CHAPTER 185
Surprise surprise. I decided to post all day/week since I just finished typing the end of this fic, so yeah. My Teen Wolf fic is already out on patreon so you can go check it out if you want.
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The fight between Natasha and Yelena ended, though not to the scale of Steve and Bucky, after lasting a few hours for them to get at least comfortable with the different aspects of their abilities.
Ororo didn't need to train like the others had done since she was already familiar with her powers and despite the increase in dominion Gaea gifted her, all she needed was to know how it worked and she was good to go. She did have more experience in having powers than any of them did after all.
Wrapping up our rather eventful day, I made my way to the Sanctum after receiving a notice from Strange.
"I just got your message. What's wrong?"
Decked in a black master's robe as opposed to his classic choice of garb, Strange had scrolls and parchment of ancient texts scattered all across his desk.
"Remember that time we went rebel hunting which ended up somehow devolving into demon hunting?" He asked without raising his head from the text under his scrutiny.
"Not like I could exactly forget. What of it?" That particular outing was very vivid in my memory as it was the first time I had ever beaten a demon to death and tearing through a squad of sorcerers with a blunt weapon.
"Well after that whole debacle, there was quite an increase in demon summoning from rogue sorcerers but we took care of it through the year and the following months." Strange said as he flipped through pages, summoning other books from the shelves. "I didn't see it then since it immediately trickled down after other sorcerers from the Sanctum actively got involved, but it seems as if it has started picking up activity, demon summoning I mean."
I frowned as he kept on rambling, not being able to paint the picture of why I was needed to hear this. It's not as if people didn't summon demons at any stupid inconvenience of theirs. "Strange, the point being?"
He stopped what he was doing and looked at me, his countenance showing that whatever research he was doing had kept him up for long. "I spoke with the Ancient One recently and she said that due to the recent huge influx of demon summoning on earth, the veil between hell and the human world is progressively getting thinner with every hell spawn."
Okay, the picture that was brewing in my head was not one I was entranced with in any way. Strange wouldn't have been so worried as he was if it was just a case of demon intruding on the human world as all it would take was a due extermination to curb their increasing populace and influence on earth. But that wasn't what was worrying Strange.
Taking my silence as probing, he continued on, "It couldn't possibly be humans summoning demons since it just isn't probable for us to summon such large forces which means that even if they have the collaboration of some dark sorcerers, the helping hand must come from the demons themselves, stating to reason that someone wants to get to earth regardless of the risks. Someone not from this dimension." His face scrunched up at the thought that I was sure came into both our minds.
"Dormammu."
He nodded in affirmation. "… Dormammu."
"You could be wrong though. It's not as if this is the first time something like this has happened down the history line, is it?"
Letting out a sigh, he reclined back into his chair and ran his finger through his hair. "*Sigh* Have you ever heard of the name 'Satannish'?"
I nodded at him. "The scripts says it's one of the rulers of Hell. What does a Hell Lord have to do with this?"
"For such a smart guy you are quite slow on the uptake." He quipped sarcastically.
"It's because I'm being naïve enough to disbelieve the rubbish conclusion that I came to a few seconds ago." I shot back, gaining a low chuckle out of him. The Hell Lords; Dormammu, Satannish, whatever it was did not bode well for either me or Strange; me for obvious reasons while Strange had a personal beef with the Dark Lord himself. Dormammu alone was a threat and adding Satannish to whatever equation this was would only simplify to a calamity.
"Whatever it is that concerns a Hell Lord does not bode well for the earth. We have been able to apprehend some occult members who claim themselves to be Sons of Satannish and they have been rather… foretelling, of our inevitable demise at the hands of their lord." I was so sure that Strange's trademark side white hair was already growing despite him being in his mid – late thirties. "The probable calamity aside, why did you send for me?"
"I thought it would surmise for me to ask for a little helping out in case we do end up facing a nightmare." He said bluntly.
"And is there any reason that would make you think I wouldn't fight if something like a Hell Lord invaded the earth?"
"Yes." He said casually. "I have no doubt that if the fight does not spill out into the open world, you will not raise a finger to act. You are as selfish as can be, Draul, what I ask is your help since we do plan on containing, and if possible, shifting the location of any spillage of our fight. Having you will reduce a lot of death on our side…"
…
"The Ancient One put you up to this didn't she?" I sighed. Knowing Strange, he would never be so formal with asking me for help, and least not in such a way. "… Yes, she did. Don't know why she couldn't do it herself." He admitted.
Talk about going around in circles.
"I don't mind it." I had a feeling that I needed to be there for the fight, as if something really bad would happen that would affect me if I wasn't there. "But, how are you hoping to track the people who are summoning the demons?" I asked.
"I thought we might need your help for that, seeing as you are Space Stone and all. Do you have a way of pinpointing a group of people who are able to avoid scrying eyes and every other magical way of detection?" He asked, forcing a smile on my lips.
"As a matter or fact, I do." Actively focusing my omnipresence on Earth and mixing in my magical sense, I swept every inch of the globe for any congregation of demonic presence and any magic relating to it. I frowned as I picked up hundreds upon hundreds of spots that were practically screaming demonic energy but most of them were obscured very sophisticatedly with spells I had never seen before. The reason I was able to pick them up was because they were occupying a space on Earth which I could cover with just my senses.
"It seems you have your work cut out for you. How the hell were they able to set up so many camps without the Sanctum knowing about it?" I questioned Strange because the denseness of demonic presence was more suffocating than it had any right to.
"That we still don't know. Whatever help they had was able to ward them from the surveillance of Kamar-Taj and we only grew aware of it when the demonic energies of Hell started seeping in concentration into earth. How bad are we looking?"
"739 bases with concentrated demonic energy, meaning there are likely strong regents of Hell in those locations. 121 locations with slightly lesser concentration, mostly comprising of humans, probably those Sons of Satannish you mentioned." I suppressed my omnipresence after getting all the information I needed. "This is quite the fuckfest."
Strange looked frustrated at the information I gave him, something I could understand, because what was on the cusp of breaking out was war… A magical one.
If these people were really trying to summon a Hell Lord to Earth then the sorcerers were in for a very tough fight. But the problem was not just one but two Hell Lords that we had to worry about. There was no way someone like Dormammu would give up such a chance and given that the most likely human perpetrators of this incident were the Sons of Satannish, that made two Hell Lords.
"We should get going. There is no time to waste now that we know how far behind in preparation we are." With a simple wave of hand, Strange's clothes changed from his black robe to his favorite blue with his Cape of Levitation hanging off his shoulders.
"Good to see you too capey." I waved at the cape as it fluttered one of its sides before shifting the space around us to appear before the Ancient One.
"I wish seeing you didn't revolve around dire matters, Mr. Cross." She was dressed in a yellow robe, one I've rarely ever seen her wear.
"Likewise. I've located the bases scattered around the globe. How quickly can you mobilize the sorcerers of the London and Hong Kong Sanctum?"
"I've already sent out the call… How bad?" She asked after hesitating for a second.
"Quite. Not anything we can't recover from. From what I saw, it's quite possible that the summoning is not from this side like we expected. They somehow managed to make it either automatic or it is powered by something they connected to the Dark Dimension." I explained what I found to the group of Masters that had surrounded us to be briefed.
"The ley lines?" One of them asked to which I nodded.
They blinded us by covertly connecting their source to the ley lines of New York, London and Hong Kong despite the Sanctum actively guarding them which suggested that they had someone from the inside helping them, someone that was reasonably higher up the hierarchical ladder.
If the sorcerers were to forcefully destroy their connection to the ley lines, it would mean heavily impeding the Sanctums defense and protective spells which were built around the ley lines of the three cities.
"It means that they had help from someone from in here or the other Sanctums." I made that point clear, angering some Masters present.
"You would question our loyalty to the Ancient One?" One asked.
"Yes, I will. Kaecilius and Mordo were Masters, were they not? I will keep an eye out for Mordo and anyone of you acting shady." I turned to the Ancient One, "I am not needed here any longer am I?"
"No, but thank you for lending us your help."
"Think nothing of it." With that I was gone from the Sanctum and reappeared somewhere in the Himalayas.
My abrupt arrival alerted both the human and demon residence of the base here but unfortunately for them it meant nothing to me.
I made my way to the strongest presence I felt, which was emanating from a hell spawn, while the rest had their hearts held by a spatial lock.
"Speak, who do you serve?" I asked the demon who was groveling at my feet due to the increase in gravity.
"I-I w-w-will sa-y n..nothing!" The 7ft tall dark red demon with blue markings on his body croaked out.
I grabbed him by his neck and lifted him up before proceeding to yank out one of his horns in the most painful way possible which elicited an agonizing howl from said demon.
Not stopping at that, I drew out his tail from his lower back with a rough tug and sent a psychic wave that amplified everything he felt by a hundredfold.
"LORD SATANNISH!" I stopped as he yelled out the name I already knew. "All I know is Lord Satannish a-r… ARGHHHHHHH!" A symbol appeared on the head of the demon before it spread to all parts of his body, engulfing him in fiery red flames that incinerated him to ashes.
Seeing as there was nothing to be gained here, I disintegrated everything related to the demons here, leaving the environment in its natural state before leaving. "A demon seal… this will be troublesome."
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