Mephisto let out a soft laugh at the edge of the ring of dark creatures.
It held the pure amusement of someone entertained by a clumsy performance he had seen too many times before.
His sulfur-flame eyes swept slowly over Dormammu's enormous form.
"Dormammu, that's a little rich coming from you. I may not have the best reputation, but at least I've never sat down at a negotiating table, said, 'Lovely weather today,' and pulled a knife.
"You don't believe a word you're saying, so why waste your breath? Can you even count how much garbage you've dumped on Earth over the past few centuries?
"Now the old lady has brought in two helpers to clear out the junk you've piled up for far too long, and you're crying, 'They're trying to tear down my house.'
"Your junk is practically on someone else's doorstep. Are they not even allowed to complain?"
Russell did not answer. He did not even break stride, continuing along the golden thread's path past the outer edge of the dark creatures besieging The Ancient One.
The moment those shadowy masses Dormammu had driven forward sensed him approaching, something subtle changed.
The dark creatures, which had been charging ahead as though driven by a single will, began to part on their own within three to five body lengths of him. An invisible blade might have cut a path through them.
These ruined lives, corrupted and reshaped into countless forms, recoiled almost imperceptibly when they touched an energy field their instincts could not comprehend, as though burned.
Russell walked through the dark tide with an easy, casual stride. He might have been passing through a harmless stand of reeds swaying in the wind, rather than millions of frenzied creatures twisted by dark energy.
His gaze passed over the