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Illyana Rasputina—Magik—had been fighting an uphill battle for days. Her arms burned, trembling with every swing of the Soulsword as she cleaved through another demon minion's neck. Shlick. The black blood sprayed across her face and chest, sizzling where it touched her skin. She couldn't afford to waste energy dodging.
Above her, three green magic circles spun lazily in the air. With a thought from her, they launched bursts of strong wind and blasted the swarm of lesser demons trying to dogpile her back. The reprieve lasted maybe three moments, barely enough for her to pivot, raise the blade again, and bring it down.
Another head rolled, the beady eyes still glowing with mindless hate.
The cycle repeated.
Her pale skin flashed blood red for split seconds at a time. The demonic half inside her was clawing its way to the surface, hungry for blood. In her weakness, it grew stronger.
"Can't… go on." She drove the Soulsword point-first into the cracked ground and used it as a crutch to keep herself upright. "Should I just… return?"
It wasn't only the sheer endless numbers of Belasco's minions. Some of them had an alien entity bonded to them, which made them tougher and stronger. They didn't die easily.
"No," she muttered, shaking her head violently. "This bum-ass demon would just chase me there."
She couldn't do that to Piotr. The reunion would end up traumatizing Piotr. Besides, Earth's mystic defenses against the supernatural were unknown to her.
Moreover, her mutant powers needed Limbo's control to go wherever she pleased without any restrictions. And the Darkchylde needed her to be Limbo's ruler to stabilize and amplify its power.
Which meant she had to win this battle no matter what.
'Ororo would've helped.'
Another swing split a demon to groin in a clean half, letting out a sharp spray of black blood.
'And Kitty…'
With the two of them, from alternate timelines, taking over the other universe's Limbo had been a child's play. They had taught her so much.
But in her own universe, she met Belasco, who had grown stronger through some mysterious life form.
"RAAAAAAAH!" roared a demon covered in red alien's skin, its mouth a valley of sharp teeth, as it barreled forward at her. "Die for the ruler!"
Illyana snarled and brought her free hand down. The wind howled and stopped his momentum. He still stomped forward, albeit slowly.
"By the Flames of the Faltine."
Powered by her chant, multiple orange magic circles bloomed in the air. They pulsed once, and gouts of mystic flame from Faltine swallowed the red-skinned abomination whole.
She gritted her teeth and watched the creature melt slowly. First the red tendrils blackened and curled like burning hair, then the demon host beneath liquefied into bubbling tar.
The dual-layered screech that left its mouth would've ruptured Illyana's eardrums if not for the mystic protection around her ears. It had happened once before, making her cautious about leaving her vulnerable parts unprotected.
The red tendrils blackened and curled up, then the demon host beneath melted into bubbling tar.
"If only these entities gave me the permission to cast high-level spells—" Illyana slapped her face. "You survived ten years in Apocalypse's Hell and ten in Sentinels's. You're stronger than this."
The battlefield suddenly went quiet as the minions stopped their charge.
Belasco appeared in the air, hovering thirty feet up. His crimson cloak bellowed in the warm air of Limbo.
"My sweet slave Illyana, I will chase you to Earth. To the Moon. Wherever you flee, I will be right behind you. This time, not even god shall save you from me."
Illyana wiped blood from her lip with the back of her hand. "Why are you so obsessed with me?"
Although she had a hunch it was related to her natural talent with Dark Magic, she still wanted to hear it from the demon himself.
"To me, you are not a pretty mutant with unique gifts," Belasco said, crossing his arms and looking down at her arrogantly. "You are the key in bringing the Elder Gods down to Earth."
"Elder Gods?" It was her first time hearing anything about gods, much less the Elder version of them. "Gods are real?"
"You Earthlings are far too pathetic to comprehend them," he said with a smirk. "But these Elder Gods… they have granted me immortality and invulnerability. Can you imagine how strong they would make me once I finish the ritual for their descent?"
"Invulnerable? Funny. Last I checked, I cut your arm off."
Belasco pointed one clawed finger at her glowing weapon. "A blade forged from the purest fragment of a soul. The only thing capable of harming me."
Illyana bared her teeth in a feral grin. "Guess who's about to cut your head off with it?"
She growled and launched herself. Small horns punched through her scalp and curved. Massive black wings erupted from her back, red on the inside. With one powerful beat, she was right in Belasco's face.
Soulsword whistled down in a killing arc.
WHOOSH.
She sliced through an afterimage.
Her glowing red eyes locked on Belasco hundreds of meters away. "Demonic magic."
"You caught me off-guard last time. I had no time to prepare defenses."
Giving a sorcerer time to prepare was never good, especially not one with mastery over demonic spells and complete control over Limbo.
"Your demonic side is unstable," he taunted. "Release the Darkchylde completely."
Illyana charged at him again, only for him to shred yet another afterimage.
"She'll be at home in this world of blood and fire." Belasco's voice echoed from everywhere around her as shadows of Belasco emerged around her. "Are you afraid to admit you're weaker than a demon?"
She growled in frustration and slashed every shadow around her with a spinning slash. The partial Darkchylde transformation made every emotion sharper, making it quite easy to slip control and release its complete form. She had to fight hard for control constantly until she stabilized it by becoming the Ruler of this Limbo.
"What will it take?" Belasco asked and slowly moved his claw through the air. The space fragmented like paper and opened a mirror into another world—Earth. Piotr, still as big and massive as ever, drove a motorcycle in the night. "The death of your beloved brother?"
Blood filled her vision.
"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY BROTHER!"
Illyana's speed exploded to a new level. Belasco's smiling afterimage was sliced in hundreds of pieces.
This time, Illyana was prepared.
She summoned a stepping disc beneath her feet and teleported behind Belasco. Her Soulsword plunged down into Belasco. Just as the blade touched his spine, slimy red tentacles erupted and caught her blade. It separated itself from Belasco's body, wrapping around her blade like hungry snakes.
"Your sword counters many types of creatures. Alien lifeforms aren't one of them."
Illyana yanked the Soulsword with everything she had left, but the red creature's mass only tightened its grip with a sickening squish-squelch. She snarled and slammed her left fist down onto the mass, only for it to open like a mouth and swallow her hand up to the wrist.
"Ewww, you disgusting freak. Give it back."
She tried to move the Soulsword with her mind, but nothing happened. It seemed as though the creature had blocked communication with the sword.
"Haha. I've been watching this peculiar creature for a very long time," Belasco said, turning around slowly to face her. On his face was smug satisfaction. "I knew it would neutralize your precious toy completely."
Illyana's eyes blazed crimson. "By the Flames of Faltine."
The orange circles she had summoned earlier reignited, brighter and hotter, as they fed on her mystic energy. Twin jets of pure fire roared toward the Soulsword and bathed the blade in a purifying inferno.
Black magic circles covered the red flesh and absorbed the flames reigning down from the Faltine dimension.
Belasco shook his head in pity. "Why did you think I was stalling you, child?"
He reached out to Illyana with his clawed fingers, but froze before he touched her cheek. His eyes widened in shock.
"Who…?"
Belasco looked like he had seen the end of the world with his own eyes.
Illyana twisted to look over her shoulder. Behind her, a complicated, glowing magic circle had covered the air. Through its center, two steady blue flames burned. They were the eyes of the entity who had left Belasco shivering in his boots. Illyana couldn't spot anything special about them.
"Another demon?"
A pale hand, wrapped in black cloth, reached out from the other side.
The Soulsword, wrapped in red flesh, flew straight toward the hand like iron being attracted by a magnet.
Illyana blinked for a few seconds, processing what just happened.
"OI!" Illyana roared. "STOP RIGHT THERE!"
She didn't spare Belasco another glance. The Soulsword was her soul, literally. Losing it meant losing herself. The arrogant freaky Belasco could wait.
She let out a guttural demonic growl and charged straight into the portal. As if she would fear any demon.
The growl cut off as she landed hard on her ass. The sulfur stink and heated air of Limbo vanished.
"You shouldn't overuse that power."
She heard a voice and her Darkchylde form receded forcefully against her wish. Exhaustion crashed over her like a wave.
She was… on Earth?
Standing over her was a man with a burning skull. Ghost Rider but with blue flames. His presence was colder and more ancient, unlike that madman who was always horny for punishing evil.
On his side was a black-haired woman with distinct green irises. A familiar-looking mutant from the other timeline, except the one she had met was young and wounded.
The flaming-skull man extended a hand, the friendly gesture quite at odds with his intimidating image.
"Welcome back to Earth, Illyana Rasputin."
***
Dante saw Illyana's eyes narrow in suspicion. She wasn't trusting the stranger who had lured her to Earth by seizing her Soulsword. But truthfully speaking, she would've been defeated and used by Belasco to fuel his ritual. He had seen the whole timeline of events in Limbo.
Time flowed differently in Limbo. From Earth's side of the veil, every second that had ever happened in Limbo, was happening, or ever would happen piled on top of each other. Time wasn't constant.
Dante had to pluck Illyana from Limbo before her moment of capture. By doing this, he had locked one timeline in Reality, where Illyana survived Belasco.
'I'll whoop his ass later.'
He had been paranoid that some Hell-Lord had their eye on Earth, only for the culprit to be the creepy demon ruler of Limbo. He allowed a symbiote carnage in the city for nothing.
Illyana ignored his hand and stood up on her own before stretching her hand out.
He clutched the Soulsword and ripped the symbiote away. The little Hivemind creature that had given him so much trouble was finally in his hands.
The Soulsword flew back to Illyana's hand the moment it was freed from the symbiote's grasp. She held the sword by its hilt and examined it.
"Who are you? How do you know me?"
Dante held the symbiote, locking it down with his Death aura. "I'm a friend of your brother Piotr. Dante."
"Piotr?" Her eyes went wide, a look of raw emotion showing underneath. She spun in a quick circle, scanning the empty Oscorp Island plaza like her brother might be around. "He isn't here?"
"No," Dante said gently. "This whole thing… It was an experiment. I didn't want to make him stand through it."
The experiment could've failed and shattered Piotr's hopes. Besides, now it would be a huge surprise for Piotr.
Illyana swallowed hard, forcing composure back over her face. But the anxiety still flickered in her eyes. "Then where is he? Tell me."
"Give me a second. I'll call him here."
Dante pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped Piotr's contact.
While the phone rang in his ear, Illyana turned to Laura. The women locked gazes for completely different reasons. One was filled with warm nostalgia, and the other assessed the threat level.
Dante was a bit confused. If Illyana knew Laura from another universe, why would she be in the Limbo of this reality? Something didn't add up.
"This is my friend Laura."
Laura's lip twitched at the word "friend." She clearly wanted to be more than that, judging by her expression and well, her constant show of affection. "Laura Kinney."
Illyana gave a small nod, gazing at Laura with complicated complications. "I'm… happy you escaped Weapon X."
"SHIELD," Laura corrected her. "Dante saved me."
Illyana shifted her attention back to Dante, showing a look of intrigue. It was almost as if she could see through his status as an otherworlder. A being that wasn't supposed to be in this timeline.
"He isn't answering?"
He shook his head. "Give me one second."
Stepping back, he raised both and traced quick symbols in the air. Golden threads of light followed his fingers. When the triangular pattern imprinted itself in the air, he joined his hand in a triangle shape, releasing a golden mystical beam that filled the magic circle in the air.
Inside the frame, Piotr could be seen as in his Colossus form under hellish red skies. He was roaring and smashing waves of demonic minions with his giant steel fists.
Belasco had taken Piotr in Limbo to force Illyana to return.
"Brother…" Her voice was thick with love and decades of longing. She wiped her tears away and held her Soulsword. "Wait for me. I'm coming."
She was prepared to rip open a stepping disc and hurl herself straight back into Limbo with her mutant power.
Dante put a hand on her shoulder. "Wait."
***
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