Hunter and Prey, Spying from the Starry Sky
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Aggamon couldn't bear it any longer. He had been debating whether to wait and observe, to first determine the origin of the intruder and weigh their strengths before deciding on a course of action.
But he knew the truth—despite being one of the dimensional lords, he was weak.
Weak enough that many dimensional magic beings could bully him with ease.
The Purple Dimension was in an awkward position among the many dimensions, and this was due to its unique properties.
Unlike other dimensional lords where energy was evenly distributed, the Purple Dimension stored almost all of its energy within the Gems, deep in the mountains. This meant that as long as someone could obtain these gems, they could wield significant power.
Moreover, because these gems contained an immense amount of energy, they were considered precious treasures by many magicians from the outside world.
As a result, outsiders frequently raided the dimension to steal its energy-rich gems. Some dimensional lords even came to "claim" them as their own.
Aggamon couldn't always guard against the former, nor did he dare to offend the latter.
Thus, his position among the many dimensions was humiliating—anyone could slap him around as they pleased.
He desperately wanted to resist, but his strength was lacking.
His power came primarily from the magic gems. Without them, his strength would be reduced by at least half.
So he had no choice but to enslave the native creatures of the Purple Dimension, forcing them to mine the deeply buried gems for him, day after day, year after year.
This was the only way he could pay protection fees to other Dimensional Lords and store enough gems as a safeguard.
That was also why, when Mephisto approached him about joining forces with the Lord of the Sixth Dimension to attack the borders of Hell, he agreed without hesitation.
Aggamon understood that if he wanted to escape his fate as a mere source of exploitation, he had to increase his strength. Seeking power from other dimensions was the fastest way to do that.
And the ally Mephisto had chosen was someone Aggamon found agreeable.
Among the many dimensions, Tiboro, the Lord of the Sixth Dimension, wasn't in a much better position than him.
Tiboro was originally a human magician. He wielded a staff capable of controlling electromagnetic plasma rays, lightning, and even manipulating the earth element to create stone golems.
But he was defeated in battle by the Ancient One.
By chance, he stumbled into the dimensional world and found a small dimension to claim as his own.
From there, everything fell into place.
He abandoned his physical body and became a dimensional lord, naming his domain the Sixth Dimension—implying a status as high as the Outer and Inner Planes of the real universe.
He even gave himself the title Sorcerer Supreme.
In reality, his strength was unimpressive—barely worthy of being called a Dimensional Lord.
So when Mephisto approached him, offering an alliance, Tiboro immediately accepted.
After all, most dimensional lords were far stronger than them. If they allied with a powerful being, they risked being swallowed whole. But if they joined forces as equals, it was a much safer bet.
Aggamon even had bigger plans.
If he and Tiboro succeeded in their attack on the borders of Hell, they could occupy it and gain immense power.
Their alliance could go even further.
Aggamon could provide magic gems. Tiboro could craft stone golems. Together, they could create a mighty puppet army.
With such power, they might finally break free from their humiliating positions among the Dimensional Lord.
But now, a human magician had intruded upon his territory, stolen his hard-earned gems, and even dismissed him outright.
This was an unbearable insult.
Aggamon's deeply buried self-esteem erupted as years of being bullied flashed through his mind.
His anger could no longer be contained.
He pulled out a magic weapon embedded with a gem, aimed it at Aaron, and unleashed a destruction beam!
"Not bad," Aaron said casually. "I didn't expect you to be so polite, bringing me another gift."
Stepping down from the throne at an unhurried pace, he allowed the beam to hit his chest directly.
Yet, it had no effect.
Aaron's Energy Absorption (LV8) was more than enough to nullify energy attacks that weren't stronger than his own magic defense limit.
Not only was he unaffected, but he even absorbed the energy and grew stronger.
Even if the attack had been slightly stronger, he could still have absorbed and resisted it simultaneously.
Unless the opponent's attack was overwhelmingly powerful, it would simply serve as nourishment for him.
Seeing how effortlessly Aaron had withstood the attack, Aggamon began to panic.
Even when he had fought the Queen of Limbo earlier, his opponent had struggled to fully withstand his attacks, relying on magical armor for protection.
But this human…
His entire body seemed like a bottomless black hole, endlessly devouring energy without limit.
Aggamon's anger flared.
Despite his low status, he was still a dimensional lord!
This was his territory—the Purple Dimension!
How dare this human underestimate him!
His dignity had to be defended.
If word got out that a mere human had come and taken whatever he wanted, more opportunists would soon arrive to plunder his realm.
At that point, how could he survive?
Desperation flooded his mind.
He retracted the destruction beam and tossed dozens of magic gems into the air.
Then, in the same instant, he teleported away.
From a safe distance, he gazed back at his castle with a heartbroken expression.
Those were his treasures!
His castle!
And today, he was about to destroy them himself.
"Damn human necromancer! You will pay for your sins!"
BOOM!
A catastrophic explosion erupted from the castle.
The magic gems, detonated under Aggamon's control, unleashed devastation comparable to a nuclear explosion—perhaps even more terrifying.
The entire Purple Dimension trembled.
At the heart of the explosion, the mountains that housed the castle were completely obliterated.
Aggamon clenched his fists.
"Surely he's dead now, right?"
He wasn't convinced.
Losing his castle and a batch of gems was unfortunate, but as long as his enemy perished, it would be worth it.
Gems could be mined again. Castles could be rebuilt.
But his dignity had to be preserved.
After a direct hit from such an explosion, the intruder would either be dead or severely injured.
And if Aaron somehow survived, at the very least, he would have been deterred from further action.
But then—
A massive vortex suddenly formed at the center of the explosion.
The surrounding energy was rapidly absorbed into it.
Within moments, the explosion was neutralized in a bizarre manner.
As the smoke cleared, a completely unscathed Aaron emerged.
Aggamon's eyes widened in pure terror.
This was impossible!
"What… what are you?!"
What kind of monster is this guy?
Is he even human anymore?
This isn't some magician ignorant of the real universe.
How could he be so absurdly powerful?
Even Kamar-Taj's Sorcerer Supreme couldn't be this terrifying.
When Aggamon had communicated with Tiboro, he had some understanding of the Sorcerer Supreme's strength.
According to Tiboro, the Ancient One was only slightly stronger than him.
If Tiboro hadn't been too careless and unprepared, it would have been the Ancient One who got thrown into the dimensional universe instead of him.
Yet, even Tiboro couldn't have forcibly stopped the explosion Aggamon had just unleashed.
Could such a monstrous existence really come from the real universe?
Aggamon was still in a daze when, in an instant, Aaron appeared before him.
"Any more gems? Actually, you can take them all out—I can handle it."
Aggamon stared at him as if he were a monster.
The next second—
With a smoothness that made it seem like he had practiced it thousands of times, he bent his legs into a bowing posture, a flattering smile appearing on his face.
"Oh, legendary magician from the real universe, what brings you to the Purple Dimension?"
"You really didn't have to come in person! A simple message would have been enough, and I would have done my best to fulfill your request!"
"Do you need gems? I'll give them to you!"
"I have plenty!"
"Just name your price, and I'll deliver them immediately!"
"In fact, I can even offer you a large quantity of magic gems on a regular basis in the future."
"What do you think?"
Aggamon spoke obsequiously, completely forgetting that he was a dimensional lord.
But what choice did he have?
Being a Dimensional Lord was nice and all, but staying alive was far more important.
Old Dimensional Lords perished, new ones rose.
He had no intention of becoming one of the fallen.
And this wasn't even his first time experiencing something like this.
Losing face? Losing some gems?
As long as he survived, he could recover.
After all, there were still plenty of magic gems buried underground.
At worst, he could cut costs, purchase some demon slaves from other realms, and increase the mining output.
Right now, his top priority was to pacify this unknown powerhouse and send him away.
Then, he could return to his plans for the border of Hell.
Should he continue?
Once his strength improved further, he might be able to resist the bullies.
Perhaps even renegotiate past agreements.
Yes, that was the plan—fight those he could defeat, and keep paying protection fees to those he couldn't.
Under normal circumstances, Aaron might have actually considered his offer.
He had no intention of lingering in the Purple Dimension, nor of claiming it for himself.
Letting Aggamon continue mining and offering gems as tribute would have been a convenient arrangement.
But Aggamon had been planning to invade the borders of Hell.
Aaron was certain that if he left, the dimensional lords would immediately resume his scheming.
And Aggamon wasn't the type to sit quietly.
If he was willing to discard his dignity and beg for mercy so easily, then once he gained power, he would become even more ruthless.
Trusting a Dimensioan Lord?
One might as well believe a pig could climb a tree.
So...
BOOM!!
A surge of violent energy struck Aggamon before he could react, slamming into him with crushing force.
"Wait! I surrender! Don't do this—I'll agree to whatever you want!"
Aggamon, his body shattered, crawled on the ground, begging for mercy.
But Aaron remained unmoved.
A stream of golden energy shot into Aggamon's body.
In an instant—
The Dimensional Lord vanished from the Purple Dimension.
Aaron had banished him into his own personal dimension.
There, Aggamon would be completely powerless.
With the Dimensioan Lord gone, Aaron absorbed the residual energy left in the area.
Then, he departed.
Meanwhile—In Limbo
After Tiboro left, Mephisto chose to remain, while Magik remained on high alert.
At present—
Two of the three major Dimensional Lordshad retreated.
But no one knew when they might strike back.
Aggamon might return after handling the intruder in the Purple Dimension.
Tiboro, who had left earlier, would almost certainly come back.
In fact—
Tiboro hadn't truly left.
He lurked in the shadows, waiting for news from Aggamon.
The moment Aggamon reappeared, he planned to step forward immediately.
Mephisto thought the same.
He was far too cunning to risk fighting the Queen of Limbo alone, only to pave the way for other Dimensional Lords.
If he could take Limbo, great.
If not, he couldn't allow others to seize the opportunity either. That would be an even greater loss.
Thus—
A strange atmosphere settled over the battlefield.
Three factions, each with different strengths, found themselves in a deadlock, hesitant to make the first move.
They all waited for Aggamon—the key to breaking the stalemate.
But they waited and waited...
And Aggamon never came.
It was clear now—he had run into an even bigger problem.
The invader in the Purple Dimension was far stronger than they had imagined.
Could it be… another Dimensional Lord?
Probably.
After all, the magic gems of the Purple Dimension were highly sought after.
Mephisto's expression darkened.
His plan had been flawless.
Yet, at a critical moment, some unknown individual had thrown everything into chaos.
Had he known this would happen, he would never have sought out Aggamon!
At that moment—
Aggamon, still hiding in the shadows, suddenly paled.
His domain had just been invaded!
What the hell?!
What were the odds?!
Not long after the Purple Dimension was attacked, his own territory had been infiltrated by an unknown force.
A surge of unease rushed through him.
He immediately tried to contact Aggamon.
But there was no response.
Realizing something was seriously wrong, Tiboro abandoned his position and fled.
Mephisto watched as Tiboro's aura completely vanished from the battlefield.
Another one... gone.
His plan had failed.
With no other choice, Mephisto left as well.
Finally—
Illyana let out a sigh of relief.
But doubt crept into her mind.
Today had been too lucky.
Their seemingly hopeless situation had been resolved by an unexpected outside force.
Who was this person?
Was it just a coincidence?
Or... was it intentional?
A thought surfaced.
Aaron.
Could it be him?
For some reason, she found herself looking forward to the answer.
Far away, the Ancient One had been watching everything unfold.
Now, she withdrew her gaze, a faint smile playing on her lips.
"With Aaron in the real universe...
Those dimensional lords will soon face their true hunter."
From hunters, they would become prey.
What happened to Velasco and Aggamon would soon befall the others.
However...
"There are already four Infinity Stones on Earth. More prying eyes will soon follow."
"I just hope… nothing else goes wrong."
She sighed.
A curtain of light appeared before her.
Through it, she could see several unusual figures lurking near Aaron's residence, watching from the shadows.
"Boss, this is the residence of the so-called 'God of Magic' among the humans. Should we continue observing?"
A crew-cut man in a suit asked.
"You can try if you want to die," his superior snapped. "Do it alone, and I'll even double your bonus this month."
Approaching further? Was he crazy?
During their time lurking on Earth, they had gathered plenty of intelligence.
At first, they thought this was a simple mission involving ordinary humans.
But no—Earth was crawling with monsters.
Especially this one.
One man had wiped out an entire fleet.
Even their entire country's forces wouldn't be enough to challenge him.
"Damn it... why did he have to be the one holding that gem?"
Four billion universe credits...
What a pity.
But—
They wouldn't dare make a move.
For now, they would simply retreat.
And continue searching for the other Infinity Stones…
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