Chapter 165: The Three-Piece Set of Infinity Artifacts
This moment was destined to become eternal.
Whether in the endless past or the countless futures, regardless of the circumstances, this moment would ultimately be forever engraved upon the universe.
A new concept god was born.
This was the only concept god this universe had nurtured since its birth. As for the innumerable other parallel universes, they could not give rise to a being similar to Du Wa, not even until they perished.
The moment Du Wa attained godhood.
The universe itself seemed to halt its normal operations. Every region, every galaxy, every planet, and even every rule of the universe, all cheered for Du Wa.
The universe itself seemed to have become Du Wa's loyal follower—of course, this was an illusion, because the few Creation Gods who existed as cosmic entities could never become his followers.
But this didn't stop all the humans and gods who witnessed Du Wa's ascension to godhood from having a similar impression.
As the entire universe was imprinted with Du Wa's mark, as all that was known and unknown was slowly eroded by him.
At this moment, Du Wa not only made a leap in strength, returning to the single-universe-level sequence, but he was even more powerful than when he had defeated Knull and served as the God of the World Tree. Furthermore, he expanded madly on a conceptual level; all things and cognitions related to the Xenomorph became his.
Anyone who tried to deal with Xenomorphs, or interpret information related to them, had essentially already stepped one foot into Du Wa's conceptual domain.
This meant that within the universe, within his concept, Du Wa could enhance his divine descent technique a hundred, a thousand, even ten thousand times over. He could precisely have every single Xenomorph parasitize specific life forms in the universe.
"He did it... I truly don't know whether to be relieved or saddened. I've witnessed the birth of a concept god. This might be a stroke of luck for our universe, but as long as we haven't left this world, we will inevitably have to deal with Du Wa."
"What, you're thinking of escaping to other universes? If you can't make it in your own universe, do you think you'll have better luck elsewhere? Or do you believe you'll be as fortunate as that Moon God from a parallel universe and encounter a second Du Wa?"
"If it's just about 'dealing with him,' you're thinking too simply. For every day that fellow remains a concept god, we must maintain our strength at its peak for one more day. We absolutely cannot afford to become weak..."
"Becoming weak means giving Du Wa an opportunity. Once he has that opportunity, he'll be able to exploit our vulnerability and turn us into his vassals... Is that the right way to understand it?"
"The only good news is that Du Wa, in the end, isn't a concept god of time and space like Eternity or Infinity. This means the concept Du Wa has consolidated is smaller than that of those few Creator Deities, so he won't deprive us of all our space to exist."
"It seems that way at first glance, but don't forget, Du Wa has already spread his Xenomorphs across the entire universe. In the future, this coverage will only become more and more astonishing. The space we have to operate in will shrink."
Streams of complicated gazes fell upon Du Wa.
No matter how ancient these Cosmic Gods were, as long as they weren't multiversal, they were independent individuals, completely different from their counterparts in parallel universes. This meant that in their entire lifetimes, they would likely only ever see one concept god besides the few Creator Deities—Du Wa. And they had even witnessed the entire process of his ascension.
They could more keenly feel the ever-increasing pressure emanating from Du Wa, and just how soul-shaking it was.
The result of Du Wa's ascension also extinguished the cunning thoughts in the hearts of most gods. Relief, regret, awe—all sorts of emotions surged through them at once.
"Thankfully, we didn't make a move just now. Who could have expected Du Wa to have prepared so many enforcers? As expected, no concept god can truly succeed by relying on their concept alone."
"The most interesting part is that for those of us gods who didn't get involved, the future is still negotiable. But those guys who did make a move are in deep trouble... not to mention there's a demon from Hell among them."
"Mephisto... I thought I vaguely sensed the aura of an outsider before. I always assumed it was that Serpent of unknown origin who was ultimately captured by Du Wa. It seems it wasn't just the Serpent. Mephisto also snuck in at some point, wanting to snatch the newborn concept from Du Wa."
Numerous gloating figures conversed in low voices, their eyes constantly fixed on the few who were now in an unwinnable situation.
When Du Wa had not yet attained godhood, these beings couldn't even gain an advantage. Now that he had, and could personally take action in an even stronger state, how would these few gods and the demon respond?
It must be known that in the memory of the gods, the last time Du Wa had acted with his human body was when he obtained the position of God of the World Tree and focused his power to crush Knull.
Would they now have the good fortune to see Du Wa act personally for a second time? Except this time, strictly speaking, Du Wa could no longer be considered human. He was now a being that encompassed a vast concept, and that human body had, of course, long since dissolved, becoming a part of that concept.
Dormammu looked at Du Wa in silence. He had originally wanted to make Du Wa into his own vessel.
Mephisto was nearly driven mad with rage. He had been just a step away from Du Wa, so close. If it hadn't been for that pair of outsiders, Marc and Khonshu, insisting on rushing up to stop him, he probably would have already taken down Du Wa... In any case, Mephisto refused to believe that Du Wa, before his ascension, still had any reserved power to resist his attack.
"Mephisto, you failed! You finally failed, and at the most critical moment!"
Marc was on the verge of being beaten to death, but he was ecstatic. Looking at it from the other side, if he couldn't stop Mephisto, if Mephisto had truly gotten everything from Du Wa, then his own universe would be even more beyond saving.
Now, everything would be reversed.
"Why don't you just die? If it weren't for you, I could have obtained everything!!"
Mephisto was furious. It had been a very, very long time since he had lost his composure like this. He immediately grasped a terrifying demonic power, intending to crush both Marc and Khonshu.
"You're overthinking it, demon. Just when you thought I had no strength left, I actually had many more plans waiting for you."
Du Wa moved. With a single step, he instantly appeared in front of Marc. With a wave of his hand, he completely dissipated Mephisto's power.
He looked directly at the demon: "The arrival of Moon Knight was indeed an accident, but I could clearly feel his extreme hatred for you. He offered to help, and I was willing to accept his aid."
Had Du Wa not anticipated Mephisto's appearance here? How could he not? Du Wa would never overlook this cunning and sinister Great Demon. He had even guessed that this fellow would send his main body in an attempt to win a swift victory.
But regardless of the process, the result was that Du Wa had succeeded without even playing all the cards in his hand.
He was now the unprecedented God of Xenomorphs, unique in the entire multiverse. From this moment on, he would be the supreme concept of Xenomorphs, the culmination of all things related to them.
Any who came after, so long as they were touched by the concept of the Xenomorph, would inevitably be beneath him. The best outcome for them would be to become his vassal.
With a single thought, Du Wa could see and hear the cheers of every Xenomorph in the entire universe. Even all the life forms that depended on Xenomorphs were within his perspective.
Mephisto abruptly retreated and sneered, "So, I still underestimated you? I'm very curious, what other means did you prepare to deal with me?"
"Knull's fate will be your fate," Du Wa said.
Mephisto retreated even further. "Don't think you've won everything just by becoming a Deity. Even gods can die. Look, someone is already prepared to kill you. I guess he's been waiting for you to become a Deity all along."
Du Wa looked up.
More gods also turned their gazes to Thanos.
"Thanos, it has come to this. We should retreat. Continuing to fight a Du Wa who has already become a Deity is not a wise choice. Even if you've hidden a lot, you might not be a match for a concept god."
Kronos was in the most difficult position. The worst outcome he had feared had come to pass. This god of time didn't even know how to conclude this operation.
It no longer depended on him, but on Du Wa, this newly ascended Deity, and whether he would use this major event to establish his authority over the entire universe.
Or perhaps... it could also depend on Thanos?
Kronos stared at his grandson.
Thanos immediately sent Reynolds flying with a punch. A ferocious grin appeared on his originally cold and indifferent face, as if only by seeing this version of Du Wa could he be satisfied.
As if he too had been waiting for this moment to arrive.
This left even Kronos bewildered. But then again, he had never quite understood the way Thanos's brain worked, because ordinary people wouldn't worship Death.
But Thanos, without an artifact like the Infinity Gems, was merely at the sub-skyfather level. How dare he challenge Du Wa?
On what grounds?
Kronos soon found out what his grandson was relying on.
Thanos extended the hand wearing the Infinity Gauntlet and made a grasping motion, as if to crush a piece of space in his hand.
"A little interesting. I think I've guessed what it is."
Du Wa guessed it vaguely with just a single glance.
In an instant, his brain, which had undergone a terrifying transformation, operated at high speed. In every moment, it could process a massive amount of information. At the same time, the consciousnesses of hundreds of millions of Xenomorphs acted as computing terminals in his mind, providing him with a continuous stream of computing power to run calculations on various outcomes.
If he wasn't mistaken, the Thanos of this universe had actually obtained that thing.
That item... the weapon that could almost be called the strongest longsword in the Marvel single universe.
Under the gazes of countless people, a longsword with no apparent special features gradually materialized in Thanos's supposedly empty palm.
At first glance, it seemed unremarkable, but a second look gave one a strangely harmonious feeling, as if from the moment it appeared, it had perfectly formed a common energy circuit with the Infinity Gauntlet and the Infinity Gems, becoming indistinguishable from them.
Deep confusion appeared on the faces of the gods. They had no idea what this weapon was. It seemed to be related to the Infinity Gems?
Did such a weapon exist in the universe?
"So it is this. Thanos, you've exceeded my expectations," Du Wa nodded.
Thanos laughed, "How interesting. You actually know of this artifact's existence? Could it be that you also have a compatibility with the power of Infinity comparable to mine? Then you should know how terrifying this weapon is. This is... the Infinity Sword!"
The Infinity Sword?
What the hell is that? Never heard of it.
This thought rose in the minds of the gods almost simultaneously. Even Kronos furrowed his brow, thinking deeply, trying to trace any clue of this artifact through time.
But unfortunately, he couldn't do it. The time he controlled could not override Infinity.
"An artifact that complements the Infinity Gems actually exists in this world? I've never seen or heard of it! At least in my universe, I never saw any records of it."
Even the most erudite Black Strange was somewhat baffled.
A look of realization dawned on Du Wa's face. So it really was that.
The Infinity Gems, the Infinity Gauntlet, the Infinity Sword—this was the three-piece set of Infinity Weapons.
The Infinity Sword was a rare thing. Even if it existed in some universes, they would probably perish before anyone knew where the artifact was hidden, collecting dust.
This was interesting. There was no way Thanos could have obtained this final Infinity artifact so easily. Had he acquired it long ago? Was it only after obtaining the Infinity Gems that he became confident in wielding the might of the Infinity Sword?
Perhaps.
Reynolds flew back again. He was also injured, but his condition was much better than Moon Knight's. This was also because Thanos hadn't used his full strength.
"Bastard! Thanos, right? You held back when you fought me?! You were actually holding back?!" Reynolds was furious. It was bad enough that he failed to defeat Thanos; he couldn't even suppress him. And if that wasn't enough, he now discovered that he hadn't even managed to force Thanos to use his full power.
Ever since becoming Sentry, Reynolds had been used to things going his way. He had never encountered a true setback, but now he had.
Unwilling to accept this, Reynolds suddenly accelerated, furiously detonating the stellar power within his body. The golden light on his body climbed exponentially, like a supernova on the verge of exploding, as he charged head-on at Thanos.
But an impatient look appeared on Thanos's face. He clearly had no intention of wasting any more time on Reynolds and immediately swung his right hand.
The Infinity Gauntlet was inlaid with the Infinity Gems, and the Infinity Gauntlet, in turn, gripped the Infinity Sword. From a great distance, he swung the sword.
It was just a seemingly casual show of power, yet it brewed a terrifying destructiveness that seemed capable of cleaving the universe in two. Wherever it passed, everything tangible and intangible was split apart.
When this power landed on Reynolds, the golden light and the immense energy field around his body were torn apart, layer by layer.
Death was closing in on Reynolds.
But Du Wa made a move. With a single gesture, he pulled Reynolds over to him and blocked the surging power of Infinity.
Very strong. The power unleashed by these three artifacts combined was enough to make even Du Wa take it seriously.
(end of chapter)