Far Outer Planes,
A unique realm not far from the Purple Dimension.
The Crimson Universe.
"The breath of the real universe... Who dares provoke Mephisto? Who exudes such intense fighting power?"
The dimensions are far apart—Outer Planes and Split Realms.
To the top Dimensional Lords, such distances are trivial. It only takes a thought to travel between them.
But they rarely enter other Dimensions uninvited. Doing so is essentially a declaration of war against the dimension's master.
Certainly, to a Dimensional Lord on Cytorak's level, a mere Mephisto is nothing.
Even within his own territory, Mephisto wouldn't faze him.
But as a ten-thousand-year-old recluse, Jean Torak—better known as Cytorak—would never leave the Crimson Universe unless absolutely necessary.
On one hand, there's little benefit. Raiding another dimension wouldn't strengthen him much.
He's already one of the most powerful Dimensional Lords. Apart from a select few, none even dare to challenge him.
On the other hand, Jean knows full well that many powerful beings lie beyond the Crimson Universe.
If he leaves, his strength would diminish—making him feel exposed. It's safest to stay put.
He's confident: no matter who enters the Crimson Universe, they won't defeat him.
Even though the battle in the hell dimension was intense, it only made him glance over with mild curiosity.
But nothing more. He wouldn't go there in person.
Still, even if he didn't witness it himself, he could contact other Dimensional Lords living in Split Realms—those who once competed with him for the title of strongest.
Through various means, Jean learned who Mephisto's opponent was.
"A god of magic… from the real universe?"
"Who the hell is that?"
Cytorak was stunned—completely unfamiliar name.
He wasn't the only one puzzled. In the inner dimensions, the Three of Weishandi were also perplexed.
But unlike Cytorak, they didn't prefer to remain isolated. Thanks to their ties with the magical order Kamar-Taj, they soon uncovered the details.
They learned that Aaron, the god of magic, came from Asgard in the real universe.
Not long ago, he "abandoned weapons and embraced the law," demonstrating astonishing magical ability.
He had successively mastered the arcane systems of the Aesir gods, the Vanir, the secrets of Kamar-Taj, ancient god spells, and even newly discovered cosmic magics.
And with the Magic Net he created—an invention that restructured the entire magical landscape—he had rapidly absorbed enormous amounts of magical energy.
He quickly rose to become a god of magic, his true power unknown, but his magical attainments terrifying.
During this period, the Dark Phoenix was suppressed. The Jean Family in the Galaxy was heavily damaged. The Merchant Alliance's attempt to manipulate the real universe failed.
Aaron's record was undeniably impressive.
His string of victories intrigued the Weishandi trio deeply.
They were amazed by Aaron's ascent:
From an ordinary Asgardian to godhood in just a few years.
Fighting Mephisto, defending the real universe—his rise was unheard of.
Ancient One had fed them this intel.
But she didn't reveal everything.
Although she followed the Weishandi, she wasn't blindly loyal.
Her core goal was the protection of the real universe—even if that meant embracing black magic to defeat black magic.
To prevent greater calamity, she framed things gently.
Still, what she did reveal was enough to stun the Weishandi.
"The Magic Net… What exactly is it?"
That was their biggest question.
Thanks to their keen instincts, they quickly focused on what they believed to be the source of Aaron's power.
According to Ancient One, Aaron only attained his current strength after creating the Magic Net.
In truth, Aaron's core strength lay in his natural magical abilities.
The Magic Net merely accelerated his growth.
Ancient One purposely omitted Aaron's talent for magical learning and innovation.
If she had mentioned it, few would believe her—others might start fearing or targeting him.
The existence of the Magic Net couldn't be hidden, so she allowed people to believe Aaron gained power through it alone.
Both Mephisto and the Weishandi believed it.
After learning about the Magic Net, the Weishandi trio fell silent.
"This is a genius creation. For Aaron to invent such a structure… that alone is enough to place him on par with us," said Agamotto, deeply impressed.
Although the full mechanics of the Magic Net weren't clear, its effects were easy to infer.
It turned everyone in the world into a magical battery.
As long as the energy it drew in could be converted effectively, anyone could ascend—perhaps even to become a Dimensional Lord.
Its appeal extended even to Dimensional Lords.
After all, they needed energy too.
Why did Dormammu love invading other dimensions?
To merge them into himself, enhancing his own power.
If the Magic Net were to fall into the hands of the Dimensional Lords and spread across universes…
The implications were staggering.
"No wonder Mephisto and the others are invading the real universe. It might be because of the Magic Net."
"Should we intervene?" asked Agamotto.
Oshtur shook her head.
"Let's observe a bit longer. I have a feeling… Mephisto might actually die this time."
"What?" The other two were surprised.
They respected Aaron's skill and strength, but could a newcomer really kill Mephisto in his own dimension?
Even they found that daunting.
But Aaron seemed to be going in for the kill. Was it possible?
"According to Ancient One, he's not reckless. If he's made a move, he must be confident.
"And the fact that Mephisto hasn't beaten him yet says a lot."
Oshtur was cautiously optimistic—and alert.
If Aaron truly defeated Mephisto, it would draw more eyes his way.
And many would covet the Magic Net.
If it fell into the hands of other Dimensional Lords, the multiverse could face a new crisis.
Dimensional Lords and the Magic Net were a terrifying match.
Combined, the result wasn't just powerful—it was exponential.
She couldn't even imagine the consequences.
Of course, the Magic Net might not be able to spread infinitely.
Still, the Weishandi knew enough to be wary.
And they weren't the only ancient beings keeping watch.
In the Flickering Fields, Chthon, god of black magic, and in the Sea of Snakes, Seth, god of serpents—both noticed changes.
They typically ignored the lower realms, and lacked Kamar-Taj's information network.
As the losers of the War of the Ancients, and exiled from Earth by the God-Eaters, they could now only erode the real universe through dark schemes.
Recently, their attention had shifted to parallel universes.
So they didn't notice Aaron… until now.
Suddenly, their interest was piqued.
"Velasco is dead?"
"And Earth's black necromancer, too?"
"Wait… Little Wanda… has Awakened?"
Chthon sensed that most of his pawns in this universe had been wiped out.
Only Wanda remained—chaotic and unbound—and Illyana, once entrusted to Velasco.
Beyond that, he could barely project influence to Earth anymore.
He frowned.
Then relaxed again.
As long as the Darkhold still existed, he would always have new pawns.
Who could resist its temptation?
As for the hell dimension…
Chthon and Seth turned their focus there.
What they saw stunned everyone.
Mephisto, King of Hell, was defeated.
Aaron's energy absorption wasn't easy.
As long as Mephisto retained authority, he could suppress Aaron's influence.
But Illyana's Soul Blade changed everything.
When Aaron tore Mephisto's body apart, he signaled Illyana.
She struck—cutting Mephisto's connection to the hell dimension.
With Mephisto's authority weakened, Aaron unleashed his absorption spell.
A magical storm exploded outward. Energy poured into him.
Mephisto tried to interrupt him—futilely.
Even when he tried to restrain Illyana through dimensional authority, Dark Phoenix intervened.
She wasn't strong enough to beat Mephisto, even as a fully awakened fragment.
But she was strong enough to block his interference.
With their help, Aaron maximized the results while minimizing his effort.
Hell's energy flowed into him, filling his inner dimension.
Mephisto began to panic.
His end was near.
At that moment, Dormammu and Satanish, who had been watching, finally arrived.
They hadn't wanted to intervene.
They assumed Mephisto would repel Aaron.
But now… they had no choice.
Mephisto was about to be destroyed.
Even Dormammu felt uneasy.
Confident as he was, Mephisto's fate made him shudder.
Satanish was terrified.
Aaron had become a true nightmare.
The two Dimensional Lords tried to rescue Mephisto.
But it was too late.
Aaron had absorbed too much power.
There was no resisting him now.
Even shorter than the last time, the three great Dimensional Lords failed again.
And Mephisto… was devoured.
Hiccup~
Aaron rubbed his stomach. His pocket universe brimmed with divine energy.
Stronger than ever.
Having absorbed most of Hell's energy, he stood at the top again.
He looked at the shattered dimension.
He didn't choose to take it over—not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't yet.
Killing Mephisto would cause panic among the Dimensional Lords.
But if he conquered Hell entirely, he might face a united backlash.
It was the difference between an invader and a genocidal force.
And so, Aaron held back—for now.
Even so, Hell was done for.
Its energy drained, its dimension fractured.
90% of demons perished in the battle's wake.
The survivors? Still dangerous—but weakened.
They would soon devour one another and face incursions from other dimensions.
Hell was doomed.
Aaron, with Dark Phoenix and Illyana, turned toward his next target:
Dormammu.
As he sensed Aaron's arrival, Dormammu prepared.
Satanish stood by him once more.
This time, they would give it their all.
Back in Hell, the surviving demons collapsed as Aaron left.
Terror-stricken.
Hell lay in ruins.
And the name Aaron, the God of Magic, became taboo among demons.
Among the wreckage, the Blackheart Demon stared at the cracked ground.
The throne of Hell lay before him… yet he felt no joy.
Instead, a deep dread consumed him.
Sitting on that throne meant becoming Aaron's next target.
He… backed away from it.
[Please support me at my patreon if you want more: patreon/OGCrafter for 20+ chapters]