Chapter 273: The Feast and the One Who Escaped
...
Du Wa departed with Shuma-Gorath.
No matter how many Deities searched, they could not find any trace of Du Wa. This was to be expected. Unless a multiversal-level being was willing to track him at all costs, prepared for Du Wa's wrath and a potential war, only then might they learn of his destination. But without a doubt, no matter how crazed a Deity, they would not easily provoke a conflict with someone as powerful and unique as Du Wa.
Through his actions, Shuma-Gorath had demonstrated the fate of those who stood against Du Wa. As a result, Shuma-Gorath himself, an ancient god who had existed for an eternity and struck fear into countless beings, had fallen into Du Wa's hands, his fate unknown.
"Found him?"
"Absolutely no trace... Where on Earth did that one take Shuma-Gorath? Surely he didn't leave the Multiverse?"
"Shuma-Gorath might have left the Multiverse, but Du Wa couldn't have. I heard he's a concept god. Wherever there are Xenomorphs, there is Du Wa."
The entire Multiverse, aside from the massive multiversal wound from the great battle that was slowly healing itself, had suddenly fallen quiet—an unnervingly quiet silence.
Countless universes, which should have been bustling and prosperous with all sorts of transmigrators journeying between them, were now utterly deserted. Many travelers simply hid in the nearest universe, trembling in fear, not daring to show their faces.
At a time like this, only multiversal-level beings dared to speak Du Wa's name directly, some even finding a few Xenomorphs to question, but none received any form of response from him.
"Hmph, the great Glass will not be easily defeated! He only lost in form to a shameful siege! If it weren't for Thanoseid, with his divine artifacts, joining the battle, Du Wa would have been the one to lose in the end!!"
Only the fanatical Many-Angled Ones were still relentless, stubbornly carrying out Shuma-Gorath's command, attacking the Alien Universe at all costs.
Even as the war progressed to its current stage, the vast majority of the Cthulhu-like monsters had been dismembered into fragments and tossed aside like garbage. A very small number of lucky ones managed to retain a larger part of their bodies, but they were already surrounded by multiple Xenomorphs, unable to move.
Mar-Vell was in the worst state, besieged by several single-universe-level Xenomorphs, his body already shattered to pieces. But even at this stage, he refused to give up, loudly praising Shuma-Gorath and cursing every Xenomorph present.
*Swish!*
A sword slashed down, completely erasing Mar-Vell.
Under the gaze of countless eyes, Thanoseid reappeared.
He had left quickly and returned just as quickly. Thanoseid was still that powerful individual comparable to a multiversal-level being.
"Tsk, I'm guessing it's because he can't leave a specific universe for too long, otherwise the power of the Infinity Stones would get weaker and weaker. Once it reached a certain limit, he was thrown back by Du Wa."
Deep within the Multiverse, a large, pale head let out a malicious laugh. It was wandering about, enjoying the chaos erupting within the Multiverse—its favorite environment. Unfortunately, the large, golden head next to it—the Lord of Order—would definitely step out at the first opportunity to limit the chaos to a certain boundary, ensuring order in the numerous universes.
"Don't worry about the state of the God of Xenomorphs' subordinate deity. I just hope you stop running around and creating more chaos," the Lord of Order growled.
Lord Chaos was nonchalant. "Are you telling me what to do? We are absolutely equal. I exist because you exist, and vice versa. You are no nobler than me! If we're really talking about nobility, when I was still Amatsu-Mikaboshi, I was a clone of Oblivion, countless times nobler than you!!"
At that time, Lord Chaos had frantically devoured all the pantheons within the universe to strengthen himself, eating and eating like a black hole that could never be filled. After devouring one universe, he continued to devour other universes, eating his way to a multiversal standing, becoming the current Lord Chaos, existing as the counterpart to the Lord of Order.
The Multiverse cannot lose chaos and order, otherwise this vast world would be incomplete. It's no wonder Lord Chaos is always so unrestrained. Apart from Oblivion, a Creator Deity who transcends the Multiverse, Lord Chaos truly held no other gods in high regard.
Not even the Lord of Order.
As for Du Wa? Alright, the God of Xenomorphs is indeed very powerful, but no matter how strong Du Wa is, he is just an ordinary multiversal god. In the eyes of Lord Chaos, there is no essential difference between him and the likes of Shuma-Gorath. He is completely incomparable to a Multiversal God like himself, who exists as part of the Multiverse.
How can a Multiversal God born from the Multiverse act against the Multiverse itself?
"It's just a fight between two troublesome characters. Why be so cautious? Even Oblivion and the others haven't said anything." Lord Chaos rolled continuously through the Multiverse. The poor fellows in the nearby universes were scared out of their wits seeing such a large head rolling around.
Lord Chaos was also a god of great infamy.
He was constantly sizing up the Lord of Order, seemingly lost in thought. Unsurprisingly, he had already discovered the "weak point" of the Lord of Order—an extreme aversion and hatred for all actions that disrupt order, regardless of whether they are good or bad. In his anger, it was entirely possible for him to take extreme actions for the sake of order itself.
"Hehehe..." Lord Chaos let out a malicious laugh. He felt he should thank the God of Xenomorphs for getting rid of Shuma-Gorath, who was beyond his control and had some overlapping authority, and also for letting him discover the flaw in his partner and counterpart. It might come in handy someday.
"Xenomorphs, Xenomorphs... If these things can truly spread throughout the Multiverse in all directions, creating more chaos, it would be a good thing for me. In every universe, there will surely be a large number of resisters fighting the Xenomorphs. But once the total number of Xenomorphs breaks a critical point, it will instead reduce the chaos within the universe, and order will gain the upper hand." As Lord Chaos pondered, the Lord of Order followed closely behind him, a lingering phantom with an increasingly grim expression.
Just then, Lord Chaos and Master Order stopped simultaneously and glanced in the direction of the Cancerverse.
"Universe 10011 has been destroyed by Thanoseid. The Many-Angled Ones have been almost completely dismembered. The chaos is subsiding."
"The Multiverse has lost another numbered universe."
The two large heads stared intently, Thanoseid's figure reflected in their eyes.
...
Thanoseid himself knew that his every action would be a focal point of attention for the gods of the Multiverse. He simply stood in the ruins left by the explosion of the Cancerverse with a savage smile, enjoying the pleasure that slaughter brought him.
Compared to the Xenomorphs' parasitism, Thanoseid indeed preferred to listen to the wails and screams of his enemies through bloody slaughter.
"Where did Du Wa go? I didn't see him, nor did I receive any response from him," Demon Strange flew before Thanoseid.
"Hmph, it has nothing to do with you, and nothing to do with me. Since he had me escort Shuma-Gorath a certain distance before taking over, the rest is not my concern," Thanoseid sneered.
Where did Du Wa take the half-dead Shuma-Gorath? So what if he went beyond the Multiverse? In any case, that was something the likes of Demon Strange could never comprehend. Thanoseid could now be considered to have the perspective of a multiversal-level being. Moreover, having personally traveled between two multiverses and wielding immense power, he no longer held Demon Strange in high regard.
Demon Strange stared fixedly at Thanoseid, his fierce demonic face showing no change in emotion.
"When you've conquered more Hells and become an even more powerful Hell Lord, then you can appear before me again. Speaking of which, you, a Hell Lord, are no different from me using the Infinity Stones. Once you leave your specific region, your strength will rapidly decline," Thanoseid sneered.
How could he possibly know Du Wa's whereabouts? When it involved a multiversal god like Shuma-Gorath, Du Wa would never let someone with insufficient strength like him get deeply involved. It would be a different story if it were Quantum Batman.
Oh, perhaps Quantum Batman had already secretly arrived and was currently teaming up with Du Wa in some hidden place, doing some unspeakably cruel things to Shuma-Gorath.
Thanoseid quickly returned to the Alien Universe and, while he was at it, severed the contact with Universe 199999, forcibly separating the two universes.
"The Xenomorphs are not a harmonious bunch; they are also full of contradictions and conflicts. Once Du Wa is gone, the Xenomorphs will naturally fall apart... No, that won't happen. Du Wa is a concept god. He must have anticipated this scene, which is why he chose conceptual godhood?"
Uatu frantically recorded every scene he witnessed, naturally taking in the minor episodes occurring among the Xenomorphs.
He felt he had struck gold. With this recording in his possession, if he sent it all back to his people at once, it would surely cause a sensation among all the Watchers.
Uatu's departure signified the end of this Multiverse-shaking divine war. The God of Xenomorphs had declared his status to countless worlds, making innumerable lives tremble in fear.
The only good news was the demise of the Cancerverse. Without this monster universe filled with twisted deformities and spreading corruption everywhere, it was a good thing for the Multiverse. Many weaker universes should be breathing a sigh of relief.
As for Thanoseid? Alright, many people were indeed curious about this fellow who bore some resemblance to Thanos, and they also realized that, like Thanos, he seemed very adept at wielding the power of the Infinity Stones.
But everyone knew that no matter how powerful Thanoseid was, he was essentially a part of Du Wa, a power that Du Wa could seize and use at any time.
Swarms of Xenomorphs scattered one after another, heading to Universe 199999 and various other universes, or returning to Hell.
The former Sorcerer Supremes who had come from various universes to participate in the war gathered once again in the Sanctum Sanctorum of Earth-1543681. This time, all sorts of strange magic flew about, bringing wondrous foods and drinks from various worlds.
There were even colorful cosmic creatures present, mingling among the various sorcerers.
"Cheers, to this unprecedented victory!"
"It was so hard! How long have we been holding on? It's completely incalculable, an immeasurable amount of time! We might have to ask Eternity to find out!"
"All the sacrifices were worth it. Those who died should also celebrate this. We defeated those monsters, and even Shuma-Gorath has fallen!"
A mystical magic table, peculiar wine glasses, ancient parchment... these sorcerers were getting wild, and the scene became quite chaotic, with shouting, crying, and of course, some very quiet sorcerers, most of whom were Ancient Ones.
"Why haven't I seen the Ancient One from Earth-1543681?"
A male Ancient One looked around and was surprised to find that the local Ancient One had vanished at some point.
"That's normal. Her strength was already top-tier among us. Apart from the dark-circled Strange who also follows Du Wa, no one would dare claim to be her equal in magical expertise."
The local Ancient One was truly unfathomable to the other Ancient Ones, and the strength she possessed was also extraordinarily special.
In fact, the Ancient One had already left Earth-1543681 and appeared before the Vishanti.
Some Ancient Ones chose to follow Eternity, while others followed the Vishanti. She was one of the latter.
"I never saw you make a move from beginning to end. This was a great opportunity to finish off Shuma-Gorath for good. It's too much of a pity to miss it like this." The Ancient One looked quizzically at the Trinity Vishanti before her.
In this realm of magic, brewing with endless particles of white magic, the magnificent white mist churned continuously. At the very top, it converged into three half-bodied deities.
Oshtur, Hoggoth, Agamotto.
These three deities, united, formed the Vishanti, one of the magical entities praised by countless sorcerers, a great origin, a sacred beginning.
"Something special happened that left us no time to pay attention to Shuma-Gorath's situation."
"Fortunately, you achieved the final victory. Your decision to place the key to defeating Shuma-Gorath on Du Wa was an absolutely correct one."
"The worst outcome would have been Shuma-Gorath being captured and subjected to parasitism by Du Wa. In the infinitely distant future, when Shuma-Gorath returns, he might be a Xenomorph. But this doesn't fundamentally change Du Wa's power. If he wishes, even without Shuma-Gorath, he can still radiate across the Multiverse and spread Xenomorphs to every world."
The three deities spoke one after another.
The Ancient One was even more confused. "What could possibly be more important than Du Wa defeating and taking away Shuma-Gorath? Thanoseid is greatly restricted. Even if he can display strength on your level, he's not really worth worrying about. But if Shuma-Gorath also becomes a Xenomorph, it would be completely different."
Du Wa could call upon the combat power of two multiverses at any time, which was enough to give him a huge advantage over other multiversal gods. To put it bluntly, it would be much easier for Du Wa to acquire the combat power of a third multiverse now.
If no more powerful beings stepped up to stop Du Wa, it would be even easier for him to obtain the combat power of a fourth and fifth multiverse in the future.
The being with the most reason and ability to step up and join forces with Du Wa to kill Shuma-Gorath for good was the Vishanti.
"Chthon escaped," Agamotto said with a helpless expression after a moment of silence.
(end of chapter)