Ch.141 Vini’s Plot

Even if Vini's intelligence was low, by now she could see clearly—Ronan had been toying with her all along.

Dormammu? The Dark Dimension? Those fake attacks?

It was all a lie!

These were nothing more than illusions Ronan created with some strange method to deceive her!

Realizing this, Vini nearly slapped herself.

How could I fall for such obvious tricks so easily?

Although Ronan repeatedly called her dim-witted, she wasn't as bad as he made her out to be.

And Ronan, naturally, knew Vini wasn't that easy to fool.

But he had used a mental assault.

Dormammu, the entity that swallowed her planet, was Vini's heart demon—her greatest fear.

So, when Dormammu appeared, Vini froze for just a second.

That was all Ronan's illusions needed to slip in.

Thus, that world-famous scene was born.

"I can't remember who said it, but we may all be not-so-smart people—except you, you're special."

Ronan looked at Vini with a complicated expression.

"Special?"

"What's special about me?"

Vini frowned, unsure what new trick Ronan was playing.

"You're especially dumb!"

Ronan clutched his chest in mock agony, almost embarrassed to keep taking advantage of her.

Like they say—most educated people have limits.

Teasing a fool once feels amusing. Twice is still fun.

But after a while, you start feeling sorry for them.

Ronan was now at that stage.

Whoosh!

Vini's response this time came in the form of retaliation.

Vini leaped forward—not on horseback but straight into the air—her hands forming the crimson bands of Cyttorak.

With a flick of her wrists, the two chains shot toward Ronan at high speed.

Ronan remained calm.

He darted forward, skillfully dodging the crimson bands' lock, and appeared right in front of Vini.

Vini's pupils shrank.

She knew one thing for sure—

If Ronan got too close, her chances of losing would skyrocket.

Though they had only exchanged one move, Vini had seen how Ronan dealt with the others.

His close combat skills weren't invincible but were at least a level above hers.

Vini quickly shifted her tactics.

The crimson bands of Cyttorak faded, replaced by two red semi-circular shields—

The Rings of Raggadorr.

While one of the most basic spells in Kamar-Taj, it was also one of the most commonly used.

Vini's hands spun rapidly, hurling ring after ring toward Ronan.

Her goal was simple—block his path.

To her credit, this move worked.

Ronan had to slow down, conjuring his own Rings of Raggadorr to deflect or dodge the incoming projectiles.

During this brief window, Vini began to retreat.

She needed to create distance between herself and Ronan.

But before she could, she suddenly felt someone appear behind her.

"Don't rush, let's spar a little."

That voice—

It was Ronan!

Vini's eyes widened. She immediately recalled Ronan's ability to create duplicates.

If that was the case…

Before Ronan even finished speaking, his hands tightly locked around Vini, overwhelming her with force.

"Ha!!!"

With a loud yell, Ronan flexed his arms and lifted Vini effortlessly.

But just as she braced for impact, nothing happened.

Instead, the moment Ronan halted, Vini's body, driven by inertia, flipped upward.

Of course, Ronan's sudden hip thrust helped.

At that moment, another Ronan appeared in a half-squat position right in front of Vini.

His ring and pinky fingers intertwined, while the remaining three fingers extended, pointing straight forward.

"Special move—"

"Dragon Point Strike!"

The instant Vini saw Ronan's hand movements and predicted his target, her face paled.

She cursed him under her breath but didn't continue.

Not because she ran out of insults—she simply had no time left.

If she delayed even a second, Ronan's strike would hit a very vital spot.

Before the blow could land, the duplicate Ronan's hands were suddenly ensnared by black mud that emerged from the ground.

Glancing down, he saw that the mud had turned into unbreakable ropes, binding him.

Vini seized the chance.

Her feet stomped hard on the duplicate's shoulders, sinking him into the ground while propelling herself and the original Ronan backward.

The black mud formed a gaping maw, swallowing the duplicate whole.

Vini, now on top of Ronan, drove her elbow into his ribs, breaking free.

The black mud surged again, devouring the real Ronan pinned beneath her.

And just like that, they returned to a one-on-one fight.

"Not bad."

"I called you slow, but maybe I underestimated you."

"At least you have some combat skills."

Ronan raised an eyebrow, eyeing the bubbling black mud.

He hadn't even noticed when she had set it up.

Vini said nothing.

The black mud slithered up her arm, forming a dark gauntlet on her right hand.

Smash!

She suddenly punched the air behind her—

Crack!

The Mirror Dimension shattered, and Vini burst free.

Fighting Ronan on his turf clearly wasn't an option.

As the two emerged from the Mirror Dimension, reality welcomed them with gentle rain.

"You were willing to abandon that hidden mud trap just to escape the Mirror Dimension."

"Guess it really affected you."

Ronan smirked at Vini standing a distance away.

His duplicates' deaths replayed in his mind—

The moment they were dragged into the black mud, they suffocated instantly.

That didn't make sense.

Even without oxygen, most could last a minute or two.

Yet his duplicates suffocated immediately, as if all oxygen had been ripped away.

"You sacrificed that advantage to leave. Must mean I had the upper hand in there."

Ronan's curiosity grew.

Was it because the Mirror Dimension suppressed her powers?

Or did Vini have another plan in the real world?

A trump card or backup plan she heavily relied on.

"Don't dream about it. I won't fall for your tricks."

"From now on, I live for one purpose only—"

"To kill you!"

Vini growled emotionlessly, and with a flick of her right hand, the black sludge from before shot out again.

In midair, the black sludge transformed into two massive wolf-like creatures—crimson eyes, razor-sharp teeth, and muscular frames.

It was clear these two wolves wouldn't be easy to deal with.

"ROAR!!!!"

The next second, as the wolves roared in unison, they charged at Ronan with blinding speed!

Ronan remained calm, and two duplicates, already revived, emerged from behind him—one to the left and one to the right—rushing toward the wolves.

Meanwhile, the real Ronan sprinted toward Vini.

Seeing Ronan rapidly closing in, Vini unleashed a bolt of golden lightning—

The Lightning of Balthakk!

Ronan squinted slightly, his steps never faltering, as his hands quickly formed seals in front of his chest.

A massive shield materialized instantly—

The Ancient Body of Hoggos!

This technique was the very one Ronan had learned from Wong during their last session.

Ordinarily, Ronan relied on the Rings of Raggadorr, but against Balthakk's Lightning, the Rings of Raggadorr were clearly not on the same defensive level.

Thus, this long-hidden ability finally emerged.

As the Ancient Body of Hoggos appeared, Ronan didn't hesitate to push the massive shield forward instead of merely relying on its defense.

When the lightning clashed violently with the shield, the shield cracked slightly but continued pressing toward Vini.

Vini, of course, knew the counter to this move—

Meeting it head-on with the same technique!

Boom!

Two massive shields collided.

The surrounding air fractured like glass, and as the energies neutralized each other, they shattered and dissolved into nothing.

By this moment, Ronan had already reached Vini.

The thing Vini dreaded the most—

It happened.

Ronan had closed the distance!

Of course, Vini wasn't defenseless. As a battle mage trained by Kamar-Taj, her close-combat skills weren't weak.

They just couldn't compare to Ronan's.

And so, the next second, the two were already locked in close combat.

Although they were both trained under the same system, once talent began to shine through, the difference became clear.

For the first twenty exchanges, Vini managed to hold her ground.

But after that, as Ronan gradually discerned her patterns, the fight tilted almost entirely in his favor.

Initially, Ronan landed one or two punches, but she endured.

Soon, however, her steps grew unsteady, and her blocking hands began to lag behind.

Bang!

A heavy punch from Ronan struck Vini's shoulder, and the sheer force nearly knocked her over.

But she knew—falling now would expose her to even greater danger.

Still, before she could fully gather her thoughts—

Ronan charged at her again.

This time, his speed increased, and his punches carried even more weight.

Bang!

A muffled groan escaped her lips as her footing faltered.

The punch to her chest felt heavy, but what terrified her most—

She was starting to lose track of Ronan's punches.

Even if she could see them, her body couldn't keep up anymore.

This wasn't just exhaustion.

Ronan was gradually unleashing his full strength.

Yes, Vini wasn't wrong.

From the very start, Ronan hadn't been fighting seriously.

Their even exchanges earlier—

It was simply Ronan holding back, probing her combat style.

For a sixteen or seventeen-year-old, learning to hold back in battle was already impressive.

This habit, however, was thanks to the Ancient One.

Ronan's teacher was the Ancient One, and although he usually trained with Mordo and Wong, his earliest sparring partner—

Was the Ancient One herself.

At first, Ronan would use his full strength, launching an all-out burst.

He knew he couldn't win, but at least he wouldn't lose so miserably.

But he had guessed wrong.

Whenever he attacked with full force, the Ancient One would merely dodge effortlessly, standing still without retaliating.

When Ronan's burst of energy faded and fatigue set in, the Ancient One would strike back.

With a simple sweeping kick, she would knock him flat on his back.

Every time he hit the ground, Ronan felt pain in every part of his body.

So much so that the blankets in his room reeked of medicinal herbs for weeks.

After that, Ronan never used full force at the start of a fight.

And he didn't dare.

"Leave three parts of your strength in battle, and you will always have three parts left as your trump card."

Now, Vini finally understood—

What it meant to be gradually beaten down.

Bang!

Ronan's fist connected with Vini's face, sending her flying.

But Ronan had no intention of letting her go so easily.

Kicking off the ground, he lunged at her again.

At last, Vini had a brief window to breathe.

"You're not continuing this!"

Vini shouted, twisting midair.

Suddenly, dark energy erupted from within her, manifesting into a giant black hand that slammed down toward Ronan.

Ronan skidded to a halt—

The Ancient Body of Hoggos flared up again, disintegrating the massive hand into harmless glowing embers.

That was the power of Hoggos—

It didn't defend.

It altered the nature of things.

The dark energy that once formed the hand—

Transformed into harmless light.

That was its terrifying power!

"Looks like Dormammu lent you energy from the Dark Dimension just to capture me."

"He must really think highly of me."

Watching the dark energy swirling around Vini, Ronan raised an eyebrow.

Such generosity almost felt flattering.

It reminded Ronan of Vini's clone that had detonated dark energy last time.

How badly did Dormammu want him?

If Dormammu could grant this much dark energy to his agents, why was he so furious when the Ancient One "borrowed" some for herself?

"I never imagined you'd be this tenacious."

"Dormammu was wise to grant my request."

Vini raised her arm, letting the dark energy coil around her like a tamed beast.

"I'm curious—"

"You know full well I'm not the one who destroyed your universe. It was Dormammu's lie."

"Why fight so hard?"

"Do you truly believe Dormammu will keep his promise?"

Ronan asked with genuine curiosity.

Vini smirked.

"You're smart enough to figure it out, aren't you?"

Vini tilted her head as she looked at Ronan, a strange smile curling at the corners of her mouth.

It was as if she had been waiting for Ronan to arrive at this very conclusion.

"Let me think… you made a deal with Dormammu, and the core of that deal is me."

"You probably already knew that this whole thing had nothing to do with me, but you still want to kill me."

"The reason you want to kill me—it's either because you actually believe Dormammu's words and think that bringing my corpse back will make him spare Earth…"

"Or…"

"You have another motive."

Ronan narrowed his eyes, as if he had begun piecing together something significant.

Vini simply stood there, watching him with that same strange smile.

It was as if Ronan had guessed correctly.

"And what exactly is this other motive?"

"If your ultimate goal is to save the Earth from your universe—"

"Is there another way to achieve that?"

Ronan stroked his chin, seemingly deep in thought.

Vini's expression grew more intriguing. It was as if she was sure Ronan wouldn't figure it out—yet there was something else in her eyes, some other emotion flickering beneath the surface.

Clap!

Suddenly, Ronan clapped his hands together forcefully.

It looked like he had figured something out!

"If there's another way to save your Earth, and if the original Earth can't be salvaged… you could just switch to another one."

"Don't tell me—you're eyeing this Earth?"

Ronan turned his gaze toward Vini.

In that moment, the teasing and odd expression on Vini's face completely vanished.

It was replaced by shock—pure, unfiltered shock.

Now Vini was starting to wonder if Ronan had some kind of telepathy.

His guess was exactly on point, mirroring her plan down to the smallest detail.

It was practically identical.

"Wait—if you're targeting this Earth, why are you so focused on killing me?"

"Your main goal should be relocating the people from your Earth, or at least the ones you care about, to this planet."

"Shouldn't that take priority?"

"The fact that you're paying so much attention to me means that I must play a crucial role in this plan."

"Not just an important role—but a decisive one!"

Ronan clenched his right fist and struck it firmly into his left palm.

It looked like he had unraveled the entire mystery!

Across from him, Vini's expression darkened further.

At this point, she deeply regretted ever letting Ronan keep talking.

If she hadn't been stalling for time, she wouldn't have allowed him to dive this deeply into his suspicions.

She never imagined Ronan would actually connect the dots and uncover her most important secret plan.

"So what part of me exactly is it that you're after?"

"Or rather, what do you need to do to achieve the migration between two universes?"

Ronan tapped his fist lightly against his palm, as if keeping time to a rhythm.

A few seconds passed before he stopped, both his footsteps and his hand movements halting in unison.

"Right—what you need most is a bridge."

"Or to put it another way, you need to open a portal that allows people from your universe to cross over into this one."

"Normally, parallel universes aren't supposed to intersect or cross over."

"But… there are exceptions."

"If a universe manages to achieve cross-dimensional travel once, subsequent crossings become progressively easier. That universe also becomes more noticeable to others."

"Which means you have to act before other universes get involved."

Ronan looked at Vini. At this moment, every hint of mockery or lightheartedness had disappeared from his face.

He had initially thought Vini wasn't very bright, but now it was clear—

He had underestimated her.

More importantly, Vini had been scheming something far grander in the background.

"My arrival this time might be explained by Strange's spell mishap."

"But I doubt you even know Peter Parker, so you couldn't have been summoned by his spell."

"That means you must have another way of traveling between universes."

"So, who told you that I had arrived in this universe?"

"And why… why did you wait for me to show up before making your move?"