Hell Dimension
Many demon lords had gathered in Mephisto's castle.
In the past, none of them could tolerate one another, but now, it was a rare sight to see them getting along.
They had a common enemy.
A villain they couldn't even tear apart.
"That b*****d Aaron and those thieves from Kamar-Taj! They're ganging up on us!"
"Kill them! I will rip out their souls and have the wolves flog them for ten thousand years!"
"You're too kind! We should use their souls to fuel the lamps! Let them watch in endless agony as their essence turns into oil, drop by drop, until the flame dies out and the lamp runs dry!"
"No! The magicians of Kamar-Taj may deserve that, but Aaron must suffer far worse! He must be tormented for thousands of years, drowning in remorse! His agony will serve as a warning to the entire universe!"
"Summon the believers! Contact the others! I am willing to endure centuries of recuperation if it means I can cultivate a follower and make those magicians pay in blood!"
Within the castle, the demon lords railed against Aaron and Kamar-Taj.
Each sought a way to break into the real universe and slaughter their enemies to vent their fury.
It was infuriating!
As if tricking them with contracts wasn't enough, now Aaron had also taught the magicians of Kamar-Taj how to do the same.
Those self-righteous fools had come to deceive them again.
And to think the demons had been so sincere—offering what was asked, fulfilling their end of the deal—only to be betrayed once more.
Their trust had been shattered.
More than anything, their pride had been trampled.
The world had become too treacherous.
Even demons were being scammed!
How could they allow such an existence to persist?
They had to find a way to destroy it!
BOOM!
The Blackheart Demon, seated at the front, listened to the outraged cries of his fellow lords. As he recalled his own humiliation, he smashed his chair into pieces in a fit of rage.
"A—lun—! You better pray you never fall into my hands! I will make your life worse than death!"
Blackheart's ferocious face twisted with fury.
He still remembered those two enormous punches. Even now, the mere thought of them made his face throb.
And that kick—an utterly unreasonable kick—had sent him flying out of the hell dimension entirely.
A disgrace!
"Blackheart, calm yourself. This is not your domain."
A voice echoed from the sudden appearance of black mist.
Then, a figure emerged—the King of Hell himself, Mephisto.
He took his place upon the throne, gazing down at the gathered demons with a calm, almost amused expression.
"Old man, don't act so smug! You were lucky this time, so of course, you have the nerve to say such things!"
Blackheart had no respect for his father. His rage knew no bounds.
"Heh, heh, heh… Who made me the King of Hell? Naturally, I wouldn't be deceived so easily."
"If I had been fooled, I wouldn't be sitting in this position. You would be."
"Blackheart, you're still too naive."
Mephisto's smug words only fueled Blackheart's fury. He stomped the ground, his eyes blazing with fire.
"You'll regret this, old man!"
"Blackheart, I am the King of Hell!"
Mephisto dismissed him with a single sentence, then turned his attention to the other demon lords.
Blackheart was of no concern to him now.
Once, he had limited his son's power to keep him in check. Now, after being weakened by Aaron and Kamar-Taj, Blackheart was no longer a threat.
He was hardly worth noticing.
The other demon lords watched the father-son conflict unfold like an entertaining play.
Though they disliked Mephisto's arrogance, they knew their place.
Unlike them, Mephisto could recover quickly using the power of the hell dimension. And more importantly, he had not been deceived.
Even if all of them combined their strength, they wouldn't be able to defeat him.
"The King of Hell is our leader. He will take charge of this matter!"
Some demons began flattering Mephisto, which pleased him immensely.
Seeing this, the others followed suit.
They shamelessly praised him, calling him the strongest dimension master and the most intelligent and powerful Dimensional Lord in existence.
Mephisto soaked in their flattery, lowering his head as if in deep thought.
He had already forgotten how, not long ago, Aaron had killed him multiple times—reducing his body to nothing more than pulp.
But now, he had a plan.
Perhaps he could use the collective anger of the demon lords toward Aaron and Kamar-Taj to break through into the real universe.
If successful, he could seize complete dominion over the hell dimension.
Blackheart, meanwhile, felt sick watching the other demons grovel.
He was still burning with anger—not only toward Aaron and Kamar-Taj, but toward Mephisto as well.
Even these sniveling demon lords disgusted him.
Shameless creatures!
If Mephisto hadn't deliberately suppressed his growth, he would never have suffered such humiliation at Aaron's hands.
He was supposed to be the strongest, the most promising, the bravest demon!
At that moment, Mephisto raised his hands.
The room fell silent.
Despite their grievances, the demon lords still desired revenge. They needed Mephisto's power.
"I will handle this," Mephisto announced, his gaze sweeping across the room, taking in their expectant faces.
He also noticed Blackheart, whose expression remained grim.
Smirking, Mephisto cast him a mocking glance.
Blackheart clenched his fists, his head nearly exploding with rage.
Mephisto continued, "Why have we failed against Kamar-Taj and Aaron? The answer is simple: we cannot enter the real universe."
"We have no way of truly affecting history in the real universe."
He paused deliberately.
The demons nodded.
"Exactly! Otherwise, those magicians wouldn't be so confident!"
"If we could extend our influence into the real universe, we'd destroy them with ease!"
Mephisto raised his hand, signaling for silence once more.
"That is why we must unite. We must pool our power and exert influence over the real universe."
"We need more believers. We must grant them greater power."
"Then, we will breach the Three Sanctuaries!"
The room fell silent.
The demons lowered their heads, unwilling to respond.
They had already sacrificed too much energy.
If they continued to empower believers, they risked weakening their own essence—leaving themselves vulnerable to assassination by rival demons.
Mephisto frowned.
Cunning foxes, every one of them.
Blackheart nearly laughed at the sight of their hesitation.
But before he could speak, Mephisto cut him off.
"I know your concerns. I swear upon my name—so long as I live, no one will seize your thrones."
"Furthermore…"
"This time, we have allies."
"The mighty Dormammu, Lord of the Dark Dimension! And Satanish, ruler of the Spirit Dimension!"
"Let us welcome our new friends!"
Two swirling masses of black mist appeared on either side of Mephisto.
They took form.
Dormammu, a being so fearsome that even the demon lords quailed in his presence.
And Satanish, a mysterious but undeniably powerful Dimensional Lord.
Now, the gathered demons understood why two extra seats had been placed near Mephisto.
Even Blackheart had been unworthy of those seats.
These were beings of another caliber entirely.
Their alliance meant only one thing—this time, they would truly invade the real universe.
And victory was inevitable.
All the demon lords were aware that sorcerers could do nothing to Kamar-Taj before, not because there was no internal response, but because the real universe was likely to be destroyed. Therefore, they now needed to consider how to secure a piece of it for themselves.
The demon lords in the audience were busy plotting.
Meanwhile, the three Dimensional Lords on the stage were also engaging in a tense exchange.
"Mephisto, is this really the power you can unleash? I don't think so. If you want to rely on these guys, I'm afraid they're not qualified to share the real universe with us," said Satanish.
Dormammu's transfigured body remained silent, seated quietly on the throne.
It was Satanish who spoke. He represented one of the leaders but was effectively speaking for Dormammu.
"This attack on Kamar-Taj was a failure. The disciples of these fools have done little to nothing."
"And the defense of the three holy places is no weaker than that of Kamar-Taj."
"I doubt you have the qualifications to conspire with us."
Mephisto glanced at Dormammu, who was still silent, clearly agreeing with Satanish's words.
He raised an eyebrow involuntarily, then let it go and said with a smile, "Don't worry, you two. This time, I won't just rely on this little power. I will find two more believers to assist you."
"And I won't compete with you for the real universe."
"Huh? Then what do you want?" Satanish was puzzled by Mephisto's words.
Even Dormammu's attention was piqued.
Mephisto continued, "You both know my situation. The dimension of Hell is never peaceful."
"They've always wanted to remove me from this position."
He pointed to the demon lords in the audience, with a particular focus on Black Heart.
"But I've come up with a plan, a way to win over most of the demon lords."
"I need the lives of the gods of magic to harvest their hearts."
These words caused Satanish and Dormammu to exchange looks.
After a long pause, they considered the idea.
They too were interested in punishing Aaron, but if they could trade Aaron for Mephisto's share, it seemed like a good deal.
They didn't give it much thought, as Mephisto's own situation was indeed as he described it.
And the matter was something nearly all the magic practitioners were aware of.
Many Dimensional Lords secretly laughed at Mephisto, ridiculing him for being unable to manage his own house.
However, inside, Mephisto was chuckling to himself.
"Two idiots, they only focus on expanding their dimension every day."
"But they've missed the most valuable thing!"
"The magic net is useful for Kamar-Taj, but it's also useful for demons!"
Mephisto saw the magic net's potential.
In his eyes, the magic net was even more valuable than the real universe!
Swallowing the real universe was indeed the fastest way to enhance the dimension and increase the power of Dimensional Lords.
But think about it—if they wanted to devour the real universe, they would have to face not only Earth but also entities beyond it.
Perhaps it wouldn't be too difficult for Dormammu and the others to take down Earth, but defeating all life in the universe? That was another matter.
Mephisto had caught Aaron, who had been involved in creating the magic net.
If he could replicate the hell version of the magic net, then he could use it to harvest across the multiverse.
By recruiting believers from various universes, teaching them about the magic net, and letting them spread it, he could grow the network.
Once the magic net spread far enough, the strength he gained would certainly rival that of dimensional expansion.
When Robert sent back information about the magic net, Mephisto saw its enormous potential.
This would make him the most powerful Dimensional Lord.
What was the real universe in comparison?
"Hey hey, you all fight for the real universe."
"When I develop the magic net's potential, your stuff will be mine!"
"Cyttorak, Shuma-Grath—mere ants in front of me!"
"I, Mephistp, will be the Lord of Thousands of Dimensional Lords!"
Meanwhile, in Kamar-Taj...
The Ancient One was taking stock of the losses.
Kaecilius had led his forces in a second invasion, catching them off guard.
This battle wasn't as simple as the first one.
After all, there had been dozens of invaders.
The weakest of them was still much stronger than ordinary magicians.
Had it not been for their timely power-ups through borrowed magic, they might've been broken apart in direct combat.
Even so, they had lost a dozen of their own, all of them just beginners.
In this round of enhancements, they had only stolen a small amount of strength from Dormammu, and it was the weakest form of power-up.
They had also become prime targets for Kaecilius and his followers.
"Supreme One, Kaecilius's attack resulted in the loss of thirteen apprentices, and two are still missing."
Wang spoke sadly from the side.
This was the biggest loss Kamar-Taj had faced since its founding.
And it was the first time they had been driven back into their lair by the enemy.
The last time Kaecilius attacked, they'd repelled him with minimal losses, so it hadn't been a true invasion.
"I understand. Go inform the three holy places. Their next target may be them."
The Ancient One spoke calmly.
Wang Wenyan's expression grew serious, and he nodded before leaving to send the message.
The importance of the holy places exceeded even Kamar-Taj!
If they failed, the real universe could easily become the playground of the dimensional world!
"Stark, as you can see, the Earth is not at peace."
"The crisis in the magical world is far greater than the enemies the Avengers are used to facing."
"Once things go wrong, not only humanity but even the Earth and the entire universe could be plunged into darkness."
Tony Stark nodded attentively.
He watched the chaotic battlefield with a desire to learn magic.
Just now, he had gained much knowledge about the God of Magic and the magical world.
He also understood why the Ancient One praised Aaron so highly.
If the magical world were equivalent to the real universe, Aaron's contribution to the magical world was far greater than Stark's contribution to the real universe!
Aaron had single-handedly changed the system of the magical world, altering the long-standing practices of casting spells developed over thousands of years!
Moreover, it wasn't just Kamar-Taj; even the aloof gods had joined the magic net!
Aaron was playing a long game.
Today, he was unstoppable.
In the future, he would be even more terrifying!
He was the greatest magician, the god of law admired by all, and the key to reversing the tide between the real universe and the Lords of the dimensions.
Thanks to Aaron, Kamar-Taj had managed to weaken the Dimensional Lords.
Because of him, Kamar-Taj had easily repelled the dark necromancer who had been powered up multiple times.
Because of him, Earth had survived numerous crises.
After learning about these developments, Tony chose to join the magic net.
He needed to see what made the magic net so alluring.
Moreover, this was the quickest way to improve his magic.
As for how to increase his magical power, he had already figured it out.
The Lords from the dimensions didn't borrow magic?
That didn't matter!
He had money!
And the power of technology!
He could throw money at the problem and turn himself into a great magician!
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