Within the Universe, He Who Praises My True Name Shall Be Rewarded with a Xenomorph
The Xenomorph is even more useful than expected, Ancient One thought.
For one thing, it can transmit messages in an instant. As long as one carries a Xenomorph individual within their body, Duval can perceive it in real time and control it remotely, which is quite amazing.
If one were to nitpick and find fault, it might be that Xenomorphs cannot directly communicate over ultra-long distances for the time being.
"This is the Sanctum Sanctorum? It looks like a lot of powerful magic is arranged here." Druig scrutinized everything around him with a critical eye, but he had to admit that this place was a bit terrifying, with powerful magic arrays arranged on every building.
It's hard to imagine how amazing the defensive system would be if all the arrays could be activated at once.
Of course, the person who can control all the arrays at the same time is also very important, and that depends on Ancient One.
"This is not some remote place. If you want to come in and learn magic, we would be very welcome," Ancient One said.
Almost every year, some mediocre mages leave Kamar-Taj and return to the secular world.
However, there is also a downside to this, which is that some of these mages are bewitched by Dormammu and Kaecilius.
"Magic? I won't learn that kind of thing."
Druig shook his head and said, "Don't think I can't see that the Black Magic User named Kaecilius was in poor condition. If he were in his prime, it wouldn't be easy to stop him. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been chasing him for so many years without killing him."
Ancient One took off her hood, glanced at Druig, her face calm, and said nothing.
Mordo, listening to the stranger's somewhat casual words, looked displeased: "Don't even mention the Sorcerer Supreme taking action, even if you give me a Professor X and Magneto, I would be confident in killing Kaecilius."
"No need, Professor X and Magneto can kill Kaecilius, I don't need you." Druig's face was cold. "Besides, Reynolds and I are much stronger than Professor X and Magneto."
Druig pointed to his chest, his cold face suddenly changed, becoming unusually pious.
With every breath, he was with the Xenomorph in his chest, and with every thought, his consciousness seemed to be in that sea of flowers in the dark abyss. The dramatic contrast created an extraordinary sense of security and identity, a taste that was fascinating.
Mordo looked angry, even laughing out of anger, and turned to pick up a weapon to fight this person.
Don't think he doesn't know that this guy is an Eternal with mental abilities, without the strong body of Gilgamesh and Ikaris.
In addition, for some reason, the even more terrifying Sentinel didn't come. If it were a Sentinel, Mordo wouldn't easily launch a challenge, because he would have to use multiple powerful spells to even touch it.
Mordo was already thinking in his brain about how to teach Druig a lesson. He would first cast a spell to protect his brain, and then use the Kamar-Taj's ancestral staff technique to beat this guy severely.
A mage who has not mastered superb fighting skills is an unqualified mage, which means he has not learned anything from Kamar-Taj at all.
"He's not here to fight, Mordo. Kaecilius is dead, but bigger trouble is coming soon. They are our allies," Ancient One said.
The group entered the hall.
Various mages passed by, walking in a hurry, nodding slightly when they saw Ancient One, and then immediately leaving with thick books.
This place is very much like an ancient version of a university.
Wong came up to them: "Kaecilius is dead. I heard about it from Elektra and came here specifically from the Training Grounds. This is really exciting news. Under our and Duval's double blow, we finally eliminated the Black Magic User."
He turned to look at Druig: "Are you looking for Elektra and Murdoch? They are fighting a Vampire in the Training Grounds. I heard that this Vampire is also their teacher, but Elektra has been hunting Vampires all along? The relationship here is too complicated, and I have never figured it out."
Druig glanced at Wong, without any expression, and had no intention of looking for Elektra.
As long as there are Xenomorphs, they will all be together forever.
"But the soil that breeds Black Magic Users is still there, and it will make a comeback soon. What we need to do now is to study how to eradicate this soil."
"I understand, just like dealing with a Mudslide, but this Mudslide is a bit too scary." Wong nodded suddenly.
Dormammu, the master of the Dark Dimension, the overlord of Black Magic in this universe, Chthon's temporary number one spokesperson, a single universe-level powerhouse.
Although single universe-level gods also have strengths and weaknesses, to be honest, anyone who faces Dormammu will feel a headache.
Even if they can win, it is difficult to kill Dormammu, because it means they need to enter the Dark Dimension and fight a final battle with Dormammu on his territory.
This difficulty coefficient is simply off the charts. To kill Dormammu, they must destroy the Dark Dimension together, which is equivalent to destroying a pocket universe.
What's more, Dormammu's background is too ridiculously strong. If he is really forced to a dead end, and Dormammu really wants to ask Chthon for power at the cost of everything, who knows how much strength he can explode.
For the people present, they only need to repel Dormammu's invasion, and it would be best if they could beat Him until it hurts. Strictly speaking, it is not even a real defeat of Dormammu, and it is already an extremely difficult task.
Druig looked at Ancient One and said, "Aren't you the strongest on Earth, Sorcerer Supreme? You should go and fight Dormammu one-on-one, and then kill him."
Mordo felt that he really couldn't communicate with Druig, a guy with a one-track mind: "Do you know who Dormammu is? Do you know how strong He is? That's an old monster who has lived for billions of years! The Sorcerer Supreme is only a few hundred years old."
That's when Druig understood.
He had learned the truth from Ajak, that he was actually a tool of the Celestials who had lived for millions of years, but currently only had memories from after arriving on Earth.
But even if you counted his entire life, millions of years were still worlds apart compared to Dormammu, not to mention he didn't have the powerful strength accumulated over those millions of years. His abilities seemed innate in Druig's mind, and hadn't improved much in the 7,000 years since.
Thinking of this, Druig immediately thought of Arishem, the guy who used him as a tool. Millions of years, millions of years! He had been performing the same task over and over like a fool. That would have been one thing, but his memory had to be wiped each time, forcing him to start over on each new life-bearing planet.
The more respect he had for Arishem in the past, the more he wanted to kill Arishem now.
That opportunity would come. Druig thought of Duval. Duval wasn't a leader who liked to stay quietly in a safe zone. On the contrary, he had extraordinary aggression and a desire for expansion.
He saw many things in Duval's mind. Although he didn't have time to explore all of that abyss-like mind, the fragmented information he did see was enough for Druig to understand what kind of person Duval was, and what distant and grand goals he had.
"No one understands Duval better than I do," Druig thought, proudly raising his chin.
The Ancient One was like a skilled tea master, lifting the teapot with her slender, fair fingers, precisely pouring the tea into the antique teacups without spilling a drop.
The tea set alone would be a valuable antique in the outside world.
The Ancient One gestured for him to drink tea: "Try this, you probably haven't had it in centuries."
"I don't drink this, I only drink boiled water," Druig said.
The Ancient One's gaze shifted directly from Druig's face to his chest.
"I think it's time for a good talk. We can't always let Druig improvise," the Ancient One said.
Druig's body froze, and then his mouth began to speak uncontrollably: "It's time for a talk, Sorcerer Supreme. You probably don't know how nervous I was before, I had to specifically move Reynolds to a safe place."
"But there's no hint of nervousness in your tone, only calmness and composure." The Ancient One's gaze seemed to fall directly on Duval himself.
Duval stood by the window, standing quietly, and said lightly: "Don't mind it, it's just polite talk. I think anyone would be instinctively alert when suddenly facing the Sorcerer Supreme, especially someone like me, who also has a weapon to deal with the Sorcerer Supreme in hand. I think you've guessed it, because I wouldn't have moved Reynolds away for no reason, reducing your chance to defeat him instantly."
With just this sentence, the Ancient One's expression didn't change, but Mordo and Wong exchanged glances, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.
What a joke, a weapon that can deal with the Sorcerer Supreme?
Does such a thing exist on Earth? Is it S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Cosmic Cube or something else?
"But you weren't sure, and you didn't expect that I would personally go to kill Kaecilius. You thought the people who would go would be Mordo and Wong."
The Ancient One said slowly: "So, the weapon you mentioned isn't some artifact or spell, but a Sentinel. But relying on Sentinels alone won't work."
"It doesn't work now, but I have a way to make it work. It's just that I don't have absolute certainty. Don't you have the Time Stone? You can take a look at future scenarios."
Relying on Reynolds alone? Duval just thought about it and shook his head repeatedly.
Reynolds was still the same Reynolds, timid, cowardly, good at bullying the weak and fearing the strong, plus a few wires in his brain were crossed.
Don't be fooled by Reynolds' invincible aura, to the point where even Reynolds himself believed he was almost invincible, wanting to take on anyone he saw, especially those with great fame and high status.
But to put it bluntly, Reynolds' first battle was against Magneto. That battle was extremely dangerous. If Duval hadn't been constantly giving him moves, constantly using language to motivate him, stimulating the "addiction" in Reynolds' body, or more accurately, the desire to show off, and the Xenomorph larva hadn't provided Reynolds with powerful combat instincts and the extra weapon of highly corrosive blood, Reynolds would have barely defeated Magneto.
If it were any other time, without even thinking about it, Reynolds would have seen that Magneto was too tough a bone to chew and would have been scared to run away.
Fight? Fight my ass, of course escaping was the most important thing.
The Ancient One shook her head: "The Time Stone is a weapon, not time itself. It's impossible to use the Time Stone to solve all problems on the time level. Plus, time itself has chaotic attributes, constantly changing, which makes predicting the future very difficult."
"For example?"
"For example, in the countless futures I've seen, there are futures where Magneto destroys the world, where Professor X destroys the world, and even Elektra has the potential to destroy this world. If you were me, which future would you believe?"
"I don't believe any of them, I only believe in myself." Duval said this in a calm tone.
The time of a single universe is a joke, unless it is bound to happen, a "time node" that exists as part of the universe's rules.
The Ancient One picked up the teacup and took a sip: "It seems we have the same idea in this regard. Time is just a weapon, nothing more."
"But I'm very interested in another thing you have, magic. If I could have the opportunity to learn magic, that would be great," Duval said. "I don't think you'll blame me for being so frank, it's much better than lying."
"Kamar-Taj has always been a relatively open place. If you want to learn magic and have magical talent, you can come to Kamar-Taj to learn some basic introductions to magic and small spells, but don't even think about those truly powerful advanced spells."
Magical talent?
This probably refers to the physique that can carry magic particles, and the ability to successfully borrow from the multiverse.
The latter is far more important than the former.
"I don't need to learn those advanced magics. The more I learn, the more I owe. Although I haven't personally experienced the process, I can roughly guess that the more power I use, the more closely I'll be bound to some guy behind the scenes."
Duval, controlling Druig, unceremoniously found a place to sit down. "I will continuously send Xenomorphs to improve learning efficiency."
Their conversation was overheard by Wong and Mordo.
Wong complained to Mordo in a low voice, "Listen to him. I can't even imagine that scene: a monster two or three meters tall mixed in with a group of magicians, constantly flicking its tail, accidentally slicing a few poor apprentices in half."
The scene was just too incongruous to imagine.
Mordo's expression wasn't much better. Letting Xenomorphs read books and learn magic was simply an insane innovation.
"I'm reminded of Krugarr again..."
"Shut up, Wong. Krugarr is not a fish. He has nothing to do with fish!"
"Then maybe he's a red-skinned lizard?"
Mordo didn't want to discuss this issue with Wong at all. Sometimes he wondered if Krugarr, who had already joined some Ravagers, would travel thousands of miles to kill Wong if he knew what Wong was saying behind his back.
Mordo flicked his sleeves and left directly, Wong muttered something and followed.
They both knew that the following conversation between these two was not suitable for them to participate in.
Duval said, "Let's continue our previous topic. I don't need those profound magics, but I am very interested in the relevant knowledge of deconstructing magic. Don't question my learning ability. The more Xenomorphs there are, the stronger my learning ability will be."
With a mental link to all the Xenomorphs, what they learned would naturally all be Duval's.
"And then, after you learn magic, do you also plan to borrow power from the Vishanti to cast some spells?" Ancient One asked.
Duval shook his head. "Borrowed power is unreliable, even if the Vishanti are powerful and righteous ancient gods. Compared to borrowing power, I am more interested in developing my own path of magic."
Ancient One's expression shifted slightly, and a look of surprise appeared on her face. Even she had never imagined such a possibility. No, it should be said that it was theoretically impossible.
There were only a few beings throughout the entire multiverse who could act as magical entities and lend out power.
But Duval was just a guy who wasn't even a god. Why did he dare to think like that? "Very bold, but also very crazy. Although the future is infinitely possible, it is still almost impossible for you to walk this path."
"You also said it's almost, so I am that almost." Duval's voice was very calm, as if he was talking about something unrelated to himself.
Ancient One became very interested in Duval. "Then what will you do after you succeed? After you have your own magic system and can provide power to outsiders, what do you plan to do? Develop new magic? That's even more difficult."
Yes, not only could he lend out magic, but he also needed a set of magic moves that magicians could quickly learn and use skillfully.
He couldn't just take the magic particles and scatter them around like pure energy. That would be less useful than a pistol and a knife.
Duval looked at Ancient One with a surprised look, and Druig was doing the same.
"Why should I create a complete magic system? Why should I specifically develop so many magic spells of different difficulties? If we're really talking about developing magic, I only need one spell."
Druig pointed to his chest.
Duval said, "Within my reach, he who praises my true name can receive a Xenomorph."
After thinking about it, Duval added, "Of course, it's best if the spell includes both successful teleportation and successful parasitism."
Ancient One was quite shocked. The hand holding the tea stopped there, and she looked up in astonishment, staring at this bold person in front of her.
Was this the kind of magic that humans could come up with? Call your name, and you'll send a dangerous Xenomorph across endless space, one that directly parasitizes its host as soon as they close their eyes?
It sounded a bit whimsical.
But Ancient One could tell that Duval was serious.
"Xenomorphs... perhaps you, the master of these Xenomorphs, may really change this universe beyond recognition."
"Maybe. No one can say for sure what will happen in the future. Even if it really succeeds, it's not a bad future for Earth and humanity. At least when encountering danger, there will be a new possibility." Duval changed the subject.
He would grasp both Godly Power and magic. Maybe one of the paths would succeed. Duval would definitely not give up.
His Xenomorphs should not just be simple planetary creatures, but cosmic creatures that can freely travel in the universe and even spontaneously move through space at faster-than-light speeds.
Then they could fly all over the universe, spontaneously searching for high-quality hosts.
Just thinking about it made Duval feel satisfied with that kind of future.
But there would definitely be many guys who wouldn't be satisfied, and this was destined to be accompanied by countless wars.
Ancient One hesitated for a moment. If it had been before, she might have tried to stop this crazy guy in front of her, because it would inevitably have a great impact on Earth, but now there was no need.
She wouldn't live much longer, and the problems with the universe itself were increasing. After repelling Dormammu, the Ancient One decided to accelerate her plans, getting Strange on the right path as soon as possible.
Even if that right path, probabilistically, could still lead the entire universe to an extremely terrible future.
The future was difficult to predict accurately.
The Ancient One didn't speak, contemplating the problem.
Duval said, "Never mind how I learned magic, let's talk about Dormammu. That guy is probably furious right now, maybe already aiming at Earth with a menacing aura, ready to strike any second."
Dormammu was petty; he didn't become the master of the Dark Dimension through kindness and benevolence.
"How much do you know about Dormammu?" the Ancient One asked.
"A little. He comes from the ancient Faltine, right? But that race is almost extinct," Duval said. "I was also very fortunate to experience Kaecilius using the 'Faltine Mouth' spell."
"Then you should know how dangerous such a Cosmic Demon God is. We absolutely cannot let the battle take place in the Dark Dimension. The worst-case scenario is that if we get entangled with him, it could lead to other Cosmic Demon Gods taking advantage and attacking Earth directly, bypassing us."
"Didn't you set up a powerful magic array for Earth? Why not use it?"
"That kind of magic array can only provide assistance; it can't truly resist a Cosmic Demon God. What I'm saying is, you can take out the weapons you've been saving to guard against me and use them against Dormammu."
The Ancient One slowly said, "Protecting Earth is my duty, but you can't live if Earth is gone either."
"No, I can. I'll run off to Asgard in a heartbeat. Even though they're at war over there, and it's very chaotic, and Odin is either dead or close to it, I think they'd welcome me very much, eager for me to bring the Xenomorphs to join Asgard en masse."
"..."
The Ancient One fell into thought.
"When did you come up with this idea?"
"I've always had it. The Xenomorphs are appearing in more and more places, which proves that I'm safe. At least, I don't think Dormammu has the power to destroy this single universe, to wipe out all the Xenomorphs in one go."
Duval looked at the silent Ancient One and said, "So why would I do something like challenge Dormammu?"
"Then assist me, help me deal with him, and the reward will be that I will open up all the magical knowledge of Kamar-Taj to you."
"Very well, we're back to that. In return, you will assist me in conducting research on magic."
Turning himself into a magical entity was destined to be a massive undertaking.
Even if the entity Duval was pursuing was actually a super-shoddy one, only requiring the completion of a few steps: listening to prayers and bestowing Xenomorphs.
With the Ancient One participating from the start, clearing away some theoretical obstacles would greatly advance the progress in this area.
"So trusting? Aren't you afraid I'll leave a backdoor in the magic I help you develop?"
"Of course, I am, so I plan to kick you out once the research is on the right track," Duval said, his voice full of steadiness.
The Ancient One was silent once more.
After a while, she stood up, "I hope you succeed; talking to you is a bit of a headache."
The two finally reached a consensus and slowly walked out of the great hall.
With a casual sense, Duval knew that Elektra was fighting Vampires in this Sanctum.
"That guy has turned into a Vampire, why do you still keep him around? Shouldn't you get rid of him early?" Duval asked.
"Stick hasn't truly become a villain yet, at least not now. My help might allow him to regain his sense of justice, though it's more likely that it won't, but as long as there's a possibility, I'll do it."
Duval listened thoughtfully.
Betting on probabilities? No, it was more complicated than that; at least Duval wouldn't do such a thing.
Along the way, Duval saw many magicians hurrying about.
He also saw many Dum Dum Dugans.
Seeing these guys gathering in groups to cultivate magic, Duval finally knew what these clones were busy with.
"No wonder the Dum Dum Dugans who were monitoring me at the beginning were all so terrible; it turns out the real elites have all come here."
Duval nodded repeatedly, admiring the Ancient One's creativity. He certainly guessed what the Ancient One was doing with these guys; they were undoubtedly Ascetics.
Cheap, mass-produced, strong execution, what could be more cost-effective than recruiting a large number of Dum Dum Dugans? But from another perspective, the profound meaning of this event was worth pondering, indicating that the Ancient One had been making careful preparations, deliberately hoarding a large number of Ascetics to help share the cost.
But were so many Ascetics really just prepared for the Ancient One herself? Or were they prepared for Strange?
Besides, Strange might not necessarily become the Sorcerer Supreme. In other universes, there are Spider-Man Sorcerer Supreme, Iron Man Sorcerer Supreme, Krugarr Sorcerer Supreme – these are all real possibilities.
"Does our universe have a designation?" Duval suddenly asked.
"No, only a very few universes have their own specific designation. Those are worlds watched by the gods. Unfortunately, our universe belongs to the majority among countless others."
"In a way, that's also fortunate, because it means those troublesome entities will be less likely to plant their seeds in this unremarkable place," Duval said.
If that's the case, after this Ancient One dies, it's really hard to say whether her soul should turn to Eternity or the Vishanti.
"If you ever can't make it, you can come to me. Don't worry, I'm a reliable person and would be happy to have a Skyfather-level Xenomorph in my ranks," Duval suddenly said to Ancient One.
Ancient One was caught off guard again, looking at the Druig in surprise.
She found that communicating with Duval was really interesting. This guy could always come up with imaginative and extremely bold plans.
At least, openly proposing to recruit the Sorcerer Supreme on their first meeting was a bit bizarre.
"Well, if I ever really have nowhere else to go, I'll look for you, but you have to be prepared then."
Ancient One said terrible things with a gentle face, "Because by then, a whole bunch of magic gods and dimension lords will probably come flocking."
Duval stopped and looked at the hundreds-year-old woman in front of him, couldn't help but ask: "How much magical debt do you owe? What does the Vishanti say?"
Ancient One's expression remained unchanged: "The debt to the Vishanti, I'll delay as much as possible, but I won't go too far. After all, They are on our side. When it really comes to the point where I have to pay, I'll pay a little, and then use the power of Black Magic to repair my damaged body and spirit."
"Thanks for your frankness, even revealing this kind of thing. Has Chthon not bothered you?"
"Well, with Dormammu taking the brunt, Chthon mainly looks for Dormammu. But I'm not really letting Dormammu bear it all himself. If I really use too much Black Magic, I'll also symbolically pay back a little. Of course, I usually use the power of Raggadorr to repair myself afterward."
"?"
Duval suddenly felt that he had discovered an incredible secret: "Then what about Raggadorr, how do you plan to repay Him?"
Ancient One looked at Duval in surprise, seemingly astonished that Duval even knew about Raggadorr: "Matuum, Baltak, Alto, Ikonn... I was very diligent for a while, listening to the voices of different dimensions all day long, and developed many paths, so there are more options to choose from."
"...Didn't They choose to beat you to death?"
"Not yet, but I suspect someone is already unable to restrain themselves, so you understand why I need you to stand up against Dormammu, right? If I take action, it's not difficult to repel Dormammu's attack, but this may lead to me not being able to manage my debts and directly collapse my debt chain. You know, reassembling a collapsed chain is very troublesome."
Ancient One hesitated for a moment, lowered her voice: "So I've been paying attention to the Hell Demon side recently. Cyttorak is difficult to fathom, I need to observe more, but fortunately, Mephisto occasionally comes to Earth in our universe to wander, which is a rare opportunity. If He doesn't work, I'll try Nightmare, Zarathos, Despair, Shuma-Gorath... There are always more solutions than difficulties."
"???"
Duval's heart skipped a beat, vaguely feeling that this debt-fueled game was a bit familiar, and then he began to doubt his decision for the first time. Should he have stayed away from this Ancient One from the beginning? The self-proclaimed calm Duval had to call her an expert, refreshing his understanding of Ancient One, the Sorcerer Supreme. He completely believed that as long as the pond was big enough, there would really be all kinds of birds.
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