Chapter 184: Target Locked, the Ancient One Asks for Help
Universe 9602…
The Ancient One quickly searched her mind for any information related to this universe and, as expected, found that she knew nothing about it.
Even though she had spoken with many other Ancient Ones, met the Vishanti, and had the opportunity to access a vast amount of knowledge, she still wasn't certain if a universe with that designation even existed.
"Are you so certain this universe truly exists? Perhaps the designation you mentioned doesn't exist."
"It definitely exists. I don't take action without certainty," Du Wa said. "It seems you don't have this universe's coordinates either. I'll have to use my second plan. Hopefully, I can get the information I want. I won't resort to the third plan unless absolutely necessary."
Du Wa's gaze fell upon a seemingly unremarkable Spider-Man among the crowd.
Spider-UK.
Spider-UK came from Universe 833. His real name was Billy Braddock, a soldier in Universe 833's Captain Britain Corps.
At the same time, this seemingly obscure figure among the Spider-Men was also the user of Universe 833's Omniversal Hub Device.
With this device, he could monitor cross-dimensional invasion events occurring throughout the entire Multiverse.
While the Superior Spider-Man was busy recruiting allies, Spider-UK had actually already discovered the existence of the Inheritors, as well as the tragic deaths of Spider-Men in various universes.
"What are those two talking about? Why did they suddenly look at me?"
Spider-UK's heart skipped a beat, and a sense of foreboding washed over him. Being singled out from the crowd by these two powerful beings was, by any measure, a bad sign.
Although he was shocked by the existence of a terrifying Deity like Du Wa, he was also glad that Du Wa had attacked the Inheritors without hesitation. In this respect, the arrival of this mysterious Deity was a good thing for all the Spider-Men of the Multiverse.
Not to mention, Du Wa had sent a strange Alien Spider-Man to join their team.
But what worried Spider-UK was that he couldn't figure out Du Wa's objective, nor could he understand why he was now being targeted, despite being so unremarkable.
"Spider-UK... an Englishman from some universe? He doesn't look special. What's so special about him?" the Ancient One asked with great interest.
"If he can't help me achieve my goal, it doesn't matter. His leader can do it."
This was the key to the second plan.
The Captain Britain Corps of Universe 833 was a cross-dimensional organization composed of every Captain Britain from across the Multiverse. They possessed the ability to monitor the Multiverse, and the supreme leader commanding this legion was Saturnyne, the Omniversal Observer.
If Du Wa didn't seize this opportunity to obtain the information he wanted, and instead waited until the Spider Alliance paid a heavy price to defeat the Inheritors, by that time, Universe 833 would vanish from the Multiverse along with the countless dying dimensions.
But right now, Universe 833 still existed, and this was an opportunity Du Wa had to seize.
"If I miss out on Universe 833, finding Universe 9602 will become much more troublesome... I'll have to use the third plan then. I'll have to find someone who can break the Fourth Wall and get into the Marvel Editorial Department to locate Universe 9602."
The success rate of that plan was even more pitiful. Du Wa would need to step outside the domain of the conventional Multiverse and first enter the Editorial Department to cause trouble for the editors. No matter how one looked at it, this was an extremely insane and audacious plan.
Whether he could successfully enter the Editorial Team, whether he could smoothly obtain the coordinates for Universe 9602 from those editors, and whether he could do so without attracting the attention of certain dangerous individuals—which could expose the existence of the Editorial Department and trigger a series of incalculable events—were all unknown variables.
And once he did it, he would inevitably leave a trail. Even if Du Wa successfully got the coordinates for Universe 9602, the more time passed, the more certain attentive individuals or gods would keenly perceive an Editorial Department that shouldn't exist within the framework of the Multiverse.
Du Wa suddenly struck, annihilating all the Inheritors present in one fell swoop. A crimson rain began to drizzle over the ruins, its drops formed from the flesh and blood of the Inheritors.
In an instant, the surroundings became much cleaner—although this scene terrified many of the Spider-Men yet again.
"Braddock, I need your help."
Du Wa walked over, giving Spider-UK no chance to react, and pressed his long, sharp claws into Spider-UK's shoulder.
Instinctive fear swept through Spider-UK's entire body. He wanted to muster all his strength to resist but found himself completely stiff, utterly incapable of fighting back.
"I don't understand, sir. Do you need my help to defeat the Inheritors? It doesn't look like there's anything for me to do."
Spider-UK subconsciously glanced at the devastated battlefield.
The remains of Inheritors and the bodies of Spider-Men littered the ground.
The surviving Spider-Men had long since gathered in a panic, trembling all over. Like a swarm of frightened insects, they huddled together, desperately and nervously watching the predator's every move.
Only the Spider-Man from Universe-199999 managed to remain calm, though even this composure was forced. He was trembling all over, but at least he wasn't so scared that he hid far away.
He was terrified of Xenomorphs, and now the master of the Xenomorphs was standing right in front of him.
"Universe 9602. I need that universe's coordinates," Du Wa said.
"I'm sorry, I don't know where the universe you're talking about is. I can't even be sure if that designation exists."
"Then you will return to the headquarters of the Captain Britain Corps and help me with this."
"What? How do you know about the Captain Britain Corps?" Spider-UK's face was a mask of astonishment and panic. He had already discerned the terrifying Deity's underlying meaning.
This unknown being from Universe-1543681 wasn't truly targeting him, Spider-UK, or even the Captain Britain Corps. Its true target was Her Majesty, the ruler of the Captain Britain Corps!
Universe 9602? What kind of world was it, and what was so special about it that it could attract such a terrifying being to search for it personally, even to the point of targeting the Empress of Universe 833?
The expression under Spider-UK's mask was grim. His brain worked at high intensity, frantically activating every stiffened brain cell as he roared inwardly, trying to force himself to move, bit by bit.
His first reaction was to flee. He couldn't possibly obey Du Wa's demand. But he instantly realized he couldn't escape; this Deity would likely shatter space and time to capture him. Flee back to Universe 833 and ask a group of Captain Britains to attack Du Wa?
The risk was huge. Unless grand sorcerers like Merlyn or Roma, who were rarely seen, intervened, Spider-UK had no confidence that his side could win relying solely on the Captain Britain Corps.
Mephisto and his Hell had seemingly been wiped out by the God of Xenomorphs. Could Universe 833 really be stronger than Hell?
Then there was only one option... suicide. A suicide so absolute that it would destroy even his soul.
He could not bring such a terrifying Deity to Universe 833.
"It's a shame I can't destroy the trans-dimensional shuttle. Otherwise, I could have erased more data and bought some time..."
Spider-UK thought with some regret.
But just as he was about to end his own life, his body froze. A new, foreign object had materialized on his chest, breathing in a steady rhythm that instantly synchronized perfectly with his heartbeat.
Similarly, every muscle and every nerve in his body connected to the entity on his chest.
Spider-UK broke down. He realized he didn't even have the ability to commit suicide. He had completely lost control of his body. The creature that had appeared from nowhere now controlled his entire being, including his mind.
Du Wa's abilities had grown even more terrifying. As a conceptual god, he could unleash an indiscriminate dimensionality-reduction strike, affecting everything within its range—including, of course, the memories of individual xenomorphs.
Spider-UK felt a terrifying gaze examining him from on high, devoid of any emotion, as if flipping through a worthless book. The sound of rustling pages echoed in his mind as all his memories, from birth to the present, every single detail, were laid bare before the owner of those eyes.
He had never felt such despair before; it was a silence more terrifying than the Abyss itself.
"What are they doing? Why are they completely still?"
"It looks like some kind of sacred ritual. I'm too scared to move."
"At the very least, this Deity from another world helped us take care of all the Inheritors, right? Next, we just need to find the secret to how those vampires keep resurrecting to ensure they can never be resurrected again."
The members of the Inheritors were now too scared to approach. No matter how many came, it would just be a suicide mission.
Universe 13 was saved. For a long time to come, even knowing there were countless Spider-Men here, it was unlikely any Inheritor would dare to come and get themselves killed.
But Spider-UK seemed to have fallen into a predicament, the nature of which was unclear.
"So this is your ability? An indescribable suffocation. I had no room to resist at all... I've never heard of a race like the Xenomorphs, let alone a Deity who can expand their species' numbers in this way. It seems my observation of the Multiverse has been too limited, making me appear so ignorant."
Spider-UK felt the changes in his body: a stronger physique, more astonishing senses, and, when facing Du Wa, an instinct of absolute, uncontrollable obedience.
It was over. It was completely over. Du Wa had scooped his brain clean.
Now, Du Wa had the coordinates for Universe 833 and could move out at any time.
"Aren't you going to hunt down and exterminate the Inheritors? I still remember you being very interested in vampires," the Ancient One said, glancing at Spider-UK before turning to ask Du Wa.
"That no longer matters. Vampires are beneath my notice. Ultimately, they are just by-products of the dark magic system."
Du Wa shook his head. If he were facing Chthon, he would certainly be extremely interested and would formulate a series of meticulous defensive and escape strategies. Until he was confident he could defeat Chthon one-on-one, this was all he could do.
But if it was just vampires, he couldn't be bothered, even special vampires who wielded totemic power.
Turn these guys into Xenomorphs? Well, that would mean Du Wa would have a few more decent-ish underlings. Using them as cannon fodder would be fine, too.
But this was no longer worthy of Du Wa's personal intervention. Sending a few subordinates would be enough to massacre the Inheritors.
"You went to great lengths to capture the Inheritors. What did you want from me?"
Du Wa raised his hand and opened a spatial tunnel, but it wasn't for himself. It was for the Ancient One.
The next second, Du Wa abandoned this body, allowing the Alien Spider-Man to act freely. The Spider Alliance no longer held any value for him.
The Ancient One followed closely behind, returning to Universe-1543681.
"How nostalgic. The air is filled with the aura of the Xenomorphs. Only this universe gives me this feeling."
As soon as the Ancient One landed, she cast numerous scrying spells, quickly gathering information about this universe. She was astonished by the changes to this world.
"Then you'd better be prepared. Several other universes will have the same air. You'll get used to it," Du Wa said.
"You've already become a Concept God? That's incredible, just like the Creator Gods. No wonder you're so terrifyingly strong. I have a very promising proposal, why don't you..."
"Don't even think about it. You know I won't lend you my power, and it's impossible for you to become one of my Xenomorph heroes. You'd better suggest something more practical, or say nothing at all," Du Wa interrupted directly.
He could, of course, tell that the Ancient One had become much, much stronger. The chaotic magical energy emanating from her was, on some level, even stronger than that of Black Strange, and also infinitely more turbulent.
"I've run into trouble. Before you begin your operation, I had no choice but to come to you for help."
The Ancient One's expression turned grave. "Many versions of me across the Multiverse have been at war with those unspeakable horrors. This long war has now reached a fever pitch. Perhaps, even as we speak, many versions of me from parallel universes have already died."
"Unspeakable... Those things from the Old Ones System? They're troublesome, but for you Sorcerer Supremes from various universes, even if you can't win, your situation shouldn't be this dire. There must have been a major change. Let me guess, the leader of those things has made a new move."
"That's right. That most troublesome grotesque monster deployed many powerful clones at once, inflicting heavy casualties on us," the Ancient One replied.
Within the Marvel Multiverse, there naturally exists a conceptual cluster of Cthulhu. That group of unspeakable things has a supreme leader—Shuma-Gorath, whose conceptual prototype is Cy'Gorr, the Eye of Destruction, from among the Great Old Ones.
Although he isn't the concept of Azathoth, in the Marvel Multiverse, Shuma-Gorath is undoubtedly the top dog among the Cthulhu-like gods.
(end of chapter)