Chapter 210

"Hss…" A sharp inhale echoed in Peter's mind; he asked her, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, maybe it's my imagination—why does that skull's power feel familiar?"

At that moment, chains slashed through New York's dark night sky as a flaming skull rode a motorcycle, carving a brilliant arc through the air.

The motorcycle landed on the rooftop, less than two hundred meters from Peter's building; when Peter saw its flaming eye sockets, he felt his soul nearly being sucked in.

"It's really him!" Phantasm's startled voice rang in Peter's mind: "That's Mephisto's power! Has the Lord of the Hell Dimension descended???"

"Mephisto?" Peter said, puzzled: "I think I heard my friend mention that name before—something about a Lord of Hell…"

"Mephisto is an immensely powerful Dimensional Demon Lord, among the top two or three in all dimensions. His Hell Dimension burns eternally with infernal flames; any being who dares defy him is reduced to ash…"

As she spoke, Phantasm's tone grew uncertain: "Why would Mephisto's apostle appear here? Could it be…"

Her voice sank lower: "Could N'al have escaped? Has he made a deal with Mephisto?"

She muttered to herself: "It's not impossible. Mephisto loves making deals; he has partners across the universe. If that's true, this is trouble—I must notify the Cosmic Agents immediately…"

"Wait! Why are they fighting each other??"

With Phantasm's shocked tone, the flaming skull swung its chains, wrapping them around Riot, who was shrouded in black curtains. Then, with his flaming eye sockets, he stared into Riot's eyes and said: "You are guilty! Die!"

Riot clearly hadn't expected an unexpected intruder to emerge during his power release, but it didn't interrupt his actions—he murmured: "The Great Creator is about to descend; the world shall be swallowed by chaos and darkness…"

"That skull is on our side??? Too bad—he's only Mephisto's apostle; he probably can't stop N'al's power descent. Looks like I need to call for backup…"

"Boom!!!!"

A thunderous quake shook the earth; Peter turned to see a massive figure leap into the battlefield, his muscles bulging, immensely strong, and above all, entirely covered in brilliant red.

"Wait??? Is that Surtur's power??? Is he an apostle of the Crimson Dimension Lord????"

Phantasm's voice cracked: "How did Surtur show up too??? Mephisto, Surtur—who's next? Dormammu??? Siseon????"

"What is going on??? Are the Demon Lords holding a meeting????"

Before she finished speaking, black mist surged again from afar; Peter turned to see a figure floating within endless darkness. As the shadows vanished in an instant, Mordo landed, his voice cold and low, echoing around everyone: "I come by the command of Dormammu, Lord of the Dark Dimension…"

Strange and Phantasm said together: "Dormammu?!"

"Mordo! Are you insane?!" shouted a wizard behind Strange: "You've betrayed the Sorcerer Supreme and sided with Dormammu?!"

Mordo's expression was grim; he stared blankly at Strange: "Dormammu sent me to ask why the Sanctum's phone isn't ringing. His… his…"

Mordo stammered for a long time, clearly unable to recall the word, but Strange understood instantly: "Return on investment, right? We already agreed to 7. %. Frankly, that's our bottom line. If he keeps calling, we won't budge…"

Then he snapped back, looking at Mordo: "Wait—how did you become Dormammu's apostle? Aren't you afraid your teacher will be angry????"

"The Sorcerer Supreme didn't choose me; I naturally seek another path… Strange, we'll settle our account later."

Mordo turned his gaze toward Riot, floating in midair; Peter and Phantasm heard him say: "Divine descent? How bold."

Peter leapt down and asked: "What's going on? What is that symbiote trying to do?"

Mordo stared at Riot in the air: "The demon lord behind him seems intent on opening a channel for divine descent."

"That's impossible!" Phantasm denied through Peter's voice: "N'al is imprisoned on Klyntar. He hasn't escaped—he can't be on Earth."

"His physical form cannot come, but his power can. Clearly, this demon lord planted a seed within his devotee—this seed is the key to opening the channel for power descent."

Mordo's expression was icy: "The demon lord behind him seems of very high rank. Earth's magical defense system may not be able to contain the seed's eruption…"

As he spoke, all of them looked upward: the flaming skull and the crimson giant were both advancing toward Riot, their flames and crimson energy eroding the dark curtain—but too slowly.

"Mephisto and Surtur's apostles possess only a fraction of their masters' power—they may not fully block the seed's eruption."

"Where's the Sorcerer Supreme?" Strange asked Mordo.

Mordo remained silent. After a long pause, he muttered, puzzled: "Even if the defense system can't hold, it shouldn't have been breached so quickly… What happened to Wong?"

Hearing Wong might be in trouble, the wizards behind Strange grew anxious; Strange turned to them: "Open portals and return to Kamar-Taj. Find out what's wrong. We'll handle this."

After the wizards left, Strange said to Mordo: "Whatever's happening, you're here to help, right?"

Mordo ignored him entirely, manipulating dark energy to restrain Riot.

Unlike the other two apostles, who attacked directly, Mordo intended to suppress Riot's power with the Dark Dimension's force, continuously seeping his darkness into the space around Riot.

"What do we do next?" Strange muttered to himself—but Peter didn't hesitate. He raised his hand… and pulled out his phone.

Two minutes later, a suit of armor roared across the horizon, and a gleaming shield flew through the air with a sonic crack.

Stark's first words upon landing: "Peter, Dr. Connors is looking for you. He said if he doesn't see you in ten minutes, he's coming here to drag you back himself."