The Star Devouring Engine followed the signal of the peculiar purple energy straight to the universe where the energy last remained. Although they didn't find the Darkened Doctor Strange they had anticipated, they did encounter several of The Ancient Ones.
The Ancient Ones, each with their unique image, appeared somewhat shocked as they looked at the Star Devouring Engine. They clearly recognized it as a machine forged from the skull of a planet-devourer.
One of them, dressed in a yellow robe and bearing a similar look to The Ancient One from Shiller's universe, stepped forward to bow in salutation. Stark disembarked from the Star Devouring Engine, and returned the gesture, saying, "Master Ancient One, it's a pleasure to meet you here. May I ask what you are doing in this place?"
The Ancient One presented a smile, saying, "We are on a mission from the God of Creation, to apprehend the murderer of the Supreme Magician, who has traversed universes. We tracked him up to here, but he managed to escape. Some of the others continued to track the killer, while we stopped to assess the condition of this universe."
Upon hearing this, Stark raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Is there anything unusual about this universe?"
"In the Multiverse, the murderer of the Supreme Magician is none other than the evil Doctor Strange, who has comprehended The Book of Dark God. He practices nefarious magic, and the structure of his universe is severely damaged. We are preparing to repair it," The Ancient One responded.
Without pressing further, Stark turned and asked, "So, do you know where he went? We previously observed abnormal energy reactions in multiple Multiverses, and we too are planning to apprehend the murderer."
"That would be more than perfect," the leading Ancient One said. They took out a peculiar rhombus crystal from their robe and handed it to Stark, saying, "This can help you track the energy signal of the evil Doctor Strange in the Multiverse. It's more sensitive than any tracking device. You may take it and continue your tracking."
After expressing his gratitude, Stark returned to the Engine. He fiddled with the rhombus crystal for a moment, discovering that it was a magical version of an energy sample. Yet, it held more detailed energy information than his tracking device, and could scan even faint energy responses.
This was not surprising, given that The Ancient Ones, being the teachers of Doctor Strange across multiple universes, are likely to provide Stark with more detailed information about Strange.
Without further thinking, Stark affixed the crystal to his tracking device. The crystal gleamed faintly, and in no time, the Star Devouring Engine ascertained the coordinates of the target universe and raced through the dark universe space.
What was supposed to be an empty and silent universe was bustling with activity, with ships from the Three Great Empires all emerging at once, and various interstellar civilizations sending out their armed forces to resist desperately. Approaching them was an endless Robot Army.
The ships and the Robot Army were engaging in combat across three galaxies. At this moment, a bright figure charged towards a silhouette that was looming over the Robot Army.
A blonde woman narrowed her eyes as she dashed past in a ray of light. Accompanied by the shrill sound of the wind, she dealt a punch that sent the red silhouette, previously hovering over the Robot Army, flying into the distance.
The robot that was thrown off possessed a silver armor, with blood-red light from its eyes. After recovering its balance mid-air, it shook off its cloak, turned around, and called out in a heavy, mechanical voice to the woman across it, "Captain Marvel."
The woman in the tight-fitting uniform had shiny blond hair. She floated opposite the robot, arms folded across her chest, satisfied with her punch just now.
Wearing a tight suit of alternating red and blue colors, with the shoulders in red and the rest in blue, accented by golden lines, she had a robust figure and a fierce and cool expression.
"Ultron, it's time for you to end your destructive actions," said Captain Marvel. "You're going to destroy this universe!"
Ultron laughed coldly, his eyes flickering with red light. Surprisingly, his mechanical face mirrored a brutal expression. "Isn't this why you created me? I won't let you monopolize the universe."
Seeing that he was beyond reasoning, Captain Marvel decided to take action. Ultron, however, responded without hesitation. With a wave of his hand, the boundless Robot Army swarmed towards Captain Marvel like locusts.
Bracing herself, Captain Marvel rushed forward with her arms drawn together, piercing through the defensive robots, followed by a swift elbow attack to break apart an intrusive assault robot. She fixed her gaze on Ultron amidst the dense arrays, swooped higher suddenly, and dive-bombed at him like a hawk hunting a rabbit.
Ultron crossed his arms hastily to block, but Captain Marvel wore a triumphant smile, throwing a punch which sent Ultron flying. After a sharp halt, Ultron's eyes remained locked onto hers.
Then, a shriek echoed from behind Captain Marvel as an assault robot launched an attack at her. Without looking back, she threw a punch in response, there was a burst of invisible force that repelled the assault robot, and Ultron once again lunged at her.
Not turning her head, she stretched out her hands in front of her as two rays shot out. Ultron swiftly leaned to the side, barely dodging the laser rays, but the rays grazed his cloak. His cold eyes met Captain Marvel's, and he headed quickly towards the nearest planet.
Captain Marvel accelerated suddenly as she neared the planet, and with a loud "boom," both landed together, with her pressing Ultron into the surface of the planet. Despite the red light flashing in Ultron's eyes yet again, his fingers barely moved.
Violent rays erupted from within the planet, an unparalleled explosion leveled all celestial bodies surrounding the twin planet. When Captain Marvel looked up, Ultron was nowhere to be seen, but she was deeply furrowed her brows.
Suddenly, a whirlpool shimmering with a peculiar purple energy glow appeared behind Captain Marvel. Before she could turn around, she was seized by the immense force emanating from the whirlpool, and she screamed as she was sucked into it.
The whirlpool slowly contracted, and a book shimmering with a purple light floated in front of Ultron. The voice of the Darkened Doctor Strange came from the book, "I told you earlier not to waste words with her. The priority is to seize the energy of this universe."
"Strange, you cannot command me. Now you are nothing but a refugee dwelling within the Book of Dark God. You discarded your body and fled from the Ancient One, too afraid to appear in the universe. You have essentially no power."
"Ultron, don't be too smug. Don't forget, only I can guide you through the multiverse. Without me and the Book of Dark God, you're nothing but a pest."
"My conquest of the multiverse certainly does not require...."
The star-devouring engine at the edge of the universe picked up a strong energy signal. It almost instantaneously jumped to the location where the energy emanated. At this moment, Ultron and the Darkened Doctor Strange who possessed the Book of Dark God had not had the chance to conceal their revealed energy.
Stark, inside the star-devouring engine, squinted his eyes. Steve joined him, and they both noticed that the purple energy radiating from the book floating in the universe was exactly like the purple light they had seen emitted by the controlled individuals and machines.
Yet Stark noticed another detail. On the floating robot glove next to the book was embedded with colorful Infinity Gemstones. It was the Infinite Ultron mentioned by the Observer.
"It is indeed those two!" Stark said while staring at the screen, "In how many universes have they made a mess? Zombie Universe, the Universe of Hope's death, the Universe of Mad Doctor Strange?"
"Why not catch them and ask?" Captain America had already picked up his shield. Natasha was adjusting her space combat equipment, T'Challa was getting into his Black Panther Armor, and Stark took his eyes off the screen, lightly tapped on his own armrest a few times and said, "Let's go. If they really are the culprits causing trouble in the universe, I will make them pay the price."
After members of the Avengers Alliance including Stark, Captain America, Natasha, T'Challa, and Thor left, only Schiller, Nick, and Eddie were left in the star-devouring engine.
Almost immediately, Venom appeared. He squinted his white spider compound eyes and said in a low and husky voice, "It's your shenanigans again, isn't it?"
"What makes you say that?" Schiller crossed his arms, not giving an inch, "We've come all the way seeing that the possessor of the purple energy is the one who killed Hope and controlled Auburn. That's enough to prove he's an evil villain, and the purple energy is appearing on the book right in front of us."
"We learned from the Observer that Infinite Ultron is the culprit spreading the zombie virus, and Infinite Ultron is right in front of us. There is inarguable evidence here. What's the problem?"
With a sneer, Venom said, "What's the problem? There are problems everywhere! This is nothing more than a simple bait-and-switch, Doctor Schiller. Although it is your first time playing this trick, it can't fool me."
"The purple energy is causing havoc in various universes, and the energy of the Evil Strange in the Book of Dark God happens to be purple. Can this prove that the Evil Strange is causing havoc in various universes with the Book of Dark God?"
Extending a sharp finger, Venom said, "I saw a firebug in a purple outfit, and the most notorious bad neighbor in this community happened to be wearing purple. Can the police convict him based on that?"
"One of the Observers saw Ultron kill a member of the Avengers, seize the Infinity gemstones, and become Infinite Ultron. And the Observer from the Zombie Universe saw an Ultron with an Infinity Gauntlet spreading the zombie virus in the universe. Can this prove that the virus was spread by Infinite Ultron?"
"If a person wearing leather gloves throws away contraband, and the police happen to see a person wearing leather gloves on the street, can they arrest the latter based on that?"
"But the police have the right to investigate him." Schiller shrugged, speaking in a relaxed tone: "You're wearing clothes extremely similar to the suspect, appearing on a street adjacent to the crime scene. Coincidentally, everyone says you're a bad egg who has done similar bad things before. If you refuse to cooperate with the investigation and attack the police, why can't the police kill you on the spot?"
"But as long as they don't...."
Before Venom could finish speaking, Ultron, who was in conversation with Darkened Doctor Strange, saw a group of people resembling the Avengers rushing towards him. He instinctively commanded the robot army to attack them, and the two sides quickly engaged in a fierce battle.
With a smack, Venom slapped himself on the forehead.