…the altar's automatic defense mechanism!" Strange stepped forward at once. The Eye Of Agamotto opened, and the Time Stone's power flowed out, trying to slow—even reverse—the ritual's progression.
But the remaining force embedded in the ceremony was vast, and it was directly linked to a higher-dimensional existence. The Time Stone met fierce interference and resistance, its effect greatly diminished.
The dark believers around the altar noticed the intruders. Yet they didn't stop chanting—instead, they grew even more fanatical. Some of them rose to their feet, turned toward Saitama and the others, and their eyes burned with mad crimson light as they began hurling dark spells to block any interference.
At the same time, above the altar, the pharaoh mummy at the center suddenly snapped its eyes open.
The eerie green flames in its sockets were gone—replaced by two bottomless black vortices that looked capable of swallowing all light. It opened its mouth and let out a warped, inhuman roar. A crushing dark pressure spread outward like a tangible wave, making the entire cavern tremble.
It was waking up. The ritual had reached its most critical moment.
"We have to destroy the altar or cut off their energy supply!" Strange shouted, even as he fought off the believers' attacks.
"I'll handle the chanting freaks!" Saitama charged straight at the believers responsible for defense. His method was as simple and direct as ever—ignoring every incoming spell, punching one after another. Each believer went flying, along with their protective magic, as he rapidly cleared the space around the altar and opened a path for Strange and Wanda to get closer.
Wanda locked onto the corrupted Solar Golden Scripture floating above the altar.
"That book is one of the core mediums!" She gathered every ounce of focus, hands clawing at the air as her chaos magic surged—trying to forcibly peel the darkness off the scripture, even to shatter it outright.
Strange, meanwhile, poured everything into disrupting the altar's energy circulation. He slammed powerful white magic into the rune nodes, and with the Time Stone he repeatedly tried to freeze the key segments of the ritual.
Hawkeye and Spider-Man fought on the flanks, holding off the mummy soldiers and dark scarab swarms that kept spilling out from shadows and corners, stopping them from getting close enough to interfere with Strange or Wanda.
The scene devolved into total chaos.
Magic light flashed wildly. Explosions, roars, chanting, and impacts overlapped into one relentless storm. The cavern shook like it was about to collapse, stone chunks constantly breaking loose and crashing down from the ceiling.
Just as Saitama was about to finish clearing the believers around the altar…
The nearly-awakened pharaoh mummy above the altar underwent a horrifying mutation.
Its body swelled and twisted violently. Endless dark energy surged in from the far side of the dimensional passage and poured into it. Its form began to change—bandages ripping apart, transforming into a savage suit of black armor. Its body stretched, growing claws and bone spines. Its head warped and reshaped, becoming a monstrous visage somewhere between human, lion, and scorpion—
The dark demon god's manifestation in this dimension.
Even though it was only a newly formed avatar, the sheer power it radiated made everyone except Saitama struggle to breathe, their souls trembling under the pressure.
"Foolish mortals! You dare obstruct a great descent?!" The avatar's voice overlapped and distorted, like multiple throats roaring at once.
It lifted a claw and slashed.
A space-rending dark energy blade tore forward, aimed straight at Wanda as she tried to destroy the scripture!
(End of Chapter)
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