[Stephen Strange POV]
Of all infernal demons we could have fought, we just had to go against Dormammu.
Even from here(though I have no idea where here is), I could still feel the tremors of the fight between Dormammu and Cross. I looked at the loop around my hand and I could already see cracks appearing around it signifying that their fight was more disastrous than I imagined.
It was also a boon that distance and time had no linear path in the Dark Dimension, meaning I could be as far away from them while also being a few meters from them. All this was possible as long as Cross held Dormammu's attention to himself.
I could already feel the link they used to bind Earth to this place but different from what we thought, there were two links, camouflaged atop one another.
One was in Dormammu's realm while the other was probably in Satannish's.
The demons that lurked around the shadows were taken care of by me with boring ease as I made my way to where the connection was tethered.
I wasn't the least not surprised when I found a conglomeration of many kinds of demons guarding the link. The place was shaped like an inverted ant hill, or maybe a black hole, with demons on every side of it, growling and snarling at each other.
"Guess it's time to put in the work."
With my cape levitating me, I dashed straight into the belly of the demonic gathering, hacking, slashing and firing spells every which way. There were easily thousands of demons in the hive, a panic inducing number… had I not personally seen the strength of Dormammu.
Summoning one of my relics – a sword I had gotten from a dark sorcerer – I killed any demon that got too close, which was ironic given that the sword could extend to a very humble distance.
I landed of one of the platforms that stuck out, while the other demons went into a frenzy not like it was any concern of mine as I continued slaughtering them.
It was going very well and dandy until..
"Halt human! This is Lord Dormammu's domain. Do not trespass any further." A humanoid demon, one that would easily pass for a human if not for the demonic presence that was oozing out of her. What however made me pause was the miniscule lack of ill intent coming out of her. But it still wasn't enough for me to spare her – demons were tricky like that.
I slashed at her like I had done the other countless demons and while she managed to shield herself from the surprise attacks, it still wasn't enough and the strike had hurt her badly. I wanted to finish right then and there but something told me not to.
"Get out while you still can." I turned my back to and went further down the rabbit hole but I was still keeping a track on her even as she managed to stabilize her wounds and started limping in my direction. 'Is this some new form of espionage that the demons cooked up? It's stupid.'
She was strong, yes, but not to the point that I needed to be particularly cautious about so I let her tag along, with her blissfully unaware that I was just a flick away from ending her life.
I continued on with my slaughter while my wounded stalker trailed behind until I got closer to the core of the first link, where I started facing stronger demons. It would have been a particularly tough fight had I not had the Time Stone with me which I was actively using to bolster the might of my killing spells. Putting most spells on a continuous loop which increased the preparation time of the spell which thereby increased the destructive power of it by a few folds.
I'm going to really hate it when I give Draul this stone, it's too much of a convenient tool to just feed to someone.
"Come on out. I know you're hiding" I said to my stalker, giving her no choice but to limp out of her hiding place. "Why are you following me?" I projected my killing intent, making her know how serious I was and imagine my surprise when she barely even twitched a muscle at it.
"Why are you attacking us? Why do you fight against Lord Dormammu?" She asked with curiosity as she held her sides.
"Well your 'Lord Dormammu' decided to gift lil ol'Earth a squadron of death and disaster for our betterment. That's sarcasm by the way, incase you don't know."
I could feel the link this place had to Earth and how it would have flooded Earth, which it was currently doing, albeit very slowly, with demons if it grew any larger. I had mixed in a little time juice with the spatial displacement spell I had cast which make them travel a lot farther distance in a much longer timeframe to reach here.
"The humans will die by the droves, will they not, if we invade?" She asked tentatively.
I raised a brow at her and gave her a good look over. Was she alright? That was the most un-demonic thing I've ever heard from the mouth of a demon. Regardless, I focused on what it was that brought me here rather than the demon lady undergoing an existential crisis.
…
"Can I help?"
"Huh?!!!" I almost lost control of my spell due to what I just heard. Is she trolling me? Did Draul put her up to this?
"I can help. No, let me help." She said, pleadingly I might add, which made the situation all the more confusing. "I saw. The fight… against Lord Dormammu, I saw. It was you and a group of humans."
Oh God! Can she shut the fuck up, I'm trying to concentrate here! I was already done with the spell so hopefully Draul has everything going alright on his end.
"I never thought that there were people who could fight against Lord Dormammu… least of all, humans. So let me help you and then in return, you'll show me the human world."
I really need to get back to Earth. Satannish being there worries me to no end and with the Ancient One's condition worsening by the minute, we have no choice but to hurry up. Thankfully, this takes care of Dormammu because as long as he's gone, Satannish won't be a problem against all of us.
"Do you agree?"
"Do whatever you want but stay the hell out of my way." I palmed the ground, activating the spell the Ancient One and I came up with in order to sever the link with maximum efficiency and reduce any damage to the ley lines as much lower as possible.
"It's done." I don't know why but I'm pretty happy that I'm not the one facing Dormammu right now because the Gloom God is about to be royally pissed that he missed Earth one more time.
Without saying another word, I contemplated a bit before making my way, or rather preparing a dimension hopping spell, towards Satannish's dimension.
"You've ever been to Satannish's dimension? I need a guide." That place was bound to be hot as hell given who Satannish was but it beats anywhere Dormammu was by miles. "Guide me well and I'll take you to Earth." The most fabulous deal I've ever made. I guess Draul had been rubbing off of me. "Name's Stran- Stephen by the way."
"A gratuitous encounter, Stephen. My name is Clea."
...
[The Ruins of Kamar-Taj]
Three bodies shot like bullets towards the ruined building wreckage, destroying it further. Not that mattered to anyone.
Towering above the crumbling wreckage was a scarred giant of fire and destruction – Hell Lord Satannish.
In front of Satannish was the battered form of Ororo and Steve, which was quite confusing to any watcher as they had no injury to be seen on their body except for the obvious dirt, grim and soot.
Kathmandu was destroyed.
The barrier had been broken a while ago and it was then that their fight had spilled over to the real world.
As per human's foolishness, a few newscast helicopters had been surveying the area, even taking live videos of the fight that had been going on.
The first three had exploded due to the shockwaves that was been produced due to the clash between Satannish and the others. While the last two helicopters were destroyed due to the link between Steve's spatial abilities that he combined with Ororo's divine lightning. An all encompassing attack that was nigh-impossible to dodge in a secluded space.
Normally, they would have prioritized getting the civilians away from the battlefield but unfortunately they have more pressing concerns. Satannish was growing stronger and demons had begun crawling into Earth making the Masters and apprentices who could fight, have no choice except eradicate them which had drastically reduced the strength of the barrier they had erected.
"Fuck it all." Bucky groaned as he got up, his body flickering in between states which made him unstable. Turns out he wasn't as resistant as he had thought he was to magic.
Steve and Ororo were already going at it against Satannish with Ororo being the heavy damage dealer among all of them. Though Steve could filter himself in and out of space, it still didn't prevent some of Satannish heavy attacks from reaching him. Space rending attacks were some of the things even he was having problems completely nullifying.
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!"
"Great. What now?" Yelena quipped as they listened to another one of the numerous rage filled shouts of the Hell Lord.
"Guys, I think the portal is shrinking down." Natasha said which made the three of them focus their senses on it, and truly the portal was shrinking down and even the numbers of demons that were coming through had drastically reduced.
"It's about damn time." Bucky said with relief as the shrinking portal continued picking up pace which made Satannish all the more furious.
"You guys mind helping out?!" Ororo called out at the relaxed group who did nothing but stand there as they spectated the closing portal and the raging demon.
"Everything is already destroyed. Just let him rage a bit before the portal sucks him in. It gotta be frustrating losing every goddamned time." Bucky said as he crashed back on the ground and laid sprawled with his limbs stretched out. He was mentally spent after all the hours of fighting and destruction. He desperately needed a breather and a change of pace.
"Hey Nat."
"Yeah?"
"I heard Charlie's was recently renovated. Wanna tag along?" He asked in between deep breaths.
"Drinks on you?" Nat sat by his side while Yelena pretended to be fascinated by Satannish's futile struggle.
"Drinks on me." Bucky affirmed which brought a smile to the red head's face. "Then I'm down."
None of them minded the explosion that was going off in the distance due to Satannish's frustrations as it was pretty clear they had won this part of the fight. Taking away an eye and horn of a Hell Lord – not many could boast of such achievements.
Steve and Ororo came down after they made sure that Satannish was as good as gone and the portals were closed off while some of the sorcerers cheered while some shed tears. They had won but the cost had been great.
The number of lives lost due to Satannish's destruction were astronomical and the whole world had watched. Kathmandu and its neighboring towns and cities had been razed to the ground either by the fight against the Hell Lord or when the hordes of demons attacked.
"Can Draul hurry up a bit? He promised me a new car." Yelena whined after sitting there for over a quarter of an hour and there still was no signs of Draul.
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