Chapter 105: Odin Goes Out And Gets Bombarded!
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Ancient One was gone.
Lorien and the others watched her depart.
After Ancient One's hand dropped, her spirit body emerged and floated away, bowing deeply to Lorien one last time. The bow was not shallow; it held a sense of finality. With this gesture, Ancient One astrally projected away for the time being.
She had only lost her physical form. Now in spirit, she needed to find a place to stabilize herself, for she would exist in this form from now on. A human life may last only a hundred years, but a spirit could endure for millennia. Without a body, over time, one might even forget what it meant to be human and risk transforming into something more abstract.
With Ancient One's departure, Stephen, who had been silent, slowly stood. His hand reached out to grasp the Eye of Agamotto that hung before him, and he lifted his gaze to the looming Eye of Dormammu in the sky, representing the dark dimension's encroachment.
At that moment, Dormammu's essence had become aware of the situation. Its massive, unblinking eye shifted, focusing entirely on Stephen below. The pressure from Dormammu's gaze was enough to break most people's minds, but Stephen withstood it.
Gripping the Eye of Agamotto, Stephen drew on his mana and prepared to unleash the power of the Time Gem within it. He directed its energy toward Dormammu's eye in the sky.
A beam of green light surged forth from the Eye of Agamotto, streaking upward towards Dormammu. In response, Dormammu retaliated by sending a beam of chaotic, dark energy down to meet Stephen's attack.
The two beams collided with a violent shockwave, causing the sky over Hong Kong to ripple and quake like a raging storm.
From a distance, Lorien observed the scene with growing interest. His eyes widened in curiosity.
Gwen, holding onto Lorien's arm, asked, "Who do you think will win?"
Wanda, feeling the energies clashing, responded, "It seems like their power is about equal."
At this point, Dormammu, though a Level Single Universe entity, had not fully manifested in the physical realm. Its energy was limited, only reaching the strength of a Level God Father. Likewise, while the Time Gem contained Level Single Universe energy, it was being wielded by Stephen, a mortal, so the output was similarly constrained to the Level God Father tier.
For now, it was fortunate they were both operating at this level; had they been using their full power, the earth would have been obliterated in an instant. Battles at the Level Single Universe scale often resulted in planets being casually destroyed.
Gwen's question lingered in Lorien's mind. He thought for a moment and said, "It all depends on who can hold out longer."
"Either Dormammu will run out of energy and retreat, or Stephen will collapse from exhaustion."
It was essentially a contest of endurance. Whoever outlasted the other would claim victory.
If Stephen managed to prevail, it would be a relief. However, Hela, always attuned to the worst possibilities, nervously asked, "And what if Dormammu wins?"
Lorien glanced at her and replied confidently, "Dormammu won't win."
"Huh?" Hela was confused. "Why not?"
"Because if Dormammu is about to win, I'll secretly give Stephen a boost. I'll make sure he defeats Dormammu. That way, Stephen will still win."
!!!
Hela was stunned. "That's cheating!"
Lorien chuckled. He pulled his hands from under a pair of grapefruits, squeezed Hela's cheeks playfully, and said, "We're not here to play fair, Hela."
He smirked. "We're here to keep things under control, not to argue about right and wrong."
"You think we're here for justice?"
Wanda and Gwen both burst into laughter at Lorien's comment.
They were there to help, after all.
"Do you even know how to distinguish between the small and the big one? Lorien's their godfather!"
Little Hela pouted upon hearing this. It was true, after all.
Meanwhile, up in the sky, the energy beams continued to clash, escalating the battle between Stephen and Dormammu.
Gradually, it became clear that Stephen was losing ground. Dormammu had already begun opening a rift to enter the realm. The spirits of the sorcerers who had used dark magic were likely being absorbed by the dark dimension. Stephen, despite his newfound strength, was no match for such a powerful entity.
Dormammu's massive eye, though speechless, seemed to carry a mocking expression. It was as if the dark lord was ridiculing Stephen's efforts, eagerly anticipating the new world that awaited after its arrival.
"Crack~"
But Lorien, watching from a distance, snapped his fingers.
Suddenly, Stephen felt an overwhelming surge of energy rushing through him. It was limitless, as if no matter how much he used, it could never be depleted.
"Ahhhh!" Stephen gritted his teeth, pushing the Eye of Agamotto to its limits.
A massive beam of energy, far greater than before, erupted from the Eye of Agamotto and shot toward Dormammu's eye.
!!!
Seeing this, Dormammu's massive eye widened in shock. The attack was now approaching the power of a Level Single Universe! How could Dormammu handle it? Should it take the hit?
But at that very moment, a rainbow-colored light descended from the dark sky, coming from a position even higher than Dormammu's eye.
"Bifrost!" Hela shouted in surprise.
She recognized it immediately—it was something she could even dream about. The opening of the Bifrost meant only one thing: Asgard had established a connection to this world.
"Who's coming?" Gwen asked curiously.
There was no need for Lorien to answer, as sunlight suddenly streamed through the sky, and from it emerged a robust, older man, wielding the Spear of Eternity.
"That old man!" Hela cursed under her breath, gritting her teeth.
Yet, despite her scorn, she quickly hid behind Lorien, realizing that she didn't have much room. Wanda and Gwen had already taken up his sides, so Hela had no choice but to cling to Lorien's leg.
Lorien could only shake his head. Three of his five limbs were being held.
"Don't cause any trouble," Lorien softly reminded Hela.
Odin stepped out of Asgard and immediately took in the scene of Dormammu and Stephen locked in battle.
He recognized Dormammu at once. The relationship between Odin and Dormammu was strained, a chaotic mix of rivalry. Neither side dared to provoke the other too much because there was nothing to gain from a full-blown conflict.
So, Odin addressed Dormammu directly.
"Dormammu, where is Hela?"
Dormammu's eye narrowed as it regarded Odin. Then it glanced at the Bifrost bridge behind him and the oncoming Level Single Universe attack it couldn't hope to withstand.
Suddenly, Dormammu's expression shifted into one of ruthless cunning. It had always avoided fighting Odin because it had no access to its dark dimension powers in Asgard. Dormammu was nothing without those powers.
But now, things were different.
Odin had crossed into Midgard, and the Bifrost channel was open!
Seizing the opportunity, Dormammu funneled all of its dark dimension energy into Midgard, reversing the reality channel. In an instant, it redirected both its energy bombardment and Stephen's toward Odin!
Odin's eyes froze.
Everyone else was stunned.
"Destroyer!"
Facing imminent death, Odin yelled for the Destroyer armor—his only defense against such a devastating attack.
But Lorien, hearing Odin's plea, glanced at his own storage space.
The Destroyer armor was with him. What was Odin calling for?
On the battlefield, the combined bombardments raced toward Odin with terrifying speed.
"T~~~!!!"
In little Hela's wide, disbelieving eyes, Odin let out a roar of defiance.
But it was no use. He was blasted back into the Bifrost by the tremendous force of both attacks, disappearing into the rainbow bridge.
The energy from the blasts only subsided once Odin had been flung out of sight.