Chapter 260: Tony is an Alternative "Unique" Being! (Two-in-One Chapter)
Ultimately, Azazel chose to compromise. What he was plotting behind those eyes, which flickered with insidious cunning, was anyone's guess.
They both knew this alliance was a matter of convenience, born from mutual interest. Once that critical point was reached, it was only a matter of time before they turned on each other.
Tony wouldn't trust Azazel to lead the Demonic Mutants. Once Azazel's true body was free, his first choice would be to wait for an opportunity to kill Tony.
Credibility and such—such a ridiculous concept would never apply to a demon.
The two exchanged a few words with fake smiles, then both fell silent, turning their attention to the fierce battle ahead.
This was truly a terrifying battle.
Four Level Seven Archmages were fighting, and with the combined assault of a corps of over ten thousand elite Mage Corps, the resulting offensive was astonishing.
Every second, vast amounts of incredibly powerful Magic were unleashed. Countless planets were pulverized by the spells, and giant meteors filled the sky. In the Outside World, a single one of these could destroy a life planet.
In the face of Level Seven Combat Power, things like planets seemed incredibly fragile.
A casual wave of Space Magic from the Ancient One could shatter a planet in an instant. Shazam would periodically raise his Scepter and roar "Shazam!", combining the power of the Shazam Gods into a mighty magical Light Pillar to clash head-on with Dormammu. The Elder from the Agalas Sanctuary wielded an astonishingly lethal form of Sacred Magic, posing the greatest threat to Dormammu, who primarily used Dark Power.
The explosive roars and the Spatial Rifts that constantly tore open only to mend themselves again all pointed to the terrifying scale of this battle.
The arrival of Tony's army didn't even draw the slightest notice from Dormammu. The Transformer Legion still lacked a single unit with the Combat Power to contend with a Level Seven being, making them utterly insignificant in the eyes of the Dark Lord.
He roared, chanting various powerful Dark Magic spells and commanding terrifying Dark Power with every gesture. But under the siege of three Level Seven Archmages and the Universe's strongest Mage Corps, he could only barely defend himself, and it was taking a great toll.
Facing the Ancient One and Shazam, with the power of an entire world backing him, he could still hold the upper hand. Given enough time, destroying them both would be simple; his endless Dark Power was his greatest advantage.
But once the Agalas Sanctuary, a natural counter to darkness, joined the battle, the tables turned. Dormammu found himself completely suppressed, roaring endlessly at this unprecedentedly frustrating experience.
"Agalas Sanctuary! Why do you interfere in this internal struggle on Earth?" Dormammu questioned sharply, hoping to make them withdraw with his words.
He himself had once been a demigod-level sorcerer from Earth. To classify this battle as an Earth Civil War wasn't entirely wrong.
"The moment you manipulated the Dark Dimension to devour the first life planet, the nature of this matter changed," The Elder replied calmly. "If you are left alive, more innocent planets will only be destroyed."
Dormammu was furious. With a wave of his arm, a Dark Magic Disc radiating a malevolent Aura appeared, shattering a Sacred Magic spell that The Elder had unleashed.
The darkness was endless, but it could never suppress the white light that symbolized brightness and sanctity.
Dormammu's situation looked extremely perilous. From his planet-sized body, large chunks of Dark Matter were constantly being shattered and blasted away.
On the other side, Tony and Azazel watched cautiously.
"Let's get this straight. No matter how weakened Dormammu is, he's still a rare Archmage in this Universe. He could kill me with a single breath. And with space this chaotic, no one knows the location of the Dark core. Don't even think about making me scout ahead. If you do, I'll just leave."
Azazel stood beside Tony, his red face nearly black with anger. He was especially terrified seeing vast swathes of space being torn apart like toys.
This is outrageous. Even if my main body were here, a moment of carelessness would mean death.
"Don't worry. See that guy?" Tony frowned, then slowly relaxed, pointing to a sneaky, short figure at the edge of the battlefield.
The figure was very blurry, with a large head and a small body, looking quite comical.
"Who's that guy?" Azazel asked, looking confused.
"A Watcher," Tony answered. "A super-advanced race. Their people specialize in recording major events that occur in various Universes. They're especially enthusiastic about exciting events that can affect an entire Universe or even the whole Multiverse."
"People like that exist? What do they get out of it?" Azazel was clearly skeptical. This was too ridiculous.
"Ever heard of the hobby of watching the excitement unfold from the sidelines? It's like your hobby of having children with all sorts of women—it's an art form. The Watchers have a fanatical dedication to spectating," said Tony.
Azazel was speechless.
"Listen to me. The Watchers are all weaklings. Go over there right now, give his big head a good whack, and then tie him up and bring him here." Tony said shamelessly, coming up with another terrible idea. "Then, we'll strap a high-yield Nuclear Bomb to him, pick him up, and slam him hard into Dormammu."
The Watcher seemed to have heard them. He gave Tony and Azazel a particularly speechless look. The vast distance didn't seem to obscure his vision, and his small eyes revealed a mixture of amusement and strangeness.
Are the Watchers weaklings? Wrong. Most Watchers are at least at the Level Six standard.
"He's spotted you..." Azazel spread his hands. Thankfully, this plan, which was clearly designed to screw him over, sounded completely unreliable no matter how you looked at it.
"He can hear from that far away?" Tony was surprised, and could only pretend to look regretful as he reluctantly gave up on his now-defunct plan.
But inwardly, he was lost in thought.
Whether Dormammu lived or died was a big deal, but what was more important was who would end up with the Dark Dimension. Earth? The Agalas Sanctuary? Or those others lurking in the shadows...
This was also the issue the Watcher was paying attention to, as it was enough to affect the state of the Universe.
His gaze met Azazel's for an instant, then they both nonchalantly looked away. Tony secretly made a hand gesture at him... not the middle finger, of course.
They needed to wait patiently now. When Dormammu could no longer hold on, or was even killed, they would rush in to reap the rewards. With the Ancient One and Wizard Shazam holding the line, the Agalas Sanctuary would likely exercise some restraint as well.
Just then, Dormammu let out a roar that shattered space itself. One of his arms was ripped off by the Ancient One, and a massive amount of Dark Energy was destroyed. Although Dormammu could repair his body, it took time, and the rate at which he was losing power was far greater than his rate of recovery.
The Ancient One's face had grown cold and distant. She glanced, intentionally or not, at Tony, who was biding his time. Then, she blasted a powerful Magic Crystal Wall at Dormammu's head.
The Ancient One's incredibly powerful Magic slammed into Dormammu's head, causing him to let out a pained howl! Clear rifts began to appear on his massive skull, from which a torrent of Dark Energy suddenly erupted.
"Shazam!"
Wizard Shazam roared, joining forces with the Mage Corps of the Agalas Sanctuary. Together, they attacked Dormammu's head with an extremely powerful magical assault, causing the entire skull to explode with a deafening boom!
The immense Dark Power, having lost its core to control it, began to surge violently like a dark tide. Its extreme corrosiveness and its ability to erode the soul were enough to wash over weaker beings and turn them into mindless idiots.
A glint appeared in Tony's eyes. He yelled to Azazel, "Now! Teleport next to his head!"
Azazel said nothing, his ashen face filled with reluctance. He grabbed Tony's shoulder and, with a *pop*, teleported next to Dormammu's head.
After dropping Tony off, he decisively vanished and left.
Azazel's Spatial Abilities were far more convenient than Kamar-Taj's spatial portals. The entire process took less than half a second.
A suffocatingly dense energy slammed into Tony's Spirit and soul. His body began to resist instinctively, his flesh and blood desperately fighting against assimilation by the Dark Energy.
"What is this kid trying to do? Seize Dormammu's Darkness Power?" The Elder from the Agalas Sanctuary frowned deeply. "He'll die!"
The Ancient One and Shazam exchanged a look but said nothing.
This was the full burst of energy from just one of Dormammu's clones. If Tony couldn't even withstand the power of a clone, he could forget about mastering the core of the Dark Dimension.
"Prepare to face Dormammu's next body. He chose this path, so he must take the risk and endure it," the Ancient One said faintly.
"You're actually handing the Dark Dimension over to this kid?" The Elder looked with great interest at the black rune on the Ancient One's forehead, a symbol of Dark Power. "Why not take the Dark Dimension for yourself? It would be a better way to protect your planet, wouldn't it?"
The Ancient One remained silent, using Magic to shatter a few bodies that Dormammu had hastily cobbled together.
"You want this kid to seize my Dark Dimension?" Dormammu pieced together another body and hastily said before the Ancient One could strike.
If he didn't speak quickly, the Ancient One would shatter him again.
"This kid isn't even a demigod, are you sure he can handle it? The first time I came here, I thought I was going to die!" A piercing laugh erupted from Dormammu's one-meter-tall body. "Back then, I was a demigod! Even with my demigod soul, I was almost assimilated into a monster by the Dark Power!"
A hint of worry also appeared on Shazam's aged face. "Ancient One, are you certain he's qualified to possess the Dark Dimension? Even if he succeeds, can you guarantee he won't become the next Kaecilius?"
"He has ambition and courage, but the X-Gene within him has reached its limit. Level Four is the limit of his Gene," the Ancient One said faintly, her wise eyes having already seen through everything.
What she said was exactly what Tony himself feared. Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken this step so early and aimed directly for the Dark Dimension.
The Mutants are a fortunate group; they are born with incredible superpowers. But it is also a tragedy, as their future achievements are primarily determined by the potential of their X-Gene.
They are a people who live and die by the genetic lottery. A trash X-Gene means you'll stop at Level One or Two. A Level Four potential like Tony's is already extremely rare.
Tony suspected it, but he couldn't be sure.
But the Ancient One knew very well. Tony's X-Gene could bear the Allspark, but as the Allspark's abilities were continuously developed, the X-Gene would gradually become overburdened and eventually collapse completely. From his body to his soul, he would face utter annihilation.
It wasn't obvious now, but as long as Tony continued to develop his Allspark, even to the point of creating complete souls, the pressure on his X-Gene would grow greater and greater.
"That burning source within him is unique in the Multiverse," the Ancient One said softly.
That short sentence made The Elder and Shazam whip their heads around to look at her, their faces filled with utter shock and astonishment!
Dormammu instantly froze. His madness vanished as he stared at the Ancient One in disbelief.
At their level, they were all too aware of the Multiverse's ridiculous ability to replicate everything. They had even dealt with versions of themselves from Other Universes.
No matter what good thing was created, the moment it was discovered, the Multiverse would replicate it countless times. Innumerable newly-spawned Parallel Universes would then contain innumerable copies of that item.
"I've been lying to him, telling him that everything about him would be copied countless times by the Universe," the Ancient One's tone was flat. "But in reality, his Allspark possesses a 'Unique' attribute; it cannot be replicated. I have communicated with my counterparts from Other Universes, and there are indeed Doppelgangers of Tony over there."
"But, interestingly, all of those Tonys are dead. No matter the Universe, it seems the only fate for a Tony Doppelganger is death... with this Universe as the sole exception. This Tony is alive and well, and has even awakened the peculiar thing that is the Allspark—the Allspark is protecting him. That is the most likely conclusion I can draw."
"Is someone targeting this child, wiping out all his Doppelgangers across the Multiverse? But why... No, there's another possibility. Someone is trying to artificially push him to become 'Unique,' using the most troublesome method possible..." Shazam muttered to himself.
"That's no longer important. What's important is that the Tony of this Universe has become an alternative 'Unique' being. His Allspark is one of a kind, both within and without the Multiverse."
The Ancient One said.
"A Unique Pan-matter Will-entity. Dormammu, you know exactly what that means. No matter how much energy your Dark Dimension contains, no matter how many backup plans you've laid in this world, you cannot cause the slightest bit of harm to that entity."
The Ancient One looked at her nemesis, her expression unchanging. "You think you're immortal, that you won't die no matter how many times we kill you. At worst, your soul will be continuously weakened until you finally fall into an eternal slumber. But you overlooked this minor character, Tony. He will take everything from you."
"No, no! How could he possess a Unique Item?! Impossible!" Dormammu roared, unwilling to accept it, his voice bordering on hysterical.
Any single unique item holds a terrifyingly vast future. Darkseid's Omega Effect, the Speed Force from the Speed Force Wall, the mysterious Heart of the Universe... even the unique beings like Trigon, the Living Tribunal, Galactus, and others...
Anything associated with the 'Unique' attribute is destined for the most terrifying and incalculable future.
The Dark Power could never completely erase Tony, because he had the blessing of the Allspark... Even in a war of attrition, no matter if it took thousands or tens of thousands of years, it would be Dormammu who was worn down to death!
Uniqueness cannot be interfered with by the Multiverse or time. This is an ironclad law written in the blood of countless lives!
Everyone watched Tony, who was enveloped in endless darkness. Their expressions were varied, but Dormammu was especially furious, roaring that he would kill Tony directly and be done with it.
"A unique being isn't unkillable! I'll just kill him and take his so-called Allspark!"
The next second, that body was swatted out of existence by the Ancient One.
"Did you think we would just stand by and watch? We'll kill you a few dozen more times, and your soul will grow weaker and weaker, your power plummeting. Dormammu, you will become Tony's stepping stone," the Ancient One said, a gentle smile gradually appearing on her face that was utterly chilling.
Tony feels his potential is exhausted and must seize the Dark Dimension, at least to have a way to protect himself.
Max and Betty guard the gate, stopping Jean, Magik, and Professor X.
Mephisto makes a deal with Tony (selling human souls from Earth), then when Tony fights Trigon, he summons Mephisto to act as a shield.
(end of chapter)