"Bargain?"
Dormammu was stunned at first.
That word… it was all too familiar.
Every version of Strange in every universe—upon meeting him, the first thing out of their mouths was always Bargain, Bargain, and more goddamn Bargain.
As if that was all they knew.
Countless images flashed through Dormammu's mind.
He remembered every Doctor Strange in such excruciating detail that even the mites in their pores were etched into his memory.
For a being like Dormammu, every past moment could be recalled in perfect clarity, like a high-definition Blu-ray recording—if he so desired.
And every time Strange uttered those words, with that righteous and defiant expression on his face, it made Dormammu feel sick—so disgusted he could vomit.
He had no desire to relive that experience ever again.
And yet, he still brooded over it, vowing that one day, he would squash and reshape every Strange until they were nothing.
That was why he refused to erase those repulsive memories from his mind—but also refused to recall them unless forced.
But now, this insignificant little insect below him —(with Lyon's biofield masking his true nature, he appeared no different from an ordinary human)— Had the audacity to speak of negotiation so shamelessly, to dare remind him of the face of that sewer worm, Strange!
Dormammu was suddenly enraged.
His already flame-like head erupted in a burst of tangible crimson-purple energy.
That energy rose and swirled around him, as if his giant head had ignited into a world-consuming blaze.
No one could remain calm in the face of such a Dormammu.
It was the infinite energy of the Dark Dimension burning.
Even Lyon couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.
Dormammu, within the Dark Dimension, indeed possessed power on a single-universe level.
Still, Lyon wasn't nervous. Everything was proceeding according to plan.
He even found time to complain inwardly—at this moment, Dormammu looked exactly like that famous fire-headed superhero.
"Bargain? You dare utter the word Bargain!!" Dormammu sneered coldly. "You've come here to die!!"
He struck without warning.
Countless spears shot out from the energy-shrouded region of the Dark Dimension, flying straight at Lyon, aiming to pierce him through.
Lyon reacted swiftly—his hands flicked, and several massive Seraphim Shields formed a seamless barrier around him.
With deep thuds and sharp cracking sounds, all the incoming spears were shattered and fell to the ground.
The cloak behind Lyon fluttered slightly, lifting him backward into the air, where he hovered calmly.
His every movement was perfectly in line with that of a sorcerer.
"You... you're a sorcerer!?" Dormammu was somewhat stunned.
Just moments ago, he had clearly sensed no trace of superhuman power on Lyon.
"I am the Sorcerer Supreme of the world this small dimension belongs to!" Lyon said, forming seals with both hands.
"Dormammu, leave this place now. This is your last chance," he once again used words to provoke Dormammu.
"Sorcerer Supreme! Ha! Just another Sorcerer Supreme—so full of himself!"
Dormammu roared in fury and opened his mouth wide. Endless energy gathered, condensing into a light beam several meters thick that blasted toward Lyon.
The energy within that beam was incredibly dense and terrifying.
In Lyon's perception, the destructive force contained within it far exceeded even his own destruction.
Fortunately, after the light beam crossed the boundary between the Dark Dimension and the small world, its power was drastically reduced.
It was left with just enough destructive force to barely destroy a star.
Such an attack didn't even require Lyon to lift a finger—he could block it just by standing tall and puffing out his chest.
But instead of using his own energy, he connected to the dimension of the Vishanti and unhesitatingly cast the overlimit-level spell: Hoggoth's Gaze!
The energy beam, strong enough to obliterate a planet, collided with Hoggoth's Gaze and instantly transformed into countless butterflies.
Dormammu's energy assault didn't let up.
Hoggoth's Gaze continued to neutralize each wave, and the number of butterflies only grew.
In no time, the sky was filled with emerald-colored butterflies.
"Damn it! How are you able to withstand the cost of using that spell for so long?!"
Dormammu finally stopped, furious, after several minutes.
Lyon immediately mocked him: "Heh~ Give it up, Dormammu. Once your dimensional energy crosses into this world, it becomes too weak—nowhere near enough to defeat me!"
Dormammu gnashed his teeth. "Just a mere sorcerer relying on the Vishanti's power... If I personally crossed over to your world... Wait a minute—even Strange couldn't possibly use that spell for such a long time!"
Dormammu's eyes suddenly turned wary. "Could it be… you're using the Time Stone to restore yourself?!"
Lyon raised an eyebrow, suspecting Dormammu was now preparing to personally cross into this world for battle.
So he feigned confusion. "Time Stone? Wasn't that destroyed by Thanos five years ago?"
"Destroyed five years ago? So you don't have the Time Stone?!"
Dormammu burst into hearty laughter. "Hahaha, so your universe has already reached the post-annihilation timeline!"
No Time Stone!
Then he wouldn't have to worry about this Sorcerer Supreme pulling off some kind of time loop trick again!
Dormammu beamed with delight.
And in Lyon's heart, he gave himself a thumbs up for the performance.
Kaecilius had always believed Dormammu had transcended time.
But in truth, it wasn't that he existed above time itself.
It was simply that in the Dark Dimension, time didn't exist—and never had.
When Dormammu first encountered Strange, he couldn't even comprehend the concept of time.
Because in his view, time held no meaning—within the Dark Dimension, the Time Stone would become nothing more than an ordinary rock.
Yet despite that, nearly every time Dormammu tried to invade Earth, he would always be stopped by Doctor Strange in the transitional zone where the Dark Dimension merged with Earth's dimension—using time.
In that region, the concept of time carried over from Earth into the Dark Dimension, giving the Time Stone its effect.
At first, Dormammu thought Strange had trapped him with time itself.
But after encountering several variants of Strange from parallel worlds, he finally realized that the time loop only applied to Strange himself and the Earth behind him.
Dormammu could have left any time.
So after that, even if Kaecilius was offering sacrifices and he noticed a Strange lurking in the adjacent world, Dormammu wouldn't even bother—he'd immediately turn around and leave.
There was no other reason—just pure bad luck!
After so many infuriating and frustrating encounters... Now, finally encountering a world without a Time Stone, how could Dormammu not be delighted?
"Strange hasn't even become a sorcerer yet, but the Blip has already happened—what a bizarre parallel world."
Dormammu laughed heartily. "I love these strange worlds—no Stones, and Supreme Sorcerer, how will you stop me now?"
Lyon formed seals with both hands, showing no intention of retreating: "So what if it's destroyed? Even without the Time Stone, I can still stop you here!"
Two sacred swords of the Vishanti appeared in his hands, then began multiplying infinitely, like a swarm of locusts blotting out the sky as they shot toward Dormammu.
Dormammu sneered, exhaling another energy beam from his mouth, obliterating all the sword shadows.
"Not bad at all. Among all the Stranges I've encountered, few could manage this."
He still couldn't forget Strange.
His gaze toward Lyon grew increasingly twisted. "But you think you can stop me? Naive!"
Two massive hands suddenly reached out, grabbing the spatial barrier like tearing through paper, ripping open an even larger rift!
Dormammu's enormous body emerged fully from the tear, shrouded in endless dimensional energy.
He stepped out through the breach, both hands clinging to the edges of the dimensional wall, and emerged!
Having just exited the Dark Dimension, shedding the state of being fused with his realm...
Dormammu's aura plummeted rapidly—from the level of a single-universe entity, it fell to that of an ordinary Celestial rank.
Though his power had diminished, he was now truly able to unleash all his combat capabilities.
Within the dimension of this small world, his actual combat strength rose rather than fell!
"And now, how will you stop me?" Dormammu looked down at the tiny Lyon and sneered.
Lyon raised his head to meet Dormammu's gaze—and smiled.
Smiled with a hidden blade finally revealed:
"Why would I stop you? Welcome to my world, Dormammu."
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