of the second—no, the number one Magic Sacred Land in the Universe now? He's actually Lord Dormammu's servant?! I remember now! A few years ago, someone said Lord Dormammu was... by the Sorcerer Supreme... So it was just a rumor!"
A knowledgeable person in the crowd couldn't help but scream out loud!
Agalas Sanctuary was destroyed by Trigon, and all its sorcerers were slaughtered. So Kamar-Taj naturally became the number one Sacred Land, though few people knew about it.
"Yes, that's him. On that day, he loyally followed me, and we fought together against Trigon, that demon from Hell. But what I never expected was..."
At this point, Dormammu's face filled with pain, helplessness, and regret—a storm of complex emotions rising within him.
"I never expected him to betray me! He shamefully ran away!!! He disgracefully fled into the Dark Dimension, but I didn't pursue him. I let him live. After all, the enemy was a being like Trigon; it's normal to feel fear..."
Dormammu said, overcome with grief.
The people were stunned. After a few seconds of silence, they all erupted in curses!
Ninety-nine percent of the crowd was swept up by the emotion, believing his story. Only a tiny minority were actually cursing Dormammu himself. Words like "shameless" and "liar" were instantly drowned out by the raging tide of curses from the crowd.
"Despicable bastard! How is he worthy of the title Sorcerer Supreme? Ptooey! Running away in the face of a great enemy!"
"He's truly sullied the name. Kamar-Taj? The Universe's Magic Sacred Land? Garbage! With a Sorcerer like that as its leader, I bet it's filled with a bunch of cowardly weaklings who cling to life!"
"Only Lord Dormammu is a true hero!"
The people lavished him with praise.
Dormammu was ecstatic inside, especially hearing this crowd curse his mortal enemy, Tony, from the bottom of their hearts. That's right, his mortal enemy was no longer the Ancient One. Tony had successfully taken the Ancient One's place to become Dormammu's lifelong nemesis.
As he thought this, a grave expression appeared on Dormammu's face, as if the past was too painful to recall. This expression, rich with interpretable meaning, further incensed the crowd. Someone directly threatened to go to Earth and "do a job" to teach the Sorcerer Supreme and Kamar-Taj a lesson!
No one doubted it, because few who came to Nowhere had clean hands. Every one of them had blood on their hands. This place was a paradise for bounty hunters, mercenaries, criminals, and opportunists!
That tiny minority of people, however, were truly dumbfounded. They knew exactly what kind of scoundrel Dormammu was, and after hearing his "emotional" speech, they were completely bewildered, even starting to question their own existence.
Is this fucking Dormammu? The shameless, despicable, ferocious, star-destroying Dormammu?!
How did he suddenly become a savior?
A young girl, having heard Dormammu's words, exuded a subtle demonic aura. A fierce light shone in her eyes, and a powerful, evil magic slowly began to brew. It looked as though she was about to blast that bastard Dormammu.
Beneath an incredibly large hood, a face was revealed. It appeared pure and clear, but was in fact an illusion simulated with magic. Hidden behind that magic, four crimson eyes glowed with a vicious light.
Just as she was about to act, the white-robed Elder beside her stopped her, gently shaking his head.
The little girl mumbled a few words and was pulled away by The Elder.
"Why did you stop me? The two of us together can definitely kill him!"
"Because it's not necessary, child." The Elder smiled, his wrinkled face looking incredibly ancient. "Our main task is to wait for Tony to awaken. If we act rashly, we will only attract Dormammu's attention. If he discovers us and takes the opportunity to attack the slumbering Tony, it would be disastrous. After all, there is no small amount of enmity between those two."
After a pause, The Elder advised, "Raven, you need to restrain your ferocity. I don't want you to lose your sanity to the demonic bloodline within you."
"I know, I know..." Raven muttered, raising a hand to roughly pull her hood further down over her head, as if to vent her frustration.
The Elder wore a kind smile, but in unguarded moments, one could see the trace of heartfelt sorrow and pain.
Agalas Sanctuary, the place he had fought for his entire life... was gone!
The students he had personally taught, their smiles still vivid in his memory... but everything had been destroyed by Trigon, all of it buried in fire and magma.
Sometimes, The Elder truly felt that being alive was an immense torment. Everyone else was dead, only he remained... Alone, bearing endless pain and regret, living like an ant that had stolen its life.
The Elder looked up again at Raven, who was sullenly kicking a small stone on the path, and a smile touched his lips. This child, Raven, was now the one who gave him the strength to carry on.
Although she was the descendant of Trigon, she had a gentle temperament and yearned for light and hope.
"Come back, Raven." The Elder beckoned, smilingly calling back the little girl who was currently beating up a passerby.
Under the brilliant lights, the old man and the little girl supported each other as they walked forward.
Only the pitiful passerby was left behind. He had merely glanced at Raven a couple of times, only to be grabbed and beaten by her. Now he sat on the ground, wanting to cry but having no tears left.
Raven and The Elder were waiting in Nowhere, day after day, for Tony to awaken.
It couldn't be helped. Although Tony's current situation was not good, and he might be furious when he woke up, it had to be said that this was a rare, safe place.
...
In a vast Collection Vault in Nowhere, its master, Collector Tivan, was enthusiastically showing his collectibles to his visitors.
Walking past one display case after another, showcasing rare creatures—some even extinct in the Universe—Tivan talked endlessly, introducing his prized possessions to his guests.
"Everyone, what I am about to show you next is my most precious treasure!" The Collector's face was full of pride, his body trembling slightly with excitement as he fanatically presented the final collectible to his guests.
"He is an unknown, powerful being! He has an unimaginably miraculous structure. The magnetic field and life force within his body are beyond even my own! But for some unknown reason, he has fallen into a deep sleep. I am most honored to present him to our guests from Asgard!"
The guests had been enthusiastically admiring the vast collection, but when they saw the final piece, their expressions turned strange, even bizarre.
They looked at each other in dismay. Then, the expression of the female warrior leading them shifted. She gave The Collector a peculiar look and pointed to the cryo-chamber, which was sealed and frozen at absolute zero.
"Are you sure he's secure?"
"Oh, my beautiful lady, rest assured. He was already unconscious. His central processor seems to have been damaged, and I have already sealed him off with my powerful technology!"
The Collector rambled on, "This is a super-technology I developed. No one can break free from it..."
The words had barely left his mouth, and before Tivan's arrogant expression could fade, a hand like steel suddenly punched out from the cryo-chamber. The horrifyingly hard glass was pierced by the palm as if it were a sheet of paper.
In a voice that seemed to come from Hell itself, laced with suppressed killing intent:
"Old thing, how dare you collect me?"
(end of chapter)
"On that day, despair descended! I fought a bloody battle, destroying countless galaxies and even shattering the barrier at the edge of the Universe before I finally annihilated that demon!"
Dormammu's tone grew more intense, as if he was truly getting into character. Facing the ever-growing crowd, his voice gradually became impassioned!
"So, the legends are true? You defeated Trigon and saved our universe? Oh, I'm a reporter from the Kree Empire." A blue-skinned Kree, his eyes shining, held up a camera-like device and started filming.
Hearing the words "Kree Empire," Dormammu's mouth twitched.
The Kree are so close to Earth. There won't be any accidents, will there...?
After a moment's thought, Dormammu put on a pained expression and said, "It wasn't just me. In truth, I had a helper. Perhaps some of you have heard of him—he is the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, my faithful servant, the master of Kamar-Taj, Tony!"
"What? Kamar-Taj? The Sorcerer Supreme? Isn't he the master of the second—no, the number one Magic Sacred Land in the Universe now? He's actually Lord Dormammu's servant?! I remember now! A few years ago, someone said Lord Dormammu was... by the Sorcerer Supreme... So it was just a rumor!"
A knowledgeable person in the crowd couldn't help but scream out loud!
Agalas Sanctuary was destroyed by Trigon, and all its sorcerers were slaughtered. So Kamar-Taj naturally became the number one Sacred Land, though few people knew about it.
"Yes, that's him. On that day, he loyally followed me, and we fought together against Trigon, that demon from Hell. But what I never expected was..."
At this point, Dormammu's face filled with pain, helplessness, and regret—a storm of complex emotions rising within him.
"I never expected him to betray me! He shamefully ran away!!! He disgracefully fled into the Dark Dimension, but I didn't pursue him. I let him live. After all, the enemy was a being like Trigon; it's normal to feel fear..."
Dormammu said, overcome with grief.
The people were stunned. After a few seconds of silence, they all erupted in curses!
Ninety-nine percent of the crowd was swept up by the emotion, believing his story. Only a tiny minority were actually cursing Dormammu himself. Words like "shameless" and "liar" were instantly drowned out by the raging tide of curses from the crowd.
"Despicable bastard! How is he worthy of the title Sorcerer Supreme? Ptooey! Running away in the face of a great enemy!"
"He's truly sullied the name. Kamar-Taj? The Universe's Magic Sacred Land? Garbage! With a Sorcerer like that as its leader, I bet it's filled with a bunch of cowardly weaklings who cling to life!"
"Only Lord Dormammu is a true hero!"
The people lavished him with praise.
Dormammu was ecstatic inside, especially hearing this crowd curse his mortal enemy, Tony, from the bottom of their hearts. That's right, his mortal enemy was no longer the Ancient One. Tony had successfully taken the Ancient One's place to become Dormammu's lifelong nemesis.
As he thought this, a grave expression appeared on Dormammu's face, as if the past was too painful to recall. This expression, rich with interpretable meaning, further incensed the crowd. Someone directly threatened to go to Earth and "do a job" to teach the Sorcerer Supreme and Kamar-Taj a lesson!
No one doubted it, because few who came to Nowhere had clean hands. Every one of them had blood on their hands. This place was a paradise for bounty hunters, mercenaries, criminals, and opportunists!
That tiny minority of people, however, were truly dumbfounded. They knew exactly what kind of scoundrel Dormammu was, and after hearing his "emotional" speech, they were completely bewildered, even starting to question their own existence.
Is this fucking Dormammu? The shameless, despicable, ferocious, star-destroying Dormammu?!
How did he suddenly become a savior?
A young girl, having heard Dormammu's words, exuded a subtle demonic aura. A fierce light shone in her eyes, and a powerful, evil magic slowly began to brew. It looked as though she was about to blast that bastard Dormammu.
Beneath an incredibly large hood, a face was revealed. It appeared pure and clear, but was in fact an illusion simulated with magic. Hidden behind that magic, four crimson eyes glowed with a vicious light.
Just as she was about to act, the white-robed Elder beside her stopped her, gently shaking his head.
The little girl mumbled a few words and was pulled away by The Elder.
"Why did you stop me? The two of us together can definitely kill him!"
"Because it's not necessary, child." The Elder smiled, his wrinkled face looking incredibly ancient. "Our main task is to wait for Tony to awaken. If we act rashly, we will only attract Dormammu's attention. If he discovers us and takes the opportunity to attack the slumbering Tony, it would be disastrous. After all, there is no small amount of enmity between those two."
After a pause, The Elder advised, "Raven, you need to restrain your ferocity. I don't want you to lose your sanity to the demonic bloodline within you."
"I know, I know..." Raven muttered, raising a hand to roughly pull her hood further down over her head, as if to vent her frustration.
The Elder wore a kind smile, but in unguarded moments, one could see the trace of heartfelt sorrow and pain.
Agalas Sanctuary, the place he had fought for his entire life... was gone!
The students he had personally taught, their smiles still vivid in his memory... but everything had been destroyed by Trigon, all of it buried in fire and magma.
Sometimes, The Elder truly felt that being alive was an immense torment. Everyone else was dead, only he remained... Alone, bearing endless pain and regret, living like an ant that had stolen its life.
The Elder looked up again at Raven, who was sullenly kicking a small stone on the path, and a smile touched his lips. This child, Raven, was now the one who gave him the strength to carry on.
Although she was the descendant of Trigon, she had a gentle temperament and yearned for light and hope.
"Come back, Raven." The Elder beckoned, smilingly calling back the little girl who was currently beating up a passerby.
Under the brilliant lights, the old man and the little girl supported each other as they walked forward.
Only the pitiful passerby was left behind. He had merely glanced at Raven a couple of times, only to be grabbed and beaten by her. Now he sat on the ground, wanting to cry but having no tears left.
Raven and The Elder were waiting in Nowhere, day after day, for Tony to awaken.
It couldn't be helped. Although Tony's current situation was not good, and he might be furious when he woke up, it had to be said that this was a rare, safe place.
...
In a vast Collection Vault in Nowhere, its master, Collector Tivan, was enthusiastically showing his collectibles to his visitors.
Walking past one display case after another, showcasing rare creatures—some even extinct in the Universe—Tivan talked endlessly, introducing his prized possessions to his guests.
"Everyone, what I am about to show you next is my most precious treasure!" The Collector's face was full of pride, his body trembling slightly with excitement as he fanatically presented the final collectible to his guests.
"He is an unknown, powerful being! He has an unimaginably miraculous structure. The magnetic field and life force within his body are beyond even my own! But for some unknown reason, he has fallen into a deep sleep. I am most honored to present him to our guests from Asgard!"
The guests had been enthusiastically admiring the vast collection, but when they saw the final piece, their expressions turned strange, even bizarre.
They looked at each other in dismay. Then, the expression of the female warrior leading them shifted. She gave The Collector a peculiar look and pointed to the cryo-chamber, which was sealed and frozen at absolute zero.
"Are you sure he's secure?"
"Oh, my beautiful lady, rest assured. He was already unconscious. His central processor seems to have been damaged, and I have already sealed him off with my powerful technology!"
The Collector rambled on, "This is a super-technology I developed. No one can break free from it..."
The words had barely left his mouth, and before Tivan's arrogant expression could fade, a hand like steel suddenly punched out from the cryo-chamber. The horrifyingly hard glass was pierced by the palm as if it were a sheet of paper.
In a voice that seemed to come from Hell itself, laced with suppressed killing intent:
"Old thing, how dare you collect me?"
(end of chapter)
