At the bottom of the sinkhole—
Looking at the clone maintaining a spiritual body state, Martin had already cast "Detection" on him more than once.
But he got nothing at all.
"The third penalty mechanism is really excessive, not letting me obtain detailed information about my opponent."
"If I had gotten his information earlier, maybe I would have waited until the second penalty item disappeared before making a move against him."
"Just how many universes has this guy been to, and what has he gained?"
"To actually be this terrifying."
"If it weren't for the Darkhold, I really would've gotten myself killed."
Martin narrowed his eyes, then laughed, "You don't think that just because you're maintaining a non-physical state, there's nothing I can do to you, do you?"
"On the contrary, I specialize in dealing with non-physical things."
As he spoke, large amounts of black aura poured out from his body.
The black aura spread like dense fog, and in the blink of an eye, it had already filled the entire bottom of the pit.
At this point, even without radiation interference, the military satellite probably wouldn't be able to see anything.
Within the black aura, Alex immediately sensed something. Through the clone, he could see nothing at all.
Even scanning the underground from high altitude, he couldn't see the scene within the black fog.
As if that black aura had turned the space inside into an independent field.
And this field also had the ability to take away vision.
At this moment, through the clone, Alex heard that "counterpart" say, "Tsk! Only took away vision?"
"That's letting you off easy."
"This 'Dark Domain' was originally supposed to isolate inside from outside and strip away all five senses."
"Looks like your 'magic resistance,' along with the existence of the penalty system—"
"Has greatly weakened its effect."
"But whatever, this spell is just groundwork and preparation."
"Whether it can take away your five senses doesn't really matter."
Alex curled his lips slightly, then through the clone used "Mind Invasion" on Martin.
He wanted to take control of that "Homelander" and force him back into a physical state.
But at that moment, Martin laughed, "As expected, you have abilities in the mental domain."
"Save it."
"Right now, my mind is protected by magical power."
"You can't control me."
In the darkness, Martin raised both hands, and violent winds suddenly surged within the sinkhole.
The winds stirred the black fog. Not only did they fail to disperse it, they made the space even more turbid.
At the same time, the winds carried the scent of death and decay.
They drove the black fog, carrying drifting ash, and closed in on Alex's clone.
Originally, Alex had put the clone into a spiritual state to be immune to physical attacks.
But now, even this state couldn't avoid the decaying winds.
Even though the spiritual state still had a layer of biological force field protection, once the wind blew, the clone's biological force field actually showed signs of being corroded, weakened.
Of course, this still wasn't enough to threaten Alex.
His "super-speed regeneration" could completely regenerate the invaded parts before the biological force field was fully eroded.
"I'll admit, you're troublesome."
"Honestly, I didn't expect you to be this powerful."
"But invading another 'counterpart's' universe is always like this, full of uncertainty."
"But that's what makes it exciting, isn't it?"
Martin floated up into the air. The "Dark Domain" posed no hindrance to him.
As the "king" of this domain, he could clearly grasp Alex's position and state.
The "Dark Domain" wasn't as simple as he described. Besides the functions he mentioned, it also enhanced dark-type magic.
Martin unfolded this "domain" to compensate for the weakening caused by the penalty system.
So, following the earlier "Decaying Gale," Martin used another dark magic.
Foul Invasion!
This was also a dark spell, manifesting as a filthy toxic mist.
The foul mist silently wrapped around Alex's clone. Within the "Dark Domain," it was amplified.
It vaguely took the shape of a many-eyed giant rat.
It enveloped the clone, using the filthy toxic mist to erode the biological force field bit by bit.
Stacked together with the effect of the "Decaying Gale," the clone's biological force field was clearly being eroded much faster than before.
Martin laughed loudly, in high spirits, feeling everything was under control.
In his mind, all kinds of magical knowledge continuously surged forth, allowing him to use various spells with ease.
And to know how to combine them for optimal results.
This was knowledge instilled by the "Ancient Demon Shadow," enabling Martin to use magic rationally to defeat enemies.
But once the spell ended, that knowledge would vanish from his mind in a mysterious way.
So only while the "Ancient Demon Shadow" was attached could Martin become a true master of dark magic.
Now, Martin used another dark spell.
Weakening!
Its name was plain.
But its effect was significant.
As the name suggested, it rapidly weakened the target.
It not only reduced various defensive abilities, but also affected the target's mind.
Causing mental fatigue, nausea, and headaches.
And within the "Dark Domain," it also caused difficulty breathing and sharp pain in the body.
As if every joint were filled with needles, any slight movement would bring intense pain.
This spell was like a miserable green lightning bolt, cutting through the darkness and striking Alex's clone.
Under the assault of three spells, the clone's biological force field began to show strands of light, clearly weakened a great deal.
At this moment, "super-speed regeneration" kicked in, quickly restoring the fading strands of light, layering them back to fill the gaps.
Thus continuing to protect the clone.
But as soon as the biological force field regenerated, it was weakened again, repeating in a cycle.
Seeing this, Martin frowned slightly. He hadn't expected Alex's biological force field to be this troublesome.
Even using three weakening spells in succession within the "Dark Domain," it only matched the regeneration speed.
Martin's nostrils flared as he snorted.
The endless magical knowledge in his mind led him to immediately use a fourth dark spell.
"Words of Madness!"
At once, through the connection with the clone, Alex, far above at an altitude of ten thousand meters, suddenly heard chattering sounds filling his ears, like a swarm of rats squeaking right beside him.
These sounds seemed simple, but each syllable was packed with vast amounts of dark, insane information.
Upon hearing them, Alex immediately felt extremely uncomfortable.
Fortunately, he had "mental resistance," and quickly suppressed the discomfort.
At the same time, through his mental domain, he locked onto Martin's position and had the clone fire a black, deep, gloom-filled beam.
"Fear Ray!"
Martin hadn't expected that his "counterpart," even under the influence of "Words of Madness," could still accurately lock onto his position.
He was struck by the Fear Ray.
Although he was currently in a wraith-like state, the Fear Ray still affected him.
Martin's vision blurred.
Then he saw, on the horizon, a massive shadow the size of a planet appear.
That shadow overlapped layer upon layer, as if composed of countless figures stacked together.
It was exactly the ancient demon shadow he had summoned.
From beneath its indistinct face, a blinding beam of light suddenly erupted.
Martin was instantly engulfed in the light, letting out a scream.
Within the "Dark Domain," Martin's figure was immediately dyed black.
Just as he was about to turn completely into a black silhouette, the blackness suddenly stopped, then began to recede, turning into streams of black aura that separated from his body.
The Fear Ray had taken effect, but was blocked by some force.
Having narrowly escaped death, Martin's face turned even paler. He knew the "Ancient Demon Shadow" had protected him.
Otherwise, he might have died again.
Martin looked at the clone once more and said in a low voice, "Just how many trump cards do you have left?"
As for the greatest trump card, Alex himself, high in the sky, he curved his lips.
Then, through the clone, Alex said, "Maybe just one. Maybe many."
"Why don't you take a guess."
"As for you, how long can you maintain this state?"
"What you summoned isn't something ordinary."
"I don't believe there's no cost for being possessed by it."
"For example, there must be a time limit."
Martin's expression changed slightly, but the clone couldn't see it, so Alex couldn't either.
But from the atmosphere, Alex could sense something.
He could feel that Martin's mood had grown heavier.
Then, within the dark world, Alex sensed an extremely deep, oppressive presence appear.
And then he heard Martin say, "You're right."
"I do have to pay a certain price."
"This spell also has a time limit."
"But as long as I kill you before that, it's enough!"
Alex immediately realized Martin was about to use some kind of killing move.
Just as he prepared himself, suddenly, his ears caught an unusual whistling sound.
He looked toward the source and saw, in the distant black night sky, a point of fire flickering.
Alex focused on it and realized, it was a missile.
'No, is it nuclear missile?'
The human military had launched another attack, and this time, they intended to eliminate everything fighting on this battlefield.
———
On the surface—
Watching the two Doomsdays clashing in the distance, a line of information suddenly appeared in Norman Osborn's visor.
Gwen immediately heard Old Osborn cry out from above.
"A nuclear missile!"
"Damn it! I just received word, the military has launched a nuclear strike on this area!"
"They've lost their minds, they're trying to kill us along with it!"
Inside her mask, the girl's face turned pale.
No matter what, not long ago, Gwen had only been a high school student.
Even if she had something special about her, overall, she was still just an ordinary girl.
Her life had been meant to follow a normal path, fall in love, go watch movies with the boy she liked, listen to music.
But now, not only had she become a superhuman, she was watching two monsters fight up close, and now she was within the blast range of a nuclear weapon.
The experiences of this single day were far richer than her entire past seventeen years.
At that moment, in both her and Norman Osborn's minds, Alex's voice sounded.
["Don't worry."]
Just a simple sentence.
Yet it shook both of them.
Don't worry?
That was a nuclear weapon.
Not an egg, not a shell, not a missile.
A nuclear weapon.
And Mr. John was saying not to worry?
Could he even deal with a nuclear weapon?
Gwen couldn't help thinking again, 'Is there anything Mr. John couldn't do?'
———
Inside the command center of the military base—
"General, the nuclear missile we launched will hit the target in 49 seconds."
Hearing this, the general felt somewhat relieved.
"No matter how powerful a monster is, it can't survive a nuclear blast, right?"
He looked at the large screen.
On the screen, the missile's trajectory was displayed.
When the flashing dotted line was less than 100 kilometers from the target, suddenly, the missile icon stopped.
As if malfunctioning, it no longer moved.
"What's going on?", The general felt a bad premonition and stood up, shouting nervously.
"The missile..."
"The missile has stopped."
Hearing this, the general's mind went blank.
Then he roared, "Is it a technical malfunction? Fix it immediately!"
But at that moment, another shocking update appeared.
"The missile… the missile is gaining altitude."
"Now at 3,000 meters, 3,500 meters, 3,800 meters, 4,000 meters…"
The general was stunned.
"Why is it gaining altitude?"
"Our target is on the ground!"
"Send a drone nearby immediately to see what's going on!"
Under the general's orders, a drone near the combat zone flew toward the missile's location.
What it saw was the missile rapidly ascending, heading toward the atmosphere.
And beside the missile, there seemed to be a human figure.
"Am I seeing things? Is that a person?", the general shouted, "Zoom in!"
Soon, the enlarged image appeared on the big screen.
Sure enough, though blurry, it was clear enough.
Beside the missile was a man, wearing a black combat suit, a red cape stretched straight behind him by the wind.
He was holding the missile as he flew upward.
"The missile is now at 7,000 meters, 8,000 meters, 10,000 meters!"
Moments later, the missile exited the atmosphere.
Shortly after, the missile icon disappeared from the display. At the same time, the night sky suddenly lit up.
Then waves of light spread like a tide, instantly illuminating the entire sky. Rays of light pierced through the clouds, lighting up the earth.
Inside the command center.
Someone reported, "General, the nuclear missile—"
"The nuclear missile has detonated."
Although it still exploded, detonating in outer space meant it couldn't harm ground targets at all.
The general slumped into his seat, dazed.
He couldn't believe it.
Even a nuclear weapon had failed.
What weapon was left that could kill those targets?
———
On the battlefield—
Gwen looked up, along with Norman Osborn, at the sky.
Light from beyond the planet shone down, illuminating the entire night.
Inside her mask, Gwen's eyes shimmered.
"So powerful…"
"Mr. John can even handle a nuclear weapon."
"Is he an alien?"
"I don't know if he's an alien," Norman Osborn said softly behind his mask, "but I do know this, on this planet, he's invincible."
"He alone can rival the entire world "
Gwen's body trembled slightly.
And at that moment, the "Mr. John" who had just intercepted the nuclear missile and sent it into outer space to detonate was flying back toward Earth.
When he saw the underground sinkhole, he immediately used "Mind Invasion" again to reconnect with his clone.
The moment the connection was reestablished, Alex sensed something was wrong.
The clone seemed to be collapsing.
Earlier, to intercept the missile, he had temporarily cut off the connection.
Only now had he reconnected.
That gap had only been about thirty seconds.
He had no idea what had happened during that brief time.
Alex didn't know, while he had gone to intercept the missile, Martin had used a terrifying spell.
In the darkness, he pulled out a massive phantom.
It looked like a giant wrapped in chains from head to toe.
Its presence was so heavy that as it stepped forward through the darkness toward the clone, the ground, the space itself, trembled, radiating intense magical fluctuations.
This caused all the aura within the "Dark Domain" to boil.
Yet such a terrifying giant, such a dreadful figure was only a thin layer.
A shadow so thin it wasn't even like a strand of hair reached Alex's clone in an instant.
Then it extended a large hand emitting black smoke and waved it, sending out flat "chains," also emitting black smoke, that coiled toward the clone.
The "chains" quickly wrapped around the clone.
Wherever the chains touched, the clone's body rapidly flattened.
As if degrading from three dimensions into two.
And the flattened parts turned into shadow, merging into the equally flat chains.
At the moment Alex reconnected through "Mind Invasion," it was precisely the instant before the clone vanished.
The clone disappeared.
Its entire body turned into a sheet of shadow.
Then it merged into the chains.
Before these chains, before this dark giant, things like "biological force field" and "magic resistance" were meaningless.
This was one of the most powerful dark magics of the "Ancient Demon Shadow."
Shadow Dimension!
It could turn physical entities into shadows and drag them into the Shadow Dimension, never to return to real space.
This spell was absurdly powerful, a lost, ancient magic that only gods could use.
It could only be cast within the "Dark Domain," which was why Martin had said earlier that the domain was merely preparation.
After using "Shadow Dimension," the duration the "Ancient Demon Shadow" could remain was instantly reduced to zero, and it consumed a massive amount of Martin's energy and life force.
If other spells had worked on his "counterpart," Martin wouldn't have wanted to use this one.
The "Dark Domain" vanished instantly.
Then the layered phantom attached to Martin let out a roar.
In that instant, Martin returned to physical form, his face deathly pale.
Ninety percent of his energy and a large portion of his life force had been taken as the price for the demon's possession and the use of "Shadow Dimension," all stripped away with that roar.
After that, the layered phantom rapidly expanded, rising above the surface.
It turned into a gray-white stream of light and surged into the layered cracks in the sky, returning to its original dimension.
When the last trace of light disappeared, the cracks in the sky began to close.
With rumbling tremors, powerful fluctuations spread continuously.
Only after a full minute did the cracks fully close, and the passage connecting to other dimensions completely vanished.
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