Originally, Adam had come out in person simply to test how far a Xenomorph born from parasitizing a Deviant could go.
At least for now, manipulating the body's energy seemed to work without issue.
"Normal Xenomorphs can heal minor external wounds completely in a matter of seconds, while normal Deviants can channel energy throughout their bodies to rapidly repair injuries after being hurt."
Adam watched as the Xenomorph that had been sliced in half by Kaecilius developed a visible glow of energy at the wound site. The two halves of its body slowly pulled back together.
Under normal circumstances, as long as its internal energy wasn't exhausted, it could gradually repair itself given time. Its regenerative ability was noticeably stronger than that of ordinary Deviants.
"The ability to steal bodily energy... or life force... comes from their genes. That doesn't surprise me. But what about magic?"
Adam turned his attention to the dark sorcerer who had been facehugged and was now surrounded by layers of Xenomorphs.
Magic in this world was always borrowed. Yet Xenomorphs could seize high-quality genes from their hosts, integrate themselves as part of the host, disable the host's own healing, and achieve a form of surpassing and literal replacement.
Could such a Xenomorph take the host's place and inherit the magical debts owed by that host?
Adam was very interested in finding out.
"While I don't necessarily plan to walk the path of learning magic, having more options is always good," Adam mused, stroking his chin.
"Parasitism… you want to follow the same road as me? There's no need to go to such trouble. With your strength, you could simply join us," Kaecilius said, immediately understanding Adam's intentions. Rather than anger, a hint of enthusiasm appeared in his voice.
For a cold-blooded idealist, it was occasionally comforting when someone else shared his vision.
"It's not the same. I know that my joining would please Dormammu greatly, but before that, let my little ones try first," Adam replied casually.
At times like this, Kaecilius was basically an incurable fanboy. There was no point talking to him about anything else. Bring up Dormammu, and he came alive.
The two stood in tense readiness, prepared to fight at any moment, yet neither made the next move. Meanwhile, the Xenomorphs and the other dark sorcerers were locked in fierce combat.
The vampires were having the worst time of it. The poor creatures fought desperately, but neither the dark magic, the Xenomorphs, nor Blade were opponents they could withstand.
Even when they deployed their new creation... the Reapers, pale biological weapons painstakingly developed by the vampire clans that fed on both humans and vampires alike... they stood no chance. The Reaper was eventually hacked apart by Blade.
"This thing is really hard to kill. Looks like I have a new target," Blade said, using the tip of his blade to lift the Reaper's mouth. He glanced at Adam. "Its mouth looks a bit like your spiders."
"Let me correct you... the things you call 'spiders' are properly known as facehuggers. And comparing my facehuggers to the defective products you make from defective Reapers is honestly insulting."
Adam spoke while sparing a glance at the Reaper's corpse. The creature feared neither silver nor garlic... only sunlight.
Blade didn't have to fight this hard. He could have coordinated with the Xenomorphs to kill it easily. But he had charged in eagerly, clearly unwilling to let Adam capture the Reaper alive for parasitization.
"Wasteful behavior," Adam commented bluntly.
Blade pretended not to hear. Ignoring the surrounding Xenomorphs, he fixed his gaze on the ever-composed Kaecilius. "Now it's just you, sorcerer. A word of advice... your hand-to-hand skills are terrible. You lack both sufficient strength and proper technique."
"That's only natural. I can't compare to you, vampire," Kaecilius replied. "In the end, you are merely a toy my master created with dark magic, while we are pilgrims seeking truth in his service."
Kaecilius acknowledged that it was unrealistic for dark sorcerers to compete with a naturally gifted vampire like Blade in close combat.
But that didn't stop him from looking down on him.
"I hate it most when people call me a vampire. I'll carve my name into your corpse. By the way, what was your name again?" Blade spun his blades in a flourish and charged.
"Go cool off in Antarctica."
Kaecilius flicked his hand, creating a forward-moving portal that instantly swallowed Blade and sent him vanishing from sight.
"I was going to warn him, but he's not the type to listen to advice. When his wariness toward me takes priority, he probably didn't realize there's a reason I haven't attacked you yet," Adam said.
This was the downside of dealing with agents. Their minds were always occupied with things unrelated to the immediate fight, which could cloud their judgment at critical moments.
"Perhaps he knows, but felt he had to act before you did," Kaecilius said with a strange smile.
The world-renowned dark sorcerer clearly held a favorable impression of Adam.
Adam looked around. Besides Kaecilius, only the facehugged dark sorcerer and one other remained alive.
"Kaecilius, save me!!" the trapped sorcerer cried out desperately as a Deviant Xenomorph pinned him down. He looked toward the only person who could save him.
"Returning to Dormammu sooner has no downsides. On the path to immortality and truth, you're simply taking the first step ahead of me," Kaecilius said, unmoved.
The dark sorcerer fell into complete despair. He could only watch as the Deviant Xenomorph extended fleshy tendrils and pierced his neck.
Waves of energy rippled outward as the sorcerer's body rapidly shrank. In the end, he was completely absorbed by the Deviant Xenomorph.
"…The improvement isn't that significant. Magic really is different from other energies when it has an owner," Adam said, not too disappointed.
He waited to see what would happen with the parasitized dark sorcerer.
When the Xenomorph finally burst from the chest, the strange magical fluctuation reached a peak before rapidly fading away.
"Failed? Detected by Dormammu or Chthon?" Adam stroked his chin.
One was a universal-level being, the other multiversal. It wouldn't surprise him if they could see through the Xenomorph's attempt at substitution.
Just as Adam had expected.
Dormammu had noticed the anomaly immediately.
"Something is stealing my power without paying the price… Another one trying to imitate the Ancient One!!"
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