Ch.109 He Died of Fright?

Hmm????

If the atmosphere between the two was still considered pleasant before, then after Ronan's words, the pleasant atmosphere took a nosedive.

America looked at Ronan with a face full of disbelief, not understanding why he would make such a statement.

Meanwhile, Sylvie, who had no role in this, raised an eyebrow.

Why did it seem like these two were about to fight?

Ronan, on the other hand, looked at Strange with a cold smile reminiscent of a certain monk.

"Demon, I could tell at a glance that you are not human!"

[Ronan - Cold Smile Limited Edition.jpg]

"What are you talking about? I don't understand what you mean."

Strange glanced at Ronan, his expression not changing much.

However, his left hand, which he quietly tried to hide behind his back, betrayed his true thoughts.

Ronan couldn't help but shake his head. At first, he hadn't noticed Strange's flaw until that one statement.

"You said you've seen me many times before, but never stopped me."

"Then let me ask you, did any of those previous versions of me lend you my power?"

This was a very interesting question.

If Ronan still somewhat trusted this Strange before, after this question, he began to doubt him.

"No, but I never asked them for it."

"It was only after the last time we failed that I realized I didn't have enough power."

Strange pursed his lips, as if he really had such thoughts.

But hearing this answer, Ronan just smiled.

"Suddenly realized you were short on power last time?"

"You've absorbed so many Supreme Sorcerers from different universes, and you're telling me you're still short on power?"

"And you're missing just my power?"

Ronan asked with a smile on his face.

Ronan never believed in coincidences, especially when such coincidences appeared right before him.

This time, Strange fell silent.

"Alright, even if that's the case, why should I help you?"

"And about that earlier question, how did those versions of me respond to you?"

Ronan crossed his arms and asked a second question.

He hoped this Strange could give him a different answer.

For instance, maybe something he'd never heard before—a complicated new term that would shock everyone.

That way, it would elevate Ronan's status, and he would learn more in the process.

But Ronan's hopes were ultimately in vain.

Strange remained silent.

Seeing the other party unwilling to cooperate, Ronan couldn't help but pout, muttering to himself about how boring it was.

There's no fun in performing a comedy with no one to play the straight man.

"Alright, if you don't want to say it, I'll say it for you."

"In fact, those previous times, you never found me, and you never even made it here."

Ronan had this suspicion from the beginning.

And the reason was simple—he had heard it from others more than once: that he was the 'only one.'

What did 'only one' mean?

From a literal perspective, it meant there was only one, no others.

If we look at it from other parallel universes, it meant that only this universe had Ronan, while others did not. That could be considered 'unique.'

On a single timeline, if Ronan himself existed in only one time point, did that count as part of his uniqueness?

This made Ronan think of that woman before.

The one who always craved Ronan's body, but could never have it.

It was clear she harbored deep hatred towards him, wishing she could cross universes to kill Ronan.

But instead of choosing to cross over when Ronan was still young and vulnerable, she chose to challenge him when he already had considerable combat power and even possessed the Time Stone.

At the time, Ronan speculated it was because of the presence of the Ancient One in his universe, leaving her with no opportunities.

But upon further reflection, Ronan found that didn't seem quite right either.

If she feared the Ancient One, she could have erased Ronan's 'birth' concept altogether.

Killing Ronan's parents so that the child could never be born would solve everything, right?

It would be safe from the Ancient One's intervention without much risk—why not?

However, she chose not to do that and instead acted during that time.

After some hints from the Ancient One, Ronan slowly figured out a lot.

Once you leave your universe, the Ancient One can no longer interfere in the affairs of other universes, giving her the best opportunity.

Leaving his universe, Ronan's 'uniqueness' temporarily lost its effect.

Because the word 'unique,' at least for now, in Ronan's understanding, only worked within his universe.

As for how these two people found him, Ronan wasn't sure either.

Perhaps it was just a special bond?

"How do you know that?"

This time, Strange finally spoke.

Looks like Ronan was right.

"You don't need to know how I know this because I don't want to tell you."

"Maybe you've tried many times without finding me, realizing that my identity wasn't as simple as you'd thought."

"So, you came up with some kind of plan..."

Ronan narrowed his eyes. He was genuinely interested in how Strange found him.

Maybe this version of Strange was just lucky, but what if there were a second time?

A third time?

Eventually, they would master the method.

It seemed like Ronan had to figure out how to keep this person here.

"Hmph."

"It looks like there are things even you don't know."

Strange let out a cold laugh, no longer pretending.

The previously calm face now looked grim, and the third eye on his forehead opened wide!

The dark power within his body surged all over him instantly!

He looked far more terrifying than before!

Golden spell rings encircled his arms, and the deepest red Rings of Raggadorr appeared in his hands.

"Are you really planning to fight me?"

Ronan sighed, gently tapping the air with his left hand.

A wave of space energy, rippling like water, appeared before everyone's eyes.

When she saw this, America shivered as if she sensed something.

She saw Ronan pull something out of the void—a glove.

A gauntlet embedded with six Infinity Stones!

Seeing the glove, Strange's pupils contracted violently, and he instinctively took a step back.

Especially when Ronan casually slid the glove onto his left hand, 'accidentally' showing Strange the back of it.

The six Infinity Stones emitted a soft glow, almost shimmering.

"Hoo..."

"You're the first one who still wants to fight me after I've obtained all six Infinity Stones."

"Now, you're going to get your wish."

With the gauntlet on his left hand, Ronan took a deep breath, his face showing intense interest!

But this expression made Strange too terrified to move!

"This is impossible!"

"How could you collect the Stones so quickly?!"

Strange blurted out instinctively.

In his mind, gathering the Stones wasn't easy—even Thanos took years to get his wish.

But Ronan had easily collected all six Infinity Stones!

Impossible!!!

"What's impossible about it?"

"With your help, I learned the secrets of traversing timelines."

"In my world, we also have Pym Particles, and that swallowed Strange couldn't have failed to tell you that I also got a set of devices to traverse time when I returned to this world."

"With all these tools, you think it's still hard?"

Ronan showed off his gauntlet again, satisfaction on his face.

The desired effect of showing off had been achieved!

Strange stayed silent for a long time, still seemingly unable to believe it.

"You're also a Sorcerer Supreme, albeit from a different universe, but you've used the Time Stone before, right?"

"Don't you want to check if my Time Stone is authentic?"

Ronan slowly raised his left hand, clenching it into a fist, and the glow of the Infinity Stones on the back brightened!

Strange immediately raised his spell rings, the third eye on his forehead spinning rapidly.

Sensing things were getting out of hand, Sylvie, who had been quiet for so long, decided she didn't want to play along with these guys anymore.

She pressed the time controller, and a portal appeared behind her.

"Goodbye, everyone."

"Oh, right, hope we don't meet again."

With that, she jumped into the portal, vanishing from the scene.

Strange was stunned; he'd almost forgotten Sylvie was there.

But Sylvie didn't matter—his main concern was Ronan!

"Wait!"

Seeing a battle about to erupt, America jumped between the two.

??????

Seeing America jump in, Ronan's face was full of confusion.

Did this girl not understand the situation?

They were about to have an epic showdown, and here she was ruining the mood.

"Aren't we here to solve problems?"

"Kang the Conqueror is already destroying worlds, and even if your world hasn't been invaded yet..."

"What about the future?"

"Can you guarantee that he won't show up someday?"

"Do you want to watch countless universes perish at Kang's hands?"

America stared at Ronan, each of her words dripping with moral superiority.

But she forgot—Ronan had no morals to be swayed by, so moral superiority meant...

Nothing!

"Hahaha, you're hilarious."

"Why don't you ask Strange about what he's done?"

"Let's not mention Thanos—that was a gamble that paid off, giving the victor the right to rebuttal."

"But later, to fulfill a kid's wish, he cast a forgetting spell over the entire world. No big deal, right?"

"The most ridiculous part? He got it wrong!!!"

"And that mistake opened the door to parallel universes."

Ronan pointed at Strange, his cold smile as sharp as a knife, stabbing right into his heart.

"Even more laughable, he's no longer the Sorcerer Supreme, yet he dragged you to Kamar-Taj, bringing devastation to it!"

"And why? Just to satisfy a human from a parallel universe?"

"The Scarlet Witch's target wasn't even his universe—it was a parallel one."

At this point, Ronan didn't even want to continue.

Enumerating Strange's mistakes, Ronan had no idea how to stop ranting.

If you, Strange, are no longer Sorcerer Supreme, stop making decisions on behalf of the real Sorcerer Supreme, Wong.

Even more ridiculous—what's your responsibility?

To protect Earth from external threats.

Protect the Earth from external threats.

The Scarlet Witch was just traveling to parallel universes. Frankly, this was the responsibility of that parallel universe's Sorcerer Supreme, not yours, Strange.

You recklessly intervened to change things, and does that truly make you worthy of being a Kamar-Taj sorcerer?

Alright, these are all Ronan's thoughts. Many people might disagree with him, and Ronan respects everyone's perspectives.

But at least, if Ronan were to choose, he would never do this kind of "selfless love" act.

"You—"

America widened her eyes in disbelief. She couldn't fathom hearing such cold-hearted words from someone.

But Strange, on the other hand, had no intention of refuting.

"Didn't you learn anything from what the Ancient One did?"

"Or do you think that as Sorcerer Supreme, we are supposed to meddle in everything and act like the so-called savior of the universe?"

Ronan took a deep breath, the more he spoke, the more he felt like strangling Strange in front of him.

It was clear, back then, he had hinted to Strange more than once.

More importantly, he had even saved Tony Stark.

Looking at how things were now, it seemed that what was supposed to happen still did, with no change whatsoever.

Could it be that even Tony Stark's survival wasn't enough to prevent Peter Parker's identity from being exposed, ultimately leading Peter to ask Strange for help, and Strange still ended up doing the same thing?

Thinking of this, Ronan couldn't help but rub his forehead.

This was rather frustrating, wasn't it?

Was it the inertia of the timeline? Or something that he didn't know had happened?

"I only did what I believed was right."

"And anyway, what I do, how does that concern you?"

Finally, Strange spoke up.

Hearing his response, Ronan couldn't help but sneer, swiftly clenching his left hand into a fist again.

This time, the Space Stone activated, and Ronan's figure instantly vanished!

Strange's expression changed dramatically, but his reaction was fast. Eight arms appeared behind him.

Images of Ikonn!

In an instant, five massive Shields of Seraphim flew outwards from Strange, radiating from his position.

Ronan's figure immediately retreated, his mouth twitching slightly.

How did Strange even learn this move?

This was supposed to be his signature technique!

It was at this point that the flying Shields of Seraphim collided fiercely with a terrifying spatial disturbance!

The spatial shockwave instantly shattered into countless fragments, rushing toward Ronan.

F*ck.

Ronan, of course, understood how terrifying this move was and couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Damn Thanos!

If it weren't for Thanos, how could Strange have the experience of fighting with Infinity Stones?

Starting straight with Kamar-Taj's ultimate defensive move—he was really giving Ronan too much credit!

After forcing Ronan to retreat, Strange quickly followed up by swinging his right hand violently, and a crimson chain shot out.

The Crimson Bands of Cyttorak latched onto America Chavez, pulling her toward him.

Ronan's figure vanished once again, with no intention of caring about America. His target was only one person.

Strange!

Or more precisely, Dark Strange!

Buzz!

A dazzling light flashed, and behind Strange and America, a multiple-star emblem appeared.

They were trying to escape!

"Think you can get away?"

Ronan's figure immediately appeared on Strange's left side.

His left hand was already resting on Strange's shoulder.

Seeing the Infinity Gauntlet, which he was all too familiar with, Strange's face underwent a drastic change.

But in the next second, a searing pain erupted from his shoulder!

The dark energy inside him, which was already somewhat out of control, began to boil violently.

Moreover, it started converging frantically toward his shoulder.

At that moment, it seemed as though Strange understood something!

There was one time when Ronan had dealt with dark energy like this!

"Aaaaahhhhhh!!!!"

Strange let out a loud scream.

His left arm, which Ronan had been holding, suddenly tore away from Ronan's grasp, breaking free!

An invisible, intangible silhouette replaced Strange's original position, being sucked directly into Ronan's left hand.

As for Strange, he was drenched in sweat, veins bulging across his forehead.

At that instant, Strange appeared to have been greatly weakened!

Buzz!

With a tremor, Strange and America's figures disappeared.

"That ruthless?"

Feeling the immense dark energy he had just absorbed into his left hand, Ronan couldn't help but be stunned.

Because this dark energy made up nearly half of Strange's entire power!

To escape Ronan's control and threat, Strange had sacrificed half of his dark energy!

"I was only trying to scare him, but I didn't expect he'd be so brutal to himself."

Ronan looked at his left hand, wearing a strange expression. In the next second, he let out an involuntary hiccup.

"Hiccup."

With that hiccup, Ronan's figure instantly disappeared.

He reappeared by the body of Kang the Conqueror.

With one swift kick, he sent the body flying and sat down heavily in the chair.

And then...

He rolled his eyes and passed out!