Chapter 668: Battle In The Blank Realm
[A Brief Summary of the plot as a reminder: Arishem, the Celestial who made the Eternals, suddenly left the timeline, creating a convergence. The timeline he entered was 3E, meaning two or more Kings Level powerhouses, or someone with enough energy to annihilate 100 universes or more.
[Edward gathered his allies to fight the enemy in the Blank Realm, while a tram composed of Natasha, Banner, Stark, Sam, and Wong had infiltrated the other timeline to recover Arishem. Clint is in charge of reconnaissance, using his Divine Eyes to spy into the other timeline and provide information.]
—--
Two beings rushed into the Blank Realm, releasing a terrifying aura. Edward recognized both of them. One was one of the Demon Gods called Vatalis, and the Demon God of Blood. However, in his timeline, he was only an Upper Demon God. The other was an acquaintance: King Odin.
This version was different as both eyes were gone, leaving an empty void of darkness. This variant of Odin also had red hair, and his body released an aura of evil and death. "This is," Odin said.
"It seems something went horribly wrong with you in that timeline," the Ancient One muttered.
"This is really creepy," Frigga said through their communication. Although she couldn't participate in this fight, she was responsible for keeping Odin's vitality at his peak so he could use the Destroyer as much as he wished.
"Do you want me to fight your variant or the other?" Edward asked.
"No, I'll take my variant. I want to know how he became like this," Odin replied.
"As you wish."
While the two sides looked at each other, the people from Earth-333 summoned more people. Edward watched in horror as more than 20 Tier 10 powerhouses rushed into the Blank Realm, immediately outnumbering them 1 to 10. Everyone's expression was grave. Edward had to prepare to hold one of the kings, Odin had to worry about his body while holding the other, and their team only had two remaining Tier 10 powerhouses in the form of the Ancient One and Ra. But the other side had more than twenty.
"What should we do now?" The Ancient One asked.
"Maybe we should take the defensive position," Odin suggested. "Didn't you place a protective enchantment around our timeline? If we take control of it and power it with our strength, we may be able to last for a while."
"And then, what?" King T'Chaka, who was also watching the battle from the sidelines, asked. "We may last a few months, maybe a few years. But what is the end goal?"
"The end goal is to buy enough time to train more Tier 10 powerhouses. You're closed, aren't you?" Odin asked. "With your help, you might succeed in a few months. My daughter, Hella, has plenty of potential and might reach that level in a few years."
"Will two more of us really make that much of a difference?" The Ancient One asked.
"Then, what do you suggest we do?" Odin asked.
"Edward?" she asked. "Do you have a solution?"
Edward, who was communicating with Hawkeye to know whether there were more powerhouses hiding on Earth-333, finally spoke after the Ancient One called him.
"Yes. Ra, activate Project Sun Warrior."
"As you wish." Ra nodded before entering a code into a watch on his wrist. A few seconds later, numerous portals opened, revealing more than twenty Tier 10 powerhouses.
"These people — are they clones?" the Ancient One asked.
"Their life force is so chaotic. It appeared they might die in a matter of hours," Odin noticed.
"In my travels, I met this race with infinite potential. All they need to grow is to absorb sunlight and ample time. So, I built a dimension with a massive sun and a time array with exaggerated acceleration to build instant Tier 10 Warriors. This resulted in their instability, but their purpose was to be cannon fodder for war."
Everyone looked at this clone army, speechless beyond words. Then, Odin finally spoke: "I had thought I had committed atrocities during my younger warring days. But what I've done is nothing compared to this."
"At least you've participated in wars. Compared to you people, all of Wakanda's conflicts can be considered petty quarrels," King T'Chaka said.
"All of you will have to get your hands dirty sooner or later," Edward said calmly.
"No one is judging or blaming you. We just need some time to acclimate," the Ancient One quickly said. She has done her fair share of war, including collapsing a few dimensions. However, these dimensions only contained dark creatures or people who had already been assimilated by their ruling Demon God. At least, that's what she told herself.
"Alright, enough talk," Edward said when he noticed the enemy had finished their preparation just as they did. A red mark appeared on his forehead as he entered the [Mana Sage Mode]. An ungodly amount of nature energy blended with his mana, boosting it to another level. He then activated his Arcane Spark to use his karma to empower his spells.
But that's just the beginning. Edward knew what kind of opponent he would face and had prepared. His primary preparation relied on his timeline's Universe Will. First, Edward created a temporary Law Domain. He turned his Soul Dimension into a Domain and asked the Universe Will to connect the domain to the universe so he could continue using his laws.
One of the disadvantages of being a Legendary Arcanist is that it requires the universe to use the law, so when Edward is in the Void, he cannot use it. The Blank Realm was still a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but his previous tests indicated that his power of law operated at a low level in that realm, unless he took the time to acclimate. Unfortunately, he's been busy and hasn't had the time.
The temporary Law Domain in his Soul Dimension allowed his power of law to not only remain at its peak but also receive an additional boost from the Magic Domain. The second preparation was a blessing from the Universe Will. Edward had the Will blessed his staff to further boost his spells.
'With all these blessings and preparations, I should have no issue fighting a Demon God King,' Edward thought. He looked at Vitalis and cast a few spells on himself to limit the enemy's control of his blood and life energy. He had read Karma Taj's books about Vitalis, the Blood Demon God.
He teleported before his opponent and cast a purifying spell. Edward summoned a golden that erased everything that was evil. However, to his surprise, Vitalis opened his mouth and swallowed the golden light.
"The Gluttony Authority," Edward said. "You killed Bulzeebub in your timeline." Bulzeebub was one of the most powerful Devils, on par with Mephisto. However, Bulzeebub and Nephisto were both Kings, and Vitalis was only an Upper Demon God.
"Surprised?" Vitalis said. "He could not resist his gluttony and tried to swallow the Nine Hells and failed. Then, he targeted me as a way to recuperate from his injury and severely underestimated my strength in my own dimension. Swallowing him was the greatest thing that could have happened to me," Vitalis said while licking his lips. Vitalis looked like a normal person except for two pairs of horns and blood-red eyes.
Edward looked at him seriously. A Demon God with the [Blood and Gluttony Authority] was an immense threat. Luckily, the latter was fighting in the Blank Realm, meaning his authorities were working at the lowest level.
"And the worst decision you've made was targeting our timeline," Edward stated.
"Aren't you confused about who attacked whom?" Vitalis smiled. "Regardless, your existence was a pleasant surprise to me and Odin. We had just started looking for other worlds to devour."
"We'll see about that." Edward wasted no more time as he went on the offensive by casting numerous curse spells, trying to weaken his opponent. However, anything that came close to Vitalis was swallowed, and it appeared that wherever his mouth was, it was a bottomless pit with no end.
"I sensed so many authorities from you: death, space, time, curses, and more," Vitalis uttered, his eyes filled with a hunger unlike anything the world has seen. "You will make a fine meal." Edward ignored him and continued casting his curses, changing the variety each time. It appeared as if he was testing all the curses he knew and seeing which one would stick.