Chapter 131: The Great Battle Against Dormammu

After Arthur sent Wanda through the magical portal, a massive beam of purple energy erupted from Dormammu’s mouth, striking toward him instantly. Arthur’s right hand flashed with the red light of the Reality Stone; his body suddenly turned translucent, and as the purple beam passed directly through him, Arthur emerged from the energy stream completely unscathed.

"The Reality Stone!" Dormammu exclaimed, shocked. He could not believe that a mere mortal possessed and could wield an Infinity Stone. Although Dormammu disdained the use of such artifacts—believing his own infinite life and energy within the Dark Dimension were sufficient—he was well aware of their boundless power.

A cluster of dark matter secretly manifested above Arthur’s head, unleashing a barrage of black spikes like a relentless downpour over a vast area. Arthur chanted a spell, and vast quantities of water materialized from thin air around him, forming a massive waterspout that encased him, growing larger by the second. The dark spikes, upon striking the waterspout, failed to penetrate it and were instead swept away into the sky.

Dormammu was incensed that his attack had been thwarted again. He found these Earthlings insufferably difficult; the Sorcerer Supreme, the Ancient One, had battled him for centuries, and now that she was finally dead, another man wielding an Infinity Stone had appeared.

"I will have your life!" Dormammu conjured a colossal ball of purple energy before him. As he compressed the sphere, its hue deepened, and Arthur could sense the sheer, crushing magnitude of the dark energy contained within. Suddenly, a massive beam of energy shot from the sphere toward Arthur at blinding speed, reaching him in an instant.

Arthur opened his palm, summoning a blue magical shield to withstand the impact. As blue ritual symbols appeared above his head and his eyes glowed with a cerulean light, energy from the Dimension of Water surged into his body. Arthur’s shield expanded, perfectly neutralizing Dormammu’s purple blast. Just then, six more energy spheres appeared around Arthur’s perimeter, simultaneously firing six massive beams at him. Arthur flicked his left hand, and his shield transformed into a spherical bubble, enveloping him completely and blocking the incoming assault.

***

Wanda stepped through a portal into the Hong Kong Sanctum, where she saw Mordo, Wong, and Li being besieged by Kaecilius and his four remaining followers. Looking up at the sky, she saw Arthur still holding his defensive barrier against Dormammu’s seven beams; he was far more powerful than she was.

A portal opened beside her, and Stephen Strange stepped through. "Where is the Ancient One?" Wanda asked.

"She... has passed away," Strange replied, his voice heavy with grief.

"We must help!" Wanda cried, rushing toward Kaecilius, followed closely by Strange. She used her crimson energy to suddenly immobilize Kaecilius, and Mordo seized the opportunity to thrust his staff deep into his chest.

"No!" Kaecilius, bound by the chaos energy, could only watch in horror as Mordo’s staff shattered his ribcage. Magical energy surged into his body, instantly pulverizing his internal organs. Blood poured from his eyes, ears, and nose as he collapsed, lifeless. With their leader fallen, Kaecilius’s three remaining acolytes were quickly overwhelmed by Wong and Li, and soon dispatched by Strange and Wanda.

After the battle, the five gathered, silent upon hearing of the Ancient One’s death. Wanda, however, kept her eyes fixed on the purple expanse where Arthur was fighting. Suddenly, Arthur’s blue shield burst, and he was sent flying backward. He summoned his trident, unleashing a massive blue energy ray at Dormammu, who countered with a beam of his own. The two forces collided, triggering a cataclysmic explosion that pulverized a chain of dark red planets in the vicinity.

"Arthur is incredibly powerful!" Mordo remarked, stunned. He had never seen anyone capable of matching Dormammu in such a way—it seemed even the Ancient One had not been this strong.

"Can he win?" Strange asked, his fists clenched. If Arthur failed, he had no idea how he could possibly defeat Dormammu and protect Earth.

"It will be difficult," Wong interjected. "Arthur is drawing upon the energy of other dimensions, but Dormammu’s power is infinite and far greater than his."

Wanda’s grip tightened. She longed to intervene, but she knew her own energy was nearly depleted; she could barely stand, let alone aid Arthur without becoming a burden. She deeply regretted that her study of the Chaos Codex had been so slow; if only she had mastered the chaos energy within her, she could have helped him.

In the sky, Arthur continued to barrage Dormammu with blue energy, dodging and returning fire. Any purple energy he could not evade was transformed into harmless, colorful bubbles by the Reality Stone. Though Dormammu remained unharmed, he was enraged that a "mortal ant" dared to defy him—the Lord of the Dark Dimension, a being who transcended time and space.

"You have thoroughly angered me, mortal!" Dormammu’s voice boomed through the void.

"You were once a mortal yourself, only becoming this powerful by feeding on the Dark Dimension," Arthur countered loudly. "Do you truly think you are the master of all?"

"Die!" Dormammu roared. Three massive, dark red planets converged upon Arthur, surrounding him to crush him into dust. Arthur flew upward, attempting to escape their radius, but dark energy tentacles sprouted from the planets’ surfaces, lashing out to ensnare him. Arthur summoned a blue energy shroud, but the countless tentacles dragged him toward the planets, which slammed together with him trapped in the middle.

The planets shattered, and a blinding purple light radiated from within.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Three thunderous explosions rocked the void. The planets disintegrated, and the resulting white flare was so intense it illuminated the Earth itself. People in Hong Kong gazed up to see a dazzling white light and heard the roar of the massive detonation.

"Arthur!" Wanda screamed. The others watched the sky in desperate anxiety. As the white light faded, the sky returned to its dark purple hue. A vast expanse of space had been cleared; there were no planets left, only Dormammu. Even the space debris had been reduced to dust.

Had Arthur perished? The group stared into the empty, silent void, gripped by dread.