The boundless crimson was like a sharp blade hanging over his head, and the dense scarlet aura swept across Renzo's body like ribbons with razor-sharp edges.
"How big is this place..." Renzo frowned. After careful calculation and control, they had been walking for at least half an hour, but the surroundings were still red... nothing but red.
Strange kept both hands locked in a spell seal, staring vigilantly at their surroundings. "Chthon's power is getting stronger and stronger. The aura permeating this place is no weaker than your little girlfriend's. I'm afraid we're almost there." The Eye of Agamotto around his neck also grew more and more dazzling. Not only that, the three Stones on Renzo's body were also giving warnings, as if something terrible were approaching...
"Be careful. We may have entered its restricted area..." Strange felt every hair on his body stand on end and hurriedly stopped. There seemed to be countless monsters hidden in the chaotic scarlet. If the two of them took even one more step forward, those creatures would immediately bare their fangs and claws in excitement, tearing and gnawing at them.
A pair of blood-red eyes suddenly opened. In an instant, the scarlet color of the entire world flowed backward. In the blink of an eye, heaven and earth overturned, the crimson faded, and the ground became clear.
"Be careful! Chthon is coming!"
"You don't need to remind me!"
Renzo was also deeply shocked. The three Stones flashed wildly, as if they had triggered some mechanism. Gold, blue, and purple energy spread uncontrollably around him, forming a barrier to protect him.
Strange also activated the Time Stone and placed a time loop around his body to prevent himself from being instantly killed with no chance of resurrection.
Chthon opened his eyes indifferently. With just a glance at the two of them, Renzo and Strange felt chills run down their spines, cold sweat dripping down their backs...
Logically speaking, Renzo should not have felt that way. He was so startled that he could not help reaching out to touch himself. There was no sweat, no hair, but the palpitations coming from his soul could not be faked.
Chthon... was the strongest enemy he had ever seen!
"We didn't mean to invade your territory... but you took advantage of my lapse in vigilance and entered Earth without permission. Are you trying to make an enemy of the Sorcerer Supreme?"
Strange's question sounded righteous, but Renzo always felt that the man lacked confidence.
"We came here under the principle of non-aggression. You'd better pay attention..."
"Give Wanda back to me!"
Renzo stepped forward, and the momentum of the Infinity Stones fully erupted, actually suppressing Chthon for a moment.
"Infinity Stones?" Surprise flashed through Chthon's eyes, and he looked at Strange again. "Interesting... interesting... I actually encountered four Infinity Stones here at the same time. It seems neither of you is an ordinary nobody."
Chthon's body slowly emerged through the endless scarlet mist, revealing himself before the two of them. He had gray hair, red eyes, and a scarlet ribbon wrapped around his waist, drifting without wind.
Just by standing there, his domineering power leaked out. Strange was so shaken that he did not dare to move. He immediately closed his eyes and gasped for breath. A single glance had nearly caused severe damage to his soul.
"So this is the power of the Elder God of the Underworld?" Strange could not help feeling horrified. Although he had faced the Beholder and Nightmare before, he had never felt such fear. It was as if his soul might leave his body in the very next moment.
Renzo was affected far less. The Infinity Stones and the Black Lantern Ring gave him the strength to resist Chthon's power. He took a few steps forward without fear. "I'll say it again. Give Wanda back to me!"
"Haha... hahahaha!" Chthon was startled by the little creature before him. It was as if he had heard some enormous joke, and he could not help laughing. His laughter resounded throughout the land. Strange quickly recited several calming mantras in his heart to resist that bewitching sound.
"He's too strong... much stronger than Dormammu. How did the Ancient One intimidate these beings?" Strange did not understand. With Chthon's strength, he might have been able to defeat the Ancient One alone. If several demon gods joined forces, the Earth would have been torn apart long ago.
"Ancient One... no wonder you wanted to retire so badly..." A strained smile appeared on Strange's face. Time felt so powerless in this world, like a fragile thread that could snap at any moment...
Chthon, Elder God of the Underworld... Strange had truly seen the terrifying power of a dimensional demon god. It completely surpassed the limits of a Skyfather-level being. Even a god from the cosmos might not be his opponent.
Of course, this was also because they were in Chthon's own territory. Just as Hela's strength could always increase in Asgard, in the scarlet dimension, Chthon's power was maintained at its highest level. Dormammu had been frightened away by the Time Stone because he had not been in his own territory then.
That had only been the projection of the Dark Dimension onto Earth, not the complete Dark Dimension. If Strange had broken into Dormammu's true territory alone, he would have died without leaving even a trace behind, and even the Time Stone would have fallen into Dormammu's hands.
These worlds relied on them to maintain stability, and in turn granted power to those who controlled them. The two formed a delicate balance, mutually beneficial and mutually dependent.
Renzo did not care about any of that. When the three Infinity Stones lit up together, Wanda's location gradually became clear. Renzo used the Mind Stone to pierce through layers of fog and finally saw the person he had been longing for... a cocoon?!
How could it be a cocoon? Had Wanda been transformed into some kind of insect?
"Give Wanda back to me!" Renzo could no longer stand it after seeing that mysterious scene. That cocoon of unknown origin had wrapped his girlfriend inside. Every extra minute she stayed there meant another minute of danger, and Wong's spell was running out of time. If Wanda was not rescued within half an hour, he and Strange would sink into the endless scarlet and never reincarnate!
The Mind Stone's beam shot toward Chthon, and golden light illuminated Chthon's gloomy face. His red eyes looked at the attack, and a disdainful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. With just a raise of his hand, the power of the Mind Stone vanished.
But the attack was not over. The Space Stone flashed faintly, tearing open a spatial crack across Chthon's body and striking the Elder God directly. Even his head split open with a fissure, and surging spatial power emerged from within it, trying to cut Chthon into pieces and throw the broken body into other worlds.
The idea was beautiful, but reality was cruel.
The smile on Chthon's face did not fade. He waved his hands lightly, and all the scarlet power in the entire dimension swept toward him. Like a cat that had smelled fish, it rushed toward the chaos demon standing there.
Strange watched the scene in horror, his understanding of dimensional demon gods almost being overturned again. Chthon had actually repaired the spatial cracks on his body with his bare hands, leaving not even a drop of blood, let alone a scar.
This scene was unexpected even for Renzo. The three Stones on his body could not stop trembling the moment he saw it. The piercing warning sound from the Mind Stone nearly drove him mad. Now that he had tried a few moves, it was clear... he would not be Chthon's opponent.
Renzo had never truly considered himself Chthon's opponent. A monster like this might require the legendary Living Tribunal or the Beyonders to steadily suppress it.
His goal had always been Wanda.
"Strange! Now!"
Renzo roared, driving the power of the Space Stone to its limit and breaking through the boundaries between dimensions. The blue vortex was like a blooming night flower, flashing for only an instant as it swallowed Wanda's cocoon. The powerful suction drained away all the scarlet power around it.
Chthon was naturally aware of this little trick, but he did not take it to heart. Such a trivial sneak attack had no effect in his eyes.
"Ha..." Chthon stood still, and chaos magic attacked Wanda. Thick, blood-like liquid condensed into an overwhelming palm, trying to catch Wanda in its grasp.
Swish!
An emerald-green halo shrouded Chthon's body first. The giant hand that had been sweeping outward seemed to be caught in something. The moment it touched the cocoon, it suddenly retreated and turned back into chaos magic, scattering into the air.
"The Time Stone?" Chthon raised his eyelids slightly, looked at the Eye of Agamotto on Strange's chest, and sneered. "So Mephisto was right. That Ancient One has indeed retired. I thought it was merely a trick from Hell..."
"Without the Ancient One's protection, Earth... is nothing more than a piece of cake. As for the current Sorcerer Supreme..." Chthon stared at Strange with his red eyes and smiled wickedly. "Become my nourishment!"
Since the Time Stone could not be dealt with directly, then the person controlling the Time Stone had to be dealt with instead!
The chaos magic around Strange instantly rioted, turning into countless tiny hands that tore at his body, scratched his face, pulled his hair, and tugged at his cloak...
"Hurry up! I can't hold on much longer!" Strange endured the pain in his body and roared in Renzo's direction while constantly stimulating the power of the Time Stone in his hand.
But the gap between him and Chthon was too great. They were like an ant and a giant elephant. A single breath from the elephant could easily blow the ant away.
"Ahhhh!" Strange's face turned red, veins bulging on his forehead, and Dormammu's dark mark appeared. The power of white magic clearly could not resist Chthon's power. He could only borrow Dormammu's strength to barely withstand one or two blows...
The momentum of black magic erupted, and for a moment it gained the upper hand, overwhelming Chthon.
"Interesting..." Chthon chuckled. Things had become much more amusing. "Don't you know... I am the ancestor of black magic?" Chthon stared mockingly at Strange. Black magic erupted from his entire body, and a dark, evil aura coiled around him before turning into a vicious snake and flying toward Strange.
The poisonous snake bared its jet-black fangs and continuously slammed into the barrier around Strange. Cracks spread in every direction. Strange's face turned pale, even his beard became gray, and the wrinkles on his face grew more obvious. He was using his life to resist Chthon's attack.
"Look here!" Renzo roared and rushed toward Chthon's body. The spatial vortex flashed around Strange, cutting off all the poisonous snakes and relieving Strange's pressure.
On the other side, dark-purple power wrapped around Renzo's fist. A massive force surged through the air, almost tearing space apart. With Renzo's extreme speed, its power could not be underestimated.
Boom!
This punch, far more powerful than Mjolnir's thunderous blow and capable of piercing through a city, was concentrated into a single strike. It slammed directly into Chthon's face. Purple energy pierced through his head, causing Chthon to sway slightly and take a few steps back.
Strange also took advantage of the opportunity to break free from Chthon's attack. The power of time flowed toward Chthon like a long river, transforming into several rings of light that tried to trap him in place.
Taking this chance, a spatial vortex appeared beside the cocoon. The cocoon was pulled back and pushed into the vortex again.
"Success?" Renzo looked overjoyed. Wanda was about to return to the living world, and he would naturally be able to escape unscathed. Wong's spell... wait, where was Wong's spell?!
Renzo looked down at his body. The protective spell on him had already been shattered into pieces by the violent energy. He looked at Strange. Only part of the protective spell remained on the man's body, and his face looked at least ten years older.
"Damn it! Strange, get out of here!" Renzo opened a spatial vortex and sucked Strange into it. He then rushed toward the cocoon, picked it up, and fled.
"In my world... you don't truly think you can escape, do you? You should take my trophies with you..." Chthon twisted his neck, sneered, and suddenly appeared behind Renzo. His palm slapped Renzo's back, and the surging power of chaos instantly destroyed his body, causing the Space Stone and Power Stone to fall off.
"Not good!" Renzo's eyes widened. He quickly stretched out his hand and grabbed the Space Stone. The power to tear the world apart instantly exploded under Renzo's roar. Wild spatial turbulence swept through Chthon's body, tearing it apart in an instant.
The coordinates were now completely out of control. Even Renzo himself did not know where the other end of the vortex led, but anywhere was better than here.
The cocoon seemed to resonate with him and trembled faintly. It was as if Wanda had sensed her boyfriend's predicament and wanted to come out to help, but she could not break free from the cocoon around her.
"You can't escape!" Chthon's mutilated limbs were still flying wildly, and his head stared at Renzo and the cocoon with a grin. As long as he was in this dimension, he could resurrect infinitely. "Wanda is the one I chose. She is the Scarlet Witch, a demon born by fate!"
"You can't escape... You will never escape, not in Hell, not in the underworld, not in Heaven, not even outside the universe... She is the Scarlet Witch. She is a demon who will bring endless disaster."
"She is my spokesperson, my successor, my vessel... she is mine! Hahaha!"
"Wanda doesn't belong to you!" The beam of the Mind Stone pierced through Chthon's body, but the next moment, he returned to his original state, completely unharmed.
"Wanda is Wanda. She doesn't belong to you, and she doesn't belong to me. She only belongs to herself!"
Anger almost overwhelmed Renzo's mind. His destroyed body and gradually dissipating consciousness continued to struggle and resist...
The power from another universe... exploded.
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