Just as Mephisto was about to force open the dimensional door, Aaron waved his hand and sealed the surrounding space.
The forming portal instantly vanished.
Mephisto's expression twisted in disbelief.
Traveling to the real universe and returning to the Galaxy were two entirely different feats.
To reach the real universe, one must break through the barriers between dimensions and overcome the magic circle left behind by Emperor Weissandi. But returning was supposed to be far easier.
Never did he expect that Aaron could prevent his escape.
Seeing Aaron's gaze, Mephisto had the disturbing feeling that a sheep was walking into the tiger's den.
He let out a hollow laugh.
Had he actually thought of Aaron as food?
No—more accurately, like a helpless lamb, to be slaughtered at will.
Was he truly trapped here today?
He attempted to flee again, but it was useless.
He glanced sideways.
Lords like Blackheart were still locked in battle with the magicians of Kamar-Taj. Their side of the battlefield had the weakest defenses and had nearly been broken through.
"Idiots. Do you really think you can escape just by breaking the line?"
"Have you not figured out who the real threat on this battlefield is?"
These shortsighted fools were beyond help. Mephisto had no intention of supporting them anymore—he couldn't help them even if he wanted to.
If the God of Magic wasn't handled, there was no chance of escaping, let alone regrouping to fight.
He hadn't fought earlier.
And now they were just trying to run—what a joke.
Did they really think Aaron was blind?
It was obvious he was planning to catch them all in one swoop.
And worse—
Mephisto turned his eyes toward the secret guest with unease.
He strongly suspected that the reason Aaron had allowed them to cross into the real universe via the border of Hell was to lull them into a false sense of security and lead them straight into a trap.
The so-called Dimensional Lords Alliance, which he had painstakingly put together, had collapsed in Aaron's hands from the very beginning.
What a terrifying opponent.
In terms of strategy, this was the first time Mephisto had suffered such a thorough defeat.
And he was absolutely right.
Aaron had never intended to let Blackheart and the others escape.
As they tried to charge out of the encirclement, a terrifying force pulled them back into the battlefield.
Despite their best efforts, the demon lords couldn't break free of the overwhelming suction.
And then came the familiar pressure—only this time, far stronger than before.
In the blink of an eye, half the demons were broken down into pure energy and absorbed.
Even Matrix Demons weren't immune.
Desperately, they watched their comrades turn into energy and get devoured by the gods.
And then, it was their turn.
One after another, the demons, including Blackheart, were reduced to nothingness amid screams of fury.
The ones who had sent avatars survived, but those who had entered in person—tricked by Mephisto and the others—died permanently.
Even if they wanted revenge on Mephisto, there was no chance now.
Mephisto certainly wouldn't resurrect a bunch of traitors.
Once the small fry had been dealt with, Aaron turned his attention to Mephisto.
Throughout it all, Mephisto didn't try to stop him.
Partly because he couldn't.
But also… because he didn't want to.
She had exhausted every trick trying to escape, only to realize she was powerless.
All she could do was quietly await her fate.
And then, Mephisto followed the demons into oblivion.
Before being wiped out, she roared at the secret guest:
"You're finished! As the price of betraying the alliance, your domain and your people will suffer endless destruction! The border of Hell will fall because of your foolishness!"
Once Aaron had completely absorbed and transformed the demons' energy, he departed with the secret guest and Jean.
They left Kamar-Taj and the Avengers behind to clean up the aftermath.
"Sorcerer Supreme, we..."
Nick Fury pointed to the wreckage around them, trying to say something.
But the Ancient One had expected this and interrupted with a calm smile.
"Director Fury, we'll leave this to you. We need to return and reinforce the magic barriers. We won't trouble you further."
With that, she quickly left with the magicians.
Nick Fury's expression darkened.
"Old fox…"
He had originally planned to rope the Ancient One into handling the aftermath. The damage done to the newly restored New York was catastrophic.
If the Kamar-Taj magicians helped, things would be much easier.
And perhaps he could pry more information from them, too.
But the Ancient One, with her centuries of wisdom, wasn't so easily manipulated. In terms of strategy, she was no less cunning than Fury himself.
He didn't even get a chance to use moral leverage.
In the end, he had no choice but to let her go.
He couldn't afford to provoke Kamar-Taj.
Their power was clear for all to see.
Thanks to the fanatical dedication of the Dimensional Lords, their combined strength far surpassed both the Avengers and the Bureau of Magic.
They weren't even on the same level.
Only a few—like Tony Stark—could be said to rival some of their members.
It was truly a den of monsters.
The magic network had cultivated far too many powerhouses.
Fury's heart ached at the thought that so many powerful magicians couldn't be brought under his command.
And now he was left with a mess.
The God of Magic didn't care. Neither did Kamar-Taj.
Only he did.
And there was no point in relying on politicians.
"Damn it…"
――――――――
"There's movement at the border of Hell."
Back at their residence, Illyana spoke up the moment she sat down, her brows furrowed.
As the master of Limbo, she had absolute sensory control over her domain.
Though dulled in the real universe, she could still detect the breach of foreign invaders.
They had charged in brazenly—clearly up to no good.
Apparently, Dormammu and Satanish, still bitter from their humiliating defeat, couldn't wait to take it out on Illyana.
In their minds, the secret guest's betrayal had turned a sure victory into a crushing defeat.
The Dimensional Lords Alliance had been annihilated.
Their prestige destroyed, their armies decimated.
Even their carefully accumulated followers had perished in the battle.
Among them was Kaecilius, the traitorous Grand Magician of Kamar-Taj.
Naturally, he had joined the front lines, leading Mephisto's followers.
And then… there was nothing more.
In the demon hierarchy, they ranked barely at the middle level.
Before Dormammu and Satanish even arrived, they were already dead.
With so many subordinates and believers lost, a comeback was nearly impossible.
Any hope of spying on the real universe had been shattered.
Now, Dormammu and Satanish were out for revenge.
If they couldn't take the real universe, then they'd destroy the border of Hell ruled by the secret guest.
If Aaron and the secret guest dared to show up—they'd be slaughtered too.
Of course, even if they succeeded, they had no means of invading the real universe.
Without believers to power them, controlling the border of Hell meant little.
"Should we go to Limbo to stop them?" Jean asked gently, turning to Illyana.
"No. The border of Hell is dispensable. Their plans are already in ruins. Even if we lose that domain, it's not the end."
Illyana quickly spoke up to stop her.
Now that her identity was exposed, she didn't want Aaron fighting the top three Mephistos on her behalf.
And these weren't mere incarnations—the real Mephistos in the Galaxy were vastly stronger.
They could return to their domains at will.
They could summon other Dimensional Lords to join the fight.
It was incredibly risky.
But Aaron shook his head.
"We're going. It's time to end the Dimensional Lords Alliance once and for all."
Limbo was his foothold in the dimensional world.
He couldn't just abandon it.
And the secret guest's betrayal had to be kept under wraps to avoid drawing more attention from other Dimensional Lords.
That meant Mephisto and the others needed to be silenced—permanently.
This was the perfect chance to see whether full-power Energy Absorption could erase a Dimensional Lord's existence completely.
He'd long had his eyes on those dimensions.
They spied on him and the real universe—but why couldn't he spy on their energy?
If he could absorb even half of those three dimensions, it might be enough to push one of his magic skills to Level 10.
Maybe more than one.
Whether for Illyana's sake or his own, this trip was a must.
With that, Aaron stood up and left.
Illyana and Jean quickly followed.
Though Illyana was worried, Limbo was still her domain. If she went with him, she could help.
As for Jean—
Her feelings for Aaron had only grown deeper over time.
So she and the Dark Phoenix had no fear.
This time, Aaron was going in person.
Facing the three Mephistos, he couldn't afford to hold back.
Only by giving it his all could he show them the respect they were due.
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