"Are you sure you want to do this?"
The Doctor asked Bul-Kathos cautiously. Bul-Kathos merely spared the Doctor a casual glance before walking toward the rift.
Someone had to do it, didn't they?
But in the Doctor's view, the one doing these things should be him.
Just like in his nine previous lives, he always made the most dangerous choices without hesitation, even burdening himself with everything.
He was the Ninth Doctor, but this was his tenth regeneration!
His previous life had discarded the benevolent title of "Doctor" and shouldered the name of "War."
He ended a war, annihilating countless lives in the process.
Including his home planet and his "kind."
In the Time War, only he and the one called the Master remained of the Time Lords—though the current Doctor was unaware that he was actually the Timeless Child.
"Instead of pondering this question, I think you should consider how to bring him back after he deals with the demon on the other side."
The Ancient One adjusted her sleeves and spoke to the Doctor.
No one present knew exactly what was happening on the other side, but they had enough manpower here.
Odin and the Ancient One alone were enough to defeat the arrogant Mad Titan in a head-on fight. As for the Cybermen, even if they had any untoward ideas, the group here was more than capable of holding them off.
The only one requiring vigilance was the Blood Queen Nimue, who was currently leaning into the Doctor's embrace.
An entity capable of triggering a paradox, a being whose death was a fixed point in time.
The appearance of those Reapers earlier had left a deep impression on the Ancient One. Who could guarantee when Nimue was supposed to die?
Only the Doctor could handle such a matter.
Correcting a problematic timeline didn't seem impossible for him, but saving someone who wasn't supposed to die yet, only to watch Nimue die at the "correct" time after fixing the timeline...
Such an ending seemed overly cruel.
"A Hell Lord has truly appeared. I have no desire to know about this."
Odin held Gungnir, the Spear of Heaven, his expression extremely grim.
He knew about Andariel being directly sealed by Bul-Kathos earlier; Heimdall would inform him immediately after such events occurred.
But he had never personally encountered a Hell Lord.
Due to his fear of Bul-Kathos and his limited trust in the Ancient One, Odin chose to believe.
However, doubts still lingered, and the current Odin was somewhat overwhelmed.
Thor and Loki were still on Earth, and his arrival would likely be noticed by those two boys.
If they met now, he wouldn't know what to say.
He had no desire to face a family melodrama. He was just an old man whose body could barely withstand his daily increasing power.
He could truly die at any moment.
"Alright, the Hell Lord clearly hasn't recovered to their peak. Otherwise, relying on just us wouldn't accomplish much."
The Ancient One watched as Bul-Kathos plunged into the time rift and vanished.
Evidently, crossing between the two sides of this time rift wasn't as simple as just walking through.
Perhaps if they wanted to know what Bul-Kathos was encountering on the other side, they would have to rely on the Doctor's mysterious vehicle.
The TARDIS was practically a miracle of the universe; that blue box containing time energy was an existence beyond standard classification.
After Bul-Kathos disappeared from everyone's sight, the previously dazed Cybermen began moving toward this side again.
The projection emitted by the Cyberman head in Tony's arms vanished instantly.
It seemed these beings seeking help had new ideas after witnessing Bul-Kathos's departure.
Perhaps Bul-Kathos's overwhelming strength, which completely disregarded their physical durability, had made them wary?
Cybermen were logical beings; even their emotional fluctuations were nearly nonexistent.
"Give me that sword, Excalibur. If Hellboy still can't wake up, let me chop off Nimue's head!"
Rorschach ground his teeth, his patience wearing thin.
As a warrior of justice seeking the "truth," Rorschach knew too little.
Out of trust in Bul-Kathos, he chose to endure temporarily.
The promised time to learn the "truth" wasn't far off—just forty Nephalem Rifts away. That wouldn't take too long.
Right now, he just wanted someone to hand him Excalibur, which was stuck in the ground, and then have Hellboy chop off Nimue's head.
In Rorschach's view, the origin of these strange dangers might be the guy he was stepping on.
At the very least, this guy opened the portal between the human world and Hell, leading to even more tragic sacrifices.
The demons of Hell were far more troublesome than the lunatics of the Last Battalion, as they were entities that human weapons could no longer contend with.
"I think you should take your foot off Hellboy's back. He's already awake."
Constantine spoke to Rorschach with an impolite tone. Being a slick operator, he found it hard to strongly identify with stubborn people.
Although he liked having such teammates around because they never shied away from sacrifice.
But that didn't stop him from clashing with Rorschach.
To change the mind of a stubborn person, one had to be even more stubborn than them, and of course, stronger.
Otherwise, it would easily end with the weak submitting to the strong.
Fortunately, Rorschach had lost his biggest backer for the moment, and the person calling the shots now was the Ancient One.
Constantine felt the Ancient One wouldn't easily agree to Rorschach's request.
Because that didn't fit a mage's way of doing things.
"I don't think that's a good idea. Keep stepping on me for now!"
Hellboy said hoarsely. The broken stone sword in his hand began emitting Hellfire again.
Although his consciousness had cleared up a bit because the two Hell Lords were being beaten up in Hell, that maniac Zarathos was still trying his best to interfere with his mind.
He could clearly feel his brain being filled with all sorts of crazy thoughts. Now wasn't the best time to release him.
So, Hellboy needed someone to continue suppressing him, lest his body move on its own like before.
The feeling of being controlled by instinct was terrible, and Hellboy didn't want to experience it again.
"Is that Johnny Blaze?"
Damien asked, looking at the Ghost Rider who was sleeping on the ground and had reverted to human form. As an extreme sports enthusiast, Damien recognized Johnny Blaze.
Johnny Blaze, who performed "death-wish" level stunts, was a celebrity—at least in the eyes of ordinary people, he was a big star.
Damien still viewed himself as an ordinary person; at the very least, he watched TV programs to pass the time.
"Midgard is much more chaotic than Asgard."
Odin remarked casually as he watched a Cyberman finally step through the time rift.
He wasn't particularly interested in the conversations of the others.
Odin wasn't Merlin; he knew nothing about beings like the Doctor, but that didn't stop him from fulfilling his duty as the Protector of the Nine Realms.
"At least Earth's strongest wouldn't conjure a hammer to fight his own son for inheritance rights like you."
The Ancient One took issue with Odin's remark, so her words carried a sting.
"I truly cannot recall doing anything to wrong Frigga, but I think these robots don't seem to be here for help as they claimed."
Odin said, looking at the front row of approaching Cybermen.
Those guys had already raised their arms, and energy was gathering in their gun barrels, aimed right at the group.
"Cybermen, you deceived me?"
The Doctor appeared furious. The Cybermen who had sought his help were now taking up arms—this was a betrayal through and through.
"Doctor, we require a brand-new world for survival. This is the goal of the Cybermen."
The head held by Tony spoke again in that mechanical voice, before being blasted to pieces by a repulsor beam from Tony's palm.
But this triggered another evolution in the Cybermen. Facing relatively primitive energy attacks, their adaptability was terrifyingly high.
In just a few breaths, they completed an upgrade.
"Cybermen are modified from humans. They discarded most of their flesh, transforming their bodies into easily replaceable machinery. For them, technological attacks are very easy to resist."
The Doctor pointed his Sonic Screwdriver at the newly emerged Cybermen, and the one he pointed at exploded instantly.
The Sonic Screwdriver had completed an analysis; the Cybermen in their current state held no secrets from the Doctor.
However, he would have to analyze them again after this, as these Cybermen were upgrading constantly.
Unless an attack method wiped out all Cybermen at once, it would only work once before they completed their upgrade.
"You mean 'flesh is weak, machine ascension'? I thought that was just the delusion of a bunch of lunatics. I didn't expect it to actually work?"
Tony instinctively tried to scratch his head but only touched his hard metal helmet.
"Those are enemies, right? Then let's kill them!"
Rorschach stood his ground and began using the Weapon Throw skill. Fueled by Fury, he never ran out of weapons to throw, just as a Demon Hunter never worries about arrows.
Energy hand axes landed squarely on the Cybermen's heads. Having undergone comprehensive training, Rorschach's skill usage was, at the very least, solid and standard.
Missing the target was nonexistent.
"There seems to be no other way besides this."
The Doctor said no more. He gently patted Nimue in his arms, then smiled:
"Vivian, do you mind if our reunion takes place in battle?"
"My plague might not be effective against machines, so I can't provide much help. Other than that, I don't care about anything else."
Nimue finally left the Doctor's embrace. Holding the Doctor's free hand tightly, she began to unleash her magic against the Cybermen.
As she did so, her hair began to turn pale white, strand by strand.
Nimue's essence was nearly depleted. Having fought a battle against Mephisto's clone earlier, she was in terrible shape.
But to provide some help to her beloved, she had no regrets.
"Doctor, what can I do now?"
Rose asked somewhat jealously. As an ordinary human, she could do nothing right now, much like Damien and Constantine, who were idling on the other side.
At least Damien had a gun, and Constantine could draw magic circles on the ground.
"Ancient One, could you please bring Luke here? Since the war outside is over, Luke doesn't need to guard that boring dispatch center anymore. We need his strength more here."
Jessica shouted loudly after smashing a Cyberman with a charge.
Brute force attacks were always effective against Cybermen, as long as the force exceeded their bodies' tolerance limit.
No matter how they upgraded their shields, physical attacks had a limit determined by energy intensity and material strength.
Technological things were always logical.
"It seems Luke is currently in combat, and his condition doesn't look good."
As the Ancient One spoke, she signaled Odin with her eyes, urging the God King to act quickly.
Relying on the others alone meant more and more Cybermen would appear in this world.
"What other enemies are over there?"
Jessica asked in surprise.
Actually, the enemies Luke faced weren't overwhelmingly powerful; they were just incredibly troublesome.
The Silence!
After Alucard recalled the River of Death to his side, the Silence began to move again.
These monsters were actually the first to cross the time rift into this world.
Because of their bizarre power, they had remained undiscovered all this time.
The power to be forgotten the moment one looked away made them perfectly suited for infiltration. Right now, they were attacking the dispatch center guarded by Luke.
Currently, Penwood and the staff who remained were rapidly relaying follow-up orders, while Luke was fighting in a loop of forgetting the enemy's existence and then remembering them.
The physical strength of the Silence was average; common human weapons could harm and kill them.
In terms of vitality, they didn't seem different from humans—a fruit knife could deal fatal damage.
But they were simply too dangerous.
Every encounter was perilous. Even if one killed a Silence, they would forget the monster the very next moment.
Luke had already suffered significant injuries because of this issue.
The lightning released by the Silence was terrifying; turning an ordinary person into ash was no problem at all.
"Luke, what's wrong with you?"
Seeing Luke smash through the door and rush in, Penwood asked in confusion.
Although Penwood had heard Luke roaring constantly a while ago, every time he shouted a question, he got a "nothing" in response.
But now, seeing Luke covered in scorch marks from electric shocks, Penwood couldn't ignore it.
Yet regarding these injuries, Luke couldn't remember how he got them at all.
"I don't know, but evidently, I fought?"
Luke said, puzzled.
His body told him that he was fighting just a moment ago, but with "no" enemies appearing, what was he fighting against?
"Obviously. You look terrible right now."
Sweat hung on Penwood's forehead, but he still tried to crack a joke.
He was a great human with a sense of responsibility, holding his ground in the face of danger.
Penwood was a man worthy of respect, just a little cowardly.
"The enemy possesses power we cannot resist. Why are they attacking this place? Are there still remnants of the Last Battalion?"
Luke muttered, then turned to look in the direction he came from.
The moment he turned around, sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.
Luke saw a dense crowd of enemies. At a glance, they were all distorted, big-headed ETs resembling the figure in the painting The Scream. The moment he saw the Silence, he remembered what he had been fighting.
"Truly a power that makes one shudder!"
Luke remarked casually.
See them, remember them. Look away, forget them.
Now, Luke remembered everything perfectly.
However, he had no good solution, because he couldn't guarantee keeping these monsters in his sight forever.
Just one turn of the head, and he could be hit by an "unknown" attack. He had already tasted the power of that lightning, and it wasn't pleasant.
"What are you here for?"
Luke asked, raising his glaive. His voice carried far; at least Penwood and the others behind him could hear it.
So, everyone still inside the building prepared for battle, even though not much time had passed since the previous alert was lifted.
They were still soldiers ready to die at any moment; that hadn't changed.
"We seek continuation, to prevent crises that endanger the world from happening."
One of the Silence opened its arms and pointed at Luke, then fell silent again.
Its movement was light and floating, like walking in space, appearing eerie and mysterious.
"I still don't want to communicate with you. Hatred has already formed between us; I will not lay down my weapon."
Luke blocked the only passage, holding his glaive upright as he looked at the Silence.
Many corpses of the Silence had already fallen by his hand. Once hatred is formed, it isn't something easily overlooked!
Luke wasn't naive enough to believe in absolute "truth, goodness, and beauty." He was born in a chaotic place; although he held justice in his heart, he was never foolish enough to trust every existence.
"Then, let us continue!"
That Silence left one final sentence, and then the monsters began their attack again.
Dense arcs of lightning were unleashed toward Luke. No one knew where these monsters got their energy from.
After all, these creatures never remained in human memory. Perhaps someone had researched something once, but they would have forgotten it afterward.
Like a guy who has worked for decades but feels like it's his first day on the job every single day.
Everything about the Silence remained a mystery to humanity.
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