Ronan left decisively.
With the Kree, Shi'ar, and the Dark Order —the three top cosmic powers—withdrawing, the other powers naturally understood the current situation.
Everyone had their own methods of investigation, and they could see Ego being brutally beaten, Thanos fleeing in Thanos, and the terrifying aura that had just intimidated the entire Milky Way. Everyone fell silent.
No one dared to provoke the tiger.
"Quill, we're all Earthlings, so why are those guys all top-tier fighters in the universe, some even capable of beating up Thanos, while you're just so ordinary?"
Yondu sat in the main seat of the Milano, looking at a young man in a leather jacket with a shocked expression.
"Hey! What's so ordinary about me?"
Quill clapped his hands in dissatisfaction.
"Then can you smash a building to pieces with one punch?"
Yondu pointed to the screen recording of Hulk going berserk.
"Um... Earthlings don't have green skin, and they're generally not three or four meters tall."
"Then you know magic?"
Yondu then pointed to the busty woman in red in the screen recording.
"Um... this..."
"Or can you run that fast too? This scene is displayed at a frame rate slowed down by a hundred times."
This time, Yondu refers to Quicksilver.
The two siblings were recruited by the Avengers during this incident and fought against aliens together.
"Okay, I'm a piece of trash, but I think I'm one of the better-looking humans."
Star-Lord plopped down on the leather seat and looked up at the white energizing light.
How many years has he been away from Earth?
At most, it shouldn't be more than twenty years, right?
How did it turn out like this?
"I can't tell you're the more handsome one. We all have two eyes and one nose. Oh, I can see that your skin tones are a bit different; some of you have very dark skin."
A fish head with three eyes approached Quill and chuckled.
Although Yondu's Ravagers consisted of seasoned outlaws, most of them were oddly shaped and deformed.
"Boss, we've received a live video signal from the Nova Corps!"
A man with two antennas stuck in his head and half of his body modified into a machine sat in front of the control panel and shouted at Yondu.
"The Nova Corps? Don't those guys pride themselves on being righteous and think they can't associate with low-life raiders like us? What do they want with us?"
Yondu pressed the answer button with a puzzled look.
The screen immediately projected a holographic image, showing a middle-aged man wearing a pointed helmet and a yellow battle suit, whose appearance was very similar to that of a human from Earth.
"Yondu, I am Roman Day, a centurion of the Nova Corps. I have heard... there is an Earthling on your fleet?"
Everyone turned their gazes toward Star-Lord.
"So... that's how it is, I, an Earthling who left Earth twenty years ago, have come as an envoy to visit His Majesty Odin and... that great man?"
Star-Lord gestured wildly as he spoke to Odin.
Earth is located on one of the Orion Arms, near the edge of the Milky Way.
The closer to the main arm of the spiral arm, the richer the material; the richest area is the center where the four main arms intersect.
Compared to these places, Earth is an absolute backwater, with little presence in the entire universe.
Few people knew about this place before, until last year Chitauri suffered a setback here. Aside from making a few jokes about the Chitauri, people didn't think it was a big deal.
Because that place belongs to one of the Nine Realms ruled by Asgard.
For thousands of years, external forces have regarded this area near the Solar System as Odin's territory.
In their view, Odin is the leader of Earthlings, so Star-Lord, as a diplomatic envoy, naturally visits Odin.
"Alright, tell me what's going on first. As for that important person you mentioned... he's gone to deal with another important person."
Odin turned his gaze to the sky.
In the space between reality and the boundaries of time and space.
This place is still within the scope of this universe.
An ominous crimson hue permeated everything, with the smoke and flames of hell spreading out.
The Ancient One sat quietly on the ground, radiating the green light of the Time Stone.
In front of him stood an old man dressed in a suit and tuxedo.
"Mephisto, stop now, you have no chance."
"How enviable! Those three guys actually have such excellent mages as their subordinates in every world. I say, why don't you come to my side? Anyway, your universe is almost at its end, and all souls and matter will eventually go to my hell."
Mephisto, leaning on his cane, looked at the Ancient One with a smile.
"That's not necessarily true, Mephisto."
The Ancient One looked at Mephisto warily.
She and Mephisto have been at an impasse for a long time.
"Is the Time Stone your only weapon? It is indeed a supreme treasure of the universe. If you can perfectly unleash the power of this stone, I really have no way to stop you. But your body is already very weak, right? You should no longer be able to fully unleash the power of the stone, so you may not be able to restrain me."
Besides, when it comes to manipulating time... I'm far more skilled than any Sorcerer Supreme.
Mephisto said slowly and deliberately.
He once had a record of directly altering the history of a universe.
In the realm of time, he is undoubtedly one of the most outstanding players among all the Multiverse- level beings.
If all costs were disregarded, Mephisto, in his the Ancient One state, could temporarily break free from the Time Stone's restraints.
But that would be too much of a loss.
Every devil is a shrewd, cunning, and cruel businessman. Mephisto is here to earn souls. He may make some investments before he gets any benefits, but he will never make too much of a sacrifice.
"There will always be unexpected variables, but this won't take long. We'll just have to wait here for a while at most."
The Ancient One closed her eyes and stopped talking to Mephisto.
Mephisto is a true veteran of the Multiverse, a high-ranking figure among the lords of hell. He is one of the few lords of hell qualified to compete for the position of "Satan." He has plans in countless universes and has devoured countless vast universes into his own dimension.
Such an existence is far more dangerous Dormammu.
Mephisto, feeling bored, conjured a throne of flames behind him and sat down.
"Alright, alright, let's just let things develop as they are now. I think your universe will come to an end in three or four years at most. I'm just an avatar, and I have plenty of time to waste with you."
What Lao Mo actually craves is the soul of the Ancient One.
After all, this is someone qualified to follow in the footsteps of Eternity; the value of their soul cannot be too high.
However, Old Mo also knew that the Ancient One's soul had been preordained by Eternity to become its follower, so he could not take it by force. He could only use words or schemes to induce the Ancient One to switch allegiance on her own.
Even if the Ancient One disagreed, Mephisto believed it was just a matter of making a small profit versus making a huge profit.
Since this universe is about to perish and has been targeted by me, how could it possibly run away?
It's impossible for a Multiverse God capable of transcending the universe to appear when the timeline of this universe is about to collapse, right?
It seems... there really is.
Mephisto rose from the Flame Throne and looked at the figure slowly walking towards him.
"Oh, it seems we have distinguished guests from other universes."
Meikyō reached out and used white Purifying Fire to condense a new throne in front of Mephisto, then sat on it.
Mephisto glanced at the Meikyō, then turned his gaze to the Throne of Purifying Fire, his eyes narrowing.
"I never expected to meet a newly ascended Multiverse God here. I wonder if this is a place you've set your sights on, or if this world has always been your territory?"
"This is of course my territory, so I'm not exactly happy about some of your ideas."
Meikyō looked at Mephisto with a forced smile.
The Ancient One breathed a sigh of relief, took the Eye of Agamotto from his chest, and handed it to the Meikyō.
However, Meikyō only glanced at the Ancient One, and the Ancient One's figure vanished into thin air.
The real the Ancient One was still floating in the distant sky, using the power of the Time Stone to shroud and bind time in this area, repeatedly oscillating within three minutes.
"Mephisto, stop now, you have no chance."
The Ancient One and everything around her suddenly rewound three minutes to the previous moment. She then flew to Mephisto's side and said something. Then, realizing something, she turned her head and looked at Meikyō with surprise in her eyes.
Meikyō smiled and nodded to the Ancient One.
The Ancient One suppressed her excitement and looked at Mephisto.
"I wonder how many times I've said that last sentence?"
"I have tried 24,681 times, and I have used 24,680 different methods, but I still haven't been able to bewitch you."
Mephisto shook his head.
This time, all our efforts will be in vain.
The opponent was indeed a Multiverse- level powerhouse on par with himself, even if the opponent might have achieved this through the Infinity Stones.
The initial Genjutsu probing is a test of the opponent's All-Seeing Eye. People with these two abilities are basically impossible to be fooled by Genjutsu unless their true selves take action, in which case they might be able to fool a strong opponent of the same level.
Now, the Time Stone from the Ancient One's side confirms that the person before us also possesses the ability to be unaffected by external time, which is enough to prove everything.
"I thought it was a timeline that was about to disappear. Oh well, how about we make a deal? You have the right to trade with me on equal terms. For example... things that only Gods in the Multiverse are qualified to know, or other secrets, or even powers beyond the Multiverse, or omnipotent treasures. I have lived for a long time and know a lot. I can tell you all of this, and you, my friend, only need to pay a tiny, insignificant price."
Mephisto wore an extremely sincere expression and smiled at Meikyō.
But Meikyō isn't foolish enough to do business with a Multiverse- level devil.
We can't get cocky just because our current power has temporarily reached the Multiverse level. Putting aside Mephisto's strength as a veteran Multiverse God, other Multiverse- level beings have also been deceived by Mephisto before.
Even other equally cunning and treacherous hell lords have been tricked by Mephisto.
"Thank you very much for your kindness, but I think it's unnecessary. Besides... I wonder if trespassing into the dimension of another Multiverse God is an impolite and dangerous act?"
Meikyō smiled, a hint of threat in his voice, as he spoke to Mephisto.
"This spacetime shouldn't have been converted into your dimension yet, right? Even the Infinity Stones are there. Is it because you don't want to, or because you can't, or perhaps... you have other ambitions? But I advise you to hurry up. Reversing the timeline back to normal isn't that easy."
Mephisto glanced at Meikyō again, as if he had guessed something, and then left after saying a few words.
"If you are unable to save this doomed universe, simply come here and silently recite my name before this flame."
Mephisto's figure vanished in an instant, leaving only the throne made of hellfire, which transformed into a flower of flames, silently burning on the ground.
"He could tell that I reached this level because of the Infinity Stones."
Meikyō gazed at the flame flower on the ground, then turned to the Ancient One and spoke.
"It seems you already possess the characteristics of Eternity. Now you only need to take the final step. Once you cross that threshold, you will become a true Multiverse God. By the way, have things been resolved in your universe?"
With a hint of satisfaction in her eyes, the Ancient One looked at Meikyō and asked.
"Yes, there shouldn't be any other problems in the next ten or twenty years."
"Great, then I can retire."
"Let's wait a little longer. The situation in the universe is likely to change drastically in the next few months. Let's take advantage of my taking over Sorcerer Supreme to stabilize the situation in the universe and solve the problem of timeline collapse."
"Whatever, just don't come looking for me to do anything from now on."
The Ancient One shrugged, opened the Teleportation Circle, and went back to Kamar-Taj to sunbathe and sleep.
Having been entangled with a Multiverse- level being like Mephisto for so long, even though she was just an avatar of Mephisto, the Ancient One was exhausted.
After the Ancient One left, the Meikyō Teuchi chains, sealing the hellfire left by Mephisto into an alternate dimension at the level of rules, before turning and leaving.
At this very moment, both Earth and the entire universe were in an uproar.
"Nick Fury, this is a dereliction of duty by S.H.I.E.L.D.., a dereliction of duty on your part. I want to know, why didn't the Security Council know about the existence of those mages in Kamar-Taj, why didn't they know about the existence of that newly appeared unknown human?"
Nick Fury stood tall, looking at the questions posed to him by several representatives of the Security Council.
"So, what are you trying to do now, world leaders?"
Nick Fury said, not without sarcasm.