Chapter 151: The Fall of Ultron with Six Gems
A fellow who takes off by relying on something is bound to collapse the moment they lose it. This is why it's said that a person's greatest strength is also their greatest weakness.
This saying was perfectly suited to describe Ultron. Without the Infinity Gems, this robot would plummet from its current level of power to rock bottom in an instant.
Of course, the "rock bottom" here was still far beyond an ordinary person's imagination. Ultron was, after all, an intelligent lifeform. Give it enough computer hardware and manufacturing plants, and it could raise a robot army anytime, anywhere.
Even without these things, it was the most tenacious parasite in a technological society. If it was determined to hide, it could simply conceal itself in any computer, and humanity would have to burn through countless brain cells just to find it.
But for a powerhouse on Du Wa's level, a normal robot army, no matter the size, was just fodder. And because they were not made of flesh and blood, they were of no value whatsoever to Du Wa.
Now, the Power Gem was in his hand.
A purple glow swirled in the palm of Du Wa's hand.
This not only meant that the power in Du Wa's hands was stronger and Ultron had grown weaker, but it also sent a critical signal to everyone: Ultron was finished.
"You stole my Power Gem!" Ultron was furious.
"No, I snatched your Power Gem. You were a few microseconds slower than I expected to realize your Power Gem was gone. That's just terrible. Even with a divine artifact like the Infinity Gems, you still haven't fixed your flaws. At most, you've just covered them up exquisitely. But no matter how gorgeous the patch, it doesn't change the fact that you're in tatters."
Du Wa gripped the Power Gem. In his current state, he was essentially using the flesh and blood body of Thanos to make direct contact with the most violent of the Power Gems.
The Eternal bloodline and the Xenomorph bloodline both came into play at this moment, vastly increasing the durability of this body.
Dazzling patterns of light spread across Du Wa's body. This was indeed a strain, but it also further enhanced the power in his hands.
"Seven Infinity Gems. In the vast majority of universes, this is an impossible occurrence, yet in this cluster of universes, it has actually happened."
Du Wa felt the power of the seven Infinity Gems continuously pouring into him, empowering him. The two Power Gems, in particular, represented two different universal laws of power, which were now erupting in conflict with each other. This would inevitably cancel out a portion of the Power Gems' strength, but as long as Du Wa could withstand it, the overall result was still a greater power boost.
Aside from a few special Infinity Gems, such as the Ego Stone, the Wisdom Stone, the Rhythm Stone, the Plot Continuity Gem, and so on, six Infinity Gems was the normal number for a universe.
In Universe 199999 at this moment, it was seven against five.
"What a despicable God! You were planning this theft from the very beginning? You did all this just to steal the Infinity Gems from me!"
Ultron appeared enraged, so much so that its super-processing brain, now under high-intensity overload, caused its body to constantly erupt with blasts of energy.
"I take one, and you call it theft. If I take them all, then that is strength. Ultron, don't cry like a child. The reality is that you are destined to lose—my apologies, my words were ill-chosen. You are not human. You are, in essence, just a high-quality item. You lack the developmental stage of childhood."
Du Wa suddenly clenched his fist. With one Power Gem in his palm and the other six on the back of his hand, he moved, launching a punch at Ultron from across the void.
In that instant, the vast distance between the two was shattered on the spot.
All matter, energy, time, space, and magnetic fields collapsed. Under Du Wa's offensive, they all crumbled and turned against Ultron, becoming an environment that suppressed it.
Ultron struggled to resist, but with only five Infinity Gems left, it was clearly at a disadvantage.
Just the combined assault from the seven Infinity Gems striking Ultron was enough to effortlessly blast it across countless galaxies. Along the way, the energy that impacted and radiated from its body destroyed an incalculable number of planets.
Ultron had never suffered a blow of this magnitude. Even when trading blows fist-to-flesh with the Watcher, it had never been beaten so wretchedly.
Everyone knew this was only the beginning.
"It's over. I don't believe Ultron has any chance of a comeback. Can it possibly snatch the Infinity Gems back from Du Wa?"
Black Strange had been looking for an opportunity to use magic, planning to backstab Ultron and add to their advantage in this battle. He had mastered numerous evil spells. Before accepting Uatu's invitation to this universe, he had even formulated several evil tactical plans in his head, ready to see which one the situation called for.
But now, he simply lowered his hands, and even the shimmering Ring of Raggadorr on his hand vanished. "I don't believe an orthodox deity of a universe would make such a low-level mistake. Not even the most arrogant god would do so. But Ultron would. It is still not a god in the truest sense."
"So our mission is complete just like that?"
"Yes... Watcher, perhaps you never needed to find so many people from the start. Just Du Wa and I would have been enough. Even you yourself were of little use. Of course, I know you wouldn't act personally unless you were desperate. You much prefer to hide and engage in endless observation. What a boring hobby."
Black Strange let out a low laugh. "At least I could contribute a Time Stone to help Du Wa save the step of having to acquire one from the past or another parallel universe. As for you, god, I don't think there's any use for you anymore."
If this had been before this major event, and Black Strange had spoken to Uatu in such a tone, Uatu would have been enraged. No matter how low he had sunk, he was still a lofty god, a being who overlooked the rebirth and destruction of countless universes from a higher dimension.
But not anymore. At least toward an archmage like Black Strange, who had played a role and indirectly saved his life, status, and honor, he would show more patience.
Besides, to put it bluntly, if Black Strange were to really fight Uatu, even if he couldn't win, he could definitely put up a fierce fight with his profound mastery of magic and the Time Stone, perhaps along with a pile of other divine artifacts.
Now, these two would have no opportunity to fight each other, because the much more powerful and unfathomable Du Wa had appeared—so unfathomable that even gods struggled to comprehend him. He was, bit by bit, bringing this major event to a close, writing the final chapter for the once-invincible Ultron with Six Gems.
Throughout the entire universe, within this boundless space-time, the figures of Du Wa and Ultron could be seen streaking like lightning.
In every instant, their figures, as if through teleportation and duplication, effortlessly filled every point in space. All these figures were engaged in brutal combat.
The rules were irrelevant. Wherever they passed, whether they created or destroyed, what remained became the new rules.
Throughout this process, Ultron was completely suppressed.
BOOM!
Du Wa tore open a large swath of space with a single blow, reducing it to The Void. The universal barrier of this region came into direct contact with the vast, blank expanse outside the universe.
Although this damage quickly began to regenerate, Du Wa would always inadvertently create new wounds when attacking Ultron.
The entire Universe 199999 was beaten and scarred, a picture of devastation.
But in Du Wa's eyes, Universe 199999 no longer existed. To put it bluntly, even if he beat this universe to a pulp, as long as it inflicted greater damage on Ultron, Du Wa would do it without hesitation.
With the Infinity Gems in hand, as long as it wasn't a god or a thing that surpassed the specifications of the Infinity Gems, there was a chance to undo the damage after the battle. It all depended on whether Du Wa was the final victor and whether he was willing to do such a thing.
At worst, Du Wa could just abandon this place, return to his original universe, and prepare for his ascension to a concept god. That wouldn't be a problem at all. He wouldn't waste too much energy on Universe 199999.
The MCU, after all, was a cluster of universes with an upper limit, appearing somewhat insignificant compared to the entire Marvel Multiverse.
As Du Wa's figure appeared in more regions, becoming almost omnipresent, Ultron's body was now covered in wounds. Its incredibly tough vibranium body, which had only gained life through the Mind Gem, was now beaten to a pulp.
Du Wa extended two fingers, directly piercing the energy barrier Ultron created, nearly touching its forehead and the Mind Gem.
*Crack!*
With a soft sound, dense cracks appeared on Ultron's forehead. The Mind Gem at the center of the cracks trembled violently.
"Perhaps this is your body's destiny. Conceived and born through the Mind Gem, you transformed from a machine into a living being. So it's inevitable that the Mind Gem, your core, would be dug out by someone far stronger than you."
Du Wa slowly applied more force.
If the heroes of this universe's Earth saw this scene, they would surely find it familiar, because the artificial hero they knew—Vision—had his Mind Gem gouged out by Thanos in just this way.
Now, it was simply being reenacted. In a sense, it was still "Vision" having his Mind Gem gouged out.
"To think it would come to this."
Ultron roared in fury. The Mind Gem was the most important gem for it, a crucial divine artifact that sustained its very life.
Without this thing, Ultron wouldn't necessarily die, but it would instantly revert to its previous state as an intelligent lifeform.
An intelligent lifeform, on a planet rife with technology like Earth, would be like a fish in water, extremely difficult to kill, with countless opportunities to make a comeback.
In the Age of Ultron that erupted in a certain parallel universe, Ultron had stood in the future, controlling its robot clones in past time points to unleash endless slaughter upon the heroes.
But unfortunately, that only worked in the mortal world. Against a powerful enemy like Du Wa, Ultron knew very well that even if it could flee to the future or escape to the past, it would ultimately be useless, because Du Wa would surely hunt it to its death, erasing it completely from the plane of space-time.
But if there was no hope in this universe, it could go to other parallel universes.
Ultron roared, its voice echoing throughout the universe—the sound of the cosmos, the manifestation of the rules.
It used all its strength, turning its entire body into a sun, continuously releasing light in an attempt to push Du Wa away in one fell swoop.
"You'd damage your own body to use greater strength? Then I care even less about damaging mine. Don't forget, the one fighting you is not the real me. It is, in essence, merely a clone of mine. Even if it's a one-for-one trade where we're both destroyed, it's a very worthwhile victory for me. And you? How many Visions do you have to spare?"
"I still have countless robots and have established strongholds in many universes! I can launch a second, a third war at any time! I will go to more universes to find more Infinity Gems..." Ultron said.
"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right. But those robots can't wield the Infinity Gems."
"Neither can your clone! Do you have more Thanos bodies?"
"Sorry, but I actually do." Du Wa smiled, his attitude not like he was talking to an enemy, but as relaxed and casual as if chatting with an acquaintance. "Look at those Xenomorphs constantly entering this universe. Although quite a few have been killed, none of them are Queens. They were spawned by various different Queens and then parasitized some not-so-outstanding hosts. As for Xenomorphs on the level of Thanos, I can find a few more if I really want to."
Du Wa even used the Reality Gem to create a replica of Thanos on the spot, though it had no soul, only the body of Thanos.
Ultron struggled with all its might. It was indeed slowly breaking free from Du Wa, and at the same time, it wanted to activate the Mind Gem to create a few more Visions ahead of time. But of course, that was impossible; it didn't have several Mind Gems.
Nor could it use the Reality Gem to create a Mind Gem.
Du Wa suddenly exerted force. His two fingers pressed directly into Ultron's skull, clamped onto the Mind Gem, and pulled it out, bit by bit.
There were even filaments trailing, perhaps metal wires, or maybe Ultron's nerves? But none of that mattered anymore.
Another Infinity Gem was taken by Du Wa, and it was the most critical Mind Gem. This meant Ultron was officially on a path to its doom.
Ultron itself knew this. Having lost the Mind Gem, its core code would have trouble even escaping this universe. It stared at the person before it, its forehead shattered, the red light in its eyes gradually dimming.
In Ultron's eyes, there was no Thanos, only Du Wa, who was controlling Thanos.
Even at this moment, it had not seen Du Wa's true body.
"Where is the real you hiding, remotely controlling everything here from another universe?" Ultron asked.
"I am everywhere. Also, dealing with you didn't consume much of my strength. You probably can't comprehend it, but I have several subordinates under my command who can rival a deity. I couldn't even be bothered to send them here, because there wouldn't be much point."
After Du Wa finished speaking, he swiped with his other hand, taking the remaining four Infinity Gems from Ultron's chest. "Farewell."
He completely erased Ultron from this world.
(end of chapter)