"Nightmare? The one who plays with nightmares and fear?" Mephisto was stunned. "What do you need from him? Dimensional power? Is he indispensable or something?"
Odin scratched his head. He had no experience with this dimensional demon, but he knew that his dimensional power was unique.
"His dimensional power will be helpful for our next product," Luke said. "He has the ability to manipulate dreams. With a disguised form, this ability can harvest a significant amount of energy from a large number of life forms. And establish the healthy energy cycle we've always wanted to build, but have always lacked."
"How about we kill him?" Mephisto made a suggestion that was in line with the devil's philosophy.
"Kill him?" Strange looked at Mephisto. He found that Mephisto's words always seemed to be accompanied by dangerous words like "kill him."
What to do if there is a threat?
Kill him!
What if someone comes to compete for a share of the profits?
Kill him!
What should I do if someone blocks the road?
Kill him!
What if I need the strength of one person?
Can you take his power away? If you can, kill him!
Perhaps in the eyes of these demons, the purest and most convenient way to deal with enemies and rivals with whom they have conflicting interests is to destroy them.
This behavior is very inconsistent with Dr. Strange's professional nature.
"We can't kill everyone," Luke rejected Mephisto's suggestion. "We can give him an internship first, see how he does, and then decide how much share to give him. Of course, he needs to pay something before he can truly join us."
"I don't think he will do what you think." Mephisto questioned Luke's words.
"Let's give it a try first. If he still refuses to join, then for the sake of our subsequent plans, we can only go and have a heart-to-heart with him. If he is a great demon who would rather die than surrender, then it is not impossible for us to make him into a battery or something. Although the efficiency conversion may be a bit low." Luke said softly.
After several collaborations, their team had become very proficient at using tacit understanding and stun attacks. As long as they gathered information beforehand, with their coordination and strength, the possibility of a setback was virtually non-existent.
"Who will go to negotiate? Although I am good at signing contracts and persuading people, I believe you don't want me to do the negotiation. Besides, he probably won't believe me." Mephisto really wanted to take on this task, but he was also self-aware and took the initiative to get himself out.
"Neither am I suitable." Odin waved his hand. As the King of Gods, he was not a good negotiator.
"I'm already retired." Gu Yi continued calmly.
"I'm just a technician. I'm only responsible for providing products and opinions." Luke also raised his hand.
The four of them then turned their gazes to the two remaining people at the conference table. More specifically, to the current Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen Strange.
As for Nick? Their eyes didn't even linger on him. It was obvious that they didn't believe Nick could do it from the bottom of their hearts.
It had nothing to do with professionalism or eloquence; it was mainly because Nick's strength and body were too weak. Even if they wasted their energy sending him into the Nightmare Dimension, he might not even see Nightmare.
Even if he is lucky enough to meet the nightmare, with the mentality of the dimensional demon god, without the corresponding strength, the so-called negotiation can only be a joke.
Strange, stared at by several people with ill intentions, felt a chill running down his spine. At this moment, he finally determined where the uneasiness he had been feeling for some time came from.
It comes from these old guys and Luke in front of me!
Strange looked at his teacher sideways. Facing Strange's pleading gaze, Ancient One turned his head calmly and gracefully, happily drinking the cup of tea that suddenly appeared in his hand.
Strange's heart sank again. He subconsciously looked at Luke and saw Luke's face nodding at him with a smile. In an instant, his already long face became even longer.
Sure enough, after Casillas brought the Book of Energy into the Dark Dimension, he felt that Luke's character wouldn't have failed to express his opinion. It was just that Luke had been too calm before, and he couldn't help but feel that this matter might have been over.
"The duty of the Sorcerer Supreme is to guard the atrium." Strange said in a dry tone. When the time came, he still wanted to struggle without giving up.
"Don't worry, I will take good care of the atrium. You should also trust Wang and the others. If it really doesn't work, it's not impossible to re-hire Master Ancient One to help." Luke smiled and completely blocked Strange's excuse.
"Okay, okay, but what should I do?" Strange leaned back in his chair with a desperate look. "Maybe they'll kill me as an intruder before I even have a chance to tell them why I'm here."
"Even Dormammu couldn't kill you, and I don't think that Nightmare guy can kill you. Each of your Supreme Sorcerers is very good at saving their lives." Mephisto said gloatingly.
"I can have Thor or Loki go with you," Odin said slowly, considering the situation. Strange's face had just flickered with joy, but Odin's next words froze it. "Of course, that assumes they've finished all their current tasks, or one of them is willing to help take over the other's."
"You can treat Nightmare the same way you treated Dormammu. I believe that with your ability and intelligence, he will always be willing to calm down and listen to you." Luke encouraged Strange and cheered him up crazily.
Treat Nightmare the same way you treated Dormammu?
Strange thought about the sentence "Dormammu, I'm here to negotiate with you" that he had repeated countless times, as well as the process of dying and coming back to life, coming back to life and dying, and experiencing various ways of dying until he was numb.
When he enters the Nightmare Dimension, can he still have an endless loop of "Nightmare, I'm here to discuss business with you.GIF" with Nightmare? The demons in these two dimensions are completely different!
Strange, who has read Ancient One's notes on the power attributes of demons in various dimensions, would rather go to the dark dimension to face Dormammu's big face again than face a demon who is good at playing with emotions and mental minds.
"Luke has prepared some products for you. I believe they will appeal to Nightmare." Seeing her pale-faced disciple, Ancient One offered a soothing reassurance. Luke had discussed some matters with her beforehand, and if she hadn't confirmed some of this information, she wouldn't have pushed the heir she had so painstakingly chosen and trained into this pit of fire.
Although this task was difficult, it was still possible for Strange to accomplish it. And as long as this was accomplished, according to the group's principle of giving equals receiving, Strange would have secured another lucrative benefit for the Sorcerer Supreme lineage, further solidifying his position and earning him greater respect and favor from the mages.
Strange looked up at Luke.
Under Strange's scorching gaze, Luke snatched a black ball of light from the void, shrouded in a sinister aura. He gently tossed it forward, and it slowly drifted, casting a trail of wispy, drifting black mist along the way. Strange used his power to solidify it in front of him.
"What is this?" Strange sensed a ball of light floating in front of him, like a black tadpole with a black tail. It gave him a bad feeling and he subconsciously glanced in the direction of Luke.
"The seed of the black nightmare. Animals, monsters, humans and other life forms that are attacked by the black nightmare will fall into a deep sleep and become violent after waking up. During the infection period, the life and light energy carried by the infected life forms will be collected. Of course, I have made certain modifications to it to weaken its characteristic of becoming violent after waking up." Luke explained to Strange.
Essentially, the black nightmare seeds Luke created were a byproduct of psychic energy. Harvesting a certain emotional energy from a living being inevitably amplifies and perpetuates the other emotions. Luke significantly weakened the aftereffects, though this also reduced the efficiency of energy collection. But he didn't need to urgently recover any strength. It didn't matter.
This Black Nightmare Seed is highly compatible with the power characteristics of the Nightmare Dimension. He has always been trying to find a way to allow the power of dreams to exist in more nightmares in the real world. Once he saw the Black Nightmare Seed, he would definitely want to take it for himself.
However, he would find that no matter how he replicated it, lacking key elements, he could only create a semi-finished product that resembled the original in form but not in spirit. Using it within his own dimension was perfectly fine, but once it was brought into the real universe, all sorts of problems would arise. Ultimately, exhausted and unable to relinquish the benefits of the Black Nightmare Seed, he would have no choice but to submit to Luke and the others.
Strange, Mephisto, and the others, who were familiar with the Nightmare Dimension, immediately understood Luke's words. Strange was fine, but Mephisto admired Luke's occasional technical prowess. He seemed to have only seen Luke, the only person in history, who had mastered the art of technology and mastered it on a dimensional demon.
"Also, you can tell him that if he chooses to join us, we can plan a sustainable way for him to collect dream energy. This path will be risk-free, and no one will treat him like an enemy and defeat him as a villain." Luke added, "He can comfortably obtain everything from the safety of his own home, without having to worry about which world to invade today and which tomorrow, and take huge risks just to harvest a small amount of energy. I believe he will figure it out. After all, he's not a Chaos Creature whose brain is completely affected by the characteristics of that power, unable to think and analyze the pros and cons, right? Like Lord Mephisto, he can communicate and cooperate if there are significant benefits."
"You said my confidence was almost soaring," Strange said with a wry smile. Anyone else might have already been filled with confidence after being encouraged by Luke, but all he heard from Luke was: "I've prepared everything for you, go deliver it!" "It doesn't matter whether you live or die, it's the delivery of the things and the message that matters!"
"It seems your faith isn't strong enough." Luke smiled and pulled out another azure, translucent gem from the void. As soon as the gem appeared, it radiated a wave of energy, calming the minds and spirits of everyone around it.
"It can even affect my mind. Is this also a product of new energy?" Mephisto frowned. He didn't like this kind of power. If everyone was calm and selfless, how could he deceive people?
"With this, it should be able to help you avoid certain effects of Nightmare's power." Luke tossed the blue gem to Strange, and seeing the other man's calm expression, he continued, "Well, it should also create a space where Nightmare can calmly communicate with you."
Strange opened the storage space he had built from a small dimension, placed the gem and the Black Nightmare Edge inside, and closed it in full view of everyone. Only when the energy emitted by the blue gem dissipated did everyone feel their hearts and minds return to normal.
"If he asks me what my plan is, what should I say?" Strange saw how many things Luke had brought out, and he knew he was destined to embark on this somewhat dangerous fantasy journey. Since he couldn't resist, he simply gave up and tried his best to fill in the gaps.
"You can ask him to come and talk to us. If he feels unsafe, we can also show some sincerity. In fact, it is very simple. We just package his nightmare into something like a virtual game. We can also recommend him batches of game makers. From scripts to every aspect of the game, we can arrange everything for him. He only needs to provide some insignificant props and expenses. As for the person in charge," Luke said, turning his attention to Nick Fury, who was an invisible figure in the meeting.
"The planning can be left to Director Fury. He is the best person among us to do this."
Nick, who was named by Luke, burst into tears. Finally, Luke finally remembered his invisible presence in the meeting! He, Nick Fury, and his S.H.I.E.L.D., were finally going to get a new version upgrade?
Nick was keenly aware of Luke's rash moves in this plan; he clearly hadn't given up on Midgard. Regardless, he was deeply touched by Luke's generosity in allowing him to play with the ordinary people of Midgard. Especially since Nick could see that if this plan came to fruition, he, S.H.I.E.L.D., and Midgard would all gain something from it.