Chapter 681: The Salesman and the Mover (Middle)

After swallowing all the membership gifts for the next season in one gulp, the monster vanished instantly.

Yes, it simply vanished—Mephisto, furious, detected no trace of teleportation, not even a soul signature; such a massive monster had simply disappeared into thin air.

All the demons present were stunned—where were their membership gifts? Where was that enormous gift? How could it just be gone?

"Does this newcomer even know the rules?!" one demon roared. "He dared to hoard it all?!"

"Where is he?!" Mephisto shouted. "As long as he's still within this universe, he can't hide—find him!"

"But I've never sensed this kind of energy before!" another demon said. "Could he be a newly born demon god? But how could a newborn demon god be this strong?!"

My Ice Mountain Beauty Wife

Mephisto took human form, about to confront Wong, but found Wong's face equally furious; before Mephisto could speak, Wong struck first, lunging at him while shouting: "Mephisto! It's you again!"

"It wasn't me!"

Mephisto shouted. "Then who else could it be?! Wong… you sneaky bastard! You've been planning to hoard it all along!"

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Both Mephisto and Wong realized the other's shock and rage were genuine—but if not the other, then who?

Instantly, their gazes turned to Odin and the others. Last time, nothing happened—why did this monster appear the moment Asgard arrived?

Odin had no time to argue with Mephisto—Helen's disappearance was the urgent matter; every Asgardian present was frantically searching for the child.

Mephisto glanced warily at Odin; the ripples of Odin's power were clearly visible even across vast distances. All across the universe, it was known: Asgardians grew stronger with age.

"I don't believe it," Mephisto sneered. "No matter where he went, as long as he's still in this universe, he can't hide—I'll turn the entire universe upside down if I have to!" With that, he left; the other demons did the same, all harboring the same thought.

If that monster had swallowed the energy and fled, but I swallowed the monster instead, wouldn't that mean I'd hoarded all the membership gifts? That's a fortune—anyone who claimed it could achieve a qualitative leap.

Of course, almost no demon god suspected the Sanctum Sanctorum; most demons still looked down on humans. They acknowledged the Sorcerer Supreme's strength, but considered it an anomaly—human soul strength was inherently limited, making it impossible to swallow so much energy at once.

Wong and Mephisto hadn't fought on the spot for this reason: Mephisto knew even Wong's modified body couldn't absorb that much energy instantly—it would severely damage the soul. This was a human biological limit, impossible to overcome through modification.

As long as Wong hadn't transformed into a demon god, hadn't fundamentally altered her life form, she couldn't have done it. As for other humans—forget it. One ten-thousandth of this energy would be enough to burst them open.

All demon gods fixed their gaze on their own kind—only a demon god could swallow that much energy in a short time without exploding.

Yet the departing demons had scoured every corner of every dimension in the universe—and still found no trace of the strange monster.

Normally, whether through rapid movement, teleportation, or flight, energy trails must remain. Humans couldn't see them, but demon gods could. Even if hidden by special means, the monster had to stop somewhere to absorb the energy—such a massive demon god couldn't possibly remain concealed.

Witnessing all this, Mephisto was even more furious. This old devil never worked for free—letting some unknown monster swallow all the spoils? If word got out, his reputation would be ruined.

Mephisto even stormed into Dormammu's Dark Dimension, enduring Dormammu's attacks while turning the place inside out—but found nothing.

The Dark Dimension was already one of the most remote and hidden places; other fragment dimensions couldn't possibly hold a demon god. Yet Mephisto had searched every one of them—still nothing.

So where had the suddenly vanished monster gone? She'd gone home—literally, physically home.

In a space filled with gray mist, atop a small island floating above a vast city, Shearer and Helen—now reverted to a little girl—high-fived. Helen cheered, then let out a loud burp and began grinning broadly.

When she climbed down from Thor, her first instinct wasn't to absorb power.

She had witnessed the confrontation between Solus and Stark, elevated beyond the multiverse. Though she was like a leaky cotton-padded jacket, Helen knew enough to understand that battles beyond the multiverse could be dangerous—and that her father Stark might not be fully prepared.

So her first reaction was to go get Stark reinforcements.

Helen was extremely clever. She knew the greatest limitation on the Iron Demon God wasn't anything else—it was energy. Stark needed sufficient magical energy to maintain that state; if he dropped back down, the entire universe could be in danger.

So her first move was to find Sorcerer Strange—she knew Kamar-Taj had abundant energy.

She flew straight back to Earth—and was immediately caught by Shearer, who had been waiting nearby.

Shearer had originally been waiting for Stark, intending to use Stark's multiverse-elevated form to execute his next plan. But seeing Helen, he had a new idea.

Currently, Helen acted almost entirely on instinct. Evolution was encoded in the Destroyer's genes, and Helen herself didn't realize just how powerful she was—but Shearer did.

Any lifeform capable of withstanding, even killing, Superman could no longer be described as merely "strong." The editors themselves had maxed out the cheat codes—only two words fit: "invincible."

Watching Helen, who had transformed her own life form, Shearer slightly revised his plan. Above Earth, he gave Helen detailed instructions.

Afterwards, Helen first cleaned up the battlefield from Stark's earlier fight with the Maglun family. What remained there offered little resistance. More importantly, the Destroyer could evolve by imitating or consuming other lifeforms.

After swallowing the remaining Maglun family members, Helen gained the ability to drain life force. With this new skill, she descended directly onto the battlefield where the demon gods were fighting, unleashed her full power, and seized all the membership gifts in one sweep.

Someone might ask: if this ability is so powerful, why couldn't the Maglun family just drain all these demon gods directly?

Again, the Maglun vampires were social creatures—their individual power was only one-thousandth of their collective form.

But the Destroyer was different. She was a solitary, immensely powerful lifeform. Their biological hardware was entirely different; the same ability, used differently, yielded vastly different results.

A mosquito smaller than a human fingernail, biting once, causes only a bump. But if that mosquito were as large as a truck, the nature of the event changes completely.

The Destroyer was that truck-sized mosquito. Moreover, her superior evolutionary traits allowed her to infinitely optimize any skill she acquired. The original single-target ability became a full-area attack—a mosquito larger than a truck, its entire body covered in mouths, was lethal to any life on Earth.

Of course, the demon gods' complacency was also a factor. The membership gifts had come too easily too many times—they never expected someone to intercept them. Too focused on fighting, they neglected guarding the spoils—and Helen seized the opportunity.

Helen's sudden disappearance wasn't coincidence—Shearer had been waiting all along.

Because he was merely human, lacking the vast energy of a demon god, he was like a single grain of sand on a vast coastline—utterly unnoticed by demons locked in battle.

Once Helen devoured all the energy, Shearer pulled her into the Ring World—the same place where the Destroyer's egg had been stored. So yes, Helen had truly returned home—and returned in triumph.

When Shearer reappeared, he stood in a secret chamber within Kamar-Taj—the Sorcerer Supreme's meditation room, protected by spells left by generations of Sorcerer Supremes, perfectly secure.

Shearer, Nick, Strange, Helen, and Pikachu all leaned in close. Nick raised a hand in a "money" gesture and looked at Shearer.

Shearer shook his head. "Don't rush. I'm not planning to double-cross them. Sorcerer Strange, it's your turn now."

About ten minutes later, Mephisto received a call from Strange, who spoke in a solemn tone:

"I've heard about the incident. I'm deeply sorry, Mr. Mephisto. This accident was unforeseen by anyone, and the Sanctum Sanctorum bears partial responsibility. Therefore, we are willing to compensate…"

"Since we couldn't immediately tally the exact number of membership gifts, compensation will be set at 80% of the previous gift total. We will broadcast this across the entire universe shortly, and dedicated personnel will deliver the compensation directly to your door—you need only wait in your respective dimensions…"

Mephisto was stunned. Was this real? He didn't know how to respond.

He wasn't human. Survival in the universe didn't follow rules. If you were beaten, it was because you were weak. If your energy was stolen and you couldn't recover it, you had to accept the loss. The law of the jungle was brutally clear here.

Mephisto had already accepted defeat. Failing to stay alert, failing to find the culprit—it was his own incompetence. He could go scam elsewhere or fight other demons to steal again. But he never expected anyone to compensate him. No demon god in the universe would ever imagine the Sanctum Sanctorum would actually pay.

After the broadcast, nearly every demon god called to confirm it was real—especially to verify whether the delivery courier was Wong.

When Mephisto actually received his compensation, every demon god in the universe was stunned. The Sanctum Sanctorum really was willing to be the fool?

This wasn't a small sum. This battle had involved at least a dozen major demon gods and many ordinary ones. The Sanctum Sanctorum must be draining its entire treasury.

As more and more energy was dispatched, Nick felt his heart bleeding. Standing before the energy core, he asked Shearer: "You're trying to establish the Sanctum Sanctorum's credibility! This is like spending a fortune to buy a horse's bone… such a massive amount of energy…"

"Spending a fortune to buy a horse's bone might be useful," Shearer said lightly, "but I prefer deals with no upfront cost."

"True," Nick nodded. "After all, it was our energy we stole. We swallowed their gifts and now we're giving it back—no big deal…"

Shearer shook his head. Then Nick heard a broadcast echoing through Kamar-Taj:

"The Sanctum Sanctorum deeply regrets this incident. Though compensation is difficult, we uphold our integrity and guarantee full, timely delivery—no delays."

"However, as is well known, Earth's energy resources are scarce. After this event, energy is even more depleted. Should similar incidents occur again, we may be unable to offer full compensation as we have today."

"Yet life is unpredictable, and the universe is filled with dangers. Should such events recur, massive losses are inevitable."

"Life brings sudden fortune or misfortune; time reveals the true value of insurance. The Sanctum Sanctorum sincerely recommends—the Cosmic Energy Joint Insurance Package!"

"Risks are everywhere. Insurance shares the burden with you."